Trans Iowa V4 : It Blew Me Away! Part IV

Throughout the afternoon we were recieving some information regarding DNF's and also on who was left riding. We were sure of three guys at least: John Gorilla, Charlie Farrow, and Joe Kucharski. Rob Walters, our photographer, saw them ride through Winthrop on to the second checkpoint. Other rider information was sketchy at best. We thought for some time that Marcin Nowak was still riding, but that his brother Maciej was missing or out, depending upon who we talked to. At any rate, I was thinking that only a possibility of five guys remaining was the reality and that three was probably the truth. Things changed as we got to Checkpoint #2.



<===Cory Heintz commandeers a childs rig for some good laughs at Checkpoint #2.

When we arrived, we were fed some first hand info indicating that there were indeed five riders still out on course. The three leaders: Kucharski, Gorilla, and Farrow, but the remaining two were complete surprises to me. Charles Parsons and Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey were still plugging along. We recieved info that four of them had pased through Delhi, which wasn't far from Checkpoint #2. This was awesome news to d.p. and I for a couple of reasons.

First, we knew that our course re-routes had worked. We were most pleased with this fact. After all the miscues and stories of riders not seeing our course markings south of Cresco, we were really relieved to hear that the protocol seemed to be effective in getting the riders up the right path.

Secondly, we were stoked to hear that we had more than three riders up the road. Now it seemed possible to have some finishers in Decorah afterall. This was shaping up to be something good after all.

We took things at ease for awhile in Earlville. d.p, and I were bushed from all the re-routing stresses and the length of our day was fast taking it's toll. Joe and Jeremy, two of our Checkpoint #2 volunteers, fired up a grill and we all shared some steak. A few beers were consumed and we had some relaxing times mixed with good conversation for just a bit. John Gorilla's wife Adele was there, and we chatted a bit with her. She seemed confident that her husband was going to come through fine.

We left the checkpoint at the fall of dark and continued on with our recon. Immediately the roads were pock marked and frost heaved far worse than anything we had yet encountered. I was down to driving at about 20mph or less most of the time.

Then we discovered another miscue coupled with some really bad roads. Frantically d.p, and I looked over the maps, drove to a few points to check on some things, and set a plan in place. We went to work only to be checked up by a fallen tree that blocked the entire road. We needed to use this section. So d.p. went up on foot to mark the corner and I stayed behind and broke off branches by hand. I pitched branches into the ditch as fast as I could, thinking to myself, "How do you swallow an elephant? One bite at a time."

With that section marked we turned our attention to part of the course we had seen that was impassable by car, but looked all right for cyclists. We had to hoof it around two foot deep ruts and three foot high frost heaves. The road was unrecognizable at this point and felt like fluff under our feet. Weird, but rideable. We set to marking the corner as best we could.

Since we couldn't drive the actual course from this point, we decided to go around on pavement to Edgewood. Through some earlier intelligence provided to us by our other photographer, Marty Larson, we knew that the road out of Garber was under about five feet of water. We set to bypassing that and the sure to be under water crossing in Bixby State Preserve just north of Edgewood.


<===The straw that broke the camel's back in car lights.

We decided to look at an early cut from the T.I. course on Glacier Road. We had considered this stretch in our early planning but discarded the idea when we got serious about making choices back in the early winter. The road starts out as a meandering slightly downhill stretch. Then it gets really hairy!

Glacier Road takes a big dive downhill at an incredible pitch, which in great conditions would be muy dangeroso, but in the state we found it, it was death waiting to snap it's jaws on an unsuspecting cyclist. We were still willing to entertian the thought of going this way, but at the bottom, nature vetoed any thoughts of choosing this solution.




<====.....and by the light of the camera flash. Imagine using a marginal light at an approach speed in excess of 40mph!

The downhill, rutted and rip rapped by the recent rains, was about a mile and a half in length if you only included the steep section. Yeah......some fast descending! So finding this at the bottom was not good. Added to that was the fact that the big rocks you see were loose, moving, and slimy from water when you walked on them. This put the nail in the coffin. T.I.V4 ended here for us.

I suppose we could have routed the guys on pavement, but at an hour approaching midnight and on a Saturday night at that, I wasn't about to subject the remaining riders to that risk. Keep in mind, beer cans littered the roads as it was, a constant reminder of what locals call fun 'round these parts.

It wasn't even a discusion on our parts. I think we just knew it was time to do the right thing for the riders safety and to keep from having the cue sheets/re-routes spiral out of control. Riders with 200 plus miles in their legs are not usually the sharpest tools in the shed. Sorry if I offend anyone with that comment, but I have seen it for three years running. It is what it is.

We ventured back to Edgewood, picked out a likely finish line and awiated the leaders.

Next: The Endgame

Trans Iowa V4 : It Blew Me Away! Part IV

Throughout the afternoon we were recieving some information regarding DNF's and also on who was left riding. We were sure of three guys at least: John Gorilla, Charlie Farrow, and Joe Kucharski. Rob Walters, our photographer, saw them ride through Winthrop on to the second checkpoint. Other rider information was sketchy at best. We thought for some time that Marcin Nowak was still riding, but that his brother Maciej was missing or out, depending upon who we talked to. At any rate, I was thinking that only a possibility of five guys remaining was the reality and that three was probably the truth. Things changed as we got to Checkpoint #2.



<===Cory Heintz commandeers a childs rig for some good laughs at Checkpoint #2.

When we arrived, we were fed some first hand info indicating that there were indeed five riders still out on course. The three leaders: Kucharski, Gorilla, and Farrow, but the remaining two were complete surprises to me. Charles Parsons and Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey were still plugging along. We recieved info that four of them had pased through Delhi, which wasn't far from Checkpoint #2. This was awesome news to d.p. and I for a couple of reasons.

First, we knew that our course re-routes had worked. We were most pleased with this fact. After all the miscues and stories of riders not seeing our course markings south of Cresco, we were really relieved to hear that the protocol seemed to be effective in getting the riders up the right path.

Secondly, we were stoked to hear that we had more than three riders up the road. Now it seemed possible to have some finishers in Decorah afterall. This was shaping up to be something good after all.

We took things at ease for awhile in Earlville. d.p, and I were bushed from all the re-routing stresses and the length of our day was fast taking it's toll. Joe and Jeremy, two of our Checkpoint #2 volunteers, fired up a grill and we all shared some steak. A few beers were consumed and we had some relaxing times mixed with good conversation for just a bit. John Gorilla's wife Adele was there, and we chatted a bit with her. She seemed confident that her husband was going to come through fine.

We left the checkpoint at the fall of dark and continued on with our recon. Immediately the roads were pock marked and frost heaved far worse than anything we had yet encountered. I was down to driving at about 20mph or less most of the time.

Then we discovered another miscue coupled with some really bad roads. Frantically d.p, and I looked over the maps, drove to a few points to check on some things, and set a plan in place. We went to work only to be checked up by a fallen tree that blocked the entire road. We needed to use this section. So d.p. went up on foot to mark the corner and I stayed behind and broke off branches by hand. I pitched branches into the ditch as fast as I could, thinking to myself, "How do you swallow an elephant? One bite at a time."

