C.O.G. 40 Gear Review

The Honeman Flyer by King Fabrications

 This post will conclude my C.O.G. 40 musings for the week. Here I will go over the specifics of my bicycle and what I wore for this ride. I then will go over what I would change if this ride were t happen again. 

The course was mostly rolling hills with a few monster grades thrown in for good measure. As a single speed rider, gearing is always of the utmost concern, so I will go over this first. 

The Bike: 

I used a 42T chain ring with a 20T rear freewheel. This results in a low 60's gear inch, which isn't all that 'fast' in terms of what people use for gravel racing, but I do not set up my single speed gravel bikes for racing. I set them up for adventure. 

The 42T/20T gearing leaves me spinning madly on the flats but it is an easy enough gear that I can manage most gradual grades or shorter hills. Consecutive steeps can grind my legs to paste, but one here or there is okay. 

One thing I tell anyone asking for advice on single speed gravel gearing is that you have to know you will never have a perfect gear. Never. If you are the type that is driven crazy by the mere thought of not having the right gear, I would suggest single speed is not for you.  

So, I really like where I am at with gearing and my crank set length also, which is 172.5mm. The big thing these days is to go shorter on cranks, but with single speed it has always been the move to put on a longer crank set than usual. 

There are a TON of theories and opinions as to why one would want to do this. I did it partially out of convenience. The cranks I was using for single speed gravel just so happened to be 172.5mm in length for each arm. I chose these partially out of the desire to go shorter on crank arm length but still give a nod to longer than normal crank arms for single speed usage. 

Because the crank set had a 42T chain ring already the Shimano 20T free wheel was a perfect match to get me into a gear inch range I wanted. So, it all sort of fell into place. It has all worked out very well also, so I do not see any major changes to sizes and types for my drive train. I would like upgrades though. 

My crank arms are chipped and beaten up by gravel. They are carbon, so I feel as though it is getting time to switch cranks. Then the Shimano freewheel, while being reliable and quiet, has been popping randomly now and again. I think a White Industries freewheel is in the cards soon. But all the specifics stay the same if and when those upgrades happen. 

I could get lighter wheels, but I don't need them. And besides, I cannot be more happy with what I have on the bike now. Blunt SS rims are perfectly durable, lightweight, and the specs are dead-on for modern gravel usage. The Paul hubs? I cannot say enough good things about these. They are so smooth and roll like crazy. So, I will be sticking with these wheels for a long time. 

I ran Ritchey SpeedMax tires and they are also highly recommended. I see no reasons to switch those out at any time until they wear out. 

The zero offset Thomson seat post is spot on, but I wonder if I couldn't find a bit more compliance in a carbon post, or a titanium one. I may look into this as well in the future.  

The Clothing:

Image courtesy of Twin Six

Last year about this time I wrote up a review on the Twin Six Thermal Cargo Bib Knickers. I wore these on the C.O.G. 40 ride where the temperatures were in the 50's with a pretty hefty wind for most of the day. 

These bib knickers worked great from the standpoints of comfort and warmth all day long. The chamois pad is perfect for me and there was no binding or pinching in the undercarriage area. The legs stay where you put them, but are not too tight or too loose. The grippers are nice, but they do not tear out hair or grab skin. I just find these to be great in cooler weather. 

I wore a Twin Six base layer under an old Bontrager Classic long sleeved wool jersey. Twin Six hasn't had a wool long sleeved jersey in a while, but they did announce a new piece this week which may bear looking into. (Note: It is only available for women at the moment)

Over the jersey I wore a Twin Six wind vest. I wore Hand-Up gloves for my hands. For socks I had a pair of 12" Sock Guy wool socks I have had for years now. Shoes were Shimano mid-range gravel shoes with plastic shopping bag vapor barriers to keep the toes warm. 

