A Little Bit More On That Stainless Steel Bike

It is a fine rig, that Warakin. A darn fine rig.

The Otso Cycles Warakin I have on test was the rig I rode on the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational last weekend. The review, as it sits so far, for RidingGravel.com can be found here. I just wanted to share a couple things here about this stainless steel thing since it is a rare deal to see a frame made from this stuff.

Now having ridden this bike I have to say that it is actually pretty nice, maybe a bit stiffer than typical steel bikes, and maybe that is due to the fork. What would this bike ride like with a nice steel fork? That would be interesting. However, I probably will never know. It is a test rig and it goes back to Otso pretty soon.

The frame has ginormous clearances for bigger tires. The 45mm WTB Riddlers fit with clearance to spare. That's a good thing, and I am glad Otso figured that out. It does make for a big bend outward at the chain stay though, so if you ride "duck footed " you probably will find your heel striking the chain stay. Other than that, the bike was not an issue for me at all. Everything worked well. The 105 components actually worked better than my older Ultegra ones do.

The Warakin came with a 50T/34T crankset and I don't really prefer that. I rode my Tamland today with the 46T/36T set up and I seem to like that better as a big ring over a 50T. Personal preferences, to be sure, but I found I had to do a lot of "corrective rear shifting" whenever I dropped to the 34T on the Warakin. I do not typically have that with the Tamland's set up.

That all said, the stainless factor seemed to me to be about a slightly stiffer ride, a stiffer BB, and the look of titanium. Everyone said it looked so much like a Ti bike. It really does too. Now why don't they make a Ti bike? They said the stainless frame is a better price and has many of the same bennies as the Ti one would. Okay, fair enough.

A Little Bit More On That Stainless Steel Bike

It is a fine rig, that Warakin. A darn fine rig.

The Otso Cycles Warakin I have on test was the rig I rode on the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational last weekend. The review, as it sits so far, for RidingGravel.com can be found here. I just wanted to share a couple things here about this stainless steel thing since it is a rare deal to see a frame made from this stuff.

Now having ridden this bike I have to say that it is actually pretty nice, maybe a bit stiffer than typical steel bikes, and maybe that is due to the fork. What would this bike ride like with a nice steel fork? That would be interesting. However, I probably will never know. It is a test rig and it goes back to Otso pretty soon.

The frame has ginormous clearances for bigger tires. The 45mm WTB Riddlers fit with clearance to spare. That's a good thing, and I am glad Otso figured that out. It does make for a big bend outward at the chain stay though, so if you ride "duck footed " you probably will find your heel striking the chain stay. Other than that, the bike was not an issue for me at all. Everything worked well. The 105 components actually worked better than my older Ultegra ones do.

The Warakin came with a 50T/34T crankset and I don't really prefer that. I rode my Tamland today with the 46T/36T set up and I seem to like that better as a big ring over a 50T. Personal preferences, to be sure, but I found I had to do a lot of "corrective rear shifting" whenever I dropped to the 34T on the Warakin. I do not typically have that with the Tamland's set up.

That all said, the stainless factor seemed to me to be about a slightly stiffer ride, a stiffer BB, and the look of titanium. Everyone said it looked so much like a Ti bike. It really does too. Now why don't they make a Ti bike? They said the stainless frame is a better price and has many of the same bennies as the Ti one would. Okay, fair enough.

GTDRI '17 Report: Part 4- The Best Was Yet To Come

I Avenue..... Really, this IS a road, but barely.

After getting across Highway 63 we hit some beautiful territory. Some of us saw some deer watching us from a fence row. Wildlife was not super prevalent during the day. We did see a big buck run across our path, a vulture, maybe one hawk, and lots of domesticated animals, of course. So, for as long as we were out there, we really didn't see much for wildlife.

The big climb up to the II Avenue Level B Road was just as I remembered it. Longish, but more importantly, it kicks it up a notch near the end to be pretty steep. The guys were way ahead of me at this point, but I did not mind. I was battling falling asleep by this point, and energy levels felt low. I sucked it up and climbed through the turns and met up with them as they awaited me at our left hander. That section of Level B Road is definitely a great section. Highly recommended to seek that out, and it was getting good comments from the guys after I caught back on. But it wasn't going to even be the "best" Level B Road. That was yet to come.

We didn't have far to go West before we were to turn right at I Avenue. It was not but 3/4's of a mile away from our last Level B, but where we thought the turn should be was masked by weeds. We finally recognized the signage which was back off the road we were on a bit, and in fact, the Level B sign was upside down since the upper bolt was missing that fixed the sign to the post originally. It was quite the scene. No images. You need to go find this before it comes to be a C Maintenance Road, which, I would wager, is not long from happening.

