The Radavist

It’s been a long time coming but DK’s parent company, Life Time Athletic Events, finally announced what the controversial race’s name will be changed to, effective immediately. The new event takes place June 3-6th, 2021. Read the full press release below for Unbound Gravel…

Some of our friends are petitioning Lifetime Sports to change the name of Dirty Kanza. This comes after DK founder Jim Cummins was let go from the race organization for making racist claims in support of the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks by police. The petition is as follows:

“#NameTheChange is a campaign to end the use of the slur “dirty Kanza” as the event name of DIRTY KANZA (DK) in Emporia, KS.

We, a united collective of Indigenous advocates, cyclists, people of Faith, educators, Elders, youth, local Kansas residents and builders of a Just world, ask that the name of the gravel event be changed to honor the dignity of the land and Indigenous people. The campaign calls upon the owners of the “DK”, organizers, and sponsors to do the right thing and bring an end to the use of the racial epithet.”

Read the full demands and sign the petition at Change.org.

We have a piece on the site this week that will dive deeper into this controversial subject, so stay tuned.

“I’ve always looked out to the east, where the Earth’s curvature is pronounced, and wondered. Living at the base of the Rocky Mountains, in Boulder, Colorado, sometimes feels like being at the edge of a vast ocean. Well, at one point in geological history, it was, but now Eastern Colorado is a sea of grass. I wanted to see what was out there.

I had about four days to get ready. I was in, 100%.”

Check out the full story at the Pro’s Closet!

Have you always wanted to finish the DK but you missed your chance to get an entry to the race?

This morning, ENVE launched their Dirty Kanza Giveaway.  You can enter to win a highly sought-after race entry to the Dirty Kanza gravel race on May 30, 2020.  In addition, the grand prize winner will receive a package from ENVE including a G23 Gravel Wheelset and their amazing Gravel Handlebars.

To enter, all you’ve got to do is follow the link below and fill out the form between February 4th and February 18th, 2020 and subscribe to the ENVE newsletter. It’s as simple as that. Ten lucky winners will be notified by February 21st. Winners can pick the course of their choice, including the DK200, DK100, DK50 and DK25.

Head to ENVE to enter the contest.

Thanks to Chumba, Industry Nine, Kogel Bearings, Wanderlust Gear and MRP, Alexandera is outfitted properly for a season of ultra-endurance racing this year. After an amazing DKXL story, she’s on her Stella Titanium in the throes of the Tour Divide. Perhaps you’ve recognized her in Spencer and Rue’s galleries? At any rate, Vince from Chumba sent over some photos of Alexandera’s bike, which you can check out below and please, if you have time, give her blog a visit and read her DKXL story. Personally, I can’t wait to read her Tour Divide tale!

Education First Pro Cycling takes on the Dirty Kanza with a trio of the team’s WorldTour pros deciding to swap the pain cave tarmac for dusty, dirty roads. Best of all, they invited us along for the ride!

Yesterday we posted Colin Strickland’s winning Allied Able and today, we’re giving Amity Rockwell, the female winner of the DK200’s bike some love. For a complete story and parts breakdown, head over to the Allied Cycle Works blog!

Y’all tired of Kanza stories yet? Nope? Well good! ENVE was there and they pulled together a great recap video!

With Lael and Rue’s exceptional DKXL piece up on the site today, I thought the DK200 winner’s bike would make for a nice addition to today’s coverage. Colin Strickland is a friend from when I lived in Texas. He used to crush the road and ‘cross races and now with his new team, Meteor x Giordana with Kevin Girkins, he’s had great success at the Belgian Waffle Ride and the DK200. Allied has an exceptional bike check up on their blog, so if you’re interested in reading about Colin’s setup, the new Allied Able, you should head on over to check it out.

We’ve got mountains of photos to work through from last weekend’s gravel races with Rugile Kaladyte delivering Dirty Kanza photos and John cranking on Lost & Found. Stay tuned!

People love to hype themselves up to take on the DK, or Dirty Kanza. At this point, it has achieved a cult-like success due in part to its rapid growth in the gravel racing world but what does its growth mean? Bike Shop Girl dives right in on her latest podcast.

After months of training and vlogging, Path Less Pedaled takes on the Dirty Kanza. Watch this video for a humbling experience of this intense race.

This just in from the Mythical State Of…

“It’s part of our shared, universal human experience. It’s been with us since the very beginning, it’s as old as fire. The Greeks discovered it. Modern Philosophy was invented, in part, to study it. In the absence of hunting and gathering and the need to survive old-school-style, in this post-industrial age of communication and virtual everything, it’s more ubiquitous and relevant than ever. But still, nobody really knows what it is or why it’s a thing. Nobody can say with certainty why humans—Subject Athletes—are compelled to push their Physical, Mental, Spiritual and Emotional limits without causation. Until now.

Until we made a feature-length science documentary to finally answer the question: What’s the deal with endeavors and sports and activities commonly referred to as “Type 2” or “Latent Fun™”?

We interviewed Scientists, Rabbis, Nutritionists, Anthropologists, Jungian Dream Therapists and a host of other experts with various fields of expertise. And we experimented on a control group of “Subject Athletes” while they trained and raced the Dirty Kanza 200, the world’s premier Sucks Event. And we put it all in a movie and that movie is called PROJECT Y.”

See more at MSO!

New from Manual for Speed and Yonder Journal is Mythical State Of, and their Project Y video, following real humans while they prepare for and race the Dirty Kanza. The full project launches May 31st. Read more at MSO.

Our friend Kym took some time out from her busy schedule of being a bad-ass to interview two bad-asses about a bad-ass race called the Dirty Kanza. Maybe you’ve heard of it?