Mann Powered

PBP versus RAGBRAI

2011-09-17T07:11:00.001-07:00

I have completed 23 RAGBRAI’s and 2 PBP’s. My wife has done 20 RAGBRAI’s and supported me on both my PBP rides. This is our brainstorming of a few ways that PBP is like and not like RAGBRAI.

PBP is like a longer version of RAGBRAI. Some of the similarities include: You are in rural areas passing through friendly little towns with residents standing by the road cheering as you ride by sometimes handing out free food and water. The ride is divided into smaller sections, PBP calls them controls, of 50-60 miles with the towns providing entertainment, and refreshments as well as a place for support vehicles to meet their rider. Bike shops are set up along the way to provide roadside assistance. Some of the major intersections are patrolled for traffic. There are great bake goods along the route to satisfy your sweet tooth. Some of the route is flat and some is hilly all though there are more hilly sections. It takes many volunteers to ensure the rides success. It will probably rain at some point during the ride. The rolling back country roads are lined with corn fields. If you have to use the bathroom there is probably a line although the corn fields provide ample stall space. You see all different types of bikes and riders of all shapes and ages. Most of the roads are in pretty good shape but on occasions you can get a really nasty section. There are racers, recreational riders and tourist. Both rides cost about $120 to enter. Sleeping arrangements can be rather crowded. There are plenty of rides to talk to as you ride down the road. Arrows are posted at intersections to guide you along the route. As the ride approaches the end there are a lot of riders who aren’t sitting on the saddle quite a comfortable as they were at the beginning.

The list of ways that PBP is not like RAGBRAI: There is a time limit to make it to each control or your ride is over. PBP is one and a half the distance of RAGBRAI half the number of days. RAGBRAI riding time is 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Riding in the dark at PBP is almost mandatory to finish in the allotted, time but you must have the proper lights and reflective gear. PBP is out and back so no bus ride is involved. If you can’t finish the ride PBP does not provide a sag wagon, you are on your own to find a ride back. For PBP there might be plenty of riders to talk to but you have to find a rider that speaks you language. In France some of the signs are a little hard to read. RAGBRAI takes a different route each year but the PBP route is basically the same every time. The country of France has fields of sunflowers along the route, although by August they don’t look as good as when the Tour-de-France goes by in July.

600K

2011-07-08T09:42:00.001-07:00

On June 4th Mike Doyle and I made the journey, once again, to Eldridge Iowa to participate in the Ultra Midwest (Big Dog’s) 600 K brevet. I needed to complete this last brevet in the 4 ride series to be eligible for Paris-Brest-Paris. Mike was riding for the challenge to see how far he could push himself.

The time cut-off for a 600K is around 40 hours but our plan was to ride straight through the night. I have successfully complete two previous 600K’s, six 24 hour rides, a 33 hour ride and a 35 hour ride. Mike had never ridden more the 12 hours and with a projected 24-26 hour finishing time this would take Mike into un-known areas of cycling. I have been riding with Mike for many years and I had not doubt that he would be physically up to the task but all ultra-distance riders know the physical challenge of a 600K is not the hardest part. A ride of this length is mentally challenging as you ride through the sleepy hours of the night knowing you have many miles to go before you can get off the bike.

Five other riders that started had the same game plan to ride through the night. The group consisted of the same riders Mike and I rode with on the 200 and 300K as pictured above with the exception of the rider on the right Matt Levy. Left to right Mike Doyle,Jim Yost, Larry Ide, Joe Mann, Jay Yost, Paul Carpenter, Doug McLerran.

The forecast for the day was light winds out of the south-west switching to west then north-west as evening approached and temperatures in the 90’s with over-night lows in the upper 60’s. With a route that headed southwest before the turn around the wind was going to be a factor during the ride. I do not like riding in that kind of heat so getting through the middle of the day was also going to be quite the challenge.

Control stops to get our brevet cards signed were Bennett, Wilton, Nichols, Morning Sun, West Point, Keosauqua the Bloomfield. It would have been neat to drop down to Missouri.

