Spring Cleaning: The Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross

Making it look pretty....

Some folks notion of "spring cleaning" most likely refers to the sweeping away of the winter's filth and grime, or ridding one's self of mathoms gathered throughout the years. My version is much simpler:

Clean the bike you used at the Renegade Gentleman's Race.

It needed it too. I had some gunk stuck on the drive train that required the use of "Euro Mechanic Techniques" to get off. The dusty gravel residue was easily got rid of, but with fenders and the various nooks and crannies that a bicycle has, well.....  Let's just say it turned out to be a muti-houred task.

I always say that if you really want to inspect your bicycle for an upcoming ride for potential issues, or to see what needs maintenance, a good, thorough, multi-hour cleaning session with your bicycle will show you anything that looks iffy. Your eyes will cover every square millimeter of the machine, and nothing will escape your watchful eye. At least, that's if you are not drinking beer while you are doing this!

I thought it might be good to review every bit on the bike as long as I was at it, so here goes:

Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross Frame:

I've had this frame now for over a year and it is impressive. A nice riding, well behaved handling, good looking bike. Only one area has ever bothered me about this rig: The drop outs and their spacing. I wish that the "not-right" drop out spacing would have been spec'ed at 130mm. I ended up cold setting mine to "close" to 130mm because I hated fighting with the rear drop outs while taking a wheel out and replacing it. 130mm seems to me to be the logical spacing for a bicycle like this. Secondly, I wish it had short, track end style drops. Yes- with a derailleur hangar. The rearward facing drops would maybe make taking out a wheel less easy, but would definitely make riding the bike possible if you wango-tangoed your rear mech off in the mud, or just wanted an easy single speed option. 

Otherwise, this bike rocks. (For a detailed review on the BMC, see here)

Going back to this.

  Bontrager Satellite Carbon Fork:

I have been running this carbon fork long enough now to say that....."meh!" It doesn't really do all that much better than the steel one, as far as I can tell. So, I will be swapping out to the steel fork again, just to see if there is anything I might miss about that carbon one. 

Yes, the carbon fork is lighter, but that's all the difference I can find. I don't mind the weight of the steel fork as long as it does something better/different that I like over the carbon one. 

Shimano Ultegra/STX/SRAM Bits: 

I have been running a weird drive train on this bike for some time now. It consists of an Ultegra crank set, compact 50T/34T rings, an Ultegra 9spd long cage rear derailleur, an STX top pull mountain bike derailleur, and a SRAM 9spd chain running a SRAM 11-34T cassette. Nothing to say here other than it works well and I want a smaller big ring! 

Shifters: Ultegra STI/ Retroshift:  

I left out the shifters since I've used two different set ups here. The STI Ultegra shifters are.....well reliable, and Shimano. The only issues here are expense to replace/maintain and the levers rattled against the shift paddles at times. Now I am running the Retroshift set up. Check out my take on the shifters here.

Cowbell Handle Bar: Here's something I get hits on the site about consistently- The Salsa Cycles Cowbell handle bar is awesome. Probably the best gravel grinder bar for geared set ups out there. See my initial comparo with a Bell Lap bar here.

Origin 8 Head Set:  The head set is an "el-cheapo" Origin 8 unit, but it does have sealed bearings, a polished finish, and has been very reliable. 

Velocity A-23 Wheels

 Velocity A-23 Wheel Set: 

The Velocity A-23 wheels  have been thrashed all over the place. Rain, dust, streets, gravel, and dirt have not phased these things. I may have trued these once, but I am not sure. 

Either way, I am fully impressed with the way they have performed, and, rumor has it that new A-23's are tubeless ready. Nice.  The bearings are as smooth as the day I got them, and the free hub body has never hiccuped once. The rims are 23mm wide and give the tires I use a decent base to work off of. They are available in a few different versions too.

Clement X'Plor MSO Tires:

These wheels are currently shod with the Clement Pneumatics  X'Plor MSO tires which I have reviewed here. Again, I have had really good experiences with these so far, and I will continue to experiment with them for the rest of the spring and into summer. Stay tuned for some updates on that in the future. 

Me on the right here....

 The Ritchey post and stem, Bontrager saddle and grip tape, and other various bits and pieces are all functioning well. All around, I have to say that the entire package here is awesome for gravel road riding fun and racing. 

The Future: I originally wanted to do a custom gravel road frame, put all of my geared set up on it, and then transfer single speed duties back to this bike. I still intend to do just that, and I have further tweaks I would make to fine tune this bike to what I would desire. 

That said, if it never happens, the Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross, (or "Orange Crush", as I like to call it), is a great enough rig that I could live with it happily for years. The handling is still great to my mind, and honestly, the tweaks I would make are more to satisfy my curiousity more than fixing any "defects" this BMC bike has. As I said, other than the drop out style and their spacing, there isn't much.....well- nothing really, that I can complain about here.  

So, it's ready for the upcoming gravel road rides, cleaned, no issues found, and all I have to do with it now is ride. 

I intend to do a lot of just that...... 

Spring Cleaning: The Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross

Making it look pretty....

Some folks notion of "spring cleaning" most likely refers to the sweeping away of the winter's filth and grime, or ridding one's self of mathoms gathered throughout the years. My version is much simpler:

Clean the bike you used at the Renegade Gentleman's Race.

It needed it too. I had some gunk stuck on the drive train that required the use of "Euro Mechanic Techniques" to get off. The dusty gravel residue was easily got rid of, but with fenders and the various nooks and crannies that a bicycle has, well.....  Let's just say it turned out to be a muti-houred task.

I always say that if you really want to inspect your bicycle for an upcoming ride for potential issues, or to see what needs maintenance, a good, thorough, multi-hour cleaning session with your bicycle will show you anything that looks iffy. Your eyes will cover every square millimeter of the machine, and nothing will escape your watchful eye. At least, that's if you are not drinking beer while you are doing this!

