Trans Iowa v12: Registration Update And More

There will be a few more curves in this Trans Iowa....

Registration Update:

Okay, including today, we have five more days to receive cards for the Rookie pool to draw from to fill out the 40 available spots in that class. Right now there are 58 cards in the pool. I suspect we'll end up with 60-something cards, but who knows. I'm sure it will be far short of the 80 I had predicted, but that's fine with me. Maybe I will be surprised.....

The Winners/Finishers of past Trans Iowas have started to send in cards. Of the 12 "winners" we've gotten three to send in cards from that group. Greg Gleason, of course, will be there, along with Womens Open winner Sarah Cooper from V10 and finisher Andrea Cohen from v9. All three have to be considered serious threats to win or place very well in Trans Iowa.

Other notable entrants are Charlie Farrow, Troy Krause, and Mark Johnson, any of whom could be threats to win or finish very well in a Trans Iowa. The interesting thing about those guys is that all three are in the Single Speed/Fixed category. Think that's crazy thinking on my part? Well two of those three guys have finished second overall in Trans Iowa on single speeds before. No......these are serious choices for top placings. 

Then there is Ben Shockey, who is signed up after missing several years of Trans Iowa. Ben is special in Trans Iowa history because he was the second guy, and one of only three people, to ever finish the event on a fixed gear bicycle. I've no idea what he plans on doing this time, but he is signed up in the Single Speed/Fixed category, so........

This will be a scene that will be repeated several times in T.I.v12

A Little Past Business:

I should have completed this a long time ago, but it took the onset of adding more people to the "Trans Iowa Family" to spur me into action. I finally added the T.I.v11 roster to "The Roster" of Trans Iowa participants over the past eleven events. This is a compilation of everyone that has ever toed the line at a Trans Iowa.

It is interesting to note that while there are 371 names on that roster, 195 only have been at Trans Iowa once, and 79 twice. So, when I make a big deal out of the folks that keep showing up, it is because not many do, and I feel that is pretty extraordinary.

Anyway, there are some interesting things over at the Trans Iowa: The History site, so check it out when you can.

Course Info Update: 

I have a bit of an announcement concerning the event and it has to do with the course's finish. This year, due to circumstances I am not at liberty to discuss, the barn will not be the finish line for Trans Iowa v12. That said, I have a proposal for a new finish line which I think is far better logistically and definitely convenient for all concerned. The suggestion has been passed on to those who need to approve and if all goes through, we will be ending the event inside the Grinnell city limits once again.

It has been since v8 that Trans Iowa has ended in Grinnell proper and if it is a finishable event, it will be only the third finish line we've had in Grinnell. I'm kind of excited about this, and I hope my idea gets approved, but be aware that this is a work in progress and exact course mileage overall will be affected depending upon where we end up ending up. Right now it is 332.3 miles. UPDATE: Approval has been given for the event to end at Arbor lake Park's North parking lot off Washington Street. That should pretty much lock in the mileage at 332.3 barring any future road/bridge issue.

So far we've tweaked a few things on the course since the recon, and we've removed about a mile and a half of pavement by adding two miles of gravel. We will be looking really hard at a couple of other tweaks to the course, which if we decide to change, it won't, or should not add more mileage. There are just a couple of features we may remove depending upon how the Winter and early Spring pan out, and of course, if certain features are removed from the table by various County Road Departments across the area we will be traveling. Stay tuned......

Trans Iowa v12: Registration Update And More

There will be a few more curves in this Trans Iowa....

Registration Update:

Okay, including today, we have five more days to receive cards for the Rookie pool to draw from to fill out the 40 available spots in that class. Right now there are 58 cards in the pool. I suspect we'll end up with 60-something cards, but who knows. I'm sure it will be far short of the 80 I had predicted, but that's fine with me. Maybe I will be surprised.....

The Winners/Finishers of past Trans Iowas have started to send in cards. Of the 12 "winners" we've gotten three to send in cards from that group. Greg Gleason, of course, will be there, along with Womens Open winner Sarah Cooper from V10 and finisher Andrea Cohen from v9. All three have to be considered serious threats to win or place very well in Trans Iowa.

Other notable entrants are Charlie Farrow, Troy Krause, and Mark Johnson, any of whom could be threats to win or finish very well in a Trans Iowa. The interesting thing about those guys is that all three are in the Single Speed/Fixed category. Think that's crazy thinking on my part? Well two of those three guys have finished second overall in Trans Iowa on single speeds before. No......these are serious choices for top placings. 

Then there is Ben Shockey, who is signed up after missing several years of Trans Iowa. Ben is special in Trans Iowa history because he was the second guy, and one of only three people, to ever finish the event on a fixed gear bicycle. I've no idea what he plans on doing this time, but he is signed up in the Single Speed/Fixed category, so........

This will be a scene that will be repeated several times in T.I.v12

A Little Past Business:

I should have completed this a long time ago, but it took the onset of adding more people to the "Trans Iowa Family" to spur me into action. I finally added the T.I.v11 roster to "The Roster" of Trans Iowa participants over the past eleven events. This is a compilation of everyone that has ever toed the line at a Trans Iowa.

It is interesting to note that while there are 371 names on that roster, 195 only have been at Trans Iowa once, and 79 twice. So, when I make a big deal out of the folks that keep showing up, it is because not many do, and I feel that is pretty extraordinary.

Anyway, there are some interesting things over at the Trans Iowa: The History site, so check it out when you can.

Course Info Update: 

I have a bit of an announcement concerning the event and it has to do with the course's finish. This year, due to circumstances I am not at liberty to discuss, the barn will not be the finish line for Trans Iowa v12. That said, I have a proposal for a new finish line which I think is far better logistically and definitely convenient for all concerned. The suggestion has been passed on to those who need to approve and if all goes through, we will be ending the event inside the Grinnell city limits once again.

