Winterizing

The harsh reality of Winter is setting in. Early sunsets, colder air, and the inherent desire to find a cave and hibernate until Spring. It gets harder to find motivation when it is gray, brown, and drippy outside.

Once it snows, it seems that it is suddenly no big deal, but this in between stage- the time of Late Fall, it is a toughie. So I was a bit discombobulated yesterday, trying to keep moving. Despite this, I did manage to accomplish a few tasks. One of which was to spruce up the inbred for Winter.

When it is clear and fat bikes are not really needed, a fat tire on a 29"er does a lot. I've ridden entire Winters on such set ups. The single speed drive train is a perfect set up to help deal with ice, slush, or the general grit of Winter, which derailleur drive trains are not so happy with. But more than that, the single speed makes you work a little harder. Working harder creates more heat, and that can be the difference between staying warm, or freezing some days.

The Inbred may see the addition of the SKS fenders that I have on the Fargo, which will make wetter rides more enjoyable as well. Flat pedals help with keeping me in warmer footwear when the mercury dips into the single digits.

This rig, the titanium Mukluk, the Vaya with studded tires, and my Raleigh which is getting resurrected as a fixed gear bike again are going to make up the Winter fleet here. I should be all set soon....

Winterizing

The harsh reality of Winter is setting in. Early sunsets, colder air, and the inherent desire to find a cave and hibernate until Spring. It gets harder to find motivation when it is gray, brown, and drippy outside.

Once it snows, it seems that it is suddenly no big deal, but this in between stage- the time of Late Fall, it is a toughie. So I was a bit discombobulated yesterday, trying to keep moving. Despite this, I did manage to accomplish a few tasks. One of which was to spruce up the inbred for Winter.

When it is clear and fat bikes are not really needed, a fat tire on a 29"er does a lot. I've ridden entire Winters on such set ups. The single speed drive train is a perfect set up to help deal with ice, slush, or the general grit of Winter, which derailleur drive trains are not so happy with. But more than that, the single speed makes you work a little harder. Working harder creates more heat, and that can be the difference between staying warm, or freezing some days.

The Inbred may see the addition of the SKS fenders that I have on the Fargo, which will make wetter rides more enjoyable as well. Flat pedals help with keeping me in warmer footwear when the mercury dips into the single digits.

This rig, the titanium Mukluk, the Vaya with studded tires, and my Raleigh which is getting resurrected as a fixed gear bike again are going to make up the Winter fleet here. I should be all set soon....

Trans Iowa Clinc

Looking forward to going here again soon

I should apologize to the regular readers here. This Trans Iowa stuff is pretty intense of late, but that won't last much longer now. Registration is over, the roster is set, recon is done, and now there will only be the Trans Iowa Clinic which happens December 7th, down in Des Moines.

That clinic is going to be a good time too. I have some good folks behind this, and we'll do our best to answer all the questions and put on a good showing. Essentially the night will look like this:

• 5:30pm: The clinic happens at Tacopocalypse , 621 Des Moines Street, in downtown Des Moines on December 7th.. Come early and savor the good food on sale at the Tacopocalypse and then direct your attention to the side door where you will find a room set up for the clinic. We'll have chairs set up, a big projector screen, and a few bicycles all set up for a Trans Iowa type assault for your perusal. 
• 6:00pm: I'll be saying a few words before we cue up the documentary from Trans Iowa V7 called "300 Miles of Gravel" which you can purchase for yourself here. That documentary should go about a half an hour. You can continue eating during this time if you'd like.
• 6:30pm: I'll introduce the experts on hand, and they will make a presentation and accept questions along the way. They will cover things like Strategy, Training, Gear and Nutrition.
• 8:00-ish: (Could run a bit longer depending on how things are flowing. ) The clinic will come to a close and we will hand out a bag of some Hammer Nutrition goodies for those who stay for the end of the clinic.

If you want to come because you are curious, but not in Trans Iowa, please feel free to. There is no cost, but I only ask that you RSVP at g.ted.productions@gmail.com to secure a spot. We are just over half way full for available spots, so don't hesitate!

Thanks all! I'll be getting the blog back on track here soon!

Trans Iowa Clinc

Looking forward to going here again soon

I should apologize to the regular readers here. This Trans Iowa stuff is pretty intense of late, but that won't last much longer now. Registration is over, the roster is set, recon is done, and now there will only be the Trans Iowa Clinic which happens December 7th, down in Des Moines.

That clinic is going to be a good time too. I have some good folks behind this, and we'll do our best to answer all the questions and put on a good showing. Essentially the night will look like this:

• 5:30pm: The clinic happens at Tacopocalypse , 621 Des Moines Street, in downtown Des Moines on December 7th.. Come early and savor the good food on sale at the Tacopocalypse and then direct your attention to the side door where you will find a room set up for the clinic. We'll have chairs set up, a big projector screen, and a few bicycles all set up for a Trans Iowa type assault for your perusal. 
• 6:00pm: I'll be saying a few words before we cue up the documentary from Trans Iowa V7 called "300 Miles of Gravel" which you can purchase for yourself here. That documentary should go about a half an hour. You can continue eating during this time if you'd like.
• 6:30pm: I'll introduce the experts on hand, and they will make a presentation and accept questions along the way. They will cover things like Strategy, Training, Gear and Nutrition.
• 8:00-ish: (Could run a bit longer depending on how things are flowing. ) The clinic will come to a close and we will hand out a bag of some Hammer Nutrition goodies for those who stay for the end of the clinic.

