The calm before the storm

I had my last long ride before next weekend's Dirty Kanza 200, a nice 80 miler with some big hills in the middle, temps in the lower 90s and a heat index in the high 90s to just over 100F. It was a good ride, but the heat did take a little bit out of me at points. I'm as prepared as I can be, and, barring anything unexpected, I am confident that I'll meet my goals for the race.

As far as my ride goes, here is how it will be set up

• Salsa La Cruz (36/46 up front, 12-27 10 speed in the back)
• Ultrega front / Dura Ace rear derailers. 105 brifters. 
• Stronglight Pulsion carbon crankset 
• Avid BB7 road disc brakes
• Stans ZTR Crest 29er rims with Schwalbe Marathon Mondial HS tires (tubeless)
• Revelate Tangle frame bag
• Profile T3+ aero bars
• Profile seatpost water bottle mount.
• Garmin 800

Other than maybe the crankset, nothing particularly exotic. All of it has a bunch of miles on it and has been extremely dependable during the last few months of training rides. The weather forecast is currently looking pretty mild compared to normal years, so I'm hoping 4 bottles per segment is enough.

The rest of this week is mostly 90 minute easy rides and one short set of intervals so that the motor doesn't forget what it's supposed to do this weekend. I'm looking forward to spending some time with my friends Dennis and Adam on the trip down and back, as well as meeting up with some people that I haven't seen in a couple of years. Talking with friends old and new is the highlight of these events for me. A weekend with like-minded folks is always good for the head and the soul. 

Dirty Kanza 200 Prep

No posts lately due to spending almost all of my spare time the last month and a half preparing the body and the bike for the Dirty Kanza 200. 12 - 18 hour weeks on the bike have been the norm. It has been tiring, and it has been tough balancing work, home and riding, but I think I have things in a reasonable state, and the date is almost here. Have had a lot of 200 and nearly 300 mile weeks in my legs, with a good mix of short and long rides, plus intervals, gravel rides, and some mountain biking.

I've had some friends along on various training rides, but there's been a lot of riding alone, which is good as it gives me time to focus on my goal, which is to finish this beast of a race in 15 hours - an average speed of 13.6 MPH for 205 miles. This means minimal time off the bike, a flawlessly executed plan at the checkpoints, no hydration or nutrition mistakes, and some luck.

With 2 weeks of training left before a bit of taper before the race, time is running out. My weight is close to where I want it, and I have almost everything dialed in on the bike, other than some lighting decisions. JJ Bailey at Zoom Performance has been instrumental in getting me to where I'm at now. With a few tweaks these final three weeks, I'm going to be in the best shape I've ever been in for this event.

For now, I leave you with this. This beautiful, but isolated scenery is what keeps drawing me back to this race time and time again. You can lose and find yourself out here all at once. Click for a better view.