Trans Iowa v14: Numbers And Stuff

Who will get the #1 plate?

Numbers Are In:

Trans Iowa number plates are in at HQ now and I get to sort through them and assign numbers to people. But before I get too far, there are some rules for the riders concerning these numbers.

• Number plates MUST be VISIBLE at all times. So, if you have your number pinned to a jacket to start out, and later it gets warm enough to take off that jacket, you MUST MOVE THE NUMBER TO YOUR JERSEY. If, for instance, you have your number on your jersey and put on a jacket, YOU MUST MOVE THE NUMBER TO THE JACKET, But wouldn't it be just easier all around if you stuck the number on your bike and made sure it was secured so it wasn't blown off? Then you can swap around clothing at will without running afoul of this rule. If we cannot see your number you will be DQ'ed, so be careful! I have several observers that will be planted at certain points on course, so we will be watching you! Numbers should be on the handle bars for best compliance to this rule. 
• Numbers Can Not Be Cut Or Modified In Any Way!
• We will provide pins and twist ties which will be available at the Pre-Race Meat-Up.
• Numbers will be picked up at sign in at the Pre-Race Meat-Up. 

Numbers are assigned in such a way that they will make sense to the volunteers and to myself, so beyond that there is no special significance to which number plate you receive. Yes......I have a #1 plate, but I do not have to use it, so there is that.....

My hope is that something will come through soon so that I can customize each plate, but time is running short, so that may or may not happen. We will see. I still plan on writing everyone's name on their plate and that will carry on the tradition I have started several Trans Iowas ago.

Three Q-Pro cue sheet holders specially customized for TIv14.

Special Customized Q-Pro Cue Sheet Holders From Bar Yak:

Bar Yak really outdid themselves this year with some super special customized Q-Pro Cue Sheet holders which are emblazoned with "Trans Iowa v14" on each.

This is something too cool not to be used in the event, so if you are on the roster, you should have gotten an e-mail from me Monday evening detailing how you can get in on the drawing for one of these. The entry period runs through till this coming Monday, April 2nd, at which time I am going to draw three names and get these out to those three lucky riders. That way they will have a chance to dial in the cue sheet holders and be able to use them at Trans Iowa v14.

Bar Yak is a rider driven company and this latest version of the Q-Pro incorporates several updates over previous versions. I have a version of this system and it really makes cue sheets an easy thing to use in any weather condition.

If you are on the T.I.v14 roster and you did not see the e-mail just comment below and I will make sure you get that. Thanks! Winners will be notified April 2nd by e-mail and I will be asking for a shipping address. Packages should go out then the following Tuesday, or at the latest, Wednesday. No purchase necessary, must be on the TIv14 roster to be eligible. Decisions of Guitar Ted regarding the drawing and shipping of these prizes will be final.

Book Raffle:

I also received five copies of Nick Legan's "Gravel Cycling" to be raffled off at the Pre-Race Meat-Up. Whomever shows up at the Grinnell Steakhouse Friday, April 27th and is signed on to ride in Trans Iowa will be eligible for this book.

I also talked about this in the e-mail I sent out and the publisher allowed me to share a special link which shows a bit of the book. The part I got to share was Nick's pre-event checklist, which is timely for the Trans Iowa rider. Again- If you are on the roster and you did not get the e-mail, let me know and I will forward you that.

Okay, that's about it for this update. Recon for the course will happen soon, and then I will print cue sheets and after that I will be customizing number plates for each rider. Then it will be the final stretch to T.I.v14 and another whirlwind of a weekend.

Stay tuned for more soon.......

Trans Iowa v14: Numbers And Stuff

Who will get the #1 plate?

Numbers Are In:

Trans Iowa number plates are in at HQ now and I get to sort through them and assign numbers to people. But before I get too far, there are some rules for the riders concerning these numbers.

• Number plates MUST be VISIBLE at all times. So, if you have your number pinned to a jacket to start out, and later it gets warm enough to take off that jacket, you MUST MOVE THE NUMBER TO YOUR JERSEY. If, for instance, you have your number on your jersey and put on a jacket, YOU MUST MOVE THE NUMBER TO THE JACKET, But wouldn't it be just easier all around if you stuck the number on your bike and made sure it was secured so it wasn't blown off? Then you can swap around clothing at will without running afoul of this rule. If we cannot see your number you will be DQ'ed, so be careful! I have several observers that will be planted at certain points on course, so we will be watching you! Numbers should be on the handle bars for best compliance to this rule. 
• Numbers Can Not Be Cut Or Modified In Any Way!
• We will provide pins and twist ties which will be available at the Pre-Race Meat-Up.
• Numbers will be picked up at sign in at the Pre-Race Meat-Up. 