If you want to come because you are curious, but not in Trans Iowa, please feel free to. There is no cost, but I only ask that you RSVP at g.ted.productions@gmail.com to secure a spot. We are just over half way full for available spots, so don't hesitate!

Thanks all! I'll be getting the blog back on track here soon!

Registration Is Over!

The last mailbag for T.I.v10

I said Monday morning that it would be a crazy day, and I was spot on! Trans Iowa filled out its 120 spot roster yesterday, and here's the brief recounting of just how that happened.

First off, I may have to explain once again that finishers of past Trans Iowas get first crack at the roster. They take a certain number of spots off the top of that 120, and whetver is left over gets split as evenly as possible between the Veterans of past Trans Iowas and the newbies, whom I have dubbed "rookies". This year the Veterans had 42 spots, which got filled out last week, and the Rookies had their crack at the remaining 41 starting yesterday.

I got to work and there were three groups of cards already there via courier, dropped off at the front door, and by a flower delivery guy. I suppose about 12 spots were lopped off the top right there. That was pretty amazing, but the UPS overnight and FedX were yet to come.

I think a couple of walk-ins showed up next, and that cut about three more spots off. Then UPS came with about five overnighted letters. That dropped us to 21. Not more than a half an hour later, FedX showed up with seven overnighted letters. That dropped us to 14, and we had still to receive the day's post.

One thing was increasingly clear- Trans Iowa's roster was going to fill up on Monday! Then we had two more walk-in drop offs, bringing the total left down to 12. I figured that we would get more than 12 entries in the mail, and some folks were going to end up in "the pile of broken dreams", as were were referring to it as. I figured only a few would end up there.

Now when the postman comes in, I was going to take the stack, however many there were, flip it upside down, and take the first twelve off. Random. The fairest way I could do this. Now keep in mind- the cards had to be filled out correctly, and I had to be able to read them.

The mail man came in eventually, and he had a fistful of cards! I was floored! I did the flip, looked over the cards, had to throw two out for illegibility and one for an incomplete answer to the question asked, and that was that. I had 12 entries extra! What is more, I am sure some stragglers will show up today, pushing the "pile of broken dreams" higher.

So, there is your report on the crazy registration that filled up for the Rookies in four hours! Congratulations to all who made it on the roster, and to those who tried, I thank you as well. It is humbling and amazing to me that this event draws out such responses from all of you who sent in entries. Thank you isn't enough!

Registration Is Over!

The last mailbag for T.I.v10

I said Monday morning that it would be a crazy day, and I was spot on! Trans Iowa filled out its 120 spot roster yesterday, and here's the brief recounting of just how that happened.

First off, I may have to explain once again that finishers of past Trans Iowas get first crack at the roster. They take a certain number of spots off the top of that 120, and whetver is left over gets split as evenly as possible between the Veterans of past Trans Iowas and the newbies, whom I have dubbed "rookies". This year the Veterans had 42 spots, which got filled out last week, and the Rookies had their crack at the remaining 41 starting yesterday.

I got to work and there were three groups of cards already there via courier, dropped off at the front door, and by a flower delivery guy. I suppose about 12 spots were lopped off the top right there. That was pretty amazing, but the UPS overnight and FedX were yet to come.

I think a couple of walk-ins showed up next, and that cut about three more spots off. Then UPS came with about five overnighted letters. That dropped us to 21. Not more than a half an hour later, FedX showed up with seven overnighted letters. That dropped us to 14, and we had still to receive the day's post.

One thing was increasingly clear- Trans Iowa's roster was going to fill up on Monday! Then we had two more walk-in drop offs, bringing the total left down to 12. I figured that we would get more than 12 entries in the mail, and some folks were going to end up in "the pile of broken dreams", as were were referring to it as. I figured only a few would end up there.

Now when the postman comes in, I was going to take the stack, however many there were, flip it upside down, and take the first twelve off. Random. The fairest way I could do this. Now keep in mind- the cards had to be filled out correctly, and I had to be able to read them.

The mail man came in eventually, and he had a fistful of cards! I was floored! I did the flip, looked over the cards, had to throw two out for illegibility and one for an incomplete answer to the question asked, and that was that. I had 12 entries extra! What is more, I am sure some stragglers will show up today, pushing the "pile of broken dreams" higher.

So, there is your report on the crazy registration that filled up for the Rookies in four hours! Congratulations to all who made it on the roster, and to those who tried, I thank you as well. It is humbling and amazing to me that this event draws out such responses from all of you who sent in entries. Thank you isn't enough!

The Best Of The Post Cards

Trans Iowa registration has closed and all the post cards are in. Here's a sampling of what I thought were the best.....

I was an Art Major in college, so I have always liked the more "painterly" looking cards like this one from an Arkansas entrant.

I don't know what to say here other than it is "terminally cute". And I had a cat as a boy. There's that, I suppose.

Gotta pick this one, since I am a bicycle mechanic. Plus the caligraphy is nice on the backside, which you get a hint of here.

This isn't all that spectacular, but it was driven, (along with a very similar looking card), from 5 hours away to be hand delivered and there is a personal story about overcoming adversity attached to each entrant. I was very humbled and honored by this. Sometimes it isn't what the card looks like, but more about the stories behind them. This and its companion card are great examples of that.

Hmm.......yeah! There were three cards that were a bit cheeky. This is the "nicest" of the three I can post here on the blog! (It is also the most humorous of the three.)

Every year I get some very folksy, heartfelt entries like this. I especially am attracted to the Iowa map based ones, for obvious reasons.

