GTDRI Report: It Could Have Been Worse- Part 5

The scene at the convenience store in Garber Saturday, July 26th, 2014

We watched the RAGBRAI spectacle for a while, but eventually I motioned that we should move along to the convenience store and resupply if anyone needed to. That we did, and we negotiated about a half mile of anti-RAGBRAI traffic flow to get to our turn off and back into the hinterlands. This was going to be a dark place for me. That I knew what was coming wasn't any solace, since the day was brutally humid and the temperatures were in the mid-80's by this time. We crossed the old iron bridge as we rode over freshly spread gravel for several of the opening miles of this sector.

Not as many tiger lilies as '09. 

The climb up out of Hawk Road isn't all that long, thankfully, but it gets progressively steeper as you go. I was trudging up this one tailing Michael Lemberger who was ahead of me by about a 100 yards. The crew had crossed the county black top that was on the RAGBRAI route as well, and were all waiting on the other side. I rode across and as I rolled up to them I said that I was cutting them loose. I knew I could make the route, but I was going to be walking every climb from here on out, most likely, and I didn't want anyone to feel hindered by my slow pace.

Kudos to them, as they all agreed that we were in it together and that they were willing to wait on me. So it was that we soldiered onward. Hawk Road continued to climb, then Hamlet Road gave no quarter. Finally a short, fast down hill to Fantail Road on Glacier Road and a tiny respite of flat to rolling territory until Fantail kicked upward to an 18% grade.

Check out the hazy sky. The heat and humidity were double nasty!

I was first off the bike. I knew better than to throw myself at this beast and walking wasn't really helping either. Really, I had no choice but to walk as the lowest gear on my bike was laughably too high for anyone to try this after 90+ miles. Not on this course on this particular day.

Michael Lemberger was off next, then Aaron Schnee. The rest of the guys were up around a bend out of my sight line. I had to stop halfway up to cool down. I was over-heating very badly. I could barely put one foot in front of another, but I was super determined to finish out. After the Fantail Road climb we had one more nasty ascent out of Bixby Preserve and that was it. The rest I probably was capable of riding. I was sure I could get this done. At the top of this climb I would have a hair over 20 miles to go with plenty of daylight to get it done.

This climb was well over a mile long and I walked most of it. There was more at the top but it leveled out quite a bit. Over all, the Fantail Road climb is over two miles in length. I stopped just shy of the first crest where the rest of the guys were strung out alongside of the road. I was nearly delirious from the heat. I simply laid down on my back and closed my eyes. Minutes passed. I heard a vehicle drive up near to where Michael Lemberger stood. It was a big, white Chevy Silverado. It sat on the left side of the road as it faced East, motor running, just sitting there. I was too tired to wonder too much at that. Maybe it was a local making sure we were okay? I didn't want any fuss over myself or the others, so after a bit I stood up, grabbed my bike, started walking alongside the road and then.....

I ended up sitting here near the fence.

Jeremy Fry shouted something. I looked up as I heard tires on gravel getting nearer. As I looked up, Dan Buettner was flying in the air, a bike was flipping away by him, and the Silverado was coming straight at me. I turned away at the last second, was hit, and flew through the air, landing on my back in the grassy ditch. The truck then hit Aaron Schnee's bike and suddenly stopped. I was dumbfounded, I had no idea why someone would be trying to take us out. That was my first reaction, but that changed.

As I sat gathering my wits about me, Tony McGrane, who is a professional EMT/Fire rescue by trade, asked if I was okay, and told me not to move. Suddenly loud voices were being directed at the driver. He wanted to pull away, and the guys were pleading with him to shut off the truck. He was jerking the rig back and forth, with Aaron's bike wedged just underneath the front end. Finally the driver calmed down a tad, but even I could tell he was acting like he was extremely intoxicated. Aaron managed to dislodge his bike from under the truck. Then the driver asked if I was okay, and Tony shouted that no- I wasn't, and that the guy needed to stick around. Apparently fear got the best of this fellow and he sped away down the hill. Not before Michael, Jeremy, and Tony had images of his plates and truck. Then we all were just shell-shocked. Attention turned to me and Dan to see how we were.

Ditch Selfie with Dan Buettner checking out my Tamland

  I was under advisement from Tony to stay put until the EMT's could evaluate me and then I could decide what should be done, but Tony was pretty adamant that I get looked at. He saw me flying through the air and was concerned. I decided to take his advice, even though I just felt banged up, not really hurting at the moment. I had two superficial cuts, a couple of bruises on my elbows, one on my knee, and my shoulder felt janky. My kidney area felt sore where the truck hit me. Dan seemed okay, a chainring tattoo was his only mark and he may have gotten cut a bit. Later I heard he dinged his head on something when he was knocked into the ditch. My bike and Dan's bike were essentially okay. Aaron was not as lucky. His bike suffered damage and his helmet was squashed under the truck's tire. Fortunately he was no where near it.

