The rain reached the roof of Pete’s camper just after midnight on race day, and I was glad for it. That’s the sound of a heatwave dying, I told the ceiling. Foul is fair. Lincoln had been murderously hot all week, with heat indexes nosing toward 120. I worried I’d have to tell my brother … More Gravel Worlds 2023: Fair Is Foul
My memory of that Saturday evening last year is pretty sketchy. But within an hour or so of finishing Gravel Worlds’ inaugural Long Voyage 300, I’m pretty sure I promised my daughter we’d tackle the 50k Buccaneer together in 2022. Sydney liked that idea. So did my wife. And you bet your butt I accepted … More Gravel Worlds Grows a New Mindset
My oldest daughter let me know she wouldn’t be at the start of the Pirate Cycling League’s first Long Voyage 300. (She had cross country practice after school.) But she said she knew what she’d be missing. “That’s a lot of mental illness in one place,” she said. I refused to agree with her, but … More Long Voyage 300: At Least We’re Highly Functional
“What’s It Worth to You?” (WIWY) is a question just about every bike racer asks just about every race. For me, the WIWYs typically come about two-thirds in, when the pain turns stale and stuff gets weird. I want to show you a little of the weird that uncurled for me from last weekend’s 10th … More Gravel Worlds 2019: What’s It Worth to You?
Lincoln’s Gravel Worlds long ago earned its place in the big three of Midwestern gravel racing (also known as the coolest part of cycling). Dirty Kanza in Emporia, Kan., has the corner on tallgrass-prairie beauty and bike-eating ruggedness. The Flint Hills are a sight to behold. (Photo, travelks.com) The Land Run 100 in Stillwater, Okla., … More Look What We Have Here: Gravel Worlds 2018
Plenty of things about Gravel Worlds make me shake in my cleats. There’s the distance: 150 miles out (and two miles up). There’s the late-August heat (and the late-season fatigue). The gravel itself isn’t the tire-eating stuff you find outside Emporia, but it can lull you into problems—convince you it’s packed and fast, then go … More Thoughts (and prayers) on Gravel Worlds 2017
Three weeks ago, I called Nebraska’s premier gravel cycling race a “dusty, dragon-sized hairdryer.” A “150-mile hot scream.” Well, Gravel Worlds 2016 proved neither dusty nor hot. A cold front brought an inch of rain the evening prior, then pushed highs down into the mid-70s. The wind blew, but mercifully cool. And only the Pirate … More Gravel Worlds 2016: Eating Soup with a Knife
Dirt Tan Bike Club 