You Can Do It…Dirty Kanza 2009
The Pursuit of the SMILE
by Keith Clark
It was the evening of Jan 11th when my cell phone rang. It was my friend Kevin. He’d been out on the internet and realized it was opening day to sign up for the Dirty Kanza and he was worried that it would fill up. I reminded him that this was crazy. 205 miles! We’d never done that many miles on paved roads. And this would be on dirt/gravel roads in the Flint Hills. What was he thinking? There was a long pause and then he made this bold statement. Four simple words: "We Can Do It". I shook my head and said, "OK. Sign me up. Why not! I don't have anything else to do on May 30th."
So that is how this adventure got started. We trained a lot during the winter and spring. We worked on our endurance; spent most of our time on our cross bikes out riding gravel roads. I also spent a lot of time thinking about how we were going to finish this ride that Kevin had signed us up for. In March, Kevin decided that I’d had a good point in my statement that we had never done 205 miles on a bike. So he decided that we should ride to Lawrence, KS and do that 200 mile ride that we had talked about for years. We did it. Back in March, six of us completed our first 200 plus mile road ride. It was on pavement, one way, and we did have a tailwind to help us for a good part of it.
After this ride, Kevin became more confident. I kept telling him there were a few things we should think about:
1 - Paved roads aren't the same as gravel/dirt roads.
2 - One way trips with the wind aren't the same as big circles through the Flint Hills of Kansas.
3 - Road bikes are a lot lighter than a cross bike equipped with over six pounds of water, three spare tubes, five CO2 inflation cylinders, a spare tire, and a rear rack to hold everything we would need.
4 - Road tires (23 series) with 100 psi have a lot less rolling resistances than a cross tires (32 series) with 70 psi.
5 - And one last small detail…the temperature is usually cooler in March than on May 30th (and it was).
I know what you are saying..."That’s just five little things. You Can Do It" Side note: so do you know where that line came from “You Can Do It”? I will refresh your memory. Do you remember the movie "Water Boy"? It was a funny movie. But do you remember the goofy guys (Yes, the ones from the swamp lands)…that is where that line came from. They were talking to the Water Boy. It was a movie. It was not real. In real life he could not do it. But it was a good line. Smile!
So before we knew it, we were heading up to the Dirty Kanza. It was Friday, May 29th and we arrived around 4:00 pm in Emporia, Kansas. Our buddy, Steve, went up with us to be our support driver. I forgot to mention one small detail about this ride. There were no supported rest stops and only four towns on the whole route that would have supplies. There was also a statement on the registration form that I will always remember. It went something like this: “If you sign up for this ride and can not finish - don't call us. We will not come and get you. If you can not complete this ride - do everyone a favor and do not sign up.” So Steve was our point person and with that I want to say "Thank You. You were part of the team and you had a role in helping us finish!” On Friday night - We ate Pizza with our friends and then headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. The bikes were ready and the alarm clock went off at 4:45 am. We headed over to McDonalds: “The Breakfast of Champions.” We got back to the hotel and made our final preparations. Then we headed to the start.
At the starting line it was different for me. Usually I can look around and see riders that I think I can match up with and some that I ask the question “Can they really do this?” This day was different. I looked around and everyone seemed like they were younger and stronger. I was worried. I asked myself, “What am I doing here?” That day, the other riders were measuring me up and saying, “Does he really think he can finish this ride?”
Soon the race director signaled that it was time to go. We all rolled out of the parking lot and onto the city streets of Emporia. There was a lot of talking at first and everyone stayed in the main pack. Soon we were turning right and heading toward downtown at a pretty good speed. As we left town we made a hard right turn onto a gravel road and the front runners took off. I settled in behind a few guys and soon we had a pace line riding down the gravel road. I never new how big it was; too scared to take a look behind me. I was just focusing on the road ahead of me and the back wheel of the rider in front of me. But reports later said it may have had up to 30 riders in it.
