Dirty Kanza 200 Training Log: Weekend Daze

Saturday was a ride up at Cedar Bend. I was out testing a rig for the site and found out that the humididty and bugs were out in full force, turning the cool, crisp air we had been running around in into a full on summer feel. Funny thing too because just a couple days prior I was wishing I had booties on it was so cool while I was riding. I'm betting it'll be awhile before I feel that way again.

The other thing was that my legs were toast. I was feeling the fatigue of riding more with not a lot of sleep. I pretty much had to stay in plunk around mode to make the climbs and recover afterwards. It was all good though. I did some exploring, and have some ideas floating around my head that may have to be acted on someday soon.

I've been testing an Osprey Raptor 10 for The Cyclist lately. It's kind of ironic that d.p. also recently got one of the same models. So far its been working great. This is going to be part of my Dirty Kanza gear, in a departure from my past years strategy. I was trying to get all the weight off my back, and last year I did, but I discovered that I still got bit by back problems none the less, so this year is going to be a completely different set up.

Sunday I took off as a rest day. Too much running around and stressing about other stuff. So I just shut everything down for a day. Re-charge the batteries, and go at it again on Monday was my thought. I've got a big ride in the planning stages right now, and hopefully I'll be able to pull it all off and get a dry run in before going down to Kansas soon. Hopefully I can also get accustomed to this hazy air and muggy temperatures before I get there too.

Dirty Kanza 200 Training Log: Weekend Daze

Saturday was a ride up at Cedar Bend. I was out testing a rig for the site and found out that the humididty and bugs were out in full force, turning the cool, crisp air we had been running around in into a full on summer feel. Funny thing too because just a couple days prior I was wishing I had booties on it was so cool while I was riding. I'm betting it'll be awhile before I feel that way again.

The other thing was that my legs were toast. I was feeling the fatigue of riding more with not a lot of sleep. I pretty much had to stay in plunk around mode to make the climbs and recover afterwards. It was all good though. I did some exploring, and have some ideas floating around my head that may have to be acted on someday soon.

I've been testing an Osprey Raptor 10 for The Cyclist lately. It's kind of ironic that d.p. also recently got one of the same models. So far its been working great. This is going to be part of my Dirty Kanza gear, in a departure from my past years strategy. I was trying to get all the weight off my back, and last year I did, but I discovered that I still got bit by back problems none the less, so this year is going to be a completely different set up.

Sunday I took off as a rest day. Too much running around and stressing about other stuff. So I just shut everything down for a day. Re-charge the batteries, and go at it again on Monday was my thought. I've got a big ride in the planning stages right now, and hopefully I'll be able to pull it all off and get a dry run in before going down to Kansas soon. Hopefully I can also get accustomed to this hazy air and muggy temperatures before I get there too.

Big Day On Gravel

Just wanted to give a shout out to all the guys and gals doing the Almanzo 100. The event will be starting out at 9am this morning and will be covering some awesome Southeast Minnesota gravel around the Preston-Spring Valley area. Good stuff and the stories coming out of this unprecedented field of riders should be amazing.

Gravel grinders are really beginning to become something special in the Mid-West and beyond. I know that back in 2004 when Jeff Kerkove and I cooked up Trans Iowa that the concept of racing a huge amount of miles on a point to point or loop course was an alien one to probaly 99.9% of cyclists. You can just check out Gravel Grinder News, go to the right margin, and see the number of events I have gathered there to find out just how far and wide the concept has spread.

Not only that, but now I hear that a former Trans Iowa vet has taken up doing guided tours of Colorado backroads due to an inspiration he got from Trans Iowa.

I never woulda guessed it would have gone this far, and I bet it goes even farther!

Big Day On Gravel

Just wanted to give a shout out to all the guys and gals doing the Almanzo 100. The event will be starting out at 9am this morning and will be covering some awesome Southeast Minnesota gravel around the Preston-Spring Valley area. Good stuff and the stories coming out of this unprecedented field of riders should be amazing.

Gravel grinders are really beginning to become something special in the Mid-West and beyond. I know that back in 2004 when Jeff Kerkove and I cooked up Trans Iowa that the concept of racing a huge amount of miles on a point to point or loop course was an alien one to probaly 99.9% of cyclists. You can just check out Gravel Grinder News, go to the right margin, and see the number of events I have gathered there to find out just how far and wide the concept has spread.

