2018 Day Across Minnesota

Ride Report

The day started off cool and foggy. And stayed consistently foggy until well after daybreak. The very dry roads creating a fine powder that stuck to the fog, covering everything with slime. It made fueling quite difficult, endless you wanted a mouthful of mud.

I was in a really great paceline for the first hour or so, just chugging along, then as the deep dusty sand tools its toll, and riders peeled off the train, I was soon riding solo, passing groups here and there. I didnt feel like I was putting in a huge effort, just that I could see the gravel better and pick lines, though fueling would be an issue, as noted above.

I pulled into the first checkpoint at just past 4am, stopped just long enough to change out the cue sheets, and rolled out to get to the first store. About 1.5 hours for that 26 miles, then I spent about 50 minutes stopped. Despite the time, I really probably could have done a better job making sure I had eaten enough, as I'd only had Gu and Gatorade up to that point. I made it a point to eat more consistently.

The dusty conditions never let up. Keeping the bike straight, upright, and moving forward was a constant challenge.

At around mile 112, I pulled over to add some air to the front tyre, as it had been bottoming on large rocks and train tracks the whole race, and another race stopped to eat and he mentioned that we were almost half way, and that hadn't even clicked. It really reinvigorated those 8 miles for me. I pulled into the second checkpoint and halfway point at about 10:50. Spend maybe 10 minutes there, doing cuesheet swap and eating.

I rolled out of checkpoint two feeling great, but soon the exposed, dry, hot weather began taking its toll. My hands were rubbed raw inside my gloves, I could feel blisters rising on my toes. My shoulders were tired from constantly fighting the sandy conditions. By mile 140, I knew I was just not having fun anymore. Then I noticed my cycling shorts had started to come apart along the seams on both legs, where they rubbed on my seatpost bag. Luckily my leg sun sleeves were protecting my legs from the friction, but I knew there was no way to really continue like that. I knew there was a town coming up, so I pedaled on there, and figured I'd assess the situation there. Lyft claimed coverage, and I thought I had an easy out. Sadly, none of the drivers wanted to take my fare, so it came down riding being the only option to get back to town. Almost 60 miles. Sure. Fine. I ate some food, filled my bottles and rolled. Slowly.

Most of the route the GPS chose was fine, a bit hillier than I'd liked at that point. Then came the bike paths. My maps don't entirely line up with reality, so there was much riding back and forth, over and under trying to find/make some of the connections between paths. My brain was fried. As soon as I reached a point where I actually knew where I was, I stopped and lay on the grass and ate for a while.

Setup:
Bike:
Raleigh Tamland 2014
Shimano 105 5700 10sp
50/34
SRAM 12-32
Wipperman 11sx chain
TRP Spyre brakes
Shimano XTR 160mm rotors
Salsa CowBell bars
Bontager Gel Tape
Brooks Cambium saddle
Lynskey TI post
Velocity Aileron 700c rims
DTS350 rear XT Dyno front
Panaracer GravelKing 38mm tubeless

TransAm Bike Race Dropbox

One of the things you can do to support yourself is to pre-ship yourself supplies to spots along the course. Typically these are bike shops and post offices. One of the most popular is Newton Bike Shop, in Newton, KS. It's kind of in the middle of the route. They have been doing this for racers and tourists for quite a while, and are well equipped for such duties.

Today, I shipped my dropbox to them.

Contents include:

Fresh Clothing:
Castelli Velossimo San Remo Speedsuit
Castelli Core Mesh Sleeveless Baselayer
Castelli Merino Socks
Castelli Quattro 9 Socks
Rapha Lightweight Socks (like airconditioning)
Specialized Grail gloves (after 3k miles, I'll probably need new ones)

Parts and such:
2 new tyres and a broken in spare vacuum packed
2 new tubes
Fresh sealant and valve cores
2nd half services cards
TP
Fresh Chain (Wipperman 11sx, stripped of factory lube, setup with Dumonde Tech Lite, cut to length, run in and relubed) and spare link
brake pads
batteries for HRM/Cadance/TEMPE
lip chap
packets of clothes wash
patch kit (not pictured)

also not pictured more food bars

TransAm Bike Race Setup and Gear

This will be geeky

This is the rig, loaded and mostly ready to go

2014 Raleigh Tamland One
Shimano 105 5700 brifters, front dérailleur, crankset (after the stock set imploded)
Shimano 9sp XT rear dérailleur with a SRAM 12-36 1070 cassette
Wipperman 11SX chain
Velocity Aileron rim, Sapim Race DB spokes, DT350 rear hub, Shimano XT dynohub front
TRP Spyre brake fitted with Shimano pads and XTR rotors 160mm
Salsa Cowbell bars, Profile T2+ DL aerobars, two layers of Deda tape
Brooks C17 saddle on Lynskey Ti seatpost
Crazy expensive combo of Jagwire Elite Sealed Shift, Sport XL Brake and Elite Ultra Slick Polished cables
Trio of Camelbak bottles in Tacx cages, with the one above the bars mounted on a King Cage TopCap

That about covers the mechanical bits; for electronics, I'm keeping it pretty simple

Garmin Etrex Touch 35 as my main nav
Garmin Etrex 30x as backup
B&M IQ-X headlight
Cygolite Expilon 400 backup headlight
B&M Secula Plus taillight
Cateye Blinkies and a Planet Bike Superflash as added rear lighting.

