Friday News And Views

The Carbon Bucksaw Fat Bike

Whoa!

Unless you are a bike geek and live under a rock,  you probably heard yesterday about Salsa Cycles' newest fat bike creation, the Carbon Bucksaw. It is a carbon fiber framed, full suspension fat bike. This announcement is like mashing the accelerator and peeling out before you have your seat belt on. Let me explain....

First of all, fat bikes are still a relatively new thing, and the fact that they could be mountain bikes is still being absorbed by many folks out there. Now keep in mind, this is referring to rigid bicycles. Now throw out a suspension fork. Boom! Minds blown. But hold on.........

Full suspension fat bikes? Yeah, sure......Salsa had been playing around with the idea for years, but this can't be a thing, right? It's just Salsa Cycles being attention grabbers, promoting fat bikes, you know, marketing. They actually accomplished all of that. Attention came by the bucket loads. People wanted to know if the idea would ever get off the ground. Some folks made "e-pledges" that they would buy one the minute Salsa made one. You know how "e-pledges" can go.......

The Aluminum Bucksaw 2

Well, Salsa dropped a bomb at Sea Otter and pushed out a few examples of the new, Dave Weagle designed full suspension fat bike dubbed the "Bucksaw". It featured a "real" full suspension design for fat bikes which Dave Weagle said he designed from the ground up using his well received Split Pivot design. So this isn't just some marketing angle. This is an actual, "designed to be a full suspension fat bike" fat bike that should, (and by all accounts does), ride really, really well. Okay, so this isn't a novelty. Salsa Cycles is dead serious about this concept. By all accounts Salsa Cycles has a hot model here.

That's awesome and also it is a concept that many mountain bikers will have a hard time wrapping their minds around. Well......at least for awhile. If what I hear about this bike is true, it won't take long for many to want to have one and use it as a mountain bike and not so much as a "fat bike". But hold on......again. 

Now Salsa Cycles hasn't even sold a single Bucksaw at retail yet, and they announce a carbon fiber version.  Talk about being serious about a concept- Salsa has to be dead serious here, since we're talking expensive proprietary molds and certainly a commitment to a sizable number of bicycles from their manufacturing partner.  Plus, it ain't cheap, folks. We're talking 6K, plus some, to get on board with one of these. The question many are asking is "Why?"

That's a great question, actually. I get it, personally. That is to say, "I understand why they did a carbon fiber Bucksaw". In many ways, the carbon usage here is not a weight savings measure. Yes......I just said that. This is another concept many folks will have to get their minds wrapped around. In fact, there are a ton of misconceptions and false assumptions about this bike. A lot of folks got dumped off the back when this concept blasted outta the gates. There are a lot of things to say about this bike. Too many to cover in this post. I'll address some of this coming up in the future. In the meantime, dust yourself off and get back on board. This bike is a game changer, and you don't want to miss why.......

Salsa Regulator Titanium Post

Regulator Long Term Thoughts:

As long as we're on Salsa Cycles today.....

Okay, so I've used the Salsa Regulator Titanium post for several months now and I have a few thoughts on how this post works and why you might want one, or not want one.

First off, if you buy a titanium Salsa post, you should not expect to get a lighter weight post. You should expect a far more comfortable post than most and a post that is really tough.

I've seen a lot of folks bag on this post because it isn't lightweight and some other titanium posts are lighter. Okay- great- buy those posts and do not buy this one. I think that there is another facet to this post that I find desirable that those posts don't have. This post is likely overbuilt. That's attractive to me because it means I likely won't have to worry about it blowing up on me if I come down hard on it, or that it may bend at all. I feel it is built to withstand the rigors of bikepacking, which is Salsa Cycles' MO. It all makes for a tough, comfortable post I can have peace of mind about as a bigger fella.

It is a really different, more comfortable riding post. Would I buy another one? I am probably going to do that. Problem is, I cannot choose just one bike to put another one on.

Registration Update:

I really thought the Veteran's registration would fill up on Tuesday. I was wrong about that. There still are two spots left as of Thursday. If those two spots are not claimed by Saturday afternoon, they will get placed into the pile for Rookies.

Next- There have been a couple entries received that should have been here last week. Well, this week is too late. So, if you sent one in and thought you should be on the roster, and you are a past winner or a finisher of Trans Iowa, you missed your window.

Finally- There are two things you may need to know if you are a Rookie trying to get into T.I.V11. One- If your card shows up too early, (Saturday), you probably won't have a chance to send another. Last year the Rookies filled their quota up in five hours on the first day. Two- Tuesday November 11th is the day the USPS observes Veteran's Day. No mail will be delivered. Monday will likely be your only chance to get in. But I've been wrong before!!

That's it, have a great weekend and get out and ride those bicycles!

Friday News And Views

The Carbon Bucksaw Fat Bike

Whoa!

Unless you are a bike geek and live under a rock,  you probably heard yesterday about Salsa Cycles' newest fat bike creation, the Carbon Bucksaw. It is a carbon fiber framed, full suspension fat bike. This announcement is like mashing the accelerator and peeling out before you have your seat belt on. Let me explain....

First of all, fat bikes are still a relatively new thing, and the fact that they could be mountain bikes is still being absorbed by many folks out there. Now keep in mind, this is referring to rigid bicycles. Now throw out a suspension fork. Boom! Minds blown. But hold on.........

Full suspension fat bikes? Yeah, sure......Salsa had been playing around with the idea for years, but this can't be a thing, right? It's just Salsa Cycles being attention grabbers, promoting fat bikes, you know, marketing. They actually accomplished all of that. Attention came by the bucket loads. People wanted to know if the idea would ever get off the ground. Some folks made "e-pledges" that they would buy one the minute Salsa made one. You know how "e-pledges" can go.......

