Journal chronicles three days of cycling across Kansas

Dale Brigham has made the cut.

The Columbia cyclist completed a 375-mile endurance ride this weekend in less than 40 hours to qualify for his third trip to France for a 750-mile round-trip race from Paris to the coastal town of Brest.

Brigham completed the 600-kilometer weekend ride, called the Kansas City Ultra Cycling 600, along with Columbia cyclists Rod Geisert and Dan Clinkinbeard as well as former Columbia residents Arjuna and Jennifer Flenner. The Flenners also plan to compete in the Paris race.

All five cyclists finished the three-day weekend ride together with a time of 37 hours and 45 minutes.

Jo Turner, Brigham’s wife, provided support and assistance to the Columbia riders at designated checkpoints. She also assisted several other riders who had mechanical and physical problems, allowing them to complete the race. She will be driving a support vehicle for Brignam at the race in France.

Turner kept a journal of the weekend qualifying event for friends and family members of the riders. Here are her accounts:

Midnight Friday, Butler, Mo.

Day 1

Hi all,

We are off on the latest cycling adventure. This is the 600-kilometer brevet, the final qualifying ride before Dale can ride in Paris-Brest-Paris in August. Dale, Jennifer and Arjuna Flenner, Rod Geiser, and Danny Clinkinbeard started riding at 10 p.m. from Grandview, Mo. There were ominous clouds and lightning in the distance, but it was not raining when they departed. They were heading slightly south and west to Paola, Kan., for the first checkpoint after 40 miles. Then, they ride 60 miles through the darkest parts of Kansas to be here in Butler by 6 a.m. I’m not allowed to give them any support while they are between checkpoints, so I am at the Days Inn in Butler ready to meet them later this morning.

Naturally, it started raining as soon as they rode away. I fear it is going to be a long, rainy and possibly stormy night. Fortunately, they are in a pretty big group, many of whom have ridden this route before. They will eat breakfast here and then keep riding to small towns of Appleton City, Humansville and Weaubleu. They plan to be back at Butler by 6 p.m. or so on Saturday. That will be about 275 miles of riding at that point. They’ll eat, clean up and sleep until about 3 a.m. when they will get up to do the last 100 miles, finishing back in Grandview on Sunday around 1 p.m.

The last thing I always say to them is, “Ride fast, ride safe.” Keep thinking those good thoughts. and I’ll send you some periodic updates tomorrow and Sunday.

Day 2

All,

The group arrived in Butler at 4:30 a.m., much faster than I anticipated. They were rained on for much of the night but did not encounter any really bad storms. Spirits were good, although there was one crash during the night ride. Rod hit a bad pothole and had a crash. He is OK, albeit with a scraped and bruised knee. They were concerned that his bike had wheel damage, but he rode it for 20+ miles to get to Butler. After inspecting it, the group concluded it was OK.

Amazingly, the McDonald’s in Butler has a drive-through that is open all night. When the group came to the window at 4:30 a.m., the manager opened the doors and took care of everyone inside. That was much appreciated! A hot breakfast, sitting in a dry place was needed and welcomed.

As they were riding away, daybreak was just beginning. I’m driving to meet them at the next control in Appleton City, and will gather up some of the lights, clothing, and other items that they won’t need during the day. The weather radar looks like the next storms may stay south of us. Keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned!

Mid-day in Weaubleu

Day 2

Hi all,

I left the group at 1 p.m. in the vicinity of Weaubleu with about 90 miles left to ride today. They have been rained on quite a bit during the morning, but it seems that the worst of the storms missed them. There was one detour due to bridge repair, but that was anticipated. The good thing is that the detour took them right by Peggy’s Restaurant where everyone sat down and ate a BIG hot lunch. There have been several flat tires, but no more crashes. Rod, who crashed last night, seems none the worse for wear.

