Ride Plans Taking Shape: Update

A week ago I floated some ideas that I was going to try and pursue for 2023 rides on gravel. I'm not going to recap everything said there here today, so you may want to review that post for context.

I received enough positive feedback on the ToBHC idea that I took some time to research an alternative to the Western border section that has been paved. There is a solution, so that could be implemented and it would add about three miles to the loop. 

However; as I reviewed the original course, I was a bit dismayed by the short sections of pavement sprinkled all over on the Eastern side of Black Hawk County that I felt I had to utilize. I was sticking myself into a bit of a box considering the original idea which was "Mike & Todds 105" ride, an old pavement century loop of Black Hawk County done back in the 1990's I was aware of. I realized over the past week that I didn't have to stick to those self-imposed rules and I could still have a "Tour of Black Hawk County" that was a bit more interesting than what I had done originally. 

So, here's to a completely new course! Yep! That's right! This allows me to try and loop together a bunch of what is cool in Black Hawk County, not just a circumnavigation of it. I will be making a list of things I would want to ride and ride by for sights and see if I can make it into something coherent.

That doesn't mean that there won't be some paved sectors. I know that there are some things I want to show off in far Eastern Black Hawk County that will require some bits of pavement to be included to get there. Notably crossings of HWY 20, as an example. But I'll see if I can work it out so that we have more gravel than the original ToBHC.

Then as far as mileage goes, I want to keep this around a century. Definitely 100 miles, definitely not more than 110 miles. To my way of thinking, some mileage over 100 is forgivable, but doing say, 96 miles? Why so close to bagging a century and stopping short? Doesn't make sense to me. So, a 100+, but not a lot more than that. 

And as far as Black Hawk County goes, I've been on everything gravel and dirt the county has to offer by bicycle. I can say with confidence that there is really not a lot of reasons to ride Southern Black Hawk County, especially in the Southwestern quadrant. Only a couple of things stand out- The Petrie Road Level B section, and the three mile Level B section I used which is actually in Tama County on the original ToBHC route. Otherwise? Meh!  Well, I think so, anyway. 

So, this route will likely be mostly on the East side of Waterloo, but I'm not 100% sold on that until I start trying out route ideas, fitting in the resupply points, and so on. So, I have some work to do and if you are interested in this, it will be a ride that has some visual and historical interest. Not just miles of "on-the-grid" gravel with no real stimulation other than corn, beans, and dust. Although let's face it- There will be a LOT of that too! Ha ha! 

Beyond that there was a suggestion by me that this might be a GTDRI-like deal and there were a couple dates suggested as well. I have no news on any of that other than to say that my first inclination was to get this done in May. I could see this slipping into June, but honestly, the sooner the better for me. It'll keep my feet to the fire, and that's a good thing.

More on this when I have something to share.

Ride Plans Taking Shape: Update

A week ago I floated some ideas that I was going to try and pursue for 2023 rides on gravel. I'm not going to recap everything said there here today, so you may want to review that post for context.

I received enough positive feedback on the ToBHC idea that I took some time to research an alternative to the Western border section that has been paved. There is a solution, so that could be implemented and it would add about three miles to the loop. 

However; as I reviewed the original course, I was a bit dismayed by the short sections of pavement sprinkled all over on the Eastern side of Black Hawk County that I felt I had to utilize. I was sticking myself into a bit of a box considering the original idea which was "Mike & Todds 105" ride, an old pavement century loop of Black Hawk County done back in the 1990's I was aware of. I realized over the past week that I didn't have to stick to those self-imposed rules and I could still have a "Tour of Black Hawk County" that was a bit more interesting than what I had done originally. 

So, here's to a completely new course! Yep! That's right! This allows me to try and loop together a bunch of what is cool in Black Hawk County, not just a circumnavigation of it. I will be making a list of things I would want to ride and ride by for sights and see if I can make it into something coherent.

That doesn't mean that there won't be some paved sectors. I know that there are some things I want to show off in far Eastern Black Hawk County that will require some bits of pavement to be included to get there. Notably crossings of HWY 20, as an example. But I'll see if I can work it out so that we have more gravel than the original ToBHC.

