So, It Must Be Spring Now Because...

Finally, I was able to start that spring/summer/fall ritual of riding off road every Wednesday. The first time out was at The Camp's South side. It was surprisingly dry, almost dusty, and definitely sandy in spots.

However; there still is enough moisture in the ground to jump start the vegetation out there. I would imagine that if we get a few showers, or even a solid drenching rain or two in the coming week, it won't take long to turn the still mostly barren landscape into a raging jungle.

Evidence is everywhere that things are ready to "spring" into action. (Maybe that is why it is called Spring!) At any rate, the green stuff is there just below the duff of last year's dead growth and fallen leaves. When it gets some more moisture, look out!

I was fortunate enough to have had to stop to take some images of my bike and rear tire for Twenty Nine Inches. This forced me to notice a slew of tiny flowers in the dead underbrush and leaves all around me. The first flowers of Spring in the wild!

Little pink and white ones with an occasional violet color could be seen here and there peeking out in the bright April sun.

I don't know if it is legal for a "guy" to get excited about flowers or not, but I do. For me, it is one of the reasons for me to get out and use my bicycle. I get back in the woods, or down that lightly traveled rural road and see things few, if any, people see at all.

Now that I have finally figured out how to focus my LX-3 manually, (I know Gnat is doing a "face palm" about right now!), I can have fun getting some decent images of the things I am seeing as well.

So, expect me to be out trying to bag some more of this sort of stuff in the coming months.  I probably won't have to lay right down on the ground to get the shots I am going to get though, like I did today! Those flowers were tiny!

It turned out to be a "two-a-day" ride too. This time all off road. I hit up George Wyth State Park in the afternoon, but it wasn't nearly as clear, or fun as the Camp is.

I was still feeling last weekend's Renegade Gents Race in my legs too. Not much "spunk" there yet, so I kind of backed it down a few notches from my regular riding pace to stay away from causing any untoward effects later. Looks like I'll be getting a rest tomorrow anyway, what with the wet weather that is predicted.

Which should bring more flowers, right?

Snow Dog Down: 43 Days and counting.....

So, It Must Be Spring Now Because...

Finally, I was able to start that spring/summer/fall ritual of riding off road every Wednesday. The first time out was at The Camp's South side. It was surprisingly dry, almost dusty, and definitely sandy in spots.

However; there still is enough moisture in the ground to jump start the vegetation out there. I would imagine that if we get a few showers, or even a solid drenching rain or two in the coming week, it won't take long to turn the still mostly barren landscape into a raging jungle.

Evidence is everywhere that things are ready to "spring" into action. (Maybe that is why it is called Spring!) At any rate, the green stuff is there just below the duff of last year's dead growth and fallen leaves. When it gets some more moisture, look out!

I was fortunate enough to have had to stop to take some images of my bike and rear tire for Twenty Nine Inches. This forced me to notice a slew of tiny flowers in the dead underbrush and leaves all around me. The first flowers of Spring in the wild!

Little pink and white ones with an occasional violet color could be seen here and there peeking out in the bright April sun.

I don't know if it is legal for a "guy" to get excited about flowers or not, but I do. For me, it is one of the reasons for me to get out and use my bicycle. I get back in the woods, or down that lightly traveled rural road and see things few, if any, people see at all.

Now that I have finally figured out how to focus my LX-3 manually, (I know Gnat is doing a "face palm" about right now!), I can have fun getting some decent images of the things I am seeing as well.

So, expect me to be out trying to bag some more of this sort of stuff in the coming months.  I probably won't have to lay right down on the ground to get the shots I am going to get though, like I did today! Those flowers were tiny!

It turned out to be a "two-a-day" ride too. This time all off road. I hit up George Wyth State Park in the afternoon, but it wasn't nearly as clear, or fun as the Camp is.

I was still feeling last weekend's Renegade Gents Race in my legs too. Not much "spunk" there yet, so I kind of backed it down a few notches from my regular riding pace to stay away from causing any untoward effects later. Looks like I'll be getting a rest tomorrow anyway, what with the wet weather that is predicted.

Which should bring more flowers, right?

Snow Dog Down: 43 Days and counting.....

Ragley Luxy Bars: Update

Now that I have had about 300 plus miles on two different Luxy Bars, I am ready to give a bit of an impression on them here. I am still waiting to get some actual off-road trail time on them before I do a full on update elsewhere.

I have used the Luxy both in geared and in single speed set ups, so this impression will reflect both those types of uses. The Luxy Bar was designed by Brant Richards, who also had a hand in designing the On One Midge Bar. The Ragley Luxy Bar couldn't be more different than that bar though. (Well, maybe......if it was a pavement drop bar!)

The bar that is the closest to the design of the Luxy would easily be the Salsa Cycles Woodchipper. Both bars are really wide, have flared extensions, and minimal reach. However; there are significant differences between them. The second image here shows how the Luxy bar has an extension that is nearly parallel to the tops, while the Woodchipper's is clearly not. This will separate those who like the extensions to point downward to the rear axle while having "horizontal" tops. The Woodchipper easily assumes that position, the Luxy does not, but it does mimic a "classic" "Maes" type relationship between the tops and extensions, only with flare!