Numbers are assigned in such a way that they will make sense to the volunteers and to myself, so beyond that there is no special significance to which number plate you receive. Yes......I have a #1 plate, but I do not have to use it, so there is that.....

My hope is that something will come through soon so that I can customize each plate, but time is running short, so that may or may not happen. We will see. I still plan on writing everyone's name on their plate and that will carry on the tradition I have started several Trans Iowas ago.

Three Q-Pro cue sheet holders specially customized for TIv14.

Special Customized Q-Pro Cue Sheet Holders From Bar Yak:

Bar Yak really outdid themselves this year with some super special customized Q-Pro Cue Sheet holders which are emblazoned with "Trans Iowa v14" on each.

This is something too cool not to be used in the event, so if you are on the roster, you should have gotten an e-mail from me Monday evening detailing how you can get in on the drawing for one of these. The entry period runs through till this coming Monday, April 2nd, at which time I am going to draw three names and get these out to those three lucky riders. That way they will have a chance to dial in the cue sheet holders and be able to use them at Trans Iowa v14.

Bar Yak is a rider driven company and this latest version of the Q-Pro incorporates several updates over previous versions. I have a version of this system and it really makes cue sheets an easy thing to use in any weather condition.

If you are on the T.I.v14 roster and you did not see the e-mail just comment below and I will make sure you get that. Thanks! Winners will be notified April 2nd by e-mail and I will be asking for a shipping address. Packages should go out then the following Tuesday, or at the latest, Wednesday. No purchase necessary, must be on the TIv14 roster to be eligible. Decisions of Guitar Ted regarding the drawing and shipping of these prizes will be final.

Book Raffle:

I also received five copies of Nick Legan's "Gravel Cycling" to be raffled off at the Pre-Race Meat-Up. Whomever shows up at the Grinnell Steakhouse Friday, April 27th and is signed on to ride in Trans Iowa will be eligible for this book.

I also talked about this in the e-mail I sent out and the publisher allowed me to share a special link which shows a bit of the book. The part I got to share was Nick's pre-event checklist, which is timely for the Trans Iowa rider. Again- If you are on the roster and you did not get the e-mail, let me know and I will forward you that.

Okay, that's about it for this update. Recon for the course will happen soon, and then I will print cue sheets and after that I will be customizing number plates for each rider. Then it will be the final stretch to T.I.v14 and another whirlwind of a weekend.

Stay tuned for more soon.......

Friday News And Views

Bar Yak Q-Pro cue sheet holders. Image by Joe Stiller.

Trans Iowa v14 : Updates

With a hair over a month to go till T.I.v14 (!!!) I have been pretty busy with things behind the scenes. Cues were formatted and sent to my secret checker who will be going around the course solo to see if the cues really make sense or if they are wrong in spots. Once any revisions necessary have been made, I will go have the cues printed and we will collate them into the batches they need to be in. Volunteer boxes will be set up for each checkpoint, and for this year, the start as well.

Numbers have been ordered and should be here in four days. I will be seeing about customizing these a bit and, of course, be writing everyone's name on their designated plate. Then I will need to print up waivers, a special T.I.v14 "Welcome" letter, and get that packed away.

Prizing is beginning to be shipped here. Bar Yak is sending three Q-Pro Cue Sheet Holders and my intention is to get those out to three lucky riders before T.I.v14 so they can be used for the event. Velo Press and Nick Legan have sent out five copies of "Gravel Cycling" to be raffled off at the Pre-Race Meat-Up. I also have been promised some goodies from Pedal of Littleton, and I have a plan to include WTB tires and some other baubles which will all go to the riders.

Communications will be sent out to riders about the first of the month and volunteers will hear from me shortly after that. Meeting notes will be drawn up and a schedule made to meet goals all through April. It's going to be a busy month!

Wireless Di2? You knew it would happen.....

Shimano Patent Hints At Wireless Di2:

The big cycling media companies have uncovered a patent application by Shimano which seems to indicate that the cycling component company is getting set to introduce a wireless Di2. Current Di2 electronic shifting requires that hard wires run from each component to "junction boxes" and then to a battery for power supply.