And this year's best card, hands down, is this "gem" of a card. Looking at it I was super impressed by the detail, textures, and colors this card has. I was super bummed it got damaged in transit, but it still rocks!

Some honorable mentions from the Veteran Class. All the rest are rookie cards. It seems like the Rookies always put a lot of effort into their post cards, and I appreciate that.

And on Agatha's card, (which I really liked, by the way), I had to obscure her e-mail address, so that is why the orange pencil is there!

Thanks for brightening my November!

The Best Of The Post Cards

Trans Iowa registration has closed and all the post cards are in. Here's a sampling of what I thought were the best.....

I was an Art Major in college, so I have always liked the more "painterly" looking cards like this one from an Arkansas entrant.

I don't know what to say here other than it is "terminally cute". And I had a cat as a boy. There's that, I suppose.

Gotta pick this one, since I am a bicycle mechanic. Plus the caligraphy is nice on the backside, which you get a hint of here.

This isn't all that spectacular, but it was driven, (along with a very similar looking card), from 5 hours away to be hand delivered and there is a personal story about overcoming adversity attached to each entrant. I was very humbled and honored by this. Sometimes it isn't what the card looks like, but more about the stories behind them. This and its companion card are great examples of that.

Hmm.......yeah! There were three cards that were a bit cheeky. This is the "nicest" of the three I can post here on the blog! (It is also the most humorous of the three.)

Every year I get some very folksy, heartfelt entries like this. I especially am attracted to the Iowa map based ones, for obvious reasons.

And this year's best card, hands down, is this "gem" of a card. Looking at it I was super impressed by the detail, textures, and colors this card has. I was super bummed it got damaged in transit, but it still rocks!

Some honorable mentions from the Veteran Class. All the rest are rookie cards. It seems like the Rookies always put a lot of effort into their post cards, and I appreciate that.

And on Agatha's card, (which I really liked, by the way), I had to obscure her e-mail address, so that is why the orange pencil is there!

Thanks for brightening my November!

New Shoes For By-Tor Part 2

Wet leaves and dirt

Saturday was a toss up on what I would ride. Gravel or dirt? In the end, due to the possibility of rain, wind, and lightning, the dirt ride won out. And I didn't miss out on the rain either!

The word was that the Ingawanis Woods trails were being blown off and raked, but that maybe they would just ride the leaves into submission. I figured the new Sterling tires would do well at steamrolling those leaves down so we could see the trail better, so that is what I took up there with me.

On the way up, I realized that I do not think I had ever ridden By-Tor at the trails up there. The Snow Dog made the trip on Global Fat Bike Day last year, but I do not think the titanium bike had ever been there. Well, with the new, theoretically grippier tires, it should have been okay. I decided that I would air down the pressure if things got out of hand, so I left the higher pressures in there, probably close to 20psi front and rear.

When I got up there, several folks were already there busily doing trail maintenance. (I thank each and every one of you very much, by the way.) I unloaded and got moving along. Now- not knowing these tires, how the pressures I had them at would affect things, or how the rain and showers that were happening had affected the trail, I was taking it very cautiously. Would I be slipping out? Would I be ricocheting off every root and rock?  Would these tires not have very good grip? I had a lot of critical unknowns going in.

Early signs were that the tires are good here.

By the way, after several days at 20psi, these tires have stretched......a tiny bit! Where before they were just a hair over 3.8" they are now 3.9" wide/97.8mm on 70mm rims. Okay, with that bit of info, keep in mind that I also thought the contact patch would be bigger than a Surly Larry 3.8 aired down at a lower pressure, say like 8-10psi. I was right about that part. It is obvious that the Sterling is getting every knob in play. Considering that the Sterling's casing is actually wider than the tread area, you are likely getting about 3.7" wide contact area on tacky trail surfaces. (The trails were actually in great shape!)

To my mind, that is a "win" over the older Larry, and even over the Big Fat Larry I ran before it. At least on dirt, I see the Sterling being a winner in the traction department. But what about that dreaded "self-steer" that flatter tires can suffer from?  I have to say that I didn't notice any self-steering traits on the trails I was on. The tires steered as well if not maybe a shade better than the Larrys, but that may be due to better grip with the Sterling. It certainly didn't show me any self-steering traits though.

The ride feel was solid, as in a bit jarringly solid. That probably is due to the higher pressures I was running, and the rigid nature of the bike, but it wasn't bad. I committed to just sticking to the air pressure I had to eliminate one variable. As things went along, I gained more confidence in the grip level and the trail surfaces, (which were tacky perfection, since they were newly uncovered by leaf blowers mere minutes before my passage), and I was moving along a bit more quickly than before at the start. By the end of it, I was pleased with the Sterlings as a dirt tire. I think with a bit of air pressure tweaking, they could be really good.

How this bodes for snow riding is yet to be seen.  That's the final test. If they pass there, I think I will be rather pleased with these new shoes!

New Shoes For By-Tor Part 2

Wet leaves and dirt

Saturday was a toss up on what I would ride. Gravel or dirt? In the end, due to the possibility of rain, wind, and lightning, the dirt ride won out. And I didn't miss out on the rain either!

The word was that the Ingawanis Woods trails were being blown off and raked, but that maybe they would just ride the leaves into submission. I figured the new Sterling tires would do well at steamrolling those leaves down so we could see the trail better, so that is what I took up there with me.

On the way up, I realized that I do not think I had ever ridden By-Tor at the trails up there. The Snow Dog made the trip on Global Fat Bike Day last year, but I do not think the titanium bike had ever been there. Well, with the new, theoretically grippier tires, it should have been okay. I decided that I would air down the pressure if things got out of hand, so I left the higher pressures in there, probably close to 20psi front and rear.

