Closing the Door on Kanza

Two stories still stick in my mind regarding Kanza.

*The Rebirths of MG*

Matt's eve of Kanza was spent just as anyone would want, puking in the bathroom. He toed the line though and the first 50 miles saw him skying over cattle guards, chatting a lot and generally enjoying the ride. Sometime after mile 50 he feel back with MW and JB but then bridged back up to Corey and I just after we checked in at Cottonwood Falls, the 100 mile mark. Corey and I had discussed the fact he had the ability to bridge to us if he wanted to so it was no surprise to see him. The three of us grabbed some fuel at Casey's, then headed out into the headwind grinder described in my last post. Matt fell back at some point during the ride and, at that point, I didn't know whether he'd be back or not. I doubted it mainly because we'd already covered 100+ and it's not easy to pick up the pace after that long in the saddle. However, MG was still game and as we were just getting rolling from a flat, I heard someone behind us and saw the familar maroon helmet of MG rolling up. "Heyyyyyyyyy!!!" I was surprised but stoked. Matt seemed tired but happy and Corey and I were happy to have his company. We rolled together for a while until I was left spinning out during the slight downhill and paved last 10-ish miles back to Cottonwood Falls. I followed Matt to the check-in, we grabbed our maps and, assuming a not-to-be seen Corey had pushed on to the finish, got ready to head back to the Casey's. It turned out Corey had decided to a tourist ride around Cottonwood Falls and he showed up to join us again. We all went in and grabbed various foods. When I saw MG had two large energy drinks in hand, I thought he was through. He saw whatever strange reaction appeared on my face and jokingly told me not to freak out. I had though. Mainly because I would probably puke if I drank two of those at once. We were gearing up when Matt said he was going back for pizza. Corey and I exchanged a glance of concern. Matt came back out and was weighing his options outloud. We tried to be supportive and offer what we could but again I thought it was game over. Corey and I rallied to go and we left Matt pondering next steps and his pizza. Corey and I rode on to the finish and expected to find MG there. After no MG at the finish line, we checked the room. Still no Matt. Part of me was worried about him. Part of me thought he might still be eating pizza. Then, MG came rolling across the finish line 45 minutes after we had arrived. He'd rested, got himself together again and pounded it out. MG was freakin' Rocky. He just kept getting up and coming back.

Much respect, MG.

*Corey Godfrey - Closet Competitor*

As Corey and I were rolling toward Emporia, darkness fell and I was really being anal about the maps. I didn't want to miss a turn for fear of having to ride extra miles. This caused us to really slow down when any road came up which was anywhere close to the mileage appropriate for a turn. When we hit Emporia, we stopped to look at the final Emporia map. I switched it out and just as Corey and I got back on the bikes, a rider came flying by us. Corey gave me a WTF? look as we got back up to speed and I said, "Dude, go get him." Corey looked back and said, "Nah," then a second later he was gone. He grabbed the guy's wheel for a second, just as the road upticked as it became an overpass and blew right by the guy. I raised my arms, not that anyone could see it, then took a shot myself and got within about five feet but the overpass was now a downhill and I was spun out again. "Do not fuck with the Cornbread." I thought to myself as were now within yards of the hotel. Racer X, whose name is actually Brandon, then inadvertantly turned too early, but corrected himself to get back onto the road. He glanced back at me, I told him to come on across as I didn't care about fighting him for a placing. He road out, then glanced back and said, "Hey, are you EnduroSnob?" I replied I was and we hit the line a few seconds apart. Brandon came up afterwards and explained that he'd lost a ton of time due to getting turned around. He was just working hard to grab some spots back. No worries. I had no hard feelings about it at all, but it was still sweet to see Corey close it down.

Next time Corey says, "Nah," I'd standback.