Adventures in bike packing::: the steamboat ralleye

Buckle up this is gonna be a long one. For starters. This was my first ever bike packing trip and also first adulthood camping experience. Put em both together and that's a lot of firsts. I knew going in, that the learning curve would be steep. I also knew this was simply one of those things you just need to do - make some mistakes and learn from them- while researching stuff online and following others' advice was helpful I knew really it would take jumping in and trying. Failing. Trying again.

So let's talk equipment first. When I decided to come on this trip shortly after I got home from kanza I knew I couldn't do a cx bike. I needed more comfort and more gears and upright riding position. I decided to go with the Cannondale F-Si Hardtail for this event (as well as for crusher a few weeks ago). 

This mtn bike is wicked light -approx 19 lbs outta the box. Some said I was crazy for using such a high end race bike for something like this. And for strapping loads of luggage to it. Carbon wheels and bars and seat post ?? Well I put it all to the test and It passed with flying colors ! I opted not to weigh my stuff beforehand as I didn't want to know ... But once Home I weighed the bike fully loaded with my gear. Bike + gear = 35 lbs. 

Holy moly. No wonder my legs were torched !! 

Alright so once bike decision was made I had to figure out a bag configuration to carry my gear. I ordered a Blackburn saddle bag which basicslly holds a cone shaped bag you can stuff full and roll up at the top. It held a lot. 

*Only con to this bag is that even tightly belted in, it swung back and forth on the seat post which I really felt when i would stand to climb. But it was easy to pack and super secure. 

Here's what i put in mine:

Puffy jacket 

Light pants

Short sleeve and long sleeve wool shirts

Second bib shorts

Second socks

Head/neck muff

Beanie hat

Wind vest

Rain jacket

Running shorts

Changing skirt

And Smaller bag containing: two cords for phone and garmin charging, toothbrush and toothpaste, chamois cream, sunscreen, ibuprofen tiny bottle, earplugs, headlamp and eating spork. 

I wore the same jersey all three days - I chose an orange Rapha jersey because it was a Bright, visible color (I worried about hunters but didn't need to) and it was primarily made of wool so it dried fast and semi- odor free. I carried my on-the-road food in the two back jersey pockets and intentionally kept them light. It was so nice having nothing on my back! 

Then for my top tube bags I was able to borrow two - one from revelate designs and the other handmade. 

In the cockpit bag (black) I put:

Phone

Wallet

Chapstick

Baby wipes

Light snacks 

This bag was so handy to get to my phone to take pics or apply Chapstick or grab a snack. 

In the orange bag at seat post I put all bike supplies:

Two tubes

Patch kit

Park tool multi tool with chain tool

Spare chain link

Chain lube

Mini first aid kit

*the one issue with this bag is that even slightly full, the sides puffed out and began to rub on my inner thigh and eventually got raw there on day one. I would probably skip any bag system between the legs in the future due to this or pack it only very minimally.  

The final item was a revelate designs handlebar bag - shaped as a tube it was perfect to stuff my (borrowed lightweight north face) sleeping bag into and then the exterior flap was perfect for rolling up my (borrowed light weight 3/4 length) sleeping pad into. 

I also clipped in my eating/coffee cup and strapped in my OOFOS flip flops and gloves to this bag. I was advised it is best to balance out weight over the entire bike and I tried my best to do so. 

All of this ::: 

Fit on the bike like this:::

So - what could I have left home or done without or ... what would I have brought with me now knowing what I know? 

I didn't wear the running shorts. Camp sites were chilly enough at night I went straight to pants. I only used changing skirt once and made due with bathrooms or trees for changing. Those could've stayed home. I wish I'd brought a clean pair of bibs for each day. Rinsing out a chamois and air drying just does not work for me. Putting on a 'clammy chamois' on day three and riding on what felt like sandpaper under my sits bones really hurt. A fresh pair of shorts would've been worth their weight in gold. 

I also wish I'd just taken a bit of chamois Cream and put into a ziploc and same for sunscreen. Skip bringing the container no matter how small it is. 

And I'd go with a full length sleeping pad versus the 3/4 -it left my heels on the ground which as it turns out, hurts more than I expected. 