Not only that, but now I hear that a former Trans Iowa vet has taken up doing guided tours of Colorado backroads due to an inspiration he got from Trans Iowa.

I never woulda guessed it would have gone this far, and I bet it goes even farther!

A Wee Bit Of Cragganmore Under The Stars

Last week d.p. and I started to grind night time gravel, ostensibly for training for the Dirty Kanza 200, but really...........let's be totally honest here. We just enjoy riding gravel and doing it at night is fun. In fact, we plan on doing this all summer long.


So, anyway........ I made the trek down to Traer again and d.p. met me. It had rained quite a bit and the Wolf Creek was flooding. We were both a bit afraid that the gravel would be all peanut butter. We also had both noted the buffeting winds and we figured we were in for a tough night. But ya know, it didn't really matter much. We wanted to try and ride regardless.

Once we got going, the chattering began, as usual, and before we really knew it, we found out the roads were not too bad at all. In fact, they were actually dry and fast! The setting sun put on a delightful show for us as we headed westward. A couple of B Maintenance roads were avoided as they were still too wet and muddy, but we found acceptable re-routes and found the road we really wanted- K Avenue.

K Avenue is a great ride up to Ridge Road from the south. You have about three really big grunts to get up there and about four really fast, short down hills inbetween. Funny thing about it was that we both noted how much easier it was to do this bit in the dark. Weird how that works.

So we turned eastwards on Ridge Road and by this time the stars are out in force, the wind is completely gone, and d.p. and I were just about to go off the road due to our star gazing. Finally, it was just time to stop, turn off all the lights, and enjoy the scenery. The Milky way could be seen, and the stars were twinkling like I haven't seen in a long, long time. I was waiting for a troop of elves to take up singing, it was so unreal last night.

Well, we had a wee nip off the flask and then we saddled up and finished off the ride. It was awesome, and totally unexpected as far as how good the roads were and how beautiful the night was. More folks should try this gravel grinding at night. It's a good thing!

A Wee Bit Of Cragganmore Under The Stars

Last week d.p. and I started to grind night time gravel, ostensibly for training for the Dirty Kanza 200, but really...........let's be totally honest here. We just enjoy riding gravel and doing it at night is fun. In fact, we plan on doing this all summer long.


So, anyway........ I made the trek down to Traer again and d.p. met me. It had rained quite a bit and the Wolf Creek was flooding. We were both a bit afraid that the gravel would be all peanut butter. We also had both noted the buffeting winds and we figured we were in for a tough night. But ya know, it didn't really matter much. We wanted to try and ride regardless.

Once we got going, the chattering began, as usual, and before we really knew it, we found out the roads were not too bad at all. In fact, they were actually dry and fast! The setting sun put on a delightful show for us as we headed westward. A couple of B Maintenance roads were avoided as they were still too wet and muddy, but we found acceptable re-routes and found the road we really wanted- K Avenue.

K Avenue is a great ride up to Ridge Road from the south. You have about three really big grunts to get up there and about four really fast, short down hills inbetween. Funny thing about it was that we both noted how much easier it was to do this bit in the dark. Weird how that works.

So we turned eastwards on Ridge Road and by this time the stars are out in force, the wind is completely gone, and d.p. and I were just about to go off the road due to our star gazing. Finally, it was just time to stop, turn off all the lights, and enjoy the scenery. The Milky way could be seen, and the stars were twinkling like I haven't seen in a long, long time. I was waiting for a troop of elves to take up singing, it was so unreal last night.

Well, we had a wee nip off the flask and then we saddled up and finished off the ride. It was awesome, and totally unexpected as far as how good the roads were and how beautiful the night was. More folks should try this gravel grinding at night. It's a good thing!

Between The Deluges, There Was A Ride

Whoa! The rain is coming in buckets and I thought that my Wednesday was going to be rained out there for awhile. Then about noon it straightened out and the radar looked good for a short jaunt in the woods near my home. So I kitted up and hit the trails.

Of course, everything was wet, muddy, and generally a mess, but the Dillinger SS was ready and had done yeoman's work in the winter already. I found the Green Belt Trail, which is positively okay to ride when it's muddy, and took off at a measured pace. It gets flooded in there so much that there is no way a bicyclist can screw up the trail, at least not for very long. As you can see above, the trail gets a fair amount of sand deposited on it, which caused one of those "Bicycling Miracles" to happen. I washed out my front tire and came to a dead halt. I dismounted, and the bike remained as you see it here. Like it had an invisible kickstand!