No dyno powered USB charger to power the GPS or charge phones. I'll just use batteries and wall chargers.

The Kit

This is what I'll be wearing everyday. Yes, I'll look like a Castelli ad, but it works, and I got all of it on sale.

Velossimo San Remo Speedsuit. I was pretty shocked how comfy this is.
Castelli Core Mesh 3 sleeveless baselayer
Castelli UPF 50+ arm and knee skins (cuts down on sunblock needs, and honestly I don't do a good job reapplying throughout the day, so this is better)
A couple headwear options (don't wanna burn my noggin)
Specialized Grail gloves (love the new pad shape in these, and the colour will help my hand signals stand out during the day)
Specialized Recon shoes (so much love, I bought a second backup pair)
Giro Synthe helmet (the non MIPS version to save a few grams from causing neck issues)

Bedrock Bags Entrada pocket:
first aid kit
spare eyeglasses and lens cloth
tp
gloves and papertowels in ziplock to deal with any messy repairs.
allergy meds, toes warmers, hand lotion, a couple Woolite packets
plastic bags for sock liners is shit gets bad
the black bundle is a reflective vest

ignore the upsidedown-ness of the pic

Bedrock Tapeats:
Electronics: phone, chargers, backup gps, backup headlight, powerbank, wallet

also upsidedown

ATMhandmade Snack Sack
Mini lock, knife, (just add food)

The Rogue Panda Alamo bag at the stem is more food, while their Rincon at the seatpost carries my repair kit.

Wipperman links, FiberFix Spoke repair, patches, boots, spare cleats, multitool, tyre levers, zip ties

The remaining layers of clothing, yup more Castelli,and as much fluoro yellow as I could manage, packed into my Bolder Bikepacking seatbag

Flanders Wind Short Sleeve Baselayer
Smartwool liner gloves
Smartwool Liner socks
Castelli Wool socks
Castelli Pimaloft/Silk socks
Castelli Nanoflex+ Leg and Armwarmers
Castelli Perfetto vest
Castelli Superleggera vest
Castelli Riparo rain jacket
Endura Helium rain knickers
Castelli Velocissimo Long sleeve thermal jersey
Castelli Nano shoe covers
LG helmet cover
Buff UV buff
Specialized Deflect overgloves
Pactimo Changing Kilt
Spare tyre (vacuum sealed, to minimize packing volume and keep it from snagging the clothes)

The bag is so voluminous that when pulling out everything for the pic, I actually missed the drybag of socks in the bottom!

On top of the Bolder Seatpack is a Revelate Spocket, with my SPOT tracker, sunscreen, lipchap, and chainlube.

My home for TABR

Sleeping gear stored in the main body of the Bedrock Entrada:
SeatoSummit Ultralight pad, and Coolmax fitted sheet and Aeros pillow
Enlightened Equipment Prodigy APEX 50F quilt
TiGoat Kestrel Bivy
Emergency mylar blanket

TransIowa V13 Turning Back

After my arrival at checkpoint one it was time to take stock of where I was physically. I'd not managed to eat during the ride in and while I felt good, I knew that it would be a tough ride to make checkpoint two, and the weather forecast was still in the back of my mind.

I went into the little market to grab some items (I scarfed down an entire tube of Pringles) and stood on the entryway, out of the wind, to fumble with my phone to check weather and location. As I was working on that, another rider who had been one of the last two to make the checkpoint came over and asked if I wanted to ride back to Grinnell. I told him I was just trying to decide whether to ride back or call my support person, but since I had a chance to have company for the ride, I was in. Nice to meet you Scott.

We hung around a bit to see if we could get some others in out group, and talked with a couple of the awesome volunteers from the checkpoint who happened to have a map. After a while we had gotten together a group of 4 and determined that we had basically 2 turns to make to get back to our hotels.

We had plenty of time to chat as we pedaled 19 miles straight into a headwind on rolly HWY F 17. It was slow, but it turns out that Scott had raced the Trans Am Bike Race two years before on the same single speed mountain bike that he was riding here in Trans Iowa. Hard core!

I spent quite a bit of the ride back picking his brain for tips and discussing packing lists, stopping a couple times along the side of the road to let everyone get some fuel and a bit of a break from the constant slog.

The rain started coming down, and the wind picked up even more. We were lucky to break 10mph under these conditions. Finally about 4 miles out, I decided I really needed a break from the headwinds, so consulted the GPS and suggested we travel South for a bit and come into Grinnell from the West side, instead of continuing East straight into the wind, and turning and coming in from the North. Everyone seemed to think that was a fine idea. WooHoo! We got to coast for the first time in 19 miles. We soon arrive at a bike path, and we follow that into town. It's then just a high speed, wet run down West St to the hotels. Total of 82 miles for the day. I'm pretty happy with that.