With that section marked we turned our attention to part of the course we had seen that was impassable by car, but looked all right for cyclists. We had to hoof it around two foot deep ruts and three foot high frost heaves. The road was unrecognizable at this point and felt like fluff under our feet. Weird, but rideable. We set to marking the corner as best we could.

Since we couldn't drive the actual course from this point, we decided to go around on pavement to Edgewood. Through some earlier intelligence provided to us by our other photographer, Marty Larson, we knew that the road out of Garber was under about five feet of water. We set to bypassing that and the sure to be under water crossing in Bixby State Preserve just north of Edgewood.


<===The straw that broke the camel's back in car lights.

We decided to look at an early cut from the T.I. course on Glacier Road. We had considered this stretch in our early planning but discarded the idea when we got serious about making choices back in the early winter. The road starts out as a meandering slightly downhill stretch. Then it gets really hairy!

Glacier Road takes a big dive downhill at an incredible pitch, which in great conditions would be muy dangeroso, but in the state we found it, it was death waiting to snap it's jaws on an unsuspecting cyclist. We were still willing to entertian the thought of going this way, but at the bottom, nature vetoed any thoughts of choosing this solution.




<====.....and by the light of the camera flash. Imagine using a marginal light at an approach speed in excess of 40mph!

The downhill, rutted and rip rapped by the recent rains, was about a mile and a half in length if you only included the steep section. Yeah......some fast descending! So finding this at the bottom was not good. Added to that was the fact that the big rocks you see were loose, moving, and slimy from water when you walked on them. This put the nail in the coffin. T.I.V4 ended here for us.

I suppose we could have routed the guys on pavement, but at an hour approaching midnight and on a Saturday night at that, I wasn't about to subject the remaining riders to that risk. Keep in mind, beer cans littered the roads as it was, a constant reminder of what locals call fun 'round these parts.

It wasn't even a discusion on our parts. I think we just knew it was time to do the right thing for the riders safety and to keep from having the cue sheets/re-routes spiral out of control. Riders with 200 plus miles in their legs are not usually the sharpest tools in the shed. Sorry if I offend anyone with that comment, but I have seen it for three years running. It is what it is.

We ventured back to Edgewood, picked out a likely finish line and awiated the leaders.

Next: The Endgame

Trans Iowa V4 : It Blew Me Away! Part III

<===The leaders make the first checkpoint.

After the West Union stop, d.p. and I motored straight to the checkpoint to see how things were there. I met Bruce, one of our new volunteers, here for the first time. A great guy and he was a huge asset to us. Also reconnecting with Redgie and Steve was good. Everything looked settled and ready for the riders arrival.

Then they came. Always a bit of chaos whenever the front runners show up at a checkpoint en-masse. The guys handled it well though.

d.p. and I had to drive up out of Wadena to get a call that wasn't coming through. Seems that Wadena is stuck in the last century when it comes to communications. Not that it is a bad thing, mind you, it just is. This would become a sore point very soon!


<===d.p. ambles off a large mudslide on course.

We decided we better high tail it outta Dodge before the troops mounted up, so off we went back out on course. Everything was clicking well until we rounded a corner and saw a huge pile of mud, grass, and tree remains blocking the roadway. Amazing! A real mudslide in Iowa.

Well, we thought about trying to head off the riders at the checkpoint, but we remembered- no cell service! So, we tried going over the top. Good footing was found so we marked out a route for riders to follow.
Just as we completed the task, here came the lead group. We yelled at them to "hike a bike! hike a bike!" and they all dismounted with wide eyes. John Gorilla approached the pile first, but at a point we hadn't marked out. He hadn't seen the flagging yet. He stepped into the gooey mud and went up above his calf in brown ooze. Brian Hannon took one look at that and was scampering off to the ditch, crossing a barb wire fence, and running down the pasture to circumnavigate the slide of earth. Team Polska and a few others including Charlie Farrow and Joe Kucharski figured out the "path" was marked and smartly shouldered their rigs and disappeared over to the other side. Gorilla followed and then they were gone. d.p. and I were left behind with our chase vehicle to find another route around the obstacle.

d.p. and I had to go way out of our way to get around this, so by the time we got back on course at Volga, the riders had already passed through. We noticed our cues were incorrect, telling riders to turn into the river when they should have gone left. Well, we didn't see anybody wandering around confused, so we thought we would investigate. We found the riders up the road, on course, south of Volga. Joe Kucharski yelled at us as we passed them by and for good reason. We screwed that cue up. Our fault, and we knew it. The one thing I regret is that we didn't go back and mark it, but it wasn't too hard to figure out you don't ride into a river, I guess!

That and a couple of other miscues were the result of the winter and the inability of us to get out on course. It just wasn't possible with ice and snow blocking roads for months on end. Lesson learned. We do another T.I.- we get this part done before fall sets in. No exceptions!

We continued on to a point where d.p, and I had been before and exchanged a "B" road for a road a mile north that we thought had some cool hills. Well, I didn't recall that they were "killer hills"! As we drove them, the steepness and the fact that they were headed straight into the unceasing wind was overwhelming, and we weren't even riding! I understood why riders were taking so long to get to Winthrop after seeing this situation on course.

We stopped in Winthrop and grabbed some eats at a convenience store just off course. It was about 4pm, and we were waiting to see how the lead group would fare. Well, after waiting for awhile, we felt the urge to go up the road and we left with the knowledge that our photographer, Rob Walters was to be staking out there. A pair of eyes that would come in rather handy a bit later.

Our big concern here was a mile and a half section of B maintenance road that we were almost sure would be flooded. We were prepared to do a re-route and we figured the rest of the course would be fine. Well, after checking out the first mile section of B road that looked just fine to us, we got an eye opening!

We crested a hill and saw a lake. A huge lake that wasn't on the map. It inundated our course at its midpoint, covering a mile section of road with its waters that glinted in the late afternoon sun. It really was a pretty sight, but it horrified us. We quickly scrambled looking at the maps and planning a re-route that would be simple to follow and avoid any flooded areas. We busied ourselves with duct tape signs and flags, following the protocol we set up in Decorah the evening before. We called Rob and asked if he had seen any riders. Strangely enough, he hadn't yet. Wow! They were taking a long time! We told Rob to forward the info about a course re-route to any riders he saw coming through. Right then, he cut us off because he saw three riders coming.

We hung up with Rob and the cell phone buzzed to life again. This time it was Brian Hannon. He was reporting his DNF due to knee issues. I asked him if he was with any other riders. He said, "I'm sure no one else is up the road on us. You haven't seen anyone else, have you?" I replied that I hadn't, explained our situation, and Brian said, "Well, the other guys were just here, I'll run out and see if I can flag them down."

I felt we had done our best to get a heads up out there. Mostly due to luck than a plan, but none the less, there it was.


<===Actually, it was quite nice here.

We finally got the course re-route taken care of and we were back on track again heading for what we were sure was to be another re-route. Well, it couldn't have turned out better.

The B road was totally passable. Dry in fact. Weird! We couldn't get around a log that had been floated across the path by high waters, so we went around to check the backside of this sector of course. As we did, we didn't notice another SUV pull in behind us. Well, the roadway was so narrow, we couldn't even turn the car around. We were backing up when we saw the other SUV with a couple inside it. The guy jammed on his accelerator, whipping up mud and dirt as if he was angry at us. I found a wide space in the path, pulled over enough to let him by, and stopped. He saw that, stopped, threw it in drive, and stomped his pedal like a oversexed teenager with a hot rod and nowhere to go. Wow! I waved as he passed by, but I doubt he noticed.