Okay, so here's an outflow of backwater, which happens right at this spot everytime we get too much rain. Once I plowed into this back in 1990 and lost my entire bicycle under water!

Well, it isn't that deep now, since it silted back in over the years, but it is pretty deep and the water is moving really fast here. I didn't want to risk trying to jump across because the mud here is like grease. You can barely stand, much less try to stick a landing after a jump.

So, I came up with a plan. I put the Dillinger in the rivulet parallel with the banks. I then leaned it over towards me, carefully mounted it, leaned over to the other side, and dismounted, all without getting a drop on me. I was proud of that manouever!

As I moved on I saw that the woods have reached "jungle status" already. Green everywhere you look and the weeds are nearly choking out the trails. Soon they will and the Green Belt will be left alone till the grasses begin to die out in the fall. In fact, if it had been like May today and not October temperature-wise, there would have been myriads of insects in here too. Too cold for them today, but I didn't mind their hiding.

This pool in the pic there should prove to be a great little mosquitoe factory in the coming months. That's another reason to leave the Green Belt till fall. The mosquitoes are not all that big in here, but they are so numerous that they form brown clouds of death if you dare to enter here in the summer months. Scary if you have a flat tire for sure!

Finally I reached the lake and made a slow loop around it, then I headed back home. I never did go very fast, but I didn't want to throw mud up all over me and tear things up more than I had too. I think I was successful. The thing is, it rained so hard last night that I bet all my tracks are washed away by now!

That or under water.

At least I got out for a ride, and although the weather has been fickle of late, I have been having some cool cycling adventures none the less.

Here's hoping ya'all have been getting out too.

Between The Deluges, There Was A Ride

Whoa! The rain is coming in buckets and I thought that my Wednesday was going to be rained out there for awhile. Then about noon it straightened out and the radar looked good for a short jaunt in the woods near my home. So I kitted up and hit the trails.

Of course, everything was wet, muddy, and generally a mess, but the Dillinger SS was ready and had done yeoman's work in the winter already. I found the Green Belt Trail, which is positively okay to ride when it's muddy, and took off at a measured pace. It gets flooded in there so much that there is no way a bicyclist can screw up the trail, at least not for very long. As you can see above, the trail gets a fair amount of sand deposited on it, which caused one of those "Bicycling Miracles" to happen. I washed out my front tire and came to a dead halt. I dismounted, and the bike remained as you see it here. Like it had an invisible kickstand!

Okay, so here's an outflow of backwater, which happens right at this spot everytime we get too much rain. Once I plowed into this back in 1990 and lost my entire bicycle under water!

Well, it isn't that deep now, since it silted back in over the years, but it is pretty deep and the water is moving really fast here. I didn't want to risk trying to jump across because the mud here is like grease. You can barely stand, much less try to stick a landing after a jump.

So, I came up with a plan. I put the Dillinger in the rivulet parallel with the banks. I then leaned it over towards me, carefully mounted it, leaned over to the other side, and dismounted, all without getting a drop on me. I was proud of that manouever!

As I moved on I saw that the woods have reached "jungle status" already. Green everywhere you look and the weeds are nearly choking out the trails. Soon they will and the Green Belt will be left alone till the grasses begin to die out in the fall. In fact, if it had been like May today and not October temperature-wise, there would have been myriads of insects in here too. Too cold for them today, but I didn't mind their hiding.

This pool in the pic there should prove to be a great little mosquitoe factory in the coming months. That's another reason to leave the Green Belt till fall. The mosquitoes are not all that big in here, but they are so numerous that they form brown clouds of death if you dare to enter here in the summer months. Scary if you have a flat tire for sure!

Finally I reached the lake and made a slow loop around it, then I headed back home. I never did go very fast, but I didn't want to throw mud up all over me and tear things up more than I had too. I think I was successful. The thing is, it rained so hard last night that I bet all my tracks are washed away by now!

That or under water.

At least I got out for a ride, and although the weather has been fickle of late, I have been having some cool cycling adventures none the less.

Here's hoping ya'all have been getting out too.

No Thanks! I'll Wait For The Knock-off.

Funny thing about people. They want "the best", but they don't want to pay anything for it. Hey, I am as guilty as the next guy when it comes to this. However; I kind of get queasy when the way that you are getting "the best" is by buying a "knock-off" of someone's product.