I thought it might be good to review every bit on the bike as long as I was at it, so here goes:

Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross Frame:

I've had this frame now for over a year and it is impressive. A nice riding, well behaved handling, good looking bike. Only one area has ever bothered me about this rig: The drop outs and their spacing. I wish that the "not-right" drop out spacing would have been spec'ed at 130mm. I ended up cold setting mine to "close" to 130mm because I hated fighting with the rear drop outs while taking a wheel out and replacing it. 130mm seems to me to be the logical spacing for a bicycle like this. Secondly, I wish it had short, track end style drops. Yes- with a derailleur hangar. The rearward facing drops would maybe make taking out a wheel less easy, but would definitely make riding the bike possible if you wango-tangoed your rear mech off in the mud, or just wanted an easy single speed option. 

Otherwise, this bike rocks. (For a detailed review on the BMC, see here)

Going back to this.

  Bontrager Satellite Carbon Fork:

I have been running this carbon fork long enough now to say that....."meh!" It doesn't really do all that much better than the steel one, as far as I can tell. So, I will be swapping out to the steel fork again, just to see if there is anything I might miss about that carbon one. 

Yes, the carbon fork is lighter, but that's all the difference I can find. I don't mind the weight of the steel fork as long as it does something better/different that I like over the carbon one. 

Shimano Ultegra/STX/SRAM Bits: 

I have been running a weird drive train on this bike for some time now. It consists of an Ultegra crank set, compact 50T/34T rings, an Ultegra 9spd long cage rear derailleur, an STX top pull mountain bike derailleur, and a SRAM 9spd chain running a SRAM 11-34T cassette. Nothing to say here other than it works well and I want a smaller big ring! 

Shifters: Ultegra STI/ Retroshift:  

I left out the shifters since I've used two different set ups here. The STI Ultegra shifters are.....well reliable, and Shimano. The only issues here are expense to replace/maintain and the levers rattled against the shift paddles at times. Now I am running the Retroshift set up. Check out my take on the shifters here.

Cowbell Handle Bar: Here's something I get hits on the site about consistently- The Salsa Cycles Cowbell handle bar is awesome. Probably the best gravel grinder bar for geared set ups out there. See my initial comparo with a Bell Lap bar here.

Origin 8 Head Set:  The head set is an "el-cheapo" Origin 8 unit, but it does have sealed bearings, a polished finish, and has been very reliable. 

Velocity A-23 Wheels

 Velocity A-23 Wheel Set: 

The Velocity A-23 wheels  have been thrashed all over the place. Rain, dust, streets, gravel, and dirt have not phased these things. I may have trued these once, but I am not sure. 

Either way, I am fully impressed with the way they have performed, and, rumor has it that new A-23's are tubeless ready. Nice.  The bearings are as smooth as the day I got them, and the free hub body has never hiccuped once. The rims are 23mm wide and give the tires I use a decent base to work off of. They are available in a few different versions too.

Clement X'Plor MSO Tires:

These wheels are currently shod with the Clement Pneumatics  X'Plor MSO tires which I have reviewed here. Again, I have had really good experiences with these so far, and I will continue to experiment with them for the rest of the spring and into summer. Stay tuned for some updates on that in the future. 

Me on the right here....

 The Ritchey post and stem, Bontrager saddle and grip tape, and other various bits and pieces are all functioning well. All around, I have to say that the entire package here is awesome for gravel road riding fun and racing. 

The Future: I originally wanted to do a custom gravel road frame, put all of my geared set up on it, and then transfer single speed duties back to this bike. I still intend to do just that, and I have further tweaks I would make to fine tune this bike to what I would desire. 

That said, if it never happens, the Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross, (or "Orange Crush", as I like to call it), is a great enough rig that I could live with it happily for years. The handling is still great to my mind, and honestly, the tweaks I would make are more to satisfy my curiousity more than fixing any "defects" this BMC bike has. As I said, other than the drop out style and their spacing, there isn't much.....well- nothing really, that I can complain about here.  

So, it's ready for the upcoming gravel road rides, cleaned, no issues found, and all I have to do with it now is ride. 

I intend to do a lot of just that...... 

Trans Iowa V8: Random Thoughts

Warning: You readers will be seeing a lot of Trans Iowa V8 stuff in the next two to three weeks. The event takes a lot of my mental capacities at this point, so......I write about it!

Weather: So we're finally getting some very much needed rains at this point. It is forecast that possibilities of rain exist more than they don't for the coming two weeks, but again- Unless it rains to epic proportions I just don't see how the roads, (besides B Roads), will be very much affected by this. My feeling is that it has been so dry over the past 10 months that the water table is pretty dinged about right now.

Weather people seem to support that feeling having put most of Iowa in the "slight drought" category over the past several weeks. So, my mind says that the worst enemy now will be the county maintainers and the winds. Of course, it always could rain the days of Trans Iowa, but so it goes.....

Scenery: Since Trans Iowa left the hills surrounding Decorah, Iowa after T.I.V4, we haven't had that super-awesome scenery on the ride. That will change this year. If you can manage to ride to the mid-parts of Trans Iowa V8, you will be in for a treat.

The other thing about the ride that will be quite unusual is that most of the trees will be leafed out already. That isn't normally the case, but our early blast of heat in March sped the season up about a month. It has slowed down a bit with the colder temps in April, but look for the trees to be rustling in the wind this year.

Apology: I have to apologize to some folks for hitting them with e-mails after they had already been contacted and said they were out. I missed justifying my computer roster with my hard copy roster and kinda messed up there. Sorry folks!

Thanks to all who have replied to my e-mails concerning the Pre-Race Meat-Up. You folks are awesome. I only have not heard from two folks so far. Those two are Brian Hall and Jonathan Weissman. If you know these two, have them get ahold of me ASAP!!