Next: The second checkpoint and a bit of satisfaction.

Trans Iowa V4 : It Blew Me Away! Part III

<===The leaders make the first checkpoint.

After the West Union stop, d.p. and I motored straight to the checkpoint to see how things were there. I met Bruce, one of our new volunteers, here for the first time. A great guy and he was a huge asset to us. Also reconnecting with Redgie and Steve was good. Everything looked settled and ready for the riders arrival.

Then they came. Always a bit of chaos whenever the front runners show up at a checkpoint en-masse. The guys handled it well though.

d.p. and I had to drive up out of Wadena to get a call that wasn't coming through. Seems that Wadena is stuck in the last century when it comes to communications. Not that it is a bad thing, mind you, it just is. This would become a sore point very soon!


<===d.p. ambles off a large mudslide on course.

We decided we better high tail it outta Dodge before the troops mounted up, so off we went back out on course. Everything was clicking well until we rounded a corner and saw a huge pile of mud, grass, and tree remains blocking the roadway. Amazing! A real mudslide in Iowa.

Well, we thought about trying to head off the riders at the checkpoint, but we remembered- no cell service! So, we tried going over the top. Good footing was found so we marked out a route for riders to follow.
Just as we completed the task, here came the lead group. We yelled at them to "hike a bike! hike a bike!" and they all dismounted with wide eyes. John Gorilla approached the pile first, but at a point we hadn't marked out. He hadn't seen the flagging yet. He stepped into the gooey mud and went up above his calf in brown ooze. Brian Hannon took one look at that and was scampering off to the ditch, crossing a barb wire fence, and running down the pasture to circumnavigate the slide of earth. Team Polska and a few others including Charlie Farrow and Joe Kucharski figured out the "path" was marked and smartly shouldered their rigs and disappeared over to the other side. Gorilla followed and then they were gone. d.p. and I were left behind with our chase vehicle to find another route around the obstacle.

d.p. and I had to go way out of our way to get around this, so by the time we got back on course at Volga, the riders had already passed through. We noticed our cues were incorrect, telling riders to turn into the river when they should have gone left. Well, we didn't see anybody wandering around confused, so we thought we would investigate. We found the riders up the road, on course, south of Volga. Joe Kucharski yelled at us as we passed them by and for good reason. We screwed that cue up. Our fault, and we knew it. The one thing I regret is that we didn't go back and mark it, but it wasn't too hard to figure out you don't ride into a river, I guess!

That and a couple of other miscues were the result of the winter and the inability of us to get out on course. It just wasn't possible with ice and snow blocking roads for months on end. Lesson learned. We do another T.I.- we get this part done before fall sets in. No exceptions!

We continued on to a point where d.p, and I had been before and exchanged a "B" road for a road a mile north that we thought had some cool hills. Well, I didn't recall that they were "killer hills"! As we drove them, the steepness and the fact that they were headed straight into the unceasing wind was overwhelming, and we weren't even riding! I understood why riders were taking so long to get to Winthrop after seeing this situation on course.

We stopped in Winthrop and grabbed some eats at a convenience store just off course. It was about 4pm, and we were waiting to see how the lead group would fare. Well, after waiting for awhile, we felt the urge to go up the road and we left with the knowledge that our photographer, Rob Walters was to be staking out there. A pair of eyes that would come in rather handy a bit later.

Our big concern here was a mile and a half section of B maintenance road that we were almost sure would be flooded. We were prepared to do a re-route and we figured the rest of the course would be fine. Well, after checking out the first mile section of B road that looked just fine to us, we got an eye opening!

We crested a hill and saw a lake. A huge lake that wasn't on the map. It inundated our course at its midpoint, covering a mile section of road with its waters that glinted in the late afternoon sun. It really was a pretty sight, but it horrified us. We quickly scrambled looking at the maps and planning a re-route that would be simple to follow and avoid any flooded areas. We busied ourselves with duct tape signs and flags, following the protocol we set up in Decorah the evening before. We called Rob and asked if he had seen any riders. Strangely enough, he hadn't yet. Wow! They were taking a long time! We told Rob to forward the info about a course re-route to any riders he saw coming through. Right then, he cut us off because he saw three riders coming.

We hung up with Rob and the cell phone buzzed to life again. This time it was Brian Hannon. He was reporting his DNF due to knee issues. I asked him if he was with any other riders. He said, "I'm sure no one else is up the road on us. You haven't seen anyone else, have you?" I replied that I hadn't, explained our situation, and Brian said, "Well, the other guys were just here, I'll run out and see if I can flag them down."

I felt we had done our best to get a heads up out there. Mostly due to luck than a plan, but none the less, there it was.


<===Actually, it was quite nice here.

We finally got the course re-route taken care of and we were back on track again heading for what we were sure was to be another re-route. Well, it couldn't have turned out better.

The B road was totally passable. Dry in fact. Weird! We couldn't get around a log that had been floated across the path by high waters, so we went around to check the backside of this sector of course. As we did, we didn't notice another SUV pull in behind us. Well, the roadway was so narrow, we couldn't even turn the car around. We were backing up when we saw the other SUV with a couple inside it. The guy jammed on his accelerator, whipping up mud and dirt as if he was angry at us. I found a wide space in the path, pulled over enough to let him by, and stopped. He saw that, stopped, threw it in drive, and stomped his pedal like a oversexed teenager with a hot rod and nowhere to go. Wow! I waved as he passed by, but I doubt he noticed.

Next: The second checkpoint and a bit of satisfaction.

Trans Iowa V4 : It Blew Me Away! Part II

<===Riders bustin' a 25mph headwind with 40 + mph gusts just south of Cresco, Iowa. That's eventual third place finisher Charlie Farrow on the right.

Lying in bed on Friday night in a hotel room I could hear the wind screaming over the top of the building. "Good", I thought, "Maybe that'll dry things up a bit for us."

Well, I was right, it did, but it nearly roached the whole field of racers in the process! But I'll get to that in a minute. First we had to get this beast cranked up. So let's back up a bit and take a look.

I had told the racers that they should make sure they got to the start good and early. I figured I might help avoid the last minute arrivals to the start line like we had last year. What I didn't count on was that almost everyone heeded my warning and that the temperatures were so cold with a biting west wind. I arrived at the start with d.p. and Brother Mark at about 3:20 am and there were already several riders milling about. Apparently, several folks actually camped out at the start line. At any rate, a lot of the field was there and huddled behind some dump trucks and heavy equipment trying to shield themselves from the wind at 3:35am.

At 3:50am, I walked back behind the trucks and stuff and called the riders out to start. After a few words of caution, I honked the horn and pulled away at 3:59am. One minute of mercy shown to the bone chilled riders. Off we went up Quarry Hill Road. Team Polska and a few others tried to circumvent the neutral start by bypassing me on my left, but they quickly fell back in line and followed me out. What I didn't know until later was that one rider had sped over the last hill on Ice Cave Road just as we were pulling out. He was in such a hurry, he lost it in trying to make the corner to jump in behind us and did an awesome power slide, gathered himself up, and joined in at the tail end of the line. That rider was eventual winner John Gorilla.