The other two big differences can be seen here in my third image of the Luxy. The way the drops slant outwards to the extensions is more dramatic than the Woodchipper, and finally, the Luxy features a 31.8mm top section. All the way from drop to drop, the top section is 31.8mm. That makes the tops a great gripping section for cruising, or for long, grinding climbs.

So, there are the comparison, so how does it ride? Well, it does really well, as a matter of fact. I thought going in that the Luxy would be a stiff, unforgiving bar, due to the big diameter top section. Well, my fears were unfounded. The Luxy was a rather smooth bar, actually. At first, I thought it may be the cheapo black stem shown here with the two bolt face plate, so I upgraded this to a Ritchey Classic 4 Axis stem .

The Ritchey stem took flex out of the equation from the stem area, but still, the Luxy proved to be smooth. I think this may be due to the fact that the Luxy Bar has a weight similar to a Woodchipper, which would indicate to me that the wall thicknesses on the Luxy might be thinner than those on a Woodchipper, lending a nice, smooth, but not overtly flexy feel in the drops.

Now, how does it work with geared set ups? Well, I had the Luxys both set up geared with Shimano STI levers, so here's a look at that right here.....

I found that the levers are easily set up in terms of reach from the drops to do any braking, and for shifting too. One might think the hoods would be all "screwed up" as a grip position at that angle, but quite frankly, I felt it was just fine the few times I actually used the hoods. Interestingly, the hoods, which angle inwards as you look from the top of the bars, becomes a sort of "pseudo-aero bar" position. I wouldn't recommend that but for anything really smooth though!

Some folks have commented on the really long extensions, saying they can not imagine needing anything that long. Well, I would say that there are those who really can not imagine not having them that long, and furthermore, that is what saws are for. You can take some off, but you can not really add length, so look at the Luxy in that way if you are wishing for a shorter extension. (That goes for Woodchippers too, by the way.)

So far I would put the Luxy on par with a Woodchipper. Both are really specialized, and great at what they are designed for. Each is different enough that you can easily find things to like, or not, about them, or just have both! I have gravitated towards the Luxy a bit myself for the way the drop's extensions are more parallel to the tops, which I prefer, but I still really like Woodchippers too.

More updates will come....stay tuned.....

Snow Dog Down: 42 Days and counting..........

Ragley Luxy Bars: Update

Now that I have had about 300 plus miles on two different Luxy Bars, I am ready to give a bit of an impression on them here. I am still waiting to get some actual off-road trail time on them before I do a full on update elsewhere.

I have used the Luxy both in geared and in single speed set ups, so this impression will reflect both those types of uses. The Luxy Bar was designed by Brant Richards, who also had a hand in designing the On One Midge Bar. The Ragley Luxy Bar couldn't be more different than that bar though. (Well, maybe......if it was a pavement drop bar!)

The bar that is the closest to the design of the Luxy would easily be the Salsa Cycles Woodchipper. Both bars are really wide, have flared extensions, and minimal reach. However; there are significant differences between them. The second image here shows how the Luxy bar has an extension that is nearly parallel to the tops, while the Woodchipper's is clearly not. This will separate those who like the extensions to point downward to the rear axle while having "horizontal" tops. The Woodchipper easily assumes that position, the Luxy does not, but it does mimic a "classic" "Maes" type relationship between the tops and extensions, only with flare!

The other two big differences can be seen here in my third image of the Luxy. The way the drops slant outwards to the extensions is more dramatic than the Woodchipper, and finally, the Luxy features a 31.8mm top section. All the way from drop to drop, the top section is 31.8mm. That makes the tops a great gripping section for cruising, or for long, grinding climbs.

So, there are the comparison, so how does it ride? Well, it does really well, as a matter of fact. I thought going in that the Luxy would be a stiff, unforgiving bar, due to the big diameter top section. Well, my fears were unfounded. The Luxy was a rather smooth bar, actually. At first, I thought it may be the cheapo black stem shown here with the two bolt face plate, so I upgraded this to a Ritchey Classic 4 Axis stem .

The Ritchey stem took flex out of the equation from the stem area, but still, the Luxy proved to be smooth. I think this may be due to the fact that the Luxy Bar has a weight similar to a Woodchipper, which would indicate to me that the wall thicknesses on the Luxy might be thinner than those on a Woodchipper, lending a nice, smooth, but not overtly flexy feel in the drops.

Now, how does it work with geared set ups? Well, I had the Luxys both set up geared with Shimano STI levers, so here's a look at that right here.....

I found that the levers are easily set up in terms of reach from the drops to do any braking, and for shifting too. One might think the hoods would be all "screwed up" as a grip position at that angle, but quite frankly, I felt it was just fine the few times I actually used the hoods. Interestingly, the hoods, which angle inwards as you look from the top of the bars, becomes a sort of "pseudo-aero bar" position. I wouldn't recommend that but for anything really smooth though!

Some folks have commented on the really long extensions, saying they can not imagine needing anything that long. Well, I would say that there are those who really can not imagine not having them that long, and furthermore, that is what saws are for. You can take some off, but you can not really add length, so look at the Luxy in that way if you are wishing for a shorter extension. (That goes for Woodchippers too, by the way.)