For water : I wanted to keep my back free of weight due to the issues I have with back and neck pain so I went with two bottle cages in the bike frame (*note we were told to expect either van support or campgrounds approx every 20-25 miles to refill). Knowing now what I know I would've prob brought a camelback and / or a third bottle and / or a filter or iodine tabs to drink stream water. More about this later.  

In short tho - my bike was solid ... not one flat or mechanical issue and not one thing fell out of my bags. People suffered  numerous flats and maladies like broken derielleurs and broken racks or cameras falling out of bags or phones launching out of packs. I was also REALLY glad to have that front leftie fork I could lock out or ride engaged. Used it a lot in the rugged downhill sections. (A LOT). With all that weight on the bike it's really nice to smooth out the bumps with suspension. 

**********

Ok so. The ride. Steamboat ralleye was promoted as being an approx 200 mile ride over three days with 20,000 feet elevation gain. Some of our route maps: 

Meals were provided by TheCyclistsMenu (amazing!!) farm to table locally grown and purchased gourmet healthy items - and lunch and water provided on the routes. (Ish. There were a few snafus here). Campsites were reserved for our entire group and maps and gps files were provided in advance. For a small fee, 50 of us got to line up for this adventure which departed from New Belgium brewery. We were allowed to pack a small bag for the final night in steamboat and those bags went into the support van. 

I talked my friend I-Ling into joining me. We'd never done bike packing before and were more nervous than either of us have ever been for a bike or adventure race. She's camped before but neither of us had carried that kind of load on our bikes over these distances. We suffered 'nervous giggles' and trepidation Wednesday night and Thursday morning pretty bad. (What have we done?!). 

Wednesday night was the meet and greet party at BRAVE NEW WHEEL. We rented a hotel room in Fort Collins and took hotel -provided cruisers out for a spin over to the party. Pretty awesome way to #ridemoredriveless.  

I got to hop on the local radio show broadcast during the party too!

We grabbed dinner and called it a night. Thursday morning we met everyone at new Belgium to get the ride going. Some advised whiskey to quiet our nerves and I-Ling gave it a whirl. (She later said it did help). We also got to meet Bama and admire his get-up. He's pro at bike packing. Also he's got #2 dad on the back of his shirt (competition is too fierce for #1 he said). Oh ps he doesn't have kids. That made it 2x as funny. He also carried an inflatable guitar on his bike on day 3. So funny. 

Whiskey down the hatch. 

She was brave and tried it. 

Off we went and rolled out of Fort Collins. 

Somehow I knew I'd been needing some of this today. 

Van assistant Zoe is from Omaha. So. that's rad. Here was our impromptu lunch stop on the road. 

Day one had a TON of climbing. Here at Rustic, I stopped to regroup before beginning the really tough climb up Manhattan towards our campsite. This climb nearly broke me. (Admiration points went to the guys who stopped here for burgers and fries and THEN rode the climb!!). 

Really tough climb Translation: I Walked the bike on some of the Steep stuff. Got rained on. Got hailed on. Ugh. And then. I made it to our campsite. 

Chamois off. Washcloth wipe down.  Warm clothes on. <restrooms all out of order and no water here ?! Huh?? > find a spigot. Rinse out hair. Ahh. Life is good. Let's give this camping bit a go. 

And then she finished with a big Ol grin. And I was less worried she'd want to stop being friends... 

And then my first real camping experience ensued -- you know, the kind that includes gourmet farm to table dinner, virtually unlimited beers provided by new Belgium and smores and campfire magic !  Plus tent setup 101. 

Eating from a metal cup has never tasted so good!! 

Luckily we solved all the world's problems. Before 9pm: 

Not gonna lie ...the first night of sleep was rough. Was Grateful for my earplugs but wow, that ground was hard. Tossed and turned lots. Back hurt ... Shoulders and hips ... Friday morning came too soon. 

Day 2: was billed as an easier day than day one in terms of miles and elevation. We were warned it was far more desolate and strongly encouraged to ride with the folks who had the route on GPS. 