I sped on ahead after I was satisfied that I had gotten the field strung out enough to avoid mishap and parked along the side of the road to wait and see the spectacle of lights and bikes pass by. it's always one of my favorite sights during T.I.

We corner marshaled the first turn onto and off of pavement just north of town without incident. The wind was still howling.

Then we went on ahead to Cresco and waited at the Kwik Star for the riders to appear. they were later than we thought. This was bad for the prospect of finishers. It was clear already that if there were to be any, they would be selected from the first bunch of about 15-18 riders that appeared on Highway 9 that morning. Only one guy peeled off to stop and the rest kept moving.

Snow was swirling in the streets and the wind kept on howling.

d.p. and I then hustled to the low water crossing to re-route the riders as we had explained at the pre-race the night before. Then we went to a point just south of there and settled in to see what we could see of the leaders coming up the road. Our photographer, Rob Walters called then and said, "Hey, what's the deal? The riders are confused because they can't go across that water." I said that they had missed the flags we put up and that they needed to turn around and go back a bit. Rob said it looked as though they were doing just that and that he would point them in the right direction. Crap! I couldn't believe our flags were that poorly placed. We had them as close to the road as we could get them.

At any rate, the leaders finally came around. Rob snapped some photos and then we chatted for a few seconds. Just then, I got a call from Paul Jacobson that explained that another large group of riders missed the flags too. I was bummed! Our idea seemed to be not working out too well.




<===The lead group powering up Main Street in Protivin, Iowa

Then we headed on down the course, checking on any thing that might be wrong, but the course was fine and we were not seeing any mistakes on the cue sheets. We got to West Union and decided we were hungry. I knew the lead pack would be too, as they had bypassed the first two convenience store stops on the route so far. West Union was a full on 80 plus miles in, and I knew they would have to stop.


And the wind never did let up.



<===Convenience Store Chaos!

T.I. always brings madness and frenetic energy when riders pull into convenience stores. Befuddled locals are left with jaws hanging open and slightly frightened teenage girls behind cash registers are just some of the more surreal high lights of these stops. It is a chance for me to check out bikes, set ups, watch strategies played out, and learn a thing or two. I get to chat with the racers and get a feel for how the event is being recieved. For me personally, it is one of the highlights of a Trans Iowa. Some of my most cherished T.I. memories are from stops just like this one. Strangely enough, it would end up being the only convenience store stop on the whole day.

And the wind still screamed..............

We left West Union and being confident in our course from there to Checkpoint #1, we decided to go directly to the checkpoint. Tomorrow, Checkpoint and Checkmate!

Trans Iowa V4 : It Blew Me Away! Part II

<===Riders bustin' a 25mph headwind with 40 + mph gusts just south of Cresco, Iowa. That's eventual third place finisher Charlie Farrow on the right.

Lying in bed on Friday night in a hotel room I could hear the wind screaming over the top of the building. "Good", I thought, "Maybe that'll dry things up a bit for us."

Well, I was right, it did, but it nearly roached the whole field of racers in the process! But I'll get to that in a minute. First we had to get this beast cranked up. So let's back up a bit and take a look.

I had told the racers that they should make sure they got to the start good and early. I figured I might help avoid the last minute arrivals to the start line like we had last year. What I didn't count on was that almost everyone heeded my warning and that the temperatures were so cold with a biting west wind. I arrived at the start with d.p. and Brother Mark at about 3:20 am and there were already several riders milling about. Apparently, several folks actually camped out at the start line. At any rate, a lot of the field was there and huddled behind some dump trucks and heavy equipment trying to shield themselves from the wind at 3:35am.

At 3:50am, I walked back behind the trucks and stuff and called the riders out to start. After a few words of caution, I honked the horn and pulled away at 3:59am. One minute of mercy shown to the bone chilled riders. Off we went up Quarry Hill Road. Team Polska and a few others tried to circumvent the neutral start by bypassing me on my left, but they quickly fell back in line and followed me out. What I didn't know until later was that one rider had sped over the last hill on Ice Cave Road just as we were pulling out. He was in such a hurry, he lost it in trying to make the corner to jump in behind us and did an awesome power slide, gathered himself up, and joined in at the tail end of the line. That rider was eventual winner John Gorilla.

I sped on ahead after I was satisfied that I had gotten the field strung out enough to avoid mishap and parked along the side of the road to wait and see the spectacle of lights and bikes pass by. it's always one of my favorite sights during T.I.

We corner marshaled the first turn onto and off of pavement just north of town without incident. The wind was still howling.

Then we went on ahead to Cresco and waited at the Kwik Star for the riders to appear. they were later than we thought. This was bad for the prospect of finishers. It was clear already that if there were to be any, they would be selected from the first bunch of about 15-18 riders that appeared on Highway 9 that morning. Only one guy peeled off to stop and the rest kept moving.

Snow was swirling in the streets and the wind kept on howling.

d.p. and I then hustled to the low water crossing to re-route the riders as we had explained at the pre-race the night before. Then we went to a point just south of there and settled in to see what we could see of the leaders coming up the road. Our photographer, Rob Walters called then and said, "Hey, what's the deal? The riders are confused because they can't go across that water." I said that they had missed the flags we put up and that they needed to turn around and go back a bit. Rob said it looked as though they were doing just that and that he would point them in the right direction. Crap! I couldn't believe our flags were that poorly placed. We had them as close to the road as we could get them.

At any rate, the leaders finally came around. Rob snapped some photos and then we chatted for a few seconds. Just then, I got a call from Paul Jacobson that explained that another large group of riders missed the flags too. I was bummed! Our idea seemed to be not working out too well.




<===The lead group powering up Main Street in Protivin, Iowa

Then we headed on down the course, checking on any thing that might be wrong, but the course was fine and we were not seeing any mistakes on the cue sheets. We got to West Union and decided we were hungry. I knew the lead pack would be too, as they had bypassed the first two convenience store stops on the route so far. West Union was a full on 80 plus miles in, and I knew they would have to stop.


And the wind never did let up.



<===Convenience Store Chaos!

T.I. always brings madness and frenetic energy when riders pull into convenience stores. Befuddled locals are left with jaws hanging open and slightly frightened teenage girls behind cash registers are just some of the more surreal high lights of these stops. It is a chance for me to check out bikes, set ups, watch strategies played out, and learn a thing or two. I get to chat with the racers and get a feel for how the event is being recieved. For me personally, it is one of the highlights of a Trans Iowa. Some of my most cherished T.I. memories are from stops just like this one. Strangely enough, it would end up being the only convenience store stop on the whole day.

And the wind still screamed..............

We left West Union and being confident in our course from there to Checkpoint #1, we decided to go directly to the checkpoint. Tomorrow, Checkpoint and Checkmate!

Trans Iowa V4 : It Blew Me Away! Part I

<===In keeping with the T.I.V4 header theme, I saw this while scouting the route Friday.

"If we don't get anymore rain, I think we'll be okay", I wrote d.p. in an e-mail Thursday afternoon. Well, those turned out to be the proverbial "famous last words" as we got a thorough dumping that night of Biblical proportions.

d.p. had so much water at his place on Friday, he couldn't get out of his driveway due to the water in the street. We both had water in our basements, (as did a lot of you out there) and we both had an event to put on that required us to be at T-Bock's in Decorah by 3pm on Friday afternoon.