As we headed west-ward we had a little wind in our face but the group worked together to negate the effects and we pushed through the first 62 miles to Nichols with no problems. With the wind more west and the temperatures approaching 90 the leg to the south proved to be a little more challenging. We kept the pace a little slower to make sure everybody stayed together. We took an un-scheduled break in New London to cool off as the temperature was in the upper 90’s. At the 100 mile mark my bike computer showed 100 degrees. We still had many miles to go so it is better to spend a little time now to have the energy to make it through the next 18 hours. With about 5 miles to go before our southern section ended the wind switch to the west-north-west. It was the first, and last tail wind we would have for this ride.

While we were in New London Joe Jamison caught up with us in his van. He is the organizer of the brevet series and many other rides promoted by the Big Dog’s. Joe has been on two RAAM crews and been participating in ultra-cycling events for many years so he knows, first hand, what it takes to complete rides of this length. The only outside support you can received during a brevet is at the control points and Joe’s plan was to meet us at the controls through the night to make sure we had food and drink and sign our cards. This route had no 24 hour convenience stores so between 11 pm and 6 am there would be no place to replenish supplies. He also would provide a “safety net” if something happened and one of us could not continue.

Leaving West Point, heading into the wind, Mike and I got a little gap on the rest of the group and continued on our own for the next 30 miles. At the 140 mile mark the clouds rolled in, the temperature dropped and the wind quit as it started to rain. Boy did the rain feel nice after being baked for the last 3 hours. Mike and I rolled along enjoying the cool weather and the scenery of the Bonaparte, Bentonsport area. We rode through this area on RAGBRAI several years back and I remember the nice river valley but also some big climbs. This would prove to be the hilliest section of the otherwise flat route.

As we headed into Keosauqua Joe was on the side of the rode and told us there was a severe storm warning for the next 30 minutes and we needed to wait it out in town. The longer then scheduled break at a nice c-store gave us time to have a nice meal and allowed Jay, Paul and Larry a chance to catch up. Jim and Doug were a little further back and rolled into town as we rolled out after a 45 minute break. This was our longest break of the day and Mike’s favorite and my least favorite. Only 30 miles until the turn around and it looked like Keosauqua would be the last re-fuel stop before the night.

As the darkness rolled in the winds had quit and were not going to be a factor for the rest of the day/night back to Eldridge. Doug re-joined us before dark but Jim was still back about an hour at the turn around. We stocked up supplies for the long night of closed stores. Larry purchased six 20 ounce Cokes. One to drink, three for his pockets and two for the bottle cages. To the left is a great picture. The overnight temperatures were mild in the upper 60’s but the humidity was very high. It was foggy in some areas and the due dripped off your arms and helmet all night long. The six of us rolled back to a closed up West Point at 11:00. Joe Jamison met us to sign our cards and offer us food and drink. He mentioned that Jim was back about 60 minutes but was still moving along. Joe said he was going to keep an eye on him and we might not see him a the next couple stops. I had plenty of food and drink so was not too concerned.

Our next stop was Morning Sun. Between West Point and Morning Sun a car pulled up next to us and asked if we needed a ride. We of course said no and they informed us that it was dangerous to be out this late because there could be drunks on the road. Somebody said something to the effect that we would be OK. I guess the driver and passenger thought this was a smart aleck response as they roared ahead of us then slammed on their brakes in the middle of the road. We split to go cautiously around the car as I took the shoulder. Larry stopped to talk to them and discovered they were not happy that they would have to go around us when there could be a car coming the other way. I think they were the drunks they were warning us about. It really turned into a non-incident but gave us something to talk about and woke us up a little. Joe was not in Morning Sun as we stopped at the closed Casey’s for a break. Nichols was our next control point.

Before Nichols we had to go through Columbus Junction. I knew there was pop machines at the grocery store that we could stop and buy pop or water to get us to Nichols. If Joe did not meet us in Nichols then Wilton would be the next chance for an open store. The pop machines were like an oasis during the night. Many bottles of water and cans or pop were purchased before we continued our journey north to Nichols.

