Bike race: A road less traveled

• Schad, Doom

Sartell’s Charlie Schad (left) and Ben Doom of St. Cloud crossed the finish line in Garfield on Saturday afternoon. The two were the only cyclists to finish the gravel-road race in less than six hours. (Echo Press photo by Eric Morken)

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One hundred miles through strong winds on gravel roads was just the beginning of the challenges that awaited a group of 68 cyclists this past Saturday in Garfield.

Flat tires and shortages of food and water were also on the minds of the riders as they lined up for the Inspiration 100 gravel-road bike race. And if any of those problems emerged, the bikers had only themselves to rely on.

Cyclists from as far as Houston, Texas came to Garfield to take part in the race. All of them received directions of the course just minutes before the start. From there, they had to self-navigate their way north around Inspiration Peak before reaching Clitherall and returning to Garfield.

Their only guide was the cue sheets that lay out where to turn at certain miles. All of this is part of the challenge, and many say the intrigue, of a form of racing that is becoming increasingly popular across the Midwest.

“It’s really a test of yourself,” Alexandria’s Derek Chinn said as he put the finishing touches on coordinating the race with friend Scott Sundby last week. “It’s a free event and there’s really no external glory for it. You do it to see if you can do it and how fast you can do it. I’ve done about a half dozen of these, and there’s just such a sense of accomplishment when you get done with a race like this.”

Sartell’s Charlie Schad, 42, has raced in plenty of road races, including five gravel races, but had never won one until Saturday. He teamed up with St. Cloud’s Ben Doom, 36, as the two blew away the rest of the field by finishing the course in five hours and 42 minutes. John Struchynski finished third in a time of six hours, five minutes.

“I’m 42 years old and this is the first bike race I’ve ever won actually,” Schad said. “It was a great time; a really, really fun course. Really hard, a couple dark moments as they say, so I’m pretty excited to win.”

A few of those dark moments are often the norm in a race as long and strenuous as this. Doom and Schad are friends who ride together a lot, and they stayed together throughout the 100 miles on Saturday. They missed a turn and had to go back with around two miles to go. Doom also had to fix a flat tire before coming in second. That’s nothing compared to what could have happened.

“Not every race do you have a flat but I did a race where I had six flats,” Doom said, “so one today was good. Then both of us ran out of water at the end, so that’s kind of a guessing game. Do you stop and get water or just push on and keep going?”

Like every surface, Doom said there are advantages and disadvantages to riding on gravel. He enjoys riding on good gravel even better than riding on tar, but handling skills on the bike are key when coming across the areas of loose gravel that racers are bound to encounter over a 100-mile stretch.

“The gravel races are hard because they’re so long,” Schad said. “There’s so many different factors. There’s soft gravel and usually lots of hills and you don’t necessarily work together as much. Ben and I worked together a lot today, but it’s just hard almost the whole time. It’s just a really challenging race.”

Pushing on and getting through that challenge was the ultimate goal of most of the competetors in Garfield. Of the 68 cyclists who started the race, only two did not finish. The final two racers came across the finish line in 11 hours, 39 minutes, but they finished nonetheless. For many, that’s a victory in-and-of itself.

“My first goal is always to finish and have fun,” Doom, a veteran of about a dozen gravel races, said. “That’s why I like gravel races because it’s people who if they finish, that’s awesome.”

INSPIRATION 100

Participants

1. Charlie Schad, 5:42

2. Ben Doom, 5:42

3. John Struchynski, 6:05

4. Josh Fiedler, 6:23

5. Mark Mondloch, 6:23

6. David Strachan, 6:29

7. Chad Macheel, 6:29

8. Jon Kern, 6:34

9. Christopher Tassava, 6:47

10. Jorge Odio, 6:48

11. Jeff Pokorney, 6:50

12. Ross Smith, 6:53

13. Chris Jenkins, 6:55

14. Jack Baker, 6:55

15. Derek Harnish, 7:00

16. Matthew VanVleet, 7:02

17. Jeff Bauerly, 7:02

18. Steven Gromatka, 7:03

19. Serge Kovalchuk, 7:03

20. Daven Kokkila, 7:10

21. Joe Schniederhan, 7:13

22. Scott Klein, 7:18

23. Paul Johnson, 7:22

24. Neil Cary, 7:24

25. Ben Oney, 7:41

26. Joe Pahr, 7:44

27. Bob Mueller, 7:46

28. Greg Knoll, 7:49

29. Kate Olson, 7:49

30. John Ostmoe, 7:59

31. Julia Jenkins, 8:00

32. Rich Albrecht, 8:00

33. Chris Atkinson, 8:01

34. Matt Sundquist, 8:06

35. Chuck Roepke, 8:12

36. Scott Deitz, 8:12

37. Tim Boyd, 8:16

38. Brent Vacinek, 8:17

39. Ross Hargrove, 8:18

40. Mark Ouska, 8:26

41. Alicia Sandberg, 8:27

42. Matt Leizinger, 8:27

43. David Bruning, 8:29

44. Angie Hop, 8:33

45. Marty Sterzinger, 8:33

46. Robb Majeski, 8:33

47. Tim Bagstad, 8:33

48. Dave Horstmann, 8:33

49. Paul Lindberg, 8:42

50. Mike Rathlisberger, 8:46

51. Chris Gjesfjeld, 8:47

52. Dustin Allebach, 8:58

53. Luke Breen, 9:01

54. Derek Carlson, 9:01

55. James Foley, 9:22

56. Tiffany Foley, 9:22

57. Ben Ortega, 9:22

58. Bryan Amo, 9:34

59. Sheila Amo, 9:34

60. Sarah Burt, 10:54

61. Adam Curtis, 10:54

62. Geoff Archibald, 10:54

63. Patty Klauck, 11:06

64. Peter Gustafson, 11:06

65. Dan Cruser, 11:39

66. Roger Landers, 11:39

DNF – Tim Bauer, Mark Halstrom

Eric Morken

Eric Morken started as a sports reporter for the Echo Press on July 9, 2007. He is a graduate of Augustana College in Sioux Falls where he majored in journalism and minored in history and communications. In his spare time, Morken enjoys hunting and fishing or just being in the outdoors. He is also an avid Minnesota sports fan. Follow Sports Reporter Eric Morken on Twitter at @echo_sports. Read Eric's sports blog, More with Morken at Areavoices.

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