The Aluminum Bucksaw 2

Well, Salsa dropped a bomb at Sea Otter and pushed out a few examples of the new, Dave Weagle designed full suspension fat bike dubbed the "Bucksaw". It featured a "real" full suspension design for fat bikes which Dave Weagle said he designed from the ground up using his well received Split Pivot design. So this isn't just some marketing angle. This is an actual, "designed to be a full suspension fat bike" fat bike that should, (and by all accounts does), ride really, really well. Okay, so this isn't a novelty. Salsa Cycles is dead serious about this concept. By all accounts Salsa Cycles has a hot model here.

That's awesome and also it is a concept that many mountain bikers will have a hard time wrapping their minds around. Well......at least for awhile. If what I hear about this bike is true, it won't take long for many to want to have one and use it as a mountain bike and not so much as a "fat bike". But hold on......again. 

Now Salsa Cycles hasn't even sold a single Bucksaw at retail yet, and they announce a carbon fiber version.  Talk about being serious about a concept- Salsa has to be dead serious here, since we're talking expensive proprietary molds and certainly a commitment to a sizable number of bicycles from their manufacturing partner.  Plus, it ain't cheap, folks. We're talking 6K, plus some, to get on board with one of these. The question many are asking is "Why?"

That's a great question, actually. I get it, personally. That is to say, "I understand why they did a carbon fiber Bucksaw". In many ways, the carbon usage here is not a weight savings measure. Yes......I just said that. This is another concept many folks will have to get their minds wrapped around. In fact, there are a ton of misconceptions and false assumptions about this bike. A lot of folks got dumped off the back when this concept blasted outta the gates. There are a lot of things to say about this bike. Too many to cover in this post. I'll address some of this coming up in the future. In the meantime, dust yourself off and get back on board. This bike is a game changer, and you don't want to miss why.......

Salsa Regulator Titanium Post

Regulator Long Term Thoughts:

As long as we're on Salsa Cycles today.....

Okay, so I've used the Salsa Regulator Titanium post for several months now and I have a few thoughts on how this post works and why you might want one, or not want one.

First off, if you buy a titanium Salsa post, you should not expect to get a lighter weight post. You should expect a far more comfortable post than most and a post that is really tough.

I've seen a lot of folks bag on this post because it isn't lightweight and some other titanium posts are lighter. Okay- great- buy those posts and do not buy this one. I think that there is another facet to this post that I find desirable that those posts don't have. This post is likely overbuilt. That's attractive to me because it means I likely won't have to worry about it blowing up on me if I come down hard on it, or that it may bend at all. I feel it is built to withstand the rigors of bikepacking, which is Salsa Cycles' MO. It all makes for a tough, comfortable post I can have peace of mind about as a bigger fella.

It is a really different, more comfortable riding post. Would I buy another one? I am probably going to do that. Problem is, I cannot choose just one bike to put another one on.

Registration Update:

I really thought the Veteran's registration would fill up on Tuesday. I was wrong about that. There still are two spots left as of Thursday. If those two spots are not claimed by Saturday afternoon, they will get placed into the pile for Rookies.

Next- There have been a couple entries received that should have been here last week. Well, this week is too late. So, if you sent one in and thought you should be on the roster, and you are a past winner or a finisher of Trans Iowa, you missed your window.

Finally- There are two things you may need to know if you are a Rookie trying to get into T.I.V11. One- If your card shows up too early, (Saturday), you probably won't have a chance to send another. Last year the Rookies filled their quota up in five hours on the first day. Two- Tuesday November 11th is the day the USPS observes Veteran's Day. No mail will be delivered. Monday will likely be your only chance to get in. But I've been wrong before!!

That's it, have a great weekend and get out and ride those bicycles!

New Rogue Trail

Right on the Cedar River

Word was being spread about a new trail some fellas had cut into Sherwood Park, an area of Waterloo that used to have some homes that have been removed since it is an area that floods quite often. (I wrote about this area last month as well, which you can see here.) I was on this a bit with my son about a week or so ago, but I didn't get to see all of it. So, the other day I took the long way back from work and checked it out.

I always find it interesting to see how someone else interprets a landscape into a trail. Sometimes things just don't make a lot of sense for many a reason. Sometimes things work out really, really well and exceed my expectations for an area. Around here, that doesn't happen too often, but it has happened. This trail isn't hampered by those who made it as much as it is and will be by where it was made. But that's par for the course when you build next to a river that goes out of its banks on average about once a year, sometimes to an extreme level.

For what it is, I found it fun. It is single track, and twisty-turny, as is the style around here. It goes over some busted up rock and cast away concrete in spots. It goes under a couple of precarious broken trees. Someday that will have to be dealt with. It goes right by a fine looking deer stand, which always kind of bothers me at this time of the year. Especially if someone may be intending to use it.

So, it isn't perfect, and I'm not sure it doesn't go into some privately held land, (the deer stand would be indicative of an area that is perhaps not public), but if you are local and want to check it out, you will see a couple of access points right off the South Riverside Trail where it comes off from the trail that goes over the bridge to Geo Wyth alongside HWY 218.

The trail is easy to pick out and it is flagged for most of its course. A lot of it runs right in lands I've often seen flooded in the Spring. So it will be interesting to see how long this lasts, since flotsam and jetsam from past flooding is everywhere down there. Another flood will rearrange that where ever it goes, which won't be off the trail as it sits, you can bet on that!