On my head I wore a red bandana and my Bontrager Circuit helmet. All this stuff worked to perfection and I had zero issues with any of it on the cool, brisk day out in the country. Had it been a touch colder or wet, or both, I would have went with warmer stuff. 

That's a wrap on my gear. I was pretty happy with everything. Overall, the bike was fantastic and the gear I wore is mostly tried and true stuff I know works for myself. I hope you all enjoyed the gear review, but if you have any questions about what I used and need to know something I did not cover, let me know in the comments. 

Barns For Jason: The C.O.G. 40 Edition

Barns For Jason #1

Many years ago my friend Jason Boucher challenged me to a photo contest. The rules were simple. The image had to be of a barn in a rural setting which you saw on a bicycle ride. No barns could be used twice. 

Who would post the most barns? Well, location has a lot to do with who gets images, and it soon became apparent Iowa was going to outpace Minnesota in this competition. Therefore, Jason capitulated to me early on, but I continued to post up barns even though there no longer was any competition involved. 

I love barns anyway. So for myself, it is a way to continue to look for barns and to post them here. Barns also are a relic of days gone by, with most of these structures having no purpose on many farms now. While "working barns" still exist, most are moldering away and disappearing due to lack of purpose. My intentions, therefore, are to preserve these barns in images here, in a way making them timeless and recorded for those who may care in the future. 

So, with all of this in mind, here is a "photo-dump" of all the barns I saw on the C.O.G. 100 which I was able to get a good image of to show here. I hope you enjoy these. 

Barns For Jason #2

Barns For Jason #3

Barns For Jason #4

Barns For Jason #5

Barns For Jason #6

Barns For Jason #7

Barns For Jason #8

C.O,G 40 Photo Dump

Image by C. David Ashton II

Today I have several images taken by a couple of the riders, David, and Tom, which were shared via a group text after the ride. I thought they were too good to pass on sharing them with you all, so this post will include the ones I thought were worth posting here. 

I will also point out I lightly edited these and some are cropped to bring out details. 

I also will try to credit each according to who took the image, but I may have a couple wrong. The texts were not clear as to who took what, so I had to guess on a couple which did not show all the other riders, thus making an attribution easy. 

This post and the "Barns For Jason" post following this one will be the last photo dumps from the ride. Tomorrow I am going to go over the gear I used, mostly focusing on the bicycle. I'll give a few thoughts about what worked and what I might do differently. 

For now, here are those images. Enjoy!
 

Image by Tom Claver

Image by C. David Ashton II

Image by C. David Ashton II

Image by C. David Ashton II

Image by Tom Claver

Image by C. David Ashton II

Image by Tom Claver

Image by Tom Claver

Image by Tom Claver

C.O.G. 40 Report: Part 2

Leaving The Park:

 With the lunch rest stop out of the way we were ready to head out East and finish off the ride. We'd stopped for maybe a half an hour or so. Not too bad, and I wasn't stiff or cold when we left, which was a good sign. 

My fears were allayed by my good form coming to Union Grove State Park, but how would the lunch and rest affect me?  When would my legs get tired and quit on me? I pushed all these questions down and kept my head up and pedaled onward. 

The wind wasn't too bad going East. No worse than it had been going South, that was for sure. Then we hit a short Northward section of the route, and it became readily apparent it was going to be far easier going North. We had a long stretch to go North, but I would have to wait a bit on this. First, we had about three or four miles to go East again, and it was hilly. 

We hit one particularly steep hill in this Eastward section which made me really work hard. My legs started to feel like they were asleep and I knew I was running out of gas at this rate. I had to stop and rest, just before the top of the hill. 

One of several cemeteries we rode by on the route. 

 

Beers At The Bridge: 

Oddly enough, I only had this one time on the road back where I felt I needed a rest. I ended up riding pretty well after this for a while. We had Ben and I and then a large gap back to David and Tom. At one point we had to stop when I noted Tom was missing, but he caught back on fairly quickly and we were back at it again as a group. 