Then as far as mileage goes, I want to keep this around a century. Definitely 100 miles, definitely not more than 110 miles. To my way of thinking, some mileage over 100 is forgivable, but doing say, 96 miles? Why so close to bagging a century and stopping short? Doesn't make sense to me. So, a 100+, but not a lot more than that. 

And as far as Black Hawk County goes, I've been on everything gravel and dirt the county has to offer by bicycle. I can say with confidence that there is really not a lot of reasons to ride Southern Black Hawk County, especially in the Southwestern quadrant. Only a couple of things stand out- The Petrie Road Level B section, and the three mile Level B section I used which is actually in Tama County on the original ToBHC route. Otherwise? Meh!  Well, I think so, anyway. 

So, this route will likely be mostly on the East side of Waterloo, but I'm not 100% sold on that until I start trying out route ideas, fitting in the resupply points, and so on. So, I have some work to do and if you are interested in this, it will be a ride that has some visual and historical interest. Not just miles of "on-the-grid" gravel with no real stimulation other than corn, beans, and dust. Although let's face it- There will be a LOT of that too! Ha ha! 

Beyond that there was a suggestion by me that this might be a GTDRI-like deal and there were a couple dates suggested as well. I have no news on any of that other than to say that my first inclination was to get this done in May. I could see this slipping into June, but honestly, the sooner the better for me. It'll keep my feet to the fire, and that's a good thing.

More on this when I have something to share.

Ride Plans Taking Shape

Some riding plans are emerging out of the fog for 2023

I've been thinking about riding gravel roads again, and this year I want my riding to be about consistency. No huge plans and no grabbing big miles without having a consistent base of rides to build off of. With that all in mind, here are my thoughts going into the year.

Renegade Gents Race: I've been assured that I still have my place on my team and that a lodging plan is available. (Thank you Capn' Steve!) So, that event, which falls on April 1st this year, will be my first "official ride" date for 2023. 

Leading in to that date I want to have put in several consistent rides and off-bike work-out type training efforts to be ready to do this event. Since the Gents Race is about 70 miles or less, I think if I can have a base of several 3-4 hour rides by April 1st I'd feel pretty good about that. Maybe 3-4 of those and several shorter rides as well. That means I have to get going here pretty quick.

Off-bike efforts will include some special stretching and moving exercises I've got planned for myself. Nothing huge, but again - I just want consistency. 

The route for the "Tour of Black Hawk County" might form the basis of another big ride in May

ToBHC/GTDRI? Then I have had a request from a local rider named Josh to ride with me on a big ride sometime this year. This fits in with my desire to bag a century ride at least once this year. Josh and I spoke about the idea this past weekend and I suggested that perhaps the Tour of Black Hawk County route might be a good one to make use of for this ride. 

If I so chose, I need to reroute a bit of the Western edge of the loop. The stupid county had part of the border between Grundy and Black Hawk County paved! Bah! So, to avoid about six to seven miles of madness, I will have to make a big revision to the route. 

And IF I do that, my plan is to run the loop in reverse, so the big miles without resupply are on the front end, and the shorter distances between stops can help get us to the finish in better condition than what I experienced when I did the loop in 2021. 

Double IF: Let's say I find a date in May that you think would work for you to join us. Well......okay then. I am going to allow anyone that can come to join in. It's not necessarily a "Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational", but it pretty much would be. Interested? Drop me a line...... If I get enough interest I may make this "officially official". Or something.....

From the Single Speed Century in 2020

Single Speed Century: So..... Let's say "IF" I get this far into the year and all goes well. Okay, then I am thinking I need to stick in a single speed century ride. I have a couple routes to choose from including this gnarly edition I did back in 2020 with Jeremy Fry which about did me in. I'm thinking this is a Summertime ride and that I would do this whenever it seemed right during June, July, or August.

This may be the bike and set-up, or.....it may not!

The Closure Tour: Sharp readers here might remember this idea I had for a late Summer "over-nighter" tour that I was prepping for. It didn't happen due to circumstances beyond my control, but I have not let this idea go. I feel this needs to happen and for pretty personal reasons which go beyond a bicycle ride. Thus the name of the ride. 