As the story unfolded a young teenager on an ATV rolled up and offered to go get help. Tony called 911 and the dispatcher had a hard time figuring out we weren't on RAGBRAI. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was telling their versions of what they saw and as far as we could discern, the facts seemed to point to this fellow passing out/falling asleep as he idled there and his foot slipped off the brake, allowing his truck to roll down the hill toward us as we stood right at the road's edge. We figured the driver was jolted to awareness by hitting me or hearing Aaron's bike getting drug underneath his truck, or getting slowed up by Aaron's helmet.

Not the guys you want to see on your gravel ride. That said, these men were awesome and much appreciated.

I don't know how long it took the authorities to reach us, but it was a long wait due to the chaos of RAGBRAI, our situation as cyclists in an unlikely place, and the remote area we were in. No harm though, as I wasn't in dire need. The paramedic that examined me advised that I get X-rayed and cleared by a physician due to the nature of the accident and what not. So, I got hauled away in an ambulance and that was the end of riding the 2014 GTDRI course.

My story ended as well as it could have. No severe injuries. No broken bones. Just sore and banged up. I'll be fine eventually. The rest of the gang got hauled away to Edgewood Fire Department. Dan and Tony got a ride to Backbone, where they got their vehicles, drove back, and ferried all the guys and bikes back to their cars. Jeremy Fry, who had ridden with Mike Johnson, drove my truck back home and they brought my belongings with them. My wife and son came out to get me.

 The driver was arrested, charged, and admitted to the crime.

Now I know it wasn't my fault, but I want to offer my sincere apology for how this all turned out. It could have been much worse, but I never wanted to see it end anything like this either. Thanks to Mike, Michael, Jeremy, Aaron, Tony, and Dan for coming on this adventure. Thanks to the Edgewood Fire & Rescue, Iowa DNR, Iowa State Troopers, Regional Medical Center at Manchester, the driver and paramedic of the ambulance, and anyone else I forgot for helping us out and nabbing the suspect. Thanks to my wonderful wife for fetching me.

Needless to say, I feel very blessed and fortunate to come out of this one nearly unscathed and that no one else was seriously injured.

GTDRI Report: It Could Have Been Worse- Part 5

The scene at the convenience store in Garber Saturday, July 26th, 2014

We watched the RAGBRAI spectacle for a while, but eventually I motioned that we should move along to the convenience store and resupply if anyone needed to. That we did, and we negotiated about a half mile of anti-RAGBRAI traffic flow to get to our turn off and back into the hinterlands. This was going to be a dark place for me. That I knew what was coming wasn't any solace, since the day was brutally humid and the temperatures were in the mid-80's by this time. We crossed the old iron bridge as we rode over freshly spread gravel for several of the opening miles of this sector.

Not as many tiger lilies as '09. 

The climb up out of Hawk Road isn't all that long, thankfully, but it gets progressively steeper as you go. I was trudging up this one tailing Michael Lemberger who was ahead of me by about a 100 yards. The crew had crossed the county black top that was on the RAGBRAI route as well, and were all waiting on the other side. I rode across and as I rolled up to them I said that I was cutting them loose. I knew I could make the route, but I was going to be walking every climb from here on out, most likely, and I didn't want anyone to feel hindered by my slow pace.

Kudos to them, as they all agreed that we were in it together and that they were willing to wait on me. So it was that we soldiered onward. Hawk Road continued to climb, then Hamlet Road gave no quarter. Finally a short, fast down hill to Fantail Road on Glacier Road and a tiny respite of flat to rolling territory until Fantail kicked upward to an 18% grade.

Check out the hazy sky. The heat and humidity were double nasty!

I was first off the bike. I knew better than to throw myself at this beast and walking wasn't really helping either. Really, I had no choice but to walk as the lowest gear on my bike was laughably too high for anyone to try this after 90+ miles. Not on this course on this particular day.

Michael Lemberger was off next, then Aaron Schnee. The rest of the guys were up around a bend out of my sight line. I had to stop halfway up to cool down. I was over-heating very badly. I could barely put one foot in front of another, but I was super determined to finish out. After the Fantail Road climb we had one more nasty ascent out of Bixby Preserve and that was it. The rest I probably was capable of riding. I was sure I could get this done. At the top of this climb I would have a hair over 20 miles to go with plenty of daylight to get it done.

This climb was well over a mile long and I walked most of it. There was more at the top but it leveled out quite a bit. Over all, the Fantail Road climb is over two miles in length. I stopped just shy of the first crest where the rest of the guys were strung out alongside of the road. I was nearly delirious from the heat. I simply laid down on my back and closed my eyes. Minutes passed. I heard a vehicle drive up near to where Michael Lemberger stood. It was a big, white Chevy Silverado. It sat on the left side of the road as it faced East, motor running, just sitting there. I was too tired to wonder too much at that. Maybe it was a local making sure we were okay? I didn't want any fuss over myself or the others, so after a bit I stood up, grabbed my bike, started walking alongside the road and then.....

I ended up sitting here near the fence.

