Tamlanding

The maiden voyage was to work on Friday

It was all shiny and new, but now, this Monday morning, the Tamland is all dirty from a weekend of flogging. Obviously, with the background I have with this bike's history, I was eager to find out if what I'd been hearing about it was really true. That folks were really excited about the way it rode. I'd heard from the brand manager at Raleigh that the company prez was so smitten with the bike, that after he got a pre-production sample last year he quit riding anything else and rode the Tamland exclusively for weeks. I heard that dealers that had tried it out were pretty stoked about it. That's cool, but you know, you always want to find out for yourself, especially when many of the things about the bike were influenced by your own ideas.

So, when Friday was turning out to be a glorious day, I cut outta work an hour early and headed out for the gravel roads. Not far from work I got a sinking feeling that my tire pressures were off. Too low! Especially the back, it felt so soft, so smooth, like a low tire. The thing was, it rolled fine and pedaled without extra resistance, which you would expect with a low pressure tire. But the road was gone. There was no feeling from the back end of the bike, like any bumps and vibrations were being zapped before they got to my backside. Uncanny it was, so I stopped finally and checked the rear tire.

Barns For Jason

The tire was fine! Wow! So the Tamland is smooth then? Yes. Very.

I went on out of town to the North and cut across Eastward on Bennington Road. It was super nice out. Above 50 degrees and little wind. I felt a lot better and so I was hammering the bike over every roller. I slowed to get an image of a barn for Jason, and then I rolled a bit further down to take some detailed images on the road of the bike. The roads were primo. Only a few wet spots now and no dust. All the rock, for the most part, has been scraped aside by snowplows over the Winter leaving super smooth and fast dirt in its wake. That won't last long!

Back in town

I got back into town after 20 plus miles and felt great, if not a bit tired, but that was a great ride after being so cold for so long. It wouldn't last long though. Saturday was forecast to be colder by about 20-25 degrees and a lot windier. I still purposed to get a ride in despite the forecast of doom.

As foretold, the day on Saturday was brutal. Back into layers and heavy gloves for a slog in upper 20 degree temperatures. At least the Sun was out! Had it been cloudy the day would have felt a lot worse. I had intentions of riding part of the T.I.V10 course, but I didn't go that far down, and ended up driving to Traer and unloading there for what I hoped would be a fun, 20+ miler in some big hills.

A brutal wind cut my ride short

I left Southward, with the wind, and that part was a blast. Essentially a repeat of Friday, until I turned West. Gah! I lost a lot of speed, and the wind was battling me hard. The weather said it was an 18mph wind with 24mph gusts, but it was more like a 25mph wind with 30mph gusts! I mean, if it almost stops you in your tracks when the gusts come, that is a powerful wind.

Or I am really weak now! Could be.......

Whatever it was, it sucked, and I was really going to start hurting from working so hard to keep the bike going. I thought about how I had done an unplanned for ride the day before, and decided that I didn't want to sink my ship so soon after getting it above water. Being sick so long has made me a bit wary, perhaps. At any rate, I decided to cut the ride way short, turned North, and about had a fit. I mean, the wind, now in my face, was so strong I couldn't get above 10mph. It was nuts.

Barns For Jason: A round one!

What can you do? I just decided to roll with it. Heck, I was in no hurry, and so I tried to take what the ride would give me. I stopped and photographed whatever I wanted, and took my time spinning as much as I could. It was slow going, but it was going!

Eventually I got back to the truck and made it home. A good call on cutting that ride short too. I was feeling it in my legs the rest of Saturday and Sunday. Sore! So it was a recovery day on Sunday and I decided to clean up the Tamland and see if it needed any tweaking.

So, do I like it? So far it would be a big "yes". The bike has elements of a couple bikes I love rolled into one here: Steel, compliance, low bottom bracket, and stability. I don't like absolutely everything about the Tamland. There are a few components I think I will eventually swap out, starting with the handlebar. It isn't terrible, but by its very nature, it inhibits use in the drops and I don't like that. The drop section is okay, with its progressively curved tubes, but the reach to the lever from the drop in order to brake is unnecessarily too far. I know how to fix that, and the solution is named "Cowbell". There will be one coming for this bike quite soon!

The saddle I expected to hate, but hold on......it isn't too bad! The wheels are another thing. They are "okay", but I foresee something nicer taking their place eventually. Something a lot lighter. So, minor nits, nothing at all due to overall fit or design here. Just normal wishes and ergonomic complaints. Oh.....and one more compliant. When is it going to get warmer! Friday was such a tease!

Tamlanding

The maiden voyage was to work on Friday

It was all shiny and new, but now, this Monday morning, the Tamland is all dirty from a weekend of flogging. Obviously, with the background I have with this bike's history, I was eager to find out if what I'd been hearing about it was really true. That folks were really excited about the way it rode. I'd heard from the brand manager at Raleigh that the company prez was so smitten with the bike, that after he got a pre-production sample last year he quit riding anything else and rode the Tamland exclusively for weeks. I heard that dealers that had tried it out were pretty stoked about it. That's cool, but you know, you always want to find out for yourself, especially when many of the things about the bike were influenced by your own ideas.

So, when Friday was turning out to be a glorious day, I cut outta work an hour early and headed out for the gravel roads. Not far from work I got a sinking feeling that my tire pressures were off. Too low! Especially the back, it felt so soft, so smooth, like a low tire. The thing was, it rolled fine and pedaled without extra resistance, which you would expect with a low pressure tire. But the road was gone. There was no feeling from the back end of the bike, like any bumps and vibrations were being zapped before they got to my backside. Uncanny it was, so I stopped finally and checked the rear tire.

Barns For Jason

The tire was fine! Wow! So the Tamland is smooth then? Yes. Very.

I went on out of town to the North and cut across Eastward on Bennington Road. It was super nice out. Above 50 degrees and little wind. I felt a lot better and so I was hammering the bike over every roller. I slowed to get an image of a barn for Jason, and then I rolled a bit further down to take some detailed images on the road of the bike. The roads were primo. Only a few wet spots now and no dust. All the rock, for the most part, has been scraped aside by snowplows over the Winter leaving super smooth and fast dirt in its wake. That won't last long!

Back in town

I got back into town after 20 plus miles and felt great, if not a bit tired, but that was a great ride after being so cold for so long. It wouldn't last long though. Saturday was forecast to be colder by about 20-25 degrees and a lot windier. I still purposed to get a ride in despite the forecast of doom.