Things were going good until we hit the first big challenge; the first big hill. As we climbed, it took its toll on the riders and the pace line fell apart. When we reached the top of the hill, only six riders were still together. Kevin and I settled into our new group and continued on toward our first check point in Cottonwood Falls. We were headed south and the wind was in our face. We knew we had 40 miles of this wind, but we also knew that later in the day we would be heading north toward Council Grove and that wind would really be nice to have at our backs. That kept our spirits high. What we did not know was the wind would shift later and would be in our face most of day!
We rolled into Cottonwood Falls ahead of schedule and my second meal of the day was waiting for me at the local cafe. You have to love small towns and Blackberrys. I had Googled the restaurants in Cottonwood Falls the night before and got the telephone number for the only Cafe. So when I was about 8 miles from town, I made the call, yes “the call”, to my new favorite Cafe in Cottonwood Falls, Emma Chase Cafe, and ordered some grilled chicken and mashed potatoes and gave her the time I would be rolling into town. She asked me what I was doing and I told her I was on my bicycle and in a race against time. I would be in a hurry! I also asked her where the cafe was. She said it was located on Main Street. I did not have a map of the town, but I did know the first check point was at the Casey's Store.
The lady at the phone gave me directions and then asked, "Do these little ribbons mean anything to you?"
“Oh yeah,” I replied. “They are route markers.”
She said to just follow the ribbons. I would find them on the street signs in front of the Cafe. She took my order and had it waiting for me at the table when I walked in.
“You must be the guy on the bike that ordered the chicken?” She asked as I entered.
I smiled and told her that I was. I ate the mashed potatoes, one piece of chicken, and downed the large water. The other 2 pieces of chicken went in my Ziploc bag and into my jersey pocket. The fourth piece of chicken, I shared with my grateful friend Kevin.
We spent about 16 minutes in Cottonwood Falls checking in, getting the next map, restocking water bottles, and eating my food. So when we rolled out of town, we were ahead of schedule by about 44 minutes. We had completed 61 miles and had 144 miles to go.
The next section was to Council Grove and it was around 42 miles. We picked up the pace and by time we rolled into town we were 90 minutes ahead of schedule (current time approx. 2:30 pm). Tired as we were, ahead of schedule was a good thing to be. Remember the wind; you know that south wind that should have been helping us on this section? Well it had shifted out of the north and had been blowing in our faces. I know that you are thinking that sucks. But you have to remember, we are dreamers. That is why we signed up for this ride. We still figured that we would at least have a tail wind on the4th section from Alma to Emporia which is 65 miles mostly south and would be mostly in the dark.
At Council Grove I had chicken strips and mashed potatoes, but they put some kind of green veggies in the container. It was not a good thing. Whatever it was smelled awful and I almost lost it. I tried to force down some of the food, but the smell was killing me. I finally grabbed the chicken and put it in my Ziploc bag and tossed the veggies in the trash.
I kept watching the time and it was going by way to fast. We were losing precious minutes. I was getting anxious. I finally told Kevin I was going on as he had decided to change jerseys and also had to get his spare light out of his bag. So I left about 3:15 pm. I’d ridden about a quarter mile down the road when I realized I had forgotten to get my clear glasses out of my bag. So I turned around and went back, knowing I would need those glasses when the sun went down. One thing I had learned this spring. Always wear glasses when riding on dirt and gravel unless you want something in your eyes. I was probably only 2 or 3 miles outside of town when Kevin caught up with me.
This was a tough section for me. It was hot and I was bonking. I had not eaten enough food in Council Grove. I continued to force down food during this section and we stopped at least three times in the shade. They were short stops, and I used the time to switch Gatorade from my rack to my empty water bottles. I was carrying two extra bottles of Gatorade strapped to my rear rack, this gave me over 80 oz of fluid on my bike. I needed all of it between each checkpoint.