I've got everything I need to do this, I have the bicycles, the route is done, and anytime I have a window to do this, I feel as though I need to just go and get it done. This is high on the list of goals for 2023. I hope that it all works out.

Fat Bike Century: I've done this before, like seven years ago! I have threatened to get back out and do another for years and especially so now that I own the Ti Muk 2. 

As far as a route goes, I have two other completely different routes in mind which I would not use for the other ride ideas here. One would pretty much reprise the 2016 Fat Bike Century while the other one would be an expansion on my Turkey Burn Ride of 2021. 

I like the idea of the latter, but either would tickle my long ride bones and I would have fun either way. The latter idea of the two would require some more route planning and stuff since it is a route that doesn't exist in the mileage I would need, but it wouldn't be any big deal these days to pull something together. Not with the resources at hand today. 

Which reminds me..... Putting together a gravel route in 2005 was a LOT harder! But I digress....

Anywho! These are all huge, gigantic, BIG if's and will not happen unless I start doing the things today to get ready. So, that is the immediate plan. I will show up every day to do the stuff and we'll talk again come the end of March and see where I am at pre-Gent's madness. 

Stay tuned....

Ride Plans Taking Shape

Some riding plans are emerging out of the fog for 2023

I've been thinking about riding gravel roads again, and this year I want my riding to be about consistency. No huge plans and no grabbing big miles without having a consistent base of rides to build off of. With that all in mind, here are my thoughts going into the year.

Renegade Gents Race: I've been assured that I still have my place on my team and that a lodging plan is available. (Thank you Capn' Steve!) So, that event, which falls on April 1st this year, will be my first "official ride" date for 2023. 

Leading in to that date I want to have put in several consistent rides and off-bike work-out type training efforts to be ready to do this event. Since the Gents Race is about 70 miles or less, I think if I can have a base of several 3-4 hour rides by April 1st I'd feel pretty good about that. Maybe 3-4 of those and several shorter rides as well. That means I have to get going here pretty quick.

Off-bike efforts will include some special stretching and moving exercises I've got planned for myself. Nothing huge, but again - I just want consistency. 

The route for the "Tour of Black Hawk County" might form the basis of another big ride in May

ToBHC/GTDRI? Then I have had a request from a local rider named Josh to ride with me on a big ride sometime this year. This fits in with my desire to bag a century ride at least once this year. Josh and I spoke about the idea this past weekend and I suggested that perhaps the Tour of Black Hawk County route might be a good one to make use of for this ride. 

If I so chose, I need to reroute a bit of the Western edge of the loop. The stupid county had part of the border between Grundy and Black Hawk County paved! Bah! So, to avoid about six to seven miles of madness, I will have to make a big revision to the route. 

And IF I do that, my plan is to run the loop in reverse, so the big miles without resupply are on the front end, and the shorter distances between stops can help get us to the finish in better condition than what I experienced when I did the loop in 2021. 

Double IF: Let's say I find a date in May that you think would work for you to join us. Well......okay then. I am going to allow anyone that can come to join in. It's not necessarily a "Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational", but it pretty much would be. Interested? Drop me a line...... If I get enough interest I may make this "officially official". Or something.....

From the Single Speed Century in 2020

Single Speed Century: So..... Let's say "IF" I get this far into the year and all goes well. Okay, then I am thinking I need to stick in a single speed century ride. I have a couple routes to choose from including this gnarly edition I did back in 2020 with Jeremy Fry which about did me in. I'm thinking this is a Summertime ride and that I would do this whenever it seemed right during June, July, or August.

This may be the bike and set-up, or.....it may not!

The Closure Tour: Sharp readers here might remember this idea I had for a late Summer "over-nighter" tour that I was prepping for. It didn't happen due to circumstances beyond my control, but I have not let this idea go. I feel this needs to happen and for pretty personal reasons which go beyond a bicycle ride. Thus the name of the ride. 

