Home Again!

<===Wind wasn't the right word to describe this!

Well, I'm back from Sea Otter and I'm bushed! Yesterday was pretty spectacular for several reasons. first and foremost, it was dang cold and super windy! Things came crashing down, poles were snapping off, and cows were seen blowing through the air. Well.......I made that last part up, but really, it was bad!




<===A view of the hills from the single track we rode at Laguna Seca.

I did actually get to ride this time around. Jason Boucher, Tim Grahl, and myself toured the 10 mile loop. It was super hilly, fast on the down hills, super tough climbs back up, and very dusty and windy. (there is THAT word again!)

I was flabbergasted while pushing up one of the steepest slopes into the crosswind when my bike flipped up off the ground due to the force of the winds. It was as if we were about to be blown into Nevada, or something. Crazy! I've ridden bikes in wind stronger than this only once and it is kind of scary. We made the best of it though and had a great time anyway.


<===Tim as we waited during a "nature break"

The ride really worked me over. I sure hope Kansas isn't this windy when I ride there in May. Strangely enough, the grassy hills bore more than a semblance to those Kansas Flint Hills.

I was glad to get a ride in California in again. That's two years in a row now for me. The riding is so different there, and I am not used to it, but I'd like to be!




<===Jason is all smiles after his little stop. How do you spell relief!

It was great to ride with Tim again, which rarely happens since he lives in Virginia. Of course, watching Jason shred is getting mind boggling. He is fine tuning his health and it is showing. I know he won't admit this, but he is super fast!

So, I'm all back home again, I think. I don't know.....maybe some of my marbles got blown outta my head there yesterday!



<===I will leave you with this image of the Sea Otter. Say Cheese!

Now it's time for Trans Iowa.


In Spades!

Home Again!

<===Wind wasn't the right word to describe this!

Well, I'm back from Sea Otter and I'm bushed! Yesterday was pretty spectacular for several reasons. first and foremost, it was dang cold and super windy! Things came crashing down, poles were snapping off, and cows were seen blowing through the air. Well.......I made that last part up, but really, it was bad!




<===A view of the hills from the single track we rode at Laguna Seca.

I did actually get to ride this time around. Jason Boucher, Tim Grahl, and myself toured the 10 mile loop. It was super hilly, fast on the down hills, super tough climbs back up, and very dusty and windy. (there is THAT word again!)

I was flabbergasted while pushing up one of the steepest slopes into the crosswind when my bike flipped up off the ground due to the force of the winds. It was as if we were about to be blown into Nevada, or something. Crazy! I've ridden bikes in wind stronger than this only once and it is kind of scary. We made the best of it though and had a great time anyway.


<===Tim as we waited during a "nature break"

The ride really worked me over. I sure hope Kansas isn't this windy when I ride there in May. Strangely enough, the grassy hills bore more than a semblance to those Kansas Flint Hills.

I was glad to get a ride in California in again. That's two years in a row now for me. The riding is so different there, and I am not used to it, but I'd like to be!




<===Jason is all smiles after his little stop. How do you spell relief!

It was great to ride with Tim again, which rarely happens since he lives in Virginia. Of course, watching Jason shred is getting mind boggling. He is fine tuning his health and it is showing. I know he won't admit this, but he is super fast!

So, I'm all back home again, I think. I don't know.....maybe some of my marbles got blown outta my head there yesterday!



<===I will leave you with this image of the Sea Otter. Say Cheese!

Now it's time for Trans Iowa.


In Spades!

The Final Day

<===It's another way to ride a Big Dummy, dummy!

Sea Otter is a big bicycle fest of the best kind. Lots and lots of really cool folks and bikes rolling around at all times. You just never know what you might see around the next corner.

I was standing at the Twin Six booth when up walks a couple of tall leggy blondes with their tops nearly undone. The one speaks up and asks Brent, (One of the Twin Six super cool dudes) if she coud get a jersey for a friend, "that was a bit locked up." British accent on top of it all. Weird! You just never know, ya know?



<===Jeff Jones talking to a festival attendee about his custom bike.

Their Are racers, famous bike people, and their bikes all over the place here. I'll be on the look out today for more, because this is our last day here. Tomorrow morning at "dark-thirty" I'll be on my way back home to Iowa.

Can someone make sure the sun is turned on when I get back? I'm getting used to it out here and I'd miss it dearly, I'm afraid, if it isn't here when I get back!