Jeremy Fry shouted something. I looked up as I heard tires on gravel getting nearer. As I looked up, Dan Buettner was flying in the air, a bike was flipping away by him, and the Silverado was coming straight at me. I turned away at the last second, was hit, and flew through the air, landing on my back in the grassy ditch. The truck then hit Aaron Schnee's bike and suddenly stopped. I was dumbfounded, I had no idea why someone would be trying to take us out. That was my first reaction, but that changed.

As I sat gathering my wits about me, Tony McGrane, who is a professional EMT/Fire rescue by trade, asked if I was okay, and told me not to move. Suddenly loud voices were being directed at the driver. He wanted to pull away, and the guys were pleading with him to shut off the truck. He was jerking the rig back and forth, with Aaron's bike wedged just underneath the front end. Finally the driver calmed down a tad, but even I could tell he was acting like he was extremely intoxicated. Aaron managed to dislodge his bike from under the truck. Then the driver asked if I was okay, and Tony shouted that no- I wasn't, and that the guy needed to stick around. Apparently fear got the best of this fellow and he sped away down the hill. Not before Michael, Jeremy, and Tony had images of his plates and truck. Then we all were just shell-shocked. Attention turned to me and Dan to see how we were.

Ditch Selfie with Dan Buettner checking out my Tamland

  I was under advisement from Tony to stay put until the EMT's could evaluate me and then I could decide what should be done, but Tony was pretty adamant that I get looked at. He saw me flying through the air and was concerned. I decided to take his advice, even though I just felt banged up, not really hurting at the moment. I had two superficial cuts, a couple of bruises on my elbows, one on my knee, and my shoulder felt janky. My kidney area felt sore where the truck hit me. Dan seemed okay, a chainring tattoo was his only mark and he may have gotten cut a bit. Later I heard he dinged his head on something when he was knocked into the ditch. My bike and Dan's bike were essentially okay. Aaron was not as lucky. His bike suffered damage and his helmet was squashed under the truck's tire. Fortunately he was no where near it.

As the story unfolded a young teenager on an ATV rolled up and offered to go get help. Tony called 911 and the dispatcher had a hard time figuring out we weren't on RAGBRAI. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was telling their versions of what they saw and as far as we could discern, the facts seemed to point to this fellow passing out/falling asleep as he idled there and his foot slipped off the brake, allowing his truck to roll down the hill toward us as we stood right at the road's edge. We figured the driver was jolted to awareness by hitting me or hearing Aaron's bike getting drug underneath his truck, or getting slowed up by Aaron's helmet.

Not the guys you want to see on your gravel ride. That said, these men were awesome and much appreciated.

I don't know how long it took the authorities to reach us, but it was a long wait due to the chaos of RAGBRAI, our situation as cyclists in an unlikely place, and the remote area we were in. No harm though, as I wasn't in dire need. The paramedic that examined me advised that I get X-rayed and cleared by a physician due to the nature of the accident and what not. So, I got hauled away in an ambulance and that was the end of riding the 2014 GTDRI course.

My story ended as well as it could have. No severe injuries. No broken bones. Just sore and banged up. I'll be fine eventually. The rest of the gang got hauled away to Edgewood Fire Department. Dan and Tony got a ride to Backbone, where they got their vehicles, drove back, and ferried all the guys and bikes back to their cars. Jeremy Fry, who had ridden with Mike Johnson, drove my truck back home and they brought my belongings with them. My wife and son came out to get me.

 The driver was arrested, charged, and admitted to the crime.

Now I know it wasn't my fault, but I want to offer my sincere apology for how this all turned out. It could have been much worse, but I never wanted to see it end anything like this either. Thanks to Mike, Michael, Jeremy, Aaron, Tony, and Dan for coming on this adventure. Thanks to the Edgewood Fire & Rescue, Iowa DNR, Iowa State Troopers, Regional Medical Center at Manchester, the driver and paramedic of the ambulance, and anyone else I forgot for helping us out and nabbing the suspect. Thanks to my wonderful wife for fetching me.

Needless to say, I feel very blessed and fortunate to come out of this one nearly unscathed and that no one else was seriously injured.

GTDRI Report: It Could Have Been Worse- Part 4

"2 Mitts" Burger Shack in Elkader Iowa was a treat on the GRTDI for 2014

Rolling up to the heart of Elkader, Iowa we clocked in at 68 miles. It was 11:45am. I was stoked.

I figured that we made up about 45 minutes to an hour on time coming from Wadena. It was an up-lifter, because now we could lounge around and not be in such a hurry to get out of town to get in the final 48 miles. That doesn't sound like many miles, but these miles would by far be the hardest of the entire ride.

I was also stoked that I was able to continue to stay hydrated and not get hungry. The chips at Wadena and the chocolate milk actually worked well. Now it was time to sidle up to the tiny burger shack and order up some grub to chew on. "2 Mitts" is a funky joint made from a travel trailer and from its little enclosure comes boiled hamburgers, brats, or hotdogs with or without onions and cheese. Order up a bag of chips and a soda. That's the menu. It was told to me that 2 Mitts is a very popular joint there in Elkader, and by the looks of the line of folks that constantly were there waiting on some boiled goodness, it was probably a true statement.