When I got up there, several folks were already there busily doing trail maintenance. (I thank each and every one of you very much, by the way.) I unloaded and got moving along. Now- not knowing these tires, how the pressures I had them at would affect things, or how the rain and showers that were happening had affected the trail, I was taking it very cautiously. Would I be slipping out? Would I be ricocheting off every root and rock?  Would these tires not have very good grip? I had a lot of critical unknowns going in.

Early signs were that the tires are good here.

By the way, after several days at 20psi, these tires have stretched......a tiny bit! Where before they were just a hair over 3.8" they are now 3.9" wide/97.8mm on 70mm rims. Okay, with that bit of info, keep in mind that I also thought the contact patch would be bigger than a Surly Larry 3.8 aired down at a lower pressure, say like 8-10psi. I was right about that part. It is obvious that the Sterling is getting every knob in play. Considering that the Sterling's casing is actually wider than the tread area, you are likely getting about 3.7" wide contact area on tacky trail surfaces. (The trails were actually in great shape!)

To my mind, that is a "win" over the older Larry, and even over the Big Fat Larry I ran before it. At least on dirt, I see the Sterling being a winner in the traction department. But what about that dreaded "self-steer" that flatter tires can suffer from?  I have to say that I didn't notice any self-steering traits on the trails I was on. The tires steered as well if not maybe a shade better than the Larrys, but that may be due to better grip with the Sterling. It certainly didn't show me any self-steering traits though.

The ride feel was solid, as in a bit jarringly solid. That probably is due to the higher pressures I was running, and the rigid nature of the bike, but it wasn't bad. I committed to just sticking to the air pressure I had to eliminate one variable. As things went along, I gained more confidence in the grip level and the trail surfaces, (which were tacky perfection, since they were newly uncovered by leaf blowers mere minutes before my passage), and I was moving along a bit more quickly than before at the start. By the end of it, I was pleased with the Sterlings as a dirt tire. I think with a bit of air pressure tweaking, they could be really good.

How this bodes for snow riding is yet to be seen.  That's the final test. If they pass there, I think I will be rather pleased with these new shoes!

Trans Iowa v10: Registration Mayhem

Cards that arrived too early in 2012.

Sometimes this whole Trans Iowa deal freaks me out. Let me explain this, if I can....

Registration for the Rookies is always a crazy time. Folks want to get into Trans Iowa in the worst way, or so it seems. Keep in mind that Trans Iowa is a free event and that it is a crazy, 300 plus mile ride all in one sitting, all on gravel roads. Okay? Obviously this isn't a "normal" cycling event, or one many would ever want to do at all.

But through the years that I have been facilitating this event, I am constantly amazed by the lengths folks will go to get on the roster for Trans Iowa. You'd think that just getting on the roster was some sort of prize in and of itself. Folks are e-mailing, Facebooking, and commenting here on the blog wanting to know how they can get their cards in on time.

Drive 5-6 hours one way to hand deliver them? Overnight mail from a foreign country? Just have me let them in? I've had all these questions and more. Then Saturday I see that nine cards came in, ahead of the acceptable day by two days. Man! That really stinks, but here's the deal........

I can not circumvent the framework for registration because of mistakes, lack of timeliness, or because you finished Tour Divide. Nope! It is not fair to those who are making the effort to do this the right way, and that's that.

Yeah.....maybe I am too "hard core", or maybe I am right. Either way, it is going to make some folks upset, and maybe worse. I get that a lot of time and effort has already been paid out by some of you out there in preparations for T.I.v10, (I've heard from many of you that were training already a month ago), but it still amazes me that the reactions are what they are sometimes. But be that as it may, the registration process is going to run its course as it has been set up.

It's been a crazy ride this weekend!

Trans Iowa v10: Registration Mayhem

Cards that arrived too early in 2012.

Sometimes this whole Trans Iowa deal freaks me out. Let me explain this, if I can....

Registration for the Rookies is always a crazy time. Folks want to get into Trans Iowa in the worst way, or so it seems. Keep in mind that Trans Iowa is a free event and that it is a crazy, 300 plus mile ride all in one sitting, all on gravel roads. Okay? Obviously this isn't a "normal" cycling event, or one many would ever want to do at all.

But through the years that I have been facilitating this event, I am constantly amazed by the lengths folks will go to get on the roster for Trans Iowa. You'd think that just getting on the roster was some sort of prize in and of itself. Folks are e-mailing, Facebooking, and commenting here on the blog wanting to know how they can get their cards in on time.

Drive 5-6 hours one way to hand deliver them? Overnight mail from a foreign country? Just have me let them in? I've had all these questions and more. Then Saturday I see that nine cards came in, ahead of the acceptable day by two days. Man! That really stinks, but here's the deal........

I can not circumvent the framework for registration because of mistakes, lack of timeliness, or because you finished Tour Divide. Nope! It is not fair to those who are making the effort to do this the right way, and that's that.

Yeah.....maybe I am too "hard core", or maybe I am right. Either way, it is going to make some folks upset, and maybe worse. I get that a lot of time and effort has already been paid out by some of you out there in preparations for T.I.v10, (I've heard from many of you that were training already a month ago), but it still amazes me that the reactions are what they are sometimes. But be that as it may, the registration process is going to run its course as it has been set up.

It's been a crazy ride this weekend!