Yeah, I know..... I don't mean to be a "Debbie Downer", but I just don't see this lasting for a long time. Ya know, there is a reason they moved all those houses out of there in the first place. But, I figure I'll enjoy it as long as it does last and see what, if anything, gets destroyed next Spring or during Summer when the Cedar decides to come out of its banks once again, as it often does. Or whenever big winds blow and those wild trees throw down big branches or just fall over, as they often do around here. Of course, I could be all wrong about it and it may be that it will last a long time. You just never know when you have trails along a river like the Cedar. River bottom land is always in a constant state of flux.

Whatever happens will happen, but for now, there is a bit of new trail down along the Cedar River. I'll take it while I can get it......

New Rogue Trail

Right on the Cedar River

Word was being spread about a new trail some fellas had cut into Sherwood Park, an area of Waterloo that used to have some homes that have been removed since it is an area that floods quite often. (I wrote about this area last month as well, which you can see here.) I was on this a bit with my son about a week or so ago, but I didn't get to see all of it. So, the other day I took the long way back from work and checked it out.

I always find it interesting to see how someone else interprets a landscape into a trail. Sometimes things just don't make a lot of sense for many a reason. Sometimes things work out really, really well and exceed my expectations for an area. Around here, that doesn't happen too often, but it has happened. This trail isn't hampered by those who made it as much as it is and will be by where it was made. But that's par for the course when you build next to a river that goes out of its banks on average about once a year, sometimes to an extreme level.

For what it is, I found it fun. It is single track, and twisty-turny, as is the style around here. It goes over some busted up rock and cast away concrete in spots. It goes under a couple of precarious broken trees. Someday that will have to be dealt with. It goes right by a fine looking deer stand, which always kind of bothers me at this time of the year. Especially if someone may be intending to use it.

So, it isn't perfect, and I'm not sure it doesn't go into some privately held land, (the deer stand would be indicative of an area that is perhaps not public), but if you are local and want to check it out, you will see a couple of access points right off the South Riverside Trail where it comes off from the trail that goes over the bridge to Geo Wyth alongside HWY 218.

The trail is easy to pick out and it is flagged for most of its course. A lot of it runs right in lands I've often seen flooded in the Spring. So it will be interesting to see how long this lasts, since flotsam and jetsam from past flooding is everywhere down there. Another flood will rearrange that where ever it goes, which won't be off the trail as it sits, you can bet on that!

Yeah, I know..... I don't mean to be a "Debbie Downer", but I just don't see this lasting for a long time. Ya know, there is a reason they moved all those houses out of there in the first place. But, I figure I'll enjoy it as long as it does last and see what, if anything, gets destroyed next Spring or during Summer when the Cedar decides to come out of its banks once again, as it often does. Or whenever big winds blow and those wild trees throw down big branches or just fall over, as they often do around here. Of course, I could be all wrong about it and it may be that it will last a long time. You just never know when you have trails along a river like the Cedar. River bottom land is always in a constant state of flux.

Whatever happens will happen, but for now, there is a bit of new trail down along the Cedar River. I'll take it while I can get it......

Trans Iowa V11: A Look At The Rules Part 8

I wanna race Trans Iowa too!

Last year I did a historical overview of each Trans Iowa up to T.I.V9. This year I am going to revisit something that I feel many folks have overlooked for a long time; The "Race Rules".

I skipped this feature last weekend and said I'd pick it back up where I left off, but some things have bubbled to the surface and I wanted to skip ahead to the rule that addresses this and explain why we do not split off categories per bike style.

First off, here is the rule....

9: Bike choice is up to you! We are allowing mnt bikes, cyclocross bikes, 29"ers, and road bikes if you really want to be stupid. Just be aware that some research is going to have to go into your final bike choice. The gravel roads of Iowa can get pretty harsh in northern part of the state. I suggest atleast a 1.95, but then again, it's up to you how much you want to hurt. We'll leave it at that.

You might be able to read into this rule a bit and maybe you can tell there was a bit of controversy going into the first Trans Iowa. And if that is the case, you would be correct. Here is how it came about......

A "typical" gravel bike set up circa 2014.

 When the first Trans Iowa was being planned, I knew of no one else that had more gravel road miles than Jeff Kerkove. He used the roads to train on for his solo 24 hour events. Typically, he would use the exact same bikes he raced on for gravel road riding. When Jeff mentioned that he thought it better to ride a gravel road on a mountain bike than a cyclo cross or road bike, I felt he knew what he was on to, plus it just made sense to me. Besides Jeff's opinions, it was his intentions to have Trans Iowa be an alternative event for the 24 hour/endurance cycling nutbags that he knew. That's why initially it was called the "Trans Iowa Mountain Bike Race". 

There was an on-line forum thread dedicated to Trans Iowa and a debate arose that basically pitted mountain bike use against cyclo cross bike use and why the rules didn't allow skinny tires. So, Jeff put me in charge of dealing with the rabble. I consulted with Jeff on where I felt the thing was going, and Jeff then instructed me to go ahead and modify Rule #9, the rule outlining which sort of bike one could use in Trans Iowa, and we dropped the "Mountain Bike" part after that.  So, now you know why the rule reads the way it does, and who wrote it. 

This brings up a couple of things that I have seen lately and while these issues haven't been specifically challenged yet, I will address them anyway, to preempt any questions or confusion that may arise from bicycle choice. 

Remember folks- Mud sticks to tires in Iowa, and bigger tires collect more mud. Choose wisely....

Trans Iowa recognizes that by limiting your gearing to a single fixed or freewheeled cog, you are heightening the difficulty of the event and this, in our eyes, changes the way that we measure the  performance of the riders. This is why we split off a class for Single Speed/Fixed gear riders. You might also note that what width of tires you choose does not, in any way, reflect the same view as we have for single speeders. So, there will never be a category for fat bikes in Trans Iowa, since in my personal opinion, they are mountain bikes with fatter than normal tires, not necessarily a performance limiter, like the single speed gearing is.  

