by Jace J.
There was a bike rally at Pittsburg, Kansas called Gorilla Century 2021. The ride was 62 miles long on gravel 100, 62 or 38 miles on pavement and stretched all the way to Big Brutus! It was hosted by Tailwind Cyclist on Saturday September 4th and boasted plenty of well equipped rest stops, with friendly and helpful volunteers. The weather has turned out to be perfect! Mid 70’s with cloud cover and a 5 mph wind.The weather has turned out to be perfect! Mid 70’s with cloud cover and a 5 mph wind. The ride cared less about winning and more about finishing the race. Some people rode their first race this year and burned over 2,000 calories .
Whitney Cantwell said she made it the whole 100, she had the best root beer float at mile 80 and she fell in the grass in front of every one. She said that at the beginning of the shutdown in 2019 she began riding a bike due to the lack of options outside of her own home. In 202 she learned about the Gorilla century race and wanted to compete.
“Sounds great right? Well in late August 2020 I was exposed to COVID. On September 4, 2020, I didn’t feel good. I felt short of breath, and was coughing like crazy!!! Two COVID tests (first one was a false negative) and loss taste and smell later, sure enough I tested positive.
I went from riding my bike 20 plus miles a couple of times a week to having a phone conversation left me short of breath and gasping for air. Anyways, my husband went on to ride 62 miles in the Gorilla Century last year, and I did not compete. At that point I could only ride my bike for 5 minutes at a time. I was super discouraged, but my husband kept cheering me on. So here I am now a year post COVID and what do I plan to do on September 4, 2021? My happy little butt is going to be on a bike trying to ride a century. Will I make it? Who knows, but you can bet your britches I am going to give it my all.” And, she did.