As foretold, the day on Saturday was brutal. Back into layers and heavy gloves for a slog in upper 20 degree temperatures. At least the Sun was out! Had it been cloudy the day would have felt a lot worse. I had intentions of riding part of the T.I.V10 course, but I didn't go that far down, and ended up driving to Traer and unloading there for what I hoped would be a fun, 20+ miler in some big hills.

A brutal wind cut my ride short

I left Southward, with the wind, and that part was a blast. Essentially a repeat of Friday, until I turned West. Gah! I lost a lot of speed, and the wind was battling me hard. The weather said it was an 18mph wind with 24mph gusts, but it was more like a 25mph wind with 30mph gusts! I mean, if it almost stops you in your tracks when the gusts come, that is a powerful wind.

Or I am really weak now! Could be.......

Whatever it was, it sucked, and I was really going to start hurting from working so hard to keep the bike going. I thought about how I had done an unplanned for ride the day before, and decided that I didn't want to sink my ship so soon after getting it above water. Being sick so long has made me a bit wary, perhaps. At any rate, I decided to cut the ride way short, turned North, and about had a fit. I mean, the wind, now in my face, was so strong I couldn't get above 10mph. It was nuts.

Barns For Jason: A round one!

What can you do? I just decided to roll with it. Heck, I was in no hurry, and so I tried to take what the ride would give me. I stopped and photographed whatever I wanted, and took my time spinning as much as I could. It was slow going, but it was going!

Eventually I got back to the truck and made it home. A good call on cutting that ride short too. I was feeling it in my legs the rest of Saturday and Sunday. Sore! So it was a recovery day on Sunday and I decided to clean up the Tamland and see if it needed any tweaking.

So, do I like it? So far it would be a big "yes". The bike has elements of a couple bikes I love rolled into one here: Steel, compliance, low bottom bracket, and stability. I don't like absolutely everything about the Tamland. There are a few components I think I will eventually swap out, starting with the handlebar. It isn't terrible, but by its very nature, it inhibits use in the drops and I don't like that. The drop section is okay, with its progressively curved tubes, but the reach to the lever from the drop in order to brake is unnecessarily too far. I know how to fix that, and the solution is named "Cowbell". There will be one coming for this bike quite soon!

The saddle I expected to hate, but hold on......it isn't too bad! The wheels are another thing. They are "okay", but I foresee something nicer taking their place eventually. Something a lot lighter. So, minor nits, nothing at all due to overall fit or design here. Just normal wishes and ergonomic complaints. Oh.....and one more compliant. When is it going to get warmer! Friday was such a tease!

Trans Iowa V10: Thoughts On The Roads

From this year's course.

One of my main concerns now is how the roads are coming out after this brutal Winter weather we've experienced. I must say that so far, the conditions have exceeded my expectations.

Three weeks ago we had maximum snow cover and we were experiencing the worst sub-zero temperatures of the season. Now- only three weeks later- the snow is almost completely melted. That in itself is pretty amazing.While things are looking great from that standpoint, there still is something else that will shape the outcome that has not happened as of yet.

That is the frost, which hasn't "come out" yet.

For those of you that may not understand, when Winter comes, it freezes the ground at the surface and for some depth below that. Generally speaking, that is usually about 4-5 feet down on any average Winter. However; it is estimated that the "frost" depths this year are twice that of normal. That will take  a while for the heat and energy of the Sun to "draw it out" of the ground. When it does this, we may see some spectacular road damage occur.

Minor frost damage as evidenced in the center of this road

Imagine a detachment of subterranean B-17's bombing the roads from underneath, and you might begin to understand "frost boils" and "frost heaves". These anomalies occur as frost is trying to melt, and water is pushed upward to the surface. This sometimes "boils" the ground into a fluffy texture, or it may manifest itself as a pocket of oozing mud. We had severe cases of this during T.I.v4 and again on T.I.v6.

Right now the roads look primo, and are fast and riding great. I've had reports of some county maintenance in the form of dump truck loads of fresh gravel. Holding out hope, if we do not see a tremendous amount of frost damage, and/or the weather holds out, and doesn't prevent maintenance, we may see an early start to the fresh gravel season. That would be a better situation than last year, which was pretty much smack dab in the midst of fresh gravel being put out.

Of course, this was the weekend when we had first planned to check the cues, but due to circumstances, and wanting to wait out the frost, we postponed it until our second choice, April 12th.  Hopefully by then we can see what sort of roads we will have on tap for T.I.V10.

Trans Iowa V10: Thoughts On The Roads

From this year's course.

One of my main concerns now is how the roads are coming out after this brutal Winter weather we've experienced. I must say that so far, the conditions have exceeded my expectations.

Three weeks ago we had maximum snow cover and we were experiencing the worst sub-zero temperatures of the season. Now- only three weeks later- the snow is almost completely melted. That in itself is pretty amazing.While things are looking great from that standpoint, there still is something else that will shape the outcome that has not happened as of yet.

That is the frost, which hasn't "come out" yet.

For those of you that may not understand, when Winter comes, it freezes the ground at the surface and for some depth below that. Generally speaking, that is usually about 4-5 feet down on any average Winter. However; it is estimated that the "frost" depths this year are twice that of normal. That will take  a while for the heat and energy of the Sun to "draw it out" of the ground. When it does this, we may see some spectacular road damage occur.

Minor frost damage as evidenced in the center of this road

Imagine a detachment of subterranean B-17's bombing the roads from underneath, and you might begin to understand "frost boils" and "frost heaves". These anomalies occur as frost is trying to melt, and water is pushed upward to the surface. This sometimes "boils" the ground into a fluffy texture, or it may manifest itself as a pocket of oozing mud. We had severe cases of this during T.I.v4 and again on T.I.v6.

Right now the roads look primo, and are fast and riding great. I've had reports of some county maintenance in the form of dump truck loads of fresh gravel. Holding out hope, if we do not see a tremendous amount of frost damage, and/or the weather holds out, and doesn't prevent maintenance, we may see an early start to the fresh gravel season. That would be a better situation than last year, which was pretty much smack dab in the midst of fresh gravel being put out.

Of course, this was the weekend when we had first planned to check the cues, but due to circumstances, and wanting to wait out the frost, we postponed it until our second choice, April 12th.  Hopefully by then we can see what sort of roads we will have on tap for T.I.V10.

Trans Iowa V10: Things Are Shaping Up

The T.I.V10 commemorative cap: Modeled by B. Bottke

A little over a month from now and T.I.V10 will be in full swing. Now all things are drawing together to a conclusion and the only "wildcard" left to discover is the weather. (More on that in a bit.) Sponsors are prepping things to be sent out, cue sheet checking will happen soon, and the Pre-Race Meat-Up menu choices are all, (mostly) in. Here are some tidbits on the event organization end for you to read about.....