So far I would put the Luxy on par with a Woodchipper. Both are really specialized, and great at what they are designed for. Each is different enough that you can easily find things to like, or not, about them, or just have both! I have gravitated towards the Luxy a bit myself for the way the drop's extensions are more parallel to the tops, which I prefer, but I still really like Woodchippers too.

More updates will come....stay tuned.....

Snow Dog Down: 42 Days and counting..........

Some Random Shots (And Thoughts)

 I think my mind turned to the "off mode" for this blog post. So, with that said, here are some real random images, with cycling being the only common thread here.

First up we have this from Saturday's Renegade Gents Race. I think it looks a little like "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", only there are five of us there if you look hard enough! At any rate, a pretty scary site with us three big fellers up front!

I'm always amazed when I see myself amongst most "cyclists". I look like the linebacker while the other guys look like....I dunno.....the water boys! Only thing is, looking like a "water boy" in cycling is a good thing. Usually. Oh well! I yam what I yam!

 <==A future "big feller"!

So, last week my son, who is 7, learned how to ride a bicycle. Pretty cool, if I say so myself. (And I do!) Yeah, he takes after his Dad in that he will also not look like your typical "cyclist" out there. It's all good though. While he may not ever be the next big road racing star, I sure hope he has as much enjoyment from the sport as I have had.

The best thing is that he can take from my experiences and hopefully add his own twist to it. I don't know which roads and trails he might ride down, but I hope to share a few with him before it is my time to dismount for the last time.

Anyway, it has been a joy to me that he has found that cycling is fun. I had forgotten that riding around the block might be a "big deal". I can't wait to see what other things I may have forgotten as we ride together in the years to come. (Well, I hope that happens!)

Heading Back To The Desert: 

I've been starting to think about my next big trip to El Paso, Texas, slated for the first two full weeks in June.

As I've said here before, El Paso has some of the toughest riding anywhere. Here you can see an image from last January of the "Puzzler", an endurance event held in El Paso's back yard at Franklin Mountain State Park. It's like the image here for much of the riding that the trails offer. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks of every imaginable size and shape. The only real common denominator is that they sound uncannily like broken pottery when the tires make them clink together as a cyclist rides over them.

I'm pretty stoked to be going back there, and you can bet I'll be suffering a bit of West Texas heat to ride out there again.

And Speaking Of Rocks...

I was sent  this image by the fellas that put on the Melbourne Gravel Grinders in Australia. I really am drawn to this image. I like the "road" and its primitive nature. It just makes me want to grab a bike and see where this goes.

Maybe someday I'll get the chance to head over there and ride that. I'm sure we have something similar around the U.S. though.

Something about rocks. I dunno what it is. Maybe it is because I live in a place where dirt is the main feature and rocks are kind of rare, at least off-road! Perhaps there are those who would really like to ride on our dirt and get away from rocks. Maybe.

So, there you are. A totally random post for your Tuesday. I like to call this sort of thing "randomonium", although all the cool kids these days call it a "mash-up". That sounds "messy" to me. I like "randomonium" better. But I am just an oddball cyclist!

Have a good day, and I hope you get a ride in!

Some Random Shots (And Thoughts)

 I think my mind turned to the "off mode" for this blog post. So, with that said, here are some real random images, with cycling being the only common thread here.

First up we have this from Saturday's Renegade Gents Race. I think it looks a little like "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", only there are five of us there if you look hard enough! At any rate, a pretty scary site with us three big fellers up front!

I'm always amazed when I see myself amongst most "cyclists". I look like the linebacker while the other guys look like....I dunno.....the water boys! Only thing is, looking like a "water boy" in cycling is a good thing. Usually. Oh well! I yam what I yam!

 <==A future "big feller"!

So, last week my son, who is 7, learned how to ride a bicycle. Pretty cool, if I say so myself. (And I do!) Yeah, he takes after his Dad in that he will also not look like your typical "cyclist" out there. It's all good though. While he may not ever be the next big road racing star, I sure hope he has as much enjoyment from the sport as I have had.

The best thing is that he can take from my experiences and hopefully add his own twist to it. I don't know which roads and trails he might ride down, but I hope to share a few with him before it is my time to dismount for the last time.

Anyway, it has been a joy to me that he has found that cycling is fun. I had forgotten that riding around the block might be a "big deal". I can't wait to see what other things I may have forgotten as we ride together in the years to come. (Well, I hope that happens!)

Heading Back To The Desert: 

I've been starting to think about my next big trip to El Paso, Texas, slated for the first two full weeks in June.

As I've said here before, El Paso has some of the toughest riding anywhere. Here you can see an image from last January of the "Puzzler", an endurance event held in El Paso's back yard at Franklin Mountain State Park. It's like the image here for much of the riding that the trails offer. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks of every imaginable size and shape. The only real common denominator is that they sound uncannily like broken pottery when the tires make them clink together as a cyclist rides over them.

I'm pretty stoked to be going back there, and you can bet I'll be suffering a bit of West Texas heat to ride out there again.

And Speaking Of Rocks...

I was sent  this image by the fellas that put on the Melbourne Gravel Grinders in Australia. I really am drawn to this image. I like the "road" and its primitive nature. It just makes me want to grab a bike and see where this goes.

