Start Line to Checkpoint One
This is still my favorite part of the race. Weāre all feeling good and the night is cool. Racing down a gravel road with ~170 other cyclists in the darkness is an amazing experience. You only have the tunnel vision your headlight can provide. I thought of divers or pilots in dark conditions who canāt tell which way is up. There is no way to know when a hill is coming. The pedaling just gets easier when youāre going downhill and harder going up. There is no other way to judge.
A string of red lights was moving in front of me and angry, frenetic headlights cast long shadows from behind. I couldnāt see my Garmin, so I had no way of judging my speed. It all felt fast. I rode with Geoffrey and Stephen Wilson for most of the first leg and we kept a good pace until the first checkpoint. I arrived somewhere around 3:50am. About a Ā½ hour earlier than last year.
Checkpoint One to Checkpoint Two
I downed some orange juice, replenished my food and water and got back on the road. This year, the fog was in the mix. As the pre-dawn morning went on we rode into thicker and thicker fog. Dust thrown up by tires got caught in the mist and caked onto my bike. At its thickest, I could only see 10-20 feet in front of me and nearly ran into a cyclist whose tail light seemed distant until I was right on top of him. Then my glasses fogged and became useless.
Somewhere just before I took my glasses off, I followed some riders on a wrong turn and rode 3 miles before catching my mistake. Three miles back to the course added 6 to the total mileage. Shortly after getting back on course, I missed another turn and rode one more mile adding 7 to my total.
Somewhere near Checkpoint Two, I remember an uphill, minimum maintenance road that was a challenge, but the rest of the ride was a familiar mantra of checking my heart rate, making sure to eat and drink.
Then I rolled into Checkpoint Two.
Ellie had pancakes waiting for me. I ate those, downed some orange juice and coffee and rested for a bit. Ellie was knocking some of the dust off my bike and my Garmin casing broke. The Garmin itself was still functional, but the bit on the back that locks into the handlebar mount snapped off. 10 minutes with some zip ties and duct tape and it was good enough to send me on my way.
Checkpoint 2 to Checkpoint 3
This was the hottest part of the day and the longest leg of the course. I was smarter about hydration this year, but I still had to get off my bike a couple of times for a short rest. I never ran out of food or water though. My legs felt good, but my feet were starting to hurt and my lower back was tired and sore. Somewhere in here I missed another turn and added another 2 miles making a total of 9 bonus miles for the day. I paid much closer attention to the cues after that.
Toward the end of this leg, we started to see some big rollers. I swore a lot before arriving at checkpoint 3. Some of those big rolling hills before the third checkpoint seemed like theyād never end. Hills led to more hills and the checkpoint wasnāt coming into sight.
Finally, I rolled into checkpoint three where a lot of fellow Hub Cycling Team members were volunteering. The faces were all smiling, friendly and enthusiastic. Unfortunately, I was so out of it that I couldnāt properly express my gratitude.
Coming into this checkpoint I thought I might be done for the day. I had 195 miles in and I thought, I could be proud of that. Plus, I knew more rolling hills lay ahead. Ellie sat me down, fed me chicken wings and put cold water and ice on me. I was so spaced-out I couldnāt remember the word ācheckpoint.ā I also knew that I wasnāt going to beat my time from last year, so I was a bit discouraged. Ellie told me to rest and cool down before making any decisions.
Joel Raygor came over and gave me a pep talk. It was about 3:45pm. I still had over 8 hours to finish and only 55 miles to go. Finishing was my goal. If I was going to do this thing, I might as well get back on the bike.
Checkpoint 3 to Finish
To my surprise, I could keep more or less the same pace Iād done earlier, even as tired as I was. I focused more on drinking than eating. I only ate gels and candiesāthings that were quick energy and easy to digest. I also made sure to take a Salt Stick tablet every hour or so.
My back was still tired, but my legs felt good. I got up out of the saddle more than usual on some of the hills. It felt good to change position. Eventually, it turned into a beautiful, cool evening. I saw deer where last year Iād only hallucinated them.
And I made it. I finished. I was 17 minutes slower than last year, but also added 9 miles so I guess it was about the same. Trent, Erik and the other race volunteers and were so friendly and enthusiastic it felt really good rolling over the finish line. I was happy to get off the bike but also happy to be with friends.
Another successful adventure across Minnesota in one day.