Today is Monday October 26, 2026 (my 14th wedding anniversary, love you X) and last Saturday i did the 40 mile Maple Leaf Gravel Grinder race in Baldwin City, KS.
It was pretty great.
This race was a last minute thing for me. Earlier in the week i noticed how many people were registered (a lot), then i noticed how close Baldwin City is (very close), then i noticed how great the weather was going to be (really great).
So i signed up.
My race prep was as casual as pre race warm up which lasted about 3 minutes before it was time to line up. i regret not arriving sooner and warming up better because i'm sure it would have helped, but theres nothing i can do about that now... except strategically mention it early in a blog post as a way to make me look better!
i make the rules around here.
Something like 155 people registered for the 40 mile race (there was a 70 mile option but that was waaaaay too long for me) and two minutes after the start whistle blew i was sitting comfortable in the top 20. i felt like i belonged at the front and so that's how i rode. Maybe 25 minutes in, a group of around 5 rode off the front. i was avoiding the wind like the plague and didn't have the best view of what was happening but on the other hand this was probably the most time i'd spent at the front of a gravel race and it was awesome.
i've probably done around 10 gravel races all told and never before had i spent so much time so close to the front of the race. It was thrilling.
After the group of 5 rolled away there was maybe 20 of us left in group 2. 45 minutes in we hit pork chop hill (there was a spectator in an inflatable pig costume at the top!) and i got dropped. That bummed me out and it took me a bit to find a positive attitude, but i found it.
i was pedaling some serious squares up that hill, it was ugly.
The next hour of racing is blurry but eventually a group of maybe 6 of us hooked up. That became 4 and then 3 as i got dropped about 2 miles from the finish. Just before that i went to the front on a small hill and pushed the pace, which was awesome, but then shortly after that in a moment of hesitation prompted by fatigue i did a terrible job of staying in the rotating draft and the three guys rode away from me.
i crossed the line solo, 17th out of 155.
i'm very satisfied with finishing 17th but i sure do wish i could have stayed with those final 3 riders until the end. That would have been a fun end to a fun race.
Afterwards i cooled down for 10 minutes, got my bike washed for the price of a small donation to a local cycling group, and then drove home. Upon arriving home i was so stiff that i cooled down for another 30 minutes. That race wrecked my legs, and my lungs.
i let it rip and i'm glad i did!
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