Training Log Archive: OutdoorsMama

Event: Dirty Kanza 200
 

I have never been more ready for a race.
Exceptionally wonderful weather for the first leg.... essentially no wind and moderate temperatures. And no miles of mud to ride through in the first 10 miles, unlike last year. We did the first leg (48 ish miles) at just over 13 mph, which is fast for me. Amazing scenery through the Kansas rangeland.
The second leg (60 ish miles) was rougher topography. I made it up the Texaco hill but fell behind in eating and drinking in the next few miles as it was a 2 handed job to ride the bike. I walked up the Teterville hill, eating as I went, which fixed me up. The temperature was getting pretty warm (low 90's) and I slowed down for the last 10 miles or so (but we were still well ahead of our goal of 11 mph net time). A woman on the street in Eureka (the town with the second checkpoint) misted me with the watering wand on a garden hose as I went by and that revived me quite a bit. At the second checkpoint I got some ice down my back and dunked my head under the tap, which helped a lot. Some more pickles and chips from the good folks at Crew for Hire, hooked up the iPod and off we went, feeling good.
Then, "That looks like rain ahead". The temperature dropped into the high 60's, it hailed, it poured, the wind blew the rain sideways, and we kept going. Then the lightning started as we gained elevation. What do you do when out in open rangeland in a thunderstorm? Some people kept riding. Some retreated off the ridge to the low area we had just ridden through. Some didn't advance from the low area (including Paul and I). Six of us crouched down, away from each other and our bikes, on the balls of our feet, trying to not look like lightning rods. I don't know how long we stayed there, but it was hard on our average time. Paul and I set off first, and soon found that famous peanut butter mud. There is CX mud in MI, then there is Kansas mud. There is Paris to Ancaster mud, then there is Kansas mud. It truly is sticky (ever get cat poop stuck in your shoes?) And heavy. Within 3', tires were coated in the stuff and had to be scraped off with a blunt instrument. And then the carrying began. We were a group of 6 or so, trudging through the mud with our bikes on our backs. We'd think that maybe we could set the bikes down and push them now and then, but were soon scraping the mud off them and carrying them again. We finally got to some gravel and gingerly rode on. Somehow Paul and I got out of that mess before the others and rode alone for a while, passing riders who had called for a ride out. We had mounted our headlamps, but hadn't turned them on yet. We were waiting to see the Jeep club folks who were to redirect us around the water crossing that had been declared too dangerous in the morning. But they weren't there so we did the water crossing and the subsequent mud. Then the small group caught up with us and we rode together towards the third checkpoint. And then the dreaded mud ride thing happened: my rear derailleur broke off and one of the jockey wheels disassembled itself. I had been SO careful with shifting. I had a spare derailleur hanger and knew I could run without the WolfTooth (losing the bottom gear). But I didn't have spare parts for the jockey wheel. I started into the single speed conversion, all the while doing the distance/time to cut off in my head.

I know strong riders do this whole thing on SS but I use a lot of gears to maintain forward motion. But the math just wasn't cutting it. Sitting (crouching) out a thunderstorm and carrying bikes are real sucks on average speed. I felt fairly confident about making the next cut off on a fully functional bike. But the SS deal wasn't looking good.

Hindsight is 20/20 and I should've gone for it, even if I got pulled at the next checkpoint. I urged Paul to go on but maybe he didn't want to leave me out with the coyotes. I considered taking his bike (2 sizes too big for me) but riding in rough conditions in the dark like that was a bit of a stretch (plus you are supposed to finish on the same bike frame you started on).

Paul made the phone call to Crew for Hire to send a Jeep to pick us up.

And if I had had a bigger US data plan on my phone, I would've started Googling Rohloff hubs while in the back seat of the Jeep.
(The 14 hr 15 minutes time is when the call was made to pick us up).

Enormous kudos to JustMe and Middy on their 5th place finish in the tandem class.

C • sorry about the rear d 3

Guessing the time for now.
A group ride out of Emporia, sticking to pavement.

A nice afternoon ride on the last bit of the race route. Sunshine and shorts!
I rescued a turtle crossing the road. Hopefully I set it down in its intended destination.

Some heavy pedalling. Like going up a hill in Kansas. Or so I told myself.

C • I felt worked 1

80 percent of usual weights and 80 percent of usual reps ought not to wear me out.
Then 15 minutes on a stationary bike watching women's rugby 7's (call it cool down time....not on the clock).

Aid station bags are prepped....for now. The sniffer dogs will know that the white powders are Infinit products, right?
Clothes packed. Bike is ready.
Light systems are charged.
Hopefully tomorrow night I won't panic and rethink everything I have prepared so far.
The latest weather forecast is for headwinds in both directions. I am sure that will change again. I will take headwinds over mud any day.

C • Mud is just about 2