Last night I had the honor of having Tim Ek on the show with Ben Welnak and we did the second part of the Trans Iowa Talk. (See the show page with the linkage here) It was a lot of fun to think through some of the gear, bike, clothing, and nutritional stuff I've seen used and that Tim has had experience with over the years. I hope anyone thinking of doing Trans Iowa, Dirty Kanza 200, Almanzo 100, or any other gravel event got something worthwhile out of that gig we did.
I also want to announce that "Trans Iowa Radio", the audioblog feature I have used to give folks updates for Trans Iowa during the event, will be moving to Mountain Bike Radio for this year. Ben is going to post my messages from the course, and he will also be adding a little background info on riders where he can. So look for details on this as we move forward to Trans Iowa V9.
Tomorrow there will be the last full course recon to check the route and finalize cue sheets for T.I.V9. Look for a detailed course report next week. I know one thing: It'll be wet out there this trip!
 |
| Well, okay, but wait till next year! |
In what can only be described as a huge cluster-you-know-what, the UCI has done it again and ticked off a lot of racers for no apparent reason. The dust up concerns a once little enforced rule stating that a rider that holds a UCI/USAC license can not race in an "unsanctioned event" without suspension or penalty. At first, no one could figure out if this rule, which was rarely, if ever enforced world-wide, was only a USAC thing, or just a Pro thing, or for folks wanting to race internationally, or what. (For a really good background on this, see "The Dirt With Drew Edsall" podcasts here.)
Anyway, there was such a hue and cry about this that the UCI decided to postpone enforcing this rule until next year, since things were so poorly communicated beforehand. This is good for now, but it still leaves the rule in force that many riders and sponsors are concerned about. We haven't heard the last about this! I'm not a big fan of the UCI, I'll admit, so take that for what it is worth. I think the organization is sick and in need of a lot of reform, but that's just my opinion. That said, this whole to-do seems to point out many of the things that are just plain screwy about this behemoth of bureaucratic bombast.
 |
| Is This Iowa? No....it's Seattle! |
If there is one thing Iowans are good at, it's complaining about the weather. (Maybe it is a universal human truth, I don't know.) Anyway, you'd have to have a screw loose to love the weather we've had over the past few days.
It reminds me a lot of the days that preceeded Trans Iowa V2, when it rained/drizzled/misted for two to three days before the event, and continued to do so during the event. Everything was soaked to the core. Just like it is now here.
I suppose it is good for the song birds that like earthworms for a treat, or for the grass, which has sprung to life from its Winter slumber, but it isn't so hot for my disposition. I'd prefer that it dried out and that the sun would shine. But maybe that's just me. I mean, there are a lot of folks that thrive in grey, wet, clammy environments, like Seattle, or Portland. That's great, but I am glad I do not live in such a clime myself.
At least it isn't snowing, like it has been in South Dakota, or up in Minnesota, where they are getting sucker punched by Winter one more time. But it can't last long, right? I mean, it is mid-April, or so says the calendar.
Okay, so that's enough of that non-sense! Hopefully ya'all can get out and ride somewhere this weekend and have some fun. I'll be bouncing around the hinterlands of Iowa in a crew cab 4X4 Ford. Keep The Rubber Side Down Ya'all!
1 comment:
It couldn't possibly be as bad as TI V2... ;)
Post a Comment