• Hats: Just a quick history on this first- The hats were supposed to be cycling caps originally, but due to the exorbitant costs of custom printed, (or even plain), cycling caps, we decided to go to a trucker style cap. This proved to be doable, so that's what you are getting if you show up for Trans Iowa V10. They are in production now and should be ready in plenty of time for T.I.V10. The logo for these hats was the original Trans Iowa design conjured up by Jeff Kerkove in 2004. I figured it would be a great way to tie in the 10 years of Trans Iowa with my 2013 design on the t-shirts.
• Recon Postponed: In order to get a better read on the roads and whether or not any of them might be closed due to Winter/Spring damage, we postponed recon till mid-April. Today was our first choice, but with the frost yet to come out of the ground fully, we thought better of it. Stay tuned for updates on this....
• Pre-Race Meat-Up: Thanks to all of you for answering the Pre-Race Meat-Up e-mail. I am submitting the data this weekend from that. Remember- the Pre-Race Meat-Up is mandatory to attend and you must sign on before 6pm Friday the 25th of April at the Grinnell Steakhouse or you will not be riding in Trans Iowa V10. No exceptions.... Some of you chose not to eat at the Steakhouse, which is fine, but that notwithstanding, the rest is still required for you to ride! Do not forget or fail to be on time! 
• Sponsors: If you have pledged anything for Trans Iowa, I am very grateful. Now would be a great time to arrange for delivery of the products for sponsorship. If there are any questions, hit me up here. Thanks for the support of Trans Iowa!
• Weather: As always, any forecast this far off is a crap shoot, but so far the weathermen and weatherwomen are sticking with a cooler, wetter Spring forecast. The next ten days will see cold nights below freezing and highs in the 40's-low 50's. The first 60°+ day isn't forecast until well into April with sub-freezing nights showing up until mid-month. This bodes for wetter roads and unrideable B Roads unless there is a big departure from the prognostications. Day of event forecast? Saturday morning snow flurries! Don't shrug it off, because it has happened before! 
• Trans Iowa Radio: Just a reminder that Mountain Bike Radio will again be hosting the popular call ins by riders and myself for Trans Iowa V10.  Details are being ironed out, and I will announce them as soon as I can. I may also be supplementing that with some longer audio-blog posts here. One of the limitations to the call in last year was that the allowable time for posts was only about two minutes long max. I kind of like to ramble a bit longer than that at times, so I may do that here. We'll see......

Stay tuned- more coming tomorrow!

Trans Iowa V10: Things Are Shaping Up

The T.I.V10 commemorative cap: Modeled by B. Bottke

A little over a month from now and T.I.V10 will be in full swing. Now all things are drawing together to a conclusion and the only "wildcard" left to discover is the weather. (More on that in a bit.) Sponsors are prepping things to be sent out, cue sheet checking will happen soon, and the Pre-Race Meat-Up menu choices are all, (mostly) in. Here are some tidbits on the event organization end for you to read about.....

• Hats: Just a quick history on this first- The hats were supposed to be cycling caps originally, but due to the exorbitant costs of custom printed, (or even plain), cycling caps, we decided to go to a trucker style cap. This proved to be doable, so that's what you are getting if you show up for Trans Iowa V10. They are in production now and should be ready in plenty of time for T.I.V10. The logo for these hats was the original Trans Iowa design conjured up by Jeff Kerkove in 2004. I figured it would be a great way to tie in the 10 years of Trans Iowa with my 2013 design on the t-shirts.
• Recon Postponed: In order to get a better read on the roads and whether or not any of them might be closed due to Winter/Spring damage, we postponed recon till mid-April. Today was our first choice, but with the frost yet to come out of the ground fully, we thought better of it. Stay tuned for updates on this....
• Pre-Race Meat-Up: Thanks to all of you for answering the Pre-Race Meat-Up e-mail. I am submitting the data this weekend from that. Remember- the Pre-Race Meat-Up is mandatory to attend and you must sign on before 6pm Friday the 25th of April at the Grinnell Steakhouse or you will not be riding in Trans Iowa V10. No exceptions.... Some of you chose not to eat at the Steakhouse, which is fine, but that notwithstanding, the rest is still required for you to ride! Do not forget or fail to be on time! 
• Sponsors: If you have pledged anything for Trans Iowa, I am very grateful. Now would be a great time to arrange for delivery of the products for sponsorship. If there are any questions, hit me up here. Thanks for the support of Trans Iowa!
• Weather: As always, any forecast this far off is a crap shoot, but so far the weathermen and weatherwomen are sticking with a cooler, wetter Spring forecast. The next ten days will see cold nights below freezing and highs in the 40's-low 50's. The first 60°+ day isn't forecast until well into April with sub-freezing nights showing up until mid-month. This bodes for wetter roads and unrideable B Roads unless there is a big departure from the prognostications. Day of event forecast? Saturday morning snow flurries! Don't shrug it off, because it has happened before! 
• Trans Iowa Radio: Just a reminder that Mountain Bike Radio will again be hosting the popular call ins by riders and myself for Trans Iowa V10.  Details are being ironed out, and I will announce them as soon as I can. I may also be supplementing that with some longer audio-blog posts here. One of the limitations to the call in last year was that the allowable time for posts was only about two minutes long max. I kind of like to ramble a bit longer than that at times, so I may do that here. We'll see......

Stay tuned- more coming tomorrow!

Friday News And Views

Finally got it home

Tamland Time: 

I finally got the Raleigh Tamland back to the house yesterday. A day later than I had intended, but that's okay.  Now the test riding begins! First will be today's commuting, then Saturday I have a test session for the rig at a "secret location". Look for a full report Sunday on where that is....

So, since I haven't ridden it just yet, (besides pottsing around in front of the house last night), I can only comment on a few aesthetic things and a minor comment on spec.

I have grown to like the paint job more than I did originally. Funny that I didn't catch on until my daughter saw it and dubbed it "American Flag". Well.......duh! It is red, white, and blue after all! Then there are the steel tubes. I like the thinner steel tubing look. A fine departure from the massive, swoopy carbon frames. Simpler. Easy on the eyes. That goes for the graphics as well. Raleigh really restrained themselves there.

I don't care for the black Ultegra 11 speed look. Black. Gah! Black is the color of plastic, or carbon fiber, but obviously, this isn't the latter. It's going to look horrendous once it gets gravel dust all over it too. Silver would have been so much better in this regard, like the stuff on my Black Mountain Cycles rig. Anyway, I'll be riding this a bunch soon, so stay tuned for details.....