I only offer you the image from my phone, (to the left here), and trust me when I say this road is rugged and choked with weeds in many places. I doubt a vehicle has passed this way in a long time, but maybe I'm wrong about that. It reminded me of roads from Odin's Revenge quite a bit, as far as the rugged nature and decay of the road itself was concerned.

A terraced field in the distance. Garwin was over that ridge to the West....

We finished that road which got rave reviews and then faced a big climb to the West. Garwin wasn't far away and our last rest stop awaited us. I was looking forward to a little more rest there so I decided we should get on with things and we ground out the final miles there without much chit-chat or fanfare. Once we pulled in it was all hands on deck to grab the grub and water we'd need for the last 25 plus miles to get us back to Reinbeck. I felt confident I'd make it, even though I didn't feel very energetic anymore. I grabbed some trail mix, a Coke, some water, and sat outside to relax. No other food sounded good to me at this point, and I only ate half the bag of trail mix before stowing it away.

The convenience store was kind of seedy, but the guys were saying that the bathroom wasn't all that bad. I thought that sounded hopeful, but at the time, I didn't need to use the facilities. New York Roll did, and when he emerged, I asked if he had "destroyed the bathroom". His answer was, Yes. But it's okay. They have Febreeze!".

Laughter ensued.

Well, we couldn't stay there forever, so we finally got up and headed out North to another Level B and then up toward another one, G Avenue, that I had not ever been on before. It turned out to be a pretty good one as well, but not quite as rough as the one before Garwin.

G Avenue was pretty rustic as well, but not as rugged. 

At the end of G Avenue I was greeted again by my waiting companions who were getting rather concerned about my dropping off. I explained about the camera situation and that I had to keep stopping to grab an image. Then I noticed Rob E eating gummy bears. I had a sudden craving and asked for a few. I got four and that really was what I needed. It picked me up and I was back to riding strongly after about 15 minutes had passed after I ate them.

We were closing out the route, but not before several miles of Level B road heading east on 190th. This brought us back to K Avenue and the brutal climbs up to Ridge Road. Rob E and I brought up the rear, and then it was on to Ridge Road to the Northwest. By this time we had about ten miles to go. Well, New York Roll and Robert F could "smell the barn", as they say, and those horses took off, not to be seen again on the route. Meanwhile Martin, Nick, Rob, and I soldiered in to Reinbeck all strung out along the road.

The Otso Warakin at the end of the ride.

Robert had rolled on home. He got in over 140 miles total! New York Roll was already cleaned up and came into the brewery with me, Martin, Nick, and Rob. Kevin was there to say farewell also. He made it back under his own power and had hung out in Reinbeck to see us arrive.

I had a couple of brews and headed out. I would have liked to have stayed and enjoyed the company further, but I was cooked and sitting there any longer would have meant that I would have slept there in the brewery! I don't think they would have appreciated my stinky carcass there all night!

Epilogue: The best Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational ever? Well.....there is a strong case for that argument. I will say that was the best day of cycling in August I have ever experienced on one of the best, most fun to ride routes I have ever been on. So, it ranks up there pretty darn high on the scale. I'd be hard pressed to find a better route, that's for sure. And maybe, we'll never get to ride it again this way. It was obvious that Tama County is making changes, and that Level B on I Avenue isn't going to be public much longer, in my opinion. This route is online, but if you are thinking about doing it, I'd get after it this year. Anyway.....

Other than that, I had a great time with those who came out. Thank you to Martin, New York Roll, Nick, Rob, Kevin, and Robert. We had no serious issues with health or mechanicals. The roads were stellar, the Level B's were fantastic, and I've already told you about the weather. I'll say it again: The best August weather for cycling ever. It won't likely ever be repeated. Glad I got to experience all of it.

Thanks for reading!

GTDRI '17 Report: Part 4- The Best Was Yet To Come

I Avenue..... Really, this IS a road, but barely.

After getting across Highway 63 we hit some beautiful territory. Some of us saw some deer watching us from a fence row. Wildlife was not super prevalent during the day. We did see a big buck run across our path, a vulture, maybe one hawk, and lots of domesticated animals, of course. So, for as long as we were out there, we really didn't see much for wildlife.

The big climb up to the II Avenue Level B Road was just as I remembered it. Longish, but more importantly, it kicks it up a notch near the end to be pretty steep. The guys were way ahead of me at this point, but I did not mind. I was battling falling asleep by this point, and energy levels felt low. I sucked it up and climbed through the turns and met up with them as they awaited me at our left hander. That section of Level B Road is definitely a great section. Highly recommended to seek that out, and it was getting good comments from the guys after I caught back on. But it wasn't going to even be the "best" Level B Road. That was yet to come.