While not a lot of fine detail exists concerning just how the Di2 wireless set up might work, one can already guess at the implications of such components. Obviously some sort of protocol for the radio waves must exist. SRAM developed their own, independent wireless standard, but it is not clear at this time if Shimano will use a currently established network or develop their own.

Then there is the functionality. It is obvious from the patent application schematic that one could probably use this as they would a typical mechanical Shimano group, but other possibilities are endless. Remote triggers, assignable functions, and Shimano's own SyncroShift technologies will probably all figure in to the new designs. Obviously, flat bar applications will also be developed which will bring Shimano a leg up on SRAM as that would be second generation Di2 for off road while SRAM has yet to introduce any version of E-Tap for off road. Although I would bet Sea Otter will be where that finally happens this year.

Do you want to run a 42T rear cog with your drop bar shifters? Image couresy of Wolf Tooth

Wolf Tooth Introduces Road Link:

The obvious move by SRAM to eliminate front derailleurs continues on the road side, but what about really low gears? Well, you can thank Wolf Tooth for being a "johnny-on-the-spot" and for making this "Road Link" for the new Shimano Shadow style road rear derailleurs.

Now you can get one of those 11 speed cassettes with the "ridicu-low" rear cogs and then ditch your front derailleur, or be a mad scientist and run a double anyway with several sub-one-to-one gears. Wolf Tooth says the Road Link is,"Optimized for use with 11-36t, 11-40t, 11-42t 11-speed cassettes" and that with a 11-42 it will work, but not to "factory spec shifting quality".

Interestingly I have been running an 11-36T cassette on my Raleigh Tamland for two years with a standard Ultegra 11 speed rear derailleur and nothing else special at all. I also set up my Twin Six Standard Rando the same way. That gets me a one to one ratio gear in the low 36T coupled with my inner ring on the crank which is also a 36T.

I haven't tried that with the new Shadow rear road derailleurs, so maybe that wouldn't work and I would need a Road Link. Or maybe not..... Sometimes we bicycle mechanics pull off stunts that "should not be done" and get away with it where the average humanoid cannot. Hard to say.

Well, we are supposed to get 8" of heavy wet snow this weekend. Yay! The rest of you, go ride your bikes! Have a great weekend!

Friday News And Views

Bar Yak Q-Pro cue sheet holders. Image by Joe Stiller.

Trans Iowa v14 : Updates

With a hair over a month to go till T.I.v14 (!!!) I have been pretty busy with things behind the scenes. Cues were formatted and sent to my secret checker who will be going around the course solo to see if the cues really make sense or if they are wrong in spots. Once any revisions necessary have been made, I will go have the cues printed and we will collate them into the batches they need to be in. Volunteer boxes will be set up for each checkpoint, and for this year, the start as well.

Numbers have been ordered and should be here in four days. I will be seeing about customizing these a bit and, of course, be writing everyone's name on their designated plate. Then I will need to print up waivers, a special T.I.v14 "Welcome" letter, and get that packed away.

Prizing is beginning to be shipped here. Bar Yak is sending three Q-Pro Cue Sheet Holders and my intention is to get those out to three lucky riders before T.I.v14 so they can be used for the event. Velo Press and Nick Legan have sent out five copies of "Gravel Cycling" to be raffled off at the Pre-Race Meat-Up. I also have been promised some goodies from Pedal of Littleton, and I have a plan to include WTB tires and some other baubles which will all go to the riders.

Communications will be sent out to riders about the first of the month and volunteers will hear from me shortly after that. Meeting notes will be drawn up and a schedule made to meet goals all through April. It's going to be a busy month!

Wireless Di2? You knew it would happen.....

Shimano Patent Hints At Wireless Di2:

The big cycling media companies have uncovered a patent application by Shimano which seems to indicate that the cycling component company is getting set to introduce a wireless Di2. Current Di2 electronic shifting requires that hard wires run from each component to "junction boxes" and then to a battery for power supply.

While not a lot of fine detail exists concerning just how the Di2 wireless set up might work, one can already guess at the implications of such components. Obviously some sort of protocol for the radio waves must exist. SRAM developed their own, independent wireless standard, but it is not clear at this time if Shimano will use a currently established network or develop their own.

