Triple D 2014: Race Report Part 4

Purveyors of the "finest" convenience store light beer trailside.

Wanna Beer? This road crossing was an amusing break from the treacherous snow on the Heritage Trail that I had been wrestling with since leaving the Dyersville checkpoint. There was a pickup truck and two gents offering free beers to any passersby. Keystone Light may not even be on my "beer radar", but I obliged their offer and quafed one while we chatted briefly. Suddenly the whine and whirr of snowmachines came into my hearing, and looking toward the East, I saw several machines headed our way.

The two beer wielding young men were dismayed that their freshly spray painted sign on the trail would be churned up by the snowmobiles, but I quickly whipped out my camera and saved their work for posterity! (See the bottom of yesterday's post) Hey.....I'm only trying to help out a couple of generous fellows, ya know! 

The snowmachines approach. Angels or Devils? I wasn't sure at this point.

 As I watched the snowmachines approach, I was gauging whether they would perhaps do me any good. I was doubtful, having seen the way this snow had turned into a frozen water version of wheat flour. There was almost no lateral support and the only way to make any headway without struggling with your bike mightily was to find the tracks of those ahead of you and stay in them as best you could. Of course, with my slightly narrower than average tires, I found it easier to do this. Getting out of the beaten path was death to my forward motion though. I feared the snownachines would not provide that packed down track I needed.

I vocalized my fears to the two gents and one of them assured me that the next section of the Heritage Trail would be packed in and faster. He said, "....you'll really be able to lay down the power." I took his assessment under advisement and rolled off, thanking them for the barly pop.

Well, much to my dismay, the fellow couldn't have been more wrong. I was correct in my fears that the snowmachines were not my friend on this day. I was hoping that this would be only a mere oddity and no more of these two cycle, oil burning apparati would be encountered. But I was further dismayed to find that another "train" of these machines was headed my way, and again I was obliged to pull aside and wait to avoid any accidents with these things.

This hiker called out a welcome and called me "Boss". I liked that, it was a much needed lift in a bad stretch for me.

The Westering Sun called out the end of a beautiful day and marked the beginning of a firmer trail.

The church overlooking the intersection of the Heritage Trail with Girl Scout Road

The trail begins to firm up again, and no more snowmachines! Yay!

Bad JuJu: Okay- here's where I went into a "dark period" for a while. After having to dismount for the fourth time for snowmachines to pass, and having to deal with the aftermath they left behind, which was almost impossible to ride on quickly, I began to vent my frustrations out loud. Of course, I had been riding alone since the Dyersville turnaround and had not yet seen another rider for several miles. I guess I thought I was the only guy out there. I let loose a curse of snowmachines and then looked up to see another rider ahead kneeling besides his Surly. I saw that he was repairing a chain. I felt kind of silly at this point, because I knew he had heard my outburst.

I apologized for that and asked if he needed anything. He was okay, but also agreed that the snowmachines were a curse upon the fat bikers on this particular day. I could see he too was outraged by the conditions at the time. I put my head down and settled on just pushing through without being so outwardly negative.

I think I underestimated the anger of the Surly rider, because not long after I had passed him he came around me at such a high rate of speed it caught me off guard. He pronounced a further malediction upon the snowmobilers and sped away as if he were sprinting for the finish line. He made me sit up and I thought to myself that he was really holding a nice line through the inconsistent snow. I felt maybe he was on to something, so I clicked down a couple gears and gave pursuit. 

Into the bluffs and limestone outcroppings before the light of the Sun faded away.

It Gets Better: It was working, but it was taxing my reserves a bit too much this far out yet. I backed down a hair and was content to follow his tire tracks. Only they got obliterated twice more by the dratted snowmobiles! I finally started to see signs of more tire tracks further on up the trail afterward, and the trail firmed up with the steadily dropping temperatures to a point where I was hauling the mail once again. It felt good to be back up to speed and heading toward Durango, which had a bar that hosted the final checkpoint for the event.

I was still stopping regularly to eat and drink. I also snarfed down that brownie I got at the Dyersville turnaround, which was a highlight of this stretch for me. Man! Something about really pushing yourself on a bike makes the simplest foods taste like gourmet fare. Anyway, a couple of chocolates and pieces of beef jerky later and I was in the Durango checkpoint before I had to switch on the lights. Inside, Traci Andre, one of the event directors, gave me a fist bump and I was stoked to finish out the final 8 miles of this grueling event. I drew another poker card. An 8 of something.....Bah!

I pulled out of Durango just ahead of two other riders and I pushed up the speed to a point where I gapped them off and held them there. Once the gap formed, I couldn't make anymore headway against the two, but I pushed on as hard as I could, because I knew the last section after we left the Heritage Trail was going to be brutal. I crossed the new Highway 52 Overpass bridge and immediately found a man by a snowmachine who waved me over. He asked if I had gotten any directions for the end of the event at the Durango checkpoint, and I said no, but that Lance Andre had told us at the start to watch out for this turn. He said, "I am Lance!" Ha! I didn't recognize him, but I had probably been pushing so hard that I was a bit out of sorts.

Pushing the bike more than riding it marked the last four miles of Triple D

Lance gave me some final directions and I was off for the last four miles. Lance said it would probably take me all of an hour and a half to get through it! That was a hammer blow to my brain, but there was nothing for it, and I wasn't about to quit now so close to the end.

