Bikes Of The Almanzo

Of course, as a dyed in the wool "bike nerd", I notice the bikes folks are riding at these gravel events. So, I took note of a few rigs and I have some comments to share. Let's take a look at what caught my eye at this year's Almanzo Cherry Grove checkpoint. (NOTE- Obviously there were other cool bikes. Not everyone went by me and some that did never stopped, so it is entirely possible I missed a lot of really cool rigs.)

Okay, this may be the best example of "an Almanzo rig" that there is.......or not.

The Ridley, in my opinion, is the "average" Almanzo rig. A cyclo cross bike with canti brakes. I can't tell you how many bikes like this went by me. It only goes to show you that, at least in the area near the Twin Cities, cyclo cross bikes are gravel bikes. They work fine for that purpose, obviously, and can do a UCI legal cross race, if you are so inclined. But I still say that a bike designed to be super efficient over an hour long event and that has to do what a cross bike needs to do isn't ideal for gravel roads. Been over this a million times here. Maybe someday I'll pin all my posts about that and put a perma-link in the margin or something....

Custom, steel, and different.

I saw this rig underneath Andy Tetmeyer of HED Wheels and I was glad to see him park and dismount so I could get an image of this steel rig. It is the antithesis of the Ridley above. Fender mounts and (nearly) full coverage fenders. Steel, lugged crown fork, disc brakes, and what looked to be a decent amount of bottom bracket drop compared to a cyclo cross rig. Of course, those outrageous HED rims were what most folks noticed, but take note of the non-cross approved frame pump under the top tube. Terrene Elwood 40's (Likely measuring over that), top it off. Andy got a top twenty finish on this rig for the Almanzo 100 category.

Riders were often too tired or couldn't be arsed to park their rigs proper.

This bad image of a fat bike was grabbed on the fly, because I was having my attention drawn elsewhere, but I wanted to get this anyway. It is of the first fat bike we saw Saturday in the event. Note- Steel frame, and drop bars. I thought that warranted inclusion here. Not many folks run fat bikes with drop bars.

Perhaps the perfect drive train for a messy Southern Minnesota gravel ride.

Finally, I saw this Surly with a Rohloff drive train. The massive torque arm on the non-driveside was the giveaway for me. I thought this was a smart rig for a day like Saturday was. Just look at all that limestone crap! You have to imagine that a lot of drive trains died Saturday in the messy conditions. Perhaps this rig suffered a chain replacement, maybe a bottom bracket issue, but the drive train likely is fine otherwise. A lot less expensive to maintain than some of those fancy exposed drive train set ups are. I'm not 100% sure, but this rig was running a chain tensioner and there might be an inner chain ring there......hmmm. 

Of course, I did see a smattering of actual "gravel bikes". There were your Warbirds, Vayas, and Tamlands running out there along with some other gravel rigs from other brands.

Again, not all the bicycles even made it to Cherry Grove. There was the Stiller tandem, which I heard broke down, and likely a lot of other, super cool bicycles, (and people, obviously), that didn't get to Cherry Grove or who just rode on by like Greg Gleason did on his Cutthroat. So, I am not saying this is a definitive listing at all, but it is what I saw.

Thanks again to the Almanzo folks, Penn Cycles, and the Spring Valley Tourism board for letting RidingGravel.com come and be the sponsor of the Cherry Grove stop. We are tentatively scheduled to do it again next year. Let's hope for better weather next time!

Bikes Of The Almanzo

Of course, as a dyed in the wool "bike nerd", I notice the bikes folks are riding at these gravel events. So, I took note of a few rigs and I have some comments to share. Let's take a look at what caught my eye at this year's Almanzo Cherry Grove checkpoint. (NOTE- Obviously there were other cool bikes. Not everyone went by me and some that did never stopped, so it is entirely possible I missed a lot of really cool rigs.)

Okay, this may be the best example of "an Almanzo rig" that there is.......or not.

The Ridley, in my opinion, is the "average" Almanzo rig. A cyclo cross bike with canti brakes. I can't tell you how many bikes like this went by me. It only goes to show you that, at least in the area near the Twin Cities, cyclo cross bikes are gravel bikes. They work fine for that purpose, obviously, and can do a UCI legal cross race, if you are so inclined. But I still say that a bike designed to be super efficient over an hour long event and that has to do what a cross bike needs to do isn't ideal for gravel roads. Been over this a million times here. Maybe someday I'll pin all my posts about that and put a perma-link in the margin or something....