Then there is the functionality. It is obvious from the patent application schematic that one could probably use this as they would a typical mechanical Shimano group, but other possibilities are endless. Remote triggers, assignable functions, and Shimano's own SyncroShift technologies will probably all figure in to the new designs. Obviously, flat bar applications will also be developed which will bring Shimano a leg up on SRAM as that would be second generation Di2 for off road while SRAM has yet to introduce any version of E-Tap for off road. Although I would bet Sea Otter will be where that finally happens this year.

Do you want to run a 42T rear cog with your drop bar shifters? Image couresy of Wolf Tooth

Wolf Tooth Introduces Road Link:

The obvious move by SRAM to eliminate front derailleurs continues on the road side, but what about really low gears? Well, you can thank Wolf Tooth for being a "johnny-on-the-spot" and for making this "Road Link" for the new Shimano Shadow style road rear derailleurs.

Now you can get one of those 11 speed cassettes with the "ridicu-low" rear cogs and then ditch your front derailleur, or be a mad scientist and run a double anyway with several sub-one-to-one gears. Wolf Tooth says the Road Link is,"Optimized for use with 11-36t, 11-40t, 11-42t 11-speed cassettes" and that with a 11-42 it will work, but not to "factory spec shifting quality".

Interestingly I have been running an 11-36T cassette on my Raleigh Tamland for two years with a standard Ultegra 11 speed rear derailleur and nothing else special at all. I also set up my Twin Six Standard Rando the same way. That gets me a one to one ratio gear in the low 36T coupled with my inner ring on the crank which is also a 36T.

I haven't tried that with the new Shadow rear road derailleurs, so maybe that wouldn't work and I would need a Road Link. Or maybe not..... Sometimes we bicycle mechanics pull off stunts that "should not be done" and get away with it where the average humanoid cannot. Hard to say.

Well, we are supposed to get 8" of heavy wet snow this weekend. Yay! The rest of you, go ride your bikes! Have a great weekend!

Book Review: "Gravel Cycling"

The copy of Gravel Cycling that I paid for has been read now. How was it?

Instead of a typical "Friday News And Views" post you are going to get my take on this new book about gravel cycling called......"Gravel Cycling".

I know, an amazing title, right? But it gets right to the point. The book is by Nick Legan, who you may remember from his stint at "Velo News". Nick is an admitted gravel cycling lover and he also has a penchant for bikepacking. Yes- he managed to squirrel that into a book called "Gravel Cycling". 

So, how's that work? Well, it does to the extent that a certain event is arguably the defining event for the bikepacking genre'. That would be the Tour Divide. The course for this event, early on known as the "Great Divide Race", has been described by one of its early promoters as "a boring gravel route". So there ya go. It fits in that vein, I suppose. Oddly enough, when you read the book it actually does fit together. This gravel to bikepacking leap is more seamless than you'd imagine at first.

And that is really a feat. Nick Legan has basically shown us that in between the go-fast, shaved leg world of road cycling and the full-face helmet wearing, knobby tired world of mountain biking, their exists a realm of cycling based more on adventure and challenges. Ridden off pavement, this realm of cycling ranges far and wide and this is where "Gravel Cycling" is aimed at. The places, people, and gear that help define this genre's place in the cycling world is what Nick Legan has attempted to show us here. Is he successful?

Well, for the answer to that you can click HERE and read my review on "Riding Gravel". What I will say here is that if you are new to gravel road riding, "gravel curious", but maybe never intending to ride gravel, or if you have been reading these Trans Iowa Rookie advice posts all week with great interest, I suggest that you get this book. It's only $24.95, and I will tell you- you'll get more good tips than $24.95 can buy you elsewhere. In other words, just the knowledge within the pages is worth the asking price. But you also get some awesome photography as well. The book is loaded with stunning images.

So, for the "real review", read my piece on "Riding Gravel". But yes- it is a good bit of work and I feel that many who enjoy gravel road cycling will enjoy this book.

Note- I bought "Gravel Cycling" with my own damn money and I was not bribed nor paid for this review.

Book Review: "Gravel Cycling"

The copy of Gravel Cycling that I paid for has been read now. How was it?

Instead of a typical "Friday News And Views" post you are going to get my take on this new book about gravel cycling called......"Gravel Cycling".

I know, an amazing title, right? But it gets right to the point. The book is by Nick Legan, who you may remember from his stint at "Velo News". Nick is an admitted gravel cycling lover and he also has a penchant for bikepacking. Yes- he managed to squirrel that into a book called "Gravel Cycling". 

