Inspiration 100 Recap.

This past Saturday was the Inspiration 100 inaugural race.  The race started and ended in Garfield, MN just past Alexandria on 94.
I was pretty excited for this race.  It had been a while since I've done a gravel race, many of my friends were doing the race, and the weather (minus the wind) was turning out to be perfect.

The race started at 8 am with a neutral roll out of a 1/4 mile or so.  From there on the next 99 miles were more than 90% gravel.  Once we hit gravel a few of us put the pressure on the front.  We weren't going balls out but fast enough to hopefully break up the field.  I get frustrated riding in big groups of people...too much chaos.

Almost immediately Charlie Schad and I had a jump on the rest of the field.  After rotating through a few times we thought it smart to let some others jump on.  About a group of 10 of us converged and continued on. 

Shortly after I noticed on the cue cards we had a double track with tall grass coming up.  Told Charlie we should be up front for this.  Glad we were.  The double track started out awesome but dwindled down to tall, wet grass hiding the tracks and the monstrous holes.  Fall into one of those and your race could have ended quickly.  At the end of that section (about a mile) Charlie and I had a bit of a jump on the rest of the field.  We pushed on, but with the thought that some of the riders behind would bridge back up.

The next minimum maintenance road was awesome.  It was narrow, treed, rocky, twisty, and narrow.  It was also where I got my only flat, a pinch flat.  Charlie waited while I changed the rear tube.  Not bragging but changed that thing pretty damn fast.  Just as I was connecting the brake the 3rd place rider passed us.
About a 1/4 mile out of the MMR we caught back up and continued to work together for a bit.  The killer headwind and hills appeared to be a bit much at the time and Charlie and I pulled away.  We would ride with each other the rest of the ride.

While the wind was whipping it didn't "kill" us as much as I thought.  It did make sections hard but I think the continuous rollers were harder for me.  The ride ended with 4500 feet of climbing.  Not Almanzo style but more than enough.  I was surprised.

I didn't look at the directions prior to the start so I never realized we went right past my parent's cabin driveway.  My sister, her two kids, and mom were out cheering.  It was a nice boost in the middle of seemingly nowhere.

We made the call to push on without getting a water refill.  Turns out that may not have been the best idea.  The heat and wind towards the end of the ride sapped much of my fluid, leaving me mighty thirsty at the finish.

Skipping a lot of details, Charlie and I finished together at 5 hours 42 minutes.  Both exhausted but happy.  Great race, great volunteers, great directors, great course!  I will be back!
If you want to ride 50 miles in tour fashion they are having a ride October 6th.  Well worth it!

Took Sunday off from riding.  Wanted to ride a bit but had to work.  I did get a 1.5 hour ride in yesterday.  The legs felt pretty good.
Not too sure on the plans for today yet.  I have time!

Later.