Gravel Expo:

You've heard of the Almanzo 100, but did you know that this year there will be some "grass track racing" and a vendor expo? Yep, and it'll all go down the night before the Almanzo kicks of on Friday May 16th at the Spring Valley Minnesota Campground.  Here's a brief listing of what is going down there...

• Almanzo 100 packet pickup
• Grass track racing- FREE entry to race on a 225 yard grass track.
• Rapha film festival (Starts at dusk)
• Spaghetti dinner and oatmeal bar breakfast (Saturday morning)
• Camping will be available onsite as well. (First come, first served)

So, could this evolve to become the "gravelers version" of Sea Otter? That might be pretentious, but it would be pretty dang cool for the Mid-West and all road riding.  Hopefully the weather cooperates and this inaugural event comes off well and is well attended. I'd love to be there myself, but I already am engaged to do something with my son that weekend and won't be able to make it. Actually, if I could make it, I'd be riding in the Almanzo 100, and would be sleeping early that night somewhere else to get a good rest!

Domahidy Designs steel single speed

Domahidy Designs Announces 27.5"ers:

 Steve Domahidy is a smart, really nice guy. Whenever I went to Interbike and Niner Bikes was there, I would get Steve off to the side and get him talking about the bikes he designed. It was very interesting, fun, and it was really easy to hear Steve's passion and caring for his work in his speech and see it in his body language. If there is one thing I love about the cycling industry it is passionate, caring cycling nerds. (I mean that in the best possible way!)

Well, Steve broke off from Niner Bikes and now he is trying to kickstart his own company. The main bunch of rigs are 29"ers, of course, but Steve, being the practical, smart fellow he is, realizes that small individuals need something other than 29 inch wheels, so he is adding some 27.5 sizes in the titanium and Reynolds Steel hard tails he is offering for such folks.

The Kickstarter campaign ends real soon, so visit the page and make up your mind soon if you want to see this thing off to reality. Either way, I'm sure Steve will land on his feet somewhere and be just as passionate and caring about bicycles as he ever was.

That's a wrap for today. Get out and kick off some Springtime miles!

Friday News And Views

Finally got it home

Tamland Time: 

I finally got the Raleigh Tamland back to the house yesterday. A day later than I had intended, but that's okay.  Now the test riding begins! First will be today's commuting, then Saturday I have a test session for the rig at a "secret location". Look for a full report Sunday on where that is....

So, since I haven't ridden it just yet, (besides pottsing around in front of the house last night), I can only comment on a few aesthetic things and a minor comment on spec.

I have grown to like the paint job more than I did originally. Funny that I didn't catch on until my daughter saw it and dubbed it "American Flag". Well.......duh! It is red, white, and blue after all! Then there are the steel tubes. I like the thinner steel tubing look. A fine departure from the massive, swoopy carbon frames. Simpler. Easy on the eyes. That goes for the graphics as well. Raleigh really restrained themselves there.

I don't care for the black Ultegra 11 speed look. Black. Gah! Black is the color of plastic, or carbon fiber, but obviously, this isn't the latter. It's going to look horrendous once it gets gravel dust all over it too. Silver would have been so much better in this regard, like the stuff on my Black Mountain Cycles rig. Anyway, I'll be riding this a bunch soon, so stay tuned for details.....

Gravel Expo:

You've heard of the Almanzo 100, but did you know that this year there will be some "grass track racing" and a vendor expo? Yep, and it'll all go down the night before the Almanzo kicks of on Friday May 16th at the Spring Valley Minnesota Campground.  Here's a brief listing of what is going down there...

• Almanzo 100 packet pickup
• Grass track racing- FREE entry to race on a 225 yard grass track.
• Rapha film festival (Starts at dusk)
• Spaghetti dinner and oatmeal bar breakfast (Saturday morning)
• Camping will be available onsite as well. (First come, first served)

So, could this evolve to become the "gravelers version" of Sea Otter? That might be pretentious, but it would be pretty dang cool for the Mid-West and all road riding.  Hopefully the weather cooperates and this inaugural event comes off well and is well attended. I'd love to be there myself, but I already am engaged to do something with my son that weekend and won't be able to make it. Actually, if I could make it, I'd be riding in the Almanzo 100, and would be sleeping early that night somewhere else to get a good rest!

Domahidy Designs steel single speed

Domahidy Designs Announces 27.5"ers:

 Steve Domahidy is a smart, really nice guy. Whenever I went to Interbike and Niner Bikes was there, I would get Steve off to the side and get him talking about the bikes he designed. It was very interesting, fun, and it was really easy to hear Steve's passion and caring for his work in his speech and see it in his body language. If there is one thing I love about the cycling industry it is passionate, caring cycling nerds. (I mean that in the best possible way!)

Well, Steve broke off from Niner Bikes and now he is trying to kickstart his own company. The main bunch of rigs are 29"ers, of course, but Steve, being the practical, smart fellow he is, realizes that small individuals need something other than 29 inch wheels, so he is adding some 27.5 sizes in the titanium and Reynolds Steel hard tails he is offering for such folks.

The Kickstarter campaign ends real soon, so visit the page and make up your mind soon if you want to see this thing off to reality. Either way, I'm sure Steve will land on his feet somewhere and be just as passionate and caring about bicycles as he ever was.

That's a wrap for today. Get out and kick off some Springtime miles!

Remembering The Old School

Back in the day, this was my bike. Really!

I was up at the shop yesterday to bail out a customer that needed a special cassette built up from something he had brought in. While I was assembling that, I noticed a Surly Ogre, (yeah......hard NOT to notice that box!), and it needed assembling. So I stayed and started piecing it together.

I was twiddling wrenches when I looked up and saw a "customer" approaching the counter. Suddenly I recognized the figure as a person I hadn't seen in 18 years! It was an old riding buddy of mine. What an awesome surprise.

Well, it didn't take long before we were deep into the "old daze" when we both did a lot of riding together. Trips, night time rides, and after work jaunts in Geo Wyth. For a brief look at one adventure I wrote up a few years back, see here. Those night rides were actually instigated by this old friend, which is something I just learned yesterday. It was really fun to remember those times when riding was just for fun and adventure and mountain biking was still evolving at a breakneck pace.

It's funny to look back on it all now. In some ways, the whole suspension, free ride, and racing deal back then kind of messed up what was simply a great time. We didn't let it get to us, well......not too much. But as with anything, things change and we all went our different ways. It's all good......

It was great to reconnect after all these years and catch up, and who knows, maybe someday we'll be rolling wheels together again on another adventure.

