Ashley's story: Tour die Kapellen

BaseCamp athlete Ashley Helfrich shared her experience at the 2026 Tour die Kapellen bike race in Kansas.

I had wanted to do this event for quite some time, and when my bike friends wanted to do this, I thought it would be a great chance to check that off the list. They wanted to do the 62 mile, which in the past would have seemed daunting; however, I think since I have been training a little more consistently, that has helped build up my aerobic system a little more. I've also recently hired a Basecamp coach (Liz) that is keeping me accountable to not overdo it like I have in the past (and end up hurting myself), and I have spent a lot of time trying to improve my bike fit, and that has helped a lot. Also, the event itself was great in terms of organization, SAG, homemade lunch, live music by the Hot Shots, and they even passed out cold, wet wash clothes at the end. The roads were actually in amazing condition (I had no idea the roads could be smooth in KS lol). This event was up by Hay, KS, and the route stopped at 4 churches (in Catharine, Victoria, Pfeifer, and Munjor).