What they forgot to mention was there would be sections of technical rocky climbing and descending. And no water anywhere. (We learned later that the van- which was supposed to be in three spots- was taken out of commission to help a rider that crashed). And a creek crossing and up an embankment to stay on course (surely the map would mention this? Nope). 

This is when megan fully kicked herself for not ensuring her garmin had loaded all three days GpS files. DO NOT Leave home before confirming your files uploaded !!***  Lesson: don't drop three files into garmin at once. Upload one at a time. 

But first - the initial 35 miles were bliss. Miles of smiles ::: 

Ahhh that sweet gravel goodness..... No cars. 

After this part I stopped taking pictures because ... Well ... I was tightly rationing my water and getting lost. I missed the creek crossing up the embankment turn and instead went off course and climbed up to 10k only to find a 'road closed' sign at the top. And then panicked. Lost. Nearly out of water. 5pm. No cell signal. No clue how far to even backtrack. Soooo panicked. Too early to assume the fetal position and start sucking my thumb? Kicking myself for doing this. And then thank goodness!!!!!  ran into five or so riders from our group. Seriously --this was pure luck and I'm not sure how this story would've ended otherwise. 

I Struggled through the final miles of climbing -much of which meant me pushing my bike uphill, walking ... and then miraculously we made it down the super rocky techie descent sections and deep sand sections ... To the highway and into town. After 6pm. Such a long day. I was cracked. Hard. 

Most of our crew rolled in after dark. It was a very long -sketchy -testy day. Many of these folks were on cross bikes or city bikes - some with just one gear! But everyone's spirits remained high. Truly inspiring.

And then the sunset and dinner made all the pain go away. We camped in Walden city park. 

The cyclistsmenu thinks of everything ... even mood lighting !! These guys are simply awesome. 

We called it a night early because without a campfire, the mosquitos came to harvest our flesh and souls. Into the tent and we crashed hard. And then froze. Brrrrr. Note: pack one pair of socks just for sleeping. 

And then - day 3. Shortest miles and least elevation gain. Whew. One big climb over buffalo pass. 

We Rolled out with new friends ryan and Mitch and chatted on the flat stuff. Once we hit the bottom of buffalo pass (where there was supposed to be water at a campground and there was not) our group split up and we all chugged to the top. After rationing my limited water two days in a row, I was vowing never again to ride with just two bottles. 

Still. I made it to the top. 

The life-saving properties of a cold can of coke after a hard climb cannot be explained properly in words. Enjoyed it thoroughly at the summit. 

Another one for emphasis : 

A long downhill into steamboat and we were done ! A few of us showered quick -then walked down the road for a fast burger (ahem starving !!!!), rolled back to the brewery and then to Moots for the final group dinner (and shenanigans). 

We did not mess around. Three burgers with fries and dan's malt went down the hatch FAST. 

Heidi and Zander are just so dang awesome. 

A few closing words from Bama and ride host Peter. 

And because we could not STAND the thought of riding anywhere else - like the KOA campsite down the road- several of us opted to camp at moots for the final night. We slept sooooo well. 

We survived three days of hard riding and three nights of camping. Solid experience. Rode hard and gained some fitness and also learned a lot. 

Huge thanks to ride leaders peter and Logan and crew, van driver danny, TheCyclistsMenu, jake the mechanic/chef, Skratch labs, moots, new Belgium, and all the small pieces and parts that made this thing into a grand adventure.  

Will i do this again? Give me about two weeks for selective memory to kick in ...and then my answer will probably be yes 😄⛺️🚲❤️ 

Here are the strava stats for each day:

Crusher in the tushar

Crusher in the Tushar was a hard and hot one this year. But I was thrilled with my bike selection. That F-Si hardtail Cannondale Bicycle Corporation 29er was PERFECT. Great gearing, a front leftie shock I could both use and lock out, ENVE Composites wheels that flew on the downhills and a more upright position that my back certainly appreciated... unlike last year on the CX bike which left me walking the Col de' Crush, this year I was happy to pedal and thankful for the bigger tires on the super loose gravel descents.    

Just missed the podium by one spot - finished sixth in women 36-49... dang! But consider the weekend a WIN having fun with teammate Dawn Orwick. 