Jennifer has become a powerful speedster since the brevets four years ago. She keeps insisting that they need to pick up the pace and has even threatened to leave the guys behind. Arjuna had to remind her that he and Dale pulled her through France in 2003, which seemed to elicit some empathy but no sympathy from her. :} I think her primary motive is to get more sleep by getting to Butler earlier.

If all goes well, they will be in Butler by 8 p.m. where I’ll have pizza and other supper waiting. By that time they will have been riding for 22 hours! The distance and duration is roughly equivalent to the first day of PBP, so you can see why qualifying is required. You have to show that you can do this!

The goal when they get here is to be clean, fed and asleep by 9 p.m. since they plan to get up at 3 a.m. to finish the last 100 miles. :{

Hope these updates are not too boring. It keeps me occupied during the long waiting periods. Delete at will!

Success!!

Day 3

Hi all,

The ride is over and all finished successfully! Sorry to keep you in suspense, but it has been pretty busy since I wrote you last. Here are the highlights:

Butler — Saturday — 7:30 p.m. — The group rolled into Butler, tired but happy. Arjuna had pulled most of the way from Appleton City and set a blistering pace. (I think Jennifer egged him on in order to get more sleep.) At any rate, they came in strong. After showers, we gathered by the pool for pizza, watermelon, and anything else that looked appealing. The skies had cleared and it was a beautiful sunset — finally! By 9 p.m., everyone was headed to bed, with the exception of “Clink,” who decided to ride on alone without stopping. He promised we’d see him the next morning. (We did!)

Butler — Sunday — 3 a.m. — After a breakfast of microwaved breakfast sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, bananas, pickle juice (for Rod, who claims it keeps him from cramping) and coffee (all of which we carried into the motel room), the group headed for Paola at 4 a.m.. Dale, Arj, Jennifer, Rod, and Kent were all in good shape. The sag wagon driver went back to bed for an hour before loading up the car, carrying 8 bags, 3 coolers, and assorted groceries and other stuff up and down the motel stairs. (No elevator — naturally!) A beautiful morning was starting to appear.

Paola — Sunday — 7:45 a.m. — I arrived in Paola and found Hunter, a young man from Springfield who was riding the 1,000k brevet. He was sitting on the curb at the gas station, staring blankly ahead and ready to abandon. He had slept an hour last night on the outdoor porch of a dentist’s office! After a breakfast of our leftover pizza and bananas, he began to perk up. He told me he was watching for Dale and the group because he thought if he could talk to Dale, he could figure out a plan to keep going. (The 1,000k brevet riders had another 250 miles to ride!).

At 8 a.m., our crew rolled in. They immediately began talking to Hunter, encouraging him to keep riding. They ate a massive picnic of leftover everything (chips, cookies, fruit, pizza, breakfast stuff, candy, chocolate milk and so forth. Rod was upset that the group had devoured all the homemade cinnamon rolls made by Susan, but you can’t stop a hungry crowd of cyclists once they start eating!

As predicted, the group was able to perk Hunter up and he decided to ride on with them. They rolled out at 8:45 a.m., headed for the finish at Grandview. A brisk headwind was waiting for them.

Grandview — Sunday — 11:45 a.m. — The group arrived, safely and in great spirits! Despite the crash, the awful weather, the road detours, and fatigue they had stuck together and completed the 350+ mile ride. They are officially qualified to ride in Paris-Brest-Paris — hooray!!

Dale can tell you more of the details on the road. We finished with a wonderful lunch with Dale’s sister and brother-in-law, Barbara and Jay.

It was a great weekend, although we will need some extra sleep to make up for all the fun we had. Some stats:

600k or 350+ miles: Amount the group rode

675 miles: Amount of miles on the car odometer for the weekend

1500k: total kilometers the group rode in brevets to qualify

27,285 steps: The number of “steps” Jo recorded on her pedometer from Friday evening to Sunday evening. That comes out to walking 13 miles while supporting the team. :}

Thanks for your interest, support and positive thoughts. We’ll share some pictures when we get caught up.

Love,

Jo and Dale