Otherwise the numbers for this year are down. Lots of injured folks out there this year. I hate to report that, but it seems to be the case. As of now, it looks as though we will see 76 total riders, which includes the three riders that don't count against the roster. As I said yesterday, there are always some no-shows and we've still got two weeks before T.I.V8. How many of you would like to bet that if rain is in the forecast the roster will shrink even more? My money is on shrinkage of epic proportions, but we'll see if rain is forecast.

As of now? I bet we'll easily dip down into the 60's for riders and high 50's wouldn't at all be a surprise to me. It is T.I. after all. This ain't no hunnerd miler, ya know!

Trans Iowa V8: Random Thoughts

Warning: You readers will be seeing a lot of Trans Iowa V8 stuff in the next two to three weeks. The event takes a lot of my mental capacities at this point, so......I write about it!

Weather: So we're finally getting some very much needed rains at this point. It is forecast that possibilities of rain exist more than they don't for the coming two weeks, but again- Unless it rains to epic proportions I just don't see how the roads, (besides B Roads), will be very much affected by this. My feeling is that it has been so dry over the past 10 months that the water table is pretty dinged about right now.

Weather people seem to support that feeling having put most of Iowa in the "slight drought" category over the past several weeks. So, my mind says that the worst enemy now will be the county maintainers and the winds. Of course, it always could rain the days of Trans Iowa, but so it goes.....

Scenery: Since Trans Iowa left the hills surrounding Decorah, Iowa after T.I.V4, we haven't had that super-awesome scenery on the ride. That will change this year. If you can manage to ride to the mid-parts of Trans Iowa V8, you will be in for a treat.

The other thing about the ride that will be quite unusual is that most of the trees will be leafed out already. That isn't normally the case, but our early blast of heat in March sped the season up about a month. It has slowed down a bit with the colder temps in April, but look for the trees to be rustling in the wind this year.

Apology: I have to apologize to some folks for hitting them with e-mails after they had already been contacted and said they were out. I missed justifying my computer roster with my hard copy roster and kinda messed up there. Sorry folks!

Thanks to all who have replied to my e-mails concerning the Pre-Race Meat-Up. You folks are awesome. I only have not heard from two folks so far. Those two are Brian Hall and Jonathan Weissman. If you know these two, have them get ahold of me ASAP!!

Otherwise the numbers for this year are down. Lots of injured folks out there this year. I hate to report that, but it seems to be the case. As of now, it looks as though we will see 76 total riders, which includes the three riders that don't count against the roster. As I said yesterday, there are always some no-shows and we've still got two weeks before T.I.V8. How many of you would like to bet that if rain is in the forecast the roster will shrink even more? My money is on shrinkage of epic proportions, but we'll see if rain is forecast.

As of now? I bet we'll easily dip down into the 60's for riders and high 50's wouldn't at all be a surprise to me. It is T.I. after all. This ain't no hunnerd miler, ya know!

Randomonium

Okay, it's another post of random weirdness.

First off, we have fat bikes, rocks, and tricky maneuvers. That's right folks....fat bike trailsin!

 That's from my buddy John G up in the Twin Cities area. He's quite the trials rider, and he works at QBP, so this is a Surly sponsored gig of sorts. By the way, the rock pile he is working around in the short clip there is the one and the same that I went and checked out last Labor Day weekend with Ben Witt and Curtis the Wrench.

I guess I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for the full version of this fat bike trials clip to come soon.

 Trans Iowa On The Brain: 
Yep. That's the way it goes for me at this time of the year. I think about this maybe more than anything in the final days leading up to this event.

So, here's how things are shaping up. The Pre-Race Meat-Up is almost all figured out. I have to forward the final numbers and menu selections in this weekend and that's that for the preliminary stuff on that end. I've got final cue sheets ready to go to print, but I'm holding off a bit to get a feel for where the roster numbers are going, so I don't print off too many useless sets.

Speaking of that, the numbers are looking to go to a "more traditional level" than I had once thought. Last year there was a record number of starters at 76 riders. This year looked to be going great for numbers, as I had over 90 yet on the roster up until about a month ago. But since then, the attrition has set in, and now we're right at 77 overall, which will definitely sink lower. I always get a few no shows, last year I think it was five. So, you have to figure with a couple weeks to go and with the average number of no-shows thrown in, we'll be down around what we had start back in the T.I.V5 days. Probably in the 60-ish level, I would guess.

More On By-Tor's Skinny Shoes:

I have been riding By-Tor The Titanium Mukluk some more with these Handspun fat bike hubbed, 29"er rimmed wheels. One thing about the wheels I didn't mention previously was how super-laterally stiff they feel.

Those wider flanged, dishless wheels are a major difference in the way this bike rides compared to other 29"ers. Probably only my Enve carbon rimmed wheels can come close.

I had ridden Ben Witt's Potts 29"er with a fat front fork and a wheel made with a Paul WHub laced to a Crest rim, which I would not think would be a good match for a guy my size, but with the dishless front, the Crest was "okay". This Mukluk has a Stan's Flow on it, so it feels rock solid. Even the rear wheel is stable as all get-out.

I know that back in the day, Charlie Cunningham and WTB were really pushing for dishless mtb wheels. Now I know why. I think it makes a ton of sense, and I am glad I have these wheels to thrash on for a while. If you have a fat bike, this is something that maybe you should look into. I was amazed at the difference compared to my other 29"ers.

And there you have my Randomonium for Thursday. Have a good one folks!

Randomonium

Okay, it's another post of random weirdness.

First off, we have fat bikes, rocks, and tricky maneuvers. That's right folks....fat bike trailsin!

 That's from my buddy John G up in the Twin Cities area. He's quite the trials rider, and he works at QBP, so this is a Surly sponsored gig of sorts. By the way, the rock pile he is working around in the short clip there is the one and the same that I went and checked out last Labor Day weekend with Ben Witt and Curtis the Wrench.

I guess I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for the full version of this fat bike trials clip to come soon.

 Trans Iowa On The Brain: 
Yep. That's the way it goes for me at this time of the year. I think about this maybe more than anything in the final days leading up to this event.