We didn't have far to go West before we were to turn right at I Avenue. It was not but 3/4's of a mile away from our last Level B, but where we thought the turn should be was masked by weeds. We finally recognized the signage which was back off the road we were on a bit, and in fact, the Level B sign was upside down since the upper bolt was missing that fixed the sign to the post originally. It was quite the scene. No images. You need to go find this before it comes to be a C Maintenance Road, which, I would wager, is not long from happening.

I only offer you the image from my phone, (to the left here), and trust me when I say this road is rugged and choked with weeds in many places. I doubt a vehicle has passed this way in a long time, but maybe I'm wrong about that. It reminded me of roads from Odin's Revenge quite a bit, as far as the rugged nature and decay of the road itself was concerned.

A terraced field in the distance. Garwin was over that ridge to the West....

We finished that road which got rave reviews and then faced a big climb to the West. Garwin wasn't far away and our last rest stop awaited us. I was looking forward to a little more rest there so I decided we should get on with things and we ground out the final miles there without much chit-chat or fanfare. Once we pulled in it was all hands on deck to grab the grub and water we'd need for the last 25 plus miles to get us back to Reinbeck. I felt confident I'd make it, even though I didn't feel very energetic anymore. I grabbed some trail mix, a Coke, some water, and sat outside to relax. No other food sounded good to me at this point, and I only ate half the bag of trail mix before stowing it away.

The convenience store was kind of seedy, but the guys were saying that the bathroom wasn't all that bad. I thought that sounded hopeful, but at the time, I didn't need to use the facilities. New York Roll did, and when he emerged, I asked if he had "destroyed the bathroom". His answer was, Yes. But it's okay. They have Febreeze!".

Laughter ensued.

Well, we couldn't stay there forever, so we finally got up and headed out North to another Level B and then up toward another one, G Avenue, that I had not ever been on before. It turned out to be a pretty good one as well, but not quite as rough as the one before Garwin.

G Avenue was pretty rustic as well, but not as rugged. 

At the end of G Avenue I was greeted again by my waiting companions who were getting rather concerned about my dropping off. I explained about the camera situation and that I had to keep stopping to grab an image. Then I noticed Rob E eating gummy bears. I had a sudden craving and asked for a few. I got four and that really was what I needed. It picked me up and I was back to riding strongly after about 15 minutes had passed after I ate them.

We were closing out the route, but not before several miles of Level B road heading east on 190th. This brought us back to K Avenue and the brutal climbs up to Ridge Road. Rob E and I brought up the rear, and then it was on to Ridge Road to the Northwest. By this time we had about ten miles to go. Well, New York Roll and Robert F could "smell the barn", as they say, and those horses took off, not to be seen again on the route. Meanwhile Martin, Nick, Rob, and I soldiered in to Reinbeck all strung out along the road.

The Otso Warakin at the end of the ride.

Robert had rolled on home. He got in over 140 miles total! New York Roll was already cleaned up and came into the brewery with me, Martin, Nick, and Rob. Kevin was there to say farewell also. He made it back under his own power and had hung out in Reinbeck to see us arrive.

I had a couple of brews and headed out. I would have liked to have stayed and enjoyed the company further, but I was cooked and sitting there any longer would have meant that I would have slept there in the brewery! I don't think they would have appreciated my stinky carcass there all night!

Epilogue: The best Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational ever? Well.....there is a strong case for that argument. I will say that was the best day of cycling in August I have ever experienced on one of the best, most fun to ride routes I have ever been on. So, it ranks up there pretty darn high on the scale. I'd be hard pressed to find a better route, that's for sure. And maybe, we'll never get to ride it again this way. It was obvious that Tama County is making changes, and that Level B on I Avenue isn't going to be public much longer, in my opinion. This route is online, but if you are thinking about doing it, I'd get after it this year. Anyway.....

Other than that, I had a great time with those who came out. Thank you to Martin, New York Roll, Nick, Rob, Kevin, and Robert. We had no serious issues with health or mechanicals. The roads were stellar, the Level B's were fantastic, and I've already told you about the weather. I'll say it again: The best August weather for cycling ever. It won't likely ever be repeated. Glad I got to experience all of it.

Thanks for reading!

GTDRI '17 Report: Part 3- Unexpected Surprises And Big Hills

GTDRI Barns For Jason

The stop at Traer was lingering on and it was getting time to leave. I mean, it was 11:30am for cryin' out loud! Ha! Actually, I wasn't at all worried about time. I got to meet another Mark as a gentleman walked up with a furry dog in his arms and asked about whether or not we were out riding gravel. That led to deeper conversation and perhaps a ride with a fellow graveller in the future. (Thanks for the chat, Mark!)

