2013 Woodchipper 100 - The One That Made Me Cry

This was the race that really got me interested in gravel racing.  I know there are a lot of other gravel races that are more well known and famous, (Almanzo, Dirty Kanza, etc.) but this one takes place in my backyard with the route passing within two miles of my house.  Last year, with the help of the cross country team I coach, we had offered support to the riders and I thought, why am I not doing this?

Last month I rode the Inspiration 100 in 90 degree heat and clear skies.  This couldn’t have been more contrasting.  The race was moved from Saturday to Sunday due to a chance of measurable snow on Saturday and the temp at the start line hovered at a lowly 44 degrees.  The last minute date change and also the weather also played havoc on the size of the field as instead of the expected 40-50 riders, just over 10 of us were brave enough to have a go at this. 


 At mile 7, my wife had brought our three daughters to a corner we pass near my house so they could see us race by.  I stopped for hugs and pictures and answered my four year old’s questions like “why aren’t there fences for the people to cheer behind?” (we watch a lot of cycling on summer mornings). 

Stopping to see my family

I had been pretty disappointed at the start that defending champion Adam Bergman and last year’s runner-up Taylor Krosbakken weren’t here and had wondered who I would ride with.  By mile 17 as we neared Pelican Rapids, I couldn’t see second place anymore behind me.  I knew I now had about 85 miles of solo riding.  A lot of thoughts went through my head...  “What are my goals now for this?  How can I push myself?  Can I sing thru every song we played while I was worship pastor at eXperience church?   Think about the most epic solo rides you’ve watched in the last few years...Matteo Rabottini in Stage 15 of the 2012 Giro in pouring rain...Tony Martin’s Stage 6, 175 km failed but epic breakaway...think about the suffering that people in races like Trans Iowa have to deal with...this is just you cruising around your neighborhood...”

The craziness of Trans Iowa

I finally settled on trying to beat last year’s 2nd place finishers time of 6 hours, 17 minutes.  I knew that I would have to average about 16+ mph and that seemed doable, so at about mile 20, I put my head down, started singing through old set lists, and hammered away. 

Somewhere around mile 40

Aside from growing tiredness, everything was going to plan as I “entered the awesomeness”* of the Vergas Trails area of the course and at mile 65.7, I hopped off my bike to go around the fence that marked the beginning of the trail section of the Vergas Trails.  At this point, the course traveled into a forest service trails system used by snowmobiles.  I had ridden through the area earlier this summer and had found my way out fine but this time things went wrong.  This particular forest area was a 1 mile by 1.5 mile area of trees and trails and we were supposed to spend 1.3 miles on the wilderness trails.  The problem was that some clearing had been done since this summer and things looked very different...that and which trail we were supposed to take within this maze was not marked... 

I came upon a clearing that appeared to dead end and I didn’t recognize it due to the new look of the woods, sidenote: had i gone straight over the dirt pile hiding the trail, i would have found the trail and been out of the woods in about a 1/4 mile.  I turned around though and headed down another trail that dead ended as well and I went down a third trail.  When that trail dead ended, I turned around to head back again on the trail, only...I couldn’t find the trail.  I searched and searched but could not figure out where I had come from.  It was as if the woods had closed in around me. 

It’s crazy how out of whack your emotions can be when you are really tired and lost, because I leaned over my bike realizing I was lost in the forest with no idea how to get back out and cried...yep...I cried like a baby!  After about a minute of that, I realized my man card might get taken away if I didn’t get myself together and I decided the best move at this point was to just start walking west through the woods carrying my bike.  I knew that eventually, I would hit the road on which I was supposed to be traveling. 

Walking through multiple thickets and getting cut/slashed by more thorn bushes than I could count was difficult enough.  However, when I was trying to follow animal trails because they kind of resembled a path and I was in road shoes, it was nearly impossible to walk.  After using every swear word in every language I know or kind of know (English, Spanish, Somali, German, Polish), I finally walked out into a rancher’s field.  I realized upon leaving his long driveway, that I was about a mile north of where I was supposed to be and I quickly headed down the trail/dirt road to get back on course.

Lost in the wilderness...

When I finally passed where I was supposed to re-enter the “gravel” portion of the course, I saw bike tire tracks and went through the cursing repertoire again.  My time goal had evaporated when the trail had led me astray, but now  I wasn’t leading anymore and had some work to do.  So I started hammering away again.  The problem was, I wasn’t really on a decent trail/road yet and 20 mph with mud and pea gravel at the bottom of descents resulted in crashing...hard.  For the third time in a relatively short period I went through the cursing...this time screaming them out loud in the general direction of my bike.  I dusted/cleaned the mud off myself and got going again. 

A bit further down the road, I passed the race director’s empty car and realized the tire tracks must have been his and that he had ridden back into the forest to take pictures...somehow, I was miraculously still in the lead...I thought, "I'm guessing the others are lost as well..." 

Family Time

I had entered the forest at mile 65 and my Garmin had read 3 hours and 55 minutes.  I exited the forest with my Garmin saying 5 hours and 15 minutes. 

The next two plus hours were relatively uneventful and well within the norm of an endurance race.  Here were some highlights.

-Garmin battery died
-Cramps came and went...repeat
-Got waived at by lots of farmers
-Crashed again with 2 miles to go in sandy section of double track

The highlight of the day was riding into the finish and having my family there.  My little girls were pretty excited to see me and the oldest was really excited that I won and got a trophy.  She even asked me if she could kiss me on the cheek like the big girls do to the riders on TV!  Of course I said yes.

 

*direct quote from que sheets