So, here's how things are shaping up. The Pre-Race Meat-Up is almost all figured out. I have to forward the final numbers and menu selections in this weekend and that's that for the preliminary stuff on that end. I've got final cue sheets ready to go to print, but I'm holding off a bit to get a feel for where the roster numbers are going, so I don't print off too many useless sets.

Speaking of that, the numbers are looking to go to a "more traditional level" than I had once thought. Last year there was a record number of starters at 76 riders. This year looked to be going great for numbers, as I had over 90 yet on the roster up until about a month ago. But since then, the attrition has set in, and now we're right at 77 overall, which will definitely sink lower. I always get a few no shows, last year I think it was five. So, you have to figure with a couple weeks to go and with the average number of no-shows thrown in, we'll be down around what we had start back in the T.I.V5 days. Probably in the 60-ish level, I would guess.

More On By-Tor's Skinny Shoes:

I have been riding By-Tor The Titanium Mukluk some more with these Handspun fat bike hubbed, 29"er rimmed wheels. One thing about the wheels I didn't mention previously was how super-laterally stiff they feel.

Those wider flanged, dishless wheels are a major difference in the way this bike rides compared to other 29"ers. Probably only my Enve carbon rimmed wheels can come close.

I had ridden Ben Witt's Potts 29"er with a fat front fork and a wheel made with a Paul WHub laced to a Crest rim, which I would not think would be a good match for a guy my size, but with the dishless front, the Crest was "okay". This Mukluk has a Stan's Flow on it, so it feels rock solid. Even the rear wheel is stable as all get-out.

I know that back in the day, Charlie Cunningham and WTB were really pushing for dishless mtb wheels. Now I know why. I think it makes a ton of sense, and I am glad I have these wheels to thrash on for a while. If you have a fat bike, this is something that maybe you should look into. I was amazed at the difference compared to my other 29"ers.

And there you have my Randomonium for Thursday. Have a good one folks!

Keepin' The Rubber Side Down

Yeah.....not good.

You know the saying- "Keep the rubber side down." Yeah, well, it could mean that you should stay in control and not crash and burn.

Or.......it could mean that your rig shouldn't implode on you. Well......it didn't actually "implode', but I did have a bit of a touch and go situation there.

See, I was at the Camp, and just was getting underway, heading up the service road to take the trails in the opposite direction than I normally do. I figured that it might be enlightening and definitely it would be different. Especially with the newer sections that have been added recently.

So......I hear the sound that went something like, "brrrrripppGRACK,sssssnap!" , and I said, "What the....!!" 

I got off and surveyed the trail behind me but saw nothing out of the ordinary, so I took a look at the bike. Ahhh! There ya go. A bent derailleur hangar. Nice! 

With nothing for it but to pop the bike upside down, gromit style, and go for the death grip on the derailleur and twist it back into some semblance of alignment, I managed to get the bike working perfectly again. (Don't try this at home. It takes years of training to acquire the right balance of force and subtlety.)

Deer frolicking in the stream

Well, now I was off again! But wait! I hear a "creak, creak,creak", so I stop again to investigate it. Seems to be emanating from a suspension pivot. I check the bolts and everything is tight. Hmm.....I continue, but that creak is not fun to listen to.

I get a ways into the trail system, ripping along happily, I might add, when my cell phone erupts into its ring tone, obliterating the zen flow I have obtained. Grrr.....! I stop and answer it. As I am talking with the rude interrupter, I notice a stream below me and an odd reflection in it. I take note. It is something being reflected in the stream and it is moving.

The call ends and I stand transfixed on the odd reflection until I see that three deer are in the stream. What looks like a doe and its two nearly full grown fawns are down there. The two smaller deer appear to be a male and female, judging from their size, since one is obviously more muscular and larger than the other.  The smaller deer are engaging in play. Stomping in the water, splashing each other, and frolicking like any two human kids might. It was pretty cool to catch site of that for about 10 minutes before they ambled off into the cover of the surrounding woodland.

I was quite surprised that my Panasonic LX-3 was even capable of getting these shots at all, since I was a good 150-200 yards from my subjects. That was a pretty fun experience right there.

Last of the Blue Bells

I continued on with the counter-clockwise route. It was different, but better as far as flow went, I thought. I definitely thought it was easier this way. Especially in the newer sections. I carried way more speed than I recall ever doing before. The trails were really dry and hard packed as well, adding to the effect.

The blue bells took a major hit with the hard freeze we had the night before. They were still pretty impressive, but I am sure they are done for. You could see plenty of evidence for that as I rode through there today. I decided to stop and get some last images from the massive display before they were gone. Who knows when that will ever happen again?

Then I hit the end of the trail without any more drama and went on my merry way. It was certainly a lot warmer than when I had started. The early morning low was in the mid-20's, and when I had started riding, it had barely gotten to 40, but by the time I was done, it had reached up to the 50's. Regardless, I don't think my feet were ever really warm all day long.
______________________________________________________________________________

A Little Trans Iowa V8 business:  
The following people need to respond to the e-mail sent out concerning the Pre-Race: Don Daly, Brian Hall, Brian Terhark, Nicholas Wethington,     Dan Dougan, Steve Myers,  Regie Romo, Ricky Markland,   Phil Ellsworth,  Mike Wallace, Jeffrey Losso, Jim Thompson, Brian Mann.

Keepin' The Rubber Side Down

Yeah.....not good.

You know the saying- "Keep the rubber side down." Yeah, well, it could mean that you should stay in control and not crash and burn.

Or.......it could mean that your rig shouldn't implode on you. Well......it didn't actually "implode', but I did have a bit of a touch and go situation there.

See, I was at the Camp, and just was getting underway, heading up the service road to take the trails in the opposite direction than I normally do. I figured that it might be enlightening and definitely it would be different. Especially with the newer sections that have been added recently.

So......I hear the sound that went something like, "brrrrripppGRACK,sssssnap!" , and I said, "What the....!!" 