Tandems: This is something of a conundrum since tandem entries are so rare at Trans Iowa. Here's my take- If only one tandem is in the event, it will be lumped into the Open Class and if that team finishes it will be observed in the results with an asterisk. If we were to see three teams enter? Maybe then I would split off a new category, but I am not all that anxious to do that. Tandem entries will be rare and so will most likely get special mentions, but will not get "special categories" for that very reason. 

Trans Iowa V11: A Look At The Rules Part 8

I wanna race Trans Iowa too!

Last year I did a historical overview of each Trans Iowa up to T.I.V9. This year I am going to revisit something that I feel many folks have overlooked for a long time; The "Race Rules".

I skipped this feature last weekend and said I'd pick it back up where I left off, but some things have bubbled to the surface and I wanted to skip ahead to the rule that addresses this and explain why we do not split off categories per bike style.

First off, here is the rule....

9: Bike choice is up to you! We are allowing mnt bikes, cyclocross bikes, 29"ers, and road bikes if you really want to be stupid. Just be aware that some research is going to have to go into your final bike choice. The gravel roads of Iowa can get pretty harsh in northern part of the state. I suggest atleast a 1.95, but then again, it's up to you how much you want to hurt. We'll leave it at that.

You might be able to read into this rule a bit and maybe you can tell there was a bit of controversy going into the first Trans Iowa. And if that is the case, you would be correct. Here is how it came about......

A "typical" gravel bike set up circa 2014.

 When the first Trans Iowa was being planned, I knew of no one else that had more gravel road miles than Jeff Kerkove. He used the roads to train on for his solo 24 hour events. Typically, he would use the exact same bikes he raced on for gravel road riding. When Jeff mentioned that he thought it better to ride a gravel road on a mountain bike than a cyclo cross or road bike, I felt he knew what he was on to, plus it just made sense to me. Besides Jeff's opinions, it was his intentions to have Trans Iowa be an alternative event for the 24 hour/endurance cycling nutbags that he knew. That's why initially it was called the "Trans Iowa Mountain Bike Race". 

There was an on-line forum thread dedicated to Trans Iowa and a debate arose that basically pitted mountain bike use against cyclo cross bike use and why the rules didn't allow skinny tires. So, Jeff put me in charge of dealing with the rabble. I consulted with Jeff on where I felt the thing was going, and Jeff then instructed me to go ahead and modify Rule #9, the rule outlining which sort of bike one could use in Trans Iowa, and we dropped the "Mountain Bike" part after that.  So, now you know why the rule reads the way it does, and who wrote it. 

This brings up a couple of things that I have seen lately and while these issues haven't been specifically challenged yet, I will address them anyway, to preempt any questions or confusion that may arise from bicycle choice. 

Remember folks- Mud sticks to tires in Iowa, and bigger tires collect more mud. Choose wisely....

Trans Iowa recognizes that by limiting your gearing to a single fixed or freewheeled cog, you are heightening the difficulty of the event and this, in our eyes, changes the way that we measure the  performance of the riders. This is why we split off a class for Single Speed/Fixed gear riders. You might also note that what width of tires you choose does not, in any way, reflect the same view as we have for single speeders. So, there will never be a category for fat bikes in Trans Iowa, since in my personal opinion, they are mountain bikes with fatter than normal tires, not necessarily a performance limiter, like the single speed gearing is.  

Tandems: This is something of a conundrum since tandem entries are so rare at Trans Iowa. Here's my take- If only one tandem is in the event, it will be lumped into the Open Class and if that team finishes it will be observed in the results with an asterisk. If we were to see three teams enter? Maybe then I would split off a new category, but I am not all that anxious to do that. Tandem entries will be rare and so will most likely get special mentions, but will not get "special categories" for that very reason. 

Registration Daze Update #5

Post cards- Check! Templeton Rye- Check! Tacopocalypse t-shirt- Check!

In my last update I predicted that the registration process for Vets was about to get crazy. I was pretty much spot on with that assessment. Monday morning was a buzz of activity from the moment I got to work.

There were a slew of entries right outta the gate. A few walk-ins, but the most impressive by far was Troy McDermott who started riding at 2:30am from Dubuque, approximately 90 miles away, to deliver his card, and then he turned around and rode back. That was a new one on me!

A couple more lovely plants, a bottle of Templeton Rye, and a great visit from Sam Auen of Tacopocalypse. He gifted me a great new t-shirt and some koozies to wrap my cold ones with. Thanks Brother! I even got a "long distance hug" from my Brother MG delivered by Kevin Fox. (He did it right, MG. You'd be proud.) To top it all off, I was graced by a visit from Charles Showalter, who was hand delivering a card for another rider. All in all, good times were had and of course, many spots on the roster were claimed.

I noted a distinct lack of entries from the Western states. Hmm.....Anyway, we filled all but 10 of the available spots. Had the Winners and past Finishers claimed all their spots, the Veteran registration would have filled in a day. As it is, I bet by 9:30am it will be filled, and anything arriving later than that will be too late. I suspect that the Rookies will fill their allotment in mere hours next Monday.

Okay, so how's it looking from a roster standpoint? I am a bit disappointed we are not seeing more females enter. That field looks pretty slim again, so far...... The rest of the group looks like we have a field of guys with a score to settle. Lots of mentions of wanting to bag that elusive Trans Iowa finish. Others mentioned being stoked to see the gang again. I agree, it is somewhat of a big family reunion at this point!

Stay tuned for one more update on the roster this week, and then we'll wait till Monday to see how fast the Rookies can top out the roster to 120 entrants.

