The First Check Point
The first check point was a little less than 55 miles into
the race and with 5 miles left to get there Schotz and Brunt took off. They were still in sight, but they had a big
gap. I was jealous, but I had no reason
to be riding the way they were. They
were giving it hard and only a couple hours into a 28 hour race. But I was feeling good, and something inside
me said… "Go!" So I went! I pushed hard and caught them. Once I got there Chris looked back to see
where everyone was and it was just me, the rest of the group was just barely in
sight. He was shocked to see me on a
mountain bike keeping up with them, and said something along the lines of
"atta boy" or "holy shit!" I wasn’t really listening to be
honest. I could hardly breathe! Then as we came to town and the checkpoint,
the road switched to pavement, a major disadvantage to my knobby tired mountain
bike. I refused to let them drop me, no
matter what I was not falling back into the big group of riders.
I was able to hold on until the checkpoint and I felt pretty
good, then all that hard work went right out the window as we grabbed our new
set of directions and headed down the bike path. The sheet said in .03 miles turn left, the
three of us were .2 miles down the wrong road before we realized something
wasn’t right. "Well maybe its
supposed to say .3 not .03," someone said, so we went on further. We all were in denial about what we had just
done but the fact was we messed up. So
we turned around and gunned it some more.
All that hard work and we instantly went from first second third to
20ish spots back. Oh well its just 5
minutes out of a 28 hour race. "stay positive."
We caught back up to the group, Brunt stayed back and Chris
took off. I stuck with the group never
to see either rider again. Brunt would
later run out of water and stop at someone's house to try and refill, then get
attacked by the owners dog and have to pull out of the race. Schotz kept pushing like a man possessed long
into the night, leading much of the race and being the first to the second
checkpoint, only to drop out at 1am from cold and dehydration with 60 miles to
go.
 |
| I had a long battle with this tractor, he would pull away on long up hills then I would catch up on the down hill. Eventually he turned. |
The first gas station
Me on the other hand got to the first gas station at mile 70
and knew I had to stop and refill. I
bought two paydays, a salty nut roll, a package of sour gummy worms, 2
gatorades, and a gallon of water. I
didn't waste any time and got back on the bike asap. The sour gummy worms didn’t go down so well
but for some reason later in the night they were great. I left that gas station with a triathlete
named Nick from MN. He was a good
companion but come to find out he was just using me because he lost his
directions.
Lunch
Later in the afternoon he and I came to the second gas stop
and he had the great idea to go to the grocery store instead of the gas
station. That ended up being an awesome
idea because the grocery store had a restaurant inside. He ordered one hot dog, while I ordered a
burger and fries. We sat down for about
15 minutes and caught our breath and stuffed our stomachs.
Dinner
Later that night I made a quick stop at another grocery
store to fill up for the long night ahead.
Also at the store was the winner of the female category. Her diet was a little different than mine,
she ate cinnamon rolls, a pepsi and two 5 hour energys. She bought two more 5 hour energy for her
back pocket. I was pretty sure she would
have a heart attack with all that energy but I was wrong as she ended up
beating me by almost an hour and a half.
I ate some more junk food and packed my pockets with snacks.
The local Iowan
Just before dark I pulled off to the side of the road to get
my lights ready, add more diaper rash ointment, and put my jacket on. While I was stopped a large pickup with a car
hauler trailer on the back flew by and slammed on the brakes. They started to back up toward me so I rode
up to see "what's up".
Iowan: You need some help?
Me: No I'm fine
but I appreciate you stopping and checking.
Iowan: Oh you looked broke down, What are you doing anyway?
Getting ready for RAGBRAI?
Me: No, We are racing
back to Grinnell.
Iowan: Grinnell? That’s like two hours by car from here.
Me: Yeah it'll be a
long night.
Iowan: Well you must
be doing pretty good because there are about 20 riders back in town and I aint
seen no one since we left town till I saw you.
Me: Well that’s good
news
Iowan: Yeah, But I
think those riders are gay!
Me: Probably, I mean
they are all running around in tights like a bunch of those damn football
players. (This obviously upset the local Iowan)
Iowan: Yeah, well I
think I'll stick to my four wheeler. You
have a good night.
Me: You too thanks
for stopping.
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