I'll be curious to see who signs up for the 200 tomorrow morning. I have a feeling it will sell out quickly this year. I've got a big ol' thing for this event and the people around it and I am especially in love with the town of Emporia.When it comes to riding gravel and the people who do it, the vibe is like no other that you are going to find in the bike world. It's a rural/punk type of thing... kind of like the mountain bike scene, but with mutton chops and more of a long-haul trucker flavor. I think that's the best way I can describe it. It's a place where the guys who look like rugby players from the turn of the last century can still rule the day. Some of the characters that you meet out on these epic trails and b roads are bigger than life and add to the fun and great sense of community that gravel grinding is becoming known for. Long story short... it's special. The Dirty Kanza is special. The people make it that way and I hope it never changes.
I showed up for the first time a couple of years ago to do the 100. This was after a car wreck ended my triathlon season. Fate is kind of funny like that. It will push you in directions you never thought about for yourself. This was the start of my cycling career... and what better for a big-ass crunchy case of whiplash than training and racing on every gravel road you can find? Just pop the ibuprofen and go! With less than two months to switch my legs and my brain over to 100 miles of gravel, I defected in a huge way and never looked back.
As a side note, I am known far and wide for my ability to get flat tires... anywhere, anytime, triple kevlar, tubeless - doesn't matter. Dirty Kanza photographer, Jason Eberts captures the DK100 version of this phenomena here: http://www.tblphotography.com/blog/2013/6/dirty-kanza-200-2013
The following year, I stepped up to the 200. I was out in the elements all of the winter of 2014 putting the miles in. Layer upon layer of base riding got stacked up like cord wood in preparation for this deal. A few early season gravel century races gave me confidence that I would be able to make my first DK200 a good one. As mid-spring hit, work had started to compete for my time - lots of it. So, in my typical fashion I gave both my job and training all that I had (afterburners on, aimed at wall, full speed ahead). I learned some things in 2014. I learned that sometimes, the best laid plans won't prevent things from falling apart. You give it your all and accept the outcome... whatever it is. More often than not, you aren't going to make it to the podium and the personal race inside of your heart and your mind has got to be good enough.
I made it to Emporia on fumes that weekend and toed the line on Saturday morning alongside everyone else knowing that I had a long day ahead of me. I was exhausted, mentally and physically, and I knew that I was not going to be able to race this thing the way I had planned. I had accepted all of this and put it to bed in the days before. The only thing I wanted from this experience was to finish it, ride within myself and simply make it to the end. That mental re-set was what I needed to get out there on one of the most glorious prairie spring mornings you could hope for and celebrate the simple act of being alive and turning the cranks.
At 6:00 AM, the gun went off and uncharacteristically for me, I went out at a cautious pace, careful to not burn any matches if I could help it, so early in the day. I knew I was going to need each and every one of them on the final quarter and I was rewarded with the finish 20 hours later.
I'll write about this experience, the training and I'll even throw my insane obsession with TIRES into the ring (yeah... it's a problem) in the weeks to come. Just in time for DK fever. Better late than never.
No comments:
Post a Comment