Ben had told us about a cooler he had stashed near a bridge which we would com up on once we turned North again. It was at about Mile 35. We reached the wood plank bridge and stopped. Ben got off, scrambled down a ditch by the end of a guard rail on the bridge, and struggled up again with a blue cooler in his hands.  

Ben retrieving the cooler from its hiding place. 

Ben had cold Hamms beers and Pringles stashed away there. Those Pringles were gold! They hit the spot with their salty goodness! We chatted for a short bit here on the bridge, but I think the sense amongst us was to get going. We had seven miles to go to Reinbeck and David, in particular, had a long drive back home to accomplish. So, we didn't dally and before too long we were back climbing rollers and coasting down hills toward Reinbeck again. 

Finally the Sun came out. Kind of. 

 

At least there were some pretty Fall colors in Reinbeck!

 The Finish:

Ben led the way into town. He must have "smelled the barn", because he was way up the road on us. I tried to come back to him, but since he had a geared bicycle it was tough to do without some big downhills to bring me closer. 

We rolled up to our cars by about 1:40pm, so we smoked that last half of the course and made some good time.  Ben was excited about stopping at the Digg Inn, a bar/record shop right across from our cars. David bowed out, since he had to get home. Tom's girlfriend met him there and while they did not indicate what they might do, eventually they must have slipped away and went home as well. 

So, it was just myself and Ben at first until his wife joined us. Ben bought me a drink and we chatted for a bit. Then around 3:00pm I bade them farewell and headed home. The group started a chat before we all left and went our separate ways, and those guys have a ton of great images. I will share those tomorrow and also I will have a special "Barns For Jason" post from this ride. 

Epilogue:

The riders declared this a very fun and successful ride. While the group was small, it did allow for us to ride together at different points and get to know each other better. This was always a hallmark of a good gravel event back in the beginning of gravel grinding.  

As for myself, I was very happy I rode through the opening miles of funk and came out the other side with a decent ride. I was not totally exhausted, worn out, or lacking in power. Those hills in Tama County are no joke, and had the course been littered with them I would have been in big trouble on the single speed. But fortunately it wasn't too gnarly as far as big hills and I was happy with my ride. 

I'm glad we did this. N.Y. Roll and Kat knocked the pierogie stop out of the park, and Ben's contribution was a pleasant surprise. Yeah, it was a bit disappointing that we did not have a few more riders show up, but then again, it was small enough we had a chance to talk to each other over the miles. So, I'm not mad about it. 

I should mention that we may have had only four riders in attendance, but we had four others "in spirit". Near Lincoln, Nebraska, Matt Gersib, Matt Wills, and their friend Noah rode single track for 40 miles in solidarity with us. One other rider in the Black Hills, Craig Groseth, also did a ride on his single speed being inspired by the C.O.G. 40. So, it was kind of like the Virtual Turkey Burn ride. Hey!

Maybe we should open this up in that way in the future. Something to think about....  

Next? Probably the Virtual Turkey Burn ride in a month. (!!!) Then Winter and next season. Thanks for reading and remember to check the photo dumps tomorrow.  

C.O.G.40 Report Part 1

Your host, N.Y.Roll

 Welcome to the C.O.G. 40 ride report. I know...... I said I thought I'd have this done in one post. But there are so many images to share I cannot do the ride justice with just one post. So....

Getting There:

I started off on Sunday morning being awakened at about 3:00am by our cat, Minka, walking on my head.  I tried to go back to sleep but she was sitting on my back purring so loudly I don't know if I did really get anymore sleep. Anyway..

After I got up and got going I had some breakfast and a cup of coffee. I put on my kit, save for the cycling shoes, loaded up the 4Runner, (which needs a name, by the way), and took off a little after 8:00am in the morning.  N.Y. Roll texted me he was already there. I arrived at about 8:40am, and there were two riders there talking with N.Y. Roll already.  

