Ha! Well, I didn't ride all that long, because my wife, who is a Registered Nurse, (Now with a Bachelor's Degree!) said that I had deep tissue bruising, and that I needed to take it easy. Boy Howdy! She was right. I could only ride for a short period before my shoulder really started to feel weakened and sore. Good thing I stopped when I did. It'll be awhile before I can put in a long, rough ride.
Eurobike reports continue to trickle in and I must say that it would seem that everybody has some sort of carbon fiber 29"er in their line up. It will be very interesting to see how these big wheeled rigs with their longer tube sections and longer forks survive over the coming, (hopefully), years.
I happen to be riding a carbon fiber hard tail from time to time, and it appears to be very robust. I had big rocks bouncing off the thing in Texas, and mud and whatever else I throw at it hasn't phased it yet, but they say that when this stuff fails, it goes all at once, and that's the part that is worrisome. Still, from the sheer numbers of examples already in use, it would appear that carbon seems up to the task.
Speaking of Eurobike, and Niner Bikes, you might want to check out "c_g"'s report on Twenty Nine Inches.
Thoughts On Trans Iowa V7: So we're thinking about the roster and how many folks we want to let in. It seems that the dynamic around a big chunk of the gravel grinding scene has changed. More folks are wanting in on many of the events these days. However; we at Trans Iowa are not fully convinced this means us. Trans Iowa is, well.........pretty dang stupid really! Yeah, so Almanzo gets 400 plus riders, (yet it is a hundy, so..), and the Dirty Kanza 200 sold out and expanded to 200 riders, (and as the name suggests, it is a 200 miler), but Trans Iowa is 300 PLUS miles and comes really early in the year.
It is my belief that there is only a limited number of insane people out there that would willingly train their arses off all winter to slog through 300 plus miles of Iowa gravel and mud in the early spring. Maybe I'm wrong, but I need to hear some convincing arguments. Otherwise I think we will only be adding 25 to our limit, bringing it up to a nice, round number of 100.
i think there's a limited number of people up for this sort of torture. and i'm happy to be one.
ReplyDeleteyou know it's always a crap shoot anyway... and it's your race. do exactly as you desire. that's the beauty of it. you have to answer to nobody, except perhaps your wife and God.
ReplyDeletei feel fortunate to have tried and actually had the right mixture of on-the-road conditions, luck and fitness to be able to get the job done. Because believe me when I tell you that all three are equally important in your ability to finish T.I. Without any one of them, you're S.O.L.
cheers,
mg
Scheduling may be iffy but I'm hoping to be at it. Hopefully I will be able to make the rookie cut on the registration.
ReplyDeleteControlled steady growth is more manageable and bigger isn't always better. I think, based on conversations in the past, the deciding factor would be how many people can you and DP keep track of to ensure the desired level of rider safety.
ReplyDeleteYou may be surprised how many of us are lurking out there looking for a chance to work this race into our schedule. I grew up in Southern MN, so family is back there, along with family in Iowa. I live in Arizona, so training for it is no problem. It would be a great excuse for a reason to go back and see family and stop in Grinnell on the way.
ReplyDeleteWhether I ever get there or not, it sure is fun to follow this event.