I got a cheeseburger, no onions, and a root beer. (I still had a half a bag of chips from Wadena!) I set down at a shaded picnic table and chowed down. It was a perfect amount of food. Then a trip across the street to the convenience store, a much better stocked and modern one than Wadena's, and purchased some peanut butter crackers for later and a purple Gatorade along with a bottle of water. Topped off the fluids and I was ready to go.

Ah...no! You cannot lick my ice cream cone, Jeremy! Michael Lemberger and Jeremy Fry behind 2 Mitts in Elkader.

Big views, more flowers, and heat. Just East of Elkader, Iowa.

Windmills for Paul Errington

We spent about an hour at Elkader and then it was time to mount up and get after those big climbs. Things started out nice and easy with gentler grades and a couple really fast down hills. The views are spectacular out here and I was reminded once again why this course has been a favorite of mine over the years. "Brutally Beautiful" is how I like to describe it. The hills are tough and you hurt bad with the heat and efforts, but the payoff is grand. Descents are hairy and fast. Michael Lemberger said earlier regarding the climbs and the "pay-off" afterward: "This is a currencty I could get used to." Works for me! I wonder if the heat and light company would trade hills bagged for electricity and gas?

I am pretty familiar with this country having ridden it twice before and reconned through this area a few times for Trans Iowa and the GTDRI. I didn't need cue sheets! Plus, I knew what was coming. Hills were going to get steeper and the weather wasn't cooling off at all. In fact, even the wind went away. Probably a "worse case scenario" for me, but there was nothing I could do but pedal onward. So, that's what I did. It was slow going on some of the climbs because it was like single speeding with too tall a gear.

Grape Road, Harbor Road, and over toward Ironwood Road, (which is paved now, but wasn't in '09-'10), and the climbing was brutal on the Tamland. I handled it all okay, but it was slowly taking a toll on me. I could feel my core temp raising little by little, and with no breeze and full Sun, it was tough to cool down on anything but a 30+ mph down hill, which didn't last long enough! The country out this way was really "open" as well, which left no where to hide from the elements. It was also the highest elevation point on the ride, so we could see for miles away from the ridge tops.

The turn off to Ironwood Road was where we all stopped to gather up again. Then it was off on a bit of an easy stretch on pavement toward our first B Maintenance road of the day.

Imperial Road. A nice steady climb through the trees to start out with. 

The tamest section of Impala Road. I didn't dare take any images while descending the gnarly bits! 

Imperial Road is the tamest of the two B Maintenance roads on the course. It is pretty much a straight shot at a gentle upward grade. The rocks are bigger here and most of the lane is going through a shaded area, which was nice for a change that day! Up toward the top; however, things changed. The trees go away, and there was fresh, fist sized rock spread across the entire roadway. Still going upward, the Tamland's lack of a low gear made for really stupid efforts to be expended just to stay going forward. In an effort to conserve energy, I got off and walked a bit.

At the end of Impala Road we ran across the RAGBRAI route again.

Then it was another "up-down" on gravel, a Left On Ironwood Road again, and a bit more pavement to Impala Road, where we would hit one of the most unique B Maintenance Roads in the State.

Impala Road starts out with a roller coaster down hill where you can easily reach speeds over 40 mph, then it goes right back up as steeply. The climb got me off the bike again since by now the heat and gradients were just too much for me and my bike's gearing. As I was walking along, pushing the bike, a Chevy Tahoe with a bike rack and bike on the rack stops up, rolls the window down, and the man inside says, "Well! You guys are the real Ironmen riding out here!"

I replied with, "Well, either that or we're complete idiots!" The guy then explains that he wants to drive his Tahoe down Impala Road to Garber. I tell him that while the road does indeed go to Garber, it would be a very bad idea to drive down it. That is because Impala Road turns into a legitimate DH course for several hundred yards. The rocks are big, the pitch is pretty steep, and there are ruts, sand, and mud in places. We picked our way carefully down at a snail's pace to avoid pinch flatting.

It eventually comes down to pass beside the Turkey River and levels out, but there were mud holes and washouts to get around as well. We passed an Amish buggy and saw the horse and driver in the river cooling off as we rode by. Then we got dumped out onto a chaotic scene- the RAGBRAI route was passing by on the black top we intersected at the end.

Tomorrow: The last installment of the GTDRI report, and the most bizarre thing that has ever happened on any ride I've been on will be discussed.

GTDRI Report: It Could Have Been Worse- Part 4

"2 Mitts" Burger Shack in Elkader Iowa was a treat on the GRTDI for 2014

Rolling up to the heart of Elkader, Iowa we clocked in at 68 miles. It was 11:45am. I was stoked.

I figured that we made up about 45 minutes to an hour on time coming from Wadena. It was an up-lifter, because now we could lounge around and not be in such a hurry to get out of town to get in the final 48 miles. That doesn't sound like many miles, but these miles would by far be the hardest of the entire ride.

