Prior to signing up for the Dirty Kanza 200 this year, my friend Keith Clark convinced me we should do our previously planned Blast to Nebraska - B2N. The idea for this came after a double century on road bikes 6 of us had done in March 2009. Back then we rode 206 miles from my house in Bartlesville, OK to Lawrence, KS; this was the first double century any of us had ridden. During the Lawrence Double we had several east-west cross sections that were necessary to keep the ride on paved roads. Soon after Keith suggested next time we ride “straight up the gut”, using whatever road takes us north while minimizing east-west traffic (hence “blast”), whether that road be paved, gravel, dirt, or cow path.
Over the winter I did a couple of things that proved to be helpful for B2N. The first was I built up a new bike starting with a Surly Cross-Check steel frame. All that I read indicated steel is the best frame material for rough roads due to its compliance and generally nice ride. Last year’s Dirty Kanza on an aluminum bike resulted in compression of the ulnar nerve in my wrist and limited used of my left hand for more than five months; I didn’t realize how much I appreciate being able to operate fingernail clippers until I couldn’t. I built up the new bike with components I had acquired over the last year. I rounded out the bike with some slightly used S-works carbon bars and a Thudbuster ST seat post. During that same time I picked out a tentative route for B2N. The first 40 miles or so to Elk City were roads we had used previously on several occasions, but from there it jumped off onto new roads to minimize east-west travel. Here is a link to our route http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3748882. Photos from the ride can soon be viewed on the website http://bicycledreamer.com.
B2N began from my house on the morning of Friday, May 21. Although Saturday, May 22 would have been a better day to ride with a strong south wind, a Sat/Sun ride would have consumed the whole weekend and taken away Sunday as a family/recovery day. As it was, we had a slight headwind Friday until 2 or 3 in the afternoon, then a slight to moderate tailwind the rest of the way through the Saturday finish.
Keith and I both packed pretty light as we did not plan to stop for sleep. I utilized a new method for making a packing list. Instead of brainstorming for everything I might possibly need, I just listed potential showstoppers and decided what I needed to do/take to eliminate that showstopper. In addition to normal tools, I mounted an extra bento box and handlebar bag to accommodate backup maps, an emergency bivey sack rated to 50F, an extra derailleur cable, lights and extra batteries, mini first-aid kit, arm warmers, leg warmers, an extra jersey and pair of cycling shorts, Cytomax powder, Heed powder, Perpetuem powder, energy bars, and other food necessary for our journey.
After pancakes and bacon, Keith and I hit the road at about 6:30 am. We had allocated about 30 hours to finish, hoping to be picked up by Katrina in Nebraska around noon Saturday. Noon was chosen by me so that Kat would not have to leave home much before about 8 am.
We moved up an 8 am start to 6 am (got away a little late) to accommodate getting to Rossville, KS before 2 am Saturday morning. I discovered that the American Legion there serves up dinner on Friday nights until 2 am Sat morning. We rolled into Rossville about 11:30 pm and it turns out the American Legion was serving Cajun seafood, so Keith suggested we try out Mikey's Bar and Grill. The grill at Mikey's closed at 10 pm, but we were hoping to get some sort of food. It turns out after Mikey learned we had just ridden 189 miles and wanted to continue riding to Nebraska, he took our order, reopened the grill and cooked it up himself! That was the key to riding through the night: we had to find some good food between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am. I ran out of electrolyte drink before getting to Rossville, but a couple of Endurolytes in two large glasses of cranberry juice from Mikey's, along with a bottle of Hammer Perpetuem cafe latte flavor (not to mention water in my camelbak) did the trick for the remaining 75 miles of the ride.
There are some important lessons I have learned on previous long rides that helped me on B2N. One of those “truths” is that you should always start out with your best pair of cycling shorts. I wore my best shorts to start the ride and switched into my next best shorts at Mikey's along with changing my jersey and socks. Besides getting the benefit of a different seam pattern, it seems to really lift my spirits to change into fresh clothes on a long ride.
Another “truth” for me is the importance of wearing a light on my helmet. Keith and I both used Cygolite Mitycross lights on our handlebars, but we had Cygolite Milions on the helmets. Having a helmet light helps me to remain fully engaged during the night. I can continue to look at street signs, my map, watch, and cyclocomputer. Because I eat and drink based on mileage and time, these latter two are very important in keeping up with nutrition and hydration. Having a helmet light allows me to do everything in the dark that I do during daylight hours.
Keith and I have done rides ending as late as 2:50 am in the past, but we learned on this ride that it becomes hard to ride much after 3 am when lack of sleep starts to kick in. Our average speed took a nosedive after that. At about 3:30 am, I used a Hammer Espresso gel w/ 50 mg caffeine and it worked wonders, lasted about 1-1/2 hours, much better than No-Doz and stuff like that I tried in college. I may need to pack 2 or 3 or those gels next time.
We did not sleep until after eating breakfast in Humboldt, NE at the end of the ride. There is a nice city park there with a lake and some big trees. We each staked out a big shade tree and caught some shut-eye between about 9 am and noon. I was still pretty wired from the ride, and didn't feel I slept very well, but I think Keith did. About 11:00 am or so, I saw that his tree's shade had moved and he appeared to be passed out lying in the sun! We both caught some shut-eye on the car ride back to B'ville. I felt good enough to drive the last 100 miles or so.
In summary, we left B'ville 6:30 am Friday, hit the OK/KS border about 8 am Fri, the KS/NE border about 6:30 am Sat, and the finish in Humboldt, NE at 7:30 am Sat. Pass-through towns included Caney, Elk City, Toronto, Gridley, Hartford, Reading, Harveyville, Rossville, Soldier, Goff, and Bern. We crossed Kansas in less than 23 hours; we rode from B'ville to the Nebraska state line in 24 hours; and did the whole blast ride in 25 hours. The total distance was 264.62 miles; time on the bike 20hr, 27 min; rest time 4hr, 33min; average on the bike speed 12.93 mph. Of the 264 total miles, 108 miles were on dirt and gravel roads.
A big Thank You is owed to Katrina and her friend Beth, as well as Mikey and all the other generous folks we met along the way to Nebraska.
This kind of ride may not be something I want to do every day, week, or even year, but I'm glad we did it. We were careful not to ride very hard, minimizing the hard efforts. That, along with my new bike setup, is probably to credit for me feeling reasonable well and healthy - much better than after Dirty Kanza last year. I checked my left hand after the ride and I could still use it to operate fingernail clippers, so that's a good thing. :-) Fifteen days later, Keith and I repeated the Dirty Kanza 200, besting last year’s time by 8 minutes.
What’s next? I’m not sure but the main requirement is it needs to be fun. I am considering trying a little Randonneuring and Keith is already talking about a possible B2C; can any one guess what the “C” stands for?!