Trans Iowa v12: Course Draft

We'll be out looking at the roads again soon.....

Wednesday was my day off and I had intended to go for a long gravel ride. I hopped on-line to check a map and the next thing I knew I was knee deep in doing my Trans Iowa v12 course draft. So, I figured as long as I was hot on the trail I may as well just keep pushing on. I did get it all finished up too.

As the title suggests, this is just a course draft, so many things could change. I am pretty stoked about this course though, and I sure hope it works out. Now, I know many of you Trans Iowa fans are thinking, "Heck, he's just gonna use what we didn't see last year. This will be easy for him this go round." 

Well, you'd be dead wrong if you think I'd do that. It isn't how I roll.

Nope, this course is brand new. Sure, there are a few roads in and out of Grinnell that we've used a bunch of times. That's unavoidable. There are also a few sections I am using that we haven't been on for years. However; for the most part, this is all new territory we're headed into this year, and I cannot wait to get to it. Course recon may be a little harder this time, but it will be totally worth it.

Okay, enough gab. Here are some tidbits to chew on for now if you are gearing up for an attempt at v12:

• Total mileage is set at 333.5 miles for now. 
• Checkpoint #1 will be at 53 miles or so, and the cut off will be 8:30am. 
• The distance to Checkpoint #2 will be shorter than we've been having it of late, so expect a cutoff time before the Sun sets for CP#2. 
• There will be two 24hr/7 day a week convenience stores during the "night time" sections of the event Saturday night/Sunday morning, so resupply at night should not be an issue this year. Plus, there is another convenience store shortly after CP#2, so with the earlier cutoff time, everyone that makes it through that point will be able to get into that store well before it closes. That makes three stores to get through the night. You can thank me later........
• There will be level B roads and while we won't have as many as we've had planned before, the ones we do have will be doozies. Well......almost all of them will be! Expect about 8-9 Level B's. Again, this can change once recon happens. 

A Note On Registration: The registration for Rookies starts October 4th. SEE DETAILS HERE!! Finishers and Veterans will send in post cards the last week of October. Stay tuned for fine details on your registration coming soon.....

Have a great weekend and go ride those bicycles!