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #11

In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

 So, what's that saying again? Something along the lines of "Life Happens", or some such? Well, a lot of that happened just before T.I.V3. I guess in a way you could say that the "excrement hit the rotating bladed air moving machine". Whatever it was, it wasn't an ideal situation that led up to T.I.V3. Here are the ingredients to give one a higher stress level experience than necessary.

First there was the whole writing/testing gig for Twenty Nine Inches, which I had been drug into reluctantly the year before. Now I was being asked to attend Sea Otter to help report on things. Yes.....lot's of fun. One week before T.I.V3......not so much fun! This was a great trip though. One where I got to see the California "mid-coast", ride with Gary Fisher, Keith Bontrager, Travis Brown, and others, and had supper cooked for me at Keith Bontrager's home in Santa Cruz. You just don't pass stuff like that up. That was all part of a Trek dealio I got to do just ahead of Sea Otter. Anyway, that was not the best timing coming into an event I was going to have to run myself, (mostly), and keep track of everything going on as well.

The book with a chapter on T.I.V3

Then there was this guy calling me up asking if he could tag along for T.I.V3. Really?!! As if I didn't have enough stuff going on, but in the end, the guy swayed me over, and I agreed as long as it wouldn't be a burden. He said he found out about it from Ira Ryan, and Ira was going to be in T.I.V3, so I figured I should accommodate this guy.

As part of the research this fellow named Zach wanted to do for Trans Iowa, he requested a meeting with me the day before T.I.V3 to go drive the course a bit and for him to interview me. Sheesh! I was going to have to pack that in as well as get the pre-race meeting set up by myself in an upper room lent to me at no charge by T-Bock's in Decorah. Then I'd have to get the pre-race meting done, and hand out, (what I had anticipated would be), 100 or so race bags.

But the icing on the cake- the real kick to the junk- was when I did recon a day or two after getting back from Sea Otter. Jeff had printed all the sheets, and during all of that, he called and e-mailed about several questions he had about my notations. Then he delivered the cues, and promptly left for a race/work trip for Ergon. It would be the last "hands on" task Jeff ever did for a Trans Iowa.

Well, I wasn't hardly ten miles out of Decorah, and the cues were off. Way off. I drove back and forth over that section several times, but I could not make sense of the cues. Dang! That put everything coming after that waaaay outta whack. I would have to reprint 100 sets of cue sheets in four days time, plus work four eight hour shifts at work, plus be a Dad and a husband at home. Nice! This was going to be a miracle if I pulled all of THAT off, or so I was thinking.

I went into "emergency mode" for the entire week. I was up past mid-night every night, and on Thursday evening before T.I.V3 I was having my entire family, Mrs. Guitar Ted, my then six year old daughter, and my then 3 and a half year old son, stuff the race bags with me. Somehow or another, we got it all put together. I was ready to leave Friday morning with a stuffed 90 Honda Civic wagon to head up to start a crazy weekend. As if the previous two weeks weren't enough!

Next Week: The things I remembered from T.I.V3's pre-race meeting and more.....

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #11

In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

 So, what's that saying again? Something along the lines of "Life Happens", or some such? Well, a lot of that happened just before T.I.V3. I guess in a way you could say that the "excrement hit the rotating bladed air moving machine". Whatever it was, it wasn't an ideal situation that led up to T.I.V3. Here are the ingredients to give one a higher stress level experience than necessary.

First there was the whole writing/testing gig for Twenty Nine Inches, which I had been drug into reluctantly the year before. Now I was being asked to attend Sea Otter to help report on things. Yes.....lot's of fun. One week before T.I.V3......not so much fun! This was a great trip though. One where I got to see the California "mid-coast", ride with Gary Fisher, Keith Bontrager, Travis Brown, and others, and had supper cooked for me at Keith Bontrager's home in Santa Cruz. You just don't pass stuff like that up. That was all part of a Trek dealio I got to do just ahead of Sea Otter. Anyway, that was not the best timing coming into an event I was going to have to run myself, (mostly), and keep track of everything going on as well.

The book with a chapter on T.I.V3

Then there was this guy calling me up asking if he could tag along for T.I.V3. Really?!! As if I didn't have enough stuff going on, but in the end, the guy swayed me over, and I agreed as long as it wouldn't be a burden. He said he found out about it from Ira Ryan, and Ira was going to be in T.I.V3, so I figured I should accommodate this guy.

As part of the research this fellow named Zach wanted to do for Trans Iowa, he requested a meeting with me the day before T.I.V3 to go drive the course a bit and for him to interview me. Sheesh! I was going to have to pack that in as well as get the pre-race meeting set up by myself in an upper room lent to me at no charge by T-Bock's in Decorah. Then I'd have to get the pre-race meting done, and hand out, (what I had anticipated would be), 100 or so race bags.

But the icing on the cake- the real kick to the junk- was when I did recon a day or two after getting back from Sea Otter. Jeff had printed all the sheets, and during all of that, he called and e-mailed about several questions he had about my notations. Then he delivered the cues, and promptly left for a race/work trip for Ergon. It would be the last "hands on" task Jeff ever did for a Trans Iowa.

Well, I wasn't hardly ten miles out of Decorah, and the cues were off. Way off. I drove back and forth over that section several times, but I could not make sense of the cues. Dang! That put everything coming after that waaaay outta whack. I would have to reprint 100 sets of cue sheets in four days time, plus work four eight hour shifts at work, plus be a Dad and a husband at home. Nice! This was going to be a miracle if I pulled all of THAT off, or so I was thinking.

