Mile 121: Neutral Water Oasis, Alta Vista, Kansas (Support Crews NOT allowed here.)
Mile 151.5: Checkpoint Two, Council Grove High School, Council Grove, KS***
Ah, wait a minute. How can checkpoint two be at mile 151.5? That's 3/4 of the way through the race? Alma is way north of Council Grove, KS! Where is Check Point 2? I can see Alma being Ck. Pt. No. 2 and Council Grove being ck. pt. No.'s 1 and 3 but, above is what Jim sent out. And Alta Vista KS is smack in between Alma and CG.
The info is correct. Two checkpoints. Checkpoint One in Alma, KS comes at Mile 64. Checkpoint Two in Council Grove comes at Mile 151.5.
The second "Leg" of the course is a 87.5 mile-long stretch, from Alma to Council Grove. Because of that length, we will pass riders through Alta Vista at Mile 121, so they can refill water at the Neutral Oasis.
We used a two checkpoint format in 2015. We had one of our highest finish rates ever that year. So we know this format works well and is totally do-able if riders are prepared. That is why we released the info... so riders could prepare.
My main concern is water so the neural stop sounds good. To those that have experience racing DK “up north”, any notes on terrain, wind, ninja flint, etc. for that particular stretch? Are there race years in the past that may have ran part of this route? ie, “man that one time we rode ###, that was a doozy”. I love reading old race reports. Thanks
Jim wrote:The info is correct. Two checkpoints. Checkpoint One in Alma, KS comes at Mile 64. Checkpoint Two in Council Grove comes at Mile 151.5.
The second "Leg" of the course is a 87.5 mile-long stretch, from Alma to Council Grove. Because of that length, we will pass riders through Alta Vista at Mile 121, so they can refill water at the Neutral Oasis.
We used a two checkpoint format in 2015. We had one of our highest finish rates ever that year. So we know this format works well and is totally do-able if riders are prepared. That is why we released the info... so riders could prepare.
OK, I now understand. Thanks for the clarification. Going to miss Texico Hill!
So it's:
64 miles from the Start to Ck. Pt. #1 in Alma
Then 57 miles to Alta Vista, neutral water hole
Then 30.5 miles to Council Groves, Ck Pt. #2
Then 50.4 miles to the finish line.
Jim, can you tell us what, it any, other towns we will be going through? This will also help us plan on what type of equipment we'll need to haul supplies in and where we might be able to find neutral support.
dodin wrote:Jim er al. The neutral site will have no neutral food correct?
No, the neutral site is in a town. Like any town you can buy all the support you want, as can anyone. You just cant get support from your support team.
This said, there isn't much in this town. I see a couple of gas stations, a bar and grill and one restaurant. Farm supply store too, but I don't expect to find much useful food items there.
Now Council Groves is different. They have a DQ, Sonic, Pizza Hut and a bunch of other restaurants and stores. Yum!I
It would be super helpful for me to know what other towns the route will take us through or near. This way I can plan well ahead of time in the event that I need something.
DerekJ_MI wrote... "It would be super helpful for me to know what other towns the route will take us through or near. This way I can plan well ahead of time in the event that I need something."
Quoted from the 2019 DK Riders Bible... NOTE: This is an extremely remote area. You will likely not pass through any towns, and therefore no convenience stores between checkpoints. Always be aware of the distance to the next checkpoint, and be prepared to travel that distance with the supplies you carry.