I've got everything I need to do this, I have the bicycles, the route is done, and anytime I have a window to do this, I feel as though I need to just go and get it done. This is high on the list of goals for 2023. I hope that it all works out.

Fat Bike Century: I've done this before, like seven years ago! I have threatened to get back out and do another for years and especially so now that I own the Ti Muk 2. 

As far as a route goes, I have two other completely different routes in mind which I would not use for the other ride ideas here. One would pretty much reprise the 2016 Fat Bike Century while the other one would be an expansion on my Turkey Burn Ride of 2021. 

I like the idea of the latter, but either would tickle my long ride bones and I would have fun either way. The latter idea of the two would require some more route planning and stuff since it is a route that doesn't exist in the mileage I would need, but it wouldn't be any big deal these days to pull something together. Not with the resources at hand today. 

Which reminds me..... Putting together a gravel route in 2005 was a LOT harder! But I digress....

Anywho! These are all huge, gigantic, BIG if's and will not happen unless I start doing the things today to get ready. So, that is the immediate plan. I will show up every day to do the stuff and we'll talk again come the end of March and see where I am at pre-Gent's madness. 

Stay tuned....

Fall Views: GTDR/ToBHC - Part Four

Headed North to end this loop.

 With the end of the Level B dirt road section on 110th, I was now taking a right hand turn to go North to finish off circumnavigating Black Hawk County.  This road turned into Grundy Road, the Black Hawk County border, within about a mile. So it would be straight up this for thirteen miles before I would turn left on Ridgeway. 

I tried to count off ten miles to get me to my first rest stop, but with a few sections not having gravel crossings at every mile, and with Black Hawk Creek cutting across my path, I lost count and I ended up going to a point seven miles up the road and resting by the bridge. Then I got back on and saw something that gave me a bit of concern. A "Road Closed Ahead" sign!

I didn't come all this way to be thwarted by a road being out!

 

This was about as bad as it got, so I made it through.

I decided to forge ahead and see if I could finagle my way around or through whatever it was that was going on out here. I then vaguely recalled that some development for a warehouse or something was happening out this way, but I don't recall the details anymore. Whatever! I made it through, although it looks as though we stand to lose several miles of gravel due to whatever is happening out there. 

Now I was at Ridgeway, a busy section of paved road due to its connections and proximity to HWY20, and I had pretty much run out of gas again. I needed a rest stop, but not at that insanely busy corner with cars and trucks rushing by. I needed to go one mile West to take in the 'notch' in Black Hawk County's border with Grundy County. Then I rode about a half mile North and took another break. My legs were shot by this point. Resting helped, but after six to seven miles, I felt my legs screaming and they were weak. So, another six or so miles later, I stopped near the intersection with Beaver Valley Road. 

Of course, the gravel was unrelenting toward the end.

I was having to stop more than I wanted to, and the temptation to take a nap was overwhelming, but I didn't do that. I resisted as best I could. I had come this far and I was going to push through, no matter what. Eating some pretzels didn't seem to help at this juncture. Water wasn't a concern. I had plenty right up until the last miles. Fortunately, I never cramped, but I was tired. Really tired! 

And even though I was stopping more, I still had 'time in the bank' too. I was going to probably come in well ahead of 5:00pm, so I could take my time here and just do what I could in smaller chunks. It was tough to accept that I had so few miles to knock out but I did not have the energy to attack it and knock them out in one sitting anymore.

Cows at pasture.

Getting close now! That's the water tower for Waverly, Iowa off in the distance.

At one point,after dragging myself off the grassy ditch, I saw two cyclists approach me on fat bikes. I gave a wave and they returned it, but they turned to head East down some pavement and never did go by me. Probably a good thing. I was not in any condition for cheery conversations just then!

Off up another hill and now through Finchford, which seemed desolate. I had to stop for a 'nature break' on the West Fork road, but soon I was off again and up into Bremer County as I had to navigate around the Shell Rock River. I reached a corner, just down from a picturesque farm, and threw myself into the grass. I was spent. Down the road, at the farm, a dog was going berserk because of my presence. 