The Final Day

<===It's another way to ride a Big Dummy, dummy!

Sea Otter is a big bicycle fest of the best kind. Lots and lots of really cool folks and bikes rolling around at all times. You just never know what you might see around the next corner.

I was standing at the Twin Six booth when up walks a couple of tall leggy blondes with their tops nearly undone. The one speaks up and asks Brent, (One of the Twin Six super cool dudes) if she coud get a jersey for a friend, "that was a bit locked up." British accent on top of it all. Weird! You just never know, ya know?



<===Jeff Jones talking to a festival attendee about his custom bike.

Their Are racers, famous bike people, and their bikes all over the place here. I'll be on the look out today for more, because this is our last day here. Tomorrow morning at "dark-thirty" I'll be on my way back home to Iowa.

Can someone make sure the sun is turned on when I get back? I'm getting used to it out here and I'd miss it dearly, I'm afraid, if it isn't here when I get back!

Onwards Through The Fog!

<=== The Ultimate He-Man Woman Hater Camper Mo-sheen.

Well, it's day two of Sea Otter and last night was a pretty stellar evening with francois of mtbr.com and Jason and The Salsa Crew. We went to Hula's and had some fantastic fish tacos and great conversation.

Went back to the hotel and blogged, went to sleep, and woke up today to a covering of fog and colder temps. Looks like it'll be a woolie wear day, good thing I have my sheep's hair shirt with me!

I'll be doing some sleuthing and maybe even getting to ride later. Gotta mark off California on my Exotic Places Ridden Ridden Bingo 2008 game!

Onwards Through The Fog!

<=== The Ultimate He-Man Woman Hater Camper Mo-sheen.

Well, it's day two of Sea Otter and last night was a pretty stellar evening with francois of mtbr.com and Jason and The Salsa Crew. We went to Hula's and had some fantastic fish tacos and great conversation.

Went back to the hotel and blogged, went to sleep, and woke up today to a covering of fog and colder temps. Looks like it'll be a woolie wear day, good thing I have my sheep's hair shirt with me!

I'll be doing some sleuthing and maybe even getting to ride later. Gotta mark off California on my Exotic Places Ridden Ridden Bingo 2008 game!

Just Another Sunny California Day

<=== Retro Freaks, rejoice! Get one of ten!

I spent most of day one getting re-connected with old aquaintences and picking up some news. I love 29"ers, but I just about ripped my head out of it's socket when I saw this Tomac 10th anniversary drop bar replica bike. Way cool details like the original drop bar, laser etched with the "JT" insignia by Cinnelli who made the bars way back in the day. Some German collector provided Tomac Bikes with them. And a Dura Ace 9spd STI lever mated to a bar end front shifter. How about vintage Manitou flat lack and lettering on the new Manitou fork. Just a super cool rig, and it's torched up by the guy that made the originals too, Chris herting, who used to weld Johhny T's bikes back in the day. Hurry if you want one, only ten will ever be produced, all custom made to order.


<===Carlos, take notice!

There are always some crazy company rigs around. Check out this Durango done up in primer green and blue belonging to Oakley.

Pretty crazy stuff.

I saw Mr. 24

He's fit and ready to rage!

More coming. I've got to run and try not to get too sunburned!

Just Another Sunny California Day

<=== Retro Freaks, rejoice! Get one of ten!

I spent most of day one getting re-connected with old aquaintences and picking up some news. I love 29"ers, but I just about ripped my head out of it's socket when I saw this Tomac 10th anniversary drop bar replica bike. Way cool details like the original drop bar, laser etched with the "JT" insignia by Cinnelli who made the bars way back in the day. Some German collector provided Tomac Bikes with them. And a Dura Ace 9spd STI lever mated to a bar end front shifter. How about vintage Manitou flat lack and lettering on the new Manitou fork. Just a super cool rig, and it's torched up by the guy that made the originals too, Chris herting, who used to weld Johhny T's bikes back in the day. Hurry if you want one, only ten will ever be produced, all custom made to order.


<===Carlos, take notice!

There are always some crazy company rigs around. Check out this Durango done up in primer green and blue belonging to Oakley.

Pretty crazy stuff.

I saw Mr. 24

He's fit and ready to rage!

More coming. I've got to run and try not to get too sunburned!

Rollin' Cali Style

<=== Rollin' the caddy, baby!