I got off and surveyed the trail behind me but saw nothing out of the ordinary, so I took a look at the bike. Ahhh! There ya go. A bent derailleur hangar. Nice! 

With nothing for it but to pop the bike upside down, gromit style, and go for the death grip on the derailleur and twist it back into some semblance of alignment, I managed to get the bike working perfectly again. (Don't try this at home. It takes years of training to acquire the right balance of force and subtlety.)

Deer frolicking in the stream

Well, now I was off again! But wait! I hear a "creak, creak,creak", so I stop again to investigate it. Seems to be emanating from a suspension pivot. I check the bolts and everything is tight. Hmm.....I continue, but that creak is not fun to listen to.

I get a ways into the trail system, ripping along happily, I might add, when my cell phone erupts into its ring tone, obliterating the zen flow I have obtained. Grrr.....! I stop and answer it. As I am talking with the rude interrupter, I notice a stream below me and an odd reflection in it. I take note. It is something being reflected in the stream and it is moving.

The call ends and I stand transfixed on the odd reflection until I see that three deer are in the stream. What looks like a doe and its two nearly full grown fawns are down there. The two smaller deer appear to be a male and female, judging from their size, since one is obviously more muscular and larger than the other.  The smaller deer are engaging in play. Stomping in the water, splashing each other, and frolicking like any two human kids might. It was pretty cool to catch site of that for about 10 minutes before they ambled off into the cover of the surrounding woodland.

I was quite surprised that my Panasonic LX-3 was even capable of getting these shots at all, since I was a good 150-200 yards from my subjects. That was a pretty fun experience right there.

Last of the Blue Bells

I continued on with the counter-clockwise route. It was different, but better as far as flow went, I thought. I definitely thought it was easier this way. Especially in the newer sections. I carried way more speed than I recall ever doing before. The trails were really dry and hard packed as well, adding to the effect.

The blue bells took a major hit with the hard freeze we had the night before. They were still pretty impressive, but I am sure they are done for. You could see plenty of evidence for that as I rode through there today. I decided to stop and get some last images from the massive display before they were gone. Who knows when that will ever happen again?

Then I hit the end of the trail without any more drama and went on my merry way. It was certainly a lot warmer than when I had started. The early morning low was in the mid-20's, and when I had started riding, it had barely gotten to 40, but by the time I was done, it had reached up to the 50's. Regardless, I don't think my feet were ever really warm all day long.
______________________________________________________________________________

A Little Trans Iowa V8 business:  
The following people need to respond to the e-mail sent out concerning the Pre-Race: Don Daly, Brian Hall, Brian Terhark, Nicholas Wethington,     Dan Dougan, Steve Myers,  Regie Romo, Ricky Markland,   Phil Ellsworth,  Mike Wallace, Jeffrey Losso, Jim Thompson, Brian Mann.

Cruising The Earth's Crust

Our dirt is getting pretty crusty these days...

This year is shaping up to be an awesome year for riding for a lot of folks, and we're only a little over a quarter of the way through 2012. Crazy.

I've seen friends and acquaintances doing rides in all sorts of cool places, not just in North America, but all over the world already. If this keeps up, I'll be shamed to say I rode anything one tenth as awesome.

But be that as it may, I am riding, and that's what matters most, no? I sure hope these images of far off places and super-tech terrain don't get you down, but that they inspire you. However; it sure is hard not to sit in front of the digital idiot box wondering what it must be like for these lucky souls and getting just a wee bit down about your "lack of epic-ness".  Just remember, any ride can be an adventure- your adventure. You can own it, live it, and tell about it later. No matter what terrain it was done on. A ride on a bicycle is better than not riding and staring at a monitor. 

So, ride around the block. Ride to the store. Ride for an afternoon, morning, or under the moon. Cruise the earth's crust wherever you are. Whatever you do, just remember to cherish the time, stop and look around, and don't worry about  anybody elses version of what constitutes a "big deal" of a bike ride. Have fun- go ride your bicycle.

Cruising The Earth's Crust

Our dirt is getting pretty crusty these days...

This year is shaping up to be an awesome year for riding for a lot of folks, and we're only a little over a quarter of the way through 2012. Crazy.

I've seen friends and acquaintances doing rides in all sorts of cool places, not just in North America, but all over the world already. If this keeps up, I'll be shamed to say I rode anything one tenth as awesome.

But be that as it may, I am riding, and that's what matters most, no? I sure hope these images of far off places and super-tech terrain don't get you down, but that they inspire you. However; it sure is hard not to sit in front of the digital idiot box wondering what it must be like for these lucky souls and getting just a wee bit down about your "lack of epic-ness".  Just remember, any ride can be an adventure- your adventure. You can own it, live it, and tell about it later. No matter what terrain it was done on. A ride on a bicycle is better than not riding and staring at a monitor. 

So, ride around the block. Ride to the store. Ride for an afternoon, morning, or under the moon. Cruise the earth's crust wherever you are. Whatever you do, just remember to cherish the time, stop and look around, and don't worry about  anybody elses version of what constitutes a "big deal" of a bike ride. Have fun- go ride your bicycle.

Rocks In My Head

The Black Mountain Cycles rig: "Orange Crush"

Last Saturday's ride at the Renegade Gent's Race, (which I posted about yesterday), was a great ride for me. I had a lot of fun, and I rode pretty well for a big ol' guy like myself.

One problem: Now I want to ride more gravel. Lots more. Addicted? Maybe. Definitely not satisfied.

I do really like the feeling of being out in the countryside. It is a quiet, cleansing time. No other way to get that peaceful feeling and experience the big, wide world really does it like riding a bicycle out in the midst of the world. Maybe hikers feel the same way, I don't know. I'm not a hiker, but I suppose that may be a similar way to get the same high.

