I must start with a huge THANK YOU to the organizers and volunteers that make this ride happen. I know that you put in a ton of work so we can go out and have a ton of fun on our bikes.
I left my house at 5:30 am to meet Kyle, Andy, Ken, and Robert in Hopkins. The ride from Hopkins to Chaska was good. I recalling saying something to Kyle about our fast pace to Chaska, it shouldn't have bothered me, but looking back, that was a first sign that my body was not full-strength.
We made the traditional stop at the Chaska McDonald's, I've been getting an Egg McMuffin with sausage before every gravel grinder for years (thanks Justin for getting me into that habit!)
When we got to the start line I was feeling good, 20-mile warm up and ready to grind some new gravel. I was really excited for the new route down to Le Sueur and back to Chaska.
I knew from the first 10 miles, I was not having a good day. I believe the flu that had taken me down over the Memorial Day weekend was still weaken me. My first flu-recovery ride was May 31; and my first (& only) aggressive-long training ride was June 6. That ride felt good, so I was optimistic... overly optimistic.
I typically ride out fast with one of the front groups, I like to use the strength of numbers to get some drafting over the first 20-30 miles. I know I'll fade off that pace as the miles go by, but it feels good to get the first miles covered fast. This year, I remember hitting the first big gravel climb and watching every other rider go past me like I was standing still.... no good. I also watched friends ride away from me that I typically ride with. Kyle and I rode LML together in March, we were evenly match most of the day and finished together. But at Benjamin, I just watched him ride away from me. BTW - Kyle is the only Royal Benjamin rider to complete the Royal this year, that was bad-ass in these conditions!
My only advantage on the day was my bike choice, I was on my drop-bar Pugsley (AKA The War Rig). The gravel was some of the softest I've ever seen on a gravel grinder. I heard reports that they added new gravel to these roads a day or two prior to the race. Most riders were sinking into fresh and sandy gravel. I watched many riders lose it in these conditions, trying to maintain control between the soft gravel and heavy winds. My 4" wide tires floated over the soft stuff, but even I sank in a couple times.
The winds were crushing and unrelenting - weather stations reported constant sustained winds of 20-25 mph with gusts up to 35+ mph (I feel like it was stronger out in the open fields). The wind was either a block headwind (see the video below) or a brutal crosswind. The wind was so strong that my typical pace of 13-16 mph on the front-end of a race was reduced to 11 mph.
The slow pace really added to another challenge: hydration. I started the ride with three full 22 oz water bottles (1 water; 1 Skratch Labs; & 1 Nuun). I was empty on all three by mile 30. The first water stop on the route was mile 47 - Rush River Park; and I'd planned to be there in about 3 to 3.5 hours. But those effing winds slowed me down so much that it took 4.5 hours to get to that water stop. Ray was a true friend and lifesaver, his company and water got me through to the Rush River Park. Ray was sharing his frame mounted CamelBak, taking off the nozzle so I could drink from the hose. I'm sure it looked funny/awkward, but I was bad shape so who cares. 2017 is the year I finally get over my issues with hydration packs, I'll be getting a 3 liter CamelBak in the near future.
I've never been in such a deep and dark hole as I was on this ride. At this point, getting to Rush River Park was my one goal, it has a water pump. It was my hope that the water would helped me get some life back, to ride a little further. I tentatively planned to call my personal sag-wagon (Lisa) to pick me up in Le Sueur.... but that's 10 more miles! Ray and I rode into Rush River Park with Ray's friend Todd. When we got there we saw one other rider in the park, laying in the shade, it was Matt with Fulton. Ray checked on him and he was hurting. Ray, Todd and I drank lots of water, poured water on our heads and backs. It brought some life back, but I couldn't think of riding any further. I honestly expected to stay in that park for an hour before slow rolling the 10 miles to Le Sueur.
My eyes got big when I saw a red van pull into the park. Matt's fellow Fulton Racing teammate (sorry forgot your name) had driven down to give Matt a ride back to Chaska, They were generous enough offering me a ride back with them. All they asked in return is that I offer the next random rider help/support when they are in need.
After getting back to Chaska, I spent a while at the finish line drinking a warm BPR talking with some riders that had completed one of the shorter routes. We cheered on other riders as they came in.
Lisa and Lizz drove down to Chaska to give me a ride back home. Between the two car rides, I finished all three of my water bottle... again.
Sitting in the shade on our deck, having a beer, I pulled down my socks to see this 'grim-line'. The sunscreen and sweat made a great magnet for all the blowing sand.
A little about the bike, I picked my drop-bar Pugsley for a couple reasons, but mostly because it was ready to ride. This bike has treated me well over a number of rides, including 2016 & 2017 Almanzo 100, 2017 LML, and the 2016 Filthy 50. It's a mostly stock Pugsley with Salsa Woodchipper bars and Gevenalle shifters. I'm rolling Panaracer Fat B Nibble tires... great tires for gravel.
I'll be back for the 2018 Benjamin!