The End Game: The two chasers caught me here, of course, and with the change to the off-road snowmobile tracks, my tire/wheel choice really became a burden for me. I was relegated to walking where these other two were easily riding stuff. The snow was horrible. I let the two guys go and sank into a dark place, pushing feebly up a dark, long, steep climb which gained almost 800 feet in elevation. I could hardly step further than six inches at a crack, and it was slow going.

There were downhills that I coasted down, but otherwise I walked probably 80% of the last four miles and finally got back to the race headquarters at 7:17pm in 33rd place overall. But not before I crashed on one last run out after a down hill. That was four for the day! I was super glad to see the folks that were kind enough to clap for me and offer congratulations. My wife and daughter were there, (my son was off on an adventure in the motel somewhere else), and it was a great relief to have that over with and behind me. It was the slowest time for any of the now three Triple D races I have done, but it was by far and away the toughest.

Unfortunately we were unable to stay later, and I had to bug out right away afterward so my wife and I could be at work the following day, but I need to thank a few folks:

Thank You: Lance and Traci Andre: You guys and your volunteers put on a great event and this year was tougher than I have experienced here. Thanks for the opportunity to test myself. To The Land Owners: Thanks for letting us cross your land and enjoy some beautiful Iowa backcountry! To the Asbury Snowhawks Snowmobile Club: Thanks for working with Triple D to give us the chance to ride off bike trails in Iowa! To the Best Western Plus: What a great venue and the rooms were ace! Thanks to Mrs. Guitar Ted and my two wonderful kids who let me do this nutty stuff and even come along occasionally with me on my adventures.

Triple D 2014: Race Report Part 4

Purveyors of the "finest" convenience store light beer trailside.

Wanna Beer? This road crossing was an amusing break from the treacherous snow on the Heritage Trail that I had been wrestling with since leaving the Dyersville checkpoint. There was a pickup truck and two gents offering free beers to any passersby. Keystone Light may not even be on my "beer radar", but I obliged their offer and quafed one while we chatted briefly. Suddenly the whine and whirr of snowmachines came into my hearing, and looking toward the East, I saw several machines headed our way.

The two beer wielding young men were dismayed that their freshly spray painted sign on the trail would be churned up by the snowmobiles, but I quickly whipped out my camera and saved their work for posterity! (See the bottom of yesterday's post) Hey.....I'm only trying to help out a couple of generous fellows, ya know! 

The snowmachines approach. Angels or Devils? I wasn't sure at this point.

 As I watched the snowmachines approach, I was gauging whether they would perhaps do me any good. I was doubtful, having seen the way this snow had turned into a frozen water version of wheat flour. There was almost no lateral support and the only way to make any headway without struggling with your bike mightily was to find the tracks of those ahead of you and stay in them as best you could. Of course, with my slightly narrower than average tires, I found it easier to do this. Getting out of the beaten path was death to my forward motion though. I feared the snownachines would not provide that packed down track I needed.

I vocalized my fears to the two gents and one of them assured me that the next section of the Heritage Trail would be packed in and faster. He said, "....you'll really be able to lay down the power." I took his assessment under advisement and rolled off, thanking them for the barly pop.

Well, much to my dismay, the fellow couldn't have been more wrong. I was correct in my fears that the snowmachines were not my friend on this day. I was hoping that this would be only a mere oddity and no more of these two cycle, oil burning apparati would be encountered. But I was further dismayed to find that another "train" of these machines was headed my way, and again I was obliged to pull aside and wait to avoid any accidents with these things.

This hiker called out a welcome and called me "Boss". I liked that, it was a much needed lift in a bad stretch for me.

The Westering Sun called out the end of a beautiful day and marked the beginning of a firmer trail.

The church overlooking the intersection of the Heritage Trail with Girl Scout Road

The trail begins to firm up again, and no more snowmachines! Yay!

Bad JuJu: Okay- here's where I went into a "dark period" for a while. After having to dismount for the fourth time for snowmachines to pass, and having to deal with the aftermath they left behind, which was almost impossible to ride on quickly, I began to vent my frustrations out loud. Of course, I had been riding alone since the Dyersville turnaround and had not yet seen another rider for several miles. I guess I thought I was the only guy out there. I let loose a curse of snowmachines and then looked up to see another rider ahead kneeling besides his Surly. I saw that he was repairing a chain. I felt kind of silly at this point, because I knew he had heard my outburst.

I apologized for that and asked if he needed anything. He was okay, but also agreed that the snowmachines were a curse upon the fat bikers on this particular day. I could see he too was outraged by the conditions at the time. I put my head down and settled on just pushing through without being so outwardly negative.

I think I underestimated the anger of the Surly rider, because not long after I had passed him he came around me at such a high rate of speed it caught me off guard. He pronounced a further malediction upon the snowmobilers and sped away as if he were sprinting for the finish line. He made me sit up and I thought to myself that he was really holding a nice line through the inconsistent snow. I felt maybe he was on to something, so I clicked down a couple gears and gave pursuit. 

Into the bluffs and limestone outcroppings before the light of the Sun faded away.

