Have you heard about the Dirty Kanza? It’s in Emporia, KS, on Commercial street every year. The Dirty Kanza is when bike riders come from all over the world to ride miles on gravel roads. Do you enjoy riding a long distance on a bike? If you do, the Dirty Kanza is the right thing for you to consider doing. There is a 25, 50, 100, and 200 mile bike race on gravel. During the bike race, there are jeeps that are making sure people are okay, and if someone wants to stop they can be picked up by a jeep.

During the race, there are checkpoints for the 100 mile race, there is a halfway checkpoint, then the finish line. Then, for the 200 mile race, there are 3 check points then a finish line. There is a cut off time to make it to the checkpoints, and if  do not make it to one on time then you are disqualified. The cut off time to make it to the finish line is 3:00 am.  

My mom’s friends and my family help with a checkpoint set up called Crew for Hire. Crew for Hire is a group for bike riders that don’t have family or friends that come with them or they don’t have a checkpoint. So, the riders make a bag that has things they want in it and they have a bib number on their bag and on their bike so we can grab their bag for them. We have food, water, medical equipment, and chain lube (oil that helps your chain not rust and also helps improve your bike). We also fill up water bottles for them and clean their glasses/sunglasses. We like doing this, because if they don’t have food, water etc. then they could not finish the race.

I asked my mom’s friend some questions about the Dirty Kanza, The first question was What do you enjoy about the Dirty Kanza? My mom’s friend Amber McFarland said, “I enjoy the community involvement and the sense of community pride during the Dirty Kanza.” The next question I asked was, Do you think you could ride in one of the races? Her response was, “Heck no! That part doesn’t interest me.” The final question I asked was How do you think the people feel after we help them? She said, “Very thankful and grateful. They are always thanking us for volunteering.” After I got done asking those questions I asked my mom a question. I asked my mom, Why do you like helping the people? My mom said, “Because it’s rewarding and it makes me feel good to help others, It’s important to try to give back to the community that you live in.”

In conclusion, I hope you learned something about the Dirty Kanza. Even if you don’t enjoy riding bikes then I would suggest going downtown to the finish line party and cheer people on.