TransIoawv13 The Race

2am in the morning comes early, but I'd managed to sleep pretty well. I shuffle around making coffee and heating up a couple breakfast burritos. I get dressed, reassure my support person that she doesn't need to come out in the cold to see me off, and soon I'm rolling down to the start.

I look up the road as I'm pedaling in and see many blinkies going, as it looks like many of the riders have chosen to get a little warmup in the chilly temps. It's in the low 40s, and I've chosen this morning to wear a mix of winter jacket, with a shortsleeve baselayer, and thermal/water-resistant bibshorts with matching legwarmers. The new shoes I'd bought were matched with the also new shoecovers, and inside them were a synthetic/silk blend sock with a tall wool liner sock to complete the footwear. Gloves were a pair of fullfinger summer weight gloves topped with a thermal overglove.

Upon arrival a the start, I go about making sure I have my computer all zeroed out and in the right mode (a special setup I created with no mapping capabilities, just mileage and performance stats). I always get kind of self-absorbed at the start of these things, and wish I was more personable later, so as to get to know the other racers, but also so perhaps someone might actually take my picture. Alas, I find no pics of me in any of the shared albums I've run across. Oh, well. I hit the restroom in Bikes to You, and it's time for pre-race directions and thanks to everyone helping and to those racing.

MG lays on the horn, and off we go. I had lined up in the back of the group and was determined not to blow up right off the line. A couple turns through the streets and soon we're on gravel. The riders string out, and from my spot in the back of the peloton, it appears that we stretch out for miles, as all I see is blinkies and blackness.

Soon we make our first left since the neutral rollout and there has been a huge gap opened up between the small groups of riders. It's a roll-y road, right into the wind, and while I'm not trying to draft the lone rider in front of me, I just can't get past them, as every time I pull out, the wind kills the idea. We chat a little bit, but it's mostly silence as we struggle to not loose sight of the tailights that continue to get further and further away.

Soon enough we turn out of the headwind, and I put a bit of distance between myself the the other rider, but by then I'd lost track of the riders ahead, and due to my own stupidity don't pay close enough attention to the cues and miss a turn! I don't catch the mistake until the road comes to a "T", and I spend a few minutes consulting the cues and looking at the road signs. I turn around knowing that now I'd be doing maths the whole way, trying to figure out distance to the next turn, as well as distance and speed needed to reach the checkpoint. I get back to where I made the wrong turn, do some maths, check and double check the signs and cue sheet and continue on.

I see no other riders at this point. I figure I must be dead last. I check my HRM and bump up my effort. Soon I see a bunch of riders ahead. I don't bother to look at my cues as I'm riding into them, and as I get closer and my headlight starts to shine upon them, I realize they're walking. I've noticed the road was sloppy, but have no need to dismount as of yet and as I ride up to the rearmost I ask them if this is the "B" road we were warned about. She doesn't even look back, but yells at me "Are you riding this shit?" All I can respond is "So far" I continue on, slowly making my way past 8-10 riders before the road became so filled with footprints and tyre tracks that I was afraid that I was gonna lose it and end up on my back in the mud. I jump off and since my wheels were still rolling freely, I just start running down the muddy pit, with the bike there to help me balance if I lose footing. I edge to one side and found that to be significantly less firm than the center, so move back to center, running past another several riders trying to carry or drag bikes that wouldn't turn their tyres as they were blocked up with muck.

I arrive at the end, literally peel the mud off the tyres, run a finger through the chainstay to make sure they're clear and spend much more time trying to get the cleats on my shoes into working order. Quickly, though I'm off and riding. Alone.

I see no other riders, either ahead, or in my mirror, for several miles. I do see a wonderful sunrise, though. I keep pedaling, keeping tabs on my HRM to keep my effort up, and my timer on my watch to make sure I keep hydrated. After a while I start to see another rider up ahead, then realize there is another just beyond him. Going up and down the rollers, I can't tell whether I'm making ground or not, until finally I see the closest rider on the backside of a hill just as I crest, I pass them as I gather momentum for the next hill, then due to my own negligence, drop a chain. It jams good. As I survey the situation, the other rider asks if I have everything I need, I assure them I've got it.  A few brute force yanks and I get it unstuck, and I'm chasing again, but the riders ahead are now out of view again.

I consult my cue sheet and do more maths. I need to pick up the pace some more. I'm starting to nudge my average speed in the right direction. Every turn, it's more maths. Time Speed Distance. I do eventually recatch and pass the rider ahead of me again, and also the one in front of them, who was riding a single speed mtb!

I'm calculating that I'm about 4 miles out, when on a steep, curving climb, I'm forced to dismount as the gravel on the right is too loose to maintain traction and I refuse to ride far enough to the left as the risk of a vehicle coming around the wide, blind corner isn't worth it. I cuss.