It Gets Better: It was working, but it was taxing my reserves a bit too much this far out yet. I backed down a hair and was content to follow his tire tracks. Only they got obliterated twice more by the dratted snowmobiles! I finally started to see signs of more tire tracks further on up the trail afterward, and the trail firmed up with the steadily dropping temperatures to a point where I was hauling the mail once again. It felt good to be back up to speed and heading toward Durango, which had a bar that hosted the final checkpoint for the event.

I was still stopping regularly to eat and drink. I also snarfed down that brownie I got at the Dyersville turnaround, which was a highlight of this stretch for me. Man! Something about really pushing yourself on a bike makes the simplest foods taste like gourmet fare. Anyway, a couple of chocolates and pieces of beef jerky later and I was in the Durango checkpoint before I had to switch on the lights. Inside, Traci Andre, one of the event directors, gave me a fist bump and I was stoked to finish out the final 8 miles of this grueling event. I drew another poker card. An 8 of something.....Bah!

I pulled out of Durango just ahead of two other riders and I pushed up the speed to a point where I gapped them off and held them there. Once the gap formed, I couldn't make anymore headway against the two, but I pushed on as hard as I could, because I knew the last section after we left the Heritage Trail was going to be brutal. I crossed the new Highway 52 Overpass bridge and immediately found a man by a snowmachine who waved me over. He asked if I had gotten any directions for the end of the event at the Durango checkpoint, and I said no, but that Lance Andre had told us at the start to watch out for this turn. He said, "I am Lance!" Ha! I didn't recognize him, but I had probably been pushing so hard that I was a bit out of sorts.

Pushing the bike more than riding it marked the last four miles of Triple D

Lance gave me some final directions and I was off for the last four miles. Lance said it would probably take me all of an hour and a half to get through it! That was a hammer blow to my brain, but there was nothing for it, and I wasn't about to quit now so close to the end.

The End Game: The two chasers caught me here, of course, and with the change to the off-road snowmobile tracks, my tire/wheel choice really became a burden for me. I was relegated to walking where these other two were easily riding stuff. The snow was horrible. I let the two guys go and sank into a dark place, pushing feebly up a dark, long, steep climb which gained almost 800 feet in elevation. I could hardly step further than six inches at a crack, and it was slow going.

There were downhills that I coasted down, but otherwise I walked probably 80% of the last four miles and finally got back to the race headquarters at 7:17pm in 33rd place overall. But not before I crashed on one last run out after a down hill. That was four for the day! I was super glad to see the folks that were kind enough to clap for me and offer congratulations. My wife and daughter were there, (my son was off on an adventure in the motel somewhere else), and it was a great relief to have that over with and behind me. It was the slowest time for any of the now three Triple D races I have done, but it was by far and away the toughest.

Unfortunately we were unable to stay later, and I had to bug out right away afterward so my wife and I could be at work the following day, but I need to thank a few folks:

Thank You: Lance and Traci Andre: You guys and your volunteers put on a great event and this year was tougher than I have experienced here. Thanks for the opportunity to test myself. To The Land Owners: Thanks for letting us cross your land and enjoy some beautiful Iowa backcountry! To the Asbury Snowhawks Snowmobile Club: Thanks for working with Triple D to give us the chance to ride off bike trails in Iowa! To the Best Western Plus: What a great venue and the rooms were ace! Thanks to Mrs. Guitar Ted and my two wonderful kids who let me do this nutty stuff and even come along occasionally with me on my adventures.

WW4M: The Triple D Set Up

This is an occasional feature here that I dubbed "WW4M" which stands for "What Works For Me". Like the title says, this works for me, but it may not necessarily work for you. Any actions taken up based on information shared here is done of your own free will and any resulting consequences are all yours, baby!

The titanium Mukluk set up and ready to go for Triple D this past weekend.

I thought it might be fun and informative to go over my gear from last weekend's succesful Triple D attempt. So here is a basic list for the bike and what was on it......

• 2012 Salsa Cycles Titanium Mukluk w/Enabler steel fork
• Bontrager Race Lite crank- vintage early 00's. Uses a ISIS BB from FSA set up 2X with 22/32 rings. Fixation Mesa MP pedals
• 10 speed Deore XT DynaSys rear derailleur with clutch. (I ran it in the non-clutch position for the event.)
• 10 speed SRAM cassette. (The least expensive one with an aluminum carrier for the largest cogs) SRAM 10 speed chain with quick link.
• 10 speed DynaSys Rapid Fire right shifter
• SRAM X-9 Left shifter 
• SRAM X-7 high direct mount front derailleur
• Avid Elixir 9 brakes 180 fr/r rotors
• FSA SLX stem and handle bar. Ergon BioKork grips
• Salsa Cycles Regulator titanium post w/Ergon SM-3 saddle
• Velocity Dually rims laced to Hope Fatsno hubs. Fatback Sterling tires set up tubeless at 15psi each.
• Velocity Bottle trap cages on the fork. Customized Salsa purple ano skewers. 
• Modified SKS Grand MOM fender for the rear

Okay, so that's the basic bike set up. Now for the bags. I used Bike Bag Dude Chaff Bags on the handle bars. These cylindrical bags  can easily hold a large water bottle, but I filled both of mine with some salty, sweet, hot flavored snacks. The Chaff Bag keeps them at hand and I stayed fueled much better with the ability to easily eat on the fly. The other BBD bag on board was the Ultra-Light frame bag. Now I've been over-stuffing this thing for quite awhile with all sorts of items. This time, here's a short list of what was riding along with me.......