Finally I said out loud to the dog,(but of course, the dog could not hear me), "Okay, okay! I'm going to move on!", as if this dog was urging me on to finish. I actually trudged up the road about a quarter of a mile by foot, pushing my bicycle. I figured moving was better than sitting, or worse, sleeping. Finally I shook myself to my senses thinking that it was madness to walk when I had a perfectly good biccyle to ride. So, I mounted up.

Crossing the Shell Rock River- almost done!

Crossing the Cedar River and to the finish!

There was something that happened right then. I have heard it described as 'the horse smelling the barn'. The sense that I was almost there conjured up every last bit of power I had and I completed the ride without stopping from that point. It didn't even really hurt that much!

I rolled in with a time of ten hours, twenty minutes for the 112.1 mile route. The circumnavigation of Black Hawk County was complete! It was ten after four in the afternoon. (Note- I started at 5:50am) So, I beat my goal and despite a not very pretty end, I was finished. 

I know that is not very 'fast' as racers could probably do this route in far less than ten hours, but that wasn't the point. I was not out for a race. I was out for the challenge and the idea of riding 'around' the county by bicycle. Did it live up to my 'death ride' ideals? Totally. I felt completely 100% spent afterward. So, in terms of my goals and desires for this ride, it was 100% success. 

Thank you for putting up with this tale this week. Tomorrow I return with my traditional 'FN&V'.

Fall Views: GTDR/ToBHC - Part Four

Headed North to end this loop.

 With the end of the Level B dirt road section on 110th, I was now taking a right hand turn to go North to finish off circumnavigating Black Hawk County.  This road turned into Grundy Road, the Black Hawk County border, within about a mile. So it would be straight up this for thirteen miles before I would turn left on Ridgeway. 

I tried to count off ten miles to get me to my first rest stop, but with a few sections not having gravel crossings at every mile, and with Black Hawk Creek cutting across my path, I lost count and I ended up going to a point seven miles up the road and resting by the bridge. Then I got back on and saw something that gave me a bit of concern. A "Road Closed Ahead" sign!

I didn't come all this way to be thwarted by a road being out!

 

This was about as bad as it got, so I made it through.

I decided to forge ahead and see if I could finagle my way around or through whatever it was that was going on out here. I then vaguely recalled that some development for a warehouse or something was happening out this way, but I don't recall the details anymore. Whatever! I made it through, although it looks as though we stand to lose several miles of gravel due to whatever is happening out there. 

Now I was at Ridgeway, a busy section of paved road due to its connections and proximity to HWY20, and I had pretty much run out of gas again. I needed a rest stop, but not at that insanely busy corner with cars and trucks rushing by. I needed to go one mile West to take in the 'notch' in Black Hawk County's border with Grundy County. Then I rode about a half mile North and took another break. My legs were shot by this point. Resting helped, but after six to seven miles, I felt my legs screaming and they were weak. So, another six or so miles later, I stopped near the intersection with Beaver Valley Road. 

Of course, the gravel was unrelenting toward the end.

I was having to stop more than I wanted to, and the temptation to take a nap was overwhelming, but I didn't do that. I resisted as best I could. I had come this far and I was going to push through, no matter what. Eating some pretzels didn't seem to help at this juncture. Water wasn't a concern. I had plenty right up until the last miles. Fortunately, I never cramped, but I was tired. Really tired! 

And even though I was stopping more, I still had 'time in the bank' too. I was going to probably come in well ahead of 5:00pm, so I could take my time here and just do what I could in smaller chunks. It was tough to accept that I had so few miles to knock out but I did not have the energy to attack it and knock them out in one sitting anymore.

Cows at pasture.

Getting close now! That's the water tower for Waverly, Iowa off in the distance.

At one point,after dragging myself off the grassy ditch, I saw two cyclists approach me on fat bikes. I gave a wave and they returned it, but they turned to head East down some pavement and never did go by me. Probably a good thing. I was not in any condition for cheery conversations just then!

Off up another hill and now through Finchford, which seemed desolate. I had to stop for a 'nature break' on the West Fork road, but soon I was off again and up into Bremer County as I had to navigate around the Shell Rock River. I reached a corner, just down from a picturesque farm, and threw myself into the grass. I was spent. Down the road, at the farm, a dog was going berserk because of my presence. 