Maybe someday I'll get the chance to head over there and ride that. I'm sure we have something similar around the U.S. though.

Something about rocks. I dunno what it is. Maybe it is because I live in a place where dirt is the main feature and rocks are kind of rare, at least off-road! Perhaps there are those who would really like to ride on our dirt and get away from rocks. Maybe.

So, there you are. A totally random post for your Tuesday. I like to call this sort of thing "randomonium", although all the cool kids these days call it a "mash-up". That sounds "messy" to me. I like "randomonium" better. But I am just an oddball cyclist!

Have a good day, and I hope you get a ride in!

Renegade Gents Race Report

The second event I have taken part in for 2011, the Renegade Gents Race, was a very unique event in that it was a "team" event. It was billed as a 75 mile gravel grinder "team time trial" type event. The start was at Kyle's Bikes in Ankeny, Iowa on Saturday.

I was "recruited" to be on a team with T.I.V7's "official photographer", Steve Fuller. Steve teamed me up with some other Des Moines cats that I was unfamiliar with. They were Sam Auen, Bob Moural, and David Cornelison. The start time was handicapped by race organizers according to their perception of team strength. Weaker teams went first, stronger, faster teams started later on. Each team had to leave the start line together, ride together, and finish together. So, even though I didn't really know the guys I was riding with, chances are I would before the day was out.

I had to leave town really early to make it to Kyle's at our team's agreed upon meeting time of 7:30am. Driving down in the dark required some coffee and really loud music.I didn't get the coffee, but I stayed awake despite that.

When I got there I met a few familiar faces, and Steve Fuller, our captain, was there. I signed in, got my cool "spoke card" cue sheet, and took care of that lack of coffee!

A little later, Steve rolled up to me and said we were missing one team member. Oh well, if we did have only four, we'd just do the ride anyway. Then, at about the last possible minute, our final team member rolled in, and we were good to go! On the bikes now, we had to get over the busy road by Kyle's to a small park where we were to roll out at 8:20AM, the third team of fifteen to take the start. Somehow or another, we rode through a time warp and were told by the start person that we were two minutes late! What the heck!

Oh well, we didn't have time to dilly-dally, so we just quickly lined up, and then we were off. Almost immediately after pulling out, Sam said his crank arm had "issues". We would have to stop. It was his FSA crank, and the left arm was really loose! Sam said he was going to ceremoniously burn the thing, "if" he made it, and that this might be an ongoing issue. I had an idea, but we were in a hurry, and hey! There went the team that was to start behind us. Wow! We hadn't gone more than a few blocks and were getting passed! We went off in hot pursuit.

This all happened on pavement going out of Ankeny northward. We finally hit gravel, and noticed that the team that had just passed us had made an error and turned left too early. We laughed and motored onwards, glad that we had regained our position.

Well, that team that was off course figured it out in about a half mile, turned around, and gave chase. Meanwhile, we caught and passed a team, and then the team behind us passed us- again! (They ended up winning. Hmmm.......I bet they don't get an early depart time next time the race is held!)

Well, we were headed into a dead flat ten mile stretch with a head wind. What a grind! Then we finally turned out of it eastwards and hit a really fast, mostly down hill stretch of gravel. David was telling me that missing all the chunky goodness and soft spots on his road bike was really testing him. He said he wished he'd have brought a cross bike. Well, he really wished it after he flatted in this section. We had lost him, so we stopped at the bridge pictured at left to wait, Meanwhile, three or four teams passed us while we waited. Sam re-tightened the cranks, and since we had more time, I suggested he really crank down the pinch bolts. It held the rest of the ride for him. Meanwhile, Steve rode back looking for David, and soon we were all back together.

The team was getting a groove on now. Sam, who I was thinking should be named "Motoruis S", due to the killer pace he could maintain, and Bob were killing it up front, while I was trying to chase them down. David was flitting about here and there trying to keep from hitting the chunky stuff, while our good Captain was just behind me. Or was he?

Then I noticed Steve was gone. We all decided we had better wait for him. So we found a nice spot and sat. Some teams we had re-passed went by- again! More fast teams went by, and still no Steve. I called him up then, and he was just a short distance away. Soon he topped the hill we were on and told us he had flatted. Off we went again, this time Sam and Bob lit it up even more. I was chasing from about 300 meters behind, but those two were relentless. I don't know where Steve and David are, because I was head down and grinding. Then we sort of came together for a bit.

Then I got a bug and took a flyer for awhile. There was a team just up the road from us, and I wanted to reel them in. The road turned to chip seal, then outright pavement for a bit. This was bad for me. My set up was stronger on gravel. Had the course been all gravel here, I would have gotten to them, but they were getting away from me when David pulled up behind me and said we should all roll into the checkpoint together. I sat up then and just rolled in with our team.

We spent some time at the checkpoint where Sam broke off a chunk of an awesome chicken burrito and shared it with me. Thanks Sam! That was spot on for me. I also had a couple of Budweisers and some "energy drink". Then we hit the road again.

We were looking at the tail end of Sam for the most part of the remaining mileage. That dude's motor is amazing! He told me he rides bicycles all the time and has 3,000 miles in for the year already. Wow! I was floored. No wonder he could just ride us off his wheel like that.