Registration Daze Update #5

Post cards- Check! Templeton Rye- Check! Tacopocalypse t-shirt- Check!

In my last update I predicted that the registration process for Vets was about to get crazy. I was pretty much spot on with that assessment. Monday morning was a buzz of activity from the moment I got to work.

There were a slew of entries right outta the gate. A few walk-ins, but the most impressive by far was Troy McDermott who started riding at 2:30am from Dubuque, approximately 90 miles away, to deliver his card, and then he turned around and rode back. That was a new one on me!

A couple more lovely plants, a bottle of Templeton Rye, and a great visit from Sam Auen of Tacopocalypse. He gifted me a great new t-shirt and some koozies to wrap my cold ones with. Thanks Brother! I even got a "long distance hug" from my Brother MG delivered by Kevin Fox. (He did it right, MG. You'd be proud.) To top it all off, I was graced by a visit from Charles Showalter, who was hand delivering a card for another rider. All in all, good times were had and of course, many spots on the roster were claimed.

I noted a distinct lack of entries from the Western states. Hmm.....Anyway, we filled all but 10 of the available spots. Had the Winners and past Finishers claimed all their spots, the Veteran registration would have filled in a day. As it is, I bet by 9:30am it will be filled, and anything arriving later than that will be too late. I suspect that the Rookies will fill their allotment in mere hours next Monday.

Okay, so how's it looking from a roster standpoint? I am a bit disappointed we are not seeing more females enter. That field looks pretty slim again, so far...... The rest of the group looks like we have a field of guys with a score to settle. Lots of mentions of wanting to bag that elusive Trans Iowa finish. Others mentioned being stoked to see the gang again. I agree, it is somewhat of a big family reunion at this point!

Stay tuned for one more update on the roster this week, and then we'll wait till Monday to see how fast the Rookies can top out the roster to 120 entrants.

Trans Iowa V11 Recon #2 Report: Part 2

When the big semi-tractor trailer rigs went by us, we were blinded!

The recon had moved to looking at the end of the route after we had scouted out a town with a 24 hour a day convenience store. There were a lot of county road miles to get there, but we did reach the ending miles of the course and started out checking into what we had for the tail end of T.I.V11.

The gravel roads were really DRY. Dust was kicking up off trucks and cars as if we had Saturn V booster rockets attached to the backs of our automobiles. This was a concern, especially when a tractor trailer rig went buzzing by at a high rate of speed. The ensuing dust cloud would render us blind to anything we were driving toward for several nerve wracking moments. It was hairy, to say the least. I snapped this image only after I could gain a modicum of visibility, but a moment before this image it was total "dust-out"!

Jeremy and I also noted that the rivers and streams were all very low. Maybe not as desperately low as they were two years ago, but they weren't far off from that low mark. If Winter's snows are sparse and Spring isn't drenching us in rain, we could see yet another dry Trans Iowa. Who knows though?  The B Roads have been pretty lame the last couple of years. Could this be the year when those roads raise their ugly heads and cause all sorts of havoc with the Trans Iowa riders? We're due for that to happen, I think.

The reason for the massive dust making. Corn transportation. 

The T.I.V11 course winds away into the distance.

A two mile stretch of Level B that about rattled our teeth out. It might be muddy next April.....

This Level B didn't make the cut. We deleted it. 

The back end of the course is a completely different animal than the first part, and different from the middle part as well. The only common thread is gravel and dirt. There will be the occasional Level B Maintenance road, and lots of gravelly goodness. In this ending salvo of T.I.V11, we did locate another convenience store that stays open for 24 hours a day. So, this means that overnight provisions shouldn't be an issue and the spacing is darn near perfect from store to store to the end of the event.

408 miles and over a tank of gas over the12 hours I was gone.

There was a Level B Maintenance road we deleted. It was actually wet and muddy in spots. The only such place we encountered all day. I figured that if there was standing water now, when it was bone dry everywhere else, then this Spring it could be really bad! In fact, it was so bad this past weekend already that I almost got the truck stuck there.

The course was done in patches, so I cannot comment yet on totals for anything just now. I have to sit and piece everything together before I can make any further analysis. However; the distance should be something less than 338 miles and we do know that the convenience store situation looks to be spot on. Checkpoint locations are nailed down, and we are pretty sure that we are ending at the barn again. There could be some tweaking of some things, but we're really, really close to the final form for this version of Trans Iowa.

Comments: In my view, this course is the most different from the others I have done. It is going to have a distinct "split personality" and the B Roads could really figure strongly into the final outcome, but I don't think this course will be overly adversely affected if the weather gets wet. Of course, if the weather goes to T.I.V2- V6 levels of wetness, all bets are off.

Logistically this could turn out to be nearly perfect for the riders.  The 24 hour a day convenience stores really helped here for this event. So, no worries about store closures. Of course, you have to get that far, and yes- you still have checkpoint cut off times to deal with. That said, this looks good to me from that standpoint and that is a big worry of my mind.

I wasn't all that stoked about where this course was going in the beginning. Now I am fairly excited about how this is looking. Now it is time to finish up the registration, and then it will be on to making cue sheets and tweaking the things that need to be tweaked. Stay tuned.........

Trans Iowa V11 Recon #2 Report: Part 2

When the big semi-tractor trailer rigs went by us, we were blinded!

The recon had moved to looking at the end of the route after we had scouted out a town with a 24 hour a day convenience store. There were a lot of county road miles to get there, but we did reach the ending miles of the course and started out checking into what we had for the tail end of T.I.V11.

