In near perfect Colorado conditions, 34 riders, including over 12 UMCA members, gathered on Wednesday, September 13, 2006, at the Louisville Comfort Inn for the start of the Last Chance 1200 km Randonnée. Starting official, and UMCA Managing Director, John Hughes gave some last minute instructions before counting down the minutes to the start. As the riders began their eastward journey, little did they know what surprises were in store for them.

For this, the fifth Last Chance, UMCA President and ride organizer John Lee Ellis changed the route to eliminate what had become a hazardous stretch of highway traditionally encountered on the last day of the ride. By moving the turn-around point sixteen miles east to Kensington, KS, Ellis made the route more like the original Last Chance of 2001.

On Day 1 from Boulder to Atwood, KS, a distance of 251.3 miles, riders encountered terrain that primarily consisted of rolling hills for as far as the eye could see. Any benefit from the 2,600 feet of elevation loss that first day was more than offset by the miles of climbing on the hills. Val Phelps, celebrating his first wedding anniversary by riding with his wife Robin in their first 1200 km, reported, "I asked John Lee Ellis how he found a route that was uphill both directions."

Fifty miles into the ride the first day's route turned south, straight into a headwind that got stronger as the sun rose higher in the sky. Fifteen miles later, the route resumed its easterly direction, turning the headwind into a cross-wind that would both encourage and torment the riders for much of the next three days. The south-southwesterly wind proved somewhat beneficial on the open stretch from Byers, CO to St. Francis, KS. This segment went through lonely towns named Last Chance, Lindon, Anton, Cope, Joes, and Idalia — towns whose glory days had long since passed.

While many riders spent the night in Atwood, others, like Last Chance & PBP veteran Charlie Henderson took advantage of the orange full moon and rode on to Oberlin at mile 278. Some, like Nancy and John Guth and Larry Ide, rode to Norton at mile 313 before turning in for the night. "That made the first day more like the first day of PBP," said Henderson.

Dawn of Day 2 saw the lead riders, course record holder Ken Bonner, Tim Bol, and Larry Graham, within several miles of each other approaching Oberlin (mile 442) on their return. Day 2 for most riders meant a trek of 218.6 miles from Atwood to the turn around in Kensington and back to Atwood in crosswinds that increased in intensity as the day progressed. The 109-mile stretch to the turn around point represented nearly 1,100 ft of elevation loss. As on the first day, any benefit from the decreasing elevation was more than offset by even more climbing. This stretch was pure prairie right out of the movies — tumbleweed, dust storms, burning sunshine, rattlesnakes, cattle and barbed wire.

After dropping the required postcard in the mail chute at the Kensington Post Office, Charlie Henderson and I were approached by a local resident who invited us to stay for the "First Annual Great U.S. Highway 36 Treasure Hunt," a garage sale that stretched the entire length of US 36 in Kansas and was scheduled to start the next day. We opted instead to begin our return journeys.

The climbing continued. The cross winds picked up, and the lost elevation was reclaimed. Many riders stopped in Phillipsburg, the home of the largest rodeo in Kansas, for a meal. Others pressed on to Norton, the home of the only McDonald's on the route.

UCC rider Veronica Tunucci, on her first ride of this distance, found the stretch from Phillipsburg to Norton the toughest. "This stretch felt like a battle between the winds and trucks versus me. I felt wind whipped at the end of the day. The oncoming trucks would create a headwind which, depending on how fast they were moving, would temporarily stop my forward movement," she explained. Philip Baker, who qualified for RAAM with a time of 72:15 (he's 65), also found the trucks and cross winds "challenging" just outside Norton.

The planned overnight stop for most riders again was Atwood at mile 469.9. The trio of Nancy and John Guth and Larry Ide opted instead to press on to St. Francis at mile 511.9. Reaching the town at midnight, they found "no vacancy" signs in abundance, but managed to persuade one motel owner to let them sleep on the floor of his restaurant. The hospitality displayed by that person was typical of the generosity and hospitality of almost all of the local residents encountered by the riders along the route.

The cross winds and burning sunshine continued on Day 3 for the 179.8 mile stretch from Atwood to Byers, an elevation gain of over 2,300 feet. Wildlife was in abundance. "I've never seen so many dead rattlesnakes," said Tim Bol who shared first finisher honors with Ken Bonner with a time of 56:27. Val and Robin Phelps witnessed the march of the caterpillars along this stretch. "Hundreds of caterpillars crossed the road while we were suffering on the most difficult section of the ride [into Byers]," Val said. "Robin and I had separated on this section and I had to check with Robin to make sure I wasn't hallucinating."

Tumbleweeds continued to pop out of nowhere. Nancy Guth reported, "Friday night coming into Byers, I was hit head-on by tumbleweeds, and was almost at a dead stop, while pedaling as hard as I could!"

Day 4 was meant to be an easy 103.1-mile jaunt from Byers back to the outskirts of Boulder, but the Chinook headwinds blowing out of the mountains made the day the most challenging for those riders still on the course. Veteran rider Woody Graham, freshly returned from a ride across Australia, is reported to have best summed up the day's ride. He told John Lee Ellis that, "the headwind was the strongest he had ever ridden in his life." (Indeed, this writer was about a mile behind Woody, and it took me two hours to cover eight miles into the wind on a flat road.)

Literally minutes after the last riders finished, the temperature plummeted into the forties. The next morning, snow was visible on the mountaintops, and Woody Graham, John Lee Ellis and his wife Pat unwound with a hike in the snow. The perfect end to a perfect ride.

UCC rider Ken Knutson, on completing his second Last Chance and seventh 1200 km since 2001, said "I consider the Last Chance to be physically, mentally and tactically the toughest. Physically, the last half is essentially up hill. Since there are no major climbs, there's no coasting. One has to pedal the whole route."

On the mental challenge, Knutson said, "The state song of Kansas is 'Home on the Range'. Not much has changed in western Kansas and eastern Colorado since the original words were penned in 1876. It can be mentally challenging to continue as each mile passes in an area where very little changes."

Larry Graham, RAAM qualifying on his recumbent with a time of 59:08, echoed the physical and mental challenges: "I can best describe the ride as endless. Endless sky. Endless hills. Endless flat. Endless white line. Endless openness. Endless beauty. Endless ugliness. Endless joy. Endless despair. Endless starry night. Endless sun. Endless dust. Endless wind."

The blowing dust took its toll on the riders. Several, including Tom Knoblauch who RAAM qualified with a time of 64:36, reported respiratory problems as the ride progressed. "Even though I had the legs," Knoblauch said, "I could not push myself as I could not get my wind. I think that's how an asthmatic must feel."

Participation in this ultra event was not limited to riders. Ken Bonner was impressed with the number of riders who had a partner, relative or friend providing extra support at control points on the ride: "The weather was hard on these folks as they sweltered in the heat with little shade, obtained little sleep, had dust in every crack and cranny and fought off the Kansas flies that attacked folks when they stood still." The 2006 Last Chance was Bonner's fourth Last Chance and his (and this writer's) fourth 1200 km this year.

UCC and Year-Rounder participants who rode in the Last Chance included Timothy Bol, Ken Bonner, John Lee Ellis, Mike Enfield, Larry Graham, Woody Graham, Nancy & John Guth, Larry Ide, Ken Knutson, Veronica Tunucci, and Dan Wallace.

John Lee Ellis and his team put together a superb 1200 km. The pre- and post-ride dinners created camaraderie among the riders that, as in the past, will result in lasting friendships within the ultracycling family.

For more information on the Last Chance 1200 km Randonnée, including many rider stories, visit http://www.rmccrides.com/lastchance2006stories.htm.