C2CXL RECAP

"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow" -

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into our 2020 racing plans and I figure we all have a choice in how we deal with things. We can either sit back and feel sorry for ourselves or take this opportunity to try new things and work on our weaknesses... so when things get back to normal, we will be better people and athletes.

The original idea was to ride from Grosse Ile to South Haven. A little over 200-miles to get in my solo June Coast 2 Coast. I wasn't losing any sleep over that idea and felt pretty comfortable with getting that one in. I was going to push the pace and see how fast I could go. I slept on the idea for a few weeks and on a ride about a week ago I decided I needed to up the ante. I've been inspired and intrigued by Ted King's CrossVermont, Matt Acker's MORE, Lachlan Morton's GB Duro and other ultra-endurance rides that people get in. All huge efforts by some amazing athletes. I figured it was time to take the leap and get in something way beyond what I had ever done before. The C2CXL idea was born.

I mainly used https://gravelmap.com and Strava's new route builder to come up with the route https://www.strava.com/routes/28608880. I wasn't too familiar with mid-state so I got in touch with local cyclist Allen Wheeler from Bellevue, MI and he gave me a few solid suggestions to link together a little more gravel mid-state. According to Strava the route is 31% paved, 42% dirt and 27% unspecified. I'd say that is pretty close… 30% pavement and 70% gravel. The only thing I might have changed was the Kal-Haven Trail because of having to stop/yield when crossing roads, but it is hard to say because I was suffering pretty good both on the way out and back on that section.

The thing I really should have done pre-ride is broken down the ride into smaller sections so I could mentally have some goals. GI to Grass Lake, Grass Lake to Bellevue, Bellevue to Kal-Haven Trail, Kal-Haven Trail to South Haven... and back. I should have known how far each section was. That was a struggle mentally, not knowing those numbers and I was on a lot of unfamiliar roads that all blended together. A long day+ on the bike that wasn't pretty at times but here it goes anyways...

0 to 65-miles. I started at 6pm on Thursday so I could be riding through the night when I was relativity fresh. The first dirt roads in SE Michigan were dry and contained some pretty rough washboard sections. It crossed my mind for a second that the dirt was going to be rough, but I continued on and hoped for the best. Nutrition was going well, and I was making good time with a slight southeast tailwind. Trying to hold back as much as possible, but not miss the opportunity to cover a good amount of ground in the light.

65 to 127-miles. Around 10pm I turned on my new light and was starting the section heading to Bellevue. I recently had to upgrade my light and I went with a Bontrager Ion Pro RT Front Bike Light. 100% perfect on the 400-lumen setting that got me through 6hrs of riding in the dark. Cars were very courteous and gave me plenty of space. If a car was coming up on me from behind, I would pull off to the shoulder as much as possible and slow down just to be safe. For those of you that know me, I love my sleep and this was a big hurdle to get over. I am pretty sure I have never pulled an all-nighter before. Riding through the middle of the night and early morning I was shocked at how many people were up watching TV or hanging out at that hour. Rode by one house party in the middle of nowhere. Music blaring, bonfire and people partying hard. I was using my 200-mile race nutrition plan and felt good about that game plan going in, but unfortunately the plan went completely out the window a little over 100-miles in. I had my traditional mix of real food and CHO sports nutrition. Had plenty of water on board with two big bottles and a hydration pack. 5 hours in I just couldn't stomach any more sport nutrition sugar. Around 1:30am I stopped in Bellevue at a gas station. The guy at the counter was nice and asked what I was doing. I told him I was riding across the state. He asked... "so... that takes you about 2-3 hrs?" I was so focused on getting some food in me, I can't even remember what my reply was… LOL! I wasn't sure what I was going to be able to stomach, so I opted for some chocolate milk, Reese's and Peanut M&Ms. Chocolate milk hit the spot, but I could only get down one Reese's.

127 to 172-miles. Shortly after leaving the town of Bellevue, at 130-miles my heart rate reached its peak of 170+ thanks to a loose dog. I could hear the dog barking as I was approaching the house and then out of nowhere, I could hear it coming. Luckily, I had some downhill to get rolling and out sprint the farm dog as it ran next to me for what seemed like a few minutes but was probably only a handful of seconds. At around 3:40am I stopped at another gas station to see if I could find something to eat. The lady at the counter asked if I was doing a "marathon" today. I kindly replied " yeah... kind of!" I went with a bag of chips this time around. I could only stomach a couple chips and carried on.