David had pulled in a bit before I got there. He drove all the way over from the Chicago suburbs to do this ride!

Ben's custom made titanium gravel bike. 

David and Tom were there, and a bit later Ben rolled in and that was that for riders. So, after we had everything all together, and those guys had grabbed some C.O.G. 100 hats, we se4t out at just after 9:00am. 

David (L) and Tom riding behind me on the road out.

Getting Going:

We had a stretch of gravel once we got out of town and then two miles of pavement on County roads. The stretch of gravel headed Westward just out of Reinbeck had me really worried. 

I was blowing up. II could not catch my breath and I was working hard  just to keep up with those other three who were chatting casually as if they were on a recreational bike path. I was fearing the worst and thinking I may not have it in me on this day. I'd been under the weather with some weird muscular deal all week. In fact, Saturday evening was the best sleep I had gotten all week. 

Fortunately those two miles of pavement came next and this allowed me to not have to be at red line all the time, but I wasn't hopeful I'd recover enough to make it very far. The weather was supposed to have been breezy, but the wind was strong out of the Southeast and this made matters worse for me. Don't ask about the Sun. It was hiding. Even though it was forecast to have been Sunny. I was actually glad it wasn't because of the issues it would have caused for drivers and us as riders. 

I was able to find a groove on this paved section.

There were four miles of dirt road in the first 12 miles. 

Slowly I found a groove and my breathing became more controlled. Level B dirt roads came up and these were smooth and fast. This also allowed me to get settled in. Then we pulled over for a "nature break", which I was in dire need of after having had two cups of coffee earlier in the day! 

First stop of the day. It wasn't a long one. 

Harvesting isn't 100% finished yet. 

We stair-stepped South and West until we reached C Avenue and a long slog into the wind. Eleven miles of rollers. Somehow or another I more than found my groove on this section and was way off the front. I had to stop once and slow way down twice to let everyone else catch up with me. 

We skirted the West side of Gladbrook, crossed HWY 96, and kept on truckin'. Ben ended up keeping me company after the highway crossing and we both reached the turn off for Union Grove Park first. For about a mile and a third it would be all pavement from this point until we reached our halfway lunch stop.

I was a little surprised by the lack of Fall color and by how many trees are still green. By this time most years we are all done with Fall color and the leaves are blowing off the trees and all over the place. Not so this season. I'm glad we saw some Fall colors, and at least we had good tempreratures with no rain whatsoever. 

 

Just before the rest stop for lunch we had to climb this ridiculous hill. It was short, very steep, and right into the wind. I made it about 2/3rds of the way up before I bailed and walked. Ben said he saw 14% for a grade. I do not doubt it for one second. It was all of 14% or more. Oh, and Ben, Tom, and David made it all the way up. I think..... Anyway, Ben was cheating. He had a geared bike! 

We rolled off the backside of this hill right into a parking area by the dam for the impoundment where N.Y. Roll's Bluetooth speaker was blasting "Debaser" by The Pixies. I rolled in, dismounted, and prepared to delve into a plate full of freshly grilled parogies. Kat was there to help N.Y. Roll too, and there were other goodies to eat as well as the parogies. 

N.Y. Roll tending the grill. 

Yum! 

Next: The Lunch break ends and we head back North on a Southeast wind toward Reinbeck. 

Today Is The Day

The C.O.G. 40 happens today. I hope it goes well, and you'll find out tomorrow how it all went down in my ride report. Unless it is an epic day, I should be able to get it all out in one post. 

So, as I sit here writing this ahead of time, (obviously), I have a few thoughts to share concerning my feelings about this ride and riding in particular. 

The past three years have really taken a toll on my riding time. There was the fact of my son, Jacob, and his need to have a vehicle to get to school, and work, which meant he borrowed my old truck most days. This relegated me to riding from the house, which is fine, but limiting. 