First off, the bag is divided, so in the upper part I had the following...

• Three insulated 20 oz water bottles
• Extra head gear like a neck buff, hat, etc.
• Some extra Fizz tabs from Hammer Nutrition.
• A Trek tail light. 
• Crank Brothers pump with gauge.
• An extra pair of wool socks

In the lower part I had the following......

• A Surly fat bike tube
• A Bontrager 29"er tube
• A Blackburn Toolmanator 3
• A tire lever
• CO2 Inflators

 Then I also had a Oveja Negra "Gearjammer Seat pack which held a pair of Endura rain trousers and an Endura rain jacket, in case things got wet and sloppy, or if I needed to swap out outer wear for whatever reason.

Velocity Dually wheels, Fatback Sterlings tubeless, and the Contigo stainless flask

One other small item that worked brilliantly was the Contigo stainless steel travel mug, re-purposed as a water bottle with dead air space insulation. It worked great, but then again, the temperatures never really tested the things. However; I did ride to work this week with hot coffee in one mounted on the fork in -20°F wind chills and the coffee was still hot. For whatever that is worth. I was actually going to put hot chicken soup in there, but I never got around to that. I should also mention that I used a Trelock LS-950 light which worked flawlessly, although I wished for a helmet light in those last 4 miles in the hilly terrain!

 Wearables:

Of course, some of what I wore was a last minute, desperation purchase since I had forgotten most of my base layer stuff back at home. However; some of the choices hinged on the actual weather, so I took a lot of stuff that never got used. Here's a rundown of what I wore broken down by base layer, mid-layer, outer layer categories:

Base Layer: I wore Northface wool tights and long sleeved top. On the feet I wore a pair of calf length Smart Wool socks made for XC skiing. 

Mid-layer: I wore a Twin Six Thermal Hoodie made from Merino wool. 

Outer Layer: On the bottom I wore Bontrager tights of a cool weather weight, I would say. They definitely were lighter than what most folks would use. Up top I wore a soft shell Endura jacket. This jacket has a huge rear pocket that I stuffed food and extra gear into. 

Hands and Feet: It was warmer than other Triple D races have been, so I wore a pair of mid-weight Keen Hiking boots on my feet that I treated pre-event with Brooks Proofide. I never got wet feet. Hands were covered at various times by either a pair of Smart wool liners in Merino wool or a pair of Answer mid-weight gloves. For much of the event I didn't even wear gloves!

Head: I wore a fleece cap of lighter weight I got from CIRREM one year and my Bell Super helmet. For eyewear I wore a pair of Oakley Radar Locks and at night I switched over to a pair of Tifosi clear lensed glasses for a bit. 

Verdict: Everything worked really well. I had no issues with any of my gear or my bike, other than I was set up for different conditions with my wheel/tire choice. I ran what I had. If I had wheels and tires at my disposal to run, I would have opted for Rolling Darryls and a Bud/Lou combo, but I didn't have that luxury. I'm not sure it would have made a whole lot of difference anyway, and the heavier wheels/tires may actually have been a detriment in the end. I'll never know. 

If the temperatures would have dumped at night, I may have gotten into trouble as I didn't have any extra tops and I sweat completely through everything I had on up top. I suppose I could have swapped outer layers, since I had that, but I was bare minimal with clothing, I thought.  The SKS fender actually worked great and came in really handy in a few wet spots. 

I think the Salsa seat post was a boon to comfort, but there is an issue with it I am going to have to work through. (More on that later) I think bar ends would have been wonderful, but I think this bike may see a different handle bar/controls set up soon. 

Anyway, that's a wrap. Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments section!

WW4M: The Triple D Set Up

This is an occasional feature here that I dubbed "WW4M" which stands for "What Works For Me". Like the title says, this works for me, but it may not necessarily work for you. Any actions taken up based on information shared here is done of your own free will and any resulting consequences are all yours, baby!

The titanium Mukluk set up and ready to go for Triple D this past weekend.

I thought it might be fun and informative to go over my gear from last weekend's succesful Triple D attempt. So here is a basic list for the bike and what was on it......

• 2012 Salsa Cycles Titanium Mukluk w/Enabler steel fork
• Bontrager Race Lite crank- vintage early 00's. Uses a ISIS BB from FSA set up 2X with 22/32 rings. Fixation Mesa MP pedals
• 10 speed Deore XT DynaSys rear derailleur with clutch. (I ran it in the non-clutch position for the event.)
• 10 speed SRAM cassette. (The least expensive one with an aluminum carrier for the largest cogs) SRAM 10 speed chain with quick link.
• 10 speed DynaSys Rapid Fire right shifter
• SRAM X-9 Left shifter 
• SRAM X-7 high direct mount front derailleur
• Avid Elixir 9 brakes 180 fr/r rotors
• FSA SLX stem and handle bar. Ergon BioKork grips
• Salsa Cycles Regulator titanium post w/Ergon SM-3 saddle
• Velocity Dually rims laced to Hope Fatsno hubs. Fatback Sterling tires set up tubeless at 15psi each.
• Velocity Bottle trap cages on the fork. Customized Salsa purple ano skewers. 
• Modified SKS Grand MOM fender for the rear

Okay, so that's the basic bike set up. Now for the bags. I used Bike Bag Dude Chaff Bags on the handle bars. These cylindrical bags  can easily hold a large water bottle, but I filled both of mine with some salty, sweet, hot flavored snacks. The Chaff Bag keeps them at hand and I stayed fueled much better with the ability to easily eat on the fly. The other BBD bag on board was the Ultra-Light frame bag. Now I've been over-stuffing this thing for quite awhile with all sorts of items. This time, here's a short list of what was riding along with me.......