So, how's that work? Well, it does to the extent that a certain event is arguably the defining event for the bikepacking genre'. That would be the Tour Divide. The course for this event, early on known as the "Great Divide Race", has been described by one of its early promoters as "a boring gravel route". So there ya go. It fits in that vein, I suppose. Oddly enough, when you read the book it actually does fit together. This gravel to bikepacking leap is more seamless than you'd imagine at first.

And that is really a feat. Nick Legan has basically shown us that in between the go-fast, shaved leg world of road cycling and the full-face helmet wearing, knobby tired world of mountain biking, their exists a realm of cycling based more on adventure and challenges. Ridden off pavement, this realm of cycling ranges far and wide and this is where "Gravel Cycling" is aimed at. The places, people, and gear that help define this genre's place in the cycling world is what Nick Legan has attempted to show us here. Is he successful?

Well, for the answer to that you can click HERE and read my review on "Riding Gravel". What I will say here is that if you are new to gravel road riding, "gravel curious", but maybe never intending to ride gravel, or if you have been reading these Trans Iowa Rookie advice posts all week with great interest, I suggest that you get this book. It's only $24.95, and I will tell you- you'll get more good tips than $24.95 can buy you elsewhere. In other words, just the knowledge within the pages is worth the asking price. But you also get some awesome photography as well. The book is loaded with stunning images.

So, for the "real review", read my piece on "Riding Gravel". But yes- it is a good bit of work and I feel that many who enjoy gravel road cycling will enjoy this book.

Note- I bought "Gravel Cycling" with my own damn money and I was not bribed nor paid for this review.

October Monsoon

Iowa radar on Saturday morning. It rained heavily across the state all evening Friday.

I posted about my fat biking experience earlier in the week last week and told you all about how dry we'd been over the Summer and into Fall. We hadn't had a good rain since July and only one decent rain at all in August. Dry atmosphere was also an issue. Typical humidity here wasn't oppressive in August as it usually is. In fact, outside of a few weeks this past Summer, it has been rather pleasant here in Iowa.

But that which is great for cycling is bad for the land and that affects us all. The Black Hawk Creek was one of many indicators that we needed some rain badly. Well, we got it! In spades. It started on Thursday, but Friday was a day where it rained hard off and on all day and most of the evening. Saturday morning it continued. Some spots in Iowa were to receive well over 4" of rain during this period. It was like going from 0 mph to 100 mph in 3.5 seconds. Weather whiplash! Holy cow!

And of course, this happens right when the Spotted Horse gravel race happened. I'm sure the roads were impacted negatively for that event, although as of this writing I haven't heard anything yet. Suffice it to say that the weather over the Summer likely lulled riders to sleep in terms of wet weather preparations. Scrambling for the wet weather gear was probably a common theme amongst the riders going to that event.

Black Hawk Creek is hopefully filling back up with the latest rains

But we needed this rain so while it threw a wrench into those rider's plans and basically hampered any cycling related activities for me as well, I am okay with that sacrifice if it means restoration of water levels to a bit nearer to normal around here. Honestly, I was rather concerned that we were heading for a severe drought, and really, we still could be. We're going to need consistent moisture until it freezes otherwise this will only put off things for a while. Of course, Winter snows and whatever happens next Spring could put all of this away as a distant memory.

But that's the future, right now, this is a good thing. Even though I had planned on doing a bit of Trans Iowa recon. There is no sense in slugging it out on saturated gravel roads in a steady rain when next weekend may present drier, more favorable conditions. Of course, looking at any dirt roads would be quite out of the question as well. So, I will be puttering around the basement Lab and tweaking on some rigs. I have a couple of things coming in for testing/review for "Riding Gravel" and I want to be sure I am all ready to go when the components get here. Stay tuned on that.....

And speaking of "Riding Gravel", I can always while away the hours by working on the site's calendar of events. Or I could start in on my copy of Nick Legan's "Gravel Cycling", a book I plan to review for "Riding Gravel" and here as well. So, I've got plenty of stuff to keep me busy during rainy days.

October Monsoon

Iowa radar on Saturday morning. It rained heavily across the state all evening Friday.

I posted about my fat biking experience earlier in the week last week and told you all about how dry we'd been over the Summer and into Fall. We hadn't had a good rain since July and only one decent rain at all in August. Dry atmosphere was also an issue. Typical humidity here wasn't oppressive in August as it usually is. In fact, outside of a few weeks this past Summer, it has been rather pleasant here in Iowa.