Not much time to do a whole lot.

So, I did an emergency drive on the first section of the course. I figured that if we were to be able to even have a start to the event, I needed to find that out right away. Thoughts of cancelling the event all together were very real as the flood waters were spread across miles of usually dry Iowa farm lands.

I found that all of the course that I could drive was still dry. It was apparernt though that we had just barely escaped having to cancel T.I.V4, and of course, I could only look at the first quarter of the event. The low water crossing of the Turkey River was the only place I had to make a go around, and that was easily taken care of. I barely got into Decorah by 3:00pm to meet up with some of my volunteers and check in with the fine folks at T-Bock's who were preparing our pre-race meal of spaghetti with homemade meat sauce/vegetarian sauce.

The gal that made the sauce had started it that morning at 10am and had me test taste the two sauces to make sure I liked them. Huh? You'd have thought I was somebody important, or something. Weird, I thought, but the sauce was excellent, so I gave them the thumbs up.



<====Doing the pre-race. Not my favorite thing to do, but somebody has to do it, right?

I had help stuffing the race packets, the least stuff we had ever put in those bags for any T.I. , and then folks started trickling in. We had a very successful pre-race meet up, judging by the disappearing food and surprising amount of beer drank. I saw a lot of familiar faces and made some new contacts as well. The pre-race meeting was fine. I had to explain the work around at the Turkey River. I showed the guys the tape and told them how to read the signs we were going to put up. When I asked if they all understood that, I got blank stares. Silence. Well, I found out later that my specific instructions were lost on some of the folks, or completely forgotten. More on that in another post, but it would be an important part of things down the road in the story of T.I.V4.

Next: The Race Starts!

Trans Iowa V4 : It Blew Me Away! Part I

<===In keeping with the T.I.V4 header theme, I saw this while scouting the route Friday.

"If we don't get anymore rain, I think we'll be okay", I wrote d.p. in an e-mail Thursday afternoon. Well, those turned out to be the proverbial "famous last words" as we got a thorough dumping that night of Biblical proportions.

d.p. had so much water at his place on Friday, he couldn't get out of his driveway due to the water in the street. We both had water in our basements, (as did a lot of you out there) and we both had an event to put on that required us to be at T-Bock's in Decorah by 3pm on Friday afternoon.

Not much time to do a whole lot.

So, I did an emergency drive on the first section of the course. I figured that if we were to be able to even have a start to the event, I needed to find that out right away. Thoughts of cancelling the event all together were very real as the flood waters were spread across miles of usually dry Iowa farm lands.

I found that all of the course that I could drive was still dry. It was apparernt though that we had just barely escaped having to cancel T.I.V4, and of course, I could only look at the first quarter of the event. The low water crossing of the Turkey River was the only place I had to make a go around, and that was easily taken care of. I barely got into Decorah by 3:00pm to meet up with some of my volunteers and check in with the fine folks at T-Bock's who were preparing our pre-race meal of spaghetti with homemade meat sauce/vegetarian sauce.

The gal that made the sauce had started it that morning at 10am and had me test taste the two sauces to make sure I liked them. Huh? You'd have thought I was somebody important, or something. Weird, I thought, but the sauce was excellent, so I gave them the thumbs up.



<====Doing the pre-race. Not my favorite thing to do, but somebody has to do it, right?

I had help stuffing the race packets, the least stuff we had ever put in those bags for any T.I. , and then folks started trickling in. We had a very successful pre-race meet up, judging by the disappearing food and surprising amount of beer drank. I saw a lot of familiar faces and made some new contacts as well. The pre-race meeting was fine. I had to explain the work around at the Turkey River. I showed the guys the tape and told them how to read the signs we were going to put up. When I asked if they all understood that, I got blank stares. Silence. Well, I found out later that my specific instructions were lost on some of the folks, or completely forgotten. More on that in another post, but it would be an important part of things down the road in the story of T.I.V4.

Next: The Race Starts!

Trans Iowa V4 : It Blew Me Away!

<==== This pretty much sums up T.I.V4. In soooo many ways, it's not even funny!

Whelp, it's a wrap! T.I.V4 is over and out. I am exhausted, as usual, but strangely satisfied with what has occurred in the past 72 hours.

I will detail this one out a bit more for you all than I would usually do because it was a very unique and action packed event this year.

I will start out with the events of the lead up to Trans Iowa's pre-race meeting and conclude with the totally under the radar awards ceremony on Sunday morning. Stay tuned for that starting tomorrow and likely carrying on throughout most of the week.

Trans Iowa V4 : It Blew Me Away!

<==== This pretty much sums up T.I.V4. In soooo many ways, it's not even funny!

Whelp, it's a wrap! T.I.V4 is over and out. I am exhausted, as usual, but strangely satisfied with what has occurred in the past 72 hours.

I will detail this one out a bit more for you all than I would usually do because it was a very unique and action packed event this year.

I will start out with the events of the lead up to Trans Iowa's pre-race meeting and conclude with the totally under the radar awards ceremony on Sunday morning. Stay tuned for that starting tomorrow and likely carrying on throughout most of the week.

A Technical Knockout

<===No, this isn't on course!

I went out today to check up on a few loose ends regarding the Trans Iowa course. On the way up, I had an option to drive off a paved road for a mile further north and then a right for a mile back to a paved road, saving me from going out of my way and going through a small town.

Whelp......I crested the hill you see in the distance into this! (You can click on the pic to make it huge) The Dirty Blue Box slid, and I mean slid, into a full on stop. Wheels spinning. Stuck! Just great! I get trapped by a B road that I didn't even know was there.

Well, I wasn't about to give up. Honda Civics are pretty light cars and I'm......well, I'm big! I saw that I could move the car a little bit. Maybe a little bit was all I needed.

I first tried to throw the car in gear, steer with one hand while pushing with my shoulder and other hand. Some small amount of progress, but at a very painful and slow rate. So, I had to get a little radical.

I figured I didn't have anything to lose, so why not try something a little risky. I put the car in gear, turned the wheel in the general direction I wanted to go, and went around back and heaved ho. The car's tires started to roll forwards and I did the old "pulling guard" routine around the end of the car and leapt into the open door. I goosed the pedal and I was off. This was on a downhill and the car was actually skidding/sledding more than it was being driven. Be that as it may, I avoided the foot and a half deep ruts and made it out to much more solid ground. Door clattering open and shut all the way down.


<===Just after the release.

The car didn't look too bad actually. I found out soon enough though that I had compacted some nice gooey clay behind one of the wheels causing a horrendous vibration at about 50mph-60mph. So, I went faster!

On gravel, the Dirty Blue Box, (now a much dirtier blue box) wasn't dealing with the rises and ruts very well at all. I about went into the ditch several times at 35mph due to bottoming out or hitting soft spots in the road which would want to jerk the car off in an unwanted direction. After I got home and told Mrs. Guitar Ted about my adventures, she insisted that I switch vehicles. What am I gonna say, ya know? She loves me!

So, the Dirty Blue Box is staying home and the all time four wheel drive SUV is getting the call to get in the game. Sure, it gets crap gas mileage, but I'll have a much better chance at actually staying on the road! That's kind of an important thing, I think.


<===Speaking of staying on the road...

