Cyclocross Season 2016: From Beginning to End

I've been a bit preoccupied with work and bike-related adventures since Gravel Worlds, so I'm writing a post that will summarize all of my 2016 cyclocross season. I'm writing on a rest day, and it came at a convenient time. I woke up this morning and the weather indicated it was 10 degrees with a wind chill of -12. The screenshot below indicates it has apparently gotten 2 degrees warmer, but apparently it still feels like -12. It's a great day to stay inside! Unfortunately, this type of weather is expected for the foreseeable future, so I suspect I'll get some quality time on my trainer. Having said that, I've done a pretty good job of riding in the cold, windy conditions that Iowa is known for. For example, yesterday I took the fat bike out for a gravel adventure. My Garmin indicated it ranged from 18 to 20 degrees, and winds were pretty steady at around 25mph. It was plenty cold, but I handled it pretty well. It is all about figuring out how to dress properly, and I've gotten so much better at that! For the record, it is all about keeping the core and neck warm for me, and then everything else follows. I suspect I'll be a pro at dressing for the cold by the end of this Iowa winter!

Let's get to some cyclocross info. In addition to some local events in the Iowa City and Des Moines areas, my eastern Iowa location made it pretty convenient to attend some notable events this year. The first of these was Trek CXC Cup at the Trek Headquarters in Waterloo, WI. This was a really cool event that I will definitely try to attend in future years. I'll admit that it was more technical than typically suits me, but still quite fun. I got there on Friday to preride the weekend's course, and what a great decision that was! There were some quite technical sections that I really appreciated seeing in advance of racing on them, with a notable one being a quite steep drop right next to the Trek building. I saw numerous people (including myself) approach the drop and then stop to watch others take it first. It didn't help that it was also very greasy from some rain in the days leading up to the event. After determining that my limited handling skills could overcome the terrain, I also finally rode the drop. I was very happy that I had replaced my mechanical disk brakes with a set of TRP Hylex hydros! All went well, and the weekend of races went well, too. I got some solid finishes in the SS races, including a 5th and a 7th. Lesson learned: always preride the course if at all possible! This was also fun since there were a lot of international pros racing since they were in the US for the World Cup races in Las Vegas and Iowa City.

The next big event I did was Jingle Cross, which was the second World Cup event the US hosted this year. This was extremely convenient for me since it was right in my back yard! The rainy conditions that made Trek CXC Cup pretty greasy in areas also graced this event with their presence. It was mostly dry, but some areas were complete mud bogs that required racers to run. I again prerode this course the day before my race, and I was again happy I did. This course had some technical features, mostly related to Mt. Krumpit, that made preriding a great idea. I again did SS since I love the huge SS fields at large events, and I had comparable results to the Trek CXC Cup weekend with 6th and 5th place finishes. Not ideal since I want to be fighting for the podium in these races, but also pretty respectable since we are talking about fields of 30-50 people. Day 1 was quite muddy in many areas and a bit less technical as a result. I'm pretty sure they cut some areas of the course off since they were probably nearly impassable. For example...

The course was significantly muddy on day 1.

In between amateur race days was the World Cup event that saw just about every active big name international cyclocross racer come to Iowa City (aside from Mathieu van der Poel, who got a relatively late start to his season due to injury). Michelle and I attended to watch the pros do their thing, and it was impressive to say the least! Their all-around cycling abilities are just unbelievable, and watching them do their thing sure made me feel slow! Wout van Aert crushed it and won quite comfortably on this day to make it 2 for 2 with World Cup wins in the US. Note: he also won the race he did on day 2 of Trek CXC Cup.

Day 2 of Jingle Cross was much more dry aside from a few areas - one of which required racers to dismount and run for about 50 yards through mud that went above the ankle. This day also incorporated the infamous Mt. Krumpit, which is entirely unridable on a SS. Frankly, it is nearly unridable on a geared bike since they added small barriers at the bottom of it. This day again tested my technical abilities a bit more than most courses, and my performance suffered a bit as a result. Nonetheless, I was content enough with again being near the top 5 in a big field. What really made me suffer on this day was the large amount of running. This was quite early in the season, and the minimal running I had done all year as I focused on endurance events really caught up with me!

Running up Mt. Krumpit.

Feeling like I was moving in slow motion!

The Mt. Krumpit descent.

I also attended a couple of Chicago Cross Cup events during the season. This is a huge series that is really well done, so I'm glad I made it. The first event was in suburb of Chicago called Carpentersville. Conditions were pretty muddy, and I pegged a 7th place finish in a field of 60 riders. I also did the open race as a training exercise, and I finished somewhere near the middle of the group. I went to another ChiCrossCup event in Mt. Pleasant, IL called Melas CX, and again finished 6th. This was actually quite the feat since my 11th place callup was lost due to clerical errors at registration. I tried to respectfully argue my case with the USAC officials, but they said I was out of luck and I had to start near 50th. I started this race about as aggressively as possible, and somehow made up a ton of positions quite quickly. Finally, I went back to the headquarters of Trek in Waterloo, WI to finish my season at the Wisconsin State CX Championships. I again finished 6th on a day when I just felt completely tapped out. The long year of a lot of time on the  bike had caught up to me, and this is where I decided to pull the plug on my season. 