One of the seven things to do in beaver is visit their cheese factory --

We also walked puffer lake and drove parts of the course-

Then came race day --

Afterwards, my legs were tired ... 

How fitting that our hotel room in fruita had bike art - 

Denver century ride

So much fun touring Denver by bike with friends ! It was a really hot day so all the aid stations were welcome sights. We also got to ride the cherry creek DAM road -normally closed to cyclists -it as closed to cars for the event! 

A perfect day

No race for me today but a perfect road ride with some friends and I felt like sharing it on my blog. In short ...we left north golden nice and early ... and rode down to deer creek then Up DC ...up Parmalee gulch ...and up Kerr gulch ... 

We all happened to wear our favorite HB mustache socks today. Great minds ...

Once on Bergen parkway we decided to scout out the new bike trail going in along I70 between Bergen and Lookout ... It's far from finished but open and rideable dirt --and it made for a fun adventure on the road bikes !! 

Summer is officially here and in fact the heat has me feeling a bit sick. Seems we went from 60s to 90s overnight ! 

But man I love bikes and love long rides with fun friends !! 

Pic by Tmac : 

Pic by justoni :

Dirty kanza

Nearly one week post-race and I'm finally ready to put down thoughts and recap on e-paper to share... It's hard to capture the event and feelings and emotions appropriately and even harder to share a failure publicly. That's right. I didn't finish. ;( 

So let's backup. I was preparing to do the 8 hour drive there and back by myself in the TCL van like I did last year. But I was dreading it - I couldn't bring the dogs this year the temps were too hot- and especially feared the drive home Sunday after such a grueling event. I paid a spontaneous (read: freak out about tires and lights) visit to a bike shop here in golden and moaned about the drive to fellow cyclist Taylor as we talked tire selection. [sidenote : we went with new Clement tires and sealant and he even cleaned my bike for me - stoked!! Thanks Taylor!]

Well a guy who works at the shop also popped in that day similarly fussing about the solo drive and Taylor connected us to carpool. This is how it came to be that I had a driving mate - Russ- who also happened to be a former DK200 winner. [another side note: if you're gonna carpool 16 hours with a total stranger it's pretty rad when they can offer helpful race tips as a former victor].  

And so we did the 8 hour drive to emporia Kansas on Thursday and even had time to spin the legs before making our way to the sponsor appreciation dinner. [I came on as a sponsor this year after experiencing the DK Magic last year. I'll be a sponsor as long as they'll have me].

Before dinner, we visited the local art gallery featuring 2015 DK200 artwork- and got to meet the artists - so cool. 

After that it was dinner at Radius Brewing and sampling of the Dk200 special brew on tap. Yummy. 

Friday brought a large morning group ride to spin the legs and it was led by local cyclists - positively beaming with pride at their town and the event and what the event means to their town. In case you haven't guessed, this event is a BIG deal to emporia. It's their single biggest event / money maker of the year ! Ahhh all for love of gravel. Super fun to connect with tim johnson and lyne bessette on the ride. Both were on Cannondale Slates (read: jealous)  pics are steamy because well...Kansas is steamy. 

After the ride was packet pickup and registration and much to my surprise I was handed a stack of trading cards bearing my image ! How fun. Such a neat detail that twenty or so riders each year have trading cards to hand out. DK has a way of doing small things in special ways to make this event truly unique. 

I set my TCL tent up in the expo all day ...but I had too much fun riding and socializing to do, to hang at the tent. Hopefully folks helped themselves to the bottles and other goodies I set out.

Friday Evening brought the rider meeting at the emporia theater. Always fun and informative, this particular year they brought in a rancher who owns land that we ride across and he explained many Things about the flint hills as well as what happens when groups of riders spook cattle (it's not good. They go plowing down fences and combining herds of separately owned cattle into one big group. Read: massive heachahe to sort out). 

Loved seeing my logo up there - 

The night wrapped with a fun cookout with friends from the golden area and I'm not going to lie ...there was a slight aura of nervousness. Ok maybe just mine. 