It's one thing to get a "bro-deal", or score a product for a crazy cheap price. That's super cool, and we all aspire to that. It is the bargain hunter in us all, the way we stretch our dollars and make our hobbies and passions fit into our budgets for the necessities of life. I get that part.

But it bothers me when I see a company spend a lot of money and time to develope a product and then to have their contracted manufacturer, or another company altogether pretty much copy all the salient features of the original desgin and sell it out for peanuts. Well, I should say that it isn't the companies that are doing this that bother me. No- it is the folks voting with their dollars this way that bother's me.

I mean, how can you fault the companies that do this sort of marketing? If we as consumers don't seem to care about the "original design" and the people behind it, then the companies making the copy-cat bikes will make money. Hey- that's the whole point about being in business, making money.

I suppose there will always be those folks that just do not give a rip about supporting the folks whose ideas are being taken and sold down the river. Maybe they think the original design's makers are ripping us off, or whatever. I don't know. I don't pretend to have the answers to this snarl of an issue, but I do know it makes me feel slimy when I have done the "knock-off" product instead of the original. I guess that's my issue.

Well, I just hope we as mountain bikers utilize the information we have available and make a wiser decision. Ya know- if it weren't for the folks willing to take the initial risk, we wouldn't have more choices. I say support those folks. You can vote how you see fit.

No Thanks! I'll Wait For The Knock-off.

Funny thing about people. They want "the best", but they don't want to pay anything for it. Hey, I am as guilty as the next guy when it comes to this. However; I kind of get queasy when the way that you are getting "the best" is by buying a "knock-off" of someone's product.

It's one thing to get a "bro-deal", or score a product for a crazy cheap price. That's super cool, and we all aspire to that. It is the bargain hunter in us all, the way we stretch our dollars and make our hobbies and passions fit into our budgets for the necessities of life. I get that part.

But it bothers me when I see a company spend a lot of money and time to develope a product and then to have their contracted manufacturer, or another company altogether pretty much copy all the salient features of the original desgin and sell it out for peanuts. Well, I should say that it isn't the companies that are doing this that bother me. No- it is the folks voting with their dollars this way that bother's me.

I mean, how can you fault the companies that do this sort of marketing? If we as consumers don't seem to care about the "original design" and the people behind it, then the companies making the copy-cat bikes will make money. Hey- that's the whole point about being in business, making money.

I suppose there will always be those folks that just do not give a rip about supporting the folks whose ideas are being taken and sold down the river. Maybe they think the original design's makers are ripping us off, or whatever. I don't know. I don't pretend to have the answers to this snarl of an issue, but I do know it makes me feel slimy when I have done the "knock-off" product instead of the original. I guess that's my issue.

Well, I just hope we as mountain bikers utilize the information we have available and make a wiser decision. Ya know- if it weren't for the folks willing to take the initial risk, we wouldn't have more choices. I say support those folks. You can vote how you see fit.

Bike Shop Tales: Las Vegas Interbike 1996

In the same vein as last week, we now move on to the Interbioke show at Las Vegas in 1996......

In 1996 Tom told me I was going with him to Las Vegas to Interbike again. Who was I to argue? So it was that I found myself on another jet airplane heading to Vegas. Now, I hadn't gotten any more used to flying since the year before, so I was once again doing the white knuckle gig as we flew westward. Tom was checking out the window and said, "Hey man! Check it out! it's the Grand Canyon!"  I looked out from 30.000 plus feet and that really didn't bother me a bit, oddly enough. I mean, looking at anything from that far away just is surreal anyhow. But then, I was suddenly struck with something that my knowledge of geography brought to mind.

Grand Canyon.....Lake Mead.......30,000 plus feet......Las Vegas!  We're going down real soon real fast!! And just as that thought crossed my mind, the plane nose dived and went careening towards McCarren International Airfield. Yikes! The whole plane suddenly shuddered with a great vibration. I saw out the window that the pilot had applied the air brakes to break his free fall. I about came unglued! And it happened twice more before the pilot slammed the landing gear so hard onto McCarren's runway that I thought the wheels would surely break off. You know, the sheer terror of that flight put me off from flying for several years afterwards.

But in the meantime I was stuck in Las Vegas until the next, the last flight of my entire life. (At least that is what I thought back then) It kind of ruined the whole vibe of the trip for me because in the back of my mind I was dreading having to step onto another airplane, but it was the only way I was getting home again.