Back three years ago I had come into a new job at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective which included being there on Saturday mornings. This effectively cut out doing any events for the past three seasons of riding. Combined with the fact of my not having access to a vehicle to go anywhere, this basically meant I wasn't doing a lot of what I used to do when it came to riding. There are other minor issues as well, which caused me problems with getting out to ride, but suffice it to say I was limited. 

Then came what happened to Jacob in early August and well, things got worse as far as riding went. I managed to get in a couple of bigger rides, but motivation is hard to come by. So, the C.O.G. 40 ride was something I have tried to get pumped up for, and I was truly excited about it. Then about a week ago I awoke to a bad pain in the lower back and stiffness all over. I think I got something, viral most likely, but it was all just muscle related. 

I've been feeling better, but this past week has been difficult, and I am hoping for a good outcome today. We will see, but besides the Turkey Burn in late November, this ride today will likely be my last longer ride of the year. Maybe not, but it very well could be. 

Here's hoping I have a good report tomorrow! Today is the day I could really use a good ride. 
 

C.O.G. 40: Updated Route News

 The main point of this post is to point out the news of a route update. If you uploaded the route previously to seeing this post, you will want to discard the route and replace it with THIS ONE. 

The correct route is called "C.O.G. 40" so you should see that as the name on the file. If you have any troubles uploading the route file, please let me know. There will be NO CUE SHEETS, so plan accordingly. (Meaning: you can draw up your own cues like I am going to do from the route file. )

The reason for the change was due to some recently received intel from local-ish rider, Ben Petty, who has put together many routes in Grundy, Hardin, and Tama Counties and knows the area well. He warned of some nasty dogs in the beginning miles of our original route, and he suggested some changes. I actually am borrowing the opening miles of a route of his out of Reinbeck for our ride. Thanks Ben!

There still will be three miles of dirt, so if we have to bail out on those our "rain route" will still work and be put into effect. As of this writing, it doesn't look as though we will have to worry much about doing that. 

N.Y. Roll tells me you folks should PIN the route, and do not SAVE it. This will allow any last minute changes to be pushed to your devices. (See example shown)

I do not expect anything to change, but you never know, right? So please be aware of this detail. 

The route ended up being just a hair over 40 miles, but this is mostly due to how I have it leaving and reentering Reinbeck. On the way out, I have the route going past the park near the Southwest side of the town to make sure we do not miss anyone who may have parked there. Coming back I directed the route to Broad Street more directly so you can get back to your car without dealing with going out of your way to the park previously mentioned. (There is a direct route to the park area but you will peel off before the actual end of the route to reach the parking area.) 
 

Speaking of weather, it will be chilly to start, a pretty decent wind will be coming out of the South, and so you will want to be prepared with warm cycling gear like booties, Winter cycling shoes, gloves, or maybe even pogies if you have sensitive hands. Definitely wear gloves! 

Okay, that should wrap up the news. I have heard from a few would-be riders. So, we will at least have a small group and probably a mid-sized one if the weather holds out. I will see whomever shows up at about a half an hour before the 9:00am start time.  See all the ride details HERE. 

Creatures Of Gravel 40: Update

NOTE: Make sure to familiarize yourself with the announcement post which you can read HERE. 

The route file indicates three and 3/4's miles of Level B road which all occur within the first quarter of the course. With weather being the proverbial "wild card", N.Y. Roll was concerned there may be trouble. Trouble if it rains, that is. 

Looking at the State DOT maps, we have a "wet weather" option which will eliminate the dirt roads. This wiill add no extra miles, but it would take us through the village of Lincoln, Iowa, and it would add a bit of extra pavement. 

This route would only go into effect if we get any significant rain the day before or during the ride. This will be only on my written cues, and it will not be on the "official route gps file", so please note this and be aware you will have to rely on my cues for navigation. That is, IF we have to use the wet weather route. 

Right now, this doesn't look like it will be a worry, but we are far enough out the forecasts could change. Please keep an eye on the weather and monitor the blog here for updates. 