Fighting for position early in the Carpentersville SS race.

This gives a sense of the large SS fields at ChiCrossCup races.

What's next? I'll wrap up the next few weeks of the year fighting the cold temperatures in Iowa with some endurance rides just to stay active until the new year. There is a chance I could surpass the 10,000 mile mark for the year, so we'll see how that goes. I would have to do a good bit of riding during that time to make it happen, so we'll see how that goes. I'll then take a break for a good week or so in order to let my body recover from a pretty big year of riding. Then my offseason training program will begin, and I'll be back teaching my spring classes at the U of Iowa.

This year was often a challenge as I was forced to try to plan my own workouts for a good part of the time. My coach had moved abroad and took a hiatus from coaching in order to deal with his move halfway around the globe. I know a lot of people deal with their own workouts, but I just don't know how good at it I am in order to maximize potential. The good news is that it appears I'll again be working with coach starting in 2017, so I have high hopes for the year. At this point it appears the winter/spring will be focused on building a solid base by focusing on endurance events. This will all culminate at the DK200 in early June. At that point, I'll likely take a new direction than I've done in recent years. I love racing cross, so I intend to start focusing on that in June rather than late August as I've done in years past. This will involve XC MTB events at the very least, which I need to improve my technical abilities. I don't know what it means for Gravel Worlds, but I suspect it means I might not be involved this year unless I do the shorter version just to get out there. I really want to improve my outcomes in cyclocross during 2017-2018, so all my eggs will be in that basket! Until next time - stay warm!

2016 Gravel Worlds Recap

So close, but so far! The short story... to avoid any drama, buildup, etc I'll start by noting that my run of SS wins at Gravel Worlds has come to an end. It was a great day when everything is put into consideration, and I'm not sure I could have done much more to make things different. But more on all that with the long story below.

I got to Lincoln on Friday afternoon to go to check-in, pick up the t-shirt and poster I always like to get, and just say hi to the Pirate Cycling League (PCL) folks. These are some of the coolest, most laid back people I have ever encountered and I am more than ecstatic that I'll live less than an hour away from future events they put on after we move to Omaha. Those will be hard to miss! The posters deserve a bit more detailing since I find them to be so cool. Each year, someone at the PCL (Craig Schmidt, maybe?) designs a poster for that year's Gravel Worlds. They are printed in very limited quantities, and they run out quickly since they are so awesome looking. I've got one from all three years I've been in the event, and below is a photo of two of them hanging in my office. The third is in a different area, but it is equally as cool.

This year's poster took on a bit of a different look as they included a map of the course, which again I think is pretty smart looking! I don't yet have a frame for it, but thanks to Amazon Prime it is on order and should be here tomorrow.

After getting checked in I went and found a Qdoba so I could get a big burrito to provide some nourishment for the huge effort I knew the race was going to take. I don't want to trash on a town that I don't truly know that much about, but I didn't enjoy driving around Lincoln, NE very much. It was quite congested and hard to get around. I suspect it has something to do with students being back in town for the fall semester at the University of Nebraska, but it was less than convenient to put it nicely. I'll add that I don't tolerate traffic well, so it probably wouldn't have seemed as bad to a normal person. Nonetheless, I got my food and went to my hotel for a night of relaxing while watching the Olympics. Unfortunately, I was flying solo on this trip since Michelle had to stay back in Iowa City for work. Something about how it is super important to be available when you are on call for potential eye emergencies. I suppose that is a legit reason!

I was in bed a bit before 9:00PM, and the 4:00AM alarm seemed to go off about 5 minutes later. I probably could have slept a little bit more, but I like to get up and eat with plenty of time before the start. It also allows me to be lazy and slow rather than having to rush out the door. I proceeded to get everything ready and drove to the start/finish area. It was a cool, dark morning, and lights were absolutely required since not having them would have been pretty risky. There was a parking area right by the start/finish area, and I was the second car they had to turn around to go park in a lot about half a mile away since the other lot had just filled up. Not ideal, but no big deal since riding to the start would give me a warm up. I got to the start line relatively early to try to be near the front, and my punctuality meant I was waiting for what seemed like forever until 6:00AM arrived. It was pretty chilly, so that probably made it worse. About 10 minutes before the start I hear an announcement that whoever had the number 37 should go to the announcers area. I honestly didn't know what number I had, but I looked and sure enough it was 37. So I snake out of the starting area at the risk of losing my spot and go to see what was up. Evidently, I was actually supposed to be number 40, and they gave me the number of someone with the last name of Boyd. I assume we were right next to each other in the files at check in and the wrong one was grabbed. But I took my old number off, affixed the number 40 to my bike, and was able to get back to my starting spot. Crisis averted!