Arriving in Nichols we still did not see Joe. We once again stopped at the Casey’s store to consume any food we were carrying. To any vehicle passing by it must have looked strange to see six cyclist, with red light flashing, sitting in front of a closed Casey’s store at 4:30 in the morning as the sun was coming up. Joe showed up 15 minutes after we did with Jim sitting in the van with him. It looked like he had decided to call it quits. As he got out of the van we asked how he was and what caused him to call it quits and he calmly said he got hit by a car. North of West Point a driver was answering a text message and ran into the back of him. Luckily Jim was OK but his rear wheel was crushed and his ride was over. Joe leap frogging and keeping an eye on us throughout the day proved really lucky otherwise I am not sure how Jim would have gotten back to Eldridge 120 miles away. He lives in the Champaign Illinois area so calling home for a ride would have been a long wait. This incident really makes you think about being out on the road with no support. Last year when I did the 600K I was 230 miles from home at the turn around. That “thrill” is what I like about unsupported rides.

The Casey’s in Wilton was open as we rolled into town shortly after 6:00 am with lightning flashing off to the south. Luckily it stayed to the south and we had smooth sailing all the way through Bennett and into Eldridge for a 8:43 finish for a total time of 26:43 with 22:15 riding time. Way to much time off the bike. Mike will tell you we did not take long enough breaks.

Food and drink for 378 miles: 3 servings Perpetuam, 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, chicken wrap, piece of cheese pizza, Payday bar, Snickers, 2 orange Sobe's, Scotch-a-roo (Rice Krispie treat with peanut butter and Chocolate frosting), 3 chicken tenders, chocolate milk, 6 Fig Newton’s, Little Debbie Creme pie, cheese stick, ham and cheese breakfast sandwich, homemade apple pastry, hammer gel, ensure and only one 12oz Mt. Dew. Also a ton of water.

Larry’s diet is always interesting and quite a contrast to mine. It just shows that diet for ultra events is very individual: 4 donuts, 2 beef jerky, 2 pieces pizza, 2 paydays, Ice cream nutty cone, Rice Krispy with chocolate on top, ham and cheese sub, few more donuts, 3 cans dew, four 24-oz cokes, around fifteen 20 ounce cokes, two 20 ounce orange juice, 2 twelve ounce kiwi-strawberry drinks and 1/2 bottle water. Other half went on head.

400K Brevet

2011-06-10T07:20:00.001-07:00

I had to drive to Waterloo Iowa to complete the 400K Brevet. This was the third qualifier in the 4 ride series that are required to ride Paris-Brest-Paris in August. My goal for this ride was to complete it in under 15 hours. That allows for a 18MPH average on the bike and 5 minutes off the bike each hour.

When I arrived there were not many cars in the parking lot that had roof racks or trunk racks attached. There was a Team Bacchatta van with four recumbents leaned against it but I saw no other traditions bikes. Not a good sign. Rain was in the forecast for the morning with sunshine in the afternoon. The wind was to be south east at 10-15 switching to south as the day progressed. The route was an out and back to the north east. Not quite ideal conditions.

As we departed I was the only ride doing the 400K. The recumbents were doing the 200K route before heading home to Florida. I had ridden with one of the riders at Sebring and Metamora in 2009 and knew he was pretty strong. At least I would have some help for the first 60 miles.

The route starts pretty flat as you head through Olwein but nearing Volga the hills start. Not a lot of hills just really long ones. It seems like every town is at the bottom of a hill. As you start the long decent into town you know there will be a long accent leaving town. This always motivates me to limit my stopping so you don't hit the hills with stiff legs. Before the first big uphill outside of Volga I was on my own and it was going to be that way for the next 11-12 hours.

I don't mind riding by myself. I have found that on long rides it is better to go the pace that feels comfortable at the moment. During a long ride you will have ups and downs and if you ride with someone the odds of you both having the same good moments it slim. The results are rider A slowing for rider B then later rider B is slowing for rider A. This is not a problem if you are not in a hurry but I rarely find myself riding without a time goal in mind so I always seem to be in a hurry. Which is not necessarily a good thing. I also don't like to stop for extended breaks. A three to five minute break is all I need. Just enough time to top off water and grab something to eat. Usually whatever I grab gets consumed on the road.

With temperatures in the mid sixties, a nice tailwind, the off and on rain was not chilly enough to need a rain coat so I pushed on towards to turn around in Desoto, WI. Besides, stopping to put on the rain coat, then stop again to take it back off when I got too hot would slow down my pace. I was trying to bank as much time as I could before I had to turn around back into the wind.

