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.