We all made it to San Francisco today, Tim Grahl, Arleigh Jenkins, and myself, for the big Sea Otter to-do tomorrow. Tim got a rental car and they were trying to get him to upgrade to a Caddy. He declined and paid regular price, and look what we got!

The thing flat out hauls the mail and has a growly exhaust note that would make any teen proud. Cool stuff.



<=== Flying down the 101.

We made it on down To Monterey eventually after goofing around here and there. We got in with the Twin Six crew and had some beers and food later on. Good times were had and lots of tall tales were told.

Tomorrow, it is all business though and I'll be a runnin' foo!




<=== Got my lunch from this joint today!

Ever had anything from this place? Lots of organic, healthy sort of stuff here. I had sushi spring rolls with wasabi sauce and some flax seed tortilla chips with olive humus. Washed down with natural fruit juice Raspberry lemonade. Good eats! When in Cali, eat like the Cali folks do, right?

Okay, more tomorrow when real work will be getting done. No, really!

Rollin' Cali Style

<=== Rollin' the caddy, baby!

We all made it to San Francisco today, Tim Grahl, Arleigh Jenkins, and myself, for the big Sea Otter to-do tomorrow. Tim got a rental car and they were trying to get him to upgrade to a Caddy. He declined and paid regular price, and look what we got!

The thing flat out hauls the mail and has a growly exhaust note that would make any teen proud. Cool stuff.



<=== Flying down the 101.

We made it on down To Monterey eventually after goofing around here and there. We got in with the Twin Six crew and had some beers and food later on. Good times were had and lots of tall tales were told.

Tomorrow, it is all business though and I'll be a runnin' foo!




<=== Got my lunch from this joint today!

Ever had anything from this place? Lots of organic, healthy sort of stuff here. I had sushi spring rolls with wasabi sauce and some flax seed tortilla chips with olive humus. Washed down with natural fruit juice Raspberry lemonade. Good eats! When in Cali, eat like the Cali folks do, right?

Okay, more tomorrow when real work will be getting done. No, really!

On The Road: Sea Otter

<=== One of the crazy peripheral activities going on during Sea Otter. Maybe I'll be at this......who knows!

Today marks the last "regular time" post for the week as by about 5:00am CST I'll be driving to Des Moines to catch a flight out to California to attend and cover the Sea Otter Festival. I'll be doing my Twenty Nine Inches gig out there. I will be posting some stuff here though, probably everyday, since I'll have wifi at the Sea Otter Media Center. Plenty of folks will be milling about and I'm sure some sort of weirdness will occur at some point that should be "blog-worthy"

Speaking of weirdness and things going on, I'll probably be doing some after show hours stuff, but as far as just what that is, I haven't a clue yet. The only night spoken for so far is Thursday evening when I'm scheduled to meet with some of the Salsa Crew and meet francois of mtbr.com fame.

Oh yeah, and the Dirty Blue Box is up and running again! This is good news because I need that rig not just for getting me to the airport, but for getting me around Trans Iowa again this year. Funny thing is, it still has gravel dust in it from last years event! Oh well, I figure a little more can't hurt, right?

Another thing about Trans Iowa: We have got a fantastic crew of volunteers rounded up to help out. I couldn't be happier about this. Trans Iowa is pretty tough to run across 300 plus miles of gravel and having the quality people we have helping keep eyes on the field and checking folks in and out will be a huge help.

Finally: I have found an audio-blogging tool to do Trans Iowa Radio with on a site called Utterz. I'm not making this up! Their icon is a caricature of a Holstein cow. Really! At any rate, it should work like all the other Trans Iowa Radio broadcasts in the past. You will be able to pick that up by clicking on the posts when they show up on the Trans Iowa site or on this blog. I plan on posting a test/teaser audio post really soon to see if it works as advertised. Stay tuned for that.

On The Road: Sea Otter

<=== One of the crazy peripheral activities going on during Sea Otter. Maybe I'll be at this......who knows!

Today marks the last "regular time" post for the week as by about 5:00am CST I'll be driving to Des Moines to catch a flight out to California to attend and cover the Sea Otter Festival. I'll be doing my Twenty Nine Inches gig out there. I will be posting some stuff here though, probably everyday, since I'll have wifi at the Sea Otter Media Center. Plenty of folks will be milling about and I'm sure some sort of weirdness will occur at some point that should be "blog-worthy"

Speaking of weirdness and things going on, I'll probably be doing some after show hours stuff, but as far as just what that is, I haven't a clue yet. The only night spoken for so far is Thursday evening when I'm scheduled to meet with some of the Salsa Crew and meet francois of mtbr.com fame.