At about 120 miles, we went down this one lane farm road and we thought this might get interesting. What we did not know was how interesting it was going to be. Soon we found ourselves on Lil Egypt Road. Yes, this is the road all other roads will be judged by from now on. It was crazy. I have never seen anything like it!!! I just remember turning right and then seeing a big downhill that scared me. It had gravel the size of my fist and ruts that were very deep. I grabbed my rear brake lever and slowly proceeded to ride down. My right hand was tightly gripped on that rear brake lever. Kevin was slightly ahead of me as I descended the hill; almost like a mountain climber slowly climbing down a mountain without a rope. I was off my seat and I carefully picked my line. When I was almost at the bottom of the hill, some guy flew by and almost hit me. He scared me more than anything. It was close.
At the bottom of the hill the road went to the right and then straight back up. It was steep, rough, and full of ruts. All three of the guys ahead of me were walking up the hill. I was already in my granny and I shifted to my 32 on back. I was going to climb this hill! I slowly navigated up the steep slope passing the first two riders. Then I came to the guy who almost took me out on the downhill. He was walking on the only section of the road that was ride able.
I pulled up behind him and said, "Can I get by?"
He moved to the left a little and I passed him on the right. I was close to the right ditch, but squeezed by. Kevin later told me that he knew I would climb that hill after I saw that guy start walking his bike. He was right!!!!! (Smile). Honestly, that hill could not be climbed without a triple and Kevin does not have one on his cross bike.
After I crested the hill, Lil Egypt did not let us down. It was hilly and snaked around the beautiful scenery. Toward the end it went over a really cool one-lane bridge. I did not have my camera so those memories will just have to live in my mind. Oh what memories I have from that day!!!!!
At about mile 136 my brother called me. I do not remember much of that call. I just remember saying I had to go. I needed to stay focused. Later my brother told me that he didn’t think I would finish after the phone call. He said I sounded defeated! He was wrong about me finishing, but I probably did sound defeated. I was hurting bad!
Soon we were rolling into Alma, the third checkpoint. We were 40 minutes ahead of schedule (current time 7:20 pm). When we checked in, Kevin asked the directors how many people were ahead of us. He said he did not know, but only 12 riders at this point were going on to finish the ride.
I looked at him and said, “Give me the next map.” He was surprised. Kevin and I both had a ham sandwich and I grabbed a bag of chips, drank a lot of water, and downed a Mountain Dew (for that extra energy I was going to need to finish). Soon I was starting to recover and that smile was coming back to my face. Don’t get me wrong, the smile was always there, it was just lost for a while. Just like in life, when things get hard sometimes we forget to smile. But I will guarantee this, a smile will make any day better! We agreed to take 40 minutes at this stop and we would roll out of town at 8pm; which we did.
This would prove to be the toughest section of the ride; tough roads and most of it in the dark. They also warned us about a low water bridge around the 175 mile mark. They told us to be careful. It was marked with flashing lights and it was very dangerous. I thought to myself, this bridge must be bad. They did not say anything about Lil Egypt road and it was scary in the daylight!! This bridge is marked and they have warned us. What are we in for? Again, they mentioned that it would be dark when we got there. I think they enjoyed seeing our expressions. They also informed us that 3 miles outside of town we were going to hit a big hill that went on forever and the last pa
rt would be at a 14% grade.
You non-bikers might not understand 14% grade. Let me tell you something. That is STEEP! I left a few minutes before Kevin, but missed the turn and had to back track. Soon we were back together. I was starting to feel better. Thanks Mt. Dew! Then, we hit the hill and it did not let us down in our expectations. But we climbed it and continued on down those country roads.
As darkness rolled in, our Hi-Tech headlights became a life saver on those dark country roads. No street lights, no house lights, no moon that night; nothing but darkness. As we headed south, we could see a storm building in the distance. We began to wonder if we would finish this ride in the rain. We’d already had wind in our face the entire day and had to endure record setting high temperatures. So the way I looked at it, chances were good. And looking at the lightning, I figured we were going to get wet. One more thing…you remember that wind that had shifted directions and been blowing in our faces the last 140 miles and should be at our backs on the last 65 as we headed south toward Emporia? You guessed it. It quit blowing as the sun went down; just as we started to head south. The good news was that at least it was not blowing in our faces the last 65 miles.
