Naturally, I thought, why not ride 50 miles of soul crushing gravel through the Kansas wilderness?
We loaded up the RV for the 12 hour drive to Emporia, Kansas, which, by the way, I was absolutely ripping at 80 mph down the interstate.
RV life is awesome. Sandwich made, nap taken on a couch, and poop is handled, all while flying down I-35 in a moving living room. Honey, that’s what we call efficiency.
The campground was great. Nothing says bonding like my dad’s totally not intense motivational speeches about surviving gravel.
We hit up all the pre race festivities.
Oh and my race strategy you ask? Don’t track anything, just do it. Because nothing says athletic excellence like ignoring every metric and hoping for the best. (Should I have tracked my heart rate? Probably. Did I? Nah.)
Everything was going great, I was flying, feeling like a gravel genius, and then, my stomach decided to throw in the towel. Hard. Long story short, I lost the battle, and the trail got way more up close and personal than I ever wanted. But did I stop? Absolutely not. A girl gotta push through, even when her insides are staging a coup.
Then came the grand finale, the last act of this gritty masterpiece. I forgot there was five miles left to the campsite, I was actively vomiting while pedaling, honestly that is a skill I wish I could put on my resume. In a moment of pure desperation, I hitchhiked. Let’s just never speak of it again.
The absolute worst part? My dad and Janine eventually drove past there, and they saw my bike on the side of the road, probably having a panic attack.
Despite the bodily fluids, and very questionable transportation decisions, the weekend was peak type 2 fun.
Love a weekend filled with some good old fashioned suffering.
Moral of the story? Adventures might not always be pretty. Sometimes, they’re downright gross. But when they’re for something bigger than yourself, they’re totally badass. And honestly? Suffering a little for cancer research? That’s a badge of honor I’ll wear any day. Plus, $294 raised. You know I got to earn every single dollar, so I hope you all consider this effort well and truly earned. Yeah, that kind of adventure? It’s the best kind.
Ride hard. Barf harder.
Stay wild,
Kam
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