I was also stoked that I was able to continue to stay hydrated and not get hungry. The chips at Wadena and the chocolate milk actually worked well. Now it was time to sidle up to the tiny burger shack and order up some grub to chew on. "2 Mitts" is a funky joint made from a travel trailer and from its little enclosure comes boiled hamburgers, brats, or hotdogs with or without onions and cheese. Order up a bag of chips and a soda. That's the menu. It was told to me that 2 Mitts is a very popular joint there in Elkader, and by the looks of the line of folks that constantly were there waiting on some boiled goodness, it was probably a true statement.

I got a cheeseburger, no onions, and a root beer. (I still had a half a bag of chips from Wadena!) I set down at a shaded picnic table and chowed down. It was a perfect amount of food. Then a trip across the street to the convenience store, a much better stocked and modern one than Wadena's, and purchased some peanut butter crackers for later and a purple Gatorade along with a bottle of water. Topped off the fluids and I was ready to go.

Ah...no! You cannot lick my ice cream cone, Jeremy! Michael Lemberger and Jeremy Fry behind 2 Mitts in Elkader.

Big views, more flowers, and heat. Just East of Elkader, Iowa.

Windmills for Paul Errington

We spent about an hour at Elkader and then it was time to mount up and get after those big climbs. Things started out nice and easy with gentler grades and a couple really fast down hills. The views are spectacular out here and I was reminded once again why this course has been a favorite of mine over the years. "Brutally Beautiful" is how I like to describe it. The hills are tough and you hurt bad with the heat and efforts, but the payoff is grand. Descents are hairy and fast. Michael Lemberger said earlier regarding the climbs and the "pay-off" afterward: "This is a currencty I could get used to." Works for me! I wonder if the heat and light company would trade hills bagged for electricity and gas?

I am pretty familiar with this country having ridden it twice before and reconned through this area a few times for Trans Iowa and the GTDRI. I didn't need cue sheets! Plus, I knew what was coming. Hills were going to get steeper and the weather wasn't cooling off at all. In fact, even the wind went away. Probably a "worse case scenario" for me, but there was nothing I could do but pedal onward. So, that's what I did. It was slow going on some of the climbs because it was like single speeding with too tall a gear.

Grape Road, Harbor Road, and over toward Ironwood Road, (which is paved now, but wasn't in '09-'10), and the climbing was brutal on the Tamland. I handled it all okay, but it was slowly taking a toll on me. I could feel my core temp raising little by little, and with no breeze and full Sun, it was tough to cool down on anything but a 30+ mph down hill, which didn't last long enough! The country out this way was really "open" as well, which left no where to hide from the elements. It was also the highest elevation point on the ride, so we could see for miles away from the ridge tops.

The turn off to Ironwood Road was where we all stopped to gather up again. Then it was off on a bit of an easy stretch on pavement toward our first B Maintenance road of the day.

Imperial Road. A nice steady climb through the trees to start out with. 

The tamest section of Impala Road. I didn't dare take any images while descending the gnarly bits! 

Imperial Road is the tamest of the two B Maintenance roads on the course. It is pretty much a straight shot at a gentle upward grade. The rocks are bigger here and most of the lane is going through a shaded area, which was nice for a change that day! Up toward the top; however, things changed. The trees go away, and there was fresh, fist sized rock spread across the entire roadway. Still going upward, the Tamland's lack of a low gear made for really stupid efforts to be expended just to stay going forward. In an effort to conserve energy, I got off and walked a bit.

At the end of Impala Road we ran across the RAGBRAI route again.

Then it was another "up-down" on gravel, a Left On Ironwood Road again, and a bit more pavement to Impala Road, where we would hit one of the most unique B Maintenance Roads in the State.

Impala Road starts out with a roller coaster down hill where you can easily reach speeds over 40 mph, then it goes right back up as steeply. The climb got me off the bike again since by now the heat and gradients were just too much for me and my bike's gearing. As I was walking along, pushing the bike, a Chevy Tahoe with a bike rack and bike on the rack stops up, rolls the window down, and the man inside says, "Well! You guys are the real Ironmen riding out here!"

I replied with, "Well, either that or we're complete idiots!" The guy then explains that he wants to drive his Tahoe down Impala Road to Garber. I tell him that while the road does indeed go to Garber, it would be a very bad idea to drive down it. That is because Impala Road turns into a legitimate DH course for several hundred yards. The rocks are big, the pitch is pretty steep, and there are ruts, sand, and mud in places. We picked our way carefully down at a snail's pace to avoid pinch flatting.

It eventually comes down to pass beside the Turkey River and levels out, but there were mud holes and washouts to get around as well. We passed an Amish buggy and saw the horse and driver in the river cooling off as we rode by. Then we got dumped out onto a chaotic scene- the RAGBRAI route was passing by on the black top we intersected at the end.

Tomorrow: The last installment of the GTDRI report, and the most bizarre thing that has ever happened on any ride I've been on will be discussed.