Most of the rest of the ride was pavement. We rolled into a Casey's at Mile 53 for a last stage recharge for the finish line. We had just passed a team coming into the Casey's and they re-passed us while we were there. So, we tried to run them down coming into the finish.

The thing was, the finish wasn't flat like the start. It was long rollers, and we had tired legs. It was tough, but we brought things together right at the end and were set up for a sprint to the finish line.

Coming in to Kyle's there were a few tricky turns. One of them was off a round-a-bout. I screwed up thinking we were going straight through, but Sam knew to go to the right. Well, he was on my left, and as he swung his big red Salsa rig right, I had to go veering off the round-a-bout, and gather myself up a bit.

Well, that put me off the back of the group, and I sprinted till I saw spots, but I never could regain the small group, and since the time trial scores the last guy through as your finishing time for the team, we lost a spot at the end due to that mistake.

Oh well! I think we all had fun despite my boneheaded maneuver. (I never claimed to be a roadie!) Anyway, sorry about that team mates!

The event was a blast, and I recommend it to anyone. Don't worry about a bicycle, you could use anything. There were full on roadie rigs, like David's on my team, to a Salsa Mukluk. (Yes- he finished on it!) The event was low-key, had a great atmosphere, and  the volunteers and organizers were great. Of course, it didn't hurt that it was a picture perfect day.

I was riding pretty well, and my bicycle worked really well. I made some great friends on the ride, and I will try to get back for this event, or something like it in the Des Moines area again. All in all, a big success for me. And as far as the results go, well- We placed 11th out of fifteen teams, so we did all right, even with our mechanicals. Thanks team mates! It was a good day on the bike with great people.

Renegade Gents Race Report

The second event I have taken part in for 2011, the Renegade Gents Race, was a very unique event in that it was a "team" event. It was billed as a 75 mile gravel grinder "team time trial" type event. The start was at Kyle's Bikes in Ankeny, Iowa on Saturday.

I was "recruited" to be on a team with T.I.V7's "official photographer", Steve Fuller. Steve teamed me up with some other Des Moines cats that I was unfamiliar with. They were Sam Auen, Bob Moural, and David Cornelison. The start time was handicapped by race organizers according to their perception of team strength. Weaker teams went first, stronger, faster teams started later on. Each team had to leave the start line together, ride together, and finish together. So, even though I didn't really know the guys I was riding with, chances are I would before the day was out.

I had to leave town really early to make it to Kyle's at our team's agreed upon meeting time of 7:30am. Driving down in the dark required some coffee and really loud music.I didn't get the coffee, but I stayed awake despite that.

When I got there I met a few familiar faces, and Steve Fuller, our captain, was there. I signed in, got my cool "spoke card" cue sheet, and took care of that lack of coffee!

A little later, Steve rolled up to me and said we were missing one team member. Oh well, if we did have only four, we'd just do the ride anyway. Then, at about the last possible minute, our final team member rolled in, and we were good to go! On the bikes now, we had to get over the busy road by Kyle's to a small park where we were to roll out at 8:20AM, the third team of fifteen to take the start. Somehow or another, we rode through a time warp and were told by the start person that we were two minutes late! What the heck!

Oh well, we didn't have time to dilly-dally, so we just quickly lined up, and then we were off. Almost immediately after pulling out, Sam said his crank arm had "issues". We would have to stop. It was his FSA crank, and the left arm was really loose! Sam said he was going to ceremoniously burn the thing, "if" he made it, and that this might be an ongoing issue. I had an idea, but we were in a hurry, and hey! There went the team that was to start behind us. Wow! We hadn't gone more than a few blocks and were getting passed! We went off in hot pursuit.

This all happened on pavement going out of Ankeny northward. We finally hit gravel, and noticed that the team that had just passed us had made an error and turned left too early. We laughed and motored onwards, glad that we had regained our position.

Well, that team that was off course figured it out in about a half mile, turned around, and gave chase. Meanwhile, we caught and passed a team, and then the team behind us passed us- again! (They ended up winning. Hmmm.......I bet they don't get an early depart time next time the race is held!)

Well, we were headed into a dead flat ten mile stretch with a head wind. What a grind! Then we finally turned out of it eastwards and hit a really fast, mostly down hill stretch of gravel. David was telling me that missing all the chunky goodness and soft spots on his road bike was really testing him. He said he wished he'd have brought a cross bike. Well, he really wished it after he flatted in this section. We had lost him, so we stopped at the bridge pictured at left to wait, Meanwhile, three or four teams passed us while we waited. Sam re-tightened the cranks, and since we had more time, I suggested he really crank down the pinch bolts. It held the rest of the ride for him. Meanwhile, Steve rode back looking for David, and soon we were all back together.

The team was getting a groove on now. Sam, who I was thinking should be named "Motoruis S", due to the killer pace he could maintain, and Bob were killing it up front, while I was trying to chase them down. David was flitting about here and there trying to keep from hitting the chunky stuff, while our good Captain was just behind me. Or was he?