But that which is great for cycling is bad for the land and that affects us all. The Black Hawk Creek was one of many indicators that we needed some rain badly. Well, we got it! In spades. It started on Thursday, but Friday was a day where it rained hard off and on all day and most of the evening. Saturday morning it continued. Some spots in Iowa were to receive well over 4" of rain during this period. It was like going from 0 mph to 100 mph in 3.5 seconds. Weather whiplash! Holy cow!

And of course, this happens right when the Spotted Horse gravel race happened. I'm sure the roads were impacted negatively for that event, although as of this writing I haven't heard anything yet. Suffice it to say that the weather over the Summer likely lulled riders to sleep in terms of wet weather preparations. Scrambling for the wet weather gear was probably a common theme amongst the riders going to that event.

Black Hawk Creek is hopefully filling back up with the latest rains

But we needed this rain so while it threw a wrench into those rider's plans and basically hampered any cycling related activities for me as well, I am okay with that sacrifice if it means restoration of water levels to a bit nearer to normal around here. Honestly, I was rather concerned that we were heading for a severe drought, and really, we still could be. We're going to need consistent moisture until it freezes otherwise this will only put off things for a while. Of course, Winter snows and whatever happens next Spring could put all of this away as a distant memory.

But that's the future, right now, this is a good thing. Even though I had planned on doing a bit of Trans Iowa recon. There is no sense in slugging it out on saturated gravel roads in a steady rain when next weekend may present drier, more favorable conditions. Of course, looking at any dirt roads would be quite out of the question as well. So, I will be puttering around the basement Lab and tweaking on some rigs. I have a couple of things coming in for testing/review for "Riding Gravel" and I want to be sure I am all ready to go when the components get here. Stay tuned on that.....

And speaking of "Riding Gravel", I can always while away the hours by working on the site's calendar of events. Or I could start in on my copy of Nick Legan's "Gravel Cycling", a book I plan to review for "Riding Gravel" and here as well. So, I've got plenty of stuff to keep me busy during rainy days.

Friday News And Views

Nick will be at Interbike signing copies of this book, in case you are there next week.

Book Signing At Interbike:

Next week Interbike starts and it will be the last time it will happen in Las Vegas. (More about that starting Monday)

If you are going, and I know not many of you are, but if you are, Nick Legan will be there signing copies of his new book, "Gravel Cycling".

Again, I have no skin in this game, but I am one of the resources Nick tapped for the book and there is a chapter about Trans Iowa, I understand. So, anyone that is coming here that has an interest in that event might like this book. I know Nick and he is a good writer and he has researched the book well. Check it out in more detail HERE.

I have a book on pre-order so I should have it in hand by the end of the month or the first week of October. Expect a review shortly afterward. Yes......a book review. I've actually written one before. So, this is not unprecedented.

A "psycho-cross" bike

Jingle Cross Is This Weekend:

Okay, I'm going to say it- The whole idea of a "Jingle Cross" before Thanksgiving ruffles my feathers." I just cannot wrap my mind around why this event just doesn't change its name to something more appropos.

But besides that, the pinacle of the "psycho-cross" season at the beginning of the Iowa CX scene instead of at the end, which seemed "appropriate", seems........like a mistake. Previosuly, all the events in Iowa led up to that final crescendo in Iowa city- the famed Jingle Cross! Cold, wet, and sometimes even snowy, Jingle Cross was a fitting cap to the season here. Now?

Now it is like eating dessert first. Why bother with the rest of it? You'll have seen the best and it won't be any better than that. Well.......if you like your CX Summer-like, that is. There won't be any mud, rain, and definitely no snow. The Mt Krumpit and Grnchy Santa will look so out of place it will be silly. But whatever. I don't pretend to get CX at all.

Party on Garth.........

Hoping to go long on this......

Weekend Plans:

Okay, so I am thinking of doing a big, long ride on the Pofahl single speed this weekend. It all depends on how my health is doing. The cold I have is getting better, but I also have ridden nary a lick in two weeks besides commuting and my single track ride on Wednesday.

The idea is to do a century on a single speed. I am not sure if that will happen Saturday or what. We'll see how I feel. I have a route all planned out and the Pofahl is ready and waiting.