Oh yeah, and the Dirty Blue Box is up and running again! This is good news because I need that rig not just for getting me to the airport, but for getting me around Trans Iowa again this year. Funny thing is, it still has gravel dust in it from last years event! Oh well, I figure a little more can't hurt, right?

Another thing about Trans Iowa: We have got a fantastic crew of volunteers rounded up to help out. I couldn't be happier about this. Trans Iowa is pretty tough to run across 300 plus miles of gravel and having the quality people we have helping keep eyes on the field and checking folks in and out will be a huge help.

Finally: I have found an audio-blogging tool to do Trans Iowa Radio with on a site called Utterz. I'm not making this up! Their icon is a caricature of a Holstein cow. Really! At any rate, it should work like all the other Trans Iowa Radio broadcasts in the past. You will be able to pick that up by clicking on the posts when they show up on the Trans Iowa site or on this blog. I plan on posting a test/teaser audio post really soon to see if it works as advertised. Stay tuned for that.

Monday Musings

Long Travel 29"ers: I have been discussing long travel for 29"ers recently and just what "long travel" for a 29"er is. In a nutshell, it isn't what you would think, (Stop with the 26"er comparos) and it's already here. I believe more and varied choices are on the way too. Check out my recent post on Twenty Nine Inches for more on this rarely discussed topic of what is long travel for 29"ers.

Trans Iowa News: Even though I didn't get out in the Dirty Blue Box to do any Trans Iowa recon, that doesn't mean I don't have some news! Oh no! I got yer news right here: Gravel Road Conditions- soft, wet, and slow with water sitting on top of many saturated sections. Some parts of the route are still primo dry and fast, but other sections are needing some sun, wind, and time in both to recover. Fortunately the weather looks to co-operate on this one for at least the reast of this week. Volunteers have been called up. If you have contacted me about volunteering and didn't hear from me this weekend, get a hold of me! Some of your spam filters are a bit over zealous!

Sea Otter Trip: I've got one more "normal" day after today and then it is a day of travel to California to hit up Sea Otter and see the new stuff being introduced, catch up with old friends and new, and walk that long, steep hill up to the media center umpteen million times! I'll obviously be posting at odd times throughout the rest of the week, but do stop by and check out the latest. I'll have my camera at the ready and I will have wireless access everyday at Sea Otters media center and at various wifi terminals along the way to and from. Regular postings should start again a week from today.

Sunday Night Camp Rides: Bike Tech is starting up something I think is long over due for these parts: Casual Group Rides. Yep, for road and mountain bike seekers. These are going to be "no rider left behind" type of fun, skill building rides that will take riders from this area beyond the bike paths and introduce them to the next level of cycling out there if they want it. My main interest will be the Sunday evening mountain bike rides at Camp Ingawanis. You'll need a helmet, a mountain bike, and a Camp Pass to jin in. See Brent ( The Thin Man) at Bike Tech for details on this exciting new gig. Yeah, there is roadie stuff too, but don't ask me about that! Ha ha! See ya out at the Camp soon!

Monday Musings

Long Travel 29"ers: I have been discussing long travel for 29"ers recently and just what "long travel" for a 29"er is. In a nutshell, it isn't what you would think, (Stop with the 26"er comparos) and it's already here. I believe more and varied choices are on the way too. Check out my recent post on Twenty Nine Inches for more on this rarely discussed topic of what is long travel for 29"ers.

Trans Iowa News: Even though I didn't get out in the Dirty Blue Box to do any Trans Iowa recon, that doesn't mean I don't have some news! Oh no! I got yer news right here: Gravel Road Conditions- soft, wet, and slow with water sitting on top of many saturated sections. Some parts of the route are still primo dry and fast, but other sections are needing some sun, wind, and time in both to recover. Fortunately the weather looks to co-operate on this one for at least the reast of this week. Volunteers have been called up. If you have contacted me about volunteering and didn't hear from me this weekend, get a hold of me! Some of your spam filters are a bit over zealous!

Sea Otter Trip: I've got one more "normal" day after today and then it is a day of travel to California to hit up Sea Otter and see the new stuff being introduced, catch up with old friends and new, and walk that long, steep hill up to the media center umpteen million times! I'll obviously be posting at odd times throughout the rest of the week, but do stop by and check out the latest. I'll have my camera at the ready and I will have wireless access everyday at Sea Otters media center and at various wifi terminals along the way to and from. Regular postings should start again a week from today.