I went into "emergency mode" for the entire week. I was up past mid-night every night, and on Thursday evening before T.I.V3 I was having my entire family, Mrs. Guitar Ted, my then six year old daughter, and my then 3 and a half year old son, stuff the race bags with me. Somehow or another, we got it all put together. I was ready to leave Friday morning with a stuffed 90 Honda Civic wagon to head up to start a crazy weekend. As if the previous two weeks weren't enough!

Next Week: The things I remembered from T.I.V3's pre-race meeting and more.....

Friday News And Views

Mail bag

Trans Iowa v10: Today one lucky Trans Iowa vet will get the last spot on the roster for Veterans and that part of the Trans Iowa v10 story will have been told. All that will be left to do is to bring on board 41 more Rookies and Trans Iowa v10's roster will be full.

So far it has turned out to be a solid, stacked field. I hear rumors of some Rookies waiting in the wings that may prove to be the "next Sattler or Wince" in next Spring's Trans Iowa. I've heard of plans to break the 24 hour barrier, and I've heard plans for a fixed gear attempt. I even heard that Ira Ryan was thinking about coming back to run Trans Iowa! One thing that is a common denominator- almost everyone is saying this is the catalyst to getting fit over the Winter months.

Keep in mind that Vets and Finisher registration is closed.  Rookie cards will be accepted starting Monday, November 18th until we fill up the remaining 41 spots on the T.I.v10 roster. I predict it will fill up in two days.

Generally speaking, the registration runs its course and then there is that quiet period up until about March when I get out to start doing course recon to verify cues. However; this year there is a little something extra I am involved with. I'd like to take a few lines here to talk about it again....

See this documentary at the T.I.clinic.

Trans Iowa Clinic: This is a unique opportunity for veterans and rookies of Trans Iowa alike to get into the brains of a few Trans Iowa riders that have finished Trans Iowa and know what they are talking about. By the way- you do not have to be registered to ride in Trans Iowa to attend! Maybe you'll be looking to do Dirty Kanza, or the Royal 162, or the Alexander, or maybe even Tour Divide someday. Cool! Come on down to Des Moines on December 7th at 5:30pm and visit us at Tacopocalypse located at 621 Des Moines Street, Des Moines 50309. We'll have food available to purchase, a viewing of "300 Miles of Gravel", and a bag of goodies from Hammer Nutrition to take home. 

We will have a Q&A session where you will be able to ask our small panel of experts questions and see bicycles set up for Trans Iowa. Ask gear questions, nutrition questions, strategy questions, or just come to hang out. It'll all be done in a fun, laid back atmosphere. Expect to spend about 3-3.5 hours with us.

Again, this happens at 5:30pm on December 7th at Tacopocalypse in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Admission is free, but we ask that you RSVP and a spot will be reserved for you. Space is limited to 50 folks, so don't hesitate to e-mail your intention to attend at g.ted.productions@gmail.com. 

New Fat Bike Event: The fat bike racing scene keeps growing at a pace that I find pretty amazing. Here's one that just popped onto the scene and sounds like it will be a pretty cool event. It's called the "RiddleBox Fat Bike Race".  They will have two distances available and all bikes are welcome that can do off roading, but anything skinnier than 3.8" will be put into a different category. 

It's being put on by Two Wheeler Dealer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They seem to be big fat bike proponents and the event seems like it will have the vibe and feel of Triple D over in Dubuque. Might be worth checking out for you fat bikers here in the Mid-West and it looks like a fun way to start out the Winter riding season. Me? Well, it is the day before my lovely bride's birthday, and I hadn't ought to mess with that! 

Knard Time

Planning a Weekend Ride: Saturday will be a day when many will be "Jingle Crossing", or doing something more constructive with their lives, but I think I'll be out doing some more ride time with the Knard 41's and those Mavic Drift Winter shoes. 

They are talking rain, so maybe I ought to toss on the fenders. Maybe I'll get around to that here, but I also have that little SKS strap on rear mud guard that most likely will be the way I go. Why? Because I have a lot going on and not a lot of time to fiddle with Allen head screws and plastic fenders. 

Or maybe I'll just chose to trundle the Green Belt, but I understand that the bow hunters are out looking for deer, so maybe that is not an advisable path to pursue. Not that I would be in danger from any malicious hunters, because they are not that way here, but an accident? More likely when you have guys out there with compound bows and razor sharp arrow points. If I wait until it is dark, it is game on, so maybe if the fat bike wins out, the ride will be in the dark.  

Well, that's it for this Friday! Have a great weekend and ride those bicycles folks!

Friday News And Views

Mail bag

Trans Iowa v10: Today one lucky Trans Iowa vet will get the last spot on the roster for Veterans and that part of the Trans Iowa v10 story will have been told. All that will be left to do is to bring on board 41 more Rookies and Trans Iowa v10's roster will be full.

So far it has turned out to be a solid, stacked field. I hear rumors of some Rookies waiting in the wings that may prove to be the "next Sattler or Wince" in next Spring's Trans Iowa. I've heard of plans to break the 24 hour barrier, and I've heard plans for a fixed gear attempt. I even heard that Ira Ryan was thinking about coming back to run Trans Iowa! One thing that is a common denominator- almost everyone is saying this is the catalyst to getting fit over the Winter months.

Keep in mind that Vets and Finisher registration is closed.  Rookie cards will be accepted starting Monday, November 18th until we fill up the remaining 41 spots on the T.I.v10 roster. I predict it will fill up in two days.

Generally speaking, the registration runs its course and then there is that quiet period up until about March when I get out to start doing course recon to verify cues. However; this year there is a little something extra I am involved with. I'd like to take a few lines here to talk about it again....

See this documentary at the T.I.clinic.