There was only one thing that ever did take my mind off the impending doom of my last ever airplane ride, and that was the ever present ding-dong, kaching,bong! of the one armed bandits that were everywhere you turned in this place. That and the screens that showed the numbers for some gambling game that I never did quite figure out while I was there.

Las Vegas was a different place back then. I know...... That sounds cliche', but it is so true. When I went back in 2007 I didn't recognize the place. (So yes, I flew in an airplane again!) It had grown so much in ten years. For instance, their was nothing beyond McCarren International back then but desert. You know, if you've been there recently, that McCarren is swallowed up in urban sprawl now. Anyway, the place was much different then, and it was definitely a snap shot in time when I was there.

Next week: More Interbike Vegas 1996............

Bike Shop Tales: Las Vegas Interbike 1996

In the same vein as last week, we now move on to the Interbioke show at Las Vegas in 1996......

In 1996 Tom told me I was going with him to Las Vegas to Interbike again. Who was I to argue? So it was that I found myself on another jet airplane heading to Vegas. Now, I hadn't gotten any more used to flying since the year before, so I was once again doing the white knuckle gig as we flew westward. Tom was checking out the window and said, "Hey man! Check it out! it's the Grand Canyon!"  I looked out from 30.000 plus feet and that really didn't bother me a bit, oddly enough. I mean, looking at anything from that far away just is surreal anyhow. But then, I was suddenly struck with something that my knowledge of geography brought to mind.

Grand Canyon.....Lake Mead.......30,000 plus feet......Las Vegas!  We're going down real soon real fast!! And just as that thought crossed my mind, the plane nose dived and went careening towards McCarren International Airfield. Yikes! The whole plane suddenly shuddered with a great vibration. I saw out the window that the pilot had applied the air brakes to break his free fall. I about came unglued! And it happened twice more before the pilot slammed the landing gear so hard onto McCarren's runway that I thought the wheels would surely break off. You know, the sheer terror of that flight put me off from flying for several years afterwards.

But in the meantime I was stuck in Las Vegas until the next, the last flight of my entire life. (At least that is what I thought back then) It kind of ruined the whole vibe of the trip for me because in the back of my mind I was dreading having to step onto another airplane, but it was the only way I was getting home again.

There was only one thing that ever did take my mind off the impending doom of my last ever airplane ride, and that was the ever present ding-dong, kaching,bong! of the one armed bandits that were everywhere you turned in this place. That and the screens that showed the numbers for some gambling game that I never did quite figure out while I was there.

Las Vegas was a different place back then. I know...... That sounds cliche', but it is so true. When I went back in 2007 I didn't recognize the place. (So yes, I flew in an airplane again!) It had grown so much in ten years. For instance, their was nothing beyond McCarren International back then but desert. You know, if you've been there recently, that McCarren is swallowed up in urban sprawl now. Anyway, the place was much different then, and it was definitely a snap shot in time when I was there.

Next week: More Interbike Vegas 1996............

When They Get Things Right

I went out for a test ride on Saturday over at Cedar Bend which was a lot of fun on Saturday. It was one of those rides where the bike just disappeared and my mind was focused on the trail, (and the possible trails out there!)  I'll tell ya, one of the things I can't help but notice now days is how poorly the land we get to ride on is being utilized.

<===The excellent Specialized Epic Marathon 29"er.

Too many times I see how an entire hillside is neglected, one trail running up the fall line, and that's it. We get so excited here in the Mid-West when a trail can go up that builders seem to take the fall line straight up, or a ravine, or another way that is a waste of useable space, not to mention almost always an erosion issue waiting to happen.

Cedar Bend isn't the only place. I see it in in The Camp, Ullrich Park, and down at Hickory Hills. All places that could easily have twice as much trail mileage as they do now with longer climbs and descents, and less erosion issues by far than we face now. The trails could be much more sustainable, and waaay more fun.

You might say, "Well, quit complaining and DO something about it." And that would be entirely fair to say to me. I will say that I have been putting this issue into everybody's ear that I meet that has anything to do with trail development. Trouble is that it takes a lot of concerted effort, and resources, and patience in dealing with the stewards of the land the trails are on now. And I will also say that by putting this here on my blog, I hope to bring more awareness to the issue not only locally, but wherever you are. People need help maintaining and developing trails to ride off road on. It isn't just a local Cedar Valley issue.