Custom, steel, and different.

I saw this rig underneath Andy Tetmeyer of HED Wheels and I was glad to see him park and dismount so I could get an image of this steel rig. It is the antithesis of the Ridley above. Fender mounts and (nearly) full coverage fenders. Steel, lugged crown fork, disc brakes, and what looked to be a decent amount of bottom bracket drop compared to a cyclo cross rig. Of course, those outrageous HED rims were what most folks noticed, but take note of the non-cross approved frame pump under the top tube. Terrene Elwood 40's (Likely measuring over that), top it off. Andy got a top twenty finish on this rig for the Almanzo 100 category.

Riders were often too tired or couldn't be arsed to park their rigs proper.

This bad image of a fat bike was grabbed on the fly, because I was having my attention drawn elsewhere, but I wanted to get this anyway. It is of the first fat bike we saw Saturday in the event. Note- Steel frame, and drop bars. I thought that warranted inclusion here. Not many folks run fat bikes with drop bars.

Perhaps the perfect drive train for a messy Southern Minnesota gravel ride.

Finally, I saw this Surly with a Rohloff drive train. The massive torque arm on the non-driveside was the giveaway for me. I thought this was a smart rig for a day like Saturday was. Just look at all that limestone crap! You have to imagine that a lot of drive trains died Saturday in the messy conditions. Perhaps this rig suffered a chain replacement, maybe a bottom bracket issue, but the drive train likely is fine otherwise. A lot less expensive to maintain than some of those fancy exposed drive train set ups are. I'm not 100% sure, but this rig was running a chain tensioner and there might be an inner chain ring there......hmmm. 

Of course, I did see a smattering of actual "gravel bikes". There were your Warbirds, Vayas, and Tamlands running out there along with some other gravel rigs from other brands.

Again, not all the bicycles even made it to Cherry Grove. There was the Stiller tandem, which I heard broke down, and likely a lot of other, super cool bicycles, (and people, obviously), that didn't get to Cherry Grove or who just rode on by like Greg Gleason did on his Cutthroat. So, I am not saying this is a definitive listing at all, but it is what I saw.

Thanks again to the Almanzo folks, Penn Cycles, and the Spring Valley Tourism board for letting RidingGravel.com come and be the sponsor of the Cherry Grove stop. We are tentatively scheduled to do it again next year. Let's hope for better weather next time!

Almanzo Report: Cherry Grove Checkpoint

Jacob waiting in the cold rain and wind for things to get started.

The Almanzo 100, probably one of the most classic of gravel road events, was held again this past weekend up in Spring Valley, Minnesota. The 11th running of this event was marked by some brutal conditions. My son, Jacob, and I were up to help with the RidingGravel.com Cherry Grove Checkpoint. This is the tale of the day as I saw it....

Our trip was arranged so that we could ride up and back again with my friend Marty in his Ford Flex. Marty picked us up at 7:00am and we hightailed it up North, raining and blowing all the way. Marty had an intrepid attitude going in to this event and he seemed to be well prepared for the day. He dumped us off in Cherry Grove at about 8:30 am and headed off to find his starting spot in the event.

We were left in the forlorn looking town made even more dreary by the cold, wind driven rain which was slashing down and drowning everything in a heat sucking, watery curse. Only the robins seemed pleased as they hopped about, joyfully chirping as they pulled doomed earthworms out of the water-logged ground. Whomever showed up for this Almanzo was in for a brutal day, that was for sure.

Jacob and I shivered and milled about as best we could, trying to stay warm and engaged with each other. Actually, with the sub-40 degree temperatures, the wet air, and the strong winds, I was already going in to the throes of hypothermia after only being there about an hour. My chest ached and I tried to do some exercises to get the blood pumping again. Fortunately, after a little over an hour, Ben and Matt showed up with all the supplies and we set about to getting the checkpoint operable.

Matt chats with Troy from the USECF Gravel Nationals

Ben scored the use of this fire pit from the local Spring Valley hardware store owner. It was much appreciated!