One thing I do know, I like the longer rides, and I need to get more of those in. I couldn't help but think about the longer rides I was doing about five years ago. 80 milers, an occasional hundy. I could take more pictures of barns, see more unusual things, and find out what's over the next hill.

But that needs to be worked up to. You just don't throw down a hundy after doing nothing for months in the miles department. Fortunately for me, the miles have been there to some degree. Not what it should be, mind you, but I have been out there riding.

From the Renegade Gent's Race

But the thing is, Trans Iowa is coming up. That means that I have some days that maybe I could be gravel grinding that I won't be. It's cool though, because I honestly am stoked about the possibilities for awesome experiences folks might have out there.

I know some folks think of me in less than favorable terms when it comes to my courses, but I really do want folks to see the whole deal. This year especially, since I designed the entire thing. I think every mile offers something pretty engaging, and I even wish all of it could be seen by daylight, because a lot of it won't be.

It's kind of ironic that I don't ride a lot of my courses, because I really would like to do just that. Maybe I'll take some time to string some parts of T.I. courses together and do that in the future. Well.......in fact, I have done that. Some of the GTDRI courses are either predecessors to T.I. bits or recaps of T.I.bits after the fact.

And of course, I'm not the last word on awesome gravel/back road courses. Not by a long shot. There are several gravel and back road routes I'd love to ride all over. I gotta figure out a way to get paid to do that......

Rocks In My Head

The Black Mountain Cycles rig: "Orange Crush"

Last Saturday's ride at the Renegade Gent's Race, (which I posted about yesterday), was a great ride for me. I had a lot of fun, and I rode pretty well for a big ol' guy like myself.

One problem: Now I want to ride more gravel. Lots more. Addicted? Maybe. Definitely not satisfied.

I do really like the feeling of being out in the countryside. It is a quiet, cleansing time. No other way to get that peaceful feeling and experience the big, wide world really does it like riding a bicycle out in the midst of the world. Maybe hikers feel the same way, I don't know. I'm not a hiker, but I suppose that may be a similar way to get the same high.

One thing I do know, I like the longer rides, and I need to get more of those in. I couldn't help but think about the longer rides I was doing about five years ago. 80 milers, an occasional hundy. I could take more pictures of barns, see more unusual things, and find out what's over the next hill.

But that needs to be worked up to. You just don't throw down a hundy after doing nothing for months in the miles department. Fortunately for me, the miles have been there to some degree. Not what it should be, mind you, but I have been out there riding.

From the Renegade Gent's Race

But the thing is, Trans Iowa is coming up. That means that I have some days that maybe I could be gravel grinding that I won't be. It's cool though, because I honestly am stoked about the possibilities for awesome experiences folks might have out there.

I know some folks think of me in less than favorable terms when it comes to my courses, but I really do want folks to see the whole deal. This year especially, since I designed the entire thing. I think every mile offers something pretty engaging, and I even wish all of it could be seen by daylight, because a lot of it won't be.

It's kind of ironic that I don't ride a lot of my courses, because I really would like to do just that. Maybe I'll take some time to string some parts of T.I. courses together and do that in the future. Well.......in fact, I have done that. Some of the GTDRI courses are either predecessors to T.I. bits or recaps of T.I.bits after the fact.

And of course, I'm not the last word on awesome gravel/back road courses. Not by a long shot. There are several gravel and back road routes I'd love to ride all over. I gotta figure out a way to get paid to do that......

Renegade Gents Race 2012 Ride Report

The 2012 version of the Renegade Gents Race is in the books and this time the event was memorable for weather and road conditions. It was a long, fun Saturday for sure.

Threatening skies at the start

I had done a fair amount of laying out my kit on Friday evening so that when I awoke at 4:30am on Saturday morning I wouldn't have to scramble around making noises while the rest of my family was asleep. The alarm went off, I made some oatmeal and had a couple slices of toast, loaded up the "Truck With No Name" and hit the road about 5:45am.

The full moon was setting into a bank of clouds while the sun was announcing its arrival with a glow in the east. The forecast called for occasional thunderstorms and a high of 60 degrees for the Des Moines area. As the sun arose in a spectacular  display of crimson and orange I was reminded of that old saw, "Red skies in the morning, Sailors take warning!" I began to see wet sections of pavement on my trek down I-35, and I was hopeful that the worst had already passed by.

I arrived at Kyle's Bikes in Ankeny and began to see several dozens of cyclists kitting up, waving to me with friendly faces, and looking furtively towards the west. The sky was getting that "angry look" that says rain is a sure thing. We even saw a bit of lightning at one point.

My team mates all were there and we had signed in. Cue sheets were actually spoke cards like last year that we center punched in the corners and zip tied to our handle bars. Our start time was at 9:08am, so we set off to the start area, about a mile away, at 8:50am. This was exactly when it began to rain. Of course!

Wet beginnings

We arrived at the start area where there was a little park and a gazebo in the center provided us with a bit of shelter until it was our turn to set out. The rain had tapered off somewhat, but it was still coming down pretty good at this point.

Getting out of town required riding a few miles of busy city streets until we hit the first gravel. By the time we got going on the unpaved roads, the rain had tapered off to mere sprinkles. I heard a hissing sound and became a bit alarmed.

I called out that I had a flat tire. I thought it was my front, but it was still up. Checked the rear. Good. Hmm...well, let's go! As we took off again, I heard the same sound. Turns out it was our tires on wet gravel. I had never ridden on wet gravel when it wasn't lightning, storming, and windy, so I guess that sound of wet tires on wet gravel had never reached my ears unsullied before. False alarm diagnosed, we took off with a constant chatter amongst team mates.

The Renegade Gents Race is a team event. Riders on teams of five must start together, check in at a midway checkpoint all together, and finish all together at the end to get an overall time which is then compared to the times of other teams. The team with the least amount of time to cover the 66.5 mile course wins.

Bob Moural ahead of Steve Fuller

My team consisted of the same people as last year: Steve Fuller was our "Captain", and David Corneilson, Sam Auen, and Bob Moural were the others on my team with me again.

