Kinda late Friday night, I decided to give the Almanzo 100 a try. This race has super exploded over the last few years. There were quite a few of the Omnium race members heading down, and I was fortunate to connect with one that had a little space for me to tag along.Then the worry started to set in. What do I wear? Should I change my gearing? What food should I bring? Will there be places to fill water along the way? Should I worry about tyre pressure? And the biggest question of all, not having registered, would I be legally allowed to ride? I finally decided to go with what I know and not worry too much about the bike related thing and focus all my worry about the stupid decision of not sending in my postcard 4 months ago.
Saturday opened with an extremely pleasant all be it chilly start. I rode over to Al's house, just a few miles away. We loaded the truck, picked up one other person and pointed the nose south to Spring Valley. We left early enough that parking was not an issue and I strode off to the registration building. All I can say is that everyone I spoke with were super helpful and didn't make me feel like an ass at all. These folk are top notch and I know I will not make that mistake again. They are beyond nice.
Suffice it to say, they hooked me up. With that pressure off my mind, I changed into my riding apparel and began the waiting process. We had close to an hour until start time and I was surprised by how many people I ran into that I knew. In no time, it was time to line up. I stayed toward the back as I was not racing but just going for a fun ride around the country. We rolled out right after the singing of happy birthday to Chris's son and I was engulfed in a sea of riders.
I tried a strategy that seemed to work out very well, I stayed all the way to the right for the first few miles. Racey riders sped by on the left and after 10 miles or so, I settled into a rhythm more my style, though it was a bit fast. We started out with a pretty good tailwind and some decent downhills and it wasn't unusual for me to see upper 20's on my computer. Way faster than I normally ride. And I began to be nervous. It was about this time and 30 some miles in that I ran into the Smith brothers. They were rolling along at a more me pace and I decided to ride with them for a bit. It was shortly after that we caught up with Al and he stayed with us for some time. I can't explain how great it was to find someone I knew along the route. I don't mind riding on my own, but having someone else there to chit chat with was super helpful.
We were just nearing the halfway point when I saw an Omnium rider alongside the road. It was Boyd and his singlespeed chain was not happy. I sent the Smith's and Al off and I worked to see if I could help. After 5 minutes or so, I was able to connect a 10 speed chain pin onto an 8 speed chain and we rolled out. I sent Boyd ahead as he is a much faster rider than I and had an enjoyable conversation with Mark who had also stopped to help. Only a few miles later we came upon Boyd again, walking his bike, chain in hand. I stopped again and made arrangements for Boyd to be rescued and started the chase back to the Smiths. This was the low point of the ride.I still haven't mapped out the route, but it is my understanding that as I was nearly at the half-way point, it was also where we started our way back...into the wind. Now it wasn't always directly head on, but not having Kenny and Mike there meant I was mostly on my own, and wanting to catch back up. Those were a few grim miles but fortunately there was a rest stop not too far down the road at a local farm and the Smiths were still there. A quick fill of my water bottle and we set off.
We settled into a pretty good rhythm. Mike and I would sit and chatter with Kenny usually just a bit behind. Unfortunately for Kenny, he was having a touch of a bad day which put him just a touch behind our pace. This just meant we would hang back for a while and keep him going, or slow up for him to reconnect. We had a quick stop at the park to reposition supplies and up the hill we climbed...and up and up and up. This route is a bit nasty as it seems the most difficult climbs come toward the end of the day. Just a small amount of evil.
Mile 76 found the Banjo Brothers tent and one of the most amazing cans of Coca-Cola I have ever had. I was conserving water and for anyone that knows how I drink when I ride (or don't drink if you will) knows there was very little water entering my system. A couple of Chips Ahoy cookies to top me off and a quick lie down (laying down always feels so good!) and we set off to finish the day. All we had to do was a quick stroll through the river crossing which was at a perfect level, enough water to cool the feet, but not enough to wash rider and bike away.
I was slightly disappointed that I didn't clean the hill at mile 90. I was working my way up this nasty steep, loose dirt climb and I thought, "I can walk this one hill". I hold on to the excuse that my 38/26 was not the correct gear for that climb. Certainly if I go back, it will be with some smaller gearing. There was one other hill at mile 95 but that was much more rideable...longer, but not nearly as steep.
One last interesting thing is that this one hundred mile gravel ride, finishes off with a brand new asphalt bike path. It is a great place to finish, people hanging out watching others come in and having a great time. There is just some serious irony in the road surface. I met up with Al, we waited for Ben to come in and headed for home. All in all it was a fantastic day. The wind, while being noticeable, was not enough to really be devastating. The temps were almost perfect. The roads were in brilliant condition. And the people were beyond amazing. Everyone had a smile of their face and if they don't convince you of Minnesota nice, than I don't want to know you.
Till next year El Monzo.
