This may be shocking, but the final leg is mostly a black
blur to me. Dave and I made good progress, pedaling as fast as we could stand.
We climbed when the road tilted up, and descended as the road tilted down.
There were far fewer turns in this segment; so long straight lines were leading
us north, around the top of Emporia. We picked up some other riders, and rode
in a group for a while. Somewhere in the
middle the group began to slow, savoring the company and what had become a
fantastic night. I on the other hand had places to be. I wanted my pint glass,
hopefully full, and was not going to slow down. My butt had checked out,
sitting and pedaling wasn’t fun anymore. The inside of my knee would complain
if I stopped pedaling and stood to relieve the pressure on my butt. I found
myself not quite knowing how to relieve the pain, but pedaling without stop
seemed to help. The glow of Emporia beckoned me. Seeing the lights of the town
grow helped my spirits. I checked the map as often as I could, ticking the
miles down. Due to minor turns to find checkpoints, I had a couple extra miles
on my computer, forcing me to do a bit of extra math at every turn. It was a
welcome diversion to keep my occupied. I was catching riders, even if it was by
surprise. I knew where I was going and didn't need to stop to consult my map. I
quickly passed through Americus, marked nearly as badly as Cottonwood Falls,
but hoping the blinking lights in the distance were right I passed on. I did
see the bar in town open, the sole business still operating, and I almost
stopped for a pint. An open bar meant I wasn’t out of time yet, but it was time
to go as fast as I could. I had settled into a solitary dance, standing
pedaling, sitting, swearing, and pedaling some more. I was ready to be off the
bike for sure. After what seemed like hours I finally found my last right turn.
Hitting mile 201 was a sweet right turn, and a straight uphill through the ESU
campus and into downtown. I’d like to apologize to everyone in Emporia, I ran
all of your red lights and stop signs in a sprint (or what was left of one)
into downtown. There were some people in front of me, and I was determined to
catch at least one of them sleeping. After 20 hours of racing, it was totally
worth it. I crossed the line at 2:45 AM, Sunday after riding 206 miles in 20
hours, 45 minutes. I wasn’t the last man; I collected my pint glass; and
promptly handed my bike and glass to L. She handed me back a Jimmy John’s
sandwich, which was amazing. The same people who had met me at stop three had
stayed until the wee hours to see me in. It was the best finish I could have
hoped for. After some sleepy conversation, everyone filtered off showers and
sleep.
Later that day…
L and I slept long into the morning, unfortunately missing
the awards ceremony and breakfast. I had really looked forward to that, but the
sleep was so marvelous that I didn’t care. I am still-hunting for a shirt for
L, it is her prize for providing me the best support anyone could have asked
for. My Salsa el Mariachi performed flawlessly. No mechanicals, and a smooth
steel ride for 20 some odd hours. I had been riding the Geax Saguaro’s for months
beforehand, and they were tough enough to not flat once. I have already decided
to ride the Dirty Kanza again, now I just have to decide if I want the
half-pint or another full pint. I may lighten the bike or experiment with the
setup over the next year, or I may just go full expedition again and ride it
the way it is.
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