6ix
Posts:485
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| 06/04/2019 07:59 AM |
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Waiting to read about CK's experience. One of the guys from Blue Competition Cycles (a VERY good Ironman triathlete) did the full 200 and said "so brutal, devastatingly rough and relentless."
Having lived in Emporia back in 2002-2004 when Jim Cummins was just starting to get the idea for the event, I keep telling people how challenging it is out there.
It looked like the course has changed because it didn't seem to go south towards Madison or over by the Bazaar cattle pens along 35. That was a neat ride to do in the middle of the night! Couldn't see one single light anywhere.
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 06/04/2019 08:38 AM |
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I DNF'd.....was really sick the week before the race. Could barely get out of bed the weekend before....still had a lingering cough (schitt, still do today!). My body was just so wiped out from the being sick that it gave up the ghost at mile 75. Full leg cramps, couldn't turn the pedals, etc. FUlly reppped and ready that race will kick anyone's ass...me toeing the line in that condition just put me deeper in the hole than everyone else.
I did a longer ride report in the "Did not get selected into DK" thread over in "The Ride Spot sub-forum. Copied below....
My first ever DNF....at least voluntarily. Felt great, was riding somewhere in the top 150 or so. Could see the front of the pack and was just cruising....
About mile 28 we hit a really technical section and I decided now was the time to let the front pack go....no need to spend matches keeping up in a tough area and all my buddies were behind me, knew they were close but not right with me.
I ease up so I can see everything better, let the field go....in abiut a minute, one of my buddies is there and says everyone is right behind us. Cool.
5 minutes later he flats, so we pull over to fix it. HUGE sidewall slash so we boot it with some duct tape I had taped around my SP and get going again. One of the guys had kept going so it was 3 of us and we just set our pace and slowly work our way through others. Feeling great, no issues.
Right around mile 60, I hit a bad patch and try to take it easy on the hills...buddies wait and we get into the first checkpoint. Grab a coke, my Camelback, fresh bottles and new food. Normally a mid-rode coke is jet fuel for me....not yesterday. I tell my buddies to go ahead but they still try and wait...I finally just stop trying to catch back up to them after hills and let them go. Feel fine on the flats, but hills were a struggle....but I felt like if I just soft pedaled the hills, I could keep that easy pace all day.
Then my quads started cramping around mile 70....I have never cramped on the bike, ever. Not once. These were complete leg locks. My VMO muscles were rock hard and could barely pedal. I was just shutting down and I knew there was no way I could get through another 125 in those conditions. Pulled the plug and called for my SAG team.
My body just wasn’t ready for that ride after being so sick the week before...I was riding within myself the whole time, but my body just said “not today”.
Got picked up and went with them to the second aid stop....my buddy who flatted started struggling around 130. Got into the aid station at 150 and and had heat stroke. 90* and he wasn’t’t sweating and shivering massively. Finally called 911 as he kept getting worse. Fine now, but they had to put two bags of fluid into him at the hospital.
The heat ripped through the field like a buzzsaw...riders were taking shelter in whatever shade they could find on the road. Literally curling up in balls next to small bushes to get out of the sun...it was The Riding Dead.
I’m obviously disappointed, but there wasn’t much choice for me...I knew what my body was telling me. Feel fine now physically, just dealing with the mental and emotional let down.
Such a great event though....was an awesome vibe and riding in a field that big through gravel was really cool. But that is not an event to be taken lightly...hoping to go back next year and settle some scores. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 06/04/2019 10:52 AM |
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Looking at pictures from this year and previous years, I am curious about percentage of well rideable gravel versus more technical, beat up trails. A lot of the pictures seem to show very good surfaces, then again there's the stream crossing stuff.
Seeing images of folks trying to cool down in stream reminds me of Hellracer250 where we did same trying to bring our core temperature down to operating conditions in 40+ degree heat (>104F) and forest fire smoke. I was all over the place that day until we hit the fresh air of cool alpine streams on return leg. This "event" is word of mouth only and typically has some 30-50 starters only. This is a report from another year but similar conditions:
https://7messages.7mesh.com/7messages/the-ridden-word/the-hellracer-250/ |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 06/04/2019 11:00 AM |
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I didn't experience any sections that were not rideable or even overly-technical...but there were also 125 miles of road that I did not experience. 
My buddies who finished didn't really say anything about overly-techincal areas either...a couple mentioned Old Egypt Road as being tougher than other sections, but nothing crazy. A few pitches I heard people had problems with traction when climbing, but hey, that is gravel riding.
The most technical aspects, IMO, were some roads which had previously been wet and had farm equipment pass through. That created some really deep tire ruts, which if you got stuck in, could be problematic, espeically if you were in a group and could not see the line clearly....you'd bump against the ridge of the track and get knocked off your line pretty easily. One of my buddies went down because of that.
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 06/04/2019 11:07 AM |
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Thanks that's good to know and pretty much sounds like most of the easier trails around here. Getting bumped around a little is fully within the range of expectations.
