Thursday, August 21, 2014

2014 Gravel Worlds


I made my 5th trip to Lincoln Nebraska for the Gravel Worlds again hosted by the Pirate Cycling League. The course normally is a giant loop around Lincoln with a few minor changes each year to keep it interesting.  The big change to this years course was it would be run clockwise this year for the first time. After last year's blast furnace I was not looking forward to the last 35 miles being into the normal afternoon winds. This year the race started and finished near Denton for the second year at the Reinkordt farm.

 
 

To keep track of riders along the course there normally are 3 stops for Powerball tickets and secret checkpoints. For the first time the PCL had the checkpoints on the cue sheets which helped determine how much food and water to carry between stops. Racers need to be self supported and must purchase water or whatever else they need in the small towns. The racers need to stop in small town gas stations and general stores to purchase Powerball tickets to prove they made the stops in order.   The day before I prepared several plastic bags mixed with Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem and HEED for each bottle I would need. I mixed up 6 bags of mix along with the 2 bottles I started with and hoped it would be enough for 153 miles.
 
 
Potenza getting bike ready before start.  Photo courtesy of Stephen Lam
 
Racers lined up at the start
 
 
 
The PCL delayed the start of the race 15 minutes due to some road construction on Denton Road 5 miles into the race.  There was some culverts being replaced and 30 foot drop-offs on side of road which would be hard to determine where the road ends in the dark.
 
 
After riding this section on Friday I was glad the PCL kept rider safety in mind for the delayed start.  The section was only a mile and not that difficult to ride with another rider, but would be more challenging with 150+ other riders around. I looked at my Garmin when I finished the section and it was 6:40 and sunrise was at 6:37.
 
 
The weather was a cool 70 and foggy in the morning and no wind.  This was a rare treat for the start of the race.  The fog lasted until after the first Powerball stop at mile 34.  With all the moisture on my glasses and the low light in the morning  had a difficult time reading my cue sheet a few times but did not get lost. After the fog lifted it stayed overcast and no wind until almost noon.
 
 


Pulling a group around mile 30 Photo courtesy of Lisa Janssen
 
The early miles seemed to go by rather uneventful with my plan of going out easy and trying to ride an even pace.  My Garmin kept beeping my splits every 5 miles and they stayed very even throughout the day.
 
Split Time Moving Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Speed Avg Moving Speed Max Speed Avg HR Max HR
1 19:20.2 19:16 5 446 371 15.5 15.6 29.4 150 184
2 19:44.9 19:39 5 486 430 15.2 15.3 33.8 150 175
3 18:25.7 18:13 5 121 141 16.3 16.5 27.3 137 167
4 17:48.6 17:49 5 105 92 16.8 16.8 22.6 140 156
5 19:24.1 19:18 5 121 62 15.5 15.5 23.2 146 172
6 17:31.1 17:30 5 164 148 17.1 17.1 26.7 154 170
7 23:57.3 18:10 5 125 161 12.5 16.5 23.6 138 171
8 19:13.3 18:21 5 331 299 15.6 16.3 32.1 149 175
9 19:12.6 19:04 5 528 443 15.6 15.7 30.4 159 175
10 17:49.8 17:40 5 112 82 16.8 17 23.5 159 170
11 19:26.0 18:44 5 161 272 15.4 16 31.1 145 168
12 18:43.9 18:44 5 476 482 16 16 31.5 152 173
13 17:13.7 17:12 5 525 620 17.4 17.4 35.4 160 180
14 25:11.7 19:19 5 344 433 11.9 15.5 28.1 154 174
15 19:16.5 19:09 5 262 217 15.6 15.7 27.8 164 176
16 21:10.0 19:38 5 446 571 14.2 15.3 29 160 174
17 19:48.0 19:48 5 423 466 15.2 15.2 26.1 160 175
18 17:24.4 17:07 5 210 190 17.2 17.5 25.8 155 176
19 20:22.8 20:16 5 338 282 14.7 14.8 25.1 154 174
20 20:08.2 20:10 5 394 269 14.9 14.9 25.9 155 172
21 27:32.8 19:12 5 285 410 10.9 15.6 25.6 145 166
22 20:16.6 20:16 5 427 430 14.8 14.8 28.3 151 164
23 26:14.2 22:01 5 430 384 11.4 13.6 30.2 148 168
24 21:25.4 21:15 5 423 348 14 14.1 27.1 151 166
25 17:12.1 17:12 5 305 358 17.4 17.4 28.8 154 167
26 22:32.7 18:01 5 266 305 13.3 16.7 28.9 149 165
27 19:30.5 19:28 5 397 305 15.4 15.4 29.1 153 164
28 18:52.8 18:52 5 282 299 15.9 15.9 28 156 167
29 20:11.3 18:38 5 295 341 14.9 16.1 28 158 170
30 18:53.6 18:49 5 374 449 15.9 15.9 30.5 161 171
31 11:29.1 11:26 3.25 243 157 17 17 26.6 169 178
Total 15:24.0 40:17.0 153.25 9,846 9,816 14.9 15.8 35.4 152 184
 
Around mile 65 outside of Malcom Photo courtesy of Lisa Janssen
 
 
 
The beautiful rolling hills along NW 168th Street 
 
Outside Garland
 
 
 

Checkpoint 3 was at Schmidty's  Aunt and Uncle's house who have hosted a checkpoint\ oasis every year. There were a few other racers at the checkpoint when I left by myself.  I figured they group would catch me in a few miles.  I ended up riding the last 53 miles alone.  Thankfully the temperature and winds stayed favorable for the entire day.




I ended up with a finish time of 10:15 which was good for 22nd overall and 15th in Men's Open. With just over 4 minutes spent at each stop including waiting in line to purchase my Powerball tickets my 33 minutes of not moving was kept to a minimum.

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