We had convinced Kevin that the best Level B Road was coming up and it was only 25 miles to our next break. Well, Kevin bit on that, being the trooper that he is, and we set off toward Ridge Road and O Avenue. Based upon the recon I did of O Avenue I figured on seeing that weedy two track that looked as though it would disappear into nothing. It was about as remote and lonesome a road as you could ask for. Unique in these days and times, but 150 years ago, it would have been commonplace to see the roads like that and be "out in the middle of nowhere" for real.

So we went across the low water crossing of the Wolf Creek which was dry, and then onward to the first miles of O Avenue's dirt. Then I saw it......a road closed sign. Well, that was a surprise! Of course, I was thinking it was closed for good. However; when I rolled up, I got a big surprise.....

Ah.......hold on a min!

The once super rustic, weedy two track had been graded, the ditches defined, and vegetation all cleared. It was a gravel road except there wasn't any gravel! It certainly wasn't the Level B Road I saw just two weeks prior. Fortunately the widening only went about a half mile, but the entire three mile stretch had been bladed "smooth". Well, "smooth" if you consider that the grass was scraped off and the embedded rocks were torn from their resting places revealing a million fist to head sized pock marks in the earth. It was rough! Oh well.....so much for the "best" Level B Road on the route! 

 So we came out on the Southern side of that long run and went West and a bit more South on a couple of roads I hadn't been on in years. Then a turn onto N Avenue where I had never gone revealed some of the toughest, most scenic riding of the day.

O Avenue. Bladed! Gah!

Super long climb, (for Iowa), which had to be around two miles at least. Looking South on N Avenue.

That image above is the second to last one my camera got before the battery pooped out. Dang devices! Gotta be chargin' somethin' all the time these days, it seems. So, anyway, I didn't get a ton of images after this point since when I did, I had to get off, pull out my iPhone, and use that camera. I'm not adept at shootin' from the bike with that ungainly, slippery thing!

So, as we wore on into this next 25 mile section, it got kind of hot there for a while, and my legs were feeling cooked, plus, we were still going waaaay too fast! It was an "endurance race pace" when we were riding, and stops didn't last long. Speaking of which, Kevin, who had a body that wasn't having anymore of this nonsense, pulled the plug before the N Avenue climb and headed back to Reinbeck at his own pace. I'll have to go check that climb out again sometime, but I thought it was one of the toughest ones in the area on gravel. So, we were back to the six of us by the time that I decided to plop down in the ditch at the end of that N Avenue climb for a long rest.

No one seemed to be in a hurry to get up and going again, so I felt at ease with the stop and it was good to get a breather. I knew a bit of the upcoming roads, having had them on a GTDRI in the past, and there was one doozy of a climb coming that I wanted to be ready for. We chatted, laughed, and pretty much had the best time up there on that hill. It was a grand day, and we all felt super lucky to have been out riding in what can only be described as perfect weather for August.

So, we finally got off our duffs and headed Eastward, crossed Highway 63, and headed toward that climb I mentioned. The other guys were sprinting away from me, but I had to go my own pace. My gut wasn't wrong, but it felt odd, and I was super drowsy. Usually that means it is time for some sugar, but I had zero. Bummer! On I trudged..........

Next: The Best Was Yet To Come

GTDRI '17 Report: Part 3- Unexpected Surprises And Big Hills

GTDRI Barns For Jason

The stop at Traer was lingering on and it was getting time to leave. I mean, it was 11:30am for cryin' out loud! Ha! Actually, I wasn't at all worried about time. I got to meet another Mark as a gentleman walked up with a furry dog in his arms and asked about whether or not we were out riding gravel. That led to deeper conversation and perhaps a ride with a fellow graveller in the future. (Thanks for the chat, Mark!)

We had convinced Kevin that the best Level B Road was coming up and it was only 25 miles to our next break. Well, Kevin bit on that, being the trooper that he is, and we set off toward Ridge Road and O Avenue. Based upon the recon I did of O Avenue I figured on seeing that weedy two track that looked as though it would disappear into nothing. It was about as remote and lonesome a road as you could ask for. Unique in these days and times, but 150 years ago, it would have been commonplace to see the roads like that and be "out in the middle of nowhere" for real.

So we went across the low water crossing of the Wolf Creek which was dry, and then onward to the first miles of O Avenue's dirt. Then I saw it......a road closed sign. Well, that was a surprise! Of course, I was thinking it was closed for good. However; when I rolled up, I got a big surprise.....

Ah.......hold on a min!