We set about to getting some shelter up first of all. It  was a pop up tent given to Ben to use by Surly Brewing. The work was welcomed by Jacob and I and it helped to warm me right up. I think had I had to stand out there much longer I might have been in trouble. The work went fast with many hands. We were joined in our efforts by Troy from the USECF Gravel Nationals (If you haven't heard of Gravel Nationals, I recommend listening to this podcast) Matt and Ben also helped a lot to get the checkpoint looking like something within a short period of time. Matt kicked right in to frying bacon and my son assisted him in that task. Meanwhile, Ben and I got a fire going in a borrowed fire pit that Ben had secured from the local hardware store owner in Spring Valley. Not long afterward, the man from Cherry Grove in charge of taking care of the community center stopped by and opened up the place which had heat and a clean, dry place to sit. Now we were ready for the first riders.

First rider through.

The first seven riders trickled through within an hour or so of each other and then it took a long time before we saw anyone else.

Suddenly a call went up that there was a rider spotted. He was all alone and looked a little unhappy, but who wouldn't be in those conditions? Anyway, it was quite a few minutes before we saw another pair, then quite a few minutes more before we saw another lone rider. Finally, we had about seven go through within about an hour or so of each other, then nothing for a long time.

Meanwhile we went in to the community center, which was a country school from the 1880's to 1954, and warmed up by the gas furnace. We "cooked" our wet clothes on top, just like we used to do back when I was a kid at many of my relative's country homes when we would get wet playing in the snow as kids.

(L-R) Sam Cohen, Troy from Gravel Nationals, and Ben Welnak gathered under the tarp behind the RadTour's Sprinter van.

We noted a Sprinter van which pulled up, set out a big, blue tarp, and had a dog cavorting about. It was Audrey Wiedemier and Sam Cohen who were helping support some folks, I believe, on the Almanzo. Anyway, Audrey has a touring business going where she takes folks on short, mixed gravel and pavement routes to farms where the idea is to get local produce and meats to eat. I probably have some of that wrong, but maybe someone could comment on this post and set me straight?

Anyway, Audrey and Sam had tea and were very gracious to anyone who ducked under their blue tarp for shelter. And we needed all the shelter we could get. It blew hard and rained a lot most of the day.

Riders that stopped by at the checkpoint were treated to a warm fire and lots of attention from the bystanders.

Jason O'Mahoney of Gravel Cyclist avails himself of the hospitality at the RidingGravel.com food table.

We were told by Pat Sorensen of Penn Cycles that "everybody is dropping out..." and while we didn't know exactly what that meant, we had only seen about 15 cyclists by 3:00pm! However; a slug of bikers were spotted, and then a slow trickle of wet, weary cyclists were coming by in ones and twos until probably around 5:30 or so. By that time we were seeing a few of the Royal 162 riders, of which there were only seven or so left of that started the event. One of them, the leader, Greg Gleason, went steaming by on his distinctive Salsa Cycles Cutthroat. He looked really strong.

I was told by Joel Raygor that Ben Mullin, who was in Trans Iowa v13 this year, had a "special gift" which he was carrying for me and that I should wait for him to reach Cherry Grove. By this point, Marty, who had abandoned in Preston, was there waiting with our ride back to Waterloo. It was a great thing that Marty was so amenable to the idea of waiting around a bit longer. Thanks Marty!! In fact, Marty ended up giving a local to us rider a hitch back to the starting line. So, it all worked out.

Me (L) and Ben Mullin, who hauled this sixer of beer for 100 plus miles in his hydration pack to give to me. Photo by Martin Bunge

Ben eventually rolled in with a few other riders and proceeded to dislodge six cans of craft beer which he had hauled around the Royal course to give to me along with a movie pass for my wife. What a guy! Don't try this at home kids, because hauling around all that extra weight in those conditions was a handicap Ben didn't need. That was super awesome of him to do and I won't soon forget about that.