Remembering The Old School

Back in the day, this was my bike. Really!

I was up at the shop yesterday to bail out a customer that needed a special cassette built up from something he had brought in. While I was assembling that, I noticed a Surly Ogre, (yeah......hard NOT to notice that box!), and it needed assembling. So I stayed and started piecing it together.

I was twiddling wrenches when I looked up and saw a "customer" approaching the counter. Suddenly I recognized the figure as a person I hadn't seen in 18 years! It was an old riding buddy of mine. What an awesome surprise.

Well, it didn't take long before we were deep into the "old daze" when we both did a lot of riding together. Trips, night time rides, and after work jaunts in Geo Wyth. For a brief look at one adventure I wrote up a few years back, see here. Those night rides were actually instigated by this old friend, which is something I just learned yesterday. It was really fun to remember those times when riding was just for fun and adventure and mountain biking was still evolving at a breakneck pace.

It's funny to look back on it all now. In some ways, the whole suspension, free ride, and racing deal back then kind of messed up what was simply a great time. We didn't let it get to us, well......not too much. But as with anything, things change and we all went our different ways. It's all good......

It was great to reconnect after all these years and catch up, and who knows, maybe someday we'll be rolling wheels together again on another adventure.

Crawling Out Of The Hole

Love that red!

The health and all is still pretty zapped, I'll tell ya. Last Friday I felt like a zombie, so Saturday, even though some folks had a big gravel ride planned, I decided I had better not go. I actually slept in! Things is, it didn't do any good, and I finally just went out for a brief ride anyway.

I saw that the flood gates were closed on Fletcher Avenue, so I went down and cruised the dike along Black Hawk creek just to see how things were coming along.

I found that the ice was already out, and the creek, which had been higher, was receding then. I missed the ice jams! However; there were still huge chunks of river ice floating in the rushing current and several large section of ice stranded up on higher ground where the water had once been.

I ambled down the bank gingerly, since there was still fairly deep snow here, and went down to the creek's edge for a closer look at the flotsam and jetsam of Winter on Black Hawk Creek that was being swept away by the coming of Spring on Black Hawk Creek.

Interesting how the creek layered up through the Winter as seen by this big chunk of at least 15"

I puttered around there for a bit then I headed back home. Sunday I felt lethargic all day, for the most part. Monday and Tuesday have been so-so. It seems as though my health is stuck in neutral for now, and I will just have to take care of myself the best I know how and be patient. Maybe as the ice takes awile to melt, so will the coming of full health and fun on the bicycle again.

Crawling Out Of The Hole

Love that red!

The health and all is still pretty zapped, I'll tell ya. Last Friday I felt like a zombie, so Saturday, even though some folks had a big gravel ride planned, I decided I had better not go. I actually slept in! Things is, it didn't do any good, and I finally just went out for a brief ride anyway.

I saw that the flood gates were closed on Fletcher Avenue, so I went down and cruised the dike along Black Hawk creek just to see how things were coming along.

I found that the ice was already out, and the creek, which had been higher, was receding then. I missed the ice jams! However; there were still huge chunks of river ice floating in the rushing current and several large section of ice stranded up on higher ground where the water had once been.

I ambled down the bank gingerly, since there was still fairly deep snow here, and went down to the creek's edge for a closer look at the flotsam and jetsam of Winter on Black Hawk Creek that was being swept away by the coming of Spring on Black Hawk Creek.

Interesting how the creek layered up through the Winter as seen by this big chunk of at least 15"

I puttered around there for a bit then I headed back home. Sunday I felt lethargic all day, for the most part. Monday and Tuesday have been so-so. It seems as though my health is stuck in neutral for now, and I will just have to take care of myself the best I know how and be patient. Maybe as the ice takes awile to melt, so will the coming of full health and fun on the bicycle again.

Raleigh Tamland 2: In Light Of The Circumstances.....

The new sled in the shed.

 The gravel bike. Who needs a "gravel specific bike"? First off, no one needs any "specific bike", but the fact is that specialization of bicycles is not only accepted, it is seen as being necessary in several types of cycling. I could go on and on, but it is a fact of our day and age. Don't like it? Get an ordinary then and be off with you!

Specialization for gravel bikes makes just as much sense as specialization for cyclo cross bikes, because when it comes right down to it, we could ask the very valid question: Why not just use a road bike for cyclo cross racing?" Ridiculous, you say? Not the same thing, you say?

Really? Think about it.......

So, with that said, I have been bouncing around ideas for a gravel specific bike geometry for years on this blog. Apparently someone took notice, and last year sometime, I was at work and I received a phone call from Raleigh USA. A conference call, ideas were bounced around, and I downloaded a "laundry list" of ideas that, if I were a manufacturer/retailer of bicycles, I would include in designing a gravel specific bike. Phone call ends, and I pretty much shrug my shoulders and forget about it all. I'm used to being asked stuff and having it go nowhere, or come out entirely unlike anything I suggested. Why should this deal be any different?

The Tamland 1: Image courtesy of Cyclo Cross Magazine

Fast forward to mid-Summer 2013 and the Raleigh dealer camp. At that event, Cyclo Cross Magazine reports on a gravel bike from Raleigh dubbed the Tamland. I prick up my ears, because in the description I get hints of things I said Raleigh should consider for this rig.

Later in the year, more information is released and at Interbike in Las Vegas I get to see the Tamland for the first time. At that event, I was told that, indeed everything I laid down was taken to heart and implemented into the Tamland design. Pretty heady stuff. I said at the time, "Well, if this doesn't work out, I suppose it will be my fault!" Maybe I overstated the importance of my advice, but that's the impact the news had on me at the time. I was, and still am, flattered that this bike was somehow influenced by my thoughts on what a gravel bike should be. Of course, Raleigh's talented folks had a lot to do with getting this done, and they certainly deserve the lions share of credit, but knowing I had a small part is humbling.

Now, in light of this, I figured I better buy one, and I did. I mean, I figured it probably won't happen again anytime soon, that a bike would have something from my influence executed in its design, so I  had better get one now. That said, I don't even know if this would work- I just thought it should! Fortunately the early reactions have been very positive towards the bike, which is even more flattering and humbling.

And now I'll get on this red and white Tamland with the blue highlights and I'll find out if it does work. If it does or doesn't, I'll not be shy in saying so. And as I've always said, it is not going to work for everybody, or maybe for very few folks, and maybe it doesn't really work at all, (although that last choice seems highly unlikely from what I've heard), so we'll see. In the end, it may be a great all-road design. Whatever it is, I will be finding out real soon!

