Wednesday night the fun began with a drive to drop the cats off in Bailey with my parents. We had a full load, so the George and Norm ended up sitting on my lap the whole drive making it and eventful one. The next day it was action packed! Brittany had her last day at her old job, and I had a full day of carpentry work in Arvada that should have taken two days, but we wanted to get out of CO on Thursday, so I made it a late one and knocked it out. We had a late-night packing and probably forgot a lot of things that we were going to need during the race and for camping.
Our plan was to drive to Kansas City (with Jason tagging along) and stay with Britts parents, then to Bentonville, Arkansas for the Rule of Three bike race that is put on by a guy named Andy who also puts on the 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell climbing event at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch that Brittany has done six times. The event really feels like a community gathering and allows people from a range of skill and experience levels compete at the degree of intensity they desire, which is what made the bike race so appealing to us (Britt). Thursday morning, we were up at 5:30am and finished packing. It took us a little longer than we would have liked but made it out by 8a or so with Jason, our 3 bikes and a fully packed car.
About four hours in we stopped at Qdoba where I ended up choking on a bone. I nearly threw up and ruined lunch for Britt and Jason. Then we headed off into the 90+ degree humid weather that later caused the car to overheat but did not cause any real trouble for us making it to Kansas City, KS.
Finally, we arrived at Britts parents where they had some Kansas City BBQ (Jack Stack) waiting for us! It may have been worth the trip just to see how excited Jason got for a stack of ribs. It was a great meal and great to spend time with family. We woke up early and headed to Bentonville.
Upon arrival we were planning to do a shakeout ride with a bunch of the Rule of Three people but found that one of the valves on Britt’s bike had a slow leak, so Jason went on the ride, and we stayed back to get our last-minute fixes in. There seems to be a bike shop on about every corner and they have some of the most helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable bike mechanics around. We found success at The HUB Bike Shop and Phat Tire. While the bike was getting repaired, we did some exploring, had some ice cream, and did a little bike shopping.
After that we rejoined with Jason at The Meteor Café, which offered a combination of coffee, food libations and bike with the memorable slogan “Espresso Champagne Chain Lube”. Next, we went on a mission to find some new bibs for me. I kept resisting but Britt insisted that I get some and I am sure glad that we did. The Specialized ADV SWAT Bib shorts were a bit more roadie than I’m used to but made me most comfy I have ever been on a ride. Thanks babe!
After my shopping escapade we were off to setup our camp. We setup our new massive The North Face Wawona 6 tent and man were we ever glad to have a giant tent that we could cook, hangout and store bikes overnight, all in the vestibule. At about midnight it started pouring and never really stopped. Making for a muddy epic bike race! While packing up a wet tent is never fun, we stayed dry inside the whole time. Eleven out of ten, would recommend!
At 7:30a on the Ro3 Instagram we found that the race was going to be delayed by 30 minutes until 8:30 so we had a little extra time to hang out in the tent, drink some coffee and make any lastminute changes to our bikes.
8:25a announcements started, and Jason and I were off (Britt wisely opted for the 50 mile which started about an hour later). It was a muddy mess and there were hundreds of riders making their way out. I thought it would be fun to start front of mid-pack and see how I would do. I got pretty aggressive and really started making some good time and using the feature on the single track I was able to pass a ton of people. The racing was fun! All of the strategy and strength it takes to pass people and try to keep up was incredible. Near mile 25 you come down a steep hill and that was the beginning of the end for me. As I rounded the conner I heard my tire start hissing so I jumped off plugged it and used a
Co2 cannister to bump it back up. It worked with ease and took barely any time. Five miles later there was a good-sized hill and I hear another hissing noise! This time it’s the back one. No big deal I though so I jumped of did the same thing and was on my way. Two miles later I hear the hissing again! It was another puncture in my rear tire. This ended up happening 5 more time before I threw in the towel and dropped out of the race due to having no other options to fix my tires. Britt’s parents came and picked me up, so I didn’t have to wait in the rain long at all! They are so great.
Turning our focus over to Jason for a bit. I am not sure what mile it was at but while I was fixing a flat Jason flew by! He looked focused, stoked and as excited as a kid with a shovel in the mud! Jason ended finishing the race but not without his own bike troubles. Near mile 50 his brake stopped working completely and he was unable to repair them. At around mile 75 he was not longer and to shift gears and finished the thing out in one of the climbing gears. It was a valiant effort on his part to persevere to the 100-mile finish line!
Britt absolutely crushed it in her race, and I am so proud of her effort! Never had a flat or any issues with her bike and finished the 50-mile course in just under 5 hours. Near the end of the race, she had a fun encounter with the pointy-end racers from the 100-mile race. One of them called out “on your left,” so she went right cutting off one of the other fast guys. Good strategy for who ever the guy on the left was… lol!
The Rule of Three as whole was an amazing event. Everything the from the people to the fun style that the race is setup into the burritos and drinks you get at the end make it more than worth the 13-hour trip to Bentonville. We are looking forward to coming back next year (I am especially looking forward to getting redemption and seeing the whole course).
After the race events wrapped up, we saw one of Britt’s longtime friends and went to Horseshoe Ranch where we got some climbing in and more rain! It was a raining trip! Quite sure there were only two days that it did not rain for the week and a half that we were gone. We were able to knock out 23 pitches the first night and 13 the next day before the rain picked back up and we decided to head back to Kansas City to get some family time.
Will do an update with the places we liked soon!
Enjoy,
Britt & Braden