One never knows how many folks might show up to this sort of a ride. If the weather cooperates, there will be more people showing up. If it looks, or if it is, sketchy, hardly anyone will show up. With this in mind, I have a few things to share. 

One: Parking on Broad Street - If we get a ton of interest we will start to ask people to move their cars to a park located on the Southwest corner of Reinbeck just off  Park Street near the Reinbeck Aquatic Center. There are baseball diamonds adjacent to this parking lot as well. We do not want to overtake downtown Reinbeck. I do not expect this will be an issue, but......just in case. Bonus: This park is adjacent to where the gps file starts and stops the route. 

Two: N.Y. Roll is facilitating the rest stop pierogies feed. He wouldn't mind a companion/helper. So, if you are coming along, but decide last minute not to ride, or if you weren't going to ride, but are coming with someone who is, please let me know. I can hook you up and get you with N.Y. Roll to help out with things and hang with him. Not necessary for our success, but this is an idea for anyone who may not be in it for the riding part.

Three: I have no idea how many folks will be there. I have heard from a couple of folks about their intentions, but as with anything like this, last minute decisions typically are what determines attendance. (Based on weather, for one thing, no doubt!) But if you would be so kind, it would be nice for Mr. Roll if we had a rough idea of who is coming. Leave a comment here or email me at g.ted.productions@gtmail.com. Thanks! 

Four: Geared bikes are welcome! Yes, the theme of the ride is single speed, but we do not want this to be a barrier to participation. Please come if you want to with your geared bike. Just make sure it is in good condition, capable on gravel, and have repair items along with you in case of a flat tire. That is all you need.  

Five: THIS IS NOT A RACE!!  A local rider here approached N.Y. Roll with a comment to the effect saying he was glad we were putting on the race again. Despite my very clearly saying in the announcement IT IS NOT A RACE, I guess we have to be very vigilant and say it loud and clear that THIS IS NOT A RACE. 

Did you catch that this time? I hope so....  

Stay tuned and don't e shy about asking questions or leaving comments!(And don't be a smarty and ask if this is a race. Okay?) 
 

My Bike For The C.O.G. 40 & More

 Thursday I posted the information for the C.O.G. 40, so if you missed the announcement, click teh hyperlink there and go check it all out. 

I teased this event on Facebook as well ahead of the announcement. It was plain to see several folks thought this was going to be a race, because they were posting comments which gave this vibe. However; it is merely a group ride for fun. I said I was done organizing such events, and I meant what I said. 

Plus, I am not doing all the legwork for this either. I'm "promoting it", sure, but N.Y. Roll is the one doing the route, the logistics, etc. I merely am showing up to ride a bicycle and hang with friends. That's all. 

Well, with this said, I am going to also give a shout out to those who live far away who have indicated they are considering coming to this ride. This means a lot to me. I do not take it lightly that several who live multiple hours away from Reinbeck want to share a ride with me.  Your consideration and possible commitment to drive this far for a 40 mile gravel ride with me is amazing, even if you do not show up. I marked your comments, and I am very thankful. 

Now, since this is a single speed event, (but if you don't have a single speed, and want to ride, you can!), I am not riding the Peregrine Mk4. I know several of you would have liked to have seen the bike with your own two eyes, but it is geared, so no.  I'll be riding this bike instead, (of course!)......

The Honeman Flyer. Now with zero offset seat post. (Again!) 

Yes, it is the Honeman Flyer! I will be riding this one and it is all set to go for this little adventure. For the SS gear nerds out there, I am running a 42T/20T set up. This gets me a bit slower gear than many single speed gravel riders use, but it eases the climbing efforts and is fast enough on the flats. At least for my type of riding, it is. 

I rode this same gearing on the Victory Ride last year and that course had some pretty big hills. This course won't be as bad for hills, although it will have a fair amount of rollers. So, I feel pretty confident in my ability to roll this around Tama County for 40 miles. 