The start finally came at 6:00AM, and it was planned to be a neutral rollout for the first few miles. Technically speaking, I guess it was a neutral rollout, but it was a fast one! I hit the lap function when the rollout ended and we hit gravel, and it turned out to be a bit over 10 minutes at an average of 21.7 mph and a max speed of 33.3. I wasn't with the front group since that 3.5 miles of fast pavement meant I was spinning out on my SS while those people slowly pulled away, so I'm sure their average was a decent bit higher. It was near the end of this rollout that I encountered a SS dude that I knew I wanted to keep an eye on. So I jumped in with his group and the race was on! Rumor had it he was going to have teammates with him to try to help him win, and sure enough that was true. Two guys were there with what seemed like the sole purpose of working for him. I've only seen this with one other person/team in gravel racing thus far, and I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it certainly isn't against the rules, so I should get that out of the way. On the other hand, I think it goes a bit against the spirit of gravel racing from my perspective. I love how these are grueling, ultra-endurance events that require one to really push themselves and find boundaries, and the whole team thing takes away from that. I think maybe that should be reserved for road racing, but perhaps I'm too much of a gravel purist. But when I think about a race like Dirty Kanza, the front group typically consists of a bunch of dudes (without teammates) that just want to go out there and see what they can do. I'll just leave it with the thought that despite the clear benefits of bring a team to a gravel race, I don't plan on doing it anytime soon.

One instance where I was caught in front of the team directly behind me.

The first 30 miles or so were quite fast, and the group I had joined actually caught up to the lead group at one point. I did my best to stay fast, yet contained, and I also did what I could to use the aforementioned team to my advantage. There were a few instances where I ended up in front of them as I followed other people just to see if they would stick, but my goal was to treat them as my own team to try to negate the benefit. We hit the first checkpoint, refueled, and continued on in that group. At that point it was myself, the team, the lead female, the lead fat bike guy, and a couple other guys on geared bikes. I should mention that the checkpoint crews at all checkpoints throughout the day were immensely helpful! They insisted on physically taking my bottles to fill them up and doing anything else to make my stops more convenient. In the heat of the moment I suspect people don't give them enough thanks or credit, but they sure deserve it. They spend their day volunteering to support a bunch of people they don't know, so hopefully they know how much they are appreciated!

We stuck together until around mile 50 I would guess, and then the team started toying with someone with little attacks. I was told they were toying with the female since one of the team member's wife was in the back and they didn't want to pull the female around, but I suspected they were seeing if I would stick. I did stick, and we actually dropped the female briefly. But then we got stuck at a road crossing, and waiting for the traffic to pass allowed her to bridge back on. We stayed together until the second checkpoint at around mile 75. I don't like to waste time at checkpoints, so I quickly refilled my bottles, chugged part of a soda they had available, and decided to press on. The rest of the group was taking a bit longer, but we had been going at what seemed like a slow pace for a while and I wanted to move! I also knew the team could bridge back up to me, and I suspected that would result in the lead female dropping off. I welcomed this since I wasn't exactly confident in her handling skills based on some of her maneuvers throughout the first half of the race.

The next 25 miles or so were into a pretty stiff NW headwind of about 20-30 mph. Normally I would think this would be terrible, but with the cool temperatures it was surprisingly tolerable. I was looking forward to turning back to the east and getting out of it, but I've experienced much worse. To my surprise the team wasn't bridging back on. I was trying to keep it steady, but I was definitely riding smart and trying to use my energy wisely. So they must have been doing the same. The end of the headwind was finally in sight as I rolled down a hill, so I took the opportunity to take a rolling "natural break". I hadn't been looking behind me for a while, and it was during this break that I encounter the SS guy from the team riding solo and going by me. I was happy to finally see him isolated after 100 miles, but he was clearly pretty fresh and ready to attack. As we turned east he dropped the hammer, and I made a tactical decision to try to go fast, but not burn too many matches to stick with him since we still had about 50 miles to go. I kept him in sight, but I wasn't willing to risk all my energy stores to keep it as close as maybe I should have, so he slowly built up a lead of what I would guess was 3-5 minutes. This persisted as we hit checkpoint 3 at about mile 123. At that point I wasn't too confident that I would bridge the gap, but I stuffed my face with some food and a Coke and pressed on.