Soon at the top of that hill though I can see the next turn and the maths are good. I now have a firm cushion of time to make the checkpoint. Now it's just a matter of making sure I don't miss the flagged corner we were told about and I'm good. Seeing those flags and rolling into the checkpoint with a solid 7 minutes to spare really made my morning. The smiling faces of the volunteers welcomed me as I rolled in arms stretched like I'd just won the Tour. That was awesome. I made sure to safely tuck away the set of cues they gave me for the second leg and unclipped to eat something.

TransIowaV13 Revisiting TIv9

Waking Friday morning, I found the temps had dropped a not insignificant amount. It was chilly, so after breakfast, I donned some thermal bibknicks, wool socks, and some wool DeFeet Kneekers to bridge the gap, some thermals up top, a vest and was ready to roll.

Using the pressures I found I was running the day before, I guessed as to how much more pressure I'd need and took a stab at 34 front and 38 rear, then rolled.

I had a recording of the TIv9 route from when I had attempted that, so I loaded it into the Garmin and went to where my riding on Thursday and it intersected to pick it up.

Wind, I was fighting with the wind and gusts for sure, and man were they cold. The roads though felt so different than my memories. But then, my memories of them are in pitchblackness, surrounded by dozens of other riders, and the exhilaration of my first TransIowa. Memories flood back to that first nighttime start. All the lights, the fear I'd be dropped in the first section of gravel, the shock of someone catching the road edge and going down so close in front of me, that I was afraid I was going to roll right over them. I recall that night being muggy (though I could be wrong), while today the wind and cold cut mercilessly.

Some of the roads are so well packed, I'm down in the aerobars hammering into the headwind like I'm on paved roads, others are deeper fresh gravel, and a few are rutted. There are no B-Roads today, as TIv9 didn't have any of those until after the first checkpoint, and I'll not get that far today, as I need to get back before too long and get clean before the Pre-Race Meat Up. On ones of the faster, flat roads, I pass a grader, and the road turns to marbles. It was just scraping enough to bring the larger pieces up to the surface and scatter them on top of the hard dry dirt. Blech.

Soon I begin to feel a few sprinkles of rain. I knew this was coming, so I continue on, and come to a wooden bridge. I flash back to riding across this bridge in TIv9. I was having a really nice conversation with the owner of Bikes To You, who I don't think was officially part of the race, just tagging along until he had to turn back to town to open up the shop.

A few miles further, as the rain started to pick up and hold at a steady drizzle, I stopped to consult my gps map to see if there was anything interesting coming up on the route, or to go ahead and turn around, a couple in a truck asks if I need directions. I assure them I have some idea where I'm going, and thank them. I decide there is no reason to not turn around where I was and head back the way I came.

I always find it odd how different roads are in the opposite direction, and wow that grader seems to have ruined all the smoother roads I had ridden on the way in. Also the bit of rain that had fallen had already started to change the roads. With a lot of rain expected to fall through the afternoon and evening, that could be bad. Really, really bad. But then I knew that before I even drove up here. Heck, that's why I'm here. Bring it.

The whole time, I'd been constantly making mental notes about how the tyres had been interacting with the surface. I thought I was really close on pressure, but perhaps a bit too high, and with the roads to soften, I took another guess and decided that I wouldn't touch them, and whatever air leakage occurred naturally overnight would probably be about right.

I'd also been making notes about my comfort level, or lack thereof. I was okay, but as the rain continued, I could see myself being miserable on a much longer ride. Headgear was inadequate. Gloves were sodden, hands too numb to shift by feel. I arrived back at the hotel, luckily the wet roads had cleaned much of the dust off the bike, and I took a big loop through the wet hotel lawn to give the tyres a good scrub and I was clean enough I didn't feel like I was going to cause a mess in the lobby.

42 miles. Perfect morning test ride.




I cleaned up, got in contact with my support person (thanks again for driving down from Milwaukee), then just rested until she arrived and it was time to go sign in, find dinner, back for the actual meeting, and off to bed. It really is a crush of things that happen really fast then you have to unwind to get to bed, because a 2am alarm is really early.

TransIowa v13 Arrival in Grinnell

After an uneventful drive to Iowa, I arrived, checked in and promptly kitted up to get in some relaxing miles around town. A new facebook event page happened to have a loop going around the outskirts of Grinnell, focusing on the gravel and B-roads, and I would like to thank Katherine and Jess for organizing that.





The weather was fairly warm, armwarmers and vest type conditions, so I donned my Riding Gravel kit for my first spin.

Off I went, finding plenty of fresh gravel and a shocking number of B-Roads, considering how close I was to town

What I realized about halfway through the loop, is that I hadn't checked my tyre pressure, and it felt a bit splashy. I made a mental note to see what it was when I got back to the hotel, because while lower than I would like, it would give me an idea how low I could really go. Turns out I was running right around 30psi in both front and rear. I was a bit shocked by that.