The once super rustic, weedy two track had been graded, the ditches defined, and vegetation all cleared. It was a gravel road except there wasn't any gravel! It certainly wasn't the Level B Road I saw just two weeks prior. Fortunately the widening only went about a half mile, but the entire three mile stretch had been bladed "smooth". Well, "smooth" if you consider that the grass was scraped off and the embedded rocks were torn from their resting places revealing a million fist to head sized pock marks in the earth. It was rough! Oh well.....so much for the "best" Level B Road on the route! 

 So we came out on the Southern side of that long run and went West and a bit more South on a couple of roads I hadn't been on in years. Then a turn onto N Avenue where I had never gone revealed some of the toughest, most scenic riding of the day.

O Avenue. Bladed! Gah!

Super long climb, (for Iowa), which had to be around two miles at least. Looking South on N Avenue.

That image above is the second to last one my camera got before the battery pooped out. Dang devices! Gotta be chargin' somethin' all the time these days, it seems. So, anyway, I didn't get a ton of images after this point since when I did, I had to get off, pull out my iPhone, and use that camera. I'm not adept at shootin' from the bike with that ungainly, slippery thing!

So, as we wore on into this next 25 mile section, it got kind of hot there for a while, and my legs were feeling cooked, plus, we were still going waaaay too fast! It was an "endurance race pace" when we were riding, and stops didn't last long. Speaking of which, Kevin, who had a body that wasn't having anymore of this nonsense, pulled the plug before the N Avenue climb and headed back to Reinbeck at his own pace. I'll have to go check that climb out again sometime, but I thought it was one of the toughest ones in the area on gravel. So, we were back to the six of us by the time that I decided to plop down in the ditch at the end of that N Avenue climb for a long rest.

No one seemed to be in a hurry to get up and going again, so I felt at ease with the stop and it was good to get a breather. I knew a bit of the upcoming roads, having had them on a GTDRI in the past, and there was one doozy of a climb coming that I wanted to be ready for. We chatted, laughed, and pretty much had the best time up there on that hill. It was a grand day, and we all felt super lucky to have been out riding in what can only be described as perfect weather for August.

So, we finally got off our duffs and headed Eastward, crossed Highway 63, and headed toward that climb I mentioned. The other guys were sprinting away from me, but I had to go my own pace. My gut wasn't wrong, but it felt odd, and I was super drowsy. Usually that means it is time for some sugar, but I had zero. Bummer! On I trudged..........

Next: The Best Was Yet To Come

GTDRI '17 Report: Part 2- History And Trouble

Our third sector of Level B Road was fast and smooth.

As we swung back to the South and West again in Benton County, the roads were chunky but the scenery was good. Better than I had expected, actually. Yes......I had never been on these roads before. We passed an awesome looking C Maintenance road I would have loved to explore, but not only did I not have the time, I would have to get permission. Not likely....

There was some scuttlebutt going on between riders concerning Kevin's fate. He was not feeling it and needed to bail. Apparently New York Roll was saying he would escort Kevin back to Reinbeck, but Kevin would have none of it. Instead, he asked for a route to Traer where we planned to end up for our lunch stop. That was a pretty easy 10-ish miles from where we were. So, a parting point was identified and Kevin was all set to find his own way to meet with us later. It was hoped that he could manage to rest up enough to ride more.

So with that discussion over we turned our attention to the next Level B sector which took us back in to Tama County. The plan was to allow a possibility of a stop in Dysart, but if it wasn't needed, we could skirt the town on the West side and continue on South and West. Since we were killing it on time, I decided to just have us keep going. No one in the group seemed to mind either. In fact, it was about around this time that I started saying that we were going too fast and that "We have all day, ya know...." It didn't seem to matter as we still kept steam rolling down the miles as the day moved on. By now, it was much warmer and the sky was full Sun.

There were several of these cement posts at an old farm site.

Nick and I had spied a couple of interesting cemeteries on the ride already. We had chatted about things we had known about some of these places. Then, not long after parting with Kevin, at the end of another stretch of Level B Road, we came upon what looked like a carefully manicured site with strange columns or posts sitting in a somewhat circular pattern. Then when we reached the corner, the road was marked at its entrance with two more of these.

Well, cameras came out and we were wondering about this strange place. There was a sign with a couple's name, Richard and Barb Winterroth, a Century Farm designation, and the words "Schwinheit Acres". There were no buildings left on the premises, but it was obvious that someone was taking care of the posts that now stood as sentinels to someone's past lives here.

I tried to do a bit of online research on the name, but came up empty handed. At any rate, it was a fascinating find on the route, and again, obviously on a road I had never been on before. This is the sort of thing that makes me keep wanting to explore the gravel roads of Iowa. You just never know what you might come across. Sure, you get miles of nothing that great, but when you find that gem mouldering away in the middle of nowhere, it is gold.