There was a very muddy section at mile 125 for about a mile or so that I decided to ride since I was on a SS and trying to make up time. My bike got pretty dirty, but I made it through with only having to walk about 10 yards of it and I saw two riders just a few minutes ahead as I got out of it. I was quite confident one of them was the guy I was chasing, so I was happy to know I was pulling him in. This continued for the next 10-15 miles, and I slowly crept up on them to where I was just under a minute behind based on me counting how long it took me to get to certain checkpoints I saw them at. It was going to be a grueling finish to try to catch them, but I kept pushing it. I got to a point where I thought I might actually catch them at about mile 145, and then my left hamstring decided to lock up. I had been experiencing hints of cramps prior to that, but nothing bad. But the hamstring that felt like someone was jabbing a rock into it required me to stop and bend over to literally release it. I had to do this a couple of times before I was up and riding again. I'm torn on whether or not I would have caught the guys and raced for the win if the hamstring hadn't happened, and I honestly think I probably would have run out of time. I also think the lead SS guy put in a brief attack around the time my hamstring told me to stop, so that alone would have probably bought him enough time.

I rolled in exactly 4 minutes behind the SS winner at a little bit over 8 hours, 53 minutes. As far as I'm concerned, this is a really good time on a SS and it crushed the times I accomplished at any previous version of the race. So that was one area that made me quite happy. But, of course, losing the jersey after 3 years was disappointing. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. But all credit goes to the winner. He put in a monster last 50 miles and made it happen. I do wonder how things would have panned out if the whole team aspect wasn't in play, but it was won fair and square and I don't want to take away from that. It's probably just something I'm going to have to accept as part of the game in the future whether I like it or not.

I chatted with some folks at the finish line, congratulated the winner on a well-executed ride, and then got the heck out of there. I would have loved to stay for the party,  podium celebration, etc, but it was my birthday and I wanted to get home to hang out with Michelle. It was a long 4.5 hour drive, but I was home a little after 8:00 and ready to chill. A day of waking up at 4:00AM, riding a bike for 9 hours (including warmup) with over 7,000 feet of climbing, and then driving for 4.5 hours is a long one! But I would say it was worth it and I'm glad I got involved. I should take this chance to mention that the PCL guys who put on Gravel Worlds (and other events throughout the year) are top notch! This event has transitioned from a very grassroots feel 4 years ago (which I must say was still totally awesome) to a very well-organized and professionally executed event. The fact that I will live less than an hour away starting next year is quite exciting. I made sure to attend this race when I lived 3-5 hours away, so it will be hard to miss from now on!

In summary, at the very least my lack of wins this year takes off the pressure next year of making the right decision on which category to race. I didn't race SS and defend my win at Dirty Kanza this year, and I have kicked myself a few times as a result. I raced SS at Gravel Worlds partially because I didn't want to regret just giving up the jersey without a fight. I did lose the jersey, but I feel confident there was a fight and the winner was never able to get comfortable when we were both isolated in the last 50 miles. So next year I can race Dirty Kanza, Gravel Worlds, or whatever and choose gears or SS simply based on what I want to do. It's actually a pretty good feeling. Also, rereading what I have written in this post makes me put things in perspective. I may be disappointed about my result just because I am uber competitive, but other people have a totally different perspective that I think is awesome. The person that finishes in 16 hours with a smile who is just happy to participate puts things into a unique perspective, so it is important to remember that we are just riding bikes and having fun. But before I get too far ahead of myself, it is now time to recover and dive into cyclocross!

Does this mean I'm famous?

Yes - I am bored. The taper to Gravel Worlds this weekend means I'm not riding much this week. It is for the best so I can ideally be at my best during the race, but it sure does lead to me being stir crazy! Of course, I can get work done for my actual job (which I have done a lot of), work on research (which I have also done), etc, but my restless legs can only take so much of that. I got an e-mail yesterday that my subscription to Road Bike Action Magazine (which for convenience I'll call RBAM) is available, which came as a surprise to me since I don't recall actually subscribing to RBAM. I suspect it is the result of my involvement with Dirty Kanza, Gravel Worlds, etc since the folks at RBAM are also involved with those events and may even sponsor one or both. Needless to say, I have spent some time today reading the most recent edition of the magazine. It involves recaps of Dirty Kanza from the people at the magazine, and several photos from the event.

First of all, my apologies to the folks at RBAM if this practice is not allowed, but I had to share. Please feel free to ask me to cease and desist and I'll be happy to oblige! The photo above is a screen shot of the contents page. It contains a really awesome picture of the lead group from DK. Your first thought, as it should be, is likely "wow!" It is a great depiction of some of the beautiful views one gets to see when riding DK. Frankly, it is difficult to soak it all in during the race itself since there is so much going on, but every once in a while you catch some truly spectacular views. Your second thought might be something like this. "That dude near the back of the group on the right looks awfully familiar!" Well, that would be because it is yours truly in the blue helmet. I'm pretty sure this makes me famous since I made an appearance in what I believe is a well-circulated cycling magazine! Or maybe it doesn't make me famous at all. Better yet, definitely not. But it is fun to see myself hiding in that group.