It has been since v8 that Trans Iowa has ended in Grinnell proper and if it is a finishable event, it will be only the third finish line we've had in Grinnell. I'm kind of excited about this, and I hope my idea gets approved, but be aware that this is a work in progress and exact course mileage overall will be affected depending upon where we end up ending up. Right now it is 332.3 miles. UPDATE: Approval has been given for the event to end at Arbor lake Park's North parking lot off Washington Street. That should pretty much lock in the mileage at 332.3 barring any future road/bridge issue.

So far we've tweaked a few things on the course since the recon, and we've removed about a mile and a half of pavement by adding two miles of gravel. We will be looking really hard at a couple of other tweaks to the course, which if we decide to change, it won't, or should not add more mileage. There are just a couple of features we may remove depending upon how the Winter and early Spring pan out, and of course, if certain features are removed from the table by various County Road Departments across the area we will be traveling. Stay tuned......

Chilly Grinding

Photo-bombed by Joel's shadow!

Friday afternoon I did the regular "Dirt Home From Work" route on my titanium Mukluk. It wasn't anything spectacular except for the new BodyFloat seat post, which is amazing, and while it isn't the antidote for a full suspension bike, I think I have narrowed down where it can fit in with riding for me, at least. More on that some other day. This post will focus on my Saturday ride.

I had a request from my coworker, Joel, to go out on a gravel road ride. This was highly unusual, as Joel is a dyed-in-the-wool roadie and typically doesn't wander far off the tarmac. I met up with him on Saturday Morning at the shop, but not before an excruciatingly painful trip from the house.

Remember that ride I mentioned Friday on my Ti Muk? Well, I also had been riding that bike on previous days back and forth to work, and really pushing it. My legs were hurting on Friday evening, and that in combination with my coming down with a cold made the ride over on Saturday a "survival mode" ride. I barely could top out at 10mph since I had nothing in the tank, or so it seemed. Of course, it didn't help either that it was only 24°F when I left! I wasn't used to the cold, yet, and I was also bundled up against the chill, which is always a bit constricting as well. I suppose all of those things in combination were conspiring against me and I felt like I had no business doing a ride that day, but a promise is a promise, so I showed up and waited for Joel to arrive.

Something must have happened in the ensuing half hour, since I felt okay when we left. In fact, Joel was hoofing it down the city streets on our way out and I was surprised I had enough snap in the legs to keep up!

The fields are mostly bare now. It was still a beautiful day for a ride, despite the chill and wind. 

Apparently, the warm up ride which consisted of that painful trek to the shop and our subsequent roll out to the gravel woke up the legs enough that I was able to push into the Westerly wind with some force. I chose the route, and due to my feelings of doubt, I chose the flattest route possible to start out. The wind wasn't going to make it easy though, and I may as well have chosen a route with rollers, since punching a hole into the breeze was just as tough for me on that morning.

Joel seemed to be just fine with the pace and so I felt okay with the route and our speeds. I took us up the back way to Janesville where we stopped so Joel could refuel, and then we headed East and South back to our start. Along the way we spied a Turkey Vulture, a Red Tailed Hawk, some llamas, and lots of "leaf shadows" under maple trees. When we get a sudden freeze, it generally bites the leaves right off the maples, and if there is little to no wind, those leaves drop straight down off the trees and form colorful "leaf shadows" under the tree limbs.

Then, as we rolled closer to town, we spied a behemoth on a raod construction site we just had to go check out......

Joel checking out the big machine.

There are eight counter weights on the backend here each weighing in excess of 11.000lbs according to their tags.

Interestingly, the boom sections were all held together with huge pins with hasps over them. 

The thing was a huge crane which was brought in to help build an overpass for the county highway to go over the four lane U.S. highway 218/27 instead of the at grade crossing which has proven to be quite dangerous. Actually, there are two huge cranes there, but this one was closest to our gravel route. It seems to be rather new, and was so wide, it took up two entire lanes of the roadway, which is all broken up and probably has been removed in preparation for the bridge build.

It is a rather simplistic machine in that the component parts are held together with bolts and pins, for the most part, only they are on a gigantic scale. Weight is something that we noted, since several individual parts of the crane were tagged with brass plates indicating their individual weight. For instance, each of the eight counter weights on the back end had a tag indicating each weight was in excess of 11,000lbs and the base which the weights were placed on had a tag which indicated it weighed in excess of 33,000lbs! Heavy machine indeed!

After we were through marveling at this mechanical wonder, we made the rest of the loop and returned back to the shop where I picked up the Trans Iowa post cards and then went on home. With almost 37 miles in, I think it was a rousing success of a ride after thinking upon how it started out. I almost bailed out I felt so bad! I am glad I stuck it out and it was fun to get to ride with Joel out on the gravel roads.

Chilly Grinding

Photo-bombed by Joel's shadow!

Friday afternoon I did the regular "Dirt Home From Work" route on my titanium Mukluk. It wasn't anything spectacular except for the new BodyFloat seat post, which is amazing, and while it isn't the antidote for a full suspension bike, I think I have narrowed down where it can fit in with riding for me, at least. More on that some other day. This post will focus on my Saturday ride.

I had a request from my coworker, Joel, to go out on a gravel road ride. This was highly unusual, as Joel is a dyed-in-the-wool roadie and typically doesn't wander far off the tarmac. I met up with him on Saturday Morning at the shop, but not before an excruciatingly painful trip from the house.

Remember that ride I mentioned Friday on my Ti Muk? Well, I also had been riding that bike on previous days back and forth to work, and really pushing it. My legs were hurting on Friday evening, and that in combination with my coming down with a cold made the ride over on Saturday a "survival mode" ride. I barely could top out at 10mph since I had nothing in the tank, or so it seemed. Of course, it didn't help either that it was only 24°F when I left! I wasn't used to the cold, yet, and I was also bundled up against the chill, which is always a bit constricting as well. I suppose all of those things in combination were conspiring against me and I felt like I had no business doing a ride that day, but a promise is a promise, so I showed up and waited for Joel to arrive.