Well, a few more riders came around after that, but according to the report we had from Joel Raygor, the last of the riders were to arrive very soon. I have no hard numbers on how many folks went by us. I lost track at 25-30, but I would be very surprised if more than 75 riders passed us at Cherry Grove. (NOTE: Initial Almanzo tabulations show 110. I find that hard to fathom myself.) It was a very difficult day, and many made a wiser decision for themselves and pulled out after shorter rides, or decided not to come at all. Ben Welnak, who was at the start, said maybe 300 folks were in Spring Valley to start the event Saturday. So, obviously this unseasonably cold, wet, windy weather has had a big effect upon the turnout and the finishing numbers.

Martin took us home and we arrived shortly before sunset. Probably about a ten hour day of exposure for myself and my son, but we had a blast and we hope that our "gravel family" had a good time despite the conditions. I look forward to seeing many of you again and more at the Dirty Kanza 200 in a couple of weeks from now. Hopefully the nasty weather will leave us alone!

Thank You: To Ben Welnak and Matt McCauley of RidingGravel.com, to Troy of the USECF Gravel Worlds, Penn Cycles, The Spring Valley Tourism Board, The Cherry Grove Community Center, Surly Brewing Company, and especially to all of the outstanding Almanzo riders. Thanks to all that came to hang out with us at the checkpoint. It was wonderful to have been with you all. #gravelfamily Finally- A big Thank You to Martin Bunge for the transportation and great conversation.

Almanzo Report: Cherry Grove Checkpoint

Jacob waiting in the cold rain and wind for things to get started.

The Almanzo 100, probably one of the most classic of gravel road events, was held again this past weekend up in Spring Valley, Minnesota. The 11th running of this event was marked by some brutal conditions. My son, Jacob, and I were up to help with the RidingGravel.com Cherry Grove Checkpoint. This is the tale of the day as I saw it....

Our trip was arranged so that we could ride up and back again with my friend Marty in his Ford Flex. Marty picked us up at 7:00am and we hightailed it up North, raining and blowing all the way. Marty had an intrepid attitude going in to this event and he seemed to be well prepared for the day. He dumped us off in Cherry Grove at about 8:30 am and headed off to find his starting spot in the event.

We were left in the forlorn looking town made even more dreary by the cold, wind driven rain which was slashing down and drowning everything in a heat sucking, watery curse. Only the robins seemed pleased as they hopped about, joyfully chirping as they pulled doomed earthworms out of the water-logged ground. Whomever showed up for this Almanzo was in for a brutal day, that was for sure.

Jacob and I shivered and milled about as best we could, trying to stay warm and engaged with each other. Actually, with the sub-40 degree temperatures, the wet air, and the strong winds, I was already going in to the throes of hypothermia after only being there about an hour. My chest ached and I tried to do some exercises to get the blood pumping again. Fortunately, after a little over an hour, Ben and Matt showed up with all the supplies and we set about to getting the checkpoint operable.

Matt chats with Troy from the USECF Gravel Nationals

Ben scored the use of this fire pit from the local Spring Valley hardware store owner. It was much appreciated!

We set about to getting some shelter up first of all. It  was a pop up tent given to Ben to use by Surly Brewing. The work was welcomed by Jacob and I and it helped to warm me right up. I think had I had to stand out there much longer I might have been in trouble. The work went fast with many hands. We were joined in our efforts by Troy from the USECF Gravel Nationals (If you haven't heard of Gravel Nationals, I recommend listening to this podcast) Matt and Ben also helped a lot to get the checkpoint looking like something within a short period of time. Matt kicked right in to frying bacon and my son assisted him in that task. Meanwhile, Ben and I got a fire going in a borrowed fire pit that Ben had secured from the local hardware store owner in Spring Valley. Not long afterward, the man from Cherry Grove in charge of taking care of the community center stopped by and opened up the place which had heat and a clean, dry place to sit. Now we were ready for the first riders.

First rider through.

The first seven riders trickled through within an hour or so of each other and then it took a long time before we saw anyone else.

Suddenly a call went up that there was a rider spotted. He was all alone and looked a little unhappy, but who wouldn't be in those conditions? Anyway, it was quite a few minutes before we saw another pair, then quite a few minutes more before we saw another lone rider. Finally, we had about seven go through within about an hour or so of each other, then nothing for a long time.

Meanwhile we went in to the community center, which was a country school from the 1880's to 1954, and warmed up by the gas furnace. We "cooked" our wet clothes on top, just like we used to do back when I was a kid at many of my relative's country homes when we would get wet playing in the snow as kids.