We headed Westward at this point. We were just North of Clutier at this point in the route and we were to be heading over to a Level B Road I had used on another Death Ride, but this time we would be going the opposite direction. Along the way we saw some amazing flowers in the ditch. I also was a bit confused here since I had obviously not written down a cue. I knew I was off, but others had the GPS track, so we figured it out okay. Blame the late night rush to get cues written up after I found out the printers were out of ink!

Some good flower action just North of Clutier, Iowa

This Level B Road kicked up pretty steeply at the end to a turn on to R Avenue.

The Level B North of Clutier wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. We seemed to tame that hill quite nicely. Then it was a fast down hill Northward on R Avenue toward our last miles to Traer where we were to hook back up with Kevin and stop for resupply. It was early still- about 10:00am, and we  would probably pull off 50 miles well before noon. Of course, it was the weather which was to blame here. The unprecedented coolness and low humidity was awesome. But then someone said "Flat tire!", and we had to stop again.

New York Roll was having a tire issue. Fortunately it resolved itself and he was able to continue.

New York Roll was having an issue with a leaky rear tire. He had to stop and pump it up, checked to see that the sealant had sealed it up, and then we were off again. He also was already suffering from a creaky Press Fit 30 bottom bracket, which would squawk any time he got out of the saddle to pedal hard. Actually, that wasn't all. He would also have a loose front Center Lock rotor clanging off and on between tightenings as the ride wore on.

The last B road before lunch was just South of Traer.

 One last Level B Road before Traer and it was a good one. I kind of forgot about all the Level B's I had put into this route, so it was a nice surprise to turn and find a Level B road sign waiting for us. This last road was one of the nice surprises!

We pulled in to Traer before 11:00am, and I had to remind a couple of the guys this was the "lunch" stop! We had been making such good time that it seemed lunch should be up the road yet, but it wasn't. Traer was it. Kevin found us and we all had a nice rest before heading back out for what I thought would be the best Level B roads on the course.

Next Part 3- Unexpected Surprises And Big Hills.

GTDRI '17 Report: Part 2- History And Trouble

Our third sector of Level B Road was fast and smooth.

As we swung back to the South and West again in Benton County, the roads were chunky but the scenery was good. Better than I had expected, actually. Yes......I had never been on these roads before. We passed an awesome looking C Maintenance road I would have loved to explore, but not only did I not have the time, I would have to get permission. Not likely....

There was some scuttlebutt going on between riders concerning Kevin's fate. He was not feeling it and needed to bail. Apparently New York Roll was saying he would escort Kevin back to Reinbeck, but Kevin would have none of it. Instead, he asked for a route to Traer where we planned to end up for our lunch stop. That was a pretty easy 10-ish miles from where we were. So, a parting point was identified and Kevin was all set to find his own way to meet with us later. It was hoped that he could manage to rest up enough to ride more.

So with that discussion over we turned our attention to the next Level B sector which took us back in to Tama County. The plan was to allow a possibility of a stop in Dysart, but if it wasn't needed, we could skirt the town on the West side and continue on South and West. Since we were killing it on time, I decided to just have us keep going. No one in the group seemed to mind either. In fact, it was about around this time that I started saying that we were going too fast and that "We have all day, ya know...." It didn't seem to matter as we still kept steam rolling down the miles as the day moved on. By now, it was much warmer and the sky was full Sun.

There were several of these cement posts at an old farm site.

Nick and I had spied a couple of interesting cemeteries on the ride already. We had chatted about things we had known about some of these places. Then, not long after parting with Kevin, at the end of another stretch of Level B Road, we came upon what looked like a carefully manicured site with strange columns or posts sitting in a somewhat circular pattern. Then when we reached the corner, the road was marked at its entrance with two more of these.

Well, cameras came out and we were wondering about this strange place. There was a sign with a couple's name, Richard and Barb Winterroth, a Century Farm designation, and the words "Schwinheit Acres". There were no buildings left on the premises, but it was obvious that someone was taking care of the posts that now stood as sentinels to someone's past lives here.

I tried to do a bit of online research on the name, but came up empty handed. At any rate, it was a fascinating find on the route, and again, obviously on a road I had never been on before. This is the sort of thing that makes me keep wanting to explore the gravel roads of Iowa. You just never know what you might come across. Sure, you get miles of nothing that great, but when you find that gem mouldering away in the middle of nowhere, it is gold.

We headed Westward at this point. We were just North of Clutier at this point in the route and we were to be heading over to a Level B Road I had used on another Death Ride, but this time we would be going the opposite direction. Along the way we saw some amazing flowers in the ditch. I also was a bit confused here since I had obviously not written down a cue. I knew I was off, but others had the GPS track, so we figured it out okay. Blame the late night rush to get cues written up after I found out the printers were out of ink!