If you are doing Trans Iowa this weekend you just might come across one o these horsed carriages. They were everywhere today. Keep in mind, horses don't really cotton to cyclists to well. Think you are a predator, they do. Give 'em a wide girth on the road, or heck, stop and let them go by. Ya got 34 hours to get your business done, fer cryin' out loud!

Yeah, that's a ghost image of the Michelin Man on my dash. You aren't seein things! It's a bobble head I got at Frostbike a couple years ago. The Dirty Blue Box makes his head go all crazy at times. Pretty fun to watch! Well, if you aren't too busy trying to keep your 13 inch wheels on the gravel, that is!

Well, I'll be doing Trans Iowa this weekend so this is your last post here. Check out the T.I.V4 site for audio-blog updates on the latest from the gravely goodness. See ya Monday!

A Technical Knockout

<===No, this isn't on course!

I went out today to check up on a few loose ends regarding the Trans Iowa course. On the way up, I had an option to drive off a paved road for a mile further north and then a right for a mile back to a paved road, saving me from going out of my way and going through a small town.

Whelp......I crested the hill you see in the distance into this! (You can click on the pic to make it huge) The Dirty Blue Box slid, and I mean slid, into a full on stop. Wheels spinning. Stuck! Just great! I get trapped by a B road that I didn't even know was there.

Well, I wasn't about to give up. Honda Civics are pretty light cars and I'm......well, I'm big! I saw that I could move the car a little bit. Maybe a little bit was all I needed.

I first tried to throw the car in gear, steer with one hand while pushing with my shoulder and other hand. Some small amount of progress, but at a very painful and slow rate. So, I had to get a little radical.

I figured I didn't have anything to lose, so why not try something a little risky. I put the car in gear, turned the wheel in the general direction I wanted to go, and went around back and heaved ho. The car's tires started to roll forwards and I did the old "pulling guard" routine around the end of the car and leapt into the open door. I goosed the pedal and I was off. This was on a downhill and the car was actually skidding/sledding more than it was being driven. Be that as it may, I avoided the foot and a half deep ruts and made it out to much more solid ground. Door clattering open and shut all the way down.


<===Just after the release.

The car didn't look too bad actually. I found out soon enough though that I had compacted some nice gooey clay behind one of the wheels causing a horrendous vibration at about 50mph-60mph. So, I went faster!

On gravel, the Dirty Blue Box, (now a much dirtier blue box) wasn't dealing with the rises and ruts very well at all. I about went into the ditch several times at 35mph due to bottoming out or hitting soft spots in the road which would want to jerk the car off in an unwanted direction. After I got home and told Mrs. Guitar Ted about my adventures, she insisted that I switch vehicles. What am I gonna say, ya know? She loves me!

So, the Dirty Blue Box is staying home and the all time four wheel drive SUV is getting the call to get in the game. Sure, it gets crap gas mileage, but I'll have a much better chance at actually staying on the road! That's kind of an important thing, I think.


<===Speaking of staying on the road...

If you are doing Trans Iowa this weekend you just might come across one o these horsed carriages. They were everywhere today. Keep in mind, horses don't really cotton to cyclists to well. Think you are a predator, they do. Give 'em a wide girth on the road, or heck, stop and let them go by. Ya got 34 hours to get your business done, fer cryin' out loud!

Yeah, that's a ghost image of the Michelin Man on my dash. You aren't seein things! It's a bobble head I got at Frostbike a couple years ago. The Dirty Blue Box makes his head go all crazy at times. Pretty fun to watch! Well, if you aren't too busy trying to keep your 13 inch wheels on the gravel, that is!

Well, I'll be doing Trans Iowa this weekend so this is your last post here. Check out the T.I.V4 site for audio-blog updates on the latest from the gravely goodness. See ya Monday!

Busted!

<===Not the "chainless ride" I was looking for!

I decided to roll the Raleigh XXIX+G yesterday with the excellent WTB Stout mounted up. Got some muddin' in on the ride in which the Stouts handled just peachy.

On the way home though I remembered why I hadn't ridden this rig in a while. The ISIS bottom bracket was going out. Crunch! Pop! Every once in awhile I'd feel it. Then a click started up. The chain started jumping gear and then wham!

The derailluer busted off the aluminum hanger just like it was designed to do, thankfully. Nothing wrong there, but it smacked the seat stay and took off a bunch of paint. Of course, I was left walking the last mile in to the house. Cool thing: A "regular joe" on a Huffy asked if he could lend a hand. Whelp, the damage had been done, so I just waved him on. But that was nice I thought.

So, now the questions started rising up in my head, what about doing this? I could try that. You know, scheming in my head thinking up what I could do now that I have the opportunity. One by nine it? Single speed, but how? Fix it back as is? What about paint?

I think 1 x 9 will win out and probably painting it is in it's future too. Stay tuned!

Trans Iowa final recon today. Certain situations have arisen that require it. At any rate, the folks freaking about last minute details will have something to add to the files. I'll be audio-posting some course descriptions later. Stay tuned for that.

I'll be driving The Dirty Blue Box and it'll get tested. Raining now and it looks to be doing so for a bit yet. Gritty gravely crapola should prove to be the demise of my faltering brake pads, but we'll see. I'll try to take it easy on 'em!

Late Update! I ran into Rich Kelly who blogs the Interbike Times blog at Sea Otter last week. He had the craziest idea: Put me on video. You can see it here if you dare!

Busted!

<===Not the "chainless ride" I was looking for!

I decided to roll the Raleigh XXIX+G yesterday with the excellent WTB Stout mounted up. Got some muddin' in on the ride in which the Stouts handled just peachy.

On the way home though I remembered why I hadn't ridden this rig in a while. The ISIS bottom bracket was going out. Crunch! Pop! Every once in awhile I'd feel it. Then a click started up. The chain started jumping gear and then wham!

The derailluer busted off the aluminum hanger just like it was designed to do, thankfully. Nothing wrong there, but it smacked the seat stay and took off a bunch of paint. Of course, I was left walking the last mile in to the house. Cool thing: A "regular joe" on a Huffy asked if he could lend a hand. Whelp, the damage had been done, so I just waved him on. But that was nice I thought.

So, now the questions started rising up in my head, what about doing this? I could try that. You know, scheming in my head thinking up what I could do now that I have the opportunity. One by nine it? Single speed, but how? Fix it back as is? What about paint?

I think 1 x 9 will win out and probably painting it is in it's future too. Stay tuned!

Trans Iowa final recon today. Certain situations have arisen that require it. At any rate, the folks freaking about last minute details will have something to add to the files. I'll be audio-posting some course descriptions later. Stay tuned for that.

I'll be driving The Dirty Blue Box and it'll get tested. Raining now and it looks to be doing so for a bit yet. Gritty gravely crapola should prove to be the demise of my faltering brake pads, but we'll see. I'll try to take it easy on 'em!

Late Update! I ran into Rich Kelly who blogs the Interbike Times blog at Sea Otter last week. He had the craziest idea: Put me on video. You can see it here if you dare!

Pre-Trans Iowa Prognostications

Whelp, it's down to it, and this event is about to get cranked up. T.I.V4 is about to take off on Saturday morning in the darkness of the north east Iowa town of Decorah, Iowa. These are my thoughts going into this event from the seat of a promoter.