Then I noticed Steve was gone. We all decided we had better wait for him. So we found a nice spot and sat. Some teams we had re-passed went by- again! More fast teams went by, and still no Steve. I called him up then, and he was just a short distance away. Soon he topped the hill we were on and told us he had flatted. Off we went again, this time Sam and Bob lit it up even more. I was chasing from about 300 meters behind, but those two were relentless. I don't know where Steve and David are, because I was head down and grinding. Then we sort of came together for a bit.

Then I got a bug and took a flyer for awhile. There was a team just up the road from us, and I wanted to reel them in. The road turned to chip seal, then outright pavement for a bit. This was bad for me. My set up was stronger on gravel. Had the course been all gravel here, I would have gotten to them, but they were getting away from me when David pulled up behind me and said we should all roll into the checkpoint together. I sat up then and just rolled in with our team.

We spent some time at the checkpoint where Sam broke off a chunk of an awesome chicken burrito and shared it with me. Thanks Sam! That was spot on for me. I also had a couple of Budweisers and some "energy drink". Then we hit the road again.

We were looking at the tail end of Sam for the most part of the remaining mileage. That dude's motor is amazing! He told me he rides bicycles all the time and has 3,000 miles in for the year already. Wow! I was floored. No wonder he could just ride us off his wheel like that.

Most of the rest of the ride was pavement. We rolled into a Casey's at Mile 53 for a last stage recharge for the finish line. We had just passed a team coming into the Casey's and they re-passed us while we were there. So, we tried to run them down coming into the finish.

The thing was, the finish wasn't flat like the start. It was long rollers, and we had tired legs. It was tough, but we brought things together right at the end and were set up for a sprint to the finish line.

Coming in to Kyle's there were a few tricky turns. One of them was off a round-a-bout. I screwed up thinking we were going straight through, but Sam knew to go to the right. Well, he was on my left, and as he swung his big red Salsa rig right, I had to go veering off the round-a-bout, and gather myself up a bit.

Well, that put me off the back of the group, and I sprinted till I saw spots, but I never could regain the small group, and since the time trial scores the last guy through as your finishing time for the team, we lost a spot at the end due to that mistake.

Oh well! I think we all had fun despite my boneheaded maneuver. (I never claimed to be a roadie!) Anyway, sorry about that team mates!

The event was a blast, and I recommend it to anyone. Don't worry about a bicycle, you could use anything. There were full on roadie rigs, like David's on my team, to a Salsa Mukluk. (Yes- he finished on it!) The event was low-key, had a great atmosphere, and  the volunteers and organizers were great. Of course, it didn't hurt that it was a picture perfect day.

I was riding pretty well, and my bicycle worked really well. I made some great friends on the ride, and I will try to get back for this event, or something like it in the Des Moines area again. All in all, a big success for me. And as far as the results go, well- We placed 11th out of fifteen teams, so we did all right, even with our mechanicals. Thanks team mates! It was a good day on the bike with great people.

The Dirty Kanza 200 Chronicles; The Bike Part II- Geared!

The Bike Part II- Geared! This edition of the DK 200 Chronicles will focus on my bike. I did get in some fantastic training rides this past week, but since the big one was the "Renegade Gents Race", I'll defer the write up on that until tomorrow.

So, the final swap over to gears was made. This was the plan all along, but it took me awhile to gather all the parts I wanted for the switch. The "Orange Crush" machine works really great as a single speed though, so at some point I may return it to that configuration.

I had thought about going with Campy stuff that I had, but a wheel would have been necessary. It would have needed to have been built up, or purchased as a pre-built. Then I would have had the derailleur for the rear to buy as well. That was going to be a hassle and financial constraints at this time called for a more prudent choice. That ended up being Shimano stuff I scored from a customer of the shop for cheap. Here's the breakdown of what went on:

• Shimano "non-series" crank NOS, compact drive, 50T/34T w/ Shimano bottom bracket.
• Shimano Ultegra 9spd "brifters". Older model, but also NOS
• Shimano Ultegra long cage rear derailleur, (Saved from a crash into a rear wheel by my straightening-free)
• SRAM 12-32 cassette. I had it already, source unknown.
• Bontrager "Race" rear wheel. (Swapped for something a long time ago, can't remember what.)
• Shimano STX top pull front derailleur, shimmed to fit. (I had it. Works perfectly w/brifters)
• SRAM PC 930 chain. New.
• Necessary cables and housing. New.

The performance of the new stuff was awesome. No issues at all with any of it. (Although I do not remember shifting the front derailleur for the entire 65 miles. I might have, but I just don't know.)

Interestingly enough, I had a big difference in braking performance with the new levers and a fresh pad set up. These brakes are twice as powerful as they were before, and I am very satisfied with that. They were somewhat marginal before, and noisey.

The new set up also allowed me to ditch the drop out adjusters, since I want the wheel as far back as I can get it. This maximizes tire clearance and gets me the longest possible wheel base for stability. It worked well, by the way, and was tested in the powdery gravel and deep fresh chunk on the course Saturday.

The other thing that I am "signing off" on as a success is the frame bag stuffed with the 70oz Camelbak bladder. That worked really well for me without any special fussing around with gadgetry to get the job done. I simply just let the hose dangle over the handle bar from underneath and looped it together with the bite valve. I did not really need to do the loop, as the weight of the bite valve kept the hose hanging there just fine, but it was a safety measure, I suppose!