Something must have happened in the ensuing half hour, since I felt okay when we left. In fact, Joel was hoofing it down the city streets on our way out and I was surprised I had enough snap in the legs to keep up!

The fields are mostly bare now. It was still a beautiful day for a ride, despite the chill and wind. 

Apparently, the warm up ride which consisted of that painful trek to the shop and our subsequent roll out to the gravel woke up the legs enough that I was able to push into the Westerly wind with some force. I chose the route, and due to my feelings of doubt, I chose the flattest route possible to start out. The wind wasn't going to make it easy though, and I may as well have chosen a route with rollers, since punching a hole into the breeze was just as tough for me on that morning.

Joel seemed to be just fine with the pace and so I felt okay with the route and our speeds. I took us up the back way to Janesville where we stopped so Joel could refuel, and then we headed East and South back to our start. Along the way we spied a Turkey Vulture, a Red Tailed Hawk, some llamas, and lots of "leaf shadows" under maple trees. When we get a sudden freeze, it generally bites the leaves right off the maples, and if there is little to no wind, those leaves drop straight down off the trees and form colorful "leaf shadows" under the tree limbs.

Then, as we rolled closer to town, we spied a behemoth on a raod construction site we just had to go check out......

Joel checking out the big machine.

There are eight counter weights on the backend here each weighing in excess of 11.000lbs according to their tags.

Interestingly, the boom sections were all held together with huge pins with hasps over them. 

The thing was a huge crane which was brought in to help build an overpass for the county highway to go over the four lane U.S. highway 218/27 instead of the at grade crossing which has proven to be quite dangerous. Actually, there are two huge cranes there, but this one was closest to our gravel route. It seems to be rather new, and was so wide, it took up two entire lanes of the roadway, which is all broken up and probably has been removed in preparation for the bridge build.

It is a rather simplistic machine in that the component parts are held together with bolts and pins, for the most part, only they are on a gigantic scale. Weight is something that we noted, since several individual parts of the crane were tagged with brass plates indicating their individual weight. For instance, each of the eight counter weights on the back end had a tag indicating each weight was in excess of 11,000lbs and the base which the weights were placed on had a tag which indicated it weighed in excess of 33,000lbs! Heavy machine indeed!

After we were through marveling at this mechanical wonder, we made the rest of the loop and returned back to the shop where I picked up the Trans Iowa post cards and then went on home. With almost 37 miles in, I think it was a rousing success of a ride after thinking upon how it started out. I almost bailed out I felt so bad! I am glad I stuck it out and it was fun to get to ride with Joel out on the gravel roads.

Trans Iowa v12: Registration Updates

Registration mode continues for Trans Iowa v12. This day is the day that the registration for Winners of past Trans Iowas and Finishers of past Trans Iowas can have their post cards show up. There are 12 spots for past winners in reserve and 30 for past finishers. (Note my "fuzzy math", but I also know that several of the past winners are never coming back, so it'll all work out. Still, I thought it would be nice to put out the invite anyway.) Any spots not claimed will roll down to the Vets class, but I've a feeling there will be few if any that do. We will see.

Rookie registration has one more week to go before the window for accepting post cards closes. So far we have 48 confirmed entrants into the lottery. At the pace I've been seeing cards come in, I am going to say that my preregistration prediction of 80 cards is going to not be met. I think if we see something in the 60-ish realm, that will be more realistic. So, if that pans out, the odds are good for many folks that sent in cards to make it in to T.I.v12. Again, the registration process for Rookies is twofold. The cards must be in by 10-24, and then the drawing will occur on 10-31, and the exact timing of that will be announced before the lottery occurs. I have Periscope on my iPhone, so I hope to do a live broadcast of the event, in case anyone wants to witness the madness.

Veterans of past Trans Iowas will have to wait until 10-24 to have their cards arrive, and that window will be open until the 40 spots are gone, or until 10-31, but I am betting that it will fill up before then. We will see.

Barring any weirdness, that should all go fairly smoothly, and Trans Iowa v12 will have its roster set. As far as anyone that does not make it in from the lottery, or in the mail ins for the other classes of riders, there will be no waiting list, and no transfers. I have tried various ways of doing the Waiting List in the past which have all been giant pains for me to handle or were fruitless endeavors. So, no waiting list, no transfers. It is easier for me to handle, and clear cut for you who are looking to get into this weird gravel road event.

Trans Iowa v12: Registration Updates

Registration mode continues for Trans Iowa v12. This day is the day that the registration for Winners of past Trans Iowas and Finishers of past Trans Iowas can have their post cards show up. There are 12 spots for past winners in reserve and 30 for past finishers. (Note my "fuzzy math", but I also know that several of the past winners are never coming back, so it'll all work out. Still, I thought it would be nice to put out the invite anyway.) Any spots not claimed will roll down to the Vets class, but I've a feeling there will be few if any that do. We will see.

Rookie registration has one more week to go before the window for accepting post cards closes. So far we have 48 confirmed entrants into the lottery. At the pace I've been seeing cards come in, I am going to say that my preregistration prediction of 80 cards is going to not be met. I think if we see something in the 60-ish realm, that will be more realistic. So, if that pans out, the odds are good for many folks that sent in cards to make it in to T.I.v12. Again, the registration process for Rookies is twofold. The cards must be in by 10-24, and then the drawing will occur on 10-31, and the exact timing of that will be announced before the lottery occurs. I have Periscope on my iPhone, so I hope to do a live broadcast of the event, in case anyone wants to witness the madness.

Veterans of past Trans Iowas will have to wait until 10-24 to have their cards arrive, and that window will be open until the 40 spots are gone, or until 10-31, but I am betting that it will fill up before then. We will see.

Barring any weirdness, that should all go fairly smoothly, and Trans Iowa v12 will have its roster set. As far as anyone that does not make it in from the lottery, or in the mail ins for the other classes of riders, there will be no waiting list, and no transfers. I have tried various ways of doing the Waiting List in the past which have all been giant pains for me to handle or were fruitless endeavors. So, no waiting list, no transfers. It is easier for me to handle, and clear cut for you who are looking to get into this weird gravel road event.