GTDRI Report: It Could Have Been Worse- Part 3

It ain't much but it is what Wadena has got. No credit cards, by the way!

We reached the Wadena "breakfast stop" at approximately Mile 39 by a bit after 9:00am. The convenience store here in this quiet, out of the way village, is a bit suspect looking on the outside, but it was serviceable, if not totally modern. No credit cards accepted! (But they did have an ATM for withdrawing cash- weird!)

I got some stuff here but my mantra going in was to eat less but eat more often. It was working for awhile, but coming into Wadena, I was hungry, and the bottles of Hammer Perpetuem weren't cutting the mustard. I was going to need to call in some reserves. I got a piece of string cheese, a small two serving size bag of salty potato chips, a Salted Nut Roll for later, and two bottles of water. I ate about half the bag of chips and stuffed the rest into my jersey pocket for later. The water was just enough to top off the bottles. Maybe I wasn't drinking enough water.....hmmmm. I also had a cup of chocolate milk that Mike Johnson kindly shared.

With that we all settled into our gear again and remounted. It was about 20 minutes to ten o'clock before we left, which really concerned me in terms of reaching Elkader by noon. I gave in to ever reaching that goal and figured it would be about one o'clock before we got there. It would be okay.....

Up over the rollers Northwest of Wadena Iowa. 

The dog that wouldn't quit!

Suddenly I heard Michael Lemberger, who was riding behind me say something. I thought it sounded like "Old Yeller...", or some such. We were on a Northward stretch and I wasn't climbing the rollers so well. The rest of the gang was well up the road. I turned when I heard Michael and saw a small dog, a mix of some sort. I'm no dog breed expert but it appeared to be a mix of some cattle herding breed and spaniel. Anyway....

Said pooch was not aggressive, but was wanting a fine run with like minded companions. We looked to fit the bill, so along the dog came, letting out bursts of whines and weird "happy sounds" as it darted amongst Michael and I, then on up the road after the rest of the gang. It was a good thing, in a way, since it took my mind off the Tamland's too steep gearing and Michael and I actually started to reel the guys up ahead back in a bit. Then they reached the corner where we were to turn left and eventually, down steeply to Echo Valley Road. The pooch had survived about 4-5 miles of hot, humid running after us, and showed no signs of giving up its new-found running mates anytime soon. Much to our dismay and against our admonitions to the dog to go home.

I liked this dog, but it was time to get it off our tail. It was running in front of us erratically, and well......we didn't want it to get lost or run over by a vehicle. Despite our best efforts, the determined mutt stuck to us, and was lagging by a quarter mile after the 40mph down hill, but was still coming! There was a right hander, then a curve and a low rise in the road. If we could just get out of sight, maybe we could ditch the poor dog.

Echo Valley Road. Beautiful valley scenery and killer fields of flowers along here.

Don't make a false move here in your car, or you could easily end up in the Turkey River! 

Round bales along the Turkey River on our way to Elkader.

We did finally ditch the pooch and we faced ahead and motored along. This was the approximately 20-25 mile "flat" section of the ride. It had a few rollers, but basically this was pedal, pedal, pedal to Elkader and lunch. We were clipping along at 14-15 mph most of this section and we made good time. 

The crew checks out this unusual barn and farmstead along the road to Elkader. 

In fact, we made such good time that we actually arrived in Elkader by about 11:45am. I was really happy and really surprised by that fact. Now it was on to finding some grub and restocking on supplies to hit up the last half of the GTDRI course for 2014.

Next: Part 4

GTDRI Report: It Could Have Been Worse- Part 3

It ain't much but it is what Wadena has got. No credit cards, by the way!

We reached the Wadena "breakfast stop" at approximately Mile 39 by a bit after 9:00am. The convenience store here in this quiet, out of the way village, is a bit suspect looking on the outside, but it was serviceable, if not totally modern. No credit cards accepted! (But they did have an ATM for withdrawing cash- weird!)

I got some stuff here but my mantra going in was to eat less but eat more often. It was working for awhile, but coming into Wadena, I was hungry, and the bottles of Hammer Perpetuem weren't cutting the mustard. I was going to need to call in some reserves. I got a piece of string cheese, a small two serving size bag of salty potato chips, a Salted Nut Roll for later, and two bottles of water. I ate about half the bag of chips and stuffed the rest into my jersey pocket for later. The water was just enough to top off the bottles. Maybe I wasn't drinking enough water.....hmmmm. I also had a cup of chocolate milk that Mike Johnson kindly shared.

With that we all settled into our gear again and remounted. It was about 20 minutes to ten o'clock before we left, which really concerned me in terms of reaching Elkader by noon. I gave in to ever reaching that goal and figured it would be about one o'clock before we got there. It would be okay.....

Up over the rollers Northwest of Wadena Iowa. 

The dog that wouldn't quit!

Suddenly I heard Michael Lemberger, who was riding behind me say something. I thought it sounded like "Old Yeller...", or some such. We were on a Northward stretch and I wasn't climbing the rollers so well. The rest of the gang was well up the road. I turned when I heard Michael and saw a small dog, a mix of some sort. I'm no dog breed expert but it appeared to be a mix of some cattle herding breed and spaniel. Anyway....