Forgive the lack of quality in the second picture, but I wanted it to be explicitly clear who I am in this photo. It's kind of a big deal! It didn't always work out this way, but that was my favored area to be in the group. Some might say "you should have been doing work", to which I would reply that I assure you I did my fair share. But when there are about a dozen crazy fast former pros in the group you aren't going to see my doing them any favors!

Gravel Worlds is t-minus 2 days away, and the weather is forecasted to be insanely amazing for an August day in Nebraska. The current high/low is a mind-blowing 74/51. I never would have guessed that cool weather clothing might be useful for my Gravel Worlds warm-up that morning, but I will have a vest and some knee warmers just in case! There is a good chance of storms on Friday night, which could soften the gravel up a bit and make for a muddy section at about mile 125, but I think it all sounds pretty manageable at this point. I suspect I'll be a bit chilly at the start since I won't want to take those cool weather clothes along all day, but I'll survive. Hopefully I'll post a recap in the very near future - ideally with a new jersey!

Corn Sweats?!

I have now been in Iowa for over 7 weeks. That is pretty hard to fathom since those weeks have gone by really quickly, but it is a fact. Having lived hundreds of miles to the south for my entire life, I expected to have notably cooler temperatures in Iowa City. It is true for the most part that it has been 5-10 degrees cooler than my former towns of residence, but what has really perplexed me has been the humidity. It is pretty humid in Missouri, and I expected it to be better up here. However, I dare say it has actually been worse. For example, I certainly had bike rides where I sweat a good amount back in MO and KS, but there are rides here where I will get done and literally have soaked, pruned feet and liquid dripping out of my shoes. I have asked several people about this, and the response is usually one of surprise. But I finally got an answer that makes sense (though it sounds quite odd). My brother told me he has heard of "corn sweats", which occurs when the humidity is higher in areas where there is a lot of corn. My area has what appears to be an unlimited supply of corn, so this made sense to me. The photo I shot out of my front window below is good evidence. These corn fields are everywhere! I did some investigating with the magical tools referred to as Google and Bing, and sure enough there are multiple sources that talk about how this can be true. In a nutshell, it sounds like the corn can let off moisture that contributes to humidity levels. So I think I have my answer! Here is to hoping this gets better whenever they start cutting all of this corn down!

In other news, Gravel Worlds is this weekend where I'll be seeking my 4th straight singlespeed title. I'm feeling strong and prepared since I have worked my tail off this year, but as always there are some people I will have to pay attention to. My goal is, of course, to win again. But a way I think I can improve the odds of that will be to just race my own event. In other words, if I can set myself up to have a strong ride and finish strong I think I will be in with a good shot at it. I'll follow up in the relatively near future with some sort of update on what happens.

Welcome to Iowa!

We are finally pretty much settled in Iowa. There is corn everywhere! We moved to Tiffin, which is on the outskirts of Iowa City, about 4 weeks ago. I'll be honest and say I wasn't too excited about the move, but it has been good. I wasn't dreading it, but I hated to leave Kansas City since we liked it so much there. I've also gotten used to being able to just go visit my family or friends at Cycle City on a whim, and that is no longer realistic. So I'll have to make my visits to KC strategic from now on to make sure I can stop and see people! The move itself was about as bad as one might expect, but it could have been worse. We hired help to load and unload the truck since I swore I would never do that again after moving in 2012, and that was a massive help. Not having to do all that lifting and puzzling all our stuff together in a truck was very nice! I did drive the 26' truck while also towing my Honda Pilot and bikes, but it also could have been much worse. It was a bit of a nervous experience to start as I drove out of KC in Monday morning rush hour traffic, but I handled it OK.

In the meantime since the move, Michelle has been crazy busy at work and I've been busy enough riding and teaching at the University of Iowa. We also figured out our next move since we've been here, and early next July we will be moving to Omaha. Michelle had pretty solid job offers from several towns, but the combination of the job offer in Omaha and the town itself sold us. The practice she will be joining seems fantastic, and we have really enjoyed Omaha every time we have been there. We also hear nothing but good things when we ask people about it, so we decided to go for it! That will be extremely convenient if and when I want to do Gravel Worlds in the future since it is just a short drive to Lincoln! It isn't the closest to our families, but it is no more than 4-5 hours from most of our family so we will make it work.

Speaking of Gravel Worlds, I have signed up to defend my 3x SS crown. I've been on the fence all year, but the situation in Iowa really pushed me over the edge. Iowa City is a small town, so our decision to live on the outskirts in Tiffin still has us very close. However, the riding in my area is pretty much incredible. I literally have a tough time finding routes that are entirely road with no gravel, and it is easy to find routes that are primarily gravel. Needless to say I'm getting a lot of gravel riding in. That forced specificity of riding on gravel is what made me think doing Gravel Worlds would be the right thing. I'll be training on gravel a lot, so I might as well take advantage of it! I also couldn't bear to just sit idly by and let someone take my crown (as I did this year at the Dirty Kanza by not racing SS), so even if I'm not lucky enough to win again I'll at least feel better that I tried.

