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.