We all seemed to be pretty well matched for pace and we all seemed to be able to get along pretty well. None of us were/are averse to stopping now and again, we don't mind having a beer once in awhile on the ride, and we don't take ourselves too seriously.  Of course, this doesn't mean we weren't pushing ourselves pretty hard, and that we didn't expect a lot out of ourselves, because we did and we do.

The roads were okay to start out with. Of course, they were wet, and another thing about these roads that struck us was that they had a high sand content. This made the surface a bit mushy here and there, with our tires digging  and cutting in sometimes. There were even a few hills out this way, but nothing terrible. I found myself hanging in with the group pretty well, which I was happy about.

The beginning of the event started out just like last year's course, but we then ended up going west a fair bit, then north a long ways. The event organizers had obviously done a fair amount of recon to pack in more actual gravel miles over last year's course, which was predominantly pavement at the end of the event. Good job guys!

The team that was to start ahead of us was penalized for not having five team members, so they started behind us, and we hadn't been passed yet by 20 miles into the event. Then Sam saw "Unicorn Ave" and he wanted a picture by the sign.

As we waited for Sam and David to get the shot set up, we could see two teams coming up the road. One was the blazing fast team of event organizer Rob Versteegh. They went flying by, and as we got back on the course, the next team coming up the road were the guys and gals that had started 10 minutes behind us. We fell in line with them and ended up passing back ahead of them, (temporarily), until we got to the mid-way checkpoint where we were to check in with the volunteers.

The checkpoint was in Slater, Iowa at mile 33.2. Coming into town from the north there was a mile and a half of fresh, deep gravel spread across the road way that made riding very difficult and riders were scrambling to find a line. Little did we realize that this would be a portent of things to come later.

At the checkpoint we decided to rip into Bob's 12 pack of Budweiser while Sam busted out a can of 4 Loko and we munched on whatever food stuffs we could find in our drop bags. I managed to get a half a banana, a gel packet, and the rest was drink. We weren't there all that long and we decided to bug out. So far we were all doing okay, we had ridden through several rain showers, and the roads had been pretty good so far, with the exception of the ones coming into the checkpoint.

David, Sam, and Steve bucking the head wind

As we were leaving the checkpoint- northward and westward-we realized that at some point we were going to have a long slog southward. After a bit of a nice eastward run, where we were all riding together and having a lot of fun doing so, we made that fateful turn for 14 miles of straight into a south headwind fun.

That's when it all went to heck.

The roads were freshly graded and overlaid with deep, chunky, loose gravel. There had been no, or very few cars or trucks on this, so it was pretty unconsolidated, shifty rock.

We figured out pretty quickly that getting to the extreme right or left was where the best lines were and where the deep rock hadn't been spread to. This wasn't fool proof though, as graded berms, loose, sandy soil, and skinny lines at times made it just as difficult as running out  the loose gravel.

Adding to the road difficulties was a Southerly wind that was making forward progress difficult. This was often accompanied by a mist which would threaten to become full on rain at times. So, wet, windy, and washed out riding was making for slow going.

Rural Iowa version of single track

All of this was a bit much for my team mate Sam on this day. His progress wasn't what he wanted, and some of the guys stayed back to help pull him along while Bob and I plugged away up the road, waiting at intersections at times to take a breather and let the other guys catch back up.

Last year it was Sam that was just destroying all of us with his motoring up the road at such a pace that I could barely hang on. This year I felt pretty good, and Bob must have as well, as the both of us were plodding along the margins of a wide white strip of crushed rock for miles upon miles. 14 miles to be exact. (Did I mention it was 14 miles already?) It was a bit discouraging to look up and see far ahead that things weren't getting any better any time soon.

Things eventually did get better, of course. That was when we crossed the Story County line back into Polk County. Then we had about 4 miles of what seemed like heavenly smooth gravel before coming back into the finish on the same roads we had left on.

I don't know how our team finished, but we all came back together at the end and finished as a team. It felt pretty good. I was really taxed by the time we reached pavement and I was really, really hungry.

After my return to the start I went over to hang out with the other racers for a bit and to get some much needed calories into my belly. Then I had to load up the truck and point myself back northward for the two hour trip.

The 2012 Renegade Gents Race was a great event that had 29 teams take the start with 145 cyclists. All despite the forecast, and all had a pretty great time. Thanks to Bike Iowa, Kyle Sedore, Bruce Reese, and Rob Versteegh along with all the awesome volunteers for putting on this great event. I really enjoyed myself and got in 68 miles of good, hard riding.

Here's to everyone involved and to everyone that rode. Hope to see you all again next year!

Renegade Gents Race 2012 Ride Report

The 2012 version of the Renegade Gents Race is in the books and this time the event was memorable for weather and road conditions. It was a long, fun Saturday for sure.

Threatening skies at the start

I had done a fair amount of laying out my kit on Friday evening so that when I awoke at 4:30am on Saturday morning I wouldn't have to scramble around making noises while the rest of my family was asleep. The alarm went off, I made some oatmeal and had a couple slices of toast, loaded up the "Truck With No Name" and hit the road about 5:45am.

The full moon was setting into a bank of clouds while the sun was announcing its arrival with a glow in the east. The forecast called for occasional thunderstorms and a high of 60 degrees for the Des Moines area. As the sun arose in a spectacular  display of crimson and orange I was reminded of that old saw, "Red skies in the morning, Sailors take warning!" I began to see wet sections of pavement on my trek down I-35, and I was hopeful that the worst had already passed by.

I arrived at Kyle's Bikes in Ankeny and began to see several dozens of cyclists kitting up, waving to me with friendly faces, and looking furtively towards the west. The sky was getting that "angry look" that says rain is a sure thing. We even saw a bit of lightning at one point.

My team mates all were there and we had signed in. Cue sheets were actually spoke cards like last year that we center punched in the corners and zip tied to our handle bars. Our start time was at 9:08am, so we set off to the start area, about a mile away, at 8:50am. This was exactly when it began to rain. Of course!