Sunday Night Camp Rides: Bike Tech is starting up something I think is long over due for these parts: Casual Group Rides. Yep, for road and mountain bike seekers. These are going to be "no rider left behind" type of fun, skill building rides that will take riders from this area beyond the bike paths and introduce them to the next level of cycling out there if they want it. My main interest will be the Sunday evening mountain bike rides at Camp Ingawanis. You'll need a helmet, a mountain bike, and a Camp Pass to jin in. See Brent ( The Thin Man) at Bike Tech for details on this exciting new gig. Yeah, there is roadie stuff too, but don't ask me about that! Ha ha! See ya out at the Camp soon!

Sometimes You Get What You Need

<===Well, I suppose I could ride my bike...heh heh!

Sometimes even the best laid plans can go awry. Another way to say it- You can't always get what you want. But if ya try sometimes, you're gonna find. Ya get what ya need!

Saturday was just such a day.

With plans of scouting out the T.I. course out the window due to my Dirty Blue Box's work not being done yet at the shop, I graciously accepted an invitation from Matt Gersib (MG) to ride instead. Now I had never ridden with MG before but I knew him to be a great guy that is a really great rider. I was flattered that he would want to tow me around Iowa gravel roads for an afternoon.



<=== Wolf Creek, Two bikes, Lots of wet soggy gravel = FUN!

What an afternoon too. With temps in the mid thirties, a stiff Northwest wind, and sleet/snow pelting us, we took off from Traer, Iowa to do a loop of indeterminate length. I know this area pretty well, so I pretty much flew by the seat of my pants and we ended up being out for about two and a half hours.





<=== MG proved to be just the medicine the doctor ordered for getting through a miserable afternoon.

If you haven't had the pleasure of riding with MG, you are missing a great riding partner. He made what would have been a "quitting day" a succesful and fun ride despite it all.

This is one of two stops we made when I had to fix my slipping seat post. Otherwise we pretty much had to keep the pedal to the metal the whole ride as it was either wind, hills, soft gravel/mud, or a combination of all three that conspired to make our wheels stop turning. Sleet squalls would occiasionally blow up with their stinging assault and when it wasn't doing that, it was blowing snow that greeted our determined faces.


<=== This pretty much sums up what the gravel looked like all the way 'round our loop.

Generally, there were three good tracks to run in where the car traffic had made the surface compacted and rideable without too much resistance. However; this was also where all the watery slop resided on the road, so we quickly accumulated a fine spray coating of lime all over everything.

There were times when the surface deteriorated into soft mush/mud and became highly resistant to the passing of our wheels. In some turns, my semi-slick 2.0 tires were slipping and drifting around which was kind of fun, but sketchy all the same. We ended up on about a half mile of rutted out fresh gravel/stone that was the result of the road having been flooded over recently. We crossed back over the Wolf Creek and back into Traer where Matt's car was waiting. He offered me a ride back to Waterloo, so I accepted and he dropped me off at my home safe, but very tired and wet.




<=== Dirty Twin Six socks. I promised to get 'em that way!

Matt figured our two and a half was worth about four- four and a half hours of regular conditions riding. Umm........okay! I'll go along with that! It sure was a lot of work. This being my first real training ride for Dirty Kanza, I was drained. I got home, cleaned up, and took a good long nap. I got up very stiff, so a little "vitamin I" was in order.

Today I am feeling it, but in that good way. A great ride to build on and a new cycling friend. I'd say it was a stellar afternoon of cycling goodness. Say, was it cold? I can't even remember it being cold or really that bad at all. Thanks MG, that's what a good riding partner can do on a craptastic day.

Sometimes You Get What You Need

<===Well, I suppose I could ride my bike...heh heh!

Sometimes even the best laid plans can go awry. Another way to say it- You can't always get what you want. But if ya try sometimes, you're gonna find. Ya get what ya need!

Saturday was just such a day.

With plans of scouting out the T.I. course out the window due to my Dirty Blue Box's work not being done yet at the shop, I graciously accepted an invitation from Matt Gersib (MG) to ride instead. Now I had never ridden with MG before but I knew him to be a great guy that is a really great rider. I was flattered that he would want to tow me around Iowa gravel roads for an afternoon.