Said pooch was not aggressive, but was wanting a fine run with like minded companions. We looked to fit the bill, so along the dog came, letting out bursts of whines and weird "happy sounds" as it darted amongst Michael and I, then on up the road after the rest of the gang. It was a good thing, in a way, since it took my mind off the Tamland's too steep gearing and Michael and I actually started to reel the guys up ahead back in a bit. Then they reached the corner where we were to turn left and eventually, down steeply to Echo Valley Road. The pooch had survived about 4-5 miles of hot, humid running after us, and showed no signs of giving up its new-found running mates anytime soon. Much to our dismay and against our admonitions to the dog to go home.

I liked this dog, but it was time to get it off our tail. It was running in front of us erratically, and well......we didn't want it to get lost or run over by a vehicle. Despite our best efforts, the determined mutt stuck to us, and was lagging by a quarter mile after the 40mph down hill, but was still coming! There was a right hander, then a curve and a low rise in the road. If we could just get out of sight, maybe we could ditch the poor dog.

Echo Valley Road. Beautiful valley scenery and killer fields of flowers along here.

Don't make a false move here in your car, or you could easily end up in the Turkey River! 

Round bales along the Turkey River on our way to Elkader.

We did finally ditch the pooch and we faced ahead and motored along. This was the approximately 20-25 mile "flat" section of the ride. It had a few rollers, but basically this was pedal, pedal, pedal to Elkader and lunch. We were clipping along at 14-15 mph most of this section and we made good time. 

The crew checks out this unusual barn and farmstead along the road to Elkader. 

In fact, we made such good time that we actually arrived in Elkader by about 11:45am. I was really happy and really surprised by that fact. Now it was on to finding some grub and restocking on supplies to hit up the last half of the GTDRI course for 2014.

Next: Part 4

GTDRI Report: It Could Have Been Worse- Part 2

First Gravel Of The Day

The GTDRI of 2014 started out in the valley of Backbone State Park at 6:02am after some blathering by myself. I and the six others crawled up the paved road out of the park and into a hazy, humid, almost wet day.

The mood was good and we had a great group of guys gathered together. A couple of surprise showings in Dan Buettner, who decided to come over dinner the evening before, and Aaron Schnee who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, but was up visiting relatives in the area, so he drug along his bike and showed up to ride as well. Michael Lemberger was in from Madison, Wisconsin, and Jeremy, Mike, Tony, and I were representing the Cedar Valley. A really strong group of riders and I knew I had my work cut out to be able to keep up with them.

The first part wouldn't be too bad though, since it was relatively flat and there were paved sections coming into Strawberry Point and leaving there. "First gravel" wasn't hit until almost three miles into the route. We passed by the Backbone Bluegrass Festival, and it looked pretty busy there already at a little past 6:00am. While it was tempting to turn left into the venue, we kept rolling!

Our first "encounter" with RAGBRAI. It wouldn't be the last one!

Coming into Strawberry Point we saw lots of activity. Tractors, banners being unfurled, things being roped off, and the great smells of cooking outdoors as the community was readying itself for the onslaught of RAGBRAI riders. They would be going in the opposite direction than we were going. This prompted many a "You're going the wrong way!" comments from the locals and a few RAGBRAI front runners that had already made it to Strawberry Point. Our reply became, "No, we're going the RIGHT way!" Which bewildered the folks that heard it. No time for explaining, and we rolled Eastward out of town and quickly back to gravel roads again.

Our first major road was "Amission Road", or in old parlance, "Old Mission Road". It is an oddity in a state of roads set on a grid, since it was an early Army road, then an important route to ferry supplies and people to the Northern parts of Iowa as settlers came in after Statehood was granted in 1846. It wanders Northwestward out of Strawberry Point for several miles before it eventually disappears into the gridwork imposed by the government. Our time on Old Mission Road was notable for losing track of two of our riders, Michael and Jeremy. It turned out that their "nature break" ended up becoming a flat tire repair for Michael. We were just heading back  down the road to find out where they were when we saw them coming back to us.

Old Mission Road escapes the grid, but not forever!

Barns for Jason: Michael Lemberger checks out a family farm's barn.

Big views early into the ride near Volga, Iowa.

Leaving Old Mission Road behind we went North and the Eastward over some "roller coaster" hills that were a precursor to the fast descents and insane grades that we would face later on. Then it was the Right turn onto St. Sebald Road that catapulted us upward to a place where the views were spectacular. The cloudy conditions were breaking into a sky with patches of blue and the heat was slowly ratcheting upward. I found my Raleigh Tamland's gearing to be lacking. It was going to become a big liability on the hills coming up later. For now, I just had to get up and over these first bits and to a big sector of flats coming later.