(L-R) Sam Cohen, Troy from Gravel Nationals, and Ben Welnak gathered under the tarp behind the RadTour's Sprinter van.

We noted a Sprinter van which pulled up, set out a big, blue tarp, and had a dog cavorting about. It was Audrey Wiedemier and Sam Cohen who were helping support some folks, I believe, on the Almanzo. Anyway, Audrey has a touring business going where she takes folks on short, mixed gravel and pavement routes to farms where the idea is to get local produce and meats to eat. I probably have some of that wrong, but maybe someone could comment on this post and set me straight?

Anyway, Audrey and Sam had tea and were very gracious to anyone who ducked under their blue tarp for shelter. And we needed all the shelter we could get. It blew hard and rained a lot most of the day.

Riders that stopped by at the checkpoint were treated to a warm fire and lots of attention from the bystanders.

Jason O'Mahoney of Gravel Cyclist avails himself of the hospitality at the RidingGravel.com food table.

We were told by Pat Sorensen of Penn Cycles that "everybody is dropping out..." and while we didn't know exactly what that meant, we had only seen about 15 cyclists by 3:00pm! However; a slug of bikers were spotted, and then a slow trickle of wet, weary cyclists were coming by in ones and twos until probably around 5:30 or so. By that time we were seeing a few of the Royal 162 riders, of which there were only seven or so left of that started the event. One of them, the leader, Greg Gleason, went steaming by on his distinctive Salsa Cycles Cutthroat. He looked really strong.

I was told by Joel Raygor that Ben Mullin, who was in Trans Iowa v13 this year, had a "special gift" which he was carrying for me and that I should wait for him to reach Cherry Grove. By this point, Marty, who had abandoned in Preston, was there waiting with our ride back to Waterloo. It was a great thing that Marty was so amenable to the idea of waiting around a bit longer. Thanks Marty!! In fact, Marty ended up giving a local to us rider a hitch back to the starting line. So, it all worked out.

Me (L) and Ben Mullin, who hauled this sixer of beer for 100 plus miles in his hydration pack to give to me. Photo by Martin Bunge

Ben eventually rolled in with a few other riders and proceeded to dislodge six cans of craft beer which he had hauled around the Royal course to give to me along with a movie pass for my wife. What a guy! Don't try this at home kids, because hauling around all that extra weight in those conditions was a handicap Ben didn't need. That was super awesome of him to do and I won't soon forget about that.

Well, a few more riders came around after that, but according to the report we had from Joel Raygor, the last of the riders were to arrive very soon. I have no hard numbers on how many folks went by us. I lost track at 25-30, but I would be very surprised if more than 75 riders passed us at Cherry Grove. (NOTE: Initial Almanzo tabulations show 110. I find that hard to fathom myself.) It was a very difficult day, and many made a wiser decision for themselves and pulled out after shorter rides, or decided not to come at all. Ben Welnak, who was at the start, said maybe 300 folks were in Spring Valley to start the event Saturday. So, obviously this unseasonably cold, wet, windy weather has had a big effect upon the turnout and the finishing numbers.

Martin took us home and we arrived shortly before sunset. Probably about a ten hour day of exposure for myself and my son, but we had a blast and we hope that our "gravel family" had a good time despite the conditions. I look forward to seeing many of you again and more at the Dirty Kanza 200 in a couple of weeks from now. Hopefully the nasty weather will leave us alone!

Thank You: To Ben Welnak and Matt McCauley of RidingGravel.com, to Troy of the USECF Gravel Worlds, Penn Cycles, The Spring Valley Tourism Board, The Cherry Grove Community Center, Surly Brewing Company, and especially to all of the outstanding Almanzo riders. Thanks to all that came to hang out with us at the checkpoint. It was wonderful to have been with you all. #gravelfamily Finally- A big Thank You to Martin Bunge for the transportation and great conversation.

Friday News And Views

Limited supply. Help me clear out my house of these!

Garage Sale:

Some of you may have noticed that I have a "Garage Sale Page" here on G-Ted Productions. I put the odd part or bicycle up there that I need to move on down the road. I don't always "advertise" that, and some folks have stumbled upon a good deal by watching that page. Anyway.....