Wet beginnings

We arrived at the start area where there was a little park and a gazebo in the center provided us with a bit of shelter until it was our turn to set out. The rain had tapered off somewhat, but it was still coming down pretty good at this point.

Getting out of town required riding a few miles of busy city streets until we hit the first gravel. By the time we got going on the unpaved roads, the rain had tapered off to mere sprinkles. I heard a hissing sound and became a bit alarmed.

I called out that I had a flat tire. I thought it was my front, but it was still up. Checked the rear. Good. Hmm...well, let's go! As we took off again, I heard the same sound. Turns out it was our tires on wet gravel. I had never ridden on wet gravel when it wasn't lightning, storming, and windy, so I guess that sound of wet tires on wet gravel had never reached my ears unsullied before. False alarm diagnosed, we took off with a constant chatter amongst team mates.

The Renegade Gents Race is a team event. Riders on teams of five must start together, check in at a midway checkpoint all together, and finish all together at the end to get an overall time which is then compared to the times of other teams. The team with the least amount of time to cover the 66.5 mile course wins.

Bob Moural ahead of Steve Fuller

My team consisted of the same people as last year: Steve Fuller was our "Captain", and David Corneilson, Sam Auen, and Bob Moural were the others on my team with me again.

We all seemed to be pretty well matched for pace and we all seemed to be able to get along pretty well. None of us were/are averse to stopping now and again, we don't mind having a beer once in awhile on the ride, and we don't take ourselves too seriously.  Of course, this doesn't mean we weren't pushing ourselves pretty hard, and that we didn't expect a lot out of ourselves, because we did and we do.

The roads were okay to start out with. Of course, they were wet, and another thing about these roads that struck us was that they had a high sand content. This made the surface a bit mushy here and there, with our tires digging  and cutting in sometimes. There were even a few hills out this way, but nothing terrible. I found myself hanging in with the group pretty well, which I was happy about.

The beginning of the event started out just like last year's course, but we then ended up going west a fair bit, then north a long ways. The event organizers had obviously done a fair amount of recon to pack in more actual gravel miles over last year's course, which was predominantly pavement at the end of the event. Good job guys!

The team that was to start ahead of us was penalized for not having five team members, so they started behind us, and we hadn't been passed yet by 20 miles into the event. Then Sam saw "Unicorn Ave" and he wanted a picture by the sign.

As we waited for Sam and David to get the shot set up, we could see two teams coming up the road. One was the blazing fast team of event organizer Rob Versteegh. They went flying by, and as we got back on the course, the next team coming up the road were the guys and gals that had started 10 minutes behind us. We fell in line with them and ended up passing back ahead of them, (temporarily), until we got to the mid-way checkpoint where we were to check in with the volunteers.

The checkpoint was in Slater, Iowa at mile 33.2. Coming into town from the north there was a mile and a half of fresh, deep gravel spread across the road way that made riding very difficult and riders were scrambling to find a line. Little did we realize that this would be a portent of things to come later.

At the checkpoint we decided to rip into Bob's 12 pack of Budweiser while Sam busted out a can of 4 Loko and we munched on whatever food stuffs we could find in our drop bags. I managed to get a half a banana, a gel packet, and the rest was drink. We weren't there all that long and we decided to bug out. So far we were all doing okay, we had ridden through several rain showers, and the roads had been pretty good so far, with the exception of the ones coming into the checkpoint.

David, Sam, and Steve bucking the head wind

As we were leaving the checkpoint- northward and westward-we realized that at some point we were going to have a long slog southward. After a bit of a nice eastward run, where we were all riding together and having a lot of fun doing so, we made that fateful turn for 14 miles of straight into a south headwind fun.

That's when it all went to heck.

The roads were freshly graded and overlaid with deep, chunky, loose gravel. There had been no, or very few cars or trucks on this, so it was pretty unconsolidated, shifty rock.

We figured out pretty quickly that getting to the extreme right or left was where the best lines were and where the deep rock hadn't been spread to. This wasn't fool proof though, as graded berms, loose, sandy soil, and skinny lines at times made it just as difficult as running out  the loose gravel.

Adding to the road difficulties was a Southerly wind that was making forward progress difficult. This was often accompanied by a mist which would threaten to become full on rain at times. So, wet, windy, and washed out riding was making for slow going.

Rural Iowa version of single track

All of this was a bit much for my team mate Sam on this day. His progress wasn't what he wanted, and some of the guys stayed back to help pull him along while Bob and I plugged away up the road, waiting at intersections at times to take a breather and let the other guys catch back up.

Last year it was Sam that was just destroying all of us with his motoring up the road at such a pace that I could barely hang on. This year I felt pretty good, and Bob must have as well, as the both of us were plodding along the margins of a wide white strip of crushed rock for miles upon miles. 14 miles to be exact. (Did I mention it was 14 miles already?) It was a bit discouraging to look up and see far ahead that things weren't getting any better any time soon.

Things eventually did get better, of course. That was when we crossed the Story County line back into Polk County. Then we had about 4 miles of what seemed like heavenly smooth gravel before coming back into the finish on the same roads we had left on.

I don't know how our team finished, but we all came back together at the end and finished as a team. It felt pretty good. I was really taxed by the time we reached pavement and I was really, really hungry.

After my return to the start I went over to hang out with the other racers for a bit and to get some much needed calories into my belly. Then I had to load up the truck and point myself back northward for the two hour trip.

The 2012 Renegade Gents Race was a great event that had 29 teams take the start with 145 cyclists. All despite the forecast, and all had a pretty great time. Thanks to Bike Iowa, Kyle Sedore, Bruce Reese, and Rob Versteegh along with all the awesome volunteers for putting on this great event. I really enjoyed myself and got in 68 miles of good, hard riding.

Here's to everyone involved and to everyone that rode. Hope to see you all again next year!