Finally I said out loud to the dog,(but of course, the dog could not hear me), "Okay, okay! I'm going to move on!", as if this dog was urging me on to finish. I actually trudged up the road about a quarter of a mile by foot, pushing my bicycle. I figured moving was better than sitting, or worse, sleeping. Finally I shook myself to my senses thinking that it was madness to walk when I had a perfectly good biccyle to ride. So, I mounted up.

Crossing the Shell Rock River- almost done!

Crossing the Cedar River and to the finish!

There was something that happened right then. I have heard it described as 'the horse smelling the barn'. The sense that I was almost there conjured up every last bit of power I had and I completed the ride without stopping from that point. It didn't even really hurt that much!

I rolled in with a time of ten hours, twenty minutes for the 112.1 mile route. The circumnavigation of Black Hawk County was complete! It was ten after four in the afternoon. (Note- I started at 5:50am) So, I beat my goal and despite a not very pretty end, I was finished. 

I know that is not very 'fast' as racers could probably do this route in far less than ten hours, but that wasn't the point. I was not out for a race. I was out for the challenge and the idea of riding 'around' the county by bicycle. Did it live up to my 'death ride' ideals? Totally. I felt completely 100% spent afterward. So, in terms of my goals and desires for this ride, it was 100% success. 

Thank you for putting up with this tale this week. Tomorrow I return with my traditional 'FN&V'.

Fall Views: GTDR/ToBHC - Part 3

A field of harvested corn off Mc Chane Road.

Now I was headed, mostly, West as the North and East sides of Black Hawk County had been traversed. I decided on the 'North' route option instead of the South one to get from Black Hawk/Buchanan Road to La Porte City. The two options were similar, but the North route had .3m more gravel and was 1.3m shorter in distance overall. The main thing for me was the route staying inside Black Hawk County instead of getting into Buchanan and Benton Counties. 

I rolled into La Porte with 55 miles under my wheels at 10:30am. Pretty good time and an hour in the bank against my time limitation of 5:00pm. I decided not to go to the convenience store and instead I stopped at the gazebo on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail to rest and swap out clothing. 

By this time it was pretty warm, and a vest wasn't needed. I took that off and rolled it up and stowed it in the frame bag. Then I sat down to munch another half of a PB&J along with a few Dot's pretzel sticks and water. Meanwhile a group of cyclists came up the CVNT and rolled into the gazebo where I was sitting. These were recreational cyclists out for fun. Some of them recognized me as that "legendary gravel guy". I retorted back saying, "Well, I am either legendary or an idiot. One or the other!". This brought a round of "Oh no! You aren't an idiot!", until one of them piped up and said, "Maybe you are just a legendary idiot". 

Fair enough. 

All in good jest there, no offense taken or given. I then packed up my stuff, popped on my helmet, and headed off to hit up Reinbeck Road and a big push Westward. The Sun was riding high now, and the wind, which had come up before I started going West, was out of the Southeast. So it was a quartering tailwind. That was nice! 

Head West. Looking up Reinbeck Road.

 

Some bridge construction on Kimball Avenue near the intersection with Reinbeck Road.

Unfortunately Reinbeck Road was a complete mess of fresh, deep gravel. It was as bad as it was when I started the ride back near Janesville. The deep gravel was taxing my legs and the heat was getting hotter. I also had been distracted by the group back in La Porte and I had forgotten to take some ibuprofen and electrolyte tablets I meant to take. The ibuprofen to deaden my left shoulder pain, brought on by the rough, deep gravel, and the electrolyte tabs because I was sweating a lot by this point into the ride. 

I knew there was a good place to stop at the intersection of Reinbeck Road and Ansborough Road. That's where I stopped and downed the pills and took a bit of a rest from the hard pedaling through all the fresh gravel. Once I left that spot the gravel let up a bit and it was more typical roadway for several miles, which I welcomed. Now I was getting into the Southwestern corner of my route. Here I had to make a detour into Tama County so as to avoid some paved roads. This allowed for a trek through the three straight miles of Level B Road on 110th. 