First off, the bag is divided, so in the upper part I had the following...

• Three insulated 20 oz water bottles
• Extra head gear like a neck buff, hat, etc.
• Some extra Fizz tabs from Hammer Nutrition.
• A Trek tail light. 
• Crank Brothers pump with gauge.
• An extra pair of wool socks

In the lower part I had the following......

• A Surly fat bike tube
• A Bontrager 29"er tube
• A Blackburn Toolmanator 3
• A tire lever
• CO2 Inflators

 Then I also had a Oveja Negra "Gearjammer Seat pack which held a pair of Endura rain trousers and an Endura rain jacket, in case things got wet and sloppy, or if I needed to swap out outer wear for whatever reason.

Velocity Dually wheels, Fatback Sterlings tubeless, and the Contigo stainless flask

One other small item that worked brilliantly was the Contigo stainless steel travel mug, re-purposed as a water bottle with dead air space insulation. It worked great, but then again, the temperatures never really tested the things. However; I did ride to work this week with hot coffee in one mounted on the fork in -20°F wind chills and the coffee was still hot. For whatever that is worth. I was actually going to put hot chicken soup in there, but I never got around to that. I should also mention that I used a Trelock LS-950 light which worked flawlessly, although I wished for a helmet light in those last 4 miles in the hilly terrain!

 Wearables:

Of course, some of what I wore was a last minute, desperation purchase since I had forgotten most of my base layer stuff back at home. However; some of the choices hinged on the actual weather, so I took a lot of stuff that never got used. Here's a rundown of what I wore broken down by base layer, mid-layer, outer layer categories:

Base Layer: I wore Northface wool tights and long sleeved top. On the feet I wore a pair of calf length Smart Wool socks made for XC skiing. 

Mid-layer: I wore a Twin Six Thermal Hoodie made from Merino wool. 

Outer Layer: On the bottom I wore Bontrager tights of a cool weather weight, I would say. They definitely were lighter than what most folks would use. Up top I wore a soft shell Endura jacket. This jacket has a huge rear pocket that I stuffed food and extra gear into. 

Hands and Feet: It was warmer than other Triple D races have been, so I wore a pair of mid-weight Keen Hiking boots on my feet that I treated pre-event with Brooks Proofide. I never got wet feet. Hands were covered at various times by either a pair of Smart wool liners in Merino wool or a pair of Answer mid-weight gloves. For much of the event I didn't even wear gloves!

Head: I wore a fleece cap of lighter weight I got from CIRREM one year and my Bell Super helmet. For eyewear I wore a pair of Oakley Radar Locks and at night I switched over to a pair of Tifosi clear lensed glasses for a bit. 

Verdict: Everything worked really well. I had no issues with any of my gear or my bike, other than I was set up for different conditions with my wheel/tire choice. I ran what I had. If I had wheels and tires at my disposal to run, I would have opted for Rolling Darryls and a Bud/Lou combo, but I didn't have that luxury. I'm not sure it would have made a whole lot of difference anyway, and the heavier wheels/tires may actually have been a detriment in the end. I'll never know. 

If the temperatures would have dumped at night, I may have gotten into trouble as I didn't have any extra tops and I sweat completely through everything I had on up top. I suppose I could have swapped outer layers, since I had that, but I was bare minimal with clothing, I thought.  The SKS fender actually worked great and came in really handy in a few wet spots. 

I think the Salsa seat post was a boon to comfort, but there is an issue with it I am going to have to work through. (More on that later) I think bar ends would have been wonderful, but I think this bike may see a different handle bar/controls set up soon. 

Anyway, that's a wrap. Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments section!

Triple D 2014: Race Report Part 3

Still in open farmland, but the temperature is rising!

Still Out In The Open:

The farmland part of Triple D continued and we went up the famous long climb into the back end of a farmers home, pushing for the majority of the way here. The temperature was  well above freezing now and the snow was beginning to suffer. That is, where the winds weren't drifting it up. But either way, riding anything resembling an "up" was almost undoable by this part of the event if it wasn't in the shade.

A bit of a respite comes though as we got to enjoy an incredible downhill run, which was also in last year's course. This time I was a tad more conservative with my downhill speed owing to the skinnier tires I was running and the looser conditions. Near the end though, I thought better of being conservative and let'er rip! It was fun until I saw the huge drift at the bottom. Several riders had "pizza cuttered" a gash through it, which I aimed for, but I was too sideways upon entry and yard saled it big time! Good thing there was a drift there! I still smacked my left shoulder pretty hard, but I didn't even lay there long. I popped right back up, dusted of a bit of accumulated snow and remounted.