As we rolled down the dark roads, we scanned the ditches looking for the reflective poles that showed us where to turn. In the dark it became a real challenge just to keep our sense of direction. Soon we were approaching the town of Eskridge. Everything was closed and deserted. Later we found out that there was a Bar open. Just think. We could have had a cool one! We did see a lone bike rider standing behind a Ford Expedition. As we approached the vehicle, we realized it was our friends (Dianna, Maribel, Lauren, and Dusty) they were picking up another defeated rider. They urged us on with cheers of “You Can Do It”. It was another vote of confidence, and one that we both needed.
As we cruised down the deserted dirt roads we knew we were getting close to the low water bridge at mile 175. I kept thinking that this was a good road. I would be surprised if the bridge was really that bad. About that time we saw a reflective pole and we made a right turn onto a path through a cow pasture. This was not even a road! It was two tracks through a field that had grass in the middle that was 2 to 3 feet high in places. Soon we saw the flashing lights and the sign that cautioned us. What we did not see was the low water bridge, because there was no bridge. The road, better named “the path”, just ended with a 3 foot drop into a creek with about a foot of water in it. We stopped and evaluated the situation. We are in the middle of nowhere with a creek in front of us, probably no cell phone service, in the middle of the night. This was an epic moment. We decided that we would jump over the creek with the bikes in our hands; trying to keep our feet dry. It worked and we went on down the path for a few more miles until we got back on the main gravel road to town.
During the next few miles we finally figured out the race director’s mind set on road selection for this ride: “if you come to a fork in the road and you are not sure which road to choose, always take the worst one”. That discovery of information at the 178 mile mark was a milestone event. It was another epic moment in this ride. No longer did we need maps or any reflective poles. We had figured out the course!
Well we thought we had. While riding down the road I noticed a reflective pole in the ditch. But there was no turn. I yelled at Kevin, who had totally missed it. He stopped. I let him know there was a reflective pole back there in the ditch, but no road. I turned my light toward the ditch and 15 feet into the field I see another reflective pole. I then noticed the two tracks through the field. Once again we were riding through a pasture with weeds 3 to 4 feet tall, in the dark. I am sure the race directors found this path and had a smile on their face as they made it part of the route. It brought a smile to my face, but I don’t think Kevin enjoyed it quite as much. It was rough riding and after a few miles we were back on another gravel road heading south toward Emporia.
It was some time after 1:00 in the morning by now and we still had 20 miles to go. But the road was straight and it looked like the storm was going to miss us, and we knew we were going to make it. We continued to cruise down the gravel roads, picking up the pace. We wanted to finish before 3 am.
With about 3 miles to go my phone rang and it was my friend Dianna (known to some as Princess). They were at the finish line waiting for us. As we rolled into town, I reflected on what had gotten us to this point. It was our plan that we had agreed upon the night before. This plan was known as the “WALT” plan. I know you are probably trying to figure out what the letters stand for. I also know that some of you are pretty creative and probably think - it stands for “We Are Loving This”…a positive attitude spin on this ride. Nope! This word is not an acronym, but is the name of one of our riders in our bike club. His name is Walt and he is 81 years young and still rides with us all the time. He was our “game plan”. You see, Walt is the most consistent rider we know. He sets his speed and just keeps on pedaling. Many times I have ridden off and left him, but then I stop to do something, and when I look up, guess who I see passing me while I am standing on the side of the road...
That was our plan – ride smart, consistent, and keep on going – just like Walt does everyday!!!!
-100 People signed up
– 85 People showed up
– 70 People gave up – 15 Finished…
It was an EPIC Ride! SMILE!!!
