Racers need to stop at the towns of Hickman, Malcom, and near Milford to purchase Powerball tickets to prove they made the stops in order. There also was 2 oasis along the route and a secret checkpoint that riders were to get a pipe cleaner. Racers need to be self supported and must purchase water or whatever else they need in the small towns. The day before I prepared several plastic bags mixed with Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem and HEED for each bottle I would need.
The weather was warm and humid 78 degrees at the start. The weather forecast was mid 90's and a strong south winds in the afternoon. My Garmin had a high temperature of 107 in the afternoon. Weather Underground recorded the winds at a steady 20 with gust to 34. There were 203 racers lined up in the dark for the 6:00am start. By the end of the day the heat and the wind would take its toll on all of the riders and only 112 finished.
Riders at 5 miles on the Denton wall photo courtesy Craig Schmidt
Heading north after checkpoint #2 photo courtesy Swanson
Branched Oak Rd around mile 95
MMR mile 99
168th looking north around mile 138
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Potenza during pre-ride around mile 144
Despite having to ride the last 40+ miles by myself and battling the headwinds I ended up with a time of 11:29. My finish was good for 25th overall and 16th in Open Men's. Thanks Cornbread and the entire PCL crew for putting another great event.