After studying the profile map I was looking forward to the 500 foot decent to the Mississippi into Lansing at the 100 mile mark. Not really looking forward to the climb back up after the turnaround but this look to be one of the longer hills I have ever seen in Iowa. Fortunately the hill was every bit that it promised to be on paper. There was not any really steep sections just long and snaking as you got closer to the river.

This was my first visit to the river town of Lansing. My first thought was why hasn't RAGBRAI ever ended here? As I rolled thought this small town I could see why it was not a viable option for 10-15 thousand visitors in one day. The town was pretty small and there was limited access from major roads.

Crossing the bridge turned into an adventure. The Lansing bridge has a steel grated deck like the Mississippi bridge between Sabula, Ia and Savannah, Il. The same bridge that is used each year on TOMRV. I have ridden across that bridge at least 15 times with no problems and was not anticipating any problems with this bridge. As I turned on the bridge and started the slight rise me back wheel spun on the wet decking and my heart jumped. The rest of the ride across the bridge was taken at 10 mph and very cautiously. Especially on the last part that was a downward grade.

After the bridge only 5 miles to Desoto and the turn around. Since I had taken a longer break (10 minutes) in Monona 30 miles before the turnaround the plan was for a quick stop (3 minutes) in DeSoto and then back to Monona for another 10 minute break. I made the turn in less then seven hours so I was over 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Basically right where I wanted to be.

The rainy climb out of the river valley took 12 minutes to complete. The only other Iowa climb I have ridden that rivals this one is the TOMVR climb as you leave the Mines of Spain south of Dubuque on Sunday morning. At least the grade is not too steep and you can get into a rhythm. After the climb the sun came out for the remainder of the ride.

I pushed it through the check points and was able to keep 15-20 minutes ahead of the pace I wanted for the rest of the ride back to Waterloo. I arrived at the finish at 8:43 PM just as it was getting dark for a total time of 14:43. 14 hours of riding and 43 minutes of stopping. The 600K on June 4th will be a little more relaxed with more riders and some longer breaks so I was glad to have an opportunity to push myself through out the ride and was happy with my fitness at this time of the season.

The Trailer for "300 Miles of Gravel"

2011-06-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

300 Miles of Gravel Trailer from Jeff Frings Photography on Vimeo.

400K Brevet Up next

2011-05-09T10:16:00.001-07:00

Since I was riding Trans Iowa at the time of the Big Dog's 400K brevet I will have to make the journey to Waterloo and complete the required brevet in the PBP series on May 21st. The timing works out well by giving me a little break after the 200 and 300K back to back weekends and then the Trans Iowa ride.

I am not looking forward to the extra hour of driving each way. The more challenging terrain and roads I have not ridden will be a nice mental boost and should make for an enjoyable adventure. The route goes to De Soto Wisconsin and back and has over 15, 000 of climbing. I would like to complete this ride in 16 hours but the weather will play a big role. The profile looks scary so we will see how I handle the hills.

Since Trans Iowa I have taken a couple weeks off and cut back the miles as a mini-recovery phase. The time off has given me a chance to work in some family commitments as well as work on my yard. Starting this week it is back to normal as I prepare for the Paris-Brest-Paris later in the summer. Last year I was riding well in May and then tapered off in June and July but this year I want to continue to build on the early season fitness level.

Trans Iowa 7 report

2011-05-01T18:50:00.001-07:00

After months of focused training, weeks of optimistically watching the weather forecast, days of frantic packing/repacking and tweaking the bike set-up, and hours of restless sleep, the time arrived for my second attempt at the epic race known as Trans Iowa. This time I had a better understanding of what I had gotten myself into but was still apprehensive about how the next 30+ hours would unfold. My goal was to finish, have a great time, push my self to the limit, lean on my faith in tough times and create some memories to last a lifetime. Mission accomplished!

The organizers strongly encourage you have a bail out plan. This would be someone staying in the start and finishing town of Grinnell that could be called to pick you up in case of a mechanical, physical or mental break down during the event. This race is not supported in any way. If you don’t have a bailout plan you are on your own. I was flying without a net because quitting was not an option. Last year I headed back to Grinnell on 40 miles of pavement knowing I would not make the next checkpoint. If I would have kept riding they would have stopped me 30 miles later and I would have been a finisher instead of a quitter. That was not going to happen this year. I was not stopping until I reach the finish line or somebody pulled me off the bike. My plan was that each time I wanted to quit I would say a quick prayer asking for the strength to continue. There would be times I was “tossing them up” quite regularly.