Once you get on the forest service roads here though, gravel becomes "gravel" and things tend to get exceedingly gnarly. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 06/04/2019 11:18 AM |
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Well there is no doubt that the gravel there is different than what most people think of as a "gravel" road. The flint rock is much larger and definitely sharper than most gravel roads in the US. So it adds a degree of technicality to it, but it isn't like it requires a mountain bike or anything.
But holy crap were there a ton of flats though.....I can't even beging to count how many I saw. First one I saw was literally within the first 1/2 mile of the start, maybe less. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 06/04/2019 11:26 AM |
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The Ride for Water event that we did last two years definitely is fine line whether a gravel bike or an MTB is best way to go. It mixes forest service roads with "lush single track". Part of that is single track switchback at 15+ percent climbing, ergo hike a bike, or similarly steep downhill. There's also river valley single track which is very rideable on a gravel bike but you're constantly hitting rocks and roots either with your front wheel or your pedal.
My experience as well with flats. This years Ride for Water on first climb and downhill there was someone fixing a flat literally around every turn.
Nice video on home page: https://runforwater.ca/ride/ |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 06/04/2019 03:28 PM |
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Duct tape on the seatpost. Thanks, CK!
I keep wondering - am I a fool to be riding Paselas for OTGG? My plan - new 38c in front, new 35c in back (as big as I can go in back and have any chainstay clearance). I will have a spoke wrench and as I write this, I realize I also need 2 spokes and nipples taped to the chainstay. I'll carry a spare (used but not very) 35c and have one of each in my camping gear. Two tubes and patchkit.
I used this same 38c and a wired-on 35c two years ago for the Trask River Trail ride to warm up for the canceled Cycle Oregon. I had no tire issues and they rocked! The group of 12 I was in had probably two dozen flats in 30 miles of gravel. Now, that was Western Oregon, coast range. This will be the boundary between east and west so the rock may well be very different. (Famous obsidian not far from there.) Now two weeks ago we were on eastern Oregon gravel and the tires I am bringing as spares rocked.
One side of my worrying mind says Paselas? Road tires! You're being a fool. The other side says they've worked really well so far and that siize matters more than anything and one of the sweet aspects of Paselas is the availability of every size. 38c/35c fits the bike just perfect. (Could go a lot bigger in front but so far, I've never felt I needed to or even wanted to. Plus my TT is already a long ways from the ground! 10 3/4" design BB height with sewups so I wouldn't crash pedaling corners like my just barely past racing days. This bike after all was conceived to get me through years 1979-85; the crazy post- TBI years. Anything else was gravy.)
Just finished lunch. Time to find the spokes and tape that seatpost. Fix gear w/ HR monitor later. (Love the long days!)
Ben |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 06/04/2019 05:29 PM |
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Duct tape on the seatpost. Thanks, CK!
yeah, that was a great tip from a buddy....works great as a tire boot in case of a slashed sidewall, not to mention the myriad of other uses duct tape has in case of an emergency.
And for a boot, it sticks in place....don't have to worry about a wrapper moving , etc when you put the tube in or inflate it.
As for your tire choice....I dunno if I would want to use road tires, even a 38 or 35 as a gravel tire. I guess it depends on the type and size of the gravel you'll encounter. There is a hard sand pack trail here that I will run pretty knobless tires on, but it is very untechnical. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 06/04/2019 06:54 PM |
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I basically have road tires (i.e. minimal thread) but ones that can handle a harsh physical beating and won't get cut up. In terms of traction I've never noticed a limitation except under wet mud or grass conditions. Not expecting any of that for OTGG.
The fact that my Diverge can only handle 32 mm tires is another story; I'll have to make a wiser frame choice next time. Then again I bought it as a winter road bike five years ago before I considered gravel riding. Next thing you know I came across that Hellracer story (the one linked above) and low and behold. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 06/04/2019 07:43 PM |
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The heat derailed a few of my buddies ambitions at DK and one of them at DKXL. I think he got to 245 before throwing in the towel.
And the IV drip... yikes! I saw that at my first HHH when I passed the medical tent and it looked like a scene from MASH. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 06/04/2019 10:15 PM |
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Posted By Dale Dale on 06/04/2019 07:43 PM
The heat derailed a few of my buddies ambitions at DK and one of them at DKXL. I think he got to 245 before throwing in the towel.
And the IV drip... yikes! I saw that at my first HHH when I passed the medical tent and it looked like a scene from MASH.
245 beats per minute? That's scary.
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 06/04/2019 10:31 PM |
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| I think we're talking 245 miles Ben. If so that's a huge distance but still 55 to go. Yikes. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 06/04/2019 11:05 PM |
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| The DKXL is 300 miles? Wow! |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 06/04/2019 11:13 PM |
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| 350 miles actually. Haha that's crazy. We will do that in 5 days. |
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