This section is another of my favorites as it goes wending along the woods for a bit, then you have a steep-ish, longer climb out of the valley. I hit an ice patch about halfway up and spun out. Walked it about 20 yards, then rode the rest of the way out. At the top, there is an open field and I decided  to eat, drink, and put on some gloves, which I had taken off earlier.

Post-holing through the drifts after the woods section

When I started out across the field, it was a constant roll down-post hole back up dance until we reached the edge of the roadway and sailed down the fence line to the first checkpoint. It consisted simply of grabbing a poker card for the poker run part of the event. I had drawn an ace at the start, and here I got another ace. Okay, I took that as a good sign and motored right on out of there.

Outside of the bar where we stopped I saw Steve, whom I rode the end of Triple D with last year, and he was having an issue with his hydration pack, which had leaked all over him. Uggh! It may have been tolerable for a time with the bright Sun and warm-ish temps, but later on being so wet would probably not be too good. I wished him well, remounted and set off down the fence line to where we exited out onto a paved road.

Pavement gave a short respite from high resistance snow riding.

The pavement went on for a bit since we had to go around the part where we were off road last year, which was a section of woods that had about a zillion road apples in it from a horse gathering spot. Kind of a bummer that we had to use pavement, but this year it turned out to be a welcomed respite from pushing, post holing, and struggling with poor snow conditions.

The pavement eventually led us to gravel where I felt "back at home" and was enjoying the crunch of limestone under my tires once again. It was very short lived though, as this was Humke Road. That should ring a bell for anyone that has done Triple D before, since it is the wicked, rutted down hill that nearly is always ice covered and treacherous.

I ping-ponged back and forth downward and I thought I would be getting out unscathed just when I lost it and went down again. I wasn't hurt this time, just angry with myself, but I think the situation was just beyond my wheels and tires ability to cope. I remounted and finished out the down hill, griping about my inability to clean it, but that was just me being silly. I should have been more careful with my downhilling since my tires and wheels really were sub-par for such extreme conditions mixed with any sort of speed.

The last of the open country views for a while. Off to Heritage Trail from this point. 

Heritage Trail started out good.

Closing in on Dyersville and another checkpoint.

Hitting The Trail: Once I hit the trail proper, I was settling into a good pace. There were a few guys that I had been yo-yoing back and forth with, but here I was getting a leg up and drawing them back in. Every so often, I had to pull over for some runners in the marathon race and give them a thumbs up. It was a bit sketchy since the main track was where you wanted to be, but switching lines could get you sideways.

The trail was still pretty good, but showed signs of falling apart. The runners were punching through to the base, and where it was still frozen, the trail was very bumpy. I was glad for the Salsa Titanium Regulator post here. I passed a few guys and then I settled in behind a pair of guys for awhile. One of them made a bobble up front and ended up putting me in the middle. I didn't like following others on the Heritage, since it was really difficult to stay in the narrow "sweet spot" if you couldn't see where it was meandering toward.

I had planned on stopping at the first road crossing when it came for another shot of food and water. When I got to the Epworth Road Trail Head, I stopped and chowed down some beef jerky, a couple of gels, and drank some fluids. After a nature break, I remounted and quickly caught up with Steve and another rider. Apparently Steve had rectified his issues with his hydration pack and was still in the mix. Steve was second wheel and I heard him relay to the rider in front that he planned on stopping at the next intersection to eat. I was okay with waiting behind them to get a clear view in a mile or so. Suddenly, the front rider bobbled and Steve and I bypassed him to end up as a two up pair. Finally Steve pulled off and I was off and running on my own again.

I pulled over for a few more items to eat and a drink or two, but essentially I had no issues going through this sector. I was hauling, feeling good, and my goal was to not see any returning riders from the Dyersville turn around until after I had passed by Farley Iowa. I did that, and just past Farley, I saw Trevor, (the eventual winner), and former Triple D champion, Drew go by me. They weren't going all that fast, which I was a bit surprised by, but the snow conditions were really getting sketchy by this time.

Beer stop ahead!

I reached the Dyersville turnaround in 40th place by 2:10pm. Here we got to draw another card for the poker run and I got my third ace! I chowed down some pizza, grabbed some Gatorade, and a brownie, then checked back out and hit the road. I had seen Kyle from Des Moines with another rider going out when I came in, and as I went out, I saw them coming back. They acknowledged me and wished me well, but I found it odd that they, two really strong guys, were coming back to the checkpoint again. I found out later they abandoned there.

Well, about two miles into the Heritage Trail, I think I figured out why they had turned around. The trail had gone completely soft. The snow was like loose flour, or mashed potatoes in places. To make any headway at all, you had to really pay attention to your line and stay in the tracks of those bikes ahead of you. This was difficult with the lowering Sun and its light being filtered through trees making seeing details difficult, if not impossible. Finally, I saw a road where I stopped for a break to eat and drink. I decided to eat and drink at the next one up the line, but when I got there, it was a different sort of break than I had anticipated on taking!

Next: The final installment of the race report for Triple D

Triple D 2014: Race Report Part 3

Still in open farmland, but the temperature is rising!

Still Out In The Open:

The farmland part of Triple D continued and we went up the famous long climb into the back end of a farmers home, pushing for the majority of the way here. The temperature was  well above freezing now and the snow was beginning to suffer. That is, where the winds weren't drifting it up. But either way, riding anything resembling an "up" was almost undoable by this part of the event if it wasn't in the shade.

