The Path To Discovering Gravel Grinding: Part 2

This is Part 2 of a mini-series of posts telling the story of what it was like to attend events in the early days of the Modern Gravel Era. This story will focus on the part the Dirty Kanza 200 played in those days from my perspective. Please read Part 1 also to help with the context of this post. 

Researching on the internet concerning an unknown entity (gravel racing) in a fairly desolate part of the USA (Flint Hills) was not very rewarding. Most of what was on the internet in 2005/2006 centered around cattle grazing, the National Grasslands, and the Native American ancestors who once lived there. 

Bicycles? There was precious little information regarding riding a bicycle in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Even the event's predecessor, the Flint Hills Death Ride, was barely mentioned and it was, at that time, considered a mountain bike event. 

So, I had to guess the best that I could. Weather was a wildcard. What hills would be included, and how often, and how many, were all mysteries. The event organizers had one checkpoint where riders could have a drop bag sent and waiting for them. There were very few towns and villages. Getting resupplied was supposed to be done at convenience stores, but there were only three for the entire 200 miles. Council Grove, Cottonwood Falls, and then a long haul down to Eureka, and then back to Emporia. 

I decided on a single speed. Less stuff to go wrong in the middle of nowhere. Plus, I was going with zero support. If things went upside down, well..... If I could still walk, I was going to have to do that. Cell coverage was iffy to nonexistent. I had no idea if there were farms, like we had in Iowa, or just vast, empty spaces. 

The 2005 On One Inbred single speed 29"er as I rode it at the inaugural Dirty Kanza 200.

I decided to run a hydration pack, mostly because this was the only way to hope to have enough water for the long stretches between resupplies. Things like fork mounted bottles, "feed bags", or other commonly seen accessories for endurance gravel/road riding today weren't available yet in the mid-2000's. 

Nutrition was another reason to haul a rucksack with you. Your jersey pockets would also provide some space to carry food, but not enough for 200 miles. Plus, you needed repair items, just in case, as well. Those had to go somewhere. I think I settled on a Topeak seat bag, as I recall, for the spares. 

And navigation. Ha ha! People would throw a fit today if they were sent out on a forlorn, desolate route with just a map with a highlighted route on it. This is what we were led to believe we'd have to navigate by previous to the event. In the end, Joel and Jim marked the entire 200 mile course so well a map was barely a necessity, unless you made a wrong turn somewhere. 

So, a wired or wireless computer was a necessity. GPS? Yeah...... Think again. This was 2006. Such devices were not quite a thing yet in those days. Calibration of your computer was a fine art. Then you also had to account for how you wanted to carry your maps. Early gravel events had cues or maps and there was no agreed upon standard sizing for such things. So sometimes this was a late decision based upon whatever the event directors landed on for sheet size. Zip-loc food bags were your best bet along with a clip to hold all the sheets together. 

Decisions, decisions! Then added in was whatever you thought you'd need for clothing going into a night time finish. It was pretty crazy trying to navigate all the unknowns then! But this is what made these events so fun and memorable. 

Next: Learning lessons as a rider and event director.