<=== Wolf Creek, Two bikes, Lots of wet soggy gravel = FUN!

What an afternoon too. With temps in the mid thirties, a stiff Northwest wind, and sleet/snow pelting us, we took off from Traer, Iowa to do a loop of indeterminate length. I know this area pretty well, so I pretty much flew by the seat of my pants and we ended up being out for about two and a half hours.





<=== MG proved to be just the medicine the doctor ordered for getting through a miserable afternoon.

If you haven't had the pleasure of riding with MG, you are missing a great riding partner. He made what would have been a "quitting day" a succesful and fun ride despite it all.

This is one of two stops we made when I had to fix my slipping seat post. Otherwise we pretty much had to keep the pedal to the metal the whole ride as it was either wind, hills, soft gravel/mud, or a combination of all three that conspired to make our wheels stop turning. Sleet squalls would occiasionally blow up with their stinging assault and when it wasn't doing that, it was blowing snow that greeted our determined faces.


<=== This pretty much sums up what the gravel looked like all the way 'round our loop.

Generally, there were three good tracks to run in where the car traffic had made the surface compacted and rideable without too much resistance. However; this was also where all the watery slop resided on the road, so we quickly accumulated a fine spray coating of lime all over everything.

There were times when the surface deteriorated into soft mush/mud and became highly resistant to the passing of our wheels. In some turns, my semi-slick 2.0 tires were slipping and drifting around which was kind of fun, but sketchy all the same. We ended up on about a half mile of rutted out fresh gravel/stone that was the result of the road having been flooded over recently. We crossed back over the Wolf Creek and back into Traer where Matt's car was waiting. He offered me a ride back to Waterloo, so I accepted and he dropped me off at my home safe, but very tired and wet.




<=== Dirty Twin Six socks. I promised to get 'em that way!

Matt figured our two and a half was worth about four- four and a half hours of regular conditions riding. Umm........okay! I'll go along with that! It sure was a lot of work. This being my first real training ride for Dirty Kanza, I was drained. I got home, cleaned up, and took a good long nap. I got up very stiff, so a little "vitamin I" was in order.

Today I am feeling it, but in that good way. A great ride to build on and a new cycling friend. I'd say it was a stellar afternoon of cycling goodness. Say, was it cold? I can't even remember it being cold or really that bad at all. Thanks MG, that's what a good riding partner can do on a craptastic day.

Friday News And Views

Checking Out Some Things: I'm slated to have a busy weekend coming up. I have resurrected the Dirty Blue Box and it should be back in my hands today for it's annual gravel duties. I'll be putting it to use doing some finer recon on the Trans Iowa course. With the recent deluge of precipatation, I'll be able to get a handle on how some parts of the course have responded, in case we have rain for T.I.V4. Stay Tuned........

Getting The Ride Together: Another thing I've been tweaking on, and that I've mentioned before, is the Dirty Kanza rig. I've got some stuff bolted together and I hope to roll it on some gravel for testing this weekend. Sunday most likely. I sometimes look at the bikes I am considering, and I probably look like I've become paralyzed. That belies all the activity going on in my brain as I assemble and re-assemble these two rigs in different configurations, adding or subtracting bits and pieces, considering nutrition and hydration, figuring out the whole and how it might work. Mike Curiak calls it thinkering. Man, it can be exhausting work.......really. I hope to start the process of elimination and hone in on a set up soon.

Trans Iowa Details: Besides the field work on T.I.V4 I have some organizational work concerning volunteers, photographers, and equipment necessary to put on the event. David Pals is working feverishly on the course turns and getting everything detailed out for cue sheet production. Prizing has rolled in with some still on the way. We have to stuff race packets yet, after the cue sheets are done. Final details on the pre-race are still to be nailed down. Gee.......it must be two weeks to Trans Iowa!

And Finally.... I leave for Sea Otter in a few days. So, packing up for that event is also on the agenda, but I might have to put that off till Monday night. I don't know, I think I've got a few things on the plate for this weeekend, so maybe I should hold off on that. (!Ha !)

Friday News And Views

Checking Out Some Things: I'm slated to have a busy weekend coming up. I have resurrected the Dirty Blue Box and it should be back in my hands today for it's annual gravel duties. I'll be putting it to use doing some finer recon on the Trans Iowa course. With the recent deluge of precipatation, I'll be able to get a handle on how some parts of the course have responded, in case we have rain for T.I.V4. Stay Tuned........