News And Views

The best Fall colors tree I've seen is on my way to work in the mornings.

Fall presses onward and now whatever trees are turning will be at their peak in the next few days. We are expecting our first freeze this weekend, so that will likely drop a lot of leaves when that happens. Then it will be the downward spiral towards "brown" when Fall comes to its ends and everything is dormant until next Spring.

My plan is to get up early Saturday, brave the chill, and get in some riding, although I am not sure where it is yet that I will be going. I'll likely be out on the Grava Bikes Revenuer to get some miles piled on that rig for the review I am doing. This time I will be certain to fill the water bottles! Maybe I will see which way the wind is blowing first and then decide!

Otherwise I would dearly love to get out on my Singular Cycles Buzzard and hit some trails. I don't see that happening on Saturday though. Maybe on Sunday, then I might get out. The good news is that we are to remain high and dry, so wet weather cancellation seems highly unlikely at this point. I gotta say it again- what a spectacular Fall we are having for cycling! Could it be the oncoming of the "El Nino" weather pattern, or just a turn we have in drier conditions. I don't know, but I am trying to squeeze what I can get out of it before it all goes pear shaped in a cloud of freezing Northwest wind driven snow.

Hoopty! WTB KOM i25 rims for the Twin Six Standard Rando have arrived.

Wheel Dreams: 

Long time readers probably have figured out by now that I dream of wheels. Big, small, and medium wheels, it doesn't matter. I like to build wheels as well, and in the realm of doing that, I have something to look forward to. Actually, more than one set!

First I have to talk about what showed up yesterday. I received some i25 KOM rims from WTB. These rims are really meant for XC 29"er use, but as with road and mountain biking, all the trends point to wider rims. I think the same is true for the gravel bike rigs I like to ride. In fact, I did use some WTB Frequency i23 rims with WTB Nano40 TCS tires, and that was a spiffy set up. The tires take on a nice, wide stance, giving them nore volume, more support from the sidewalls, and a bit flatter profile which I find is good in looser gravel.

However; those rims aren't all that light weight. So, when I found out that WTB was doing the KOM in a inner width of 25mm, I jumped at the chance to get a set to ace up to some nice hubs for my Twin Six Standard Rando. Now I need to decide which hubs I want to get! The competition has been narrowed down to White Industries XMR hubs or Chris King R45 hubs. Which one! I have to try to decide that, then which color to get! 

Whatever it is I decide to do, I already know that I am putting on some Nano 40TCS tires and going tubeless, of course. Those tires just do a workmanlike job on most any gravel road and with the tubeless set up, I have a cushy ride with no chance of pinch flatting.  The other thing is that the Standard Rando has a bit tighter clearances than either of my other gravel rigs, so a 40mm is best and that still gives me ample room for mud and rocks to get through the stays without getting stuck.

 I did mention I have more than one set of wheels to build up, but I am waiting to talk about that next set for just a bit now. It shouldn't be long, and I will be able to reveal what that is all about. The good news there is that I already have a set of hubs waiting in the wings to lace up to these new hoops that are coming.

Okay, that's a warp for this week. Stay tuned for Trans Iowa v12 news tomorrow.

News And Views

The best Fall colors tree I've seen is on my way to work in the mornings.

Fall presses onward and now whatever trees are turning will be at their peak in the next few days. We are expecting our first freeze this weekend, so that will likely drop a lot of leaves when that happens. Then it will be the downward spiral towards "brown" when Fall comes to its ends and everything is dormant until next Spring.

My plan is to get up early Saturday, brave the chill, and get in some riding, although I am not sure where it is yet that I will be going. I'll likely be out on the Grava Bikes Revenuer to get some miles piled on that rig for the review I am doing. This time I will be certain to fill the water bottles! Maybe I will see which way the wind is blowing first and then decide!

Otherwise I would dearly love to get out on my Singular Cycles Buzzard and hit some trails. I don't see that happening on Saturday though. Maybe on Sunday, then I might get out. The good news is that we are to remain high and dry, so wet weather cancellation seems highly unlikely at this point. I gotta say it again- what a spectacular Fall we are having for cycling! Could it be the oncoming of the "El Nino" weather pattern, or just a turn we have in drier conditions. I don't know, but I am trying to squeeze what I can get out of it before it all goes pear shaped in a cloud of freezing Northwest wind driven snow.

Hoopty! WTB KOM i25 rims for the Twin Six Standard Rando have arrived.

Wheel Dreams: 

Long time readers probably have figured out by now that I dream of wheels. Big, small, and medium wheels, it doesn't matter. I like to build wheels as well, and in the realm of doing that, I have something to look forward to. Actually, more than one set!

First I have to talk about what showed up yesterday. I received some i25 KOM rims from WTB. These rims are really meant for XC 29"er use, but as with road and mountain biking, all the trends point to wider rims. I think the same is true for the gravel bike rigs I like to ride. In fact, I did use some WTB Frequency i23 rims with WTB Nano40 TCS tires, and that was a spiffy set up. The tires take on a nice, wide stance, giving them nore volume, more support from the sidewalls, and a bit flatter profile which I find is good in looser gravel.

However; those rims aren't all that light weight. So, when I found out that WTB was doing the KOM in a inner width of 25mm, I jumped at the chance to get a set to ace up to some nice hubs for my Twin Six Standard Rando. Now I need to decide which hubs I want to get! The competition has been narrowed down to White Industries XMR hubs or Chris King R45 hubs. Which one! I have to try to decide that, then which color to get! 

Whatever it is I decide to do, I already know that I am putting on some Nano 40TCS tires and going tubeless, of course. Those tires just do a workmanlike job on most any gravel road and with the tubeless set up, I have a cushy ride with no chance of pinch flatting.  The other thing is that the Standard Rando has a bit tighter clearances than either of my other gravel rigs, so a 40mm is best and that still gives me ample room for mud and rocks to get through the stays without getting stuck.

