Trans Iowa V6: Mid-Week Update: Final

Lots of important things to cover today so please pay attention.

Dining Dollars/Welcome Bag: Sheryl Parmley of the Grinnell Chamber Of Commerce told me today that your racer welcome bag is already at the Comfort Inn And Suites in Grinnell. Amongst the information in the packet, you will find an envelope. Note! This is your Dining Dollar certificates!  The Chamber has allotted some of their tourism budget to subsidize your meals while you stay in Grinnell. Two ten dollar certificates are within the envelope. You can use the Dining Dollars at The Grinnell Steakhouse, or any other member of the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce that sells food. Note: These are also for support people and volunteers.

IMPORTANT!! YOU MUST PICK UP THE WELCOME BAG YOURSELF!! We will not be bringing the bags with us to the Meat-Up. You forget, you pay up full price for your meal. Make sure you get the bag at The Comfort Inn and Suites front desk BEFORE you come to the Meat-Up.

Thank You!! Thanks to all who promptly answered my 11th hour question about what you wanted to eat. I appreciated the prompt responses, (from most of you!!)

Cue Sheets: d.p. has feverishly been working, hunched over some micro-sized print on maps, trying to make the cues make sense. A dizzying job of tediousness of the highest order. He has gotten the first draft to me, and I have sent back my suggestions/corrections already. The final major hurdle is almost cleared. What a relief that is!!

Weather And A Word On The Course: Okay, this has been on everyone's minds of late. Rain and wind look to be bearing down on this weekend, just in time for T.I.V6. Here are the factors going in and how poor weather may or may not affect the course.

Roads are dry. REALLY dry! The course has seen no appreciable rain for weeks. The roads really could benefit from some precipitation that would settle the dust and perhaps help to make the dusty holes that have cropped up set up into something less like a sand dune. Rain is forecast to hit on Friday. This looks to be the day that could have the heaviest amounts of precipitation, but it sounds as though it may come in as a hit or miss thing. Saturday and early Sunday look to have a much lesser chance for rain, with only showers on tap both days, and low amounts of total precip are expected. Friday will be the wild card then. As of now, it looks as though close to an inch may fall "if" it falls on course.

The real kicker is going to be the wind, which is forecast to be out of the Southeast to begin with and then turn Northeasterly at the end of Saturday night into Sunday. The winds are expected to be in the 14-20mph range with gusts up to 35mph. Rain may make things difficult, but to my mind, the wind will be what turns out to be the beast that everyone must face this year.

Course re-routes will be a consideration around some B Roads. We do have options to avoid some of them, but not all of them, and we will make on the fly determinations based upon current conditions and with consideration of how the riders are progressing on course. But here is one truth about T.I.V6: You will have to traverse a B Road. It might be unrideable. There may be no ditch to ride in, (most likely not). Be prepared for the worst. In fact, we may not take out any B roads at all! Even if it does rain.

Be Careful! Be Smart! The course we have laid out will have some speedy, fast descents right out of the box. It will be dark. People may be nervous to be up front, or in packs to avoid wind/weather. The roads are not the greatest and with the descents in the dark, it will make for a potentially dangerous situation. Be smart! Don't take unnecesary chances at mile 15 that will end your race. (Like what happened to a guy in T.I.V3)

Be At The Pre-Race Meat-Up On Time! Doors open to our meeting space at 5:00pm Friday and the meeting starts at 6:00pm!! You can't start unless you come to the meeting on time.

Be At The Start On Time! We Start At 4am sharp in front of Bikes To You in downtown Grinnell!!

Can't Come? E-mail me and let me know ASAP! It will save d.p. and I a lot of pre-race effort.