2016 Dirty Kanza - Unrealized Potential!

This year's version of the Dirty Kanza was a bear! Conditions were shaping up to be primo, but a heavy thunderstorm at around 3AM the morning of the race changed things a bit. It also woke me up and stole an hour worth of sleep! The torrential rain lasted for 30-60 minutes I would guess, but luckily it missed most of the course. However, it did drench a good part of the first several miles. It also made the morning extremely humid! The start was hectic, as usual, but a bit slower this year. The pace vehicles that guided us down the main stretch out of town really kept their pace consistent this year. They have gone pretty fast in other years, which made a neutral start much faster and competitive than normal. After a couple of paved miles to get out of town, we made the traditional right turn right after we crossed the Cottonwood River. Things immediately got interesting! There was about 10 yards of packed gravel, followed by a good 20 yards of standing water that we got to plow through. Wet gravel, mud, and more water made up the bulk of the first 5 miles or so, and some people even had mechanicals right from the start. I heard of numerous snapped derailleurs and other issues, but luckily I got through unscathed for the most part aside from being covered in mud. This was the first case of unrealized potential for the day since it had seemed like the conditions would be perfect during the previous two days.

The remainder of the first 48 miles of the race prior to checkpoint 1 went really well. I was able to stick with the lead group, and I felt quite great doing it. I was being really diligent about my nutrition, and trying to avoid doing as much work as possible. This wasn't hard since there were a few guys who had the urge to stay on the front and even pull away from time to time. Nobody in the group seemed to mind since we knew a 150+ mile time trial wasn't going to be realistic. I pulled when I needed to to avoid being a total bum, and things were going smoothly in general. It was also really cool to be riding in a group with pros like Ted King and Tim Johnson. It turns out they are just normal  dudes who are just as easy to talk to as anyone else.

I pulled into checkpoint 1 in second place overall since I was one of the first in the group to not blow by the turn heading into the checkpoint. Everyone else lined up behind me, so I pulled into the stop in second place (the aforementioned TT guy had pulled in a few seconds earlier after putting in a big effort to get there first for some reason). I essentially hosed my chain down with spray lube just to make sure I had enough, swapped out my bottles and food, ate a banana and an 8oz Coke as quickly as possible, and off I went. The group had spread out a little bit from people taking differing amounts of time with the stop, but we were together for the most part quite quickly.

Not long into the second leg of the race we encountered some pretty sticky mud. This was odd since my weather stalking during the previous week told me this part of the course didn't get much, if any, rain for several days. I did my best to avoid the thick stuff, but my bike got bogged down quite badly! I was forced to stop multiple times just to clear mud and allow my tires to keep turning, and I dropped my chain between my spokes and largest sprocket multiple times, as well. Somehow other riders in the group managed to get through it quickly and disappeared. I finally got through it and was able to ride without repeated stops, and my drivetrain was making some pretty awful sounds. I assumed it was just my chain needing lube, so I hit every puddle I could find in order to give it temporary respite. I slowly picked off some guys while cringing at the sound of my drivetrain. It seemed to get worse when I would put the chain into larger cogs. I pressed on, and things were going OK for the most part aside from me worrying. I also wasted some precious water periodically when the sound got really bad since getting it wet was seemingly helping. On the infamous Texaco Hill, my chain again fell off between the largest cog and my spokes. Texaco Hill isn't a massive climb, but it also is nothing to write off as easy. Restarting in the middle of it was less than ideal, but I managed.

Soon after I caught up with last year's champion, Yuri Hauswald, and another guy that I'm not familiar with. Yuri had flatted at some point after checkpoint 1, so he was also dropped from the lead group. While just riding my pace I pulled away from them, but not long after that Yuri came back alone while I was catching another rider. The three of us rode together briefly before catching up to Tim Johnson. Our party stuck together for a while before it was just Tim, Yuri, and myself. We rode together for a while until Yuri once again flatted (he would later DNF at mile 115 due to additional mechanical issues), which left me riding alone with Tim Johnson. I've always thought he was pretty cool simply for the reason that he is a Cannondale sponsored rider, so this was a fun time for me. We chatted about random different stuff about our lives and stuck together for a good hour or more. He was having some serious cramping issues and his Garmin had died, so I stayed with him since I was having fun with it and frankly to help him avoid getting lost. I'm not trying to say I'm awesome and faster than he is because that is not at all true. Cramps can really crush your ability to pedal, so he was dealing with that. We pulled into checkpoint 2 together still talking, and someone yelled "this isn't a fun ride - it's a race!" at us. Once again, I was less than concerned since I was having a good time talking with him. Tim eventually pulled out at roughly mile 143 due to his severe cramps. Note him barely in the photo on the far right side of the photo below.