Last year I did the 100 and it took me eight hours and at the time was the hardest thing I'd done on a bike. This year I was going for double the distance. My longest ride to date was 150 miles - last year's gravel world's- and longest straight event was my ironman last fall at twelve hours. Suffice it to say I was headed into uncharted territory.... 

Then I commenced a super duper ridiculous packing frenzy ::: what goes on the bike and in my camelback and in my drop bags and how Many tubes and how many chews and other such compulsive Things ... You hope you're doing it right. How much of everything does one carry for 200 miles ?! As little as possible while being prepared for anything. 

Alright. If you're still with me I'm finally at race day. 4am wake up for 6am race start. 

Oh but wait. Overnight I woke to thunder and pouring rain. So much for the super dry fast course... Luckily it stopped by race start but it soaked and flooded the roads near town. 

Ok so the start. Callups for the fasties and for the rest of us : self -seeding. I got in midway between the 14-16 hour groups. 

And then we were off. We rolled out of town on roads and as we made the turn to get on gravel we saw what the rain had done. It had created lakes. A couple miles in and we were soaking wet and mud covered. Sigh. I was worried about the mud section we had to walk last year. Would it be more of the same ? 

Mile five I rolled up on many of the pros and elite riders on both sides of the road off their bikes with derielleurs hanging off their bikes. It was derielleur death row. I'm not kidding. People right in front of me would be riding along and suddenly SNAP another one would go. I got off and began carrying my bike because - why would I be immune ?! I kept hosing off my chain and derielleur with my camelback straw. Praying please don't let my day end five miles in. !! (Many racers' days did in fact end right there. A lot actually. Couple hundred I'd guess?! Including my copilot Russ as I later learned).  

Once I felt it was safe to get back on and start pedaling again, I did so very gingerly. No chain pressure and honestly expecting to hear the snap of bike parts any moment. I soft pedaled like this for an hour and only covered ten miles in that first hour. 

It was shaping up to be a long day. 

Good news tho: the muddy slog-walk section from 2015 was bone try and took mere minutes to ride through. Whew. 

I made my way into the first stop at mile 48 and grabbed the food and mix I'd packed and shoved cookies in my mouth along with Dr Pepper as my camelback was being refilled. I had the SRAM guy check my bike to assure me that my rear derielleur was ok and it was. Lubed my chain and off I went. It had taken me around four hours to get there so I really wanted to pick up my pace. 

And I did. I rode 48-to next stop around mile 103 pretty aggressively. I allowed myself to stop at mile 75 to check my phone and text my updates. This is when I learned Russ' and so many others' days had ended at mile five. Super bummer. I gave thanks for my perfectly functioning bike and zero flats thus far. Seeing rider after rider fixing tires and bike parts on course made me continually grateful for my amazing machine. 

And then I ran out of fluids. I underestimated how the camelback would feel heavy even once the water was gone. Sucking the straw and getting air unexpectedly was not good. My bottle with Skratch in it was down to 1/4 full. 

Ugh. I had over twenty miles yet to go and was out of fluids in the hot windy Kansas flint hills. 

So i did what any self respecting racer does. I begged. As I'd encounter riders with full appearing bottles I'd ask if I could steal some. Several had plenty to spare and I gratefully took hits off their bottles (I am amazed I'm not sick after swapping saliva with so many strangers!) not caring what it was or how it tasted. I limped along dehydrated like that until finally I got to the second stop. I'd been parched miles 80-103. Not optimal. 

(A note about support : the rules say riders cannot get support from a vehicle on course but do recognize riders may get support in the way of random people or residents or racers on course- you are expected to be self sufficient in the sense that you're not getting premeditated support or handups). 

I had them fill my 100oz camelback to the BRIM and i filled my Bottle with two Skratch packets. I felt lucky I wasn't cramping and scolded myself for allowing Twenty miles of spotty hydration to happen. I enjoyed anther Dr Pepper and a half of a subway sandwich, refilled my pockets with more snacks and off I went. This was just shy of eight hours in ...

It is really an incredible (awful?) feeling to have just finished a century and realize you're staring down Another century. And it's right in the heat of the day and your butt is starting to feel like you've been sitting on a cheese grater. And your back is tired from carrying a heavy backpack...but that's what it was. 