I also am quite busy doing all kinds of other stuff in the realm of cycling, and for this issue of local trails, I feel that I can only do so much. I wish I could quit all my jobs and just walk out there and "git er dun", but that isn't very realistic. So, I am doing what I can do. Twisting arms when I can. Putting bugs in peoples ears. Making observations while I am out riding.

One of these days I hope to see things get starightened out with the trails. To have stuff to ride on like I see in other parts of the Mid-West. When we get it right here, it'll be really good. I just hope that it gets there sooner than later.

When They Get Things Right

I went out for a test ride on Saturday over at Cedar Bend which was a lot of fun on Saturday. It was one of those rides where the bike just disappeared and my mind was focused on the trail, (and the possible trails out there!)  I'll tell ya, one of the things I can't help but notice now days is how poorly the land we get to ride on is being utilized.

<===The excellent Specialized Epic Marathon 29"er.

Too many times I see how an entire hillside is neglected, one trail running up the fall line, and that's it. We get so excited here in the Mid-West when a trail can go up that builders seem to take the fall line straight up, or a ravine, or another way that is a waste of useable space, not to mention almost always an erosion issue waiting to happen.

Cedar Bend isn't the only place. I see it in in The Camp, Ullrich Park, and down at Hickory Hills. All places that could easily have twice as much trail mileage as they do now with longer climbs and descents, and less erosion issues by far than we face now. The trails could be much more sustainable, and waaay more fun.

You might say, "Well, quit complaining and DO something about it." And that would be entirely fair to say to me. I will say that I have been putting this issue into everybody's ear that I meet that has anything to do with trail development. Trouble is that it takes a lot of concerted effort, and resources, and patience in dealing with the stewards of the land the trails are on now. And I will also say that by putting this here on my blog, I hope to bring more awareness to the issue not only locally, but wherever you are. People need help maintaining and developing trails to ride off road on. It isn't just a local Cedar Valley issue.

I also am quite busy doing all kinds of other stuff in the realm of cycling, and for this issue of local trails, I feel that I can only do so much. I wish I could quit all my jobs and just walk out there and "git er dun", but that isn't very realistic. So, I am doing what I can do. Twisting arms when I can. Putting bugs in peoples ears. Making observations while I am out riding.

One of these days I hope to see things get starightened out with the trails. To have stuff to ride on like I see in other parts of the Mid-West. When we get it right here, it'll be really good. I just hope that it gets there sooner than later.

The Dirty Kanza 200: Training Log I

Okay, the next big thing on the calendar is going to be the DK 200, so for the next few Saturdays I'll be going over what I've been up to in preparation for this 200 miles of gravelly goodness.

I have been percolating some ideas on what set up I'll be running down there and I have made a big turn from my original plans. I am not quite ready to divulge what that set up will be yet, but I will say that it won't be what I rode last year, and it may really surprise a lot of folks here. Well, I think it might. Stay tuned........

I've been riding the gravel lately and things have been feeling pretty good so far. To that end I have hooked up for what I hope will be a regularly scheduled series of rides all summer with d.p. On Thursday evening we met up for the first ride in Traer and started at night. This was a great way to get some light testing in and see how I was doing with riding on gravel with the lights on.

I have the hacked up lamp I made last year for the DK 200 and it is a great "wash" type light, but it doesn't have "throw" down the road. So, I grabbed my trusty Blackburn Voyager light and used it in conjuntion with the hacked light and what do ya know? It was pretty decent. Not great, but decent enough to allow for some speedy decents without too much trepedation. I want to find a lamp/flashlight unit for my helmet though that will be better at the "throwing of light" further ahead without buying a crazy set up that costs a gazillion bucks. I just do not think it is necessary. I have been thinking about this light, which seems pretty reasonable and gets good reviews. We'll see.

Well, as far as Thursday's ride went, it was pretty fun. A couple of things of note happened. d.p. and I headed out of Traer to Ridge Road. We got out to about L Avenue when we came across a big red Dodge diesel pickup. The guy driving it was kind of acting strangely, driving very slowly and then taking off in another direction after we passed by him. Not far up L Avenue we saw some parking lights pop on just off the road. Then the headlights flashed at us a few times. (Remember, we have our bicycle lights on as it was dark) Seeing us up closer, the truck starts up and drives away after we passed. Weird! Rural drug dealers? Folks smoking grass? Waiting to "hook up" with someone? Who knows. It sure was strange though.

