2019 Dirty Kanza 200

 

Post by Corrine

It was a perfect day except a little too hot for my tastes. Highs in the upper 80’s, winds only 5-10 mph and no rain, thunderstorms or tornados like the last week! 

The course was in great shape. There was almost no mud this year. There were a few water crossings that were easy to bike across. The roads were a mix of good gravel roads, rough gravel roads with chunky gravel and ruts and 2 track. No washboard. All rideable, but I’m glad I took my mountain bike. You would not want a really skinny gravel tire. It was amazing how many people flatted and how many people lost water bottles on the course! Winds were from the west so headwinds at times but nothing bad, just annoying.

The terrain was rolling hills with lots of prairie and grasslands. Very rural. The only towns we went through were at the checkpoints. It was a very hilly course (9800 feet elevation gain) although all the hills were pretty short. No long grinds. You would spend 3-4 minutes climbing a hill and one minute going down, so it seemed like you spent all of your time climbing. All the hills were bikeable but after getting hot and tired, I did walk up about 4-5 hills that were probably 12-15% grade. Once again I was glad to have my mountain bike with a granny gear. 

There were only 2 checkpoints, one at 62 miles and one at 151 miles. There was a neutral water spot at 120 miles. Riley was my crew and did a great job of cleaning my chain, getting me cold drinks, feeding me, loading up my camel back and taking photos and videos.

Neutral water stop - Lots of people trying to recover

1000 people sign up for the DK200. I had people around me all day. There was never a time that I didn’t see somebody around me and I was constantly going back and forth with people. I’m not used to this. Some people come to race but there are also a lot of regular people like me. It was really fun to meet people from all over the world during the race. 

At the start.  I was near the back of the 1000 riders

Still more people behind me, too!

Pretty strange to be in an endurance race with people all around you

I finished 731/870 finishers. I was also 104/141 for women. I’m usually at the very bottom of the finishers so I felt good that I wasn’t last! But I was the slowest of the 3 women over 60 who did it. I guess women bikers over 60 ROCK!

I felt great for the first 80 miles. I breezed into the first checkpoint at 62 miles having averaged 14.2 mph. I felt good and had hopes of finishing before midnight. I refueled and headed on my way. 

At around mile 80 I came upon an accident. A woman went over her handlebars on a steep downhill and was lying in the dirt. Her friends were with her. I stopped to help out. She had a concussion and a large scalp laceration that, of course, was bleeding a lot and was freaking her out. She had scrapes and bruises but otherwise seemed okay. We got her moved into the shade to wait for the ambulance. Once I was sure she was stable, I took off. At the bottom of that very same hill there was a curve. Another biker came bombing down and laid his bike down.  I made sure he was okay and had no major injuries - just bad road rash - before finally continuing on my way. I also gave some moleskin to another woman who had blisters on her hands from her gloves. 

The second part of the course was pretty brutal, and it was HOT! By mile 85 the heat and sun started getting to me. It definitely affected my race. I had to walk up one hill and had to sit down halfway up in the shade because I felt lightheaded. My stomach wasn’t great but was doing okay. I couldn’t eat much real food but had some GU’s to help keep me going. I kept biking but definitely felt slow on the uphills. A lot of people were feeling the very same way.

Feeling a bit hot and tired

Other racers recuperating in the shade -I was back and forth with this woman, Krista, for a lot of the race

It seemed like forever before I got to the 2nd checkpoint. Riley was ready and waiting for me. My stomach was not feeling great, but I ate watermelon and had some chicken broth that went down well. I decided to eat some ham (thinking the salt would be good). Bad idea. It didn’t taste good, so I decided to spit it out. Unfortunately, that set up a gag response and I lost all the calories that I had just put in me. It also made me feel more nauseated. 

Oh well, only 50 miles to go, I had to get going. I took some GU’s, a coke, and put sweet iced tea in my water bottle. I ended up only drinking the coke for the final 50 miles because I was afraid of vomiting again, but with the sun going down and cooler temperatures I recovered, except for the nausea, and was able to move quicker. I’m surprised I was able to bike hard for 4 hours with only a coke for fuel. I was afraid I was going to bonk but didn’t.

I made a quick stop at the Salsa Chaise Lounge to have my picture taken (it’s a really fun part of some gravel races.)

Then I picked up the pace and hammered (for me) the rest of the way. I passed about 15-20 people in the last 10 miles. I ended up coming in with 5 guys at about 1:10 AM for a time of 19 hours 10 minutes. I was tired but happy and felt good except for the queasy stomach. 

At the finish - photo by Steve Cannon

It was not called the Dirty Kanza for nothing! - Note - name has been changed to Unbound Gravel

This is a great race. Emporia really embraces the race, and everybody comes out to cheer and volunteer. There is a lot of great energy in town. But it has a nice low key midwestern vibe (unlike Leadville which felt more ramped up when I raced there a few years ago). I would totally recommend this race!

Locals out at 6:30 AM cheering on the racers. Gotta love that!