Once again here I sit to put my ride in the Dirty Kanza out on the world wide web. Since the last DK I participated in the entry system has gone from basically a true lottery (sitting at your computer hoping to get in) to a lottery system like Leadville...is it a good thing...maybe...who am I to judge. Anyway...I didn't get in last year because I used all my luck getting into the Leadville 100...it's posted on this site , feel free to read it, it was EPIC!
So when I didn't get in a little light went off and I came up with a sure fire way to get in and I'm willing to bet I wasn't the only one to do this. I did enter the lottery but also had my wife who had zero interest in doing the 200 enter as well. The reason was simple...any woman that signed up for the 200 got in and if she got in (she did and I didn't...imagine that!) she would transfer it to me and I would be in the 2019 DK...since I'm writing this you can probably guess I got in the round about way.
Anyway...I thought about telling it how it went down from January on but it's a lot and I'll just stick to my DK 200. The time to line up has come and there are a lot of people...with that I didn't want to be too far back...for safety reasons mostly so I lined up at the back of the 12 hour section. Go, we set sail on the this 201.9 mile odyssey with a neutral roll out to the north for the first time ever. Of course it's tame for the few miles of neutral but as soon as we hit the gravel it was game on...for the first 19 miles I had a 20.5 MPH average...and it was starting to take its toll on me...at that speed when the group came to a turn the accordion effect was brutal...sprinting from the turns to keep with the group for the draft...at one point a gap opened about 10 riders in front of me and a few friends...the few in front of us and my friends and I charged across the gap to stay in the draft...it was brutal and I was bleeding from my eyes from that effort!! Needless to say it wasn't long after that that I waved goodbye to the front group and settled in for the long haul.
A short while later...maybe 10 miles or so we came to a washout that was pretty gnarly. You may have been able to ride it but the smart money was dismount and walk so I did. As I did there were a couple of guys ahead of me and they were trying to keep their feet dry by stepping on rocks...which there was 2 and they were really far apart...almost too far...so I looked at them and said "c'mon man it's water...your shoes will be dry in 25 miles" I walked through the water laughed and took off. A short while later I was climbing a hill and saw a rider with a jersey from the coach I use, I initially thought it was my coach but it was a rider by the name of Nick so I stopped and asked him if he was ok and told him we use the same coach to which he responded "nice and do you have a pump that works"? Of course I did and I let him use it, once he was topped up he said I could sit on his wheel to which I responded "that's okay don't wait on me"! I was 99.9% sure he was as strong as a horse and although it would have been nice I would've suffered sitting on his wheel. A few minutes later he came flying by me so it was a good decision! That was about halfway through the first leg.
Fast forward to the 1st check point.
I forgot to mention that in the weeks leading up to this melee I had raised the saddle on the gravel rig quite a bit...it was too low and my legs were fatiguing quickly because of it. Anyway...when you raise your saddle it also moves it back because the seat tube angle...so for the first 20+ miles I couldn't get comfortable and couldn't figure out why then it hit me...I forgot to move my saddle forward when I raised it...SMRT!
Now at the checkpoint 64 miles later in Alma right about 4 hours, I find my wife and find some shade. She started a timer for me because I told he 10 minutes or less...well 10 minutes went by and I hadn't done anything but tell her my stomach was twisted up and I needed to move my saddle forward. She offered me some tums and a gatortade and a coke. I drank most of the gatorade and then started on my saddle...me rolling out of CP 1 hinged on a one and done reset on the saddle which I nailed. The tums were working and I drank my coke, reloaded the bottles, changed to a bigger camel bak, this was the 87 mile leg, grabbed what food I thought I would eat and rolled out 30 minutes later...oh well it was worth the extra time...I was in bad shape for a minute.
As I took of I felt pretty good and was looking forward to getting through this 87 mile leg...after all it was 49 miles to Emporia from CP 2. I started a little slow but picked it up to something I thought was sustainable. I would jump on a train for a while then ride by myself rinse repeat and the mile slowly but surely ticked off...did I mention it was getting freakin HOT?! I was rolling along thinking this heat is for the birds...and I ain't got no feathers!! I checked the mileage and saw 100 miles was about to roll by and as I rounded a turn into this little town there was a pop up oasis set up by the EF Drapac pro team which couldn't have come at a better time! They are now my new favorite pro team because of that! I stopped filled my empty bottle and hosed myself with cold water then rolled out on a long 4-5 mile section of pavement which was a nice break from the gravel.
It was 21 miles to the official neutral water stop in Alta Vista Kansas so on I rode feeling the heat and starting to wear down a little...as I rode along I saw a Road Bike Action dude bushwhacking up the bank from a wide, clear flowing creek. As I approached I asked him if it was worth it and he said YES IT WAS! We briefly discussed how he got down to the water and away I went..I found a spot in the shade where it was flowing that covered my legs and sat there for at least 5 minutes...it was great and totally worth the effort. As I sat there a guy rode across the bridge and saw m...he asked if I was okay to which I responded HELL YEAH THIS IS GREAT!!
Back on the bike feeling a little better I press on...a short while later I was headed into the gnarliest part of the course...a road called Little Egypt. It was rocky and straight up and more or less the same going down...people were walking but I managed to claw my way up it and every hill I encountered which made me happy...why walk when you can ride??? Shortly after that we were offered flat roads for a bit and it was time for a nature break. After the break I wanted to eat something but the majority was sweet stuff and it didn't sound good at all...I did however have 1 ham egg and cheese rice cake and it was by far the best tasting thing I had eaten in the last 7+ hours...the bad thing was I only grabbed one because at CP 1 they didn't sound good at that time...that was a mistake that will come back to haunt me...
Rolling along again I get on another train and the miles roll by...I had stopped eating because my stomach was a bit upset and I thought I was going to barf...I really wanted to just so I would feel better...at about 6 miles out from Alta Vista I can see the water tower which is where the neutral water was it gave me a slight lift and I pushed on..those miles took FOREVER!! At about 3 miles to go I was with a small group of guys and all of the sudden the energy was gone...I was like holy shit!! The guy behind me came up and I said to him I think the wheels just came off, he said oh man I just had 2 flats too...I said no...the wheels just came off of me! He responded with we'll get some water in a few minutes and all will be good...well...they rode away and I limped into town and I knew the score...I had bonked and I was done.
I got some water, poured it on my head and drank some while sitting in the shade...I took inventory of what I had and none it even remotely sounded good...and unfortunately there was no quicky mart of any kind...I did the recon and knew that even before I got there...had there been anything like that I would have gotten something and pushed on...as it was I made the call to my wife and pulled the plug...
As I write this I'm a little bummed about the outcome...I put forth the effort in training so I could check this off but in the end the hottest day of the year was that day...it was dry but the heat took its toll and it beat me...
On the drive home on Sunday I was good with not going back but now I want to do it and finish...I told a buddy of mine if I get in in 2020 I will either finish or die trying...it will be checked off.
There ya go now you know...the 2019 Dirty Kanza won...
E
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