It pretty much will be the set up you see here with the addition of the modified cue sheet holder which is a rearranged Bar Yak set up. Water bottles will number four, with one in the Chaff Bag. I had envisioned a different arrangement for water bottles when this bike was built but that detail didn't transfer to reality. I suppose that could be rectified at some point, but that won't happen in time for the single speed century.

Whenever that happens...... Hopefully soon.

Have a great weekend and ride some bicycle while you are at it!

Friday News And Views

Nick will be at Interbike signing copies of this book, in case you are there next week.

Book Signing At Interbike:

Next week Interbike starts and it will be the last time it will happen in Las Vegas. (More about that starting Monday)

If you are going, and I know not many of you are, but if you are, Nick Legan will be there signing copies of his new book, "Gravel Cycling".

Again, I have no skin in this game, but I am one of the resources Nick tapped for the book and there is a chapter about Trans Iowa, I understand. So, anyone that is coming here that has an interest in that event might like this book. I know Nick and he is a good writer and he has researched the book well. Check it out in more detail HERE.

I have a book on pre-order so I should have it in hand by the end of the month or the first week of October. Expect a review shortly afterward. Yes......a book review. I've actually written one before. So, this is not unprecedented.

A "psycho-cross" bike

Jingle Cross Is This Weekend:

Okay, I'm going to say it- The whole idea of a "Jingle Cross" before Thanksgiving ruffles my feathers." I just cannot wrap my mind around why this event just doesn't change its name to something more appropos.

But besides that, the pinacle of the "psycho-cross" season at the beginning of the Iowa CX scene instead of at the end, which seemed "appropriate", seems........like a mistake. Previosuly, all the events in Iowa led up to that final crescendo in Iowa city- the famed Jingle Cross! Cold, wet, and sometimes even snowy, Jingle Cross was a fitting cap to the season here. Now?

Now it is like eating dessert first. Why bother with the rest of it? You'll have seen the best and it won't be any better than that. Well.......if you like your CX Summer-like, that is. There won't be any mud, rain, and definitely no snow. The Mt Krumpit and Grnchy Santa will look so out of place it will be silly. But whatever. I don't pretend to get CX at all.

Party on Garth.........

Hoping to go long on this......

Weekend Plans:

Okay, so I am thinking of doing a big, long ride on the Pofahl single speed this weekend. It all depends on how my health is doing. The cold I have is getting better, but I also have ridden nary a lick in two weeks besides commuting and my single track ride on Wednesday.

The idea is to do a century on a single speed. I am not sure if that will happen Saturday or what. We'll see how I feel. I have a route all planned out and the Pofahl is ready and waiting.

It pretty much will be the set up you see here with the addition of the modified cue sheet holder which is a rearranged Bar Yak set up. Water bottles will number four, with one in the Chaff Bag. I had envisioned a different arrangement for water bottles when this bike was built but that detail didn't transfer to reality. I suppose that could be rectified at some point, but that won't happen in time for the single speed century.

Whenever that happens...... Hopefully soon.

Have a great weekend and ride some bicycle while you are at it!

A Couple Of New Things

This is a new book by gravel aficionado, Nick Legan.

First- A New Book:

Well, I've been waiting at least a couple of years, maybe it has been three? I don't know, but I've known about this book being written by Nick Legan for quite some time. The reason being is that Nick was leaning on me with several questions about the gravel cycling scene and I helped give him some answers/opinions about his queries.

So, now it is almost time for this book to be hitting the shelves at Velopress. However; in the meantime you can pre-order this book from Nick on his site, "Rambleur"

Note: I have no skin in this game other than that Nick may have written something about me or used information on things I told him about. So, order the book, or not. It doesn't affect me. That said, Nick Legan is a good writer, (he wrote for "Velo News" for several years among other freelance gigs). He is a good dude, I've met him a couple of times, and he has always been gracious and kind. He also loves gravel road riding and racing. I actually got to congratulate him after his 2016 Dirty Kanza 200 finish when he was riding his pink Black Mountain Cycles frame.

So, all that to say that Nick is the real deal and I expect this book to be pretty good. I actually ordered up a copy for myself already. I'll have a review of the book here and maybe on RidingGravel.com once I lay hands on it.

Jones Bikes SWB w/27.5+ rear and 27.5 based fat front

Second- A "New" Bike:

Jones Bikes- Love them or hate them, there isn't anything else really like them. I'll give Jeff Jones credit- He has evolved his design and continues to do so. It would seem that he never quits trying to push the design ideas he has forward. Not many can say that in an industry that trashes a design one year and jumps on another the next for their models.