 I did mention I have more than one set of wheels to build up, but I am waiting to talk about that next set for just a bit now. It shouldn't be long, and I will be able to reveal what that is all about. The good news there is that I already have a set of hubs waiting in the wings to lace up to these new hoops that are coming.

Okay, that's a warp for this week. Stay tuned for Trans Iowa v12 news tomorrow.

Empty Surprise

The harvest continues. Now they are gleaning the corn from the firlds.

I have this new Grava Bikes rig I am testing/reviewing for RidingGravel.com right now. You can check out the intro, if you want to, here. So, anyway, it needs to get ridden, obviously, and yesterday was an opportune time to get some riding in, since I had the day off from work at the shop. I stuck around the house until very late in the morning, or "fore noon", as my older relatives used to say, due to it being quite chilly yet. At least the winds had died down to reasonable levels. The two previous days were ridiculous in that the winds were blowing up to 40mph at times.

I finally clipped in a little before high noon, and set out to do the 3GR route, initially. On the way out, I was feeling okay, but as soon as I hit Moline Road, I felt like I was dragging an anchor. It could have been me. I did eat an early lunch before I left. Typically I fire off better on an empty stomach. So there was that. However; there was also a pretty steady Northwesterly breeze, and it could have something to do with that. Then the bike was alien to me as well. I had to find out "how it liked to dance", so to speak, and I wasn't quite settled in as far as fit goes and as far as the bike's quirks too. Likely it was a bit of all of those things, but I wasn't having the best time out of the gate. A stop to adjust the saddle height made a big difference, and then I was feeling a bit more sprightly. The meal began to digest better, which also helped things along. The bike's quirks? Still not quite there yet. All I'll say now is, "Holy saddle to bar drop, Bat Man!". This is definitely a "racy" set up!

Fall colors are a bit "dusky" this year. Not really popping like in some years. 

 Well, I'll get back to this bike some other day and tell ya'all about that, but for now, I'll just concentrate on the ride story. See, I had it all planned out for the 3GR route. I put on two old Profile plastic bottle cages, and slammed in two big bottles under the medium sized Tangle Bag, which barely fit, and slipped a couple gel packets in there, just in case. I started out with a pair of gloves, but I got too warm and ditched those in the Tangle Bag. This time of year it is hard to judge what you need as the temperatures vary wildly within the span of even an hour in some cases. One minute you are fine with a windbreaker, for instance, then the next it is sweltering. Good thing I attached the Tangle Bag!

The dry wind also reminded me that I had attached the two cages and put two bottles on there. I grabbed one and it felt strangely light. Oh oh! I forgot to fill them! Bah! Oh well......so much for cracking out 40 miles. I wasn't in the mood for cramps and a major bonk. So, I cut the route short and headed for the shed. It was the right decision, as I need to bond with this bike a bit yet. The tires are even something I haven't been on till now- Specialized Trigger Pro tires- and they are a different beast, which I need to dial in with air pressure yet. So, I got in about half of what I was expecting, and then I had a bunch of water!

I topped off, hopped on the Titanium Mukluk, and made the round trip to the shop to grab the day's mail for Trans Iowa. One card! That was a surprise. If I see a trickle till the end of the week next week, it may be that almost everyone that sent a card in will get in. Fine by me. I wasn't expecting to see just one card though. Who knows, that may change in a hurry soon.

Empty Surprise

The harvest continues. Now they are gleaning the corn from the firlds.

I have this new Grava Bikes rig I am testing/reviewing for RidingGravel.com right now. You can check out the intro, if you want to, here. So, anyway, it needs to get ridden, obviously, and yesterday was an opportune time to get some riding in, since I had the day off from work at the shop. I stuck around the house until very late in the morning, or "fore noon", as my older relatives used to say, due to it being quite chilly yet. At least the winds had died down to reasonable levels. The two previous days were ridiculous in that the winds were blowing up to 40mph at times.

I finally clipped in a little before high noon, and set out to do the 3GR route, initially. On the way out, I was feeling okay, but as soon as I hit Moline Road, I felt like I was dragging an anchor. It could have been me. I did eat an early lunch before I left. Typically I fire off better on an empty stomach. So there was that. However; there was also a pretty steady Northwesterly breeze, and it could have something to do with that. Then the bike was alien to me as well. I had to find out "how it liked to dance", so to speak, and I wasn't quite settled in as far as fit goes and as far as the bike's quirks too. Likely it was a bit of all of those things, but I wasn't having the best time out of the gate. A stop to adjust the saddle height made a big difference, and then I was feeling a bit more sprightly. The meal began to digest better, which also helped things along. The bike's quirks? Still not quite there yet. All I'll say now is, "Holy saddle to bar drop, Bat Man!". This is definitely a "racy" set up!

Fall colors are a bit "dusky" this year. Not really popping like in some years. 

 Well, I'll get back to this bike some other day and tell ya'all about that, but for now, I'll just concentrate on the ride story. See, I had it all planned out for the 3GR route. I put on two old Profile plastic bottle cages, and slammed in two big bottles under the medium sized Tangle Bag, which barely fit, and slipped a couple gel packets in there, just in case. I started out with a pair of gloves, but I got too warm and ditched those in the Tangle Bag. This time of year it is hard to judge what you need as the temperatures vary wildly within the span of even an hour in some cases. One minute you are fine with a windbreaker, for instance, then the next it is sweltering. Good thing I attached the Tangle Bag!

The dry wind also reminded me that I had attached the two cages and put two bottles on there. I grabbed one and it felt strangely light. Oh oh! I forgot to fill them! Bah! Oh well......so much for cracking out 40 miles. I wasn't in the mood for cramps and a major bonk. So, I cut the route short and headed for the shed. It was the right decision, as I need to bond with this bike a bit yet. The tires are even something I haven't been on till now- Specialized Trigger Pro tires- and they are a different beast, which I need to dial in with air pressure yet. So, I got in about half of what I was expecting, and then I had a bunch of water!