Anyway, back at the hotel, I washed and went to find some dinner. Knowing it's small town Iowa, I had done some research and knew there were two places with promise for getting a vegan friendly meal. It was just before 8, so I thought I'd try the one that had a few more options first. Upon arrival, I found the closed sign out, but seeing someone inside, I waved them to the door to ask. Yup, closed. I knew they opened at 5, so inquired, and was told they open at 5 and close when their last reservation leaves. Mind-blowing. I asked about other vegan friendly options and they sent me to the other place I already knew about. I thanked them and let them know I'd be there right at 5 the next day. I went off to the other restaurant and dined, then off to bed.

Trans Iowa v13 Lead up to the race

In the weeks and days leading up to this year's Trans Iowa, there was much looking at the forecast and worrying about what may come. Rain and cold and wind are all factors that could turn the event on its head.

At some point I just started laying clothes on the bed and trying to figure out what work work for what conditions, what -if any- gaps I had that needed filled. Since I had been steadily loosing weight since last summer, I had been stocking up on kit as I found it on sale, with lots of winter kit in the selection, since that's what I needed most when I started sizing out of my older stuff late Fall through Winter. The one thing I couldn't decide on was the shoes. I mean. I had a really nice pair that would be great, but I also wanted to use them for TransAm, and didn't want to trash them before that. With about a week to go, I found a deal on a low end mtb shoe that I knew would fit, since it is of the brand I wear. I had them in hand 2 days later, switched out to a well broken-in insole from another pair, and was in business, I added some shoe covers and fresh cleats to the order just to cover all the bases. I then logged about 150 miles before the race in them just to make sure there were no issues.

All that, and seeing what other riders were choosing as their shoes for the race, I could have just used my insulated winter mtb boots. Live and learn.

Packing was kind of hilarious. Street clothes for diner and the meat-up and such consisted of 2 tshirts, 2 button up shirts, one each jeans and underwear. I then had 3 bags of bike kit. a dozen pair of socks, 5 different gloves, 5 jerseys, 3 jackets, 2 vests, bibs, knickers, tights, arm and leg warmers (each in both wool and synthetic), 4 baselayers, 4 or 5 hats, plus rain gear.

3 bags of food, both on bike fuel and easy breakfast and snacks to deal with eating vegan in small town Iowa were added to the mass of luggage in the backseat of my car, as the trunk was full of tools and workstand and washbucket and a cooler of beer.

I had set my reservation at the hotel to run Thursday night through Monday morning, so while I had packed all the bags in the car Wednesday Night, the bike didn't go on the roof until Thursday morning, in a downpour, and I was on the road around 7:30am headed to Grinnell.

Trans Iowa V13 Part 1 Thanks

Trans Iowa is a very special event, and it is special because of its volunteers and supporters. These selfless individuals drive in from all over the place to make the plausible possible. Friends, family, avid cyclists, industry people, and others all come together to put on an event in sometimes challenging conditions for 120 people with a few screws loose.

Happily, this year I actually got a chance to get to know several of them, unlike v9 when I was wrecked with pain, and so out of it, I barely knew what was happening.

I am sad that I didn't get a chance to get to know more of them, as they were out doing their job, and generally being awesome.

So, simply, to all those people, volunteers, and supporters, met and unmet:

You Are All Rock Stars, and I Love You All.

Next year, if I'm not racing, I'll be volunteering, because I aspire to be as awesome as all of you.

Thank you one and all,
Timothy Stephen 

Trans Iowa v13 Bike Setup

Realizing that I didn't do a post on the bike (or race or anything else) back when I attempted TIv9, I knew I needed to document this time.

2015 Singular Gryphon
Size Large
Lynskey Ti Seatpost
Thomson 90mm x 10deg stem
Salsa Cowchipper bars 42cm
Brooks Cambium C17
Deda Jaguar Green tape (double wrapped)
Shimano 5700 brifters
Shimano SLX crankset w/ Speciaties TA 42/28 rings
Shimano SLX front derailleur
Shimano XT 9sp rear derailleur
SRAM 1070 12-36 10sp cassette
Profile Grabber GT aerobars
DTSwiss DT350 CL hubs
Sapim Race spokes 32H
Velocity Blunt SS rims
TRP Spyre calipers
Shimano brake pads
Shimano XTR RT99 rotors
Shimano A600 pedals
Tacx Deva bottle cages
Tacx Shanti bottles
WTB Riddler 45

Jandd Tire Bag contains
2 spare tubes
Tyre boots
Tubeless patch kit
Regular patch kit
Glueless patch kit (see a theme)
CO2 cartridges
Quick links
Spare cleats
Multitool
Lyzyne pump (gold to match the headset, stem faceplate, seatcollar, and spacers. ;)  )
Chainlube

Rogue Panda Rincon contains
USB cache battery in case phone goes dead
A couple more quicklinks
a short section of chain
spare derailleur hanger
spare new rear derailleur !!! (R.O.U.S.s Races Of Unusual Sloppiness require a bit of over-preparedness)

Light: Cateye Omni 5, there will be a second on my Camelbak

Rogue Panda Alamo is almost entirely food. one long allen key to adjust the TRP Spyre brakes inside pad, and a spare battery for my secondary headlight

AndrewTheMaker ATMHandmade Snack Sack contains more food/gels, has spare AA for my main light and will also hold my phone/wallet/spare gps

View from the saddle

Banjo Brothers Map Case
Garmin Etrex Touch 35 (special TIv13 mode created with no mapping, just performance metrics, mileage and the like)

look at all the mud clearance in the fork!