This news isn't all that surprising, but Jeff Jones now has two basic design ideas which facilitate two different ways to approach the "Jones Geometry". The "Plus" bike was the longer, 29+ wheeled bike and then you had the original design with 29"er wheels. Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but that's the basic idea. Now the original was not "plus" rated, but going forward, it is. That bike gets a new moniker, the "SWB", which stands for "Short Wheel Base". It can handle 27.5+ and 29"er wheels and tires. The "Plus" model now will be known as the "LWB", or Long Wheel Base" model and will be the go to bike for 29+ and 29"er applications where a longer wheel base makes sense.

So, the old "Plus" model remains unchanged, it goes forward with just the name change. The SWB is; however, slightly different in that the wheel base was lengthened a bit to accommodate the 3" 27.5+ wheels it was intended to handle. Not by much, but that's the main difference. Here is a super-detailed look at the two models.

I've always been intrigued by the Jones Plus, or now the Jones LWB model because Jones claims that it"...is quite possibly the best bikepacking, gravel road, and general purpose bicycling bike ever made...". Best gravel bike? Hmm..... Well, I'd give that a shot. I do know that it looks as though Jeff Jones went to great extents to make a 29+ wheeled bike work well. That's really what I'd be interested in- a 29+ wheeled bike that works well. My experiment sure wasn't a very good experience, that's for sure!

A Couple Of New Things

This is a new book by gravel aficionado, Nick Legan.

First- A New Book:

Well, I've been waiting at least a couple of years, maybe it has been three? I don't know, but I've known about this book being written by Nick Legan for quite some time. The reason being is that Nick was leaning on me with several questions about the gravel cycling scene and I helped give him some answers/opinions about his queries.

So, now it is almost time for this book to be hitting the shelves at Velopress. However; in the meantime you can pre-order this book from Nick on his site, "Rambleur"

Note: I have no skin in this game other than that Nick may have written something about me or used information on things I told him about. So, order the book, or not. It doesn't affect me. That said, Nick Legan is a good writer, (he wrote for "Velo News" for several years among other freelance gigs). He is a good dude, I've met him a couple of times, and he has always been gracious and kind. He also loves gravel road riding and racing. I actually got to congratulate him after his 2016 Dirty Kanza 200 finish when he was riding his pink Black Mountain Cycles frame.

So, all that to say that Nick is the real deal and I expect this book to be pretty good. I actually ordered up a copy for myself already. I'll have a review of the book here and maybe on RidingGravel.com once I lay hands on it.

Jones Bikes SWB w/27.5+ rear and 27.5 based fat front

Second- A "New" Bike:

Jones Bikes- Love them or hate them, there isn't anything else really like them. I'll give Jeff Jones credit- He has evolved his design and continues to do so. It would seem that he never quits trying to push the design ideas he has forward. Not many can say that in an industry that trashes a design one year and jumps on another the next for their models.

This news isn't all that surprising, but Jeff Jones now has two basic design ideas which facilitate two different ways to approach the "Jones Geometry". The "Plus" bike was the longer, 29+ wheeled bike and then you had the original design with 29"er wheels. Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but that's the basic idea. Now the original was not "plus" rated, but going forward, it is. That bike gets a new moniker, the "SWB", which stands for "Short Wheel Base". It can handle 27.5+ and 29"er wheels and tires. The "Plus" model now will be known as the "LWB", or Long Wheel Base" model and will be the go to bike for 29+ and 29"er applications where a longer wheel base makes sense.

So, the old "Plus" model remains unchanged, it goes forward with just the name change. The SWB is; however, slightly different in that the wheel base was lengthened a bit to accommodate the 3" 27.5+ wheels it was intended to handle. Not by much, but that's the main difference. Here is a super-detailed look at the two models.

I've always been intrigued by the Jones Plus, or now the Jones LWB model because Jones claims that it"...is quite possibly the best bikepacking, gravel road, and general purpose bicycling bike ever made...". Best gravel bike? Hmm..... Well, I'd give that a shot. I do know that it looks as though Jeff Jones went to great extents to make a 29+ wheeled bike work well. That's really what I'd be interested in- a 29+ wheeled bike that works well. My experiment sure wasn't a very good experience, that's for sure!