A bit of a respite comes though as we got to enjoy an incredible downhill run, which was also in last year's course. This time I was a tad more conservative with my downhill speed owing to the skinnier tires I was running and the looser conditions. Near the end though, I thought better of being conservative and let'er rip! It was fun until I saw the huge drift at the bottom. Several riders had "pizza cuttered" a gash through it, which I aimed for, but I was too sideways upon entry and yard saled it big time! Good thing there was a drift there! I still smacked my left shoulder pretty hard, but I didn't even lay there long. I popped right back up, dusted of a bit of accumulated snow and remounted.

This section is another of my favorites as it goes wending along the woods for a bit, then you have a steep-ish, longer climb out of the valley. I hit an ice patch about halfway up and spun out. Walked it about 20 yards, then rode the rest of the way out. At the top, there is an open field and I decided  to eat, drink, and put on some gloves, which I had taken off earlier.

Post-holing through the drifts after the woods section

When I started out across the field, it was a constant roll down-post hole back up dance until we reached the edge of the roadway and sailed down the fence line to the first checkpoint. It consisted simply of grabbing a poker card for the poker run part of the event. I had drawn an ace at the start, and here I got another ace. Okay, I took that as a good sign and motored right on out of there.

Outside of the bar where we stopped I saw Steve, whom I rode the end of Triple D with last year, and he was having an issue with his hydration pack, which had leaked all over him. Uggh! It may have been tolerable for a time with the bright Sun and warm-ish temps, but later on being so wet would probably not be too good. I wished him well, remounted and set off down the fence line to where we exited out onto a paved road.

Pavement gave a short respite from high resistance snow riding.

The pavement went on for a bit since we had to go around the part where we were off road last year, which was a section of woods that had about a zillion road apples in it from a horse gathering spot. Kind of a bummer that we had to use pavement, but this year it turned out to be a welcomed respite from pushing, post holing, and struggling with poor snow conditions.

The pavement eventually led us to gravel where I felt "back at home" and was enjoying the crunch of limestone under my tires once again. It was very short lived though, as this was Humke Road. That should ring a bell for anyone that has done Triple D before, since it is the wicked, rutted down hill that nearly is always ice covered and treacherous.

I ping-ponged back and forth downward and I thought I would be getting out unscathed just when I lost it and went down again. I wasn't hurt this time, just angry with myself, but I think the situation was just beyond my wheels and tires ability to cope. I remounted and finished out the down hill, griping about my inability to clean it, but that was just me being silly. I should have been more careful with my downhilling since my tires and wheels really were sub-par for such extreme conditions mixed with any sort of speed.

The last of the open country views for a while. Off to Heritage Trail from this point. 

Heritage Trail started out good.

Closing in on Dyersville and another checkpoint.

Hitting The Trail: Once I hit the trail proper, I was settling into a good pace. There were a few guys that I had been yo-yoing back and forth with, but here I was getting a leg up and drawing them back in. Every so often, I had to pull over for some runners in the marathon race and give them a thumbs up. It was a bit sketchy since the main track was where you wanted to be, but switching lines could get you sideways.

The trail was still pretty good, but showed signs of falling apart. The runners were punching through to the base, and where it was still frozen, the trail was very bumpy. I was glad for the Salsa Titanium Regulator post here. I passed a few guys and then I settled in behind a pair of guys for awhile. One of them made a bobble up front and ended up putting me in the middle. I didn't like following others on the Heritage, since it was really difficult to stay in the narrow "sweet spot" if you couldn't see where it was meandering toward.

I had planned on stopping at the first road crossing when it came for another shot of food and water. When I got to the Epworth Road Trail Head, I stopped and chowed down some beef jerky, a couple of gels, and drank some fluids. After a nature break, I remounted and quickly caught up with Steve and another rider. Apparently Steve had rectified his issues with his hydration pack and was still in the mix. Steve was second wheel and I heard him relay to the rider in front that he planned on stopping at the next intersection to eat. I was okay with waiting behind them to get a clear view in a mile or so. Suddenly, the front rider bobbled and Steve and I bypassed him to end up as a two up pair. Finally Steve pulled off and I was off and running on my own again.

I pulled over for a few more items to eat and a drink or two, but essentially I had no issues going through this sector. I was hauling, feeling good, and my goal was to not see any returning riders from the Dyersville turn around until after I had passed by Farley Iowa. I did that, and just past Farley, I saw Trevor, (the eventual winner), and former Triple D champion, Drew go by me. They weren't going all that fast, which I was a bit surprised by, but the snow conditions were really getting sketchy by this time.

Beer stop ahead!

I reached the Dyersville turnaround in 40th place by 2:10pm. Here we got to draw another card for the poker run and I got my third ace! I chowed down some pizza, grabbed some Gatorade, and a brownie, then checked back out and hit the road. I had seen Kyle from Des Moines with another rider going out when I came in, and as I went out, I saw them coming back. They acknowledged me and wished me well, but I found it odd that they, two really strong guys, were coming back to the checkpoint again. I found out later they abandoned there.