It was at checkpoint 2 that I realized I wasn't feeling the best. I wasn't carrying an excess of water beyond what I knew what I would need, and I suspect spraying my chain with at least 12oz was not the best choice from a hydration standpoint during the second leg. Joe Fox was there (he had snapped his derailleur and bent his chainrings at mile 4 in the mud, so he took on a support role) and he grabbed my bike to whip it back into shape after a rough 50+ miles. He told me my derailleur wasn't looking pretty, and I should probably avoid the large rings as much as possible to avoid stressing my bent cage. It had somehow gotten bent up quite badly while clogged with mud. In all honesty it looked as if I had crashed, but that never happened. So I'm guessing a rock within the mud may have gotten lodged between the jockey wheel and the cage and wreaked havoc since the lower jockey wheel was also pretty wobbly. I repeated my checkpoint activities from above, and off I went again. It didn't take long for me to start feeling worse and worse. This isn't abnormal for an ultra endurance event in my experience, but it was getting bad quickly. That coupled with the fact that my bike was starting to make worse and worse noises really started to take my head out of the game.

My confidence that my bike was even going to make it to the end was quickly eroding, and so was my ability to produce power. I stopped and texted my wife that she might have to come get me in the very near future. She did the right thing and tried to talk me into pressing on, so I did for another hour or so while not exactly crushing it. The creaking/grinding sounds finally got bad enough from my chain/rear derailleur that I decided to pull the plug. Mind you this is a really difficult decision to make. Months of focus and preparation and hundreds of hours on the bike to prepare for this day were going to be wasted to some extent. However, my jockey wheel was getting really wobbly, and I was quite confident it wasn't going to go another 80+ miles. I hated to pull out, and converting it to a SS wasn't something I was ready to mess with. Thus, I pulled out at mile 124 with much disappointment. Once again, I feel like there was some unrealized potential here since I think I could have done quite well overall. This could serve as good fuel for next year's event!

After my wife picked me up we had to drive the course for a few miles to get back to the main road, and we encountered several suffering riders. Most were actually on their bikes, but one was sitting in the shade of a tree on the side of the road and looking pretty poor. We stopped and asked how he was doing. He asked if we had water, and I told him all we had was Gatorade since I had consumed all my water (or sprayed it on my chain). He said he already had that, but just couldn't stomach drinking more of it or eating food. These are classic signs that you are at or approaching the point of no return in this type of event. He also looked really terrible, so we asked if he needed a ride since we were driving to the next checkpoint. It didn't take him long to decide that would be a good idea! In the car he was clearly still feeling very bad, and he commented that his hearing wasn't so good at the moment. Michelle quipped that loss of hearing is a sign of heat stroke, so I kept an eye on him! We got to the checkpoint, he thanked us for the ride, and then went to find his people. I saw him later looking much better, so we were happy to see that.

The rest of the day was a glimpse into the life of a support crew, which actually makes me appreciate what they do even more than I already did. There isn't always much going on aside from the few minutes that their rider rolls through, so it can be a mundane time. We all talked and had a nice time, though, and now I know what they go through while people like me are out on our bikes. There were also other riders from my team there in the same position I was in after their bikes had failed them for various reasons (another broken derailleur, snapped carbon handlebars, etc). All in all it was a rough day, and less than half the field even finished. Ted King pulled away from the front and won the overall race in 11:50, which surprised me. I thought the winner would be under 11 hours for sure, and my goal was to be under 12. But the stiff headwind that comprised most of the last 100 miles badly hampered progress, so times were longer than I had imagined.

It was once again a great event that I'll almost certainly do again. I was asked multiple times if I had wished I did SS again, and the answer is mixed. Of course I would have liked the chance to defend my title and avoid any potential derailleur issues, but I really wanted to push myself and see what I could do in the main field. I think a top 10 wouldn't have been out of the question, and it gives me some good food for thought for future renditions. I'm not sure what the rest of the year has in the cards for me, but I'll do some thinking on that soon. Gravel Worlds is lurking in August (on my birthday this year), so I'll be strongly considering that before cross starts. In the meantime, we will be moving to Iowa at the end of the month for Michelle's 1 year fellowship, and beyond that we don't yet know. More to come in the future, and I'll wrap up with my DK trading card pictured below.

Dirty Kanza 2016 Is Nearly Upon Us!