Some good flower action just North of Clutier, Iowa

This Level B Road kicked up pretty steeply at the end to a turn on to R Avenue.

The Level B North of Clutier wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. We seemed to tame that hill quite nicely. Then it was a fast down hill Northward on R Avenue toward our last miles to Traer where we were to hook back up with Kevin and stop for resupply. It was early still- about 10:00am, and we  would probably pull off 50 miles well before noon. Of course, it was the weather which was to blame here. The unprecedented coolness and low humidity was awesome. But then someone said "Flat tire!", and we had to stop again.

New York Roll was having a tire issue. Fortunately it resolved itself and he was able to continue.

New York Roll was having an issue with a leaky rear tire. He had to stop and pump it up, checked to see that the sealant had sealed it up, and then we were off again. He also was already suffering from a creaky Press Fit 30 bottom bracket, which would squawk any time he got out of the saddle to pedal hard. Actually, that wasn't all. He would also have a loose front Center Lock rotor clanging off and on between tightenings as the ride wore on.

The last B road before lunch was just South of Traer.

 One last Level B Road before Traer and it was a good one. I kind of forgot about all the Level B's I had put into this route, so it was a nice surprise to turn and find a Level B road sign waiting for us. This last road was one of the nice surprises!

We pulled in to Traer before 11:00am, and I had to remind a couple of the guys this was the "lunch" stop! We had been making such good time that it seemed lunch should be up the road yet, but it wasn't. Traer was it. Kevin found us and we all had a nice rest before heading back out for what I thought would be the best Level B roads on the course.

Next Part 3- Unexpected Surprises And Big Hills.

GTDRI '17 Report: Part 1- Getting Rolling

The sky wasn't red, so we'd be okay.......right?

The Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational for 2017 was to be a homage of sorts to what the Pirate Cycling League in Lincoln Nebraska does with their annual "Tour of Dirt Roads". My goal was to jam in as many Level B Maintenance roads into the route that I could. Once the route was finished, I had approximately 25 miles of 102.7 miles total in Level B Roads. Not too shabby, I'd say.

Of course, the risk in doing that is if the weather gets wet. Then all bets are off and one quarter of your course is unrideable. Therefore; the weather was on my mind, but all for naught. As it turned out, it was perfect. I doubt that any GTDRI in the future will ever have weather this tranquil and nice. Sure, it was chilly to start out with, Martin said his Garmin showed 48° at one point, but once the Sun got up it quickly zoomed into the mid-70's where it stayed the rest of the day. Humidity was unusually low for August. The wind, while making its presence felt at one point as a headwind early in the afternoon, was really a non-factor. Varying cloud cover meant we didn't get cooked. Weird weather for August, but no one was complaining.

The next thing about the GTDRI is that you never know who might show up. Early in the week I had confirmations for four folks. Three of them dropped out. Then I got one more confirmed rider via e-mail and Friday another came in to the shop and committed. So.....there would be at least four of us. But then you have the surprises. Every year people show up unannounced, which is kind of fun, in the case of this ride. I figured we'd see a couple more folks show up.

One of the unforseen GTDRI riders was Dave Roll

I got up at about 4:30am after a week of not really getting enough sleep at all. It didn't help that the night before GTDRI I found out that neither one of the two printers in the Guitar Ted Headquarters had good cartridges. Bah! I had to hurriedly scribble out handwritten cues and laminate them with packing tape before I went to bed. Another late night!

So, I drove down to Reinbeck and saw that New York Roll had decided to show up for the ride. He's a local, so that was cool, Then Rob E. from Lincoln made the drive up alone with his Pugsley. Nick H. from Iowa City was there with a sweet, skinny tired Gunnar Cross Hairs. Martin B. with his'17 Ti Fargo was there along with Robert F. who had ridden over from Cedar Falls. With me that made six. That was a nice sized group and about the average for turnout on these deals.

We were supposed to head out at 6:00am, but we weren't quite ready to go until five minutes after six. Just then, a Toyota Tundra came wheeling up and Rob said, "Well, it looks like Kevin made it after all." I looked in surprise as Kevin F. jumped out and asked if we could wait for him. So, we were seven riders and didn't get started until 6:30am. Kevin had driven starting at 2:30am from Omaha, Nebraska to make it, so it was the least we could do. Once Kevin was ready we rolled out Southward from Reinbeck to get the ride started.

It was pretty chilly to start, but spirits were high.

We held a pretty good line through the first few miles and it soon became apparent that this group was strong enough to go at a pretty good clip. Robert, who had ridden over, was freezing since he had sweated out and stood around too long before we got going again. I figured an elevated pace would aid in his recovery, so I allowed us to push a little harder than I thought we should be for a long day in the saddle.