The race starts at 4:00 am and is located 3 miles from the hotel I was staying in. At 3:30 I rolled out of the hotel towards the start. It was 45 degrees, nice breeze out of the south and foggy. Almost a repeat of last years except there was no rain in the forecast. Temperatures were forecasted to be mid to upper 50’s, sunny and breezy out of the west. The night before we received the cue sheets to the first checkpoint 53 miles into the race in the town of Baxter. We would be going into the wind right away.

The opening pace over the slimy roads was controlled for the first hour and I was not having any problems hanging on. My plan was to stick with the lead group as long as I could and build a time cushion for cut-offs. I did not want to blowup so I would have to keep the ego in check and make sure I knew when to let them go. I had no aspirations of competing in this event just completing. Our first mud road came at the 12.5 mile mark. There was some navigation confusion already because the cue sheet said we had a left turn at mile 13 on 110th street and the intersection was 108th street. The group consensus was to continue on the mud road looking for 110th. This mile long mud road was not rideable so walking in the ditch was the only option. This would have made a really neat video with 40-50 red lights, single file, snaking through the pre-dawn darkness in the middle of no where. Looking the other directions would have shown the line of head lights. Once off mud we continued for about a mile before realizing we should have turned left BEFORE the mud road. 30 minutes of lost time. By the time we got back to the mud road the last riders we just finishing the section. Like lemmings everybody followed the leader. This would be costly for the over 30 riders not making the first time cut-off at 9:15.

30 miles into the race as the steepness of the hills increased along with the headwind I found myself drifting off the back. At this point I settled into a comfortable pace and was ready to be on my own for the rest of the ride if needed. A few miles later I was passed by Eric Brundt. We were soon joined by a few other riders including Jeremy Fry of Cedar Falls. Jeremy and I played leap frog last year during TI, rode last years moonlight madness ride in Iowa City, and completed a 200K together this year and last. I knew we were pretty even in strength so we would prove to be great riding partners for the next 30 hours. Our little group rolled into the first checkpoint in Baxter with 45 minutes to spare.

On long rides I like to minimize stopping by running through my stopping strategy in my head before I get there. I compare it to a pit stop in Nascar. Anybody that has ridden with me knows I am a splash-and-dash guy. My chain was screaming under pressure and skipping in most gears so working on the drive train was the first priority. We knew the next checkpoint was 120 miles away with the town of Norway noted on our cue sheets 115 miles away. I had plenty of food so water and bathroom break were the second priority. I filled up a the grocery store and was ready to go. Eight of us rolled out together for the next section of this great adventure. The race was now a ride. The wind was at our back, the roads were dry, the sun was shining, we had a nice group, so this was going to be a great section.

The second section had the most level B roads of the event. There was a stretch of road that it felt like every other mile was mud. The first couple were rideable then the mud just keep getting worse. At least they were flat and had good ditches for walking. As I walked I was able to eat a little and give my butt a break. One of the last mud section had a pretty flat ditch with tall grass and I was debating whether to try riding in the grass instead of walking. Just then a couple riders from a different group passed us riding in the grass. They were moving a little faster then us but it was rough going and they seemed to be using quite a bit of energy to keep moving. Before they reached the end of the mud road they had pulled over and we were overtaking them again. As we passed them we noticed that one of them had ripped his derailleur off his bike. The tall grass had gotten tangle in the chain and just pulled it right out of the hanger bracket. They were all going to call it quits and said they would be drinking beer before us. After that the walk or ride decision was easy. I seemed to be the slowest of our group on the mud sections. I had the widest tires and the least amount of mud clearance. I have a head light bracket mounted with the front brake that sits pretty close to the tire as well. It did not take much mud to force me to get out my tire lever and dig the mud away from the brake so I could continue pushing the bike. If there was no place to walk you had to carry your bike and with the mud plus the rack on the back full of clothing and food it was not the lightest.