Raleigh Tamland 2: In Light Of The Circumstances.....

The new sled in the shed.

 The gravel bike. Who needs a "gravel specific bike"? First off, no one needs any "specific bike", but the fact is that specialization of bicycles is not only accepted, it is seen as being necessary in several types of cycling. I could go on and on, but it is a fact of our day and age. Don't like it? Get an ordinary then and be off with you!

Specialization for gravel bikes makes just as much sense as specialization for cyclo cross bikes, because when it comes right down to it, we could ask the very valid question: Why not just use a road bike for cyclo cross racing?" Ridiculous, you say? Not the same thing, you say?

Really? Think about it.......

So, with that said, I have been bouncing around ideas for a gravel specific bike geometry for years on this blog. Apparently someone took notice, and last year sometime, I was at work and I received a phone call from Raleigh USA. A conference call, ideas were bounced around, and I downloaded a "laundry list" of ideas that, if I were a manufacturer/retailer of bicycles, I would include in designing a gravel specific bike. Phone call ends, and I pretty much shrug my shoulders and forget about it all. I'm used to being asked stuff and having it go nowhere, or come out entirely unlike anything I suggested. Why should this deal be any different?

The Tamland 1: Image courtesy of Cyclo Cross Magazine

Fast forward to mid-Summer 2013 and the Raleigh dealer camp. At that event, Cyclo Cross Magazine reports on a gravel bike from Raleigh dubbed the Tamland. I prick up my ears, because in the description I get hints of things I said Raleigh should consider for this rig.

Later in the year, more information is released and at Interbike in Las Vegas I get to see the Tamland for the first time. At that event, I was told that, indeed everything I laid down was taken to heart and implemented into the Tamland design. Pretty heady stuff. I said at the time, "Well, if this doesn't work out, I suppose it will be my fault!" Maybe I overstated the importance of my advice, but that's the impact the news had on me at the time. I was, and still am, flattered that this bike was somehow influenced by my thoughts on what a gravel bike should be. Of course, Raleigh's talented folks had a lot to do with getting this done, and they certainly deserve the lions share of credit, but knowing I had a small part is humbling.

Now, in light of this, I figured I better buy one, and I did. I mean, I figured it probably won't happen again anytime soon, that a bike would have something from my influence executed in its design, so I  had better get one now. That said, I don't even know if this would work- I just thought it should! Fortunately the early reactions have been very positive towards the bike, which is even more flattering and humbling.

And now I'll get on this red and white Tamland with the blue highlights and I'll find out if it does work. If it does or doesn't, I'll not be shy in saying so. And as I've always said, it is not going to work for everybody, or maybe for very few folks, and maybe it doesn't really work at all, (although that last choice seems highly unlikely from what I've heard), so we'll see. In the end, it may be a great all-road design. Whatever it is, I will be finding out real soon!

The Reason For What I Do

The start of the return on investments

Yesterday I had a surprise visitor at the Guitar Ted Productions Headquarters. I won't get into who it was, and what the reason was for the visit, because it isn't anyone elses business. (But as long as I am mentioning this- thank you! ) However; something came out of the discussion we were having that rang true, and it reminded me of the conversation I had only a week ago with MG. I felt compelled to share something about those two conversations that maybe is obvious to some folks, but then again, maybe it isn't.

This whole gravel road cycling thing has been going on for a while now and there are a lot of events happening. Several of these are of the "free" type: Almanzo 100, (and attendant events), The Gravel Worlds, Westside Dirty Benjamin, and I could go on and on. The events that have turned gravel racing into the defacto "grassroots cycling" movement of the U.S.A. Why is that? Is it just that these events are free to enter? Partly. Yes, that is one reason, but I think there is a whole lot more depth to it than just a lack of monetary barriers.

Barriers to inclusion can be all sorts of things and a few of us out there that have been sweating the details and doing this for awhile are committed to breaking down as many of those as possible. Some of those things are obvious, like the money deal, or no license requirements. Some of these things are not very obvious- at first glance- but if you care to look deeper, you'll see what I mean.

This isn't your ordinary racing- (Image by W. Kilburg)

When I used to race XC mountain bike stuff in the 90's, it was pretty much accepted that racing off road was "friendlier" than doing road bike events, but let me tell you- those events weren't very friendly. Before I even knew what gravel racing was all about, and way before the culture of the gravel events developed, or the whole "adventure" thing connected with gravel events happened, I was pretty turned off by the "every man for himself" attitudes and the cold, self absorbed nature that many of the participants conveyed to me.

Now- that's my experience. But in comparison to what I have witnessed, been a part of, and told by others, the gravel road racing scene isn't like that, (for the most part), at all. Not even close.

Maybe it is the "all inclusive" nature of gravel events. You could show up on a real klunker of a bike, or something totally not right, and folks would be okay with talking with you and not taking you to task for being a "newb". They wouldn't look down their nose at you, but more than likely, they'd be willing to help you out, if you wanted that, and at the very least, they would be very encouraging toward you. That's what I've seen. That's what I've heard.

These are the same folks that would, after they won the event, come and pick up a DNF'er out on the course because the event director was tied up elsewhere. (Ask me how I know that!) These are the folks that after a top ten in the event offer you a cold one, and sit down and share the day's events with you, and want to hear about you and your experiences, even if you didn't finish. These are the folks that aren't bitching about what the race director didn't do for them, but are standing in line to shake his/her hand, offering encouragement, and doing unasked for things in support of said events. In other words, these are the folks you want to get to know, to ride with, and cannot wait to do that again with them.

If it weren't for gravel stuff.........

Anyway, you get the picture. I am not saying this doesn't happen at road races, mountain bike races, or whatever. I am saying that in my experience, and in that of almost anyone else I can think of that does gravel events, this has been the experience, and I've only scratched the surface.

The big point brought up by my conversations with these two folks recently was that without gravel road events, and them being the way they are, there would be so many fewer friendships, opportunities, and special memories that are associated with those events. I don't think that you can say any one thing led to this- not the "free" racing thing, not that these events are on gravel, nor that they are easy to attend. I think it runs deeper than that. It is about the people, the spirit of the events, and lasting relationships that come out of them that make the gravel racing scene so attractive and so.......powerful. 

Yes, I just said that. 

I think it is true, and if the deep, heartfelt conversations I have had in the past week are any indication, I am dead right. I know a lot of popular media types, bloggers, and talking heads will poo-poo all this, but that's okay.  I say, come on down and get dusty, look around you, and see if you don't see it as well. Then we'll talk.....