Front view

Here you can see my two headlights.

At the fork crown is a B&M Ixon IQ, while at 40lux it's not anywhere near as bright as their newer models, it still has great battery life (around 20 hours on low/ 5 on high) and beam pattern.

Secondary light, under the aerobar is a Cygolite Expilion 400.

I have spare derailleur and hanger with me!

I'll also have a Camelbak on me, an older Lobo model designed to hold a 3L bladder, I'm only running a 2L bladder, so it has room for a rain jacket and pants, a few more snack bars, dry socks and wool glove liners.

A Huge Challenge Accepted

A Race.

Across the country.

4200+miles.

Self-supported.

I've signed up.

I have registered and am preparing for The Trans Am Bike Race. It's a mind-altering challenge, 4200 miles across the country, carrying all you own gear, finding your own food, and shelter. It's the kind of event where it's mostly either sponsored endurance racers, or pretty well to do athletes with big budgets take on. I'm neither, I'm a bit chubby, even.

Saying I'm "a bit chubby" is pretty nice and accurate. Because I was, until quite recently, "fairly fat". But this challenge has made me take it seriously, if I want to finish, much less achieve my goal time, and to do either I needed to not carry so much weight across the country. So, I'm currently down 60 pounds. I'd like to get another 15-20 off before the race. Being lighter is more than just speed, though it should help there, not just uphills, but also in cutting through the wind, since I can now set up the bike a bit more aggressively; it's also about calories, specifically not needing as many to move the tonnage; it's also about mechanical wear, since lower weight will stress the drivetrain less, and wear the tyres less (as well as allow lower psi in the tyres for a comfier ride and less punctures).

Many of the racers are buying completely new bikes for the challenge. I'll be riding my Raleigh Tamland. It will get many upgrades, in addition to the work I've already done on it since I purchased it 3 years ago.

One of the hardest things about this race it figuring out what kit to take and what I won't need. First, I need all new kit, since none of my kit from last summer fits. I've frantically been ordering in jerseys and shorts and vests and jackets and warmers and sunsleeves and so on for testing. Warm weather hasn't really been here for testing the warm weather gear, and setting up the bike for the race without its fenders means I have different rainwear needs than I'm used to, which will need testing.

So many things to think about/consider options/stress about/lose sleep over.

Fargo Reunion Ride 2016

This last weekend, I went up to Minnesota to do a bike ride and visit with some friends (and maybe do a bit of beer shopping)

Jason Boucher ( https://imaginegnat.com/ ) had planned the route as his birthday ride, Guitar Ted had mentioned it on his blog (http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/ ) , and I decided to sounded like a nice fall ride.

Lacking a Salsa Fargo, I decided to ride my Van Dessel W.T.F.. I stripped the rack, fenders, and mounted some 2" tyres to bring it more in line with the theme.

It was a great morning of riding in a new to me area of Minnesota. I often was bringing up the rear on the climby bits, as usual. It was a bit windy, but much warmer than expected. I was a tad over-dressed. Much meat was being passed around from the Nerstrand Meat Market. A flask appeared. I broke out some whiskey after the ride. Some bike discussion happened. Was really an excellent way to spend the morning and well worth the trip.

However, if only one thing had happened and the rest of the ride had been a massive failure, that one thing would have made it worth the trip.

This is that thing:

This is the best picture of me ever.

Link to source:  https://imaginegnat.com/2016/10/29/fargo-reunion-ride-portraits-and-pics/

Thanks Jason. Happy Birthday.

Day 7. Finishing up

Guess I should write about my final day.

Honestly there's not much to tell. It was my shortest day on the bike, at around 65 miles, and mostly downhill. While I had originally planed to go on to Pittsburgh and then come back to my start, I decided I had ridden enough and had other places I wanted to go to spend the rest of my vacation time. I therefore dawdled most of the day. Stopped more often to see sights, pick up some souvenirs, ate at more diners.

A much more relaxed way to spend the day on the bike. It was a nice change of pace, but I think I really like putting in bigger miles when solo. However, I think it would be a very good way to travel in a group.

Stopped at the Mason-Dixon Line again for more photos.

Add caption

Took at shot of the Eastern entrance to the Continental Divide Tunnel

I like the fact that accessible picnic tables are starting to pop up.

Final shots on the trail.

Day 6: Things That Howl In The Night

Awaking at Little Pool H/B, I skipped the camp coffee and decided to just get packed and rolling to Hancock, as I knew I'd find breakfast in town. The two guys from Pittsburgh weren't up, so I didn't get to apologize for not being more social.

