Dirty Kanza 2018 was quite an experience. The day started out with a 30 minute delay at the start so a thunderstorm could roll through. I was really excited to be riding for a new team Move Up Off Road for the first time.
The first segment I ended up helping Jason Chase and Joe Kleidosty which put me back a little farther than I had planned to be. Luckily my legs felt really good and the chase was on for the day. After going through the first checkpoint in over 300th place, I still had lot of work to do for the day.
A big shout out to David Olson and Roger Williams for getting me through the checkpoints. (Side note David Olson drove his motorcycle from Denver to help crew, but my day was still harder!) For the next 50ish miles, I continued to keep rolling by people and went through 100 miles in a little over 100th place. Now we turned into the wind, and the race got hard. I was still able to pick riders off and going into the 3rd checkpoint I had managed to get up to 50th place.
Luckily I was able to reconnect with Paul Erickson and we were able to roll out together. Around 180 miles the wind was taking its toll on me. I had pulled away from Paul a little, but I was running out of people to chase. A group of a dozen or so guys rolled up on me and I was able to hop on. Pauland Mike Marchand were in the group along with some other really good guys. We were able to all work together for the last few miles. Somehow my legs began to feel better the last couple miles and when we reach town there is a really punchy hill as you enter campus. Two guys were off the front and I dug in trying to chase. A couple more guys came up on me as we sprinted through campus and down to the finish. These may have been the only four guys that passed me after I helped Joe out around mile 35.
I want to thank Science in Sport for keeping me fueled all day. I went through roughly a dozen GO Energy Gels (Berry / Lemon & Lime), 10 GO Energy Bars (Red Berry / Chocolate Fudge), and over a dozen bottles with GO Electrolyte Tablets (Berry flavor). Also a couple chocolate milks, Cokes, watermelon and candy bars.
The Flint Hills of Kansas are always fun to ride in, but this year was a really tough race with the wind. I know that I had someone helping me out when times got rough. Every time I felt I was struggling I would look down at my stem and there was a little JOYPOWER there.
I also want to thank Virginia Margheim Musser and her family for taking care of Roxanne over the weekend. It was really nice to spend some time with them before and after the race.
Now rest and recover since I have two more races this month.
#moveupoffroad #fueledbyscience #justanotherdayonthebike#pavementends #JOYPOWER
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