I topped off, hopped on the Titanium Mukluk, and made the round trip to the shop to grab the day's mail for Trans Iowa. One card! That was a surprise. If I see a trickle till the end of the week next week, it may be that almost everyone that sent a card in will get in. Fine by me. I wasn't expecting to see just one card though. Who knows, that may change in a hurry soon.

A Different Kind Of Boing!

What's up with that seat post?

A little over a year ago I was able to try out a component that I was a bit leery of, but my buddy MG was pretty adamant that it was "the real deal". So, trusting him, he sent it to me to try out, and I was pretty dang impressed. (You can see the post I did concerning the component here) It is a suspension seat post. Yeah.....I know, usually you think of some lame telescopic, heavy boat anchor of a seat post that has bad swivel and breaks easily. Or maybe you think of those elastomer sprung parallelogram posts that have pivots that squeak and get loosened up within a short period of time. Well.....that's kind of where I was a year ago. Not so much these days.

You see, Cirrus Cycles Body Float seat post is a different beast. It isn't a telescopic seat post, so it doesn't have the twisty-turny issues that those types of suspension posts can have. It isn't a parallelogram arranged in the way that others have done, so your body doesn't move fore and aft as the post moves through its travel. You go up and down, and if you set the preload properly, you won't even notice it after a awhile. You'll just be fresher and less fatigued by road chatter, especially that which you find on gravel roads.

It is not sprung by an elastomer, but rather by coil steel springs which are not affected by weather and will not degrade in harsh environments. It comes in three shaft material choices, and unlike many suspension seatposts before it, it is fine tuneable for anyone up to 300 lbs. Oh......I won't hide it, and you've probably already guessed it, this thing is expensive. 

By swapping coil springs and using the preload, you can fine tune this post for almost anyone.

The question that comes immediately afterword is easy. Is the benefit you gain worth the price of admission? Now I had a good "test ride" on this model last year at Odin's Revenge. It was rough, brutal, and I could not find fault with the post. The preload screw on that one did back out a bit, but that has been addressed in this latest version of the post, and that did not adversely affect my experience with the post last year. In fact, I didn't even notice it until after I was done for the day.

I had made a decision last year that I wanted one of these for myself, and I sent back the first one I tried, as it was a review model. So, I finally made good on that and my new Body Float post arrived in the mail yesterday. As I mentioned above, the shaft of the post can be had in aluminum, carbon fiber, or titanium. I opted for the titanium shaft, which, as you can imagine, is the most expensive option. It isn't the lightest option, but the carbon one is barely lighter. The MSRP on the post I have is $415.00. Aluminum shafted posts run $275.00. Like I say- not cheap. 

So, again- Is it worth it? Well, I think if the durability and longevity is there, the answer is yes. I don't know how long I'll be able to go, but we will see how long it lasts. The thing is really well made, the fit and finish is top notch, and this thing has been field tested and evolved in design to a fine state. What it does for the ride is, well.....hard to explain in words. However; it does as advertised and, I believe it has something else. It definitely changes how the bike handles for the better.

I'll be messing with this post on my fat bike and later, on my gravel rigs. Along the way, I'll occasionally make a few observations here. Stay tuned.......

Note: This post was purchased with my own damn money and I am not being paid nor bribed for this post.

A Different Kind Of Boing!

What's up with that seat post?

A little over a year ago I was able to try out a component that I was a bit leery of, but my buddy MG was pretty adamant that it was "the real deal". So, trusting him, he sent it to me to try out, and I was pretty dang impressed. (You can see the post I did concerning the component here) It is a suspension seat post. Yeah.....I know, usually you think of some lame telescopic, heavy boat anchor of a seat post that has bad swivel and breaks easily. Or maybe you think of those elastomer sprung parallelogram posts that have pivots that squeak and get loosened up within a short period of time. Well.....that's kind of where I was a year ago. Not so much these days.

You see, Cirrus Cycles Body Float seat post is a different beast. It isn't a telescopic seat post, so it doesn't have the twisty-turny issues that those types of suspension posts can have. It isn't a parallelogram arranged in the way that others have done, so your body doesn't move fore and aft as the post moves through its travel. You go up and down, and if you set the preload properly, you won't even notice it after a awhile. You'll just be fresher and less fatigued by road chatter, especially that which you find on gravel roads.

It is not sprung by an elastomer, but rather by coil steel springs which are not affected by weather and will not degrade in harsh environments. It comes in three shaft material choices, and unlike many suspension seatposts before it, it is fine tuneable for anyone up to 300 lbs. Oh......I won't hide it, and you've probably already guessed it, this thing is expensive. 

By swapping coil springs and using the preload, you can fine tune this post for almost anyone.

The question that comes immediately afterword is easy. Is the benefit you gain worth the price of admission? Now I had a good "test ride" on this model last year at Odin's Revenge. It was rough, brutal, and I could not find fault with the post. The preload screw on that one did back out a bit, but that has been addressed in this latest version of the post, and that did not adversely affect my experience with the post last year. In fact, I didn't even notice it until after I was done for the day.

I had made a decision last year that I wanted one of these for myself, and I sent back the first one I tried, as it was a review model. So, I finally made good on that and my new Body Float post arrived in the mail yesterday. As I mentioned above, the shaft of the post can be had in aluminum, carbon fiber, or titanium. I opted for the titanium shaft, which, as you can imagine, is the most expensive option. It isn't the lightest option, but the carbon one is barely lighter. The MSRP on the post I have is $415.00. Aluminum shafted posts run $275.00. Like I say- not cheap. 

So, again- Is it worth it? Well, I think if the durability and longevity is there, the answer is yes. I don't know how long I'll be able to go, but we will see how long it lasts. The thing is really well made, the fit and finish is top notch, and this thing has been field tested and evolved in design to a fine state. What it does for the ride is, well.....hard to explain in words. However; it does as advertised and, I believe it has something else. It definitely changes how the bike handles for the better.