The gravel roads were really DRY. Dust was kicking up off trucks and cars as if we had Saturn V booster rockets attached to the backs of our automobiles. This was a concern, especially when a tractor trailer rig went buzzing by at a high rate of speed. The ensuing dust cloud would render us blind to anything we were driving toward for several nerve wracking moments. It was hairy, to say the least. I snapped this image only after I could gain a modicum of visibility, but a moment before this image it was total "dust-out"!

Jeremy and I also noted that the rivers and streams were all very low. Maybe not as desperately low as they were two years ago, but they weren't far off from that low mark. If Winter's snows are sparse and Spring isn't drenching us in rain, we could see yet another dry Trans Iowa. Who knows though?  The B Roads have been pretty lame the last couple of years. Could this be the year when those roads raise their ugly heads and cause all sorts of havoc with the Trans Iowa riders? We're due for that to happen, I think.

The reason for the massive dust making. Corn transportation. 

The T.I.V11 course winds away into the distance.

A two mile stretch of Level B that about rattled our teeth out. It might be muddy next April.....

This Level B didn't make the cut. We deleted it. 

The back end of the course is a completely different animal than the first part, and different from the middle part as well. The only common thread is gravel and dirt. There will be the occasional Level B Maintenance road, and lots of gravelly goodness. In this ending salvo of T.I.V11, we did locate another convenience store that stays open for 24 hours a day. So, this means that overnight provisions shouldn't be an issue and the spacing is darn near perfect from store to store to the end of the event.

408 miles and over a tank of gas over the12 hours I was gone.

There was a Level B Maintenance road we deleted. It was actually wet and muddy in spots. The only such place we encountered all day. I figured that if there was standing water now, when it was bone dry everywhere else, then this Spring it could be really bad! In fact, it was so bad this past weekend already that I almost got the truck stuck there.

The course was done in patches, so I cannot comment yet on totals for anything just now. I have to sit and piece everything together before I can make any further analysis. However; the distance should be something less than 338 miles and we do know that the convenience store situation looks to be spot on. Checkpoint locations are nailed down, and we are pretty sure that we are ending at the barn again. There could be some tweaking of some things, but we're really, really close to the final form for this version of Trans Iowa.

Comments: In my view, this course is the most different from the others I have done. It is going to have a distinct "split personality" and the B Roads could really figure strongly into the final outcome, but I don't think this course will be overly adversely affected if the weather gets wet. Of course, if the weather goes to T.I.V2- V6 levels of wetness, all bets are off.

Logistically this could turn out to be nearly perfect for the riders.  The 24 hour a day convenience stores really helped here for this event. So, no worries about store closures. Of course, you have to get that far, and yes- you still have checkpoint cut off times to deal with. That said, this looks good to me from that standpoint and that is a big worry of my mind.

I wasn't all that stoked about where this course was going in the beginning. Now I am fairly excited about how this is looking. Now it is time to finish up the registration, and then it will be on to making cue sheets and tweaking the things that need to be tweaked. Stay tuned.........

Registration Daze Update #4

John Gorilla (facing camera) at CP#1 in T.I.V8

The registration process has finished now for the past Winners and Finishers of Trans Iowas. Fittingly, the last card is from a Trans Iowa fixture, former winner of V4, John Gorilla.

While there are lots of individuals that I can honestly say are capable of winning Trans Iowa, none are more driven, hard core, or as gracious and kind as John Gorilla. At least to me, this has been observed as being the case.

This addition to the roster is very interesting. In many ways, it makes Trans Iowa V11 one to watch closely. I wrote last time that I thought the field was strong, and now with Gorilla added, it is much more so. I expect that unless John has turned over a new leaf, we can expect fireworks right out of the gate this Spring. John's style is to push the pace hard at the front, and I suspect that will again be the case for this version of Trans Iowa.

I am even more interested now to see how this course plays into the styles of racing I know several of the riders will pursue at Trans Iowa this Spring. Depending on the weather, this one could be a spectacular event from several standpoints. I am obviously biased, but I am totally stoked by the roster so far, and for me, this is like "getting the band back together" and a family reunion all wrapped up into one crazy bicycle ride.

Also- There were five "gun jumpers" whose cards were in too early. Remember- if your name isn't on the roster, your entry didn't count due to missing the date, or other reasons. Finally, since there were left over spots from the first stage of registration, I am adding an additional 10 spots to the Vet's pool for a total of 50 available spots. 

I have a particular interest in some developments behind the scenes. If you think things are getting interesting now, just hold on to your hats folks. It's just getting started........

Registration Daze Update #4

John Gorilla (facing camera) at CP#1 in T.I.V8

The registration process has finished now for the past Winners and Finishers of Trans Iowas. Fittingly, the last card is from a Trans Iowa fixture, former winner of V4, John Gorilla.

While there are lots of individuals that I can honestly say are capable of winning Trans Iowa, none are more driven, hard core, or as gracious and kind as John Gorilla. At least to me, this has been observed as being the case.

This addition to the roster is very interesting. In many ways, it makes Trans Iowa V11 one to watch closely. I wrote last time that I thought the field was strong, and now with Gorilla added, it is much more so. I expect that unless John has turned over a new leaf, we can expect fireworks right out of the gate this Spring. John's style is to push the pace hard at the front, and I suspect that will again be the case for this version of Trans Iowa.

I am even more interested now to see how this course plays into the styles of racing I know several of the riders will pursue at Trans Iowa this Spring. Depending on the weather, this one could be a spectacular event from several standpoints. I am obviously biased, but I am totally stoked by the roster so far, and for me, this is like "getting the band back together" and a family reunion all wrapped up into one crazy bicycle ride.

Also- There were five "gun jumpers" whose cards were in too early. Remember- if your name isn't on the roster, your entry didn't count due to missing the date, or other reasons. Finally, since there were left over spots from the first stage of registration, I am adding an additional 10 spots to the Vet's pool for a total of 50 available spots. 

