By Zach Hacker zach @ emporia . com

Lindy Carroll thought his ride was over .

The now 46-year-old St . Louis man was about 180 miles into his first Dirty Kanza 200 in 2015 . It was after midnight , it was dark , he was in the middle of nowhere ; his situation was about to get worse .

“ Basically , I came over the top of the hill and I was getting ready to go down ,” Carroll said . “ I just remember losing control of my bike . It was really wobbly on the front end .”

He dropped over sideways , falling headfirst to the road with enough impact his helmet was cracked . He learned he had suffered a concussion after getting back to St . Louis . Carroll ’ s memory of what happened immediately after the wreck is a little hazy . All he knows is that two men he ’ d never met — Philip Jamandre of Lawrence and David Nauman from Mason City , Iowa — helped keep him in the race .

Bloodied and dazed , Carroll was helped to his feet while one of his new

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Lindy Carroll shows off his “ battle scars ” after falling during last year ’ s Dirty Kanza 200 . The St . Louis man is back this summer after an eventful ride in 2015 .

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Lindy Carroll poses for a photo on Commercial Street in Emporia shortly after finishing his first Dirty Kanza 200 last summer .

riding mates helped him find his balance and the other steadied his bike . After roughly 10 minutes of walking , the trio was convinced he could ride on . They continued to ride together until the situation again began to look bleak .

It was about 1:15 a . m . when Carroll started to feel the effects of his fall a second time .

“ I don ’ t know if I was going into shock or what , but I was ice-cold and shivering with blood all over my face ,” he said . “ I thought my race was over .”

Please see Carroll , Page 3

By Mary Ann Redeker maryann @ emporia . com

If the spiritual connection and recital of Isaiah 40:31 wasn ’ t enough , three children who are fighting a form of cancer is .

Montana Cole , Jeff Adams and Alex Muckenthaler ’ s struggles with cancer are never far from the thoughts of Dirty Kanza rider Paul Du Toit .

Du Toit , who is manager of PrairieLand Partners , John Deere , said the three came to his attention through a program at work .

“ Our team here , one of our focuses is to raise money for charities in our community ,” Du Toit said . “ This year our Managing by Values leader invited the families in to tell us their stories . Alex ’ s dad and Montana ’ s mom came in and told us what they have been facing . We decided when they left the store that we should find a way to help these families through their struggles .”

The idea was born to get a team together to ride in the DK200 and do fundraisers .

“ One thing led to another and we decided we needed to ride for a cause — for Montana Cole , Alex Muckenthaler and Jeff Adams ,” Du Toit said . “ They are all battling some form of cancer . They gave this cycling event a whole new meaning for me .”

Fastest Emporian in last year ’ s DK200

Du Toit said he remembered the grueling , gravelgrinding , muddy , 200-mile race from a year ago in which he finished 97th out of 427 riders with a time of 15:57:46 .

He really didn ’ t expect to compete this year until a fellow employee encouraged him and inspired him to do so .

“ After last year ’ s event , I was ready to be done ,” he said . “ Then one of the employees here , Brandon Pope , decided he wanted to ride . He told me he wanted to do the 200 race this year and has been a huge inspiration to me . I decided if Brandon was going to do it , then I better be a part of it . That ’ s what encouraged me to ride again this year .”

Pope said it was Du Toit ’ s journey through the muddy conditions of the Flint Hills and finish last year that inspired him to want to race this year .

“ Paul inspired me ,” Pope said . “ It was pretty cool to see him come across the finish line last year . It was neat

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Paul Du Toit rides his bicycle in the Flint Hills during last year ’ s Dirty Kanza 200 . Du Toit said his rides have become a reflection of Isaiah 40:31 and riding itself has become a place where he can connect with God .

to see all of the excitement of the DK race and the finishers . Last year I drove the ride-along gator and had an opportunity to see all the riders go through the Flint Hills and thought that was something I would like to do . It will be my first DK race , but I ’ ve done a few other 100-mile races previously .”

Pope said when he and Du Toit decided to ride for a purpose , the idea came to ride for those in need .

“ We came across their stories through a program at work ,” he said . “ We raise money to give to those in need through that program . We thought it would be a great thing to ride for them .”

Montana Cole ’ s mom , Carolyn , said the idea of someone — let alone a team — riding for her daughter in the DK was a bit overwhelming .

“ We were invited out to PrairieLand Partners because we heard they liked to do fundraisers and that type of thing ,” she said . “ It really got the ball rolling for us . The whole PrairieLand community has been wonderful to give to families in the community . It is very heartfelt and touching that they would want to ride for

Please see Du Toit , Page 3

John Robinson john @ emporia . com

They ’ ve ridden in the hills and cobblestone roads of major tours , and stood on the podiums of cycling championships , but Saturday will present a first to retired pro cyclists Ted King and Tim Johnson as they attempt their first Dirty Kanza 200 .

“ The DK lives in infamy ,” King said . “ It is one of the most notoriously difficult , long races in the world and it definitely fits with this new genre of cycling that I ’ m getting into .”

King retired from pro cycling in 2015 , but placed third in the U . S . Pro National Championships in 2011 and has participated multiple times in the Tour de France . King said he likes the atmosphere the Dirty Kanza 200 brings to the participants .

“ It caters to a larger audience than pure racers ,” he said . “ A lot of them are competitive and a lot

of them just want to finish . It ’ s a different level of competition but it caters to a larger audience of people that love riding bikes .

“ It ’ s just based on camaraderie ,” King said . “ Every single person wants to finish — sure there ’ s a top 10 percent who want to be really competitive and race for the finish — and there ’ s still 90 percent who are there for camaraderie . For high-fives , for hugs afterwards , for choosing a beer and toasting to an amazing day . Those are the things that I really embrace post-racing , just the less competitive side of a life spent on two wheels .”

This isn ’ t King ’ s first gravel grinder , but it is the first of this scope that he is set to race in . King said the basic lessons he ’ s learned throughout his career will still apply .

“ This race comes down to attrition ,” he said . “ It ’ s being ahead of your hydration , ahead of your

Please see King , Page 7

Ted King is looking forward to the camaraderie in his first Dirty Kanza 200 .

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VOL . 124 , NO . 288