By Loretta
From our friend, Loretta, another Almanzo recap. But instead of riding the 100-mile race like Kat and I, Loretta challenged herself to the 162-mile course: THE ROYAL. The Royal includes portions of the Almanzo 100, and is everything we love about Almanzo. Difficult, hilly, gravel-y, dusty, fun! Maybe I’m even a little jealous that Loretta got more Almanzo than I did. But not jealous enough to do the Royal next year. ;]
This past weekend was my fourth visit to Spring Valley, Minnesota. The previous visits were to ride the Gentleman’s ride and race the Almanzo. These roads are where my passion for gravel racing was born. If you take a minute to look up, the south eastern country side of Minnesota is breathtaking. After completing the 100 mile Almanzo course, I wanted to see if I could push myself to do the Royal, which adds 60 more miles onto the already brutal course. In preparation, I went on several solo adventure gravel rides. I needed to prove to myself I could be on the bike alone for 12+ hours.
Regrettably I did not snap one picture this weekend but here is my out of office reply!
The week leading up to the Royal, I was too busy for nerves and only had the next 36 hours on my radar. Once Thursday evening approached, however, I was beginning to get the “big eyed, I’m about to hit a deer” stare. Mental concentration to prep race food? Forget it! Need to make a list and pack? Forget about it! Luckily I have great girlfriends who held my hand and helped me get my gear together (Thank you BethF and JuliaW).
Somehow the nerves started to fade on the drive down to Spring Valley with Low and Kat, whose auras resonate calmness and peace. We reminisced about the women in our lives we’ve met through cycling and how women are really good about finding community. They both planned to ride Almanzo together and exchanged gratitude for each other: “I’m honored to ride tomorrow with you.” It was very sweet, and I would be lucky to experience something very similar the following day.
At the start of the race I was greeted by friends and hugs, some of whom were Almanzo riders who came hours early to see the Royal racers take off. This made me feel very special! Chris Skogen announced we were about to start, “Do you know what you’re about to embark on? If you don’t, we should step aside and have a conversation.” The crowd of racers laughed, and we were on our way. I was overwhelmed by the fuzzy happy feelings. The first few hours went by quickly, and I kept yo-yoing with another woman. She looked familiar from other races. Women in the gravel scene are a minority – but not for long; we’re working on this! (read: Riotgrrravel – look it up!). We finally introduced ourselves, and I remembered her name from a small list of women who have successfully completed Trans Iowa (epic 300+ gravel race). I knew she would be a solid riding partner. I just had to stick with her.
Soon it was just Andrea and I rolling alone together through the course. Once we hit Iowa, the real pain began. I have an ongoing struggle with lower back pain, and it was coming back with a vengeance. My body wanted to explode in the Iowa headwind. My mind was scattered all over the place from pain, but somehow I was able to stay with this strong woman from Iowa City.
Once we got off the loose gravel headwind hell, we were getting closer and closer to the Almanzo course. It was a real motivator to perhaps roll with a few friends from the cities. In the distance we could see small dots of racers. We started yelling “People! Friends!!” The closer we got, the more energetic we became about waving and saying “Hello!” to others. We probably looked like a pair of weirdos, but that’s already confirmed by attempting to ride the Royal!
Next goal: Get to the Tam Radish campsite. Andrea probably wondered why I kept talking about Forestville. It was very clear when we finally arrived to the party at mile ~125. We were welcomed with cheers as we rolled in. I threw my bike down to greet the party. We refueled and were on our way to tackle the last 35 miles (which are the hilliest but still my favorite). Chomping down each hill, we passed many who were crawling and pushing their bikes. Admittedly I wanted to dismount and crawl myself, but Andrea yelled “NO NOT YET! NOT YET!”.
Next up: The big one. The Queen Hill of Almanzo: Oriole. Ready to tackle the beast of a hill, I was defeated when hitting loose gravel. I dismounted and so did my riding partner. I curse at this hill at mile 90, but even more so at mile 146! Andrea was about to start cramping, and I quickly reached for the emergency pickle juice shots. We chugged those suckers down, pushed our bikes to the apex and were now very close to finishing the 160mile race. There’s a barn near the finish which I always target. Once I turn the corner and see a familiar barn in the distance I declare victory and start hammering home. This time I just turned to my race partner and said “we’re done.” We finished together.
Chris Skogen says the bicycle is the ultimate unifier. He continues to host the Almanzo because he’s passionate about community and bringing people together. I say he’s pretty damn successful. I was honored to ride with Andrea and forever grateful for the friends who cheered, supported, and encouraged me in the days leading up and during the Royal.
I can’t wait for my next visit to Spring Valley MN.