172 to 205-miles. I made it onto the Kal-Haven Trail at 172-miles. I couldn’t really stomach anything the last few hours and was starting to bonk pretty good. Around 4:30am my back was starting to fatigue from my hydration pack, so I stopped and emptied it completely. That helped a ton and I figured I could manage just on two bottles the rest of the way in the cool morning. I thought there was a McDonald's in South Haven that was close to the route, so I stopped to plug it into my phone to get directions. As I made it into South Haven, I double checked the McDonald’s location and realized that I was going to have to go a few miles out of my way, so I opted to stay on course and hopefully find something. I found a coffee shop that was open. Bought a muffin, mocha and bagel, egg, sausage and cheese sandwich. I sat down for a few to regroup. The sandwich was too hot and the mocha had too much sugar... so I wolfed down the muffin and carried on to the South Haven lighthouse. Made it to the lighthouse a little before 7am to get my photo and enjoy the view for a few.

205 to 239-miles. The muffin stayed with me for an hour or so and then I had to start stopping along the Kal-Haven Trail to take a few bites of the sandwich. That sandwich was my first life saver of the day and it got me to a McDonald's at 240-miles, 9:00am. 2 hash browns and a coke hit the spot big time. Topped off my water bottles too. I was happy with not having a full hydration pack on my back and I opted to not fill that up, which would later turn into a mistake.

240 to 284-miles. On the way out it seemed like forever to get from Bellevue to the Kal-Haven Trail, so I kept reminding myself it was going to be a long time before my next stop. It was starting to get pretty warm. I was now out on a good deal of pavement in the full sun and I was running out of water quicker than I wanted. I unfortunately ran out of water about an hour out from Bellevue and it was a struggle to get there. I was hoping for a church or somewhere to stop but I was out in the middle of nowhere. Luckily my amazing wife and daughter were planning to meet me in Bellevue so I knew I just had to make it there and I could regroup. At the 2019 Crusher in Marquette, MI I was bonking pretty good with about 15-miles to go and an aid-station had some cheesy bread and Mountain Dew that saved me. While in South Haven I called my wife and told her that’s what I was going to need. Bellevue was my longest stop of the day as I laid down, ate some cheesy bread and enjoyed some cold Mt Dew. I was highly considering calling it a day at this point. I got new/lighter shoes this year and they were not working for me. My feet were killing me by this point, so we got a bag of ice from the gas station to ice them down and take some Advil. Bonking, dehydration, and sore feet like I’ve never experienced before were all working against me now. After a little rest and refueling I was feeling much better and ready to go again.

284 to 343-miles. I figured If I could make it to 100-miles to go I could crawl in the last 6+ hours. These next miles were back in the sun and on the pavement. Not sure what I preferred more. Hot sunny pavement or shaded washboard gravel. They both made this challenge way harder than I had planned for. The sun and heat were beginning to really wear me down. I stopped at a bar near Pleasant Lake and got a Pepsi and filled up my bottles with ice and cold water. The guys in the bar were friendly and were heckling me. One asked if I was a cop because I had a blinking light hanging from my back pocket. That Pepsi and the cheesy bread I had stashed away got me to the gas station in Grass Lake at 343-miles. My wife and daughter were there to meet me again in Grass Lake. Had some Mt. Dew and trail mix. Refilled my water bottles. Feet were hurting pretty good but I opted to keep on my shoes and carry on so I could get this over with.

343 to 411-miles. 68-miles to go and hanging on by a thread. I couldn't stomach even cheesy bread at this point. The previous section heading into Grass Lake was the hilliest, so I knew I had the toughest terrain behind me. With my feet hurting I couldn't put a ton of pressure on them and I had to put more weight on my saddle than I like too. The bumpy roads were taking their toll on me. I knew the last 15-miles of the ride were on pavement and I just needed to grind through the washboard gravel to get there. I tried to ride as much as possible on the edge of the gravel roads to find a smooth line, if one even existed. Stopped to grab one last fresh bottle from my wife about 15-miles out and tried to give it all I had left so I could make it back to Grosse Ile before dark. I rolled back in a little after 9pm.

24hrs 48 minutes of riding and 27hrs 10 minutes of total time. I thought I’d have a chance at breaking 24hrs if things went well but unfortunately had too many battles to fight through on this one. Although I didn’t get under 24hrs, I was happy that I was able to not cave in and grinded things out to get back before dark. I tried something new and now have a new limit for what I can handle!