As the title indicates, this year's Dirty Kanza is nearly here! As I have mentioned before, I'm not riding SS again this year to defend my title. Probably not a great decision, but I wanted to take the opportunity to really push myself (as if 200 miles of gravel on a SS isn't pushing myself...) to see how fast I can go when I can actually shift and pedal harder on descents! My expectations for the event have varied drastically throughout recent months. At one point I thought an overall podium might be possible, but that's probably a VERY long shot considering the heavy hitters that will be there. People like Ted King, Tim Johnson, Brian Jensen, Jonathan Schottler, etc are inhumanly fast, so if they attack I doubt I even react. I think a still challenging yet more realistic goal will be to podium in my age group. There are certainly no guarantees since my age group alone contains some pretty fast dudes (including 2 of the pros mentioned above), but I think a good day on my part would give me a decent enough shot. A non-placement goal I have is to finish in 12 hours, but I guess that would have a direct impact on my placement. Thus, I suppose all goals relate to where I finish! The course conditions will have a big say in the time goal (i.e. walking in mud really kills your pace!), but so will my focus on being smart and fueling. Eating and drinking, or a lack thereof, has really hurt me at times in the past, so that is an area I'm going to have to really focus on.

Speaking of course conditions, there was a lot of worry and speculation last week at Cycle City about muddy conditions. Basically the entire eastern half of Kansas was in the midst of some serious rain. It was crazy how line after line of heavy thunderstorms just kept hitting us! Some were already assuming that last year's muddy race was going to happen again, but I did my best to stay positive and remind people that it might actually dry out. Rain over the past few days has been minimal down there based upon my radar stalking, and the coming days are forecasted to be dry and sunny. Reports from the area indicate the course is in prime condition, so other than water crossings I am expecting dry conditions. This gives me a good amount of confidence that it will be a very fast day, and I wonder if the DK200 record might be broken this year.

Since I won SS last year I've been told that I'll be on one of the DK trading cards this year. I haven't heard anything about it since I sent in the requested information a few months ago, but I'm excited to see it if it exists. Of course, I'll post photos of the card, the race, etc in the very near future, and a race recap will also get posted in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here is a shot of my race day setup just waiting to be loaded onto the rack for the trip to Emporia!

Gravelleurs Raid 2016

Last Saturday I participated in the second annual Gravelleurs Raid, which is a gravel race in Lawrence, KS. I had initially planned on going to the Tour of Hermann Gravel Challenge as I did last year, but schedules did not allow for that this year. My wife had an event we had to attend on Friday night, so getting to Hermann in time for a Saturday morning start was not realistic. I preferred the Hermann event since it was a two-day event totaling 200 miles, so I just had to do a solo 100 on Sunday to mimic that setup. That is not to say Gravelleurs Raid was a bad event. It was well-organized and seemed like a big success.

The race itself was quite interesting. The start was blistering fast. I have enough of these events under my belt now to know this is going to happen, but somehow it still took me by surprise. I stuck with the front group for the first few miles in the flat river bottoms, and soon after we started climbing hills a group of three took off the front. This included Steve Tilford and Brian Jensen - two former pros who are still crazy fast. The second group I was in stayed pretty close to them until about mile 15, which is when they pretty much disappeared ahead of us. Part of me wanted to try to stick with them, but I thought better of it. That may have been a wise choice considering I heard Tilford averaged 290 watts for the entire event. No wonder he used to be a pro and holds several national and world championships!

The second group consisted of 7 or so guys who weren’t going the pro pace set by the leading group, but also weren’t slacking off. We sort of worked together for a good while, and we were keeping a pretty good pace that I was comfortable enough with. At about mile 35, a guy near the front of the group said something to some of the other group members, and they said something back and sat up. The guy who first talked then stopped and took a “natural break”. I needed one myself, so I also pulled off and did the same. My assumption (which was confirmed later by one of the riders in the group) was that we were taking a brief neutral period for this break. However, someone who I will not name apparently said “let’s keep pushing the pace” to the rest of the group, and off they went. When I got back on my bike I noticed that they were lined back up and not taking it easy, and it didn’t take long to realize they had changed their minds about the neutral period. Thus, what I interpret as a less than gentlemanly or outright unsportsmanlike act meant I was solo after that. I considered hammering to try to catch back on, but my frustration with the group really zapped my motivation. So I just tried to keep it steady on my own. The other guy who took a break eventually caught up, and I probably should have tried working with him to catch back up. I didn’t since I thought keeping a steady pace would eventually do me favors, but I underestimated the power of having a group to ride with and conserve energy and ended up riding solo the remaining 65 miles.

I want to revisit what I called an unsportsmanlike act above. I must admit that in no way did anyone break any rules or do anything that should get them in trouble. They didn’t have to wait, and they didn’t. Perhaps I should have confirmed there was going to be a neutral period before I pulled over. Either way, the group knew what was going on and decided to drop two people who were briefly off their bikes. This is a pretty classless act in my opinion, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore. On the bright side, this is just bike racing and I still got to enjoy the day while pedaling over some gravel, so all in all a good day. The result wasn’t what I was hoping for, but I learned a lesson or two. First, confirm other people are willing to relax before taking a natural break. Second, maybe fight to catch the group in situations where I'm off the back, but that is certainly a case by case issue. Lastly, being high up in the overall results at an event like Dirty Kanza may be much more difficult than originally thought. Those pros and former pros can really crush it!