“Th e race startsat 6 AM wh ich gave m e a cou ple of h ou rsto get ready. Food,water, coffee,th e “M orning C onstitu tional”,and a qu ick look at m y bike set u p and gear.”
Satu rday M ay 30,2009 the alarm g oes off at 4 A M .T he race starts at 6 A M w hich g ave m e a cou ple of hou rs to g et ready. Food, w ater, coffee, the “M orning C onstitu tional”, and a qu ick look at m y bike set u p and g ear. O ne strateg y I em ploy w ith m y g ear is to g et as m u ch w eig ht off m y back and on the bike.N o back pack for m e. Ju st a few thing s in m y jersey pockets. T he bike is m y m u le. T hree bottles, E pic R ide R esearch M ou ntain feed bag w ith C lif B loks, g els, and bars, L ezyne pu m p on the cag e m ou nts u nderneath a bottle cag e, three tu bes strapped to the seatpost,and a saddle bag w ith tools,one C O 2 cartridg e,a patch kit,eye drops,extra contact lens,Tylenoland Pepto-B ism ol.T he drop bag for the half w ay checkpoint inclu ded 10 tu bes,a chain and chain tool,tire,fresh cham ois, cham ois lu be,tw o em pty w ater bottles,tools,chain lu be and a rag ,a tow el,C liff B loks and bars,electrolyte tablets and toilet paper. In hindsig ht, I shou ld have had m ore tu bes w ith m e on the bike. In the 2008 D irty K anza I had a string of bad lu ck and flatted 8 tim es. T his year I w as the victim of three flats,bu t one of the tu bes that I thou g ht w as g ood w as actu ally an old pinch flatted tu be.L u ckily,the patch kit bailed m e ou t,bu t dou ble patching a pinch flat w hile in the m iddle ofa g ravelg rinder is not ideal.
dirtykanza XXC SEASON ONE: ISSUE THREE
Som e folks ride cross bikes w hile others opt for m ou ntain bikes.T here’s u su ally a pretty g ood m ix of both at the event. T he rocky terrain is definitely bu m py enou g h to w arrant the fatter tires of a m ou ntain bike, bu t m ost riders w ho are g oing for the podiu m choose a cross bike. I’d have to say that cross bikes are better su ited for flatter sections w ith m ore g enerou s g earing . FY I, there hasn’t been a rider on a m ou ntain bike that has w on a D K 200 event yet. M aybe next year.M aybe it cou ld be you . C on tin u ed > PAGE 5
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