It was a short 4 miles to Hancock, with a number of walkers out for a morning stroll, and several deer. I quickly reaffirmed where the bike shop, C&O Cycle, was located, and what time they opened, having an hour and a bit to kill, I rolled off in search of breakfast. Weaver's Restaurant and Bakery sounded promising, so I parked at their door and waited for them to open. Being the first one in, I asked if they had a table with an outlet nearby, so I could finally charge my phone. It was a solid 10 minutes of charging before it even had enough charge to boot.  A full breakfast platter with an extra half stack of pancakes, coffee, and o.j. made for a very satisfying meal. I lingered over my coffee, to allow time for the bike shop to open, and to get as much charge into the phone as I could.

Arriving at C&O Cycle, I checked out their selection of tyres. Mostly wire bead Schwalbe Marathons, not exactly going to work as a folded up spare. The other options were a Conti (yeah, not going to happen), and a Kenda, the Small Block 8 in 35mm. Guess that will have to do. Added in a few other items, and went out to de-package and load everything into bags, and head on my way.

It was only 15 miles later the new spare tyre was no longer a spare, but was now replacing the front Conti, which had had a casing failure, exactly like the rear that had failed on Thursday. Shit. The lower volume Kenda didn't ride nearly as nicely as the Conti, but at least it should be durable.

After passing through the Paw Paw Tunnel again, and being greeted by a small family with a rather curious pooch, I detoured off the trail and into Paw Paw, WV for a quite nice gas station deli lunch, and a bit more power into my phone. I then continued on down the C&O to Oldtown, deciding I didn't need to visit the Trump Schoolhouse kitchen, I took a break by lying down on the covered porch of the lockhouse and having a snack.

I was joined by two others, Eastbound, while I rested. We discussed where each was headed, and I explained my dilemma: I didn't have any campgrounds marked on my GPS past Cumberland, until Confluence, which was 80 miles away, so my option looked like riding to Cumberland for dinner, then backtracking to Everitts Creek H/B where I had stayed my first night.

"Oh, no", they told me. "It's only 12 miles past Cumberland to the campground at Frostburg." That sounded good. sure it's 12 miles uphill, but I had plenty of daylight. So with an updated plan, off I went.

I stopped at the Crabby Pig, where I had met the two Randos for a beer on Day1, and had dinner. and then, thinking I had plenty of daylight, left I headed for Frostburg.

I had already gone 4 miles when I saw the 12 miles to Frostburg sign. Okay so it's 16 miles. No biggie. I'll be pushing daylight. Lights I've got.

By the time I gone through the Brush Tunnel darkness had set. I really hadn't done much research into what kind of wildlife I could encounter, but I was hearing howls in the distance. I clicked the head of the Fly headlight up a notch to throw more light ahead far and wide, so I could see better if there was anything lurking in the brush along the sides of the trail.

Finally reaching the Frostburg trailhead, I realized the 12 miles didn't include the half-mile switchback trail that was steep, loose and un-rideable to get up to even the lowest reaches of town, wich is luckily where the campground was. Unluckily, there was nobody to answer the door, and I couldn't get a signal to call the number posted. Fuck it, I'm getting a room and sleeping indoors.

Uphill for another half mile, was the main part of town, where I found the Frostburg Inn, which was reasonable enough and pleasant enough. The office was closed, but you could check in at the bar in the back! Oh, a bar. Nice. I checked in and got the bike up the stairs and into the room. Showered and then dressed in the as-yet-unused clothes I had originally planned for my day as a tourist in D.C. and went to the bar. Everything was $2. $2 whiskey. $2 beer. A double Beam and a Yeungling. please. $6! I could move in. There seemed to be a party going on of young co-eds home from college catching up with each other. 80's music with people here and there singing along. Bartender with her low cut, backless, flimsy dress wasn't too bad either...

I stayed for a few rounds, enjoying the vibe of the small town nightlife, then went to bed.

Day 5. A Day Without Power

Sadly there are no pics this day, as my phone was still without charge.

I had mistakenly identified the campsite I stayed at in the previous post. It wasn't Turtle Run, it was Chisel Branch.

A note about Chisel Branch H/B campsite. Owls. I fell asleep listening to the calls of at least two different owls. It was really lovely. Also it's close to a parking area, so a number of locals will park and walk in. Not a big deal, unless you want to be alone.

I awoke after a fine nights sleep, only interrupted (twice) by other campers joining me at the site. and went about getting ready, and started trying to figure out where the nearest town with a bike shop was to get another spare to replace the spare that had replaced the failed tyre on Thursday. Without a phone this was a frustrating exercise of panning and zooming on my gps. After a short bit, some coffee and an energy bar and I was soon on my way.

A cool morning ride to Point of Rocks had me dining on some lovely gas station food, since the two restaurants in town weren't yet open. Restocked and on my way, Brunswick turned up nothing of the bike shop sort, so no stopping there this time. The memories of Kings pizza didn't want me revisiting anyway.