The Reason For What I Do

The start of the return on investments

Yesterday I had a surprise visitor at the Guitar Ted Productions Headquarters. I won't get into who it was, and what the reason was for the visit, because it isn't anyone elses business. (But as long as I am mentioning this- thank you! ) However; something came out of the discussion we were having that rang true, and it reminded me of the conversation I had only a week ago with MG. I felt compelled to share something about those two conversations that maybe is obvious to some folks, but then again, maybe it isn't.

This whole gravel road cycling thing has been going on for a while now and there are a lot of events happening. Several of these are of the "free" type: Almanzo 100, (and attendant events), The Gravel Worlds, Westside Dirty Benjamin, and I could go on and on. The events that have turned gravel racing into the defacto "grassroots cycling" movement of the U.S.A. Why is that? Is it just that these events are free to enter? Partly. Yes, that is one reason, but I think there is a whole lot more depth to it than just a lack of monetary barriers.

Barriers to inclusion can be all sorts of things and a few of us out there that have been sweating the details and doing this for awhile are committed to breaking down as many of those as possible. Some of those things are obvious, like the money deal, or no license requirements. Some of these things are not very obvious- at first glance- but if you care to look deeper, you'll see what I mean.

This isn't your ordinary racing- (Image by W. Kilburg)

When I used to race XC mountain bike stuff in the 90's, it was pretty much accepted that racing off road was "friendlier" than doing road bike events, but let me tell you- those events weren't very friendly. Before I even knew what gravel racing was all about, and way before the culture of the gravel events developed, or the whole "adventure" thing connected with gravel events happened, I was pretty turned off by the "every man for himself" attitudes and the cold, self absorbed nature that many of the participants conveyed to me.

Now- that's my experience. But in comparison to what I have witnessed, been a part of, and told by others, the gravel road racing scene isn't like that, (for the most part), at all. Not even close.

Maybe it is the "all inclusive" nature of gravel events. You could show up on a real klunker of a bike, or something totally not right, and folks would be okay with talking with you and not taking you to task for being a "newb". They wouldn't look down their nose at you, but more than likely, they'd be willing to help you out, if you wanted that, and at the very least, they would be very encouraging toward you. That's what I've seen. That's what I've heard.

These are the same folks that would, after they won the event, come and pick up a DNF'er out on the course because the event director was tied up elsewhere. (Ask me how I know that!) These are the folks that after a top ten in the event offer you a cold one, and sit down and share the day's events with you, and want to hear about you and your experiences, even if you didn't finish. These are the folks that aren't bitching about what the race director didn't do for them, but are standing in line to shake his/her hand, offering encouragement, and doing unasked for things in support of said events. In other words, these are the folks you want to get to know, to ride with, and cannot wait to do that again with them.

If it weren't for gravel stuff.........

Anyway, you get the picture. I am not saying this doesn't happen at road races, mountain bike races, or whatever. I am saying that in my experience, and in that of almost anyone else I can think of that does gravel events, this has been the experience, and I've only scratched the surface.

The big point brought up by my conversations with these two folks recently was that without gravel road events, and them being the way they are, there would be so many fewer friendships, opportunities, and special memories that are associated with those events. I don't think that you can say any one thing led to this- not the "free" racing thing, not that these events are on gravel, nor that they are easy to attend. I think it runs deeper than that. It is about the people, the spirit of the events, and lasting relationships that come out of them that make the gravel racing scene so attractive and so.......powerful. 

Yes, I just said that. 

I think it is true, and if the deep, heartfelt conversations I have had in the past week are any indication, I am dead right. I know a lot of popular media types, bloggers, and talking heads will poo-poo all this, but that's okay.  I say, come on down and get dusty, look around you, and see if you don't see it as well. Then we'll talk.....

Trans Iowa V10: Checkpoint Cutoff Times

Today the information I am laying out here is vital for all Trans Iowa V10 participants, and after the detailed time cut off info there will be a re-posted bit on why the time cut offs exist as they do. Please keep in mind, if you miss a cut off, even by a minute, your Trans Iowa is done.

Okay, so here are the times:

•  Checkpoint #1  @ 53.65m- CLOSES @ 9:30am SHARP!!
• Checkpoint #2: @176.65 m CLOSES  @ 9:30pm SHARP
• Finishline @ 336.75 CLOSES @ 2pm Sunday April 27th! 

You'll notice that the time cutoff times are identical. That is on purpose so you, as a rider in Trans Iowa, only have to remember one time. Of course, the first checkpoint closes in the morning, the second in the evening, but the number you have to remember is the same for both. I figured it would make things easier on all of us.

Now for the re-posted bit, which originally was up here previous to the running of Trans Iowa V8.
_____________________________________________________________________________
There are a few reasons for time cut-offs. First, many folks may not know this but one of the co-founders of the event, Jeff Kerkove, came from a 24 hour racing background. Having an overall time cut off was normal practice for an event that he would have done, so it was that when Trans Iowa was conceived, there was a time cut-off for the entire event. Besides, we had to be back to work on Monday after the event! Seriously though, we wanted there to be a challenge factor involving time.

At the eleventh hour we sprang a time cut-off to the Checkpoint in Algona the first year. This was done because we realized at the last moments that we needed to keep me moving along the route to check out things, and that we couldn't expect Jeff's parents to be sitting there in Algona waiting on riders for however long they took. Also- and more importantly- we knew that if a rider didn't get to Algona by "X" time, they wouldn't finish by our overall cut-off anyway. (For a recap of the first Trans Iowa, see this.)

Waiting for riders at the only Checkpoint for Trans Iowa V1

How were these cut-offs arrived at?

 Subsequently, after T.I.V1, we announced what the checkpoint cut-offs were ahead of time. Checkpoint cut-offs and over all event cut-off times were determined based upon a "ten miles covered on course every hour" formula. This was arrived at by thinking about the over-all time stamp for Trans Iowa.

Obviously there would be a start time, but we determined that in order to allow for riders and support folk to get back home for a possible work assignment, school attendance, or what have you, we had to cut off the event sometime in the early afternoon of Sunday. (Given our weekend time slot for Trans Iowa) We then pushed back the start of Trans Iowa by suggestion of Mike Curiak to force riders to use their lights out of the gate. This starting time was determined to be 4am, to allow us to cut off the event at 2pm Sunday, and still give our riders the 10 miles covered every hour on course minimum.

Okay, so the over-all mileage of any given Trans Iowa fluctuates a bit, so this meant that 34 hours over all would be the parameters in which to fit the event into. Then comes the checkpoints. These are figured- by design- on a slightly different level than I used to in the early days.

Remote Checkpoint, Dennis Grelk (Image by W. Kilburg)

 So, why not make the cut-offs easier to attain?