Then we were looking for a three mile stretch of B Road we had ridden together before. We thought we had gone far enough northward to our right hander, but we hadn't. Next thing we know, we're rolling into the backside of some little Iowa town I was unfamiliar with. Turns out we were in Dinsdale, although in the dark, I hadn't any clear idea where we were. That was kind of fun, being slightly lost.

Then d.p. and I wended our way back to P Avenue and southwards to Traer through a few sprinkles. It was all good!

We talked quite a bit about the post T.I.V6 stuff and we are bouncing ideas off each other for T.I.V7. I hope to continue these rides not only for the DK 200, but because it's a lot of fun to hang out with d.p. and ride. Next week, I hope to have another ride report for DK 200, and to have spent more time with d.p. We'll see. It's supposed to be a rainy week!

The Dirty Kanza 200: Training Log I

Okay, the next big thing on the calendar is going to be the DK 200, so for the next few Saturdays I'll be going over what I've been up to in preparation for this 200 miles of gravelly goodness.

I have been percolating some ideas on what set up I'll be running down there and I have made a big turn from my original plans. I am not quite ready to divulge what that set up will be yet, but I will say that it won't be what I rode last year, and it may really surprise a lot of folks here. Well, I think it might. Stay tuned........

I've been riding the gravel lately and things have been feeling pretty good so far. To that end I have hooked up for what I hope will be a regularly scheduled series of rides all summer with d.p. On Thursday evening we met up for the first ride in Traer and started at night. This was a great way to get some light testing in and see how I was doing with riding on gravel with the lights on.

I have the hacked up lamp I made last year for the DK 200 and it is a great "wash" type light, but it doesn't have "throw" down the road. So, I grabbed my trusty Blackburn Voyager light and used it in conjuntion with the hacked light and what do ya know? It was pretty decent. Not great, but decent enough to allow for some speedy decents without too much trepedation. I want to find a lamp/flashlight unit for my helmet though that will be better at the "throwing of light" further ahead without buying a crazy set up that costs a gazillion bucks. I just do not think it is necessary. I have been thinking about this light, which seems pretty reasonable and gets good reviews. We'll see.

Well, as far as Thursday's ride went, it was pretty fun. A couple of things of note happened. d.p. and I headed out of Traer to Ridge Road. We got out to about L Avenue when we came across a big red Dodge diesel pickup. The guy driving it was kind of acting strangely, driving very slowly and then taking off in another direction after we passed by him. Not far up L Avenue we saw some parking lights pop on just off the road. Then the headlights flashed at us a few times. (Remember, we have our bicycle lights on as it was dark) Seeing us up closer, the truck starts up and drives away after we passed. Weird! Rural drug dealers? Folks smoking grass? Waiting to "hook up" with someone? Who knows. It sure was strange though.

Then we were looking for a three mile stretch of B Road we had ridden together before. We thought we had gone far enough northward to our right hander, but we hadn't. Next thing we know, we're rolling into the backside of some little Iowa town I was unfamiliar with. Turns out we were in Dinsdale, although in the dark, I hadn't any clear idea where we were. That was kind of fun, being slightly lost.

Then d.p. and I wended our way back to P Avenue and southwards to Traer through a few sprinkles. It was all good!

We talked quite a bit about the post T.I.V6 stuff and we are bouncing ideas off each other for T.I.V7. I hope to continue these rides not only for the DK 200, but because it's a lot of fun to hang out with d.p. and ride. Next week, I hope to have another ride report for DK 200, and to have spent more time with d.p. We'll see. It's supposed to be a rainy week!

Bike Shop Horrors: Subliminal Message!

What We Have Here...  A typical Bontrager hybrid tire, by the looks of it, all innocuous and plain. nothing much to get excited over, right?

......Is Not What It Seems! Yeah. we all know "sex sells", and all that, but on a hybrid tire?


I'm sure this isn't intentional on Bontrager's part, but I thought it sure was funny!


Have a great week and get out and ride!

Bike Shop Horrors: Subliminal Message!

What We Have Here...  A typical Bontrager hybrid tire, by the looks of it, all innocuous and plain. nothing much to get excited over, right?

......Is Not What It Seems! Yeah. we all know "sex sells", and all that, but on a hybrid tire?


I'm sure this isn't intentional on Bontrager's part, but I thought it sure was funny!


Have a great week and get out and ride!

Domestic Duty

Today was planned to be a big riding day. Early in the day I was going to get out to the Camp and ride some bikes for testing purposes. Later on I was supposed to do some gravel training with d.p. One thing happend, the other didn't, and that all due to a happening in between the two.