Between not needing to take photos, since I had already taken them on during the Eastbound trip, and not being able to since the phone was dead, I was making really good time. Being a Saturday, there were lot of other cyclists and some hikers out. Somewhere just West of Brunswick, another rider caught up with me, unloaded he was just out for a day ride, doing out and backs each weekend starting where he had left off the previous weekend, slowly working his way West to complete the trail, 10-12 miles at a time. We chatted for a while, and reaching his planned turnaround spot, he decided he'd keep riding and chatting, eventually taking him 9 miles past his planned end point, and turning back toward his car for what would he noted would be his longest ride ever.

I reached the climb to Shepherdstown and briefly considered stopping back in at Shepherdstown Pedal & Paddle where I'd had such great service on Thursday, but  opted to carry on, as I wanted to make it to the Williamsport Visitor Center before they closed.

I arrived in Williamsport just before the visitor center's closing time, and inquired about a bike shop. Sadly, they young lad told me the local shop had been closed for some time, but if I was in need of a tube, they sold them there. We took a look at his map and list of bike shops, and determined the next nearest was in Hancock. Okay cool, I had stopped there on my East-bound leg, so I knew where that was. I'll be there as soon as they open in the morning. Could he recommend me any place to eat? He recommended this glorious place called Sheetz. I asked about other options. Pizza? Pizza sounds great. Tony's is the best he said. I will be the judge of that. Do they have beer? That, the not-of-age park employee didn't know. I would take my chances.

Arriving at Tony's, I made the wise decision of ordering the pizza with the sauce on the side. Upon tasting the sauce, I never needed to taste it again. But the crust, cheese and topping were great. As were the couple of Yuenglings I had. What they didn't have was an outlet to charge my phone. Oh, well.

Off to the last hiker/biker outside Hancock, Little Pool. When I arrived, it wasn't even really nearing sunset, yet there were already two campers there, on some rather rickety looking bikes, with one hauling a kids trailer filled with their stuff. I asked if they minded sharing the site, to which they agreed. I chatted a bit then got to setting up my camp, then changed and washed myself off under the handpump. I then chatted a bit more and went to lie down while they were both engaged in phone calls to family. I really did mean to get back up and converse more with them once they were done with their calls, but man, was I comfortable. The two young men were from Pittsburgh, and had taken the train to D.C. to ride back home. They had been planning this trip for two years, but only had one week to get it done and weren't averaging the kind of mileage they were hoping for. Raccoons had gotten into their trailer and taken much of their food on day one, and it had been a bit downhill from there. But they seemed to be handling it well and were really enjoying the adventure. I hope they had a great ride.

Up next: things that howl in the night.

also if you've made it this far in a post with so many words and no pictures. Thanks.

Day 4 Washington D.C.

I've been slacking on writing...


Anyway...

Friday I awoke after finally managing some sleep  when the storms dies down and I managed to kill all the mosquitoes in my tent.

I ate a quick breakfast and got rolling. There had obviously been some winds in the area, as there were downed trees across the trail not for from where I had camped.

I finally reached Swains Lock, the last free camping area outside D.C., and where I had originally planned to stay before approaching storms force me to make camp.

I soon reached the Great Falls Tavern Visitors Center. Man, if I had known, I would have made time to stop and walk the trails to cross Olmsted Island to see the falls. Or go for a mule-drawn canal boat ride.

Lock Number 1. Made it. Time to explore D.C.

The fact the the nearest cafe to the Lincoln Memorial only had non-American beer is about the saddest thing ever.

This was a local community garden and a butterfly garden. Very cool. The Farm at Walker Jones. New Jersey and K St NW

Lunch at Meats & Foods (247 Florida Ave Nw) So good I had a full second round.

After lunch it was time to go meet up with a friend, who works in the city and gave be a quick tour.

Then my phone died. It would remain dead for the next couple days.

All the following photos are by Ben.

Meeting up with Ben, who I only knew from Google Plus before.

We had beers and bourbon sitting in the park near Thomas Jefferson.

After a couple drinks, it was time for me to head back out of civilization, and time for Ben to catch up with his family before they left without him on the way to their beach cabin.

Heading out, I decided I wasn't going to follow the exact same schedule as riding in, so I wasn't stopping at Horsepen Branch to camp, but I did remember some awesome person had left a whole roll of paper towels in the portolet, and I would stop there to -hopefully- grab a couple towels so I could clean and lube my chain. As I arrived I noticed another bike in the campground, with a hammok, but couldn't see the rider. I called out hello, but received no answer at first. I leaned my bike against a tree and called out again, only to have a solo female rider pop their head out of whatever they were doing. She seemed initially shocked and worried, until I reassured her that I had no intention of sharing the campsite with her, I was just stopping to grab some towels. I warned her about the mosquito situation at that site, and shared some bug repellant with her after inquiring about the lack of insect screening on her hammock, because it seemed miserable to sleep in raingear. We had a pleasant, but short conversation. She was from Minnesota, but had lived in Louisville, KY for a time. I then rolled along, finally stopping at Turtle Run H/B for the evening.