I'll be messing with this post on my fat bike and later, on my gravel rigs. Along the way, I'll occasionally make a few observations here. Stay tuned.......

Note: This post was purchased with my own damn money and I am not being paid nor bribed for this post.

Until Next Year Then

Well, as I look at the calendar, it is quite apparent that my plan to set the Blackborow up in its Summer mode is way past due. Mid-Fall is leading to Winter sooner than later, and it is about time to go through the Blackborow and return the rigid fork to it for the upcoming colder weather.

So, I wanted to give my long term impressions on the Bluto fork and maybe look at some ideas for the future here....

The Bluto fork is, in a word, genius. While it isn't the best performing fork that could have been made for a fat bike, it is a reliable, decent performing one that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that fat bikes benefit from front suspension forks. At least using them in non-Winter conditions, I believe that is the case. However; and I can only speak for myself here, I wouldn't want a suspension fork and that extra weight on the bike for the sort of Winter riding I do.

The Bluto does do a great job of controlling that front wheel and enhancing the suspension effects that a big, fat 4.8" tire can have. It not only enhances that big tire's effects, it adds to that equation. If you have a fat bike that you can put a Bluto on, you should do it. It is definitely worth trying. It will allow you to go faster, it will allow you to gain even more comfort and control, and it will make your bike seem invincible. That last part may not be a good thing depending on who you are and where you ride!

Looking forward to doing more of this.

Now, as I say, the Bluto is just the start, and we could have better stuff coming. I find it hard to believe that the Bluto will be the only game in town, but as of now- it is. Maybe we will have to wait a while, but it seems to me that another competitor to the Bluto would be something fat bikers would like to be able to have as a choice. Maybe a fat bike version of a Fox fork, as an example. Maybe a Manitou. That would be cool.

Other than more top-brand name choices, what could be better? Fore-aft stability for one. Those big tires have a big grip, and leverage the fork mightily. The damper could be better and tuned out of the box for cold weather use.

That said, we have it pretty good with the Bluto. It's pretty bomb-proof, and you can upgrade it. I may get around to doing that to mine over the Winter. That will be good to do, but first I need to get the rest of the Summer set up rounded up so when next Summer comes, the Bluto and the those parts should make for a fun mountain bike platform. Until then, I'm putting the original equipment fork back on, mounting the Anything HD cages back on it, and making sure I check every bolt before Ol' Man Winter decides to show up.

Until Next Year Then

Well, as I look at the calendar, it is quite apparent that my plan to set the Blackborow up in its Summer mode is way past due. Mid-Fall is leading to Winter sooner than later, and it is about time to go through the Blackborow and return the rigid fork to it for the upcoming colder weather.

So, I wanted to give my long term impressions on the Bluto fork and maybe look at some ideas for the future here....

The Bluto fork is, in a word, genius. While it isn't the best performing fork that could have been made for a fat bike, it is a reliable, decent performing one that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that fat bikes benefit from front suspension forks. At least using them in non-Winter conditions, I believe that is the case. However; and I can only speak for myself here, I wouldn't want a suspension fork and that extra weight on the bike for the sort of Winter riding I do.

The Bluto does do a great job of controlling that front wheel and enhancing the suspension effects that a big, fat 4.8" tire can have. It not only enhances that big tire's effects, it adds to that equation. If you have a fat bike that you can put a Bluto on, you should do it. It is definitely worth trying. It will allow you to go faster, it will allow you to gain even more comfort and control, and it will make your bike seem invincible. That last part may not be a good thing depending on who you are and where you ride!

Looking forward to doing more of this.

Now, as I say, the Bluto is just the start, and we could have better stuff coming. I find it hard to believe that the Bluto will be the only game in town, but as of now- it is. Maybe we will have to wait a while, but it seems to me that another competitor to the Bluto would be something fat bikers would like to be able to have as a choice. Maybe a fat bike version of a Fox fork, as an example. Maybe a Manitou. That would be cool.

Other than more top-brand name choices, what could be better? Fore-aft stability for one. Those big tires have a big grip, and leverage the fork mightily. The damper could be better and tuned out of the box for cold weather use.

That said, we have it pretty good with the Bluto. It's pretty bomb-proof, and you can upgrade it. I may get around to doing that to mine over the Winter. That will be good to do, but first I need to get the rest of the Summer set up rounded up so when next Summer comes, the Bluto and the those parts should make for a fun mountain bike platform. Until then, I'm putting the original equipment fork back on, mounting the Anything HD cages back on it, and making sure I check every bolt before Ol' Man Winter decides to show up.

Musta Been A Bad Time

Utility "townie" rig- An old Schwinn High Sierra re-purposed

Have you ever had one of those days where, (mostly) you'd just as well had skipped over, asked for a "do-over", or would like to have end as quickly as possible? Yeah.......Sunday was that day for me. 

It was one of those days marked by things going wrong, being embarrassed, frustrated, saddened, and ultimately it was just a really craptastic day. Oh sure......there were good things, and I tried to grasp on to those things and not dwell on the bad stuff.

Anyway, I'll not get too personal here, but I will say that a planned long gravel ride on arguably the last hot day we will have this year was sabotaged starting on Saturday night and with the way Sunday went, it was deep sixed by noon. Oh well, there will be other days, but I was bummed none the less.

I did get out on an errand on my mid-80's Schwinn High Sierra "townie" bike which brightened my day a bit. I am always amazed at how comfortable that bike is for cruising to the store. I have it set up 1X5 with a friction shifter so it is really quite reliable as well. Funny how it doesn't matter how "cool" your bike is, just so you get out and ride it.

It was the medicine I needed on a down day.

Musta Been A Bad Time

Utility "townie" rig- An old Schwinn High Sierra re-purposed

Have you ever had one of those days where, (mostly) you'd just as well had skipped over, asked for a "do-over", or would like to have end as quickly as possible? Yeah.......Sunday was that day for me. 

It was one of those days marked by things going wrong, being embarrassed, frustrated, saddened, and ultimately it was just a really craptastic day. Oh sure......there were good things, and I tried to grasp on to those things and not dwell on the bad stuff.