My only concern is that the GEAX Barro Race tires are a really tight fit up front, and if DK 200 gets wet, I don't think it will work real well. I could swap out the Bontrager XR-1's and I may do that and see if it gains me anything. The UST bead on the GEAX tire is a bear cat to mount on the rear wheel too, so that may be the way to go, or just go tubeless. Hmm....

More decisions to come. Look for my "Renegade Gents Race" report tomorrow.

Snow Dog Down Count: 39 days and counting.......

The Dirty Kanza 200 Chronicles; The Bike Part II- Geared!

The Bike Part II- Geared! This edition of the DK 200 Chronicles will focus on my bike. I did get in some fantastic training rides this past week, but since the big one was the "Renegade Gents Race", I'll defer the write up on that until tomorrow.

So, the final swap over to gears was made. This was the plan all along, but it took me awhile to gather all the parts I wanted for the switch. The "Orange Crush" machine works really great as a single speed though, so at some point I may return it to that configuration.

I had thought about going with Campy stuff that I had, but a wheel would have been necessary. It would have needed to have been built up, or purchased as a pre-built. Then I would have had the derailleur for the rear to buy as well. That was going to be a hassle and financial constraints at this time called for a more prudent choice. That ended up being Shimano stuff I scored from a customer of the shop for cheap. Here's the breakdown of what went on:

• Shimano "non-series" crank NOS, compact drive, 50T/34T w/ Shimano bottom bracket.
• Shimano Ultegra 9spd "brifters". Older model, but also NOS
• Shimano Ultegra long cage rear derailleur, (Saved from a crash into a rear wheel by my straightening-free)
• SRAM 12-32 cassette. I had it already, source unknown.
• Bontrager "Race" rear wheel. (Swapped for something a long time ago, can't remember what.)
• Shimano STX top pull front derailleur, shimmed to fit. (I had it. Works perfectly w/brifters)
• SRAM PC 930 chain. New.
• Necessary cables and housing. New.

The performance of the new stuff was awesome. No issues at all with any of it. (Although I do not remember shifting the front derailleur for the entire 65 miles. I might have, but I just don't know.)

Interestingly enough, I had a big difference in braking performance with the new levers and a fresh pad set up. These brakes are twice as powerful as they were before, and I am very satisfied with that. They were somewhat marginal before, and noisey.

The new set up also allowed me to ditch the drop out adjusters, since I want the wheel as far back as I can get it. This maximizes tire clearance and gets me the longest possible wheel base for stability. It worked well, by the way, and was tested in the powdery gravel and deep fresh chunk on the course Saturday.

The other thing that I am "signing off" on as a success is the frame bag stuffed with the 70oz Camelbak bladder. That worked really well for me without any special fussing around with gadgetry to get the job done. I simply just let the hose dangle over the handle bar from underneath and looped it together with the bite valve. I did not really need to do the loop, as the weight of the bite valve kept the hose hanging there just fine, but it was a safety measure, I suppose!

My only concern is that the GEAX Barro Race tires are a really tight fit up front, and if DK 200 gets wet, I don't think it will work real well. I could swap out the Bontrager XR-1's and I may do that and see if it gains me anything. The UST bead on the GEAX tire is a bear cat to mount on the rear wheel too, so that may be the way to go, or just go tubeless. Hmm....

More decisions to come. Look for my "Renegade Gents Race" report tomorrow.

Snow Dog Down Count: 39 days and counting.......

Trans Iowa V7 Update #21: Media Part II

Trans Iowa V7 Update #21: Media Part II: As you might recall in Update #18, I mentioned that a fellow was interested in doing a video documentary type project for Trans Iowa V7. Once again here is the vision for the project:

"The focus would be generally about the battle of rider vs. nature,  course, self, and what kind of rider does such a demanding event and why.  ... it would touch on the fact that there are no spectators cheering  them on, and no fame and fortune waiting for the riders at the end of what  may be the most difficult "one day" race around. "

The project is being headed up by a fellow by the name of Jeff Fring. He'll be at the pre-race meeting and is asking to speak with some of you about the event and maybe put you on camera. This is entirely optional, so if you don't feel at all comfortable with it, just decline politely.

Then Jeff and Steve Fuller, our official still photographer, will be out on course taking imagery of the event. If you see them traveling by you in their cars of and on, that's why they are there- to capture the event. They know to stay out of your way, so this shouldn't pose any issues.

Hopefully everyone will co-operate and this will be a largely "invisible" facet to the event that will provide some enjoyment for us after it is all said and done.

Roster News: First off, thanks for getting back to me if you responded to the e-mails I sent out. I only did not hear from two individuals, and unfortunately, they will be removed from the roster. A bit of co-operation in the form of a response isn't asking to much for a free event, I think.

That said, things can and will crop up in the final days leading up to the event that will prevent some of you from coming. That's cool. We get that. Just do one thing: Please e-mail me and let me know ASAP!

It still matters a lot in terms of the preparations to know exactly the number of riders. Which, by the way, will be a record amount, if most all who are saying they will come actually show up.

That's it for this update. Look for another next week, and course updates as I can get them, including the exact time cut offs for each checkpoint.

Snow Dog Down Count: 38 days and counting......