If you were thinking that the TIv13 t-shirt was cool, you aren't alone. They were a big hit at the event this year. Unfortunately, I was stiffed by several late droppers from the event that asked to have a t-shirt reserved for themselves. Now, I am stuck with a pile of t-shirts that are (mostly) not my size, so I cannot use them. Maybe you could?

I'm not going to lay it all out here, go to that Garage Sale Page and read it. The info is all there. I'm just going to ask you to help me free up some space here and to help me get these on people's backs so they are getting put to good use. The price is right, (basically cost plus shipping), so you cannot go wrong here for a limited run design in three colors on a quality cotton t-shirt. Shirts will be sent out in cardboard boxes and I may throw in a couple stickers there as well.UPDATE: Thanks for the awesome response so far! I am out of size Small and XL now. Plenty of Mediums, and 4 XXL's as of 7:00am.

 I have some other hardware that I will be putting on the page later on this Spring/early Summer. It is low priority on the "To Do List", but eventually there will be some cool stuff popping up there. This would be all bicycle related, of course. Things like frame/forks, maybe a wheel set, or other parts. Stay tuned.....

 Almanzo Weekend:

My son and I will be spending tomorrow up at Cherry Grove, Minnesota to help support the Almanzo 100 with RidingGravel.com. We should be dodging rain drops, by the sounds of it, so there maybe will not be the throngs of riders that we saw last year. Hard to say. It's been my experience that when you have a free to enter event with a bad weather forecast it tends to put a damper on turn out. 

But regardless, we will have fun. I'm not sure exactly what Ben has planned, he just wants me to show up and I'm sure he will have everything in order. I do know we have a RidingGravel.com banner, the signs from last year, and we will be in a Surly Brewing pop up tent. Same location as shown here in the image, so it shouldn't be too tough to find us. You should be going right by us on the road and we will be on your left side, if you are planning on riding this event. 

And if you are riding, and worried about the weather, well, just go and ride. Any day out riding is better than not riding. Have fun, and enjoy the gravelly good times. I hope to see some of you up there, and if you are riding, or just hanging out, please stop by and say hello. 

I'll have a report on Monday, so stay tuned.  

I will be back grinding gravel in Kansas' Flint Hills again soon

The Next Big Ride:

After the Almanzo support weekend I will be dialing in my rig that I will be taking to Kansas to ride the Flint Hills with. As of now I have no reason not to be doing that ride on anything but my Gen I Fargo, but that could change in a couple of weeks! 

I have a route plan in mind, and I probably will be doing a similar ride as I did last year when I was down there. I'll have to start checking the weather and looking at maps here so I have a better idea of where I will be going before I get down there. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing some of the same stuff I saw last year again. It was good and I am sure I will have to include at least a few things from last year's ride. Well, depending on the wind! I should probably plan an alternative route just in case of contrary winds.

 Okay, that's a wrap. Try to get out and ride, and if you are doing the Almanzo, good luck!

Friday News And Views

Limited supply. Help me clear out my house of these!

Garage Sale:

Some of you may have noticed that I have a "Garage Sale Page" here on G-Ted Productions. I put the odd part or bicycle up there that I need to move on down the road. I don't always "advertise" that, and some folks have stumbled upon a good deal by watching that page. Anyway.....

If you were thinking that the TIv13 t-shirt was cool, you aren't alone. They were a big hit at the event this year. Unfortunately, I was stiffed by several late droppers from the event that asked to have a t-shirt reserved for themselves. Now, I am stuck with a pile of t-shirts that are (mostly) not my size, so I cannot use them. Maybe you could?

I'm not going to lay it all out here, go to that Garage Sale Page and read it. The info is all there. I'm just going to ask you to help me free up some space here and to help me get these on people's backs so they are getting put to good use. The price is right, (basically cost plus shipping), so you cannot go wrong here for a limited run design in three colors on a quality cotton t-shirt. Shirts will be sent out in cardboard boxes and I may throw in a couple stickers there as well.UPDATE: Thanks for the awesome response so far! I am out of size Small and XL now. Plenty of Mediums, and 4 XXL's as of 7:00am.