Anyway, I'll not get too personal here, but I will say that a planned long gravel ride on arguably the last hot day we will have this year was sabotaged starting on Saturday night and with the way Sunday went, it was deep sixed by noon. Oh well, there will be other days, but I was bummed none the less.

I did get out on an errand on my mid-80's Schwinn High Sierra "townie" bike which brightened my day a bit. I am always amazed at how comfortable that bike is for cruising to the store. I have it set up 1X5 with a friction shifter so it is really quite reliable as well. Funny how it doesn't matter how "cool" your bike is, just so you get out and ride it.

It was the medicine I needed on a down day.

T.I.v12: Registration Questions Answered

Since Saturday's Registration Announcement, (Seen HERE), I have had several good questions regarding the process, some in light of how I changed up registration for the Rookies, (That can be seen HERE), and so I figured I would answer the questions in a single, public blog post in case there are any other folks wondering similar things.

On Post Cards: ALL Winners, Finishers, and Vets MUST use a post card. Here is what you have to have on that post card.

Winners: Name, Class you want to enter (Open Men, Open Women, Single Speed/Fixed), Current E-mail address.

Finishers: Name, Class you want to enter (Open Men, Open Women, Single Speed/Fixed), Current E-mail address. Which Trans Iowas you have been in.

Veterans: Name, Class you want to enter (Open Men, Open Women, Single Speed/Fixed), Current E-mail address.Which Trans Iowas you were in.

As always- PLEASE WRITE PLAINLY OR YOUR ENTRY WILL BE DISCARDED.

All cards should be addressed to:
Europa Cycle & Ski
c/o Trans Iowa
4302 University Avenue
Cedar Falls IA 50613

Mode Of Delivery: The post card, (ONE per entrant), may be delivered via USPS, UPS, or FedEx ONLY. No "walk-ins", delivery by any type of courier, etc. You may overnight a letter.

ONLY ONE CARD PER ENVELOPE PLEASE!! So, don't plan on gathering four of your buddies and slamming five cards into a single envelope and paying one overnight fee. Everyone must be on a fair and level playing field here.

So, that should cover all the questions I have gotten but one.....what about gifts? 

That is entirely up to you folks. I have outlined the how concerning the registration, but as far as what anyone might want to do as an expression of thanks, I am not excluding that, nor am I going to say how you can express those feelings. Just know that the registration works as I have outlined it here.

I would caution anyone and say don't combine your gift and entry. That hasn't worked out well in a few instances, so please be aware of that. Otherwise, that should clear up any confusion.

T.I.v12: Registration Questions Answered

Since Saturday's Registration Announcement, (Seen HERE), I have had several good questions regarding the process, some in light of how I changed up registration for the Rookies, (That can be seen HERE), and so I figured I would answer the questions in a single, public blog post in case there are any other folks wondering similar things.

On Post Cards: ALL Winners, Finishers, and Vets MUST use a post card. Here is what you have to have on that post card.

Winners: Name, Class you want to enter (Open Men, Open Women, Single Speed/Fixed), Current E-mail address.

Finishers: Name, Class you want to enter (Open Men, Open Women, Single Speed/Fixed), Current E-mail address. Which Trans Iowas you have been in.

Veterans: Name, Class you want to enter (Open Men, Open Women, Single Speed/Fixed), Current E-mail address.Which Trans Iowas you were in.

As always- PLEASE WRITE PLAINLY OR YOUR ENTRY WILL BE DISCARDED.

All cards should be addressed to:
Europa Cycle & Ski
c/o Trans Iowa
4302 University Avenue
Cedar Falls IA 50613

Mode Of Delivery: The post card, (ONE per entrant), may be delivered via USPS, UPS, or FedEx ONLY. No "walk-ins", delivery by any type of courier, etc. You may overnight a letter.

ONLY ONE CARD PER ENVELOPE PLEASE!! So, don't plan on gathering four of your buddies and slamming five cards into a single envelope and paying one overnight fee. Everyone must be on a fair and level playing field here.

So, that should cover all the questions I have gotten but one.....what about gifts? 

That is entirely up to you folks. I have outlined the how concerning the registration, but as far as what anyone might want to do as an expression of thanks, I am not excluding that, nor am I going to say how you can express those feelings. Just know that the registration works as I have outlined it here.

I would caution anyone and say don't combine your gift and entry. That hasn't worked out well in a few instances, so please be aware of that. Otherwise, that should clear up any confusion.

Fall Scenes

This has been a spectacular and unusually warm Fall so far this year. The temperatures have been so warm that the leaves are really not turning as fast here as they usually do. Only in the last week or so has much color popped, and then it hasn't been all that spectacular due to the warmer, dry weather we've had. Still, there are some good pockets of color to be found. You just have to keep your eyes open.

The light this year has been tinged with farm induced harvesting debris, and that diffuses light in  a weird, ethereal way that gives everything a strange glow. It's kind of neat to see but it wreaks havoc with a lot of folks breathing here. Sunsets have been rather spectacular as well due to this phenomenon.

I generally take time in mid-October to do my traditional Fall Colors ride in the Green Belt. I've been doing this for years, and every year is different, of course, but it still is amazing to get out and really take the time to look things over out there. Although this year doesn't rank up there with the best, and maybe I'm a week early, there still were some nice views. Here are some I wanted to share here. They come from my Dirt Home From Work ride Friday and my Fall Colors Ride Saturday.  Hope that you enjoy them!

A Buzzard In The Woods

These cement beams have been here a long time!

Paddlers on the Black Hawk Creek

The meadow view: I'm a little early this year and the colors are muted due to our weather. 

Mid-October and we still have some flowers. I'll take it!

A backwater pond higher up away from the Black Hawk Creek

The diffused light in the sky and the contrasts were tough to shoot in. This one came out okay though.

There still is a lot of green out there yet!

Hope that you enjoyed these. Get out there and enjoy the season and ride those bicycles!