My tires are Ritchey SpeedMax 700 x 40's which are 43+ wide on my Velocity Blunt SS wheel set. These are severely underrated tires which I feel more people should be looking into. They are fast, light, comfortable, and grippy. They have performed flawlessly as tubeless tires, holding air quite well, and never weeping sealant. 

The Redshift ShockStop stem is there to take the edge off the stiff Salsa Cycles Waxwing fork. (Purchased post recall, by the way). The newest seat post, of which there have been several in this bike, is the Thompson silver anodized zero offset post. This may last a while until the silver bugs me enough to get a black zero offset post! 

So, that's the rig for the ride on the 26th. If you have any questions or comments about the C.O.G. 40, let me know in the comments section or email me @g.ted.productions@gmail.com. 
 

Announcing The Creatures Of Gravel 40

C.O.G. 40

Reinbeck, Iowa

9;00am Start  Broad Street between HWY 175 and Main Street..

Okay, here are the details for the fun, non-competitive, free  group ride out of Reinbeck, Iowa on Sunday, October 26th. 

What: A casual single speed* gravel ride of 40 miles to celebrate the end of the riding season. NOT a competitive event!!

Why: For fun. To see friends, To get rid of old C.O.G. 100 merch. To eat pierogies.  To ride single speed bicycles on gravel*. 

Where: Out of Reinbeck we will go South, skirt the North side of Lincoln, Iowa, pass by Gladbrook (convenience store at Mile 15) and stop halfway at the Union Grove State Park. Then on back to Reinbeck. Total of 40 miles and three Level B Roads.  

When: Sunday, October 26th because this is the next Sunday I have off from playing in my church's band. I also work on Saturday mornings, so Saturdays are not good for me. Starting at 9:00am because this should get us to our halfway stop in time for a lunch, (I think) of pierogies from N.Y. Roll. (Subject to change) 

Details: READ CAREFULLY! NO COST TO RIDE. No registration. Just show up or do not show up. Ride starts PROMPTLY at 9:00am Park on Broad Street and prepare to ride from the 100 block of Broad Street. In between the start and stop look for rolling hills and gravel. N.Y. Roll prepared THIS ROUTE which you can download into your GPS units.  (NOTE: N.Y. Roll has already changed the route three times so double check the file before you leave to come to this ride. Who knows how many times he'll tweak the route!)

The pace will be CASUAL. No one left behind. This is NOT a competitive event. ALL rules of the road are in effect. This is an OPEN ROUTE TO CARS AND AG TRAFFIC. Riders MUST CREST HILLS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD!! All traffic signs MUST be obeyed. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU! Be prepared with water, food, and gear to fix a flat tire or a minor mechanical. THERE IS NO SAG, NO SUPPORT!! If you show up to ride, you assume all responsibilities, consequences, and outcomes of YOUR DECISIONS OR RANDOM, CHANCE HAPPENINGS. 

N.Y. Roll is planning to have pierogies at the halfway stop where there will be restrooms available, (we think)  

 Merch: Old C.O.G. 100 hats, jerseys, and maybe a few tidbits of other stuff will be offered FOR FREE to anyone who shows up. Must be present to get anything offered and all will be given away, first come first served - NO HOLDS. I have 20 C.O.G 100 hats, maybe a half dozen jerseys, and I will bring down whatever else I need to off-load. ONE HAT PER RIDER, please! 

Merch will be offered at the ride's start.  

Weather: We cannot control the weather and neither can you!  If things look to be too rainy, or stormy, we will cancel this ride and maybe do it next year. If it is cold, windy, or warm and Sunny, be prepared for it, and keep astride of the latest forecasts so you do not get caught out under or over dressed

*Note: We are strongly suggesting single speed bikes, but if you want to ride this route and do not own a single speed you are still welcome to do so.