Well, about two miles into the Heritage Trail, I think I figured out why they had turned around. The trail had gone completely soft. The snow was like loose flour, or mashed potatoes in places. To make any headway at all, you had to really pay attention to your line and stay in the tracks of those bikes ahead of you. This was difficult with the lowering Sun and its light being filtered through trees making seeing details difficult, if not impossible. Finally, I saw a road where I stopped for a break to eat and drink. I decided to eat and drink at the next one up the line, but when I got there, it was a different sort of break than I had anticipated on taking!

Next: The final installment of the race report for Triple D

Triple D 2014: Race Report Part 2

Ready for Triple D, but was I?

Pre-race:

As I said, my family and I all traveled to Dubuque where we spent Saturday at the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. I was duly impressed with several things I saw there, but I won't go into that only to say it is well worth a visit if ever you get there.

Saturday afternoon, my good friend MG was to be in town, but he got there by around noon, and when I found out, we conspired to get a ride in together. Eventually, after all the family things and after running some errands for race supplies, we met up. About 4:15pm, I went back to my room with the plan to get kitted up and hit some of the opening trail of Triple D.

As I scanned my room, I couldn't find a small bag that contained at least half of my clothing for the race. I finally figured out that I had left it at home! It was 4:30pm, and the bike shop closed at5:00pm! Yikes! I texted MG that we were going on an emergency mission to find me some race gear. Well, my wonderful wife said, "Get what you need. Consider it an early birthday present." So I got a North Face base layer set up of a long sleeved shirt and long underwear. I also got some Bontrager tights to go over that. My other bag had my coats, hats, gloves, and tops, so I had everything else I needed. We got it all paid for and we were outta there by 4:50pm. In the end, it was good that I had planned that ride with MG, otherwise my race would have been sunk!

I missed riding with MG, but I did get kitted up in my new stuff and tested it out on a short, half an hour or so ride just to see if everything felt okay. So, a bit of an unknown quantity going into the event was added to the unknown of my health going in.

Race Start: 

Michael Lemberger jonesin' on a Surly Special Ops Pug

Event director, Lance Andre

Overflow parking!

 The event meeting for the bikers was at 9:30am. We raced with two other events simultaneously, a marathon and half marathon running event, and a marathon XC skiing event. The runners and skiers all start befor we do, and everything is coordinated so there is little overlap with the runners and skiers on the Heritage Trail. Kudos to Lance Andre and his crew for juggling so many different needs and schedules!

Anyway, we take the start line at 10am and slow roll to a starting point behind some industrial place which gets us out in the woods and off city streets right away. I take my place near the back of the pack since I had no idea how my body was going to react once the heat was on and I was stressing my body again after the long layoff. Of course, this made the entry into the tight, technical single track a dance of ride some, get off your bike and push some. It was also apparent that the snow was not as "set up" as I had hoped, but it was not bad at this point. Had I been out there alone, the trail may have been more rideable, but with the on again-off again it was hard to get a rhythm going. This led eventually to my first header, which was a classic "lawn dart". I actually had to pull my helmet out of the snow bank with some effort! Subsequently I had packed in snow dripping off my helmet for several hours afterward, but it wasn't bothersome at all.

Waiting near the back to get going on Triple D- In other words, the "real start line" was here!

At this point you leave the city proper and head out into the country. 

Looking back from the same spot as above.

The technical section at the start included several creek crossings, one of which had open water, but I "step-stoned" across and saved my Keen hiking boots from immersion. Then I got rolling pretty well, but the deep snow on the  trail sections was trying. So many ways to get sideways! This part was also where a lot of off camber and very steep pitches were and this made the going slower. The constant line of riders was beginning to break up into smaller groups of riders as some got away, some went slower, and some, like me, crashed themselves out of some groups!

The technical section finally ends as you get dumped out into a bike path, and this had a lot of drifted snow. Finding the right line was critical, and I did okay though here.

Eventually the course dumps you out onto the back yard of a large warehouse looking place and out into the countryside. A long downhill punctuated by a steep drop in and an overpass that you go under leads you into a dairy farmers yard, and one of the coolest parts of the course, to my mind.

The local snowmobile club got this trail put in and the landowner gave his permission to basically go across his farm fields for quite some distance. The first bit is always my favorite of all though, as you go right by the farmstead with its barn, corn cribs, and cattle. This part also includes the infamous "snow mobile fence line crossings" which are fine for a snow machine, but on a bicycle you need to watch yourself. Dropping in a wheel here would be a major issue, as the slats making up the bridges over the fences are placed very widely apart to discourage animals from crossing.

At this point in the event, things are really strung out as far as the riders go. Lots of spaces exist between you and others, and generally speaking, you are essentially out there on your own with the occasional pass or getting passed thing going on.  Conditions were bright and sunny with temperatures headed toward the freezing mark quickly, but the trail surface wasn't too bad yet at this point. I don't recall having a lot of issues riding through this section of the event.

Super-bright sun and excellent farmland views

Riders get pretty strung out by this point in the event. 

I'd stopped once for fluids and eating, but now the sections were so rideable and fun that I did not think a lot about refueling. I had my snack in the Chaff Bag and it was at hand so I began munching a bit on the Wasabi Trail Mix Mrs. Guitar Ted got for me. The trail meandered through the bucolic countryside and I was feeling okay so far.

Next: Up, Down, and Post Holing