Trans Iowa V7 Update #21: Media Part II

Trans Iowa V7 Update #21: Media Part II: As you might recall in Update #18, I mentioned that a fellow was interested in doing a video documentary type project for Trans Iowa V7. Once again here is the vision for the project:

"The focus would be generally about the battle of rider vs. nature,  course, self, and what kind of rider does such a demanding event and why.  ... it would touch on the fact that there are no spectators cheering  them on, and no fame and fortune waiting for the riders at the end of what  may be the most difficult "one day" race around. "

The project is being headed up by a fellow by the name of Jeff Fring. He'll be at the pre-race meeting and is asking to speak with some of you about the event and maybe put you on camera. This is entirely optional, so if you don't feel at all comfortable with it, just decline politely.

Then Jeff and Steve Fuller, our official still photographer, will be out on course taking imagery of the event. If you see them traveling by you in their cars of and on, that's why they are there- to capture the event. They know to stay out of your way, so this shouldn't pose any issues.

Hopefully everyone will co-operate and this will be a largely "invisible" facet to the event that will provide some enjoyment for us after it is all said and done.

Roster News: First off, thanks for getting back to me if you responded to the e-mails I sent out. I only did not hear from two individuals, and unfortunately, they will be removed from the roster. A bit of co-operation in the form of a response isn't asking to much for a free event, I think.

That said, things can and will crop up in the final days leading up to the event that will prevent some of you from coming. That's cool. We get that. Just do one thing: Please e-mail me and let me know ASAP!

It still matters a lot in terms of the preparations to know exactly the number of riders. Which, by the way, will be a record amount, if most all who are saying they will come actually show up.

That's it for this update. Look for another next week, and course updates as I can get them, including the exact time cut offs for each checkpoint.

Snow Dog Down Count: 38 days and counting......

Friday News And Views: AKA "I'm Not Gonna Do It!"

Oh You Know What Day It Is! This is that day when you wake up groggy, grab a cuppa joe, and read your daily bloggage/news/favorite website, and see something incredible. Then you run off to work, all excited, waiting to tell your co-workers all about it. Or worse yet- you Tweet it or Facebook it, only to find out you have been "pwnd" by another April Fool's fakery.

Well, I ain't a gonna do that to you! 

But if I did.....I might say something like, "I'm not doing the Renegade Gents Race tomorrow", (I am),  or I might say something like, "Trans Iowa has been canceled", (it hasn't), but I wouldn't do that.

At any rate, be careful what you read and see today. It very well could be a fake!

Gearing Up: I am in the midst of putting a geared drive train on the BMC today, and hopefully, by this evening, I'll have it done, so I can ride it Saturday in the wilds west of Ankeny.

I picked up a non-series compact Shimano crank, and am mating this with a 12-32T cassette of some unknown SRAM model, and that will be shifted by a long cage Ultegra derailleur. I  have some Ultegra 9spd "brifters" to do the shifty thing and slow me down. This meant I had to swap out the rear wheel, (temporarily), to a Bontrager Race model to accommodate the 9 speed cassette, which the old Sante' hub can not handle, unfortunately. Eventually, the wheels will be replaced again, and I have a couple of things in mind for that. Stay tuned...........

A Wee Bit Over Three Weeks: Trans Iowa V7 kicks off in a bit over three weeks from now. That means we must be dotting the "i's" and crossing the "t's" on this deal. Look for an update tomorrow on something special that will be happening at T.I.V7 this year.

Snow Dog Down Count: 37 Days And Counting......

Friday News And Views: AKA "I'm Not Gonna Do It!"

Oh You Know What Day It Is! This is that day when you wake up groggy, grab a cuppa joe, and read your daily bloggage/news/favorite website, and see something incredible. Then you run off to work, all excited, waiting to tell your co-workers all about it. Or worse yet- you Tweet it or Facebook it, only to find out you have been "pwnd" by another April Fool's fakery.

Well, I ain't a gonna do that to you! 

But if I did.....I might say something like, "I'm not doing the Renegade Gents Race tomorrow", (I am),  or I might say something like, "Trans Iowa has been canceled", (it hasn't), but I wouldn't do that.

At any rate, be careful what you read and see today. It very well could be a fake!

Gearing Up: I am in the midst of putting a geared drive train on the BMC today, and hopefully, by this evening, I'll have it done, so I can ride it Saturday in the wilds west of Ankeny.

I picked up a non-series compact Shimano crank, and am mating this with a 12-32T cassette of some unknown SRAM model, and that will be shifted by a long cage Ultegra derailleur. I  have some Ultegra 9spd "brifters" to do the shifty thing and slow me down. This meant I had to swap out the rear wheel, (temporarily), to a Bontrager Race model to accommodate the 9 speed cassette, which the old Sante' hub can not handle, unfortunately. Eventually, the wheels will be replaced again, and I have a couple of things in mind for that. Stay tuned...........

A Wee Bit Over Three Weeks: Trans Iowa V7 kicks off in a bit over three weeks from now. That means we must be dotting the "i's" and crossing the "t's" on this deal. Look for an update tomorrow on something special that will be happening at T.I.V7 this year.

Snow Dog Down Count: 37 Days And Counting......