Getting The Ride Together: Another thing I've been tweaking on, and that I've mentioned before, is the Dirty Kanza rig. I've got some stuff bolted together and I hope to roll it on some gravel for testing this weekend. Sunday most likely. I sometimes look at the bikes I am considering, and I probably look like I've become paralyzed. That belies all the activity going on in my brain as I assemble and re-assemble these two rigs in different configurations, adding or subtracting bits and pieces, considering nutrition and hydration, figuring out the whole and how it might work. Mike Curiak calls it thinkering. Man, it can be exhausting work.......really. I hope to start the process of elimination and hone in on a set up soon.

Trans Iowa Details: Besides the field work on T.I.V4 I have some organizational work concerning volunteers, photographers, and equipment necessary to put on the event. David Pals is working feverishly on the course turns and getting everything detailed out for cue sheet production. Prizing has rolled in with some still on the way. We have to stuff race packets yet, after the cue sheets are done. Final details on the pre-race are still to be nailed down. Gee.......it must be two weeks to Trans Iowa!

And Finally.... I leave for Sea Otter in a few days. So, packing up for that event is also on the agenda, but I might have to put that off till Monday night. I don't know, I think I've got a few things on the plate for this weeekend, so maybe I should hold off on that. (!Ha !)

Hey! I'm Trying To Get Ready Here!

With all the snow and ice gone I was excited to be able to get out on some rides around here. Sure, I never expected that things would be all that great right away. I mean, the ground and a lot of the gravel roads haven't been uncovered since last December around here. You'd expect conditions to suck early on, but you'd also expect a slow improvement too.

Well, we're stuck in this seeming holding pattern of crap-tastic weather lately. I wake up this morning to the sound of rain and see that the temperature is a balmy 37 degrees Fahrenheit. Great!

I suppose I could suck it up, don the rain gear, and call it tough man training. Or, I could just call it what it is. Crappy weather! I really do not see the need to run my self into the ground in this stuff. 'Causes sickness, it does. Mama always said so. Besides, I've been running myself into the ground at work anyway. Everything is traning, right? I mean, I've done over 60 repairs in three days, so it's not like I have time to sit around, ya know? Lots of walking, lifting, and wrenching. I call it base training.

I can only hope that the weekend is better, but now they are talking snow! Wet and cold, even if that is wrong. I guess I'll have fun while checking a few things out on the Trans Iowa course any way.

I've been tweaking on the Pofahl lately. Getting bits to turn it into the long hauler single speed gravel machine. Mounting bottle cages here and there. Got a top tube bag. Now I only have to have some time to test the set up. I may invest in a small frame bag if it all works out, or I'll transfer over to the Blackbuck and go from there. We'll see, but we have to have some decent weather first!

This all may have to wait until post Sea Otter and post Trans Iowa. Busy times require desperate measures. Craziness.............

Stay tuned!

Hey! I'm Trying To Get Ready Here!

With all the snow and ice gone I was excited to be able to get out on some rides around here. Sure, I never expected that things would be all that great right away. I mean, the ground and a lot of the gravel roads haven't been uncovered since last December around here. You'd expect conditions to suck early on, but you'd also expect a slow improvement too.

Well, we're stuck in this seeming holding pattern of crap-tastic weather lately. I wake up this morning to the sound of rain and see that the temperature is a balmy 37 degrees Fahrenheit. Great!

I suppose I could suck it up, don the rain gear, and call it tough man training. Or, I could just call it what it is. Crappy weather! I really do not see the need to run my self into the ground in this stuff. 'Causes sickness, it does. Mama always said so. Besides, I've been running myself into the ground at work anyway. Everything is traning, right? I mean, I've done over 60 repairs in three days, so it's not like I have time to sit around, ya know? Lots of walking, lifting, and wrenching. I call it base training.

I can only hope that the weekend is better, but now they are talking snow! Wet and cold, even if that is wrong. I guess I'll have fun while checking a few things out on the Trans Iowa course any way.

I've been tweaking on the Pofahl lately. Getting bits to turn it into the long hauler single speed gravel machine. Mounting bottle cages here and there. Got a top tube bag. Now I only have to have some time to test the set up. I may invest in a small frame bag if it all works out, or I'll transfer over to the Blackbuck and go from there. We'll see, but we have to have some decent weather first!

This all may have to wait until post Sea Otter and post Trans Iowa. Busy times require desperate measures. Craziness.............

Stay tuned!