Trans Iowa V9: General Banter On Random Topics

Cue Sheet Questions:

I've been getting a smattering of questions about the cue sheets for Trans Iowa V9 . First of all, you should read this post I wrote from last spring concerning the cues for T.I.V8. The same will apply for T.I.V9, for the most part.

Sizing will be worked on a bit from last year. I had some issues with formatting the cues so I ended up with random sizes for the cue cards. All will fit into a small sandwich bag, but this year I hope to get all the cue cards the same size.

This will depend on how they lay out. I may put all the first leg on one card, as T.I.V8's were done. We'll see. I am formatting and printing these on my own to cut down on costs, so they probably won't be formatted 100% perfectly, but they should be 100% accurate, which is a bit more important, I think.

I'll have more details on how the cue sheets will lay out once I get them drafted, which will probably be after the 1st of the year. December is just too crazy for me to get anything done with that now.

Live Audio: I'll be commenting on Trans Iowa again this coming Tuesday at 7:30pm CST on Mountain Bike Radio. This show will be a continuation from the last show which featured two T.I. veterans, MG and Steve. They chimed in with some great insights about the event, and I also added a few tidbits which may be interesting to you as a rider in the upcoming T.I.

If you hit the link for the upcoming show, there is a phone number there which you can use to call in live. During the first show, you get the back ground info on Trans Iowa, and a bit of what it takes to wrap your mind around this event. As MG said, "the weather and the overnight" are what make this event really an obstacle.

This next show will take things from there and I'll hit on some things we have tweaked out in the last few years and where this event is going.

Scott Ronken- T.I.V7

The Hardware:

There has been some discussion lately on different forums and media about the bicycles used for gravel grinding in general, and I suppose Trans Iowa has figured into some of those thoughts as well.

I get asked a lot about what should a person ride in T.I. My answer almost never wavers- Ride what you are going to be the most comfortable on for a day and a half or more. That might be a fancy-pants carbon fiber CX rocket, it might be a drop bar mtb bike, or it might be a rat-ride cross bike, but whatever it is that you can ride for long distances, ride that. Then tweak on it. But there is no "gravel grinder" bike that will suddenly factor in to making you a Trans Iowa finisher.

You'll see more on this subject coming up, but that will have to wait. For now, that's the thoughts on the event for today.