This is Kevin’s summary of the Flint Hills Death Ride held July 27, 2008 in Madison, KS. Photos from the Death Ride can be viewed at http://bartlesvillepedalers.com/gallery/FlintHillsDeathRide2008. For a thorough description of the Ride containing fewer “hydration” references, Sean has posted his Death Ride story at http://netpup.net/bikelog/2008-FlintHills/2008-FlintHills.html
Keith, Sean, and I all finished the ride; it was 83 miles according to the map but I measured 86. Keith and I finished at 3:20 p.m. and Sean a few minutes later. Keith and I spent 6-1/2 hours on the bike, 50 minutes at rest stops, and about 30 minutes fixing two flats I had between miles 60 and 70.
Keith and I camped out in tents on Saturday night before the ride. I was anxious and only slept a couple of hours and had to get up every couple of hours to pee. This has happened to me before other significant rides/events. In hindsight I should have taken a 20-30 mile ride Saturday evening to help relax and sleep better.
Sean and I had breakfast at 6:30 a.m. (biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit, and a box of raisins); Keith went to Casey's and had a couple of donuts. I drank quite a lot of orange juice and water for breakfast but probably not enough. So I started the ride tired and probably dehydrated.
The Death Ride has rest stops about every 15 miles or so; we stopped at them all. You can easily drink two water bottles between each rest stop. The first 30 miles or so, I had lots of nervous energy; I tried to hold back but I rode off from Keith and Sean, rejoining them at the rest stops. My stomach was also nervous and I kept throwing up fluids, cliff bars, and gels for the first 30 miles; I never dry-heaved, but vomiting in general probably did not help my dehydrated state. My nerves settled after that, but I felt a little bit off. I always felt I could finish the ride, but it wasn't my best day.
All riders had to reach the 3rd SAG stop at 43 miles by 12 noon to be able to attempt the long route. Keith and I got there at about 10:55 a.m. and Sean just a few minutes behind. At the 4th SAG stop, I was #23 and Keith was #26 out of the 160 cyclists that started the ride. I'm not sure what our finish positions were as I had two flats between SAG stops 4 and 5.
It was a challenging ride, no doubt about it. Two things that contributed to the challenge are the heat and no real food on the route. One mile out of Madison, we were on gravel and never saw paved roads again for more than 80 miles!! There were no pass-through towns, no C-stores, and very few trees. We rode on gravel roads, dirt roads, mud roads, grass cow paths, and roads with hunks of concrete in the middle. The cross bikes did fine, but there was one place I had to come off the bike to keep from crashing (the concrete chunk part). Keith had bought some beef jerky the night before and it turned out to be a life saver! It was the closest thing we had to real food for the entire ride, almost as good as steak and salty to ensure we drank plenty of fluids.
All of us struggled somewhat with dehydration. I ate lots of raisins (potassium), beef jerkey and salty Cheese-It crackers; I also took two Hammer electrolyte capsules that a guy offered me. I drank 2 camelbacks (70 oz each) and 7 water bottles (24 oz each) for a total of almost 2-1/2 gallons (probably 1 gallon gatorade, 1-1/2 gallons water). Only towards the end of the ride did I feel I was starting to catch up on hydration. My cycling shorts were covered with salt. After the ride I drank another 3-4 quarts or so of ice tea and water. When I got home Sunday evening, I weighed 2 lbs less than when I left for the ride on Saturday.
There was one down hill that seemed to go on forever. I hit 40 mph on gravel and it was pretty intense. There was a sharp turn and cattle guard at the end (or it looked “sharp” when I was doing 40), but I was luckily able to slow it down before that. Keith blames my throwing caution to the wind on electrolyte imbalance! There was also a big uphill at mile 74. Sean saw a guy get off his bike on the hill, throw his bike down and sprawl out in the middle of the road with cramps. Sean had to dodge him to get on up the hill.
This is a great ride if you’ve never done it. Catch me on the bike and I’ll tell you more.