 A field harvested and worked up already- and there is the rig doing the work off in the distance!

Near to the end of the three miles of Level B Road on 110th in Tama County.

The plan was to stop and eat my last half of peanut butter and jelly sandwich on one of those three miles of dirt. I also ended up taking off my bandana from my head and my Sun-sleeves. It was beastly hot by this point. Like Summer-time, really hot! Worse than Gravel Worlds had been this year. I didn't bother to look at my phone to check the weather then, but later on I found out it had reached the 90's! From 40° to over 90°! No wonder I was cooking! What a wild swing in temperatures. 

But the good news was that I had reached this end of the course by noon. I had 35 miles to go and five hours to get it done before my time limit! I must have been pushing it really hard on Reinbeck Road and not realized how hard I was going. I had bagged another 30 minutes since leaving La Porte City. Crazy! No wonder I felt cooked.

So, I came up with a plan. I needed to break this down into chunks. I decided I would go ten miles and rest. That meant I would have three chances to stop before the end. Okay, let's put this to bed then! 

Next: Part four, and the final chapter to the GTDR/ToBHC story.

Fall Views: GTDR/ToBHC - Part 3

A field of harvested corn off Mc Chane Road.

Now I was headed, mostly, West as the North and East sides of Black Hawk County had been traversed. I decided on the 'North' route option instead of the South one to get from Black Hawk/Buchanan Road to La Porte City. The two options were similar, but the North route had .3m more gravel and was 1.3m shorter in distance overall. The main thing for me was the route staying inside Black Hawk County instead of getting into Buchanan and Benton Counties. 

I rolled into La Porte with 55 miles under my wheels at 10:30am. Pretty good time and an hour in the bank against my time limitation of 5:00pm. I decided not to go to the convenience store and instead I stopped at the gazebo on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail to rest and swap out clothing. 

By this time it was pretty warm, and a vest wasn't needed. I took that off and rolled it up and stowed it in the frame bag. Then I sat down to munch another half of a PB&J along with a few Dot's pretzel sticks and water. Meanwhile a group of cyclists came up the CVNT and rolled into the gazebo where I was sitting. These were recreational cyclists out for fun. Some of them recognized me as that "legendary gravel guy". I retorted back saying, "Well, I am either legendary or an idiot. One or the other!". This brought a round of "Oh no! You aren't an idiot!", until one of them piped up and said, "Maybe you are just a legendary idiot". 

Fair enough. 

All in good jest there, no offense taken or given. I then packed up my stuff, popped on my helmet, and headed off to hit up Reinbeck Road and a big push Westward. The Sun was riding high now, and the wind, which had come up before I started going West, was out of the Southeast. So it was a quartering tailwind. That was nice! 

Head West. Looking up Reinbeck Road.

 

Some bridge construction on Kimball Avenue near the intersection with Reinbeck Road.

Unfortunately Reinbeck Road was a complete mess of fresh, deep gravel. It was as bad as it was when I started the ride back near Janesville. The deep gravel was taxing my legs and the heat was getting hotter. I also had been distracted by the group back in La Porte and I had forgotten to take some ibuprofen and electrolyte tablets I meant to take. The ibuprofen to deaden my left shoulder pain, brought on by the rough, deep gravel, and the electrolyte tabs because I was sweating a lot by this point into the ride. 

I knew there was a good place to stop at the intersection of Reinbeck Road and Ansborough Road. That's where I stopped and downed the pills and took a bit of a rest from the hard pedaling through all the fresh gravel. Once I left that spot the gravel let up a bit and it was more typical roadway for several miles, which I welcomed. Now I was getting into the Southwestern corner of my route. Here I had to make a detour into Tama County so as to avoid some paved roads. This allowed for a trek through the three straight miles of Level B Road on 110th. 

 A field harvested and worked up already- and there is the rig doing the work off in the distance!

Near to the end of the three miles of Level B Road on 110th in Tama County.