Trans Iowa Clinic: This is a unique opportunity for veterans and rookies of Trans Iowa alike to get into the brains of a few Trans Iowa riders that have finished Trans Iowa and know what they are talking about. By the way- you do not have to be registered to ride in Trans Iowa to attend! Maybe you'll be looking to do Dirty Kanza, or the Royal 162, or the Alexander, or maybe even Tour Divide someday. Cool! Come on down to Des Moines on December 7th at 5:30pm and visit us at Tacopocalypse located at 621 Des Moines Street, Des Moines 50309. We'll have food available to purchase, a viewing of "300 Miles of Gravel", and a bag of goodies from Hammer Nutrition to take home. 

We will have a Q&A session where you will be able to ask our small panel of experts questions and see bicycles set up for Trans Iowa. Ask gear questions, nutrition questions, strategy questions, or just come to hang out. It'll all be done in a fun, laid back atmosphere. Expect to spend about 3-3.5 hours with us.

Again, this happens at 5:30pm on December 7th at Tacopocalypse in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Admission is free, but we ask that you RSVP and a spot will be reserved for you. Space is limited to 50 folks, so don't hesitate to e-mail your intention to attend at g.ted.productions@gmail.com. 

New Fat Bike Event: The fat bike racing scene keeps growing at a pace that I find pretty amazing. Here's one that just popped onto the scene and sounds like it will be a pretty cool event. It's called the "RiddleBox Fat Bike Race".  They will have two distances available and all bikes are welcome that can do off roading, but anything skinnier than 3.8" will be put into a different category. 

It's being put on by Two Wheeler Dealer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They seem to be big fat bike proponents and the event seems like it will have the vibe and feel of Triple D over in Dubuque. Might be worth checking out for you fat bikers here in the Mid-West and it looks like a fun way to start out the Winter riding season. Me? Well, it is the day before my lovely bride's birthday, and I hadn't ought to mess with that! 

Knard Time

Planning a Weekend Ride: Saturday will be a day when many will be "Jingle Crossing", or doing something more constructive with their lives, but I think I'll be out doing some more ride time with the Knard 41's and those Mavic Drift Winter shoes. 

They are talking rain, so maybe I ought to toss on the fenders. Maybe I'll get around to that here, but I also have that little SKS strap on rear mud guard that most likely will be the way I go. Why? Because I have a lot going on and not a lot of time to fiddle with Allen head screws and plastic fenders. 

Or maybe I'll just chose to trundle the Green Belt, but I understand that the bow hunters are out looking for deer, so maybe that is not an advisable path to pursue. Not that I would be in danger from any malicious hunters, because they are not that way here, but an accident? More likely when you have guys out there with compound bows and razor sharp arrow points. If I wait until it is dark, it is game on, so maybe if the fat bike wins out, the ride will be in the dark.  

Well, that's it for this Friday! Have a great weekend and ride those bicycles folks!

Project LTHT: Update!

I bet a lot of folks forgot about this! Project LTHT is still alive, and now I finally have something to say about it!

I had a sort of mismatched parts spec I was going to put on this frame, but a conversation with Shimano resulted in their wanting to be a part of this review for Twenty Nine Inches, so I had them send a kit to build this up with.

That took a lot longer than I wanted it to, and now, with Winter knocking on the door, I have to scramble to get this thing done so I can get it out before it is snow up to our eyeballs out on the trails. But either way it goes, this should turn out to be a fun little rig and I will be looking forward to trying to push it and myself a little harder on the trails.

It's funny when you are building up a rig how the silliest little chunk of aluminum can stop you in your tracks. For instance, I forgot to mention that I needed an IS adapter for the rear brake. Doh! Easily taken care of, but a simple bit that you just have to have. I was so hoping just to assemble this and get going by the weekend, but until I can lay hands on an adapter, I'm going to be out of luck there!

In the meantime, I have a couple more things to get to anyway, so I always have something or another I can be working on. I've got more sealant and tubeless tire work, and a couple of swaps on components here and there to fine tune the fleet.

More on Project LTHT soon.......really!

Project LTHT: Update!

I bet a lot of folks forgot about this! Project LTHT is still alive, and now I finally have something to say about it!

I had a sort of mismatched parts spec I was going to put on this frame, but a conversation with Shimano resulted in their wanting to be a part of this review for Twenty Nine Inches, so I had them send a kit to build this up with.

That took a lot longer than I wanted it to, and now, with Winter knocking on the door, I have to scramble to get this thing done so I can get it out before it is snow up to our eyeballs out on the trails. But either way it goes, this should turn out to be a fun little rig and I will be looking forward to trying to push it and myself a little harder on the trails.

It's funny when you are building up a rig how the silliest little chunk of aluminum can stop you in your tracks. For instance, I forgot to mention that I needed an IS adapter for the rear brake. Doh! Easily taken care of, but a simple bit that you just have to have. I was so hoping just to assemble this and get going by the weekend, but until I can lay hands on an adapter, I'm going to be out of luck there!

In the meantime, I have a couple more things to get to anyway, so I always have something or another I can be working on. I've got more sealant and tubeless tire work, and a couple of swaps on components here and there to fine tune the fleet.

More on Project LTHT soon.......really!

New Shoes For By-Tor

Fatback Sterling tires

Ol' By-Tor the Titanium Mukluk was needing new shoes before Winter. The old ones were looking pretty worn down, and I knew that they wouldn't be much good in any kind of snow I'd be wanting to tackle. So, when I was at Interbike, I spied these new tires from Fatback called "Sterling" that I thought looked interesting. These tires just became available and I bought a pair and had them sent to me here.