I did get up to the Camp and buzzed around on the tacky trails. Even though we had rain the day before, the trails were in great shape. Of course, they'll never be in better shape due to the race being held up there this weekend. 


The weekend.............ah! That's another story, but I'll stick to this one for now. Anyway, so I have a couple of FS rigs to ride up there and what is great about Camp Ingawanis is that there are some specific features that really test a bike in certain areas of design. A twisting, steeply downhill section, for instance, that will bring out braking issues or suspension flaws. Rooty climbs, almost step ups, that test a bikes ability to grip the ground and especially tires and wheels in that vein. Off cambers that laterally load up wheels, forks, and frames, not to mention the test of a tire's grip in those situations. Big G-outs, ruts, rocks, twisty turns, and other stuff is out there, and in many cases it is isolated so you don't have to be concentrating on a lot of stuff at once. I like the Camp for that and a lot more.

The dirt was at the ultimate tacky stage where it wants to load up into a tire's lugs and make a big, sandy doughnut out of it. This is pretty tacky dirt, so if a tire can fight through that, then it gets pretty high marks from me. I also like to corner when the dirt is like this because the tire, (if it isn't all balled up in dirt), will stick like glue and you can really rail a corner. Fun! My cohort in Cali, Grannygear, says this is "Hero Dirt". Maybe it isn't quite like that here, but I'm thinking it is pretty close!

Then I got to see some wildlife. I scared up a wild turkey, and a few deer along the way. Nice to see the critters when I'm cruising down the trail.

Now about that "thing in between". Yeah............plumbing! I hate doing plumbing work, but when the kitchen sink isn't working right, well......you hear about it if you are married.  I am married, and I love my wife, so, well........I was doing some plumbing yesterday!

That took longer than I wanted it to due to the fact that I have myriads of bicycle tools and very few household tools. Those household tools get buried, and hard to find as a result. Then I had to make a trip to the hardware store, pick up the kids in the meantime, yadda, yadda....

Well, I ran out of time to meet d.p. and gravel grind. So, we're going for "take two" tonight. Hope everything works out!

Domestic Duty

Today was planned to be a big riding day. Early in the day I was going to get out to the Camp and ride some bikes for testing purposes. Later on I was supposed to do some gravel training with d.p. One thing happend, the other didn't, and that all due to a happening in between the two.

I did get up to the Camp and buzzed around on the tacky trails. Even though we had rain the day before, the trails were in great shape. Of course, they'll never be in better shape due to the race being held up there this weekend. 


The weekend.............ah! That's another story, but I'll stick to this one for now. Anyway, so I have a couple of FS rigs to ride up there and what is great about Camp Ingawanis is that there are some specific features that really test a bike in certain areas of design. A twisting, steeply downhill section, for instance, that will bring out braking issues or suspension flaws. Rooty climbs, almost step ups, that test a bikes ability to grip the ground and especially tires and wheels in that vein. Off cambers that laterally load up wheels, forks, and frames, not to mention the test of a tire's grip in those situations. Big G-outs, ruts, rocks, twisty turns, and other stuff is out there, and in many cases it is isolated so you don't have to be concentrating on a lot of stuff at once. I like the Camp for that and a lot more.

The dirt was at the ultimate tacky stage where it wants to load up into a tire's lugs and make a big, sandy doughnut out of it. This is pretty tacky dirt, so if a tire can fight through that, then it gets pretty high marks from me. I also like to corner when the dirt is like this because the tire, (if it isn't all balled up in dirt), will stick like glue and you can really rail a corner. Fun! My cohort in Cali, Grannygear, says this is "Hero Dirt". Maybe it isn't quite like that here, but I'm thinking it is pretty close!

Then I got to see some wildlife. I scared up a wild turkey, and a few deer along the way. Nice to see the critters when I'm cruising down the trail.

Now about that "thing in between". Yeah............plumbing! I hate doing plumbing work, but when the kitchen sink isn't working right, well......you hear about it if you are married.  I am married, and I love my wife, so, well........I was doing some plumbing yesterday!

That took longer than I wanted it to due to the fact that I have myriads of bicycle tools and very few household tools. Those household tools get buried, and hard to find as a result. Then I had to make a trip to the hardware store, pick up the kids in the meantime, yadda, yadda....

Well, I ran out of time to meet d.p. and gravel grind. So, we're going for "take two" tonight. Hope everything works out!