Before the second checkpoint we hit two convenience stores. When I say we “hit” them that is what I mean. It was like piranha's and a feeding frenzy. Pizza slices, sandwich wraps, sub sandwiches, Gatorade, candy bars, cookies were flying off the shelves. Riders were eating plus stocking up. The store clerks are probably still telling stories about the starving, mud splattered, riders that overtook the store. At the Norway store I thought I would take care of some thing on the bike and give the line at the check out time to go down. Bad idea as all the real food, pizza and sandwiches, were gone and I was stuck with a Rice Krispy treat.

The eight of us arrived at the second check point as the sun was setting. It was 8:15 and we made the cutoff by 1:45. We were only halfway done with what had already been a really long day. Thoughts of how was I going to be able to ride for another 16 hours staring creeping into my head. The mind was now battling the flesh. The flesh says this is way too hard and you should quit. The mind says you knew this was going to be hard but this is what you want to do. This was the first of many me vs. me battles that would take place in the next 16 hours.

The hours before sunset our plan for our little group was to stay together and have numbers on our side through the night. With extra eyes to check for turns and review cue sheets this seemed like a pretty good strategy. The only draw back to that strategy is there are more stops and each stop takes longer. By midnight we had only covered 27 miles in the last four hours. We did have a really nasty mud road that provided little places to walk and two flat tires but still our forward progress was slow at best.

The darkness provided some interesting sections of road. The first was a bridge that was out. This was a wooden blanked bridge that was missing about three feet of planking on each end of the bridge. Once the road closed signs were successfully navigated you had to carry your bike and tight rope the 3” wide beam to cross the three foot gap. This process was repeated at the opposite end. The second “adventure” was a left on 78th street. A half mile before 78th St. was 78th St. Dr. We did not notice the “DR” on the sign so we turned left. The road was a level “C” road. These roads are gated and the farmers have taken them over. We were able to walk in the field next to the road and once at the other end realized we had made the wrong turn. There were enough mud roads on this course but now we had added two extras. Unfortunately for me there would be one more before I hit Grinnell.

The killing of the Easter Bunny at 11:00 PM by an owl, a 1:30 AM stop in Belle Plaine for water at the bar and a 4:00 AM discussion on whether to head towards a sign that looked like a Kum-n-Go a couple miles off the route were the only other eventful things that happened prior to the sun coming up at 6:00 AM. That is if you don’t count the endless hills and a few more missed turns as eventful.

We were headed towards a water tower as the sun was rising. As we got closer the words North English could be made out. Three of our group of eight had gotten a little gap on us and did not realize the gold mine that was in North English. A Casey’s store and they opened at 6:00 AM. Jeremy, Charlie, Jonathan, Mike and I took the opportunity for a breakfast stop and re-fuel before the final 65 mile push to Grinnell.

The hills continued to be relentless but the road surface was dry, fast, hard packed clay. If we had gotten any rain during the race this section would have been a nightmare. At one point someone looked back and noticed there were riders approaching in the distance. Jonathan picked it up a notch and I went with him. We thought we would keep the pace up to try to hold off the upcoming riders. We moved along pretty quickly for 4-5 miles on 100th St. Looking for a left on 500th Ave. We passed 520th, then 510th then took the next left for one mile before making a right on 90th street. Reaching 90th street we saw a road closed sign and the behind it the worst level B road you could imagine. They were in the process of digging the mud out of the ditches and building up the road. That meant there were no ditches to walk in. We looked for a re-route flag but did not see one. We checked to make sure this was 90th street and it was. Not 90th Dr. or Ave. just plain 90th street. Onward we pushed. We had to cross a little ravine and then over a barbed wire fence to get to a field to parallel the road. One mile later we were back on gravel. Up ahead we saw riders that had passed us by going around this road. That wasn’t fair we had to go on the road how come they didn’t. We found out later we turned on 505th St a half a mile too early.

Just down the road we stumble upon Jeremy and Charlie fixing Charlie's flat rear tire. Jonathan had the only tire lever that was able to get the tire off back on with out breaking so it was a good thing we took our detour or I am not sure they would have gotten the flat fixed. After the repair Jonathan pushed ahead and Jeremy, Charlie and I rode in together. It was demoralizing to see the hotel my van was park by and still have 10 miles until the finish. There were a few hills around Grinnell we did not hit on the way out of town and they wanted to make sure and include them before we finished. Left to right Charlie, Jeremy and me.