In the fat bike world, there has been Surly tires, and........nothing else, until just very recently. Vee Rubber, (they go by just "Vee" these days, I guess), jumped into the market last year but their tires were very heavy and the tread pattern didn't turn me on at all. Then Vee started making other fat bike tires, but again, they were essentially blown up versions of not very good 29"er tires. Meh......

However; now with Greg Matyas' of Fatback putting in his two cents, this tread pattern, (and another called the Snowshoe, also a collaboration with a fat bike company), look much more promising. The tread pattern looks smart, and traction should be decent with the open pattern of squarish shaped groupings. However; Vee also tended to have dead casings and tons of weight. This Fatback Sterling seems to be a much better offering in that vein as well. My two examples weighed in at 1220 and 1225 grams each. For a comparison, that's a tick lighter than my Big Fat Larry 120TPI tires and much lighter than the 3.8" Larrys these tires replaced. For as many knobs as these tires have, and considering they are Vee Tire made, that's impressive to  me.

Quickie ride last night

Now I will say that all I have ever used on a fat bike are "Larry" type tires- either Big Fat Larrys or the standard issue 3.8's. So, please take the following comments with that in mind.....

The Surly tires I've ridden and seen seem to have a higher "crown", or in profile type terms, a very pronounced"C" shape. That means the tires steer well on dry terrain, but you've gotta air them way down to get all the knobs engaged and grab all the float you can outta these things. The Sterling has a much shallower "C" shaped profile. The casing is much wider than the tread area as well, which also differs from Surly's Larry tire line. I aired these up to an unheard of, (for me), 20psi to seat the tires well, and when I rode them at that pressure the tread contact patch was significantly wider than what a 3.8" Larry lays down at 10psi! The ride wasn't all bouncy and out of control either. Hmm......

On width: Fatback claims on their website that the Sterling is 4.25" wide on a 70mm rim. By-Tor has the older Uma 70mm rims from Fatback on there and with the Sterling aired up to 20psi and measured immediately after mounting I got a hair wider than 3.8" at the casing, but that was already wider than the "3.8"" Larry I had just removed. However; these tires would have to stretch about 10mm to get to be 4.25"ers on my rims. That's a bit optimistic, I would say!

But that doesn't really bother me. As I said, I can already put down a wider contact patch than I could with the 3.8" Larry, and that's where the traction and float come from, not from the casing width. To my mind, a flatter profile should float better, and obviously, with more knobs hitting the trail, I should see an increase in traction, disregarding the superior tread design. With the tread design considered, I am thinking these should be far better tires.

We'll see.

New Shoes For By-Tor

Fatback Sterling tires

Ol' By-Tor the Titanium Mukluk was needing new shoes before Winter. The old ones were looking pretty worn down, and I knew that they wouldn't be much good in any kind of snow I'd be wanting to tackle. So, when I was at Interbike, I spied these new tires from Fatback called "Sterling" that I thought looked interesting. These tires just became available and I bought a pair and had them sent to me here.

In the fat bike world, there has been Surly tires, and........nothing else, until just very recently. Vee Rubber, (they go by just "Vee" these days, I guess), jumped into the market last year but their tires were very heavy and the tread pattern didn't turn me on at all. Then Vee started making other fat bike tires, but again, they were essentially blown up versions of not very good 29"er tires. Meh......

However; now with Greg Matyas' of Fatback putting in his two cents, this tread pattern, (and another called the Snowshoe, also a collaboration with a fat bike company), look much more promising. The tread pattern looks smart, and traction should be decent with the open pattern of squarish shaped groupings. However; Vee also tended to have dead casings and tons of weight. This Fatback Sterling seems to be a much better offering in that vein as well. My two examples weighed in at 1220 and 1225 grams each. For a comparison, that's a tick lighter than my Big Fat Larry 120TPI tires and much lighter than the 3.8" Larrys these tires replaced. For as many knobs as these tires have, and considering they are Vee Tire made, that's impressive to  me.

Quickie ride last night

Now I will say that all I have ever used on a fat bike are "Larry" type tires- either Big Fat Larrys or the standard issue 3.8's. So, please take the following comments with that in mind.....

The Surly tires I've ridden and seen seem to have a higher "crown", or in profile type terms, a very pronounced"C" shape. That means the tires steer well on dry terrain, but you've gotta air them way down to get all the knobs engaged and grab all the float you can outta these things. The Sterling has a much shallower "C" shaped profile. The casing is much wider than the tread area as well, which also differs from Surly's Larry tire line. I aired these up to an unheard of, (for me), 20psi to seat the tires well, and when I rode them at that pressure the tread contact patch was significantly wider than what a 3.8" Larry lays down at 10psi! The ride wasn't all bouncy and out of control either. Hmm......

On width: Fatback claims on their website that the Sterling is 4.25" wide on a 70mm rim. By-Tor has the older Uma 70mm rims from Fatback on there and with the Sterling aired up to 20psi and measured immediately after mounting I got a hair wider than 3.8" at the casing, but that was already wider than the "3.8"" Larry I had just removed. However; these tires would have to stretch about 10mm to get to be 4.25"ers on my rims. That's a bit optimistic, I would say!

But that doesn't really bother me. As I said, I can already put down a wider contact patch than I could with the 3.8" Larry, and that's where the traction and float come from, not from the casing width. To my mind, a flatter profile should float better, and obviously, with more knobs hitting the trail, I should see an increase in traction, disregarding the superior tread design. With the tread design considered, I am thinking these should be far better tires.

We'll see.