Gravel Worlds Long Voyage 300 2023

This short post was written in 2023

Lined up early. It was hot. No shade, no clouds. Starting pace was easy. There was a big front group. I commented “I love a good group ride”. It was hot, and dusty. The front started ramping up the pace. The heat got to me. I dropped and stopped chasing. I was able to settle in and ride my own ride. I would ride with others when I could, and enjoyed the passing conversions. But, I never really formed a good group to work with. We all seemed happy to ride our own rides. I had planned on skipping stops, but I had to refill at mile 46. It stayed hot into the night. I lost my appetite, and stopped drinking my high carb. Night riding is hard. I had problems staying awake, again. I drank 4 Redbulls through the night. I stopped frequently to buy Redbulls, and closed my eyes for a timed minute. The sun coming up was a huge boost of energy for me, it was like a new ride. Temperature was 67 degrees and I found my stride. I did math and had to start pushing to make a 24 hour time. I pushed hard on the two flat sections, and tried to TT my pace up. But without eating my Skratch my energy levels did not stay up. I declined though the rest of the ride. The hills rolled constantly, never really going up, or down. Always doing both at the same time. I would chug a coke, or force in a snack and have power for a bit. In the last 10 miles I found some nice wheels to ride, and crawled my way up the last few hills.  We were greeted into Lincoln by the Blue Angels putting on an amazing show. I was able to force out a strong finish, and tried to jump the timing gate. I drank 2000 calories of high carb, 5 coke cans, 4 redbulls, 4 apple juice, 2 pocket hot dogs, 2 sausage egg and cheese, 1 bonk breaker bar, 1 gu chews with caffeine, 2 high sodium, and 2 hydration. It was a fun ride.

The start line

Lights of Nebraska or Iowa in the night.