Post Almanzo

The day started off early with a 5:40am alarm and I was out the door by 6:02. I headed down to Spring Valley and got there about an hour early.

I knew I wanted to be near the front of the start so that I wouldn't get stuck behind slower riders. For gravel road races this is usually not a problem, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't having to weave through people in loose gravel. I positioned myself in approximately the first 200 people and soon after the race began.

It started off well and I was feeling good. There were a few small climbs to start and that had me passing a few people. Soon after though was a lot of flats and I began to get passed. I wasn't happy about this, but such is life. After the 40 mile mark I began to slowly pass people again. It felt good to see people off in the distance and then catch them. Coming into the 65 checkpoint I was feeling pretty exhausted. I just wanted to lay down and rest. To my surprise, many others were doing the same. I stayed at that checkpoint for a little longer than I had planned to, but I think it payed off down the stretch. I finished off the final 35 miles fairly strong. I had to walk a couple hills but that's all part of it. There was a church with a soda machine and picnic tables with about 10 miles to go that I saw a lot of racers resting at. I thought for a second about stopping there but decided that I would rather have a better finishing time and I don't like Pepsi products.

As I was approaching the final stretch of pavement I knew that it was going to be straight into the wind and that I was going to have to give it my all. I tried as hard as I could to stay on someones wheel, but it just wasn't happening. As I made the last left onto the final stretch of road another race told me to "Sprint it out" so with all the energy I had left I raced into the finish line as fast as I could.

There was a ton of heat, wind, and very loose gravel but that is just the elements that you have to be ready for in these types of races. Everyone suffers through the same elements, some just less than others.

Thanks to all the volunteers that helped everything go so smoothly, including those that stopped cars on a few of the busier streets at the beginning. Biggest thanks to Chris Skogen for putting this race on, allowing EVERYONE to participate, and doing a first rate job of it.

I stole this picture off Facebook. Deathrider refused to snuggle with me :(