With last years unprecedented fine weather, we had a record number of finishers. That record will remain untouched, I assure you. There are several reasons why. One, the course is about 20 miles longer. It has more climbing, that I am reasonably sure of. It also has more "B" maintenance roads than last year.

We also will not see as many finish because the conditions will not be as favorable. Recent conditions bear this out. Wet weather forecasted for the next two overnights would seal that in stone. There was nary any mud/soft gravel to be found at last years T.I. That won't be the case this year. Winds were a slight factor last year, but mostly were favorable. This year that is not likely.

The roster is still in flux. I'm still getting a drop per day on average. That will likely be the case right up till Friday and we will get no shows. I'm figuring on seeing approximately the same figure for the start as last year, perhaps a few more, (which would be a record if that happens) Given the rain scenario, I think we'll see even less than last year. My guess? 65 folks will toe the line on Saturday.

Finishers? Given current conditions and knowing the course, I'd say less than half the number from last year. Worst case scenario it could be that no one will finish, depending upon winds. Without a serious wind factor I'd guess 12 will see the finish line. Those who do see Decorah on their bikes on Sunday will have earned much respect.

I am perhaps sounding a bit harsh here, but I'm trying to be realistic. I know that this Trans Iowa will be the toughest one to complete, ( that is possible to complete, outside of T.I.V2) and will most likely be the most difficult event of the year for all involved. It will require smart decision making, mental toughness, and physical stamina. It will be an event that will perhaps be harshly criticized by some because of these things. It will be highly praised by some for the same reasons. I just know that all the work and preparations are about to come to an end, and I can't wait to see it through and be finished for another year.

Here's to a safe event, a fun event, friends, and good times. I'll see you all on Friday night.

Pre-Trans Iowa Prognostications

Whelp, it's down to it, and this event is about to get cranked up. T.I.V4 is about to take off on Saturday morning in the darkness of the north east Iowa town of Decorah, Iowa. These are my thoughts going into this event from the seat of a promoter.

With last years unprecedented fine weather, we had a record number of finishers. That record will remain untouched, I assure you. There are several reasons why. One, the course is about 20 miles longer. It has more climbing, that I am reasonably sure of. It also has more "B" maintenance roads than last year.

We also will not see as many finish because the conditions will not be as favorable. Recent conditions bear this out. Wet weather forecasted for the next two overnights would seal that in stone. There was nary any mud/soft gravel to be found at last years T.I. That won't be the case this year. Winds were a slight factor last year, but mostly were favorable. This year that is not likely.

The roster is still in flux. I'm still getting a drop per day on average. That will likely be the case right up till Friday and we will get no shows. I'm figuring on seeing approximately the same figure for the start as last year, perhaps a few more, (which would be a record if that happens) Given the rain scenario, I think we'll see even less than last year. My guess? 65 folks will toe the line on Saturday.

Finishers? Given current conditions and knowing the course, I'd say less than half the number from last year. Worst case scenario it could be that no one will finish, depending upon winds. Without a serious wind factor I'd guess 12 will see the finish line. Those who do see Decorah on their bikes on Sunday will have earned much respect.

I am perhaps sounding a bit harsh here, but I'm trying to be realistic. I know that this Trans Iowa will be the toughest one to complete, ( that is possible to complete, outside of T.I.V2) and will most likely be the most difficult event of the year for all involved. It will require smart decision making, mental toughness, and physical stamina. It will be an event that will perhaps be harshly criticized by some because of these things. It will be highly praised by some for the same reasons. I just know that all the work and preparations are about to come to an end, and I can't wait to see it through and be finished for another year.

Here's to a safe event, a fun event, friends, and good times. I'll see you all on Friday night.

Schwag Bag

<====With Love From Arsbars.

Arleigh Jenkins and I both worked Sea Otter together for the Crooked Cog Nation and whilst we were there the cranks she had sent me showed up at home. Vintage Cooks brothers that will go on my Pofahl single speed. The Profiles on it now will go out to Arleigh who needs 'em for some testing. Always help a bike friend in need, ya know?

While not really schwag in the purest sense, it qualifies as something pretty cool, so I put it up here anyway.



<====Scha-wing!

SRAM had a press conference: a two hour long press conference! They introduced a whole slew of new products including a bunch of new handlebars. Well, if you were patient and stayed the whole time you were rewarded. I got these sweet new Noir carbon bars. Yes......they came in the plush red velvet sleeve!

Elvis would be proud!






<====Once again, thanks to Arsbars!

Arleigh strikes again! Yeah, she is pretty relentless on the 650B front and while asking about the wheel size at the Intense booth she mentioned Twenty Nine Inches. The Intense guys wanted us to review the tires, so here we have a set to get aquainted with in the coming weeks.

Awesome!

I also got other stuff, like your t-shirts, shot glass, (may come in handy at T.I.V4!) ,stickers, water bottle, and some other sundry items. I try to only bring home the really cool stuff, cause you can get too carried away. I mean, how many water bottles do you need when your cupboard is filled already with them? Anyway, I didn't expect to be bringing home this stuff, so I am very grateful.

Look for reviews on the bars and tires soon. Plus, I actually bought and paid for some Endura Humvee 3/4's and a short sleeve Halcyon wool jersey. I'll be writing some stuff about those soon too.

Until then.......it's Trans Iowa stuff.

Schwag Bag

<====With Love From Arsbars.

Arleigh Jenkins and I both worked Sea Otter together for the Crooked Cog Nation and whilst we were there the cranks she had sent me showed up at home. Vintage Cooks brothers that will go on my Pofahl single speed. The Profiles on it now will go out to Arleigh who needs 'em for some testing. Always help a bike friend in need, ya know?

While not really schwag in the purest sense, it qualifies as something pretty cool, so I put it up here anyway.



<====Scha-wing!

SRAM had a press conference: a two hour long press conference! They introduced a whole slew of new products including a bunch of new handlebars. Well, if you were patient and stayed the whole time you were rewarded. I got these sweet new Noir carbon bars. Yes......they came in the plush red velvet sleeve!

Elvis would be proud!






<====Once again, thanks to Arsbars!

Arleigh strikes again! Yeah, she is pretty relentless on the 650B front and while asking about the wheel size at the Intense booth she mentioned Twenty Nine Inches. The Intense guys wanted us to review the tires, so here we have a set to get aquainted with in the coming weeks.

Awesome!

I also got other stuff, like your t-shirts, shot glass, (may come in handy at T.I.V4!) ,stickers, water bottle, and some other sundry items. I try to only bring home the really cool stuff, cause you can get too carried away. I mean, how many water bottles do you need when your cupboard is filled already with them? Anyway, I didn't expect to be bringing home this stuff, so I am very grateful.

Look for reviews on the bars and tires soon. Plus, I actually bought and paid for some Endura Humvee 3/4's and a short sleeve Halcyon wool jersey. I'll be writing some stuff about those soon too.

Until then.......it's Trans Iowa stuff.

Ten Reasons Why Twin Six Rocks!

Note: I will have more Sea Otter stuff to share, but first I must discuss The Ten Reasons Why Twin Six Rocks......well, because THEY ROCK! Umm...................okay, without further adieu....