The first Level B Road section featured three miles of smooth and fast dirt goodness.

We reached the first Level B Road section with no issues and halfway through we decided it was time for a quick nature break, the first stop of many throughout the day. Then it was on to some gravel travel which led us across the entire width of Tama County until we reached the next section of Level B Road.

The morning miles features mostly flatter and maybe some gently rolling, terrain.

The second stretch of Level B Road just before entering Benton County.

Along the way to the second stretch of Level B Road Kevin was suffering from bad back syndrome, tight hamstrings, and from just being unrested from his long drive to get over to Reinbeck. By the time we'd reached Benton County is was apparent that he was going to have to bail out. Just how we were going to get that done was yet to be determined.

Next: Part 2- History And Trouble

GTDRI '17 Report: Part 1- Getting Rolling

The sky wasn't red, so we'd be okay.......right?

The Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational for 2017 was to be a homage of sorts to what the Pirate Cycling League in Lincoln Nebraska does with their annual "Tour of Dirt Roads". My goal was to jam in as many Level B Maintenance roads into the route that I could. Once the route was finished, I had approximately 25 miles of 102.7 miles total in Level B Roads. Not too shabby, I'd say.

Of course, the risk in doing that is if the weather gets wet. Then all bets are off and one quarter of your course is unrideable. Therefore; the weather was on my mind, but all for naught. As it turned out, it was perfect. I doubt that any GTDRI in the future will ever have weather this tranquil and nice. Sure, it was chilly to start out with, Martin said his Garmin showed 48° at one point, but once the Sun got up it quickly zoomed into the mid-70's where it stayed the rest of the day. Humidity was unusually low for August. The wind, while making its presence felt at one point as a headwind early in the afternoon, was really a non-factor. Varying cloud cover meant we didn't get cooked. Weird weather for August, but no one was complaining.

The next thing about the GTDRI is that you never know who might show up. Early in the week I had confirmations for four folks. Three of them dropped out. Then I got one more confirmed rider via e-mail and Friday another came in to the shop and committed. So.....there would be at least four of us. But then you have the surprises. Every year people show up unannounced, which is kind of fun, in the case of this ride. I figured we'd see a couple more folks show up.

One of the unforseen GTDRI riders was Dave Roll

I got up at about 4:30am after a week of not really getting enough sleep at all. It didn't help that the night before GTDRI I found out that neither one of the two printers in the Guitar Ted Headquarters had good cartridges. Bah! I had to hurriedly scribble out handwritten cues and laminate them with packing tape before I went to bed. Another late night!

So, I drove down to Reinbeck and saw that New York Roll had decided to show up for the ride. He's a local, so that was cool, Then Rob E. from Lincoln made the drive up alone with his Pugsley. Nick H. from Iowa City was there with a sweet, skinny tired Gunnar Cross Hairs. Martin B. with his'17 Ti Fargo was there along with Robert F. who had ridden over from Cedar Falls. With me that made six. That was a nice sized group and about the average for turnout on these deals.

We were supposed to head out at 6:00am, but we weren't quite ready to go until five minutes after six. Just then, a Toyota Tundra came wheeling up and Rob said, "Well, it looks like Kevin made it after all." I looked in surprise as Kevin F. jumped out and asked if we could wait for him. So, we were seven riders and didn't get started until 6:30am. Kevin had driven starting at 2:30am from Omaha, Nebraska to make it, so it was the least we could do. Once Kevin was ready we rolled out Southward from Reinbeck to get the ride started.

It was pretty chilly to start, but spirits were high.

We held a pretty good line through the first few miles and it soon became apparent that this group was strong enough to go at a pretty good clip. Robert, who had ridden over, was freezing since he had sweated out and stood around too long before we got going again. I figured an elevated pace would aid in his recovery, so I allowed us to push a little harder than I thought we should be for a long day in the saddle.

The first Level B Road section featured three miles of smooth and fast dirt goodness.

We reached the first Level B Road section with no issues and halfway through we decided it was time for a quick nature break, the first stop of many throughout the day. Then it was on to some gravel travel which led us across the entire width of Tama County until we reached the next section of Level B Road.

The morning miles features mostly flatter and maybe some gently rolling, terrain.

The second stretch of Level B Road just before entering Benton County.

Along the way to the second stretch of Level B Road Kevin was suffering from bad back syndrome, tight hamstrings, and from just being unrested from his long drive to get over to Reinbeck. By the time we'd reached Benton County is was apparent that he was going to have to bail out. Just how we were going to get that done was yet to be determined.

Next: Part 2- History And Trouble