I had a great day a couple of weekends ago competing in the Dirty Kanza 200 Gravel Grinder Bike Race through the scenic Flint Hills. Special thanks to Jarred Young and my wife, Barb, for performing support operations for me. They had a great setup for me with shade and chairs and helped keep me stay hydrated, well fed and did the routine maintenance on my bike.

The race started promptly at 6:00 am, and I was lucky to squeeze into a spot on the front row. I knew I was in over my head, but I was just wanting to stay towards the front to avoid getting caught up in any crashes or accidents. The pace was fast as we hit the first stretch of gravel out of town. Lots of dust and rocks were flying around, hitting spokes and frames. It was a bit crazy with people riding in pace lines outside the main tracks. At one time, there were four pace lines, side-by-side.

The day went really well, except for an ill-timed flat front tire at mile 19, when I was still up with the lead group of riders. It took about six minutes to change the tire after examining the tire and the sidewall for cuts or damage. As it turned out, the tire itself was fine, so after installing a new tube, I was back on the road. Now it was on to Madison for the first check point after 50 miles. By the time I arrived in Madison, I was at 2:58 and about 17 minutes behind the leaders, and the field was starting to string out. After a quick seven-minute pit stop at Madison, I was off for the second leg to Cassoday at mile marker 100. There was a lot of climbing on this leg, and, with a Camelbak full of water and two large water bottles, I could feel it on the climbs.

At this point, it was going to end up being a solo push for the next 150 miles to the finish line. I completed the 50 miles to Cassoday in 3:12. At Cassoday, I decided to install my aero bars for the second 100 miles. It took some extra time to install them, but the comfort and aero advantages were worthwhile. So after an 18-minute stop, I was off again at 12:35 pm.

The third leg to Cottonwood Falls was probably the hardest leg of the day. There was a lot of climbing in the beginning of the leg and, with the combination of the extra water weight and tired legs, it made every hill or false flat an effort. Plus the day was heating up and, with the slight tailwind, it was hot grinding the pedals in the sun. This was my slowest leg of the race at 3:26. I was really glad to see my crew in Cottonwood Falls. I didn’t feel like eating, but Barb basically forced me to eat a sandwich and some cookies, followed up by lots of Gatorade and electrolytes. It was 4:20 in the afternoon when I left Cottonwood Falls for the fourth and final 50-mile leg.

At this point, I knew I just had to stay out of trouble and not crash or break something. The cutoff time for the special “Race the Sun” lithograph award was 8:42 pm, so I knew if I finished this leg in under four hours, I would be golden. The last 30 miles of this leg was into a head or cross wind, and I was glad to have my aero bars on. I completed the fourth leg in 3:15 and arrived at the finish line after 203 miles and 9948 feet of climbing at 7:36 pm, for a total time of 13 hours and 36 minutes. I finished in 90th place out of 750 starters.

The beer at Mulready’s never tasted so good afterwards. ~ Paul Fancher

Cheers, Fanch! Congrats on a job well done.