Recon in Photos

Early morning haze over the fields south of Waterloo, Iowa. The temperatures were a bit too chilly for stopping for long. Your sweat would freeze you as the wind evaporated it off you. This was as clear as the skies were all day, by the way.








From a bridge crossing Wolf Creek. About around here is where the hills of Tama County start in taking their toll on your legs.













"B" level maintenance road south of Traer. If the "B" roads were like this on Trans Iowa, folks would have been overjoyed! Look closely and you can see how the road disappears on a steep down hill and you can barely make out the climb back out in the distance. This is where the road crosses Salt Creek.










Tama County is pretty hilly. Look closely and you can see the lay of the land. Let me tell you, the roads follow it closely!






This was near the end of the recon for me. I got up the road about another seven or eight miles from this point before I peeled off north again to go back home. Notice the greater number of clouds. They were thickening and lowering as the day progressed. This is why I made the decision to get home. That and the winds, which were 15-20mph straight into my face for the remainder of the trip.

The Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational is going to be a really tough course. I may have to make a few changes to the planned course so that I can actually count on someone being able to finish it before sundown!



Great Divide Race Update: For those of you who haven't already been following the unfolding of this years GDR, I have these tidbits of news for you.

......Dave Nice had his bike swiped while he was napping by the side of the road, thus putting him out of the GDR, unless support from locals is accepted. It seems that there are some kindly souls out there in Montana willing to lend Dave a bike and some gear.


........Mathew Lee is out in front, and still on schedule to be in contention to break the record. His Lefty has developed an oil leak though, forcing him to run it locked out for now.


......A few other competitors are either dropping out or are about to. The GDR is waaay tough and attempting it is no small feat! By the sounds of it, the major mountain climbs, passes and decents are taking their toll.

.......Rudi Nadler and Matt Chester are still plugging along on their fixies. Much praise from cycling luddites, romantics, and retro grouches for these two on the internet.


Follow the goings on here and here.