As someone who rode as much of the Dirty Kanza 200 this year as possible before succumbing to heat exhaustion, I can honestly report that Craig's rundown of the event here is pretty representative of those couple hundred people that had to hang it up. Mechanical issues from the mud that followed from a quickly moving storm, which followed 94-degree heat and wind made for a fun, challenging race! If you love gravel riding, the Dirty Kanza is not to be missed.
Made it about 140 miles at this year's Dirty Kanza before my rear derailleur decided to donkey up and get stubborn on me. This was it's final act of protest immediately following a 3-1/2 mile slog through some nasty Iowa mud that someone conveniently left in Kansas. Of the 15-20 people that came through that section while I was there, five of us lost our derailleurs on it. I could've converted to single speed, but I weaseled out at this point and called my ride. I feel approximately 18% less manly now. It would be more, but I salvaged a couple points by downing a Bud Light that I scored from some four wheelers while I waited.
On a side note, I got to meet and ride with (for a bit) fellow Cup O' Dirt rider Courtney Hilton. Also spent some time chatting with Mr. Cup O' Dirt Nick the day before the race as well. It's nice getting to know the folks I read about on the COD. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys around more.
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| As a professional bicycle mechanic, my diagnosis would be to poke at that derailleur and say, "Yup, that's your problem right there." |
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