A stretch along the Volga River

We made it down to Volga, a small hamlet on the Volga River, and cruised through and back Northward. The road bent West a bit as it hugged the Volga River and then it was past the hill where on Trans Iowa V4 we came across a mudslide that blocked the road and where we had riders scoot over the mud and debris. Oddly enough, Aaron Schnee was on that T.I. and remembered the incident.

Moving past that point, not very much further on up the road, we came upon a crest of a hill, and much to my surprise the riders in the front decided to stop and we all ended up taking a break. It was really humid, and the heat was beginning to make us feel our legs and I guess it was good to stop and cool down. I was a bit concerned about not getting to the lunch stop before 12:00pm, but there was plenty of time to go before we got to Elkader.

Wadena was our town to first stop and refuel and we were all wanting to get there to resupply on water and maybe find something to eat. The last stretch to Wadena was a straight shot Westward on relatively easy road, but as I remarked on the ride, I don't know why those miles there seem to take so long. Then it dawned on me. You cannot see anything off to the sides as the road is lined with trees for much of the time through there. It makes seeing progress harder. Or not. Just my theory there.

Next Up: Part 2

GTDRI Report: It Could Have Been Worse- Part 2

First Gravel Of The Day

The GTDRI of 2014 started out in the valley of Backbone State Park at 6:02am after some blathering by myself. I and the six others crawled up the paved road out of the park and into a hazy, humid, almost wet day.

The mood was good and we had a great group of guys gathered together. A couple of surprise showings in Dan Buettner, who decided to come over dinner the evening before, and Aaron Schnee who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, but was up visiting relatives in the area, so he drug along his bike and showed up to ride as well. Michael Lemberger was in from Madison, Wisconsin, and Jeremy, Mike, Tony, and I were representing the Cedar Valley. A really strong group of riders and I knew I had my work cut out to be able to keep up with them.

The first part wouldn't be too bad though, since it was relatively flat and there were paved sections coming into Strawberry Point and leaving there. "First gravel" wasn't hit until almost three miles into the route. We passed by the Backbone Bluegrass Festival, and it looked pretty busy there already at a little past 6:00am. While it was tempting to turn left into the venue, we kept rolling!

Our first "encounter" with RAGBRAI. It wouldn't be the last one!

Coming into Strawberry Point we saw lots of activity. Tractors, banners being unfurled, things being roped off, and the great smells of cooking outdoors as the community was readying itself for the onslaught of RAGBRAI riders. They would be going in the opposite direction than we were going. This prompted many a "You're going the wrong way!" comments from the locals and a few RAGBRAI front runners that had already made it to Strawberry Point. Our reply became, "No, we're going the RIGHT way!" Which bewildered the folks that heard it. No time for explaining, and we rolled Eastward out of town and quickly back to gravel roads again.

Our first major road was "Amission Road", or in old parlance, "Old Mission Road". It is an oddity in a state of roads set on a grid, since it was an early Army road, then an important route to ferry supplies and people to the Northern parts of Iowa as settlers came in after Statehood was granted in 1846. It wanders Northwestward out of Strawberry Point for several miles before it eventually disappears into the gridwork imposed by the government. Our time on Old Mission Road was notable for losing track of two of our riders, Michael and Jeremy. It turned out that their "nature break" ended up becoming a flat tire repair for Michael. We were just heading back  down the road to find out where they were when we saw them coming back to us.

Old Mission Road escapes the grid, but not forever!

Barns for Jason: Michael Lemberger checks out a family farm's barn.

Big views early into the ride near Volga, Iowa.

Leaving Old Mission Road behind we went North and the Eastward over some "roller coaster" hills that were a precursor to the fast descents and insane grades that we would face later on. Then it was the Right turn onto St. Sebald Road that catapulted us upward to a place where the views were spectacular. The cloudy conditions were breaking into a sky with patches of blue and the heat was slowly ratcheting upward. I found my Raleigh Tamland's gearing to be lacking. It was going to become a big liability on the hills coming up later. For now, I just had to get up and over these first bits and to a big sector of flats coming later.

A stretch along the Volga River

We made it down to Volga, a small hamlet on the Volga River, and cruised through and back Northward. The road bent West a bit as it hugged the Volga River and then it was past the hill where on Trans Iowa V4 we came across a mudslide that blocked the road and where we had riders scoot over the mud and debris. Oddly enough, Aaron Schnee was on that T.I. and remembered the incident.

Moving past that point, not very much further on up the road, we came upon a crest of a hill, and much to my surprise the riders in the front decided to stop and we all ended up taking a break. It was really humid, and the heat was beginning to make us feel our legs and I guess it was good to stop and cool down. I was a bit concerned about not getting to the lunch stop before 12:00pm, but there was plenty of time to go before we got to Elkader.

Wadena was our town to first stop and refuel and we were all wanting to get there to resupply on water and maybe find something to eat. The last stretch to Wadena was a straight shot Westward on relatively easy road, but as I remarked on the ride, I don't know why those miles there seem to take so long. Then it dawned on me. You cannot see anything off to the sides as the road is lined with trees for much of the time through there. It makes seeing progress harder. Or not. Just my theory there.

Next Up: Part 2