I have a particular interest in some developments behind the scenes. If you think things are getting interesting now, just hold on to your hats folks. It's just getting started........

Trans Iowa V11 Recon #2 Report: Part 1

Note: "Trans Iowa V11: A Look At The Rules" has been postponed in favor of this recon report, which will be a two-part post.

It is 5:30am. Temp- 17°F. Warming up the truck.

It is over. Trans Iowa recon, that is. Jeremy Fry and I knocked it out yesterday in a big, two part drive that saw us review a reroute and then come up and check out the last 80-ish miles that we didn't get to back in September. I am going to do a bit of a two part post on this. This part will reflect on the reroute, and Part 2 will be about the end of the course and have an overall commentary for the whole course.

The day started early and when I checked the weather on my i-Phone the weather ap said it was 19°F and snowing! Whaaaa......!!!! I ran over to the window and much to my relief, it wasn't doing anything of the sort. Bone dry. Just really chilly. The frost on the windows of the "Truck With No Name" was heavy, and it took a bit for the cab to come up to temperature. I suppose I better had get used to this now for a while! I checked the ap again- now it said 17°F! Excuse me......wrong direction!

I left the neighborhood to go grab some Coke for the drive, and on the way over a Sheriff's car pulls in behind me and follows me for a bit. Hmm.......my muffler is grumbly and loud-ish, but that was weird. I grab my sodas and head over to get Jeremy only to have a Waterloo black and white unit follow me for several blocks as well. Maybe I am a subversive or something! Whatever!

We had a big drive ahead of us just to get to where we needed to be to start recon at.

My "office" for the day. (Image by Jeremy Fry)

Breakfast was up first on our docket, and after making sure we got a belly full of eggs, potatoes, toast, bacon, sausage, and coffee it was off to find our reroute starting point. As this section was to be found at the furthest points from T.I.V11's start in Grinnell, we had quite a haul to just get there. On the way, I was wary concerning the deer movement associated with the rut season, and my eyes were peeled for any sudden movements in the ditches. We did see one buck, and he was looking rather pitiful, what with his head down and his lumbering gait. Maybe he was following a scent on the ground? Finally we reached a point where I wanted to check on a road coming out of CP#1, and that turned out to be an excellent road to use, so it fell into the plan, but that isn't the reroute we needed to look at.

We found some Level B Maintenance roads that were graded recently, rather primitive, and remote. 

 

An 18 mile section of this. No kidding. All in one, straight, flat shot. 

Although the corn will undoubtedly be gone when T.I.V11 goes through here, I thought this was cool.

I'll be honest- after the first recon I was sorely disappointed in the route we found and since then I had been cooking up another plan. This was an all or nothing chance and if this reroute wasn't going to meet my ideas for Trans Iowa, I was ready to scrap this plan and redo the entire route. I'm happy to report that what we found today was about 97% really great. There are a couple question marks, and something at the end of the route that I will mention tomorrow. The reroute was almost all really a big improvement and fit into my vision I had arrived at for this version of Trans Iowa rather well.

The section features dirt roads, but not the gnarly, "almost-not-a-road" Level B roads I have used sometimes in the past. No- these are real roads that get maintained, driven on, and are just not covered in gravel. None of these were rutted, had seen any lensing out due to mud holes, nor did they appear to have been used for any 4X4 competitions. These roads looked really nice for dirt. The images above speak for themselves.

Taking a Level B Break!

The reroute can be thought of in thirds, I think. The first third is deadly flat. Jeremy and I were remarking that the single speeders will hate it. Especially if the winds are contrary. The roads were fantastic otherwise. Just really mind numbingly flat.

The next third can be thought of as having lots of twists, turns, and navigational challenges along with several short sections of Level B Maintenance roads. None of the dirt sections are longer than a half mile with the exception of two, and one of those may get rerouted out of the course at the last minute since it has a low water crossing. Low water crossings can turn into really bad situations depending upon the weather, so I'll be keeping a close eye on that, but the road is otherwise spectacular and cool. If this goes away, I have a ready made reroute that doesn't include more pavement.

The final third is full of rollers to start out, has a gnarly, super cool Level B, more rollers, and ends on a road that is a bit unusual, but not too tough at all. This part also will include Checkpoint #2 and a 24hr convenience store after that. (Yes- open 24 hours a day. We asked!) So, besides the possible deletion of that Level B, we're really stoked about this part of the course now. It fits into the overall plan very well, and should provide that necessary resupply point without worry for missing out, as in the last few years.

Then our big day was filled with county blacktops as we moved toward the ending miles planned for Trans Iowa V11. Look for the report and images for that tomorrow!

Trans Iowa V11 Recon #2 Report: Part 1

Note: "Trans Iowa V11: A Look At The Rules" has been postponed in favor of this recon report, which will be a two-part post.

It is 5:30am. Temp- 17°F. Warming up the truck.

It is over. Trans Iowa recon, that is. Jeremy Fry and I knocked it out yesterday in a big, two part drive that saw us review a reroute and then come up and check out the last 80-ish miles that we didn't get to back in September. I am going to do a bit of a two part post on this. This part will reflect on the reroute, and Part 2 will be about the end of the course and have an overall commentary for the whole course.

The day started early and when I checked the weather on my i-Phone the weather ap said it was 19°F and snowing! Whaaaa......!!!! I ran over to the window and much to my relief, it wasn't doing anything of the sort. Bone dry. Just really chilly. The frost on the windows of the "Truck With No Name" was heavy, and it took a bit for the cab to come up to temperature. I suppose I better had get used to this now for a while! I checked the ap again- now it said 17°F! Excuse me......wrong direction!