The plan was to stop and eat my last half of peanut butter and jelly sandwich on one of those three miles of dirt. I also ended up taking off my bandana from my head and my Sun-sleeves. It was beastly hot by this point. Like Summer-time, really hot! Worse than Gravel Worlds had been this year. I didn't bother to look at my phone to check the weather then, but later on I found out it had reached the 90's! From 40° to over 90°! No wonder I was cooking! What a wild swing in temperatures. 

But the good news was that I had reached this end of the course by noon. I had 35 miles to go and five hours to get it done before my time limit! I must have been pushing it really hard on Reinbeck Road and not realized how hard I was going. I had bagged another 30 minutes since leaving La Porte City. Crazy! No wonder I felt cooked.

So, I came up with a plan. I needed to break this down into chunks. I decided I would go ten miles and rest. That meant I would have three chances to stop before the end. Okay, let's put this to bed then! 

Next: Part four, and the final chapter to the GTDR/ToBHC story.

Fall Views: GTDR/ToBHC - Part 2

Stopped for a 'Nature Break'

 Now with the Sun up, there was that time which many call 'The Golden Hour' when you get that fantastic light for taking images. With zero cloud cover, I was snapping off pics like crazy. It was just too good not to be doing that. 

I also had to find a suitable place for a 'nature break'. Finally I found a secluded area once I got off the first stretch of pavement I had to insert into the route. While I don't like having to deal with traffic, I had gotten an early enough start that the paved roads were fairly desolate. 

At this point I was fairly concerned about making good time, so I quickly ate the half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich I packed for myself, (one half of three halves), and I moved onward after a few minutes. It was still cold, and everything was covered in dew, so now my feet were soaked too. Great! Freezing feet and damp socks. Perfect! But there was nothing I could do about that except to get back on my horse and work again. 

Thousands of these migrating birds were everywhere around at one point on the route.

Just down the road from where I had stopped for my break, near the corner of Pace Road and East Gresham Road, I saw thousands of birds. I am not sure what kind they were. They sounded like red winged blackbirds, but I couldn't tell in the low angle of early morning light. At any rate, it was an amazing experience to see flocks numbering in the thousands as they flew all around me for the space of a half mile or so. 

Now I was working the route South and I knew the roads around here well. The gravel was better too, so I started to put more time in the bank. It wouldn't be long before I would get to Jesup and my first planned resupply stop of the day. 

This barn is worse off than last yer. It won't be there for long.

Another 'nature break' stop provided this view.

I made it to Jesup and stopped at the Casey's General Store there to resupply on water and grab something to eat. I ended up with a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese breakfast sandwich and water. I also snagged a bag of Dot's Pretzel sticks for the road later on down the line. I made pretty quick work of the stop and was out of there in less than ten minutes. 

Then it was a big section of pavement to get to Spring Creek Road, which itself was paved for a couple of miles before it went to gravel. Spring Creek Road would get me down to where I had to cross Interstate 380 on pavement, which just so happened to be on the Black Hawk/Buchanan County line.

People that leave heaters on the ledges outside of convenience stores- Stop it already!

The Shady Grove store on Spring Creek Road

I decided to take the "Northerly Route" once I had the East side of Black Hawk County traversed instead of taking road out into Buchanan County which was paved. Then I would have had a gravel South to the Cedar Valley Nature Trail and I would have then gone Westward to La Porte City. Instead, I went down the paved portion of Black Hawk/Buchanan Road till it went left and I continued straight on the gravel portion of Black Hawk/Buchanan until I reached the intersection with McChane Road and thus ended my Southward crossing of Black Hawk County. 

These semi-tractor trailers were off-loading freshly picked corn. The harvest has started!

A roadside marker on Black Hawk/Buchanan Road

So by now the Sun was fully up and it was much warmer than it had been. I was thinking of stopping to get off my vest but I was so near to La Porte City that I just wanted to get the section over with and deal with all the clothing swapping out there. This would also bring up the next, and final, resupply chance, but I wasn't blasting through the water and I probably wouldn't need any by the time I reached town, a mere 22 miles down the road. 

Next: The South border traverse on my GTDR/ToBHC in Part 3