#10: Way cool stickers: If you are into bicycles, you probably love stickers too. I am not really sure why that is, but it is. Especially if you are a mechanic. How many tool boxes in bicycle shops have you seen festooned with stickers? I rest my case.

And if you are into stickers, Twin Six has the coolest ones.

#9: The Underdog Factor: Twin Six started out with two guys, a pencil and paper, and a basement. (Well, I'm not even sure they had the pencil and paper, really) They still are basically a super small operation. Americans love underdogs and Twin Six is the underdog of the cycling apparel world. With superior design sense, savvy choices in fabric, and wise grassroots sponsorship, (well.....excluding me! Not everyone is perfect, ya know), they have risen out of anonymity to being the coolest cycling apparel company on the face of the planet.

#8: The Minneapolis Factor: Hey, how could you not like a company that is producing not only the suavest apparel, but is from the same city as the Purple One, Husker Du, The Replacements, and the 3M company? (I mean, those Post It notes.......They rule!)

#7: Generosity: No company is more supportive of the scene than Twin Six. These guys give back so much I can't figure out how they continue to keep truckin', but they do. I know a lot of people are not aware that Twin Six does what they do, because they are not like that. They really wouldn't even like me writing this, they are that way about giving. But I figure that you ought to know, these guys aren't takers, they're lovers!

#6: The Humble Factor: While it's painfully obvious to those that know and love the T-6, the guys behind the icon can't fathom why folks think they are cool. This is probably from being exposed to too much radon gas in the basement warehouse back in the day, but now that they are "above ground", I figure it may start to sink in sooner or later. But for now, you couldn't find two more down to earth guys.

#5: The Working Class Man Factor: Like John Lennon said, a working class man is a good thing to be. Well, you won't find two guys working harder than the Twin Six dudes. They come up for air now and again at places like Sea Otter, but most of the time they are busy scratching out new designs, stuffing t-shirts into envelopes, and boxing up goods to ship to grubby cyclists all over the planet. You can tell it's true by the pale, pasty white skin on their bodies, which haven't seen the sun now for quite some time. I'm afraid that they may mutate into having those bulging eyes that cave creatures get that spend too much time in the dark, they work so hard. gollum!

#4: The Designs: Yeah, it may seem strange, but the designs that Twin Six do came in at #4. I know, I know..........you'll see, keep reading!

#3: Celebrities have Adopted The T-6: How cool is it when you see big time cyclists wearing your t-shirts? Pretty dang cool, that's how cool! At Sea Otter, Travis Brown was sporting the T-6, many pro roadie cyclists do T-6 too, like Ivan Basso, and others. When the top dogs start wearing your threads, it says something. Just what that is, I don't know. But it says something!

#2 Cool Quotes: If the Twin Six guys ever surface in your area, then I advise you stay within earshot. These guys not only have some great wearables, but some awesome hearables too. Where else could you ever hear the term "chemical canyon" used in a sentence. Too funny! It's a guarateed good time if you can peel these two away from there work, so don't miss it if you get the chance.

#1: The "Dude Hug" Factor: And coming in at #1.........Dude Hugs! The guys at T-6 like "dude hugs", who knew? I found this out when I put the squeeze on Brent and Ryan at sea Otter. Brent squealed like a school girl and Ryan had to spontaneously urinate they were so thrilled by my offering of affection. Hey, I love these guys and the stuff they do, so I just had to give 'em the ol' Guitar Ted bear hug as a show of my appreciation. Love.......it makes the world go 'round, ya know?

And there you have it. The Top Ten Reasons Why Twin Six Rocks.

Get yourself some and rock on your bike soon!

Ten Reasons Why Twin Six Rocks!

Note: I will have more Sea Otter stuff to share, but first I must discuss The Ten Reasons Why Twin Six Rocks......well, because THEY ROCK! Umm...................okay, without further adieu....

#10: Way cool stickers: If you are into bicycles, you probably love stickers too. I am not really sure why that is, but it is. Especially if you are a mechanic. How many tool boxes in bicycle shops have you seen festooned with stickers? I rest my case.

And if you are into stickers, Twin Six has the coolest ones.

#9: The Underdog Factor: Twin Six started out with two guys, a pencil and paper, and a basement. (Well, I'm not even sure they had the pencil and paper, really) They still are basically a super small operation. Americans love underdogs and Twin Six is the underdog of the cycling apparel world. With superior design sense, savvy choices in fabric, and wise grassroots sponsorship, (well.....excluding me! Not everyone is perfect, ya know), they have risen out of anonymity to being the coolest cycling apparel company on the face of the planet.

#8: The Minneapolis Factor: Hey, how could you not like a company that is producing not only the suavest apparel, but is from the same city as the Purple One, Husker Du, The Replacements, and the 3M company? (I mean, those Post It notes.......They rule!)

#7: Generosity: No company is more supportive of the scene than Twin Six. These guys give back so much I can't figure out how they continue to keep truckin', but they do. I know a lot of people are not aware that Twin Six does what they do, because they are not like that. They really wouldn't even like me writing this, they are that way about giving. But I figure that you ought to know, these guys aren't takers, they're lovers!

#6: The Humble Factor: While it's painfully obvious to those that know and love the T-6, the guys behind the icon can't fathom why folks think they are cool. This is probably from being exposed to too much radon gas in the basement warehouse back in the day, but now that they are "above ground", I figure it may start to sink in sooner or later. But for now, you couldn't find two more down to earth guys.

#5: The Working Class Man Factor: Like John Lennon said, a working class man is a good thing to be. Well, you won't find two guys working harder than the Twin Six dudes. They come up for air now and again at places like Sea Otter, but most of the time they are busy scratching out new designs, stuffing t-shirts into envelopes, and boxing up goods to ship to grubby cyclists all over the planet. You can tell it's true by the pale, pasty white skin on their bodies, which haven't seen the sun now for quite some time. I'm afraid that they may mutate into having those bulging eyes that cave creatures get that spend too much time in the dark, they work so hard. gollum!

#4: The Designs: Yeah, it may seem strange, but the designs that Twin Six do came in at #4. I know, I know..........you'll see, keep reading!

#3: Celebrities have Adopted The T-6: How cool is it when you see big time cyclists wearing your t-shirts? Pretty dang cool, that's how cool! At Sea Otter, Travis Brown was sporting the T-6, many pro roadie cyclists do T-6 too, like Ivan Basso, and others. When the top dogs start wearing your threads, it says something. Just what that is, I don't know. But it says something!

#2 Cool Quotes: If the Twin Six guys ever surface in your area, then I advise you stay within earshot. These guys not only have some great wearables, but some awesome hearables too. Where else could you ever hear the term "chemical canyon" used in a sentence. Too funny! It's a guarateed good time if you can peel these two away from there work, so don't miss it if you get the chance.

#1: The "Dude Hug" Factor: And coming in at #1.........Dude Hugs! The guys at T-6 like "dude hugs", who knew? I found this out when I put the squeeze on Brent and Ryan at sea Otter. Brent squealed like a school girl and Ryan had to spontaneously urinate they were so thrilled by my offering of affection. Hey, I love these guys and the stuff they do, so I just had to give 'em the ol' Guitar Ted bear hug as a show of my appreciation. Love.......it makes the world go 'round, ya know?

And there you have it. The Top Ten Reasons Why Twin Six Rocks.

Get yourself some and rock on your bike soon!