Finishing did not have the emotion I thought it would. I am not sure if I was just too tired or maybe it was because I was trying to hurry to make it home before my youngest Caleb headed back to college after the weekend at home. I only stuck around a couple minutes before riding the three miles back to the hotel. There was a pit stop on the way to the hotel at Taco Bell for some lunch. Before the tough drive home.

People seem to be amazed/impressed that I accomplished this feat. I am just a average guy who likes to ride my bike. I am not a super gifted athlete and never have been but I have chosen to use the talent God gave me to the fullest. Long distance cycling gives me a chance for solitude and an opportunity to enjoy His creation. When viewing a gorgeous sunrise, a picturesque sunset or climbing to the top of a hill overlooking a sundrenched valley it is easy to see there is a creator and all this is not by chance. On your next ride take a look around and you will know what I mean.

Trans Iowa V7 off the Bucket List

2011-04-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

I am not in this picture but thought it showed how the riders looked early on in the race.

Well this time the weather did not kick my butt. The endless rolling Iowa hills and the too numerous to count mud roads did but I kicked it right back and in the end I came out on top. As a note to self I will not be giving TI the chance to break the tie.

Just a quick update then I will post pictures and the whole story later this week.

I tossed and turned all night stressing about every little thing from food, hydration, clothing, the bike you name it popped into my head. You know you are over stressed when you try to think about work just to calm you down. The race started pretty controlled as I rolled along with the lead group of about 40. The gravel was soupy from Friday's rain so the gravel slime was flying. No sense in wearing glasses. After just a few miles you could not find a clean area on your gloves or shirt to wipe the grit out of your eyes. Stayed with the group for 30 miles when the tempo up the hills started to catch up with me. Backed it off and rode with a couple other guys to check point 1, after 53 miles, at around 8:30 am with 45 minutes to spare. 8 of us rolled out together and stay as a group to the next check point at 8:15 pm after 177 miles total miles, 1:45 ahead of the cut-off. After that the speed dropped and it would take over 17 hours to cover the next 150 miles of the course. The nasty mud roads really slow you down. Three riders pushed on while 5 of us from the group stopped for breakfast at 6:00 am at the Casey's in North English and then the push to Grinnell for a 1:25 pm finish. 14th of the 18 finishers with a total time of 33:25.
The route went from Grinnell, Baxter, Montour, Treir, Dysert, Norway, Belle Plain, North English, Banes City and then Grinnell. Click here to view the map. There were a few other little towns along the way that I did not see the name and they were so small if you blinked you missed them, even on a bike. Go to http://www.g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/ for updates and some audio feeds from the race.

Trans Iowa Revenge

2011-04-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will be getting up at 3:00 am to head for the 4:00 am start of the Trans Iowa 7. For those unaware of this event it is a 320ish mile gravel and dirt road race in central Iowa starting and ending in Grinnell. The rest of the route will not be revealed until Friday night and then they only reveal the first 53 miles to check point number 1. If you arrive by the cut-off time you get the cue sheets to the next checkpoint at mile 177. Arriving at the second check point by the cut-off time gets you the cue sheets for the rest of the route. The overall time cut-off is 34 hours. If at anytime you decide to quit you are on your own to find a ride back to Grinnell.

This has to be one of the harder races in the Midwest. If the miles don't get you the lack of support and not knowing where the next re-fueling stop is located will. For some great reading go to http://www.g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/. You can read stories about the past races and somewhere you can get a link to radio broadcasts. Monday or Tuesday I will post the story and hopefully some pictures.

Wish me luck.

Pictures from the 300K Brevet

2011-04-20T18:51:00.001-07:00

Mike Doyle, Jim Yost, Larry Ide, Joe Mann, Jay Yost, Paul Carpenter, Doug McLerran, Matt Levy

Larry’s usual diet Paul looks good in my vest. Even after RAAM still taking care of him

PBP Brevet Series

2011-04-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

The Big Dog's, out of the Quad Cities, are once again hosting a Paris-Brest-Paris (or PBP) Brevet series. The series consists of a 200K, 300K, 400K and 600K and when completed qualifies the rider for entry into the 2011 addition of the historic ride. The series runs from early April to early June. RUSA is the governing body of the Brevets held through-out the country.