I set off thinking the third and final stop would be at about mile 148-150 based on mileage of first two (stupid rookie mistake i failed to note where stops were and memorize the mileage!!) ...based on this false assumption I began drinking my camelback water pretty aggressively (plus it was cold and it tasted sooooo good).... 

The miles ticked off and as I approached about mile 141 the wheels really started to fall off. My feet began cramping bad. That was a brand new experience for me. Normally I don't struggle with cramps ... Then my legs started. First my sartorious in one and then the other ... Then the quads separately and then together. I had to start walking the hills because I couldn't stand and mash over them since my legs kept locking up. 

I kept drinking and once again that air came through the straw and I thought - oh noooooo. Racers began bailing off bikes and laying in any shade they could find. Many abandoned and called their rides to come get them. Once I saw this and asked the abandoning rider if he had fluids to spare and he poured his left over bottle into my bottle. I allowed myself small sips from my water bottle as the miles ever so slowly ticked over on my garmin. Around 150 I grew expectant of the next station. I asked racers what mileage that station was and one replied 161. 

Oh geez. Not good ... That was eleven more miles than I'd assumed and way too far to go without fluids in the heat of the day. 

Homeowners along the course must've seen the distress of some riders and went to buy bottled water - they were standing there handing it out to all of us. It was a miraculous oasis in the middle of gravel hell. Another homeowner alongside the road offered to fill our bottles with her garden hose and I readily agreed. So many riders were crumpling from heat and swerving across the road and literally coming undone. I felt mentally good and kept sugar levels up but just couldn't seem to drink enough. My legs kept cramping. 

151-161 were the longest ten miles EVER but finally I rolled into the stop and refilled my camelback and ate and drank and put lights on my bike knowing i would now be finishing well after dark. It was about 7pm and I'd been riding 13 hours. I knew the next 46 would take me 4 more and I was looking at riding 9-11pm in the pitch dark. This made me really nervous but at least the temps were beginning to cool off. 

From the looks of the aid station and how picked over it was and how few riders were there, I assumed I was at the back end of the race. This didn't surprise me since I was avenging less than 14mph. I was disappointed in myself and dreaded the final leg. My spirits fell substantially. 

I departed with a small group of riders and off we went. I failed to note my gamin telling me 'off course' and two miles up the road one rider turned around saying we'd gone the wrong way. 46 miles to go became 50 to go and the four miles out of the way positively cracked me. My ride was still back in town and in that moment I made a call I'll regret forever : "I'm done. Can you come pick me up?" 

I hung up and pedaled slowly back towards town and met my van coming towards me - saddened by my decision but also relieved that I could get off my bike. As we loaded the bike into the van, some homeowners nearby hollered at us like we were famous people and invited us to join their cookout and to have a Coors light with them. (As it turns out he'd worked at Coors here in golden for 20-some years!)... And even tho I knew a beer and brats would be the worst thing ever to put in my tummy, we agreed. And it was really really fun. And it took my mind off feeling like a total failure. (And then yeah I felt like garbage and my stomach hurt a LOT). 

Only then did I learn I'd been sitting about top ten among women overall and likely fairly highly placed in my age group. As I watched racers go by I realized I wasn't at the back of the race as I'd assumed - I was near the front-to-middle. Damn that's a rotten feeling. Admittedly I'm one of those athletes who will dig much harder if I think there's podium potential than I will simply to finish something. I realize now that finishing would've been a victory for me and hey - sometimes you gotta walk before you can run and sometimes you gotta finish before you can worry about racing. 

The DNF stings. 

So this was a big hard lesson for me. The  hydration and legs seizing And the difficulty of those lonely miles into the headwinds (most of second century was into headwind)... I underestimated it. Stupidly. 

So you know what I did ? Not even two days later I committed to being there in 2017 as sponsor and racer. Because I'll be damned if I walk away from this unfinished business. I can't wait to go back and try again. 

Never ever have I seen a TSS like this -!

My strava map:

If you're still reading ...you deserve a prize. Thanks for caring ;) 

For a far more inspiring write up read here:: http://blog.strava.com/dirty-kanza-vs-paris-roubaix-12029/