 I have some other hardware that I will be putting on the page later on this Spring/early Summer. It is low priority on the "To Do List", but eventually there will be some cool stuff popping up there. This would be all bicycle related, of course. Things like frame/forks, maybe a wheel set, or other parts. Stay tuned.....

 Almanzo Weekend:

My son and I will be spending tomorrow up at Cherry Grove, Minnesota to help support the Almanzo 100 with RidingGravel.com. We should be dodging rain drops, by the sounds of it, so there maybe will not be the throngs of riders that we saw last year. Hard to say. It's been my experience that when you have a free to enter event with a bad weather forecast it tends to put a damper on turn out. 

But regardless, we will have fun. I'm not sure exactly what Ben has planned, he just wants me to show up and I'm sure he will have everything in order. I do know we have a RidingGravel.com banner, the signs from last year, and we will be in a Surly Brewing pop up tent. Same location as shown here in the image, so it shouldn't be too tough to find us. You should be going right by us on the road and we will be on your left side, if you are planning on riding this event. 

And if you are riding, and worried about the weather, well, just go and ride. Any day out riding is better than not riding. Have fun, and enjoy the gravelly good times. I hope to see some of you up there, and if you are riding, or just hanging out, please stop by and say hello. 

I'll have a report on Monday, so stay tuned.  

I will be back grinding gravel in Kansas' Flint Hills again soon

The Next Big Ride:

After the Almanzo support weekend I will be dialing in my rig that I will be taking to Kansas to ride the Flint Hills with. As of now I have no reason not to be doing that ride on anything but my Gen I Fargo, but that could change in a couple of weeks! 

I have a route plan in mind, and I probably will be doing a similar ride as I did last year when I was down there. I'll have to start checking the weather and looking at maps here so I have a better idea of where I will be going before I get down there. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing some of the same stuff I saw last year again. It was good and I am sure I will have to include at least a few things from last year's ride. Well, depending on the wind! I should probably plan an alternative route just in case of contrary winds.

 Okay, that's a wrap. Try to get out and ride, and if you are doing the Almanzo, good luck!

Heading To The Almanzo

That's Ben displaying the new RidingGravel.com banner we will have up at Cherry Grove.

Last year through a series of bizarre circumstances I ended up in Cherry Grove, Minnesota on a chilly, super windy day, cheering on riders in the annual Almanzo 100 and Royal 165 events. I took my son with me, and he had a blast. It was a great day, albeit totally unexpected on my end.

Now it is 2017 and RidingGravel.com is committed to supporting the Cherry Grove checkpoint for the Almanzo 100 again. Last year we had minimal "presence" in terms of our name being out there, so if you didn't catch that it was Riding Gravel doing that checkpoint, I totally understand. It was a last minute effort which we were not 100% prepared for, but in terms of what counted to the riders, we did a good job by all accounts.

So, this year we have a banner, and we have those two road signs we had last year, so look for us if you are in the event. We will try to have a good time, provide drinks and snacks like last year, and generally be supportive of the efforts of you, the riders. Stop by and say "hi", if you'd like, or ride by and give us a wave and a smile, if you care to.

We look forward to seeing you, if you are going.

Heading To The Almanzo

That's Ben displaying the new RidingGravel.com banner we will have up at Cherry Grove.

Last year through a series of bizarre circumstances I ended up in Cherry Grove, Minnesota on a chilly, super windy day, cheering on riders in the annual Almanzo 100 and Royal 165 events. I took my son with me, and he had a blast. It was a great day, albeit totally unexpected on my end.

Now it is 2017 and RidingGravel.com is committed to supporting the Cherry Grove checkpoint for the Almanzo 100 again. Last year we had minimal "presence" in terms of our name being out there, so if you didn't catch that it was Riding Gravel doing that checkpoint, I totally understand. It was a last minute effort which we were not 100% prepared for, but in terms of what counted to the riders, we did a good job by all accounts.

So, this year we have a banner, and we have those two road signs we had last year, so look for us if you are in the event. We will try to have a good time, provide drinks and snacks like last year, and generally be supportive of the efforts of you, the riders. Stop by and say "hi", if you'd like, or ride by and give us a wave and a smile, if you care to.

We look forward to seeing you, if you are going.