 Okay- Trans Iowa is a challenge. It is supposed to be difficult to do, because if you all could finish it, what would that mean to anyone? Just like not everyone will win a race, not everyone will be able to finish any given Trans Iowa. Sometimes no one finishes Trans Iowa. (But that's another story.)

So, with that in mind, I usually set a slightly quicker time cut-off for the first checkpoint into the event. It usually entails riding 50-55 miles in 4 plus hours or so. Sometimes the mileage is less than 50, and sometimes the time is more than 4 hours. It all depends upon my design for the course. This year you'll have to ride about 53.65miles and you'll have 5.5 hours to do it in. If you don't make it in that amount of time, you are done. But I also believe that you wouldn't finish in 34 hours overall either. Plus- I don't want my volunteers sitting there all day waiting on stragglers. Finally, there are some intangible things, such as the challenge factor, that figure into my decision each year.

But what if I travel from a long ways away and don't even get to ride past the first 50 miles or so?

Now, perhaps this all seems arbitrary, unfair, and unnecessary to you. Maybe you are thinking the cut-offs should be relaxed to make it more attractive for those coming from afar. I have one answer to that, "Trans Iowa isn't for you." That's right. Trans Iowa isn't for everybody, and if you don't think it makes sense in one way or another, do not sign up, and do not ask me to change anything about it. I have it tweaked out to where I like it, it is easier to put on the event, and most folks that have ridden in it like it as well.

That isn't to say that I don't want, or that I do not get advice on how to run Trans Iowa. I do, and I ask for that from those that have ridden it. You might be interested to know that almost to a person, no one has had an issue with time cut-offs since the first Trans Iowa. I can count on one hand with three fingers gone how many complaints I've gotten about that. So, you see, it seems to be working for most folks that accept this challenge.

Trans Iowa V10: Checkpoint Cutoff Times

Today the information I am laying out here is vital for all Trans Iowa V10 participants, and after the detailed time cut off info there will be a re-posted bit on why the time cut offs exist as they do. Please keep in mind, if you miss a cut off, even by a minute, your Trans Iowa is done.

Okay, so here are the times:

•  Checkpoint #1  @ 53.65m- CLOSES @ 9:30am SHARP!!
• Checkpoint #2: @176.65 m CLOSES  @ 9:30pm SHARP
• Finishline @ 336.75 CLOSES @ 2pm Sunday April 27th! 

You'll notice that the time cutoff times are identical. That is on purpose so you, as a rider in Trans Iowa, only have to remember one time. Of course, the first checkpoint closes in the morning, the second in the evening, but the number you have to remember is the same for both. I figured it would make things easier on all of us.

Now for the re-posted bit, which originally was up here previous to the running of Trans Iowa V8.
_____________________________________________________________________________
There are a few reasons for time cut-offs. First, many folks may not know this but one of the co-founders of the event, Jeff Kerkove, came from a 24 hour racing background. Having an overall time cut off was normal practice for an event that he would have done, so it was that when Trans Iowa was conceived, there was a time cut-off for the entire event. Besides, we had to be back to work on Monday after the event! Seriously though, we wanted there to be a challenge factor involving time.

At the eleventh hour we sprang a time cut-off to the Checkpoint in Algona the first year. This was done because we realized at the last moments that we needed to keep me moving along the route to check out things, and that we couldn't expect Jeff's parents to be sitting there in Algona waiting on riders for however long they took. Also- and more importantly- we knew that if a rider didn't get to Algona by "X" time, they wouldn't finish by our overall cut-off anyway. (For a recap of the first Trans Iowa, see this.)

Waiting for riders at the only Checkpoint for Trans Iowa V1

How were these cut-offs arrived at?

 Subsequently, after T.I.V1, we announced what the checkpoint cut-offs were ahead of time. Checkpoint cut-offs and over all event cut-off times were determined based upon a "ten miles covered on course every hour" formula. This was arrived at by thinking about the over-all time stamp for Trans Iowa.

Obviously there would be a start time, but we determined that in order to allow for riders and support folk to get back home for a possible work assignment, school attendance, or what have you, we had to cut off the event sometime in the early afternoon of Sunday. (Given our weekend time slot for Trans Iowa) We then pushed back the start of Trans Iowa by suggestion of Mike Curiak to force riders to use their lights out of the gate. This starting time was determined to be 4am, to allow us to cut off the event at 2pm Sunday, and still give our riders the 10 miles covered every hour on course minimum.

Okay, so the over-all mileage of any given Trans Iowa fluctuates a bit, so this meant that 34 hours over all would be the parameters in which to fit the event into. Then comes the checkpoints. These are figured- by design- on a slightly different level than I used to in the early days.

Remote Checkpoint, Dennis Grelk (Image by W. Kilburg)

 So, why not make the cut-offs easier to attain?

 Okay- Trans Iowa is a challenge. It is supposed to be difficult to do, because if you all could finish it, what would that mean to anyone? Just like not everyone will win a race, not everyone will be able to finish any given Trans Iowa. Sometimes no one finishes Trans Iowa. (But that's another story.)

So, with that in mind, I usually set a slightly quicker time cut-off for the first checkpoint into the event. It usually entails riding 50-55 miles in 4 plus hours or so. Sometimes the mileage is less than 50, and sometimes the time is more than 4 hours. It all depends upon my design for the course. This year you'll have to ride about 53.65miles and you'll have 5.5 hours to do it in. If you don't make it in that amount of time, you are done. But I also believe that you wouldn't finish in 34 hours overall either. Plus- I don't want my volunteers sitting there all day waiting on stragglers. Finally, there are some intangible things, such as the challenge factor, that figure into my decision each year.

But what if I travel from a long ways away and don't even get to ride past the first 50 miles or so?

Now, perhaps this all seems arbitrary, unfair, and unnecessary to you. Maybe you are thinking the cut-offs should be relaxed to make it more attractive for those coming from afar. I have one answer to that, "Trans Iowa isn't for you." That's right. Trans Iowa isn't for everybody, and if you don't think it makes sense in one way or another, do not sign up, and do not ask me to change anything about it. I have it tweaked out to where I like it, it is easier to put on the event, and most folks that have ridden in it like it as well.

That isn't to say that I don't want, or that I do not get advice on how to run Trans Iowa. I do, and I ask for that from those that have ridden it. You might be interested to know that almost to a person, no one has had an issue with time cut-offs since the first Trans Iowa. I can count on one hand with three fingers gone how many complaints I've gotten about that. So, you see, it seems to be working for most folks that accept this challenge.