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2003 Flinthills Death Ride

August 31, 2003

Report by J.C. Van Deventer, www.deathride.org

Tragedy struck the Flinthills, but the race continued on. Late Saturday evening Interstate 35 was flooded at Jacobs Creek by the tremendous rains the Flinthills had received over the previous two days. Seven people, including four children, died as their cars were swept away. The rushing water was so strong that it moved 10 of the 12,000 pound concrete highway dividers off the road entirely. The Interstate had to be closed, as ran continued to pour throughout the night. Many riders were subsequently unable to make it to Madison, Kansas for the event. Despite the intense downpour, the Flinthills Death Ride went on as planned. The race route had to be altered as many of the gravel roads and trails were impassable. However, the route did maintain the section that was only six miles downstream from the disaster that occurred only hours before on the Interstate.

Numerous mountain bikers started out at 8:30a.m. on Sunday morning, despite the fact that this was a day that was better suited for boats and ducks than mountain bikes and insane riders. The theme of the day was safety, surviving, and finishing. The new altered route had over 6,000 feet of climbing, as riders rode through old deserted ghost towns, oil fields, and cow pastures. Only 10 miles into the 85-mile event the riders came to the first monumental task. It was a forty-foot river crossing where the water had completely submerged the bridge. The riders dismounted to walk across and support people stood in the river to help catch any riders that fell. All the riders made it across safely and no one abandoned at this point. Much of the day was filled with obstacles similar to this challenge. After a long day of trudging through the mud, rain, rocks, creeks, climbs, and descents only 31 riders made it to the finish line to be able to stack a claim to Flinthills Death Ride Finisher. All of the finishers were awarded the same prize, a wood carver medallion with a picture of a cow's skull. The final finishers completed the route just before 7:00p.m., over 10 hours after they started. Each finisher was awarded first place, as this year's race was more about surviving and finishing than it was about beating your buddy. There were no major injuries or deaths due to the fact that the riders took care of each other and focused on bigger things in life than finishing first place.

Bill Stephenson, of Austin, Texas, said, "This is the hardest thing I've ever done. Give me back my easy 12 hour mountain bike races." Darin Slack summed up the event best with his words following the event, "The Death Ride changed me. It was a very sobering and maturing ride that challenged my emotions probably more than my muscles. My emotions ranged from joy to frustrations to anger to disbelief to satisfaction. It is definitely an accomplishment to be remembered."

Results

31 riders were awarded 1st place:
 
Kevin Buelhe (Lincoln, NE)
Dave Pleskac (Lincoln, NE)
Jeff Huckabay (Topeka, KS)
Dane Lawrence (Newton, KS)
Kelly Harrison (Lawrence, KS)
Adam Burns (Lee's Summit, MO)
Ken Foiles (Wichita, KS)
David Hudson (Gladstone, MO)
Oddvar Naustvik (Tulsa, OK)
William Latimer (Wichita, KS)
Randy Bitonte (Wichita, KS)
Zack Solomon (Manhattan, KS)
Jason Sullivan (Phoenix, AZ)
Michael Rutledge (Fort Riley Army Base, USA)
Robert Ades (Lenexa, KS)
David Averill (Fort Collins, CO)
Gregg Schmidt (Hutchinson, KS)
David Hudson (Parkville, MO)
Steve Hudson (Kansas City, MO)
Bob Hoopes (Wichita, KS)
Gerarld Arantowicz (Penn State, PA)
Trey Harrison (El Dorado, KS)
Chris Towner (El Dorado, KS)
Bill Stephenson (Austin, TX)
Darin Slack (Oakley, KS)
Leonard Ake (Derby, KS)
Russell Jones (Wichita, KS)
Jim Davis (Burns, KS)
Randy Albrecht (Wichita, KS)
Marnie Rice (Lee's Summit, MO)
Kimberly Hubbard (Wichita, KS)

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