Dirty Kanza 200 Chronicles V2: On Track But Getting Derailled Again!

Getting sidetracked by Trans Iowa- Maybe worse than a flat tire!

Well, I've been really pleased with the riding of late. The last time I checked in I had just done the Renegade Gent's Race and had felt really good. The next weekend was the Geezer Ride and I was really happy with how that went. The next step would be taking some longer rides, and I sure would like to, but, ya see.......I have this little race to put on.

Honestly, Trans Iowa is one of the main reasons I don't usually sign up for Dirty Kanza or the Almanzo 100, as well. They come just a bit too close on the heels of the grind I put in for Trans Iowa. Doing any sort of meaningful training is pretty much out of the question the week beforehand. The week afterward I am emotionally drained while trying to get back to some semblance of a decent backlog of repairs at work. That brings me right into May with an almost two week time period where all I can get done is commute to work and back.

I suppose I'll have to chalk it up to a period of "rest" for the body. (<===HA!) It is what it is. I sure hope that I can put together a few long rides in the few weeks I'll have left to me before I hop in a truck and head down to Emporia. I'll have to make the best of things in the meantime.

Tamland call up to duty......

Equipment Choices:

Well, I still have to decide what bike to ride, so I have made a decision to swap the WTB rims/tires from the Vaya over to the Tamland and ride that bike in the event. I'm going to carry water bottles, I think, and I can easily get four on the bike, five if I think I need to. The race intel is that there will be "oasis" stops in between the start and the first checkpoint and between there and the final check point. That means I should be able to count on four refill opportunities. I figure on consuming a bottle per hour.  Maybe a bit more. I should be okay with this plan if I stay within a pace that I can maintain without burning myself to a crisp.

And that may not be avoidable, depending upon the weather which, if very hot, will roast me and it will make things very interesting, that's for sure! Heat and I do not have a very successful relationship when it comes to longer rides.  I have slogged through a few, so it isn't like it is impossible for me to do it, but the margin of error becomes very thin indeed when the temperatures soar and I need to do big miles.

Well, I don't expect I'll have another update on the Dirty Kanza for a while.......