I left the neighborhood to go grab some Coke for the drive, and on the way over a Sheriff's car pulls in behind me and follows me for a bit. Hmm.......my muffler is grumbly and loud-ish, but that was weird. I grab my sodas and head over to get Jeremy only to have a Waterloo black and white unit follow me for several blocks as well. Maybe I am a subversive or something! Whatever!

We had a big drive ahead of us just to get to where we needed to be to start recon at.

My "office" for the day. (Image by Jeremy Fry)

Breakfast was up first on our docket, and after making sure we got a belly full of eggs, potatoes, toast, bacon, sausage, and coffee it was off to find our reroute starting point. As this section was to be found at the furthest points from T.I.V11's start in Grinnell, we had quite a haul to just get there. On the way, I was wary concerning the deer movement associated with the rut season, and my eyes were peeled for any sudden movements in the ditches. We did see one buck, and he was looking rather pitiful, what with his head down and his lumbering gait. Maybe he was following a scent on the ground? Finally we reached a point where I wanted to check on a road coming out of CP#1, and that turned out to be an excellent road to use, so it fell into the plan, but that isn't the reroute we needed to look at.

We found some Level B Maintenance roads that were graded recently, rather primitive, and remote. 

 

An 18 mile section of this. No kidding. All in one, straight, flat shot. 

Although the corn will undoubtedly be gone when T.I.V11 goes through here, I thought this was cool.

I'll be honest- after the first recon I was sorely disappointed in the route we found and since then I had been cooking up another plan. This was an all or nothing chance and if this reroute wasn't going to meet my ideas for Trans Iowa, I was ready to scrap this plan and redo the entire route. I'm happy to report that what we found today was about 97% really great. There are a couple question marks, and something at the end of the route that I will mention tomorrow. The reroute was almost all really a big improvement and fit into my vision I had arrived at for this version of Trans Iowa rather well.

The section features dirt roads, but not the gnarly, "almost-not-a-road" Level B roads I have used sometimes in the past. No- these are real roads that get maintained, driven on, and are just not covered in gravel. None of these were rutted, had seen any lensing out due to mud holes, nor did they appear to have been used for any 4X4 competitions. These roads looked really nice for dirt. The images above speak for themselves.

Taking a Level B Break!

The reroute can be thought of in thirds, I think. The first third is deadly flat. Jeremy and I were remarking that the single speeders will hate it. Especially if the winds are contrary. The roads were fantastic otherwise. Just really mind numbingly flat.

The next third can be thought of as having lots of twists, turns, and navigational challenges along with several short sections of Level B Maintenance roads. None of the dirt sections are longer than a half mile with the exception of two, and one of those may get rerouted out of the course at the last minute since it has a low water crossing. Low water crossings can turn into really bad situations depending upon the weather, so I'll be keeping a close eye on that, but the road is otherwise spectacular and cool. If this goes away, I have a ready made reroute that doesn't include more pavement.

The final third is full of rollers to start out, has a gnarly, super cool Level B, more rollers, and ends on a road that is a bit unusual, but not too tough at all. This part also will include Checkpoint #2 and a 24hr convenience store after that. (Yes- open 24 hours a day. We asked!) So, besides the possible deletion of that Level B, we're really stoked about this part of the course now. It fits into the overall plan very well, and should provide that necessary resupply point without worry for missing out, as in the last few years.

Then our big day was filled with county blacktops as we moved toward the ending miles planned for Trans Iowa V11. Look for the report and images for that tomorrow!

Recon Again!

It'll probably be a lot browner this time!

Another day of recon happens today, and hopefully this wraps up everything on this till our recheck in the Spring.

Jeremy and I will be focusing on a mid-route change that should make for a good resupply point and then we'll move on to cover the back end of the route to make sure it all makes sense coming back to the Barn near Grinnell.

The weather will be cool, but the Sun is supposed to shine and I think any dirt roads we come across should be drivable, as there hasn't been much of any rain for quite awhile now. I'm hoping we can knock the whole thing out and get back in time for supper, but we'll see about that! There will be a breakfast and some processed beef products washed down with energy drink along the way, I'm sure.

Today also marks the close of the registration for Winners and Finishers of past Trans Iowas. There looks to be several spots that won't get claimed so I will add those to the 40 for the Vet Class which sees their window of opportunity open up Monday. I'll have a final count of available spots by tonight, so at some point, maybe Sunday- I will have the site updated with what is going on there.

I'll have the recon report on Monday with any news about odd things, roads we saw, and of course, a bunch of images, hopefully. Stay tuned!

Recon Again!

It'll probably be a lot browner this time!

Another day of recon happens today, and hopefully this wraps up everything on this till our recheck in the Spring.

Jeremy and I will be focusing on a mid-route change that should make for a good resupply point and then we'll move on to cover the back end of the route to make sure it all makes sense coming back to the Barn near Grinnell.

The weather will be cool, but the Sun is supposed to shine and I think any dirt roads we come across should be drivable, as there hasn't been much of any rain for quite awhile now. I'm hoping we can knock the whole thing out and get back in time for supper, but we'll see about that! There will be a breakfast and some processed beef products washed down with energy drink along the way, I'm sure.

Today also marks the close of the registration for Winners and Finishers of past Trans Iowas. There looks to be several spots that won't get claimed so I will add those to the 40 for the Vet Class which sees their window of opportunity open up Monday. I'll have a final count of available spots by tonight, so at some point, maybe Sunday- I will have the site updated with what is going on there.

I'll have the recon report on Monday with any news about odd things, roads we saw, and of course, a bunch of images, hopefully. Stay tuned!