What is a Brevet compared to a race? This RUSA web page defines Brevet and Randonneur pretty well. Brevet's are not a race, the time cutoff is close to 10 mph. There are no awards for first place, all finishers are treated equally and usually the results are posted alphabetically. During a brevet if your riding partner has a mechanical problem or wish to take a "nature" break, add or shed a jacket then you stop and wait. If someone is struggling you let them draft and maybe back the pace off a little. You don't see that during a race. Don't get me wrong there are "racers" who enter brevet's and cannot resist the temptation to push the pace. Many times they will pay for it down the road especially during the 400 and 600K.

The 200K on April 2nd had 23 finishers from all over the Midwest. See results. Fellow Melon City Bike Club members Mike Doyle and Joe Wies joined me for the 6:00 am start in Eldridge Iowa. Mike has done a couple of brevet's in past years but this was Joe's first. We rolled out into the pre-dawn morning with a nice group of 11 of us. The route head west to Bennett, south to Wilton, the west to Nichols. The wind was gently blowing out of the NE so the wind would not be much of a factor. The pace was more controlled then any brevet I have ever done. We rolled along in a nice double pace line chatting as the miles rolled by. It was a mini RAAM reunion with Paul Carpenter and Jay Yost. Paul was a rider last year and Jay and I were on his support crew. It was good to catch up on how life and cycling had been treating them. Larry Ide (crazy Larry) was also in the group. I have ridden several long rides with Larry over the years and it is always nice to have him along. Fellow Trans Iowa participant Jeremy Frye was also out getting some training miles in for the big ride on April 23. The ride went without a hitch until 5 miles after the turnaround on highway 70 between the Nichols turn and F70. This stretch of road is pretty beat up and it looks like they tried to fix it by putting a thin layer over the top. That layer did not stick. With the variations in the surface color it is hard to notice pot holes. The 11 of us were riding two abreast when a pot hole snuck up on us. As the leaders tried to dodge the hole the riders behind were scrambling/panicking. this resulted in the back riders running into the riders in front of them. Two riders got tangled and one went down. As we slowed and circled back to survey the damage I hoped it was not Mike of Joe. It was both of them. Joe went down and Mike got ran into. It looked like Mike's rear skewer met Joe's front spokes and Joe's front skewer met Mike's rear spokes. The result was a really bent spoke for Joe and a broken spoke for Mike. Joe also had a nice scrap on his knee. We were able to fix Joe's but not Mike's wheel. We managed to get the wheel to stop rubbing the brakes but was really close to the frame. As we neared Muscatine Mike decided it was not worth risking ruining his frame so he headed home.

Shortly after saying good-bye to Mike we started working our way into the looming northeast breeze tha thad picked up as the day progressed. The first stretch was pretty protected but the two undulating sections from Wilton to Bennett were wide open. Keeping a group together in a cross wind is hard enough, but toss in a few rollers and it soon becomes "everyman for himself" trying to stay in the draft. Our shrunken lead group of five rolled into Bennett with a huge sigh of relief knowing the last 26 miles would be all tailwind. At this point I decided to wait for Joe and the rest of the shattered group before heading out. The last section was at a nice conversational pace and a great way to end a ride.

Total time was just under 8 hours with waaayyy to much time off the bike. Next up the 300K brevet as the last training ride before Trans Iowa.

Spring Riding

2011-03-20T16:36:00.001-07:00

Who looks forward to the sunny warm weather riding more? The riders who have been stuck inside all winter staring at the wall wishing they were outside. Or the riders who have been outside freezing their tails off since November and are getting tired of it.

My wife is a fair weather rider. A really fair weather rider. If it is below 60 she does not want to ride outside. She will run outside sparingly at 40 degrees but not even think about riding. On the rare occasion that she does ride outside she really overdresses because she HATES to be cold. Her overdressing saves us in cold weather attire because what she wears are 50-60 I wear at 30-40. So she can just wear my stuff.

The un-seasonably warm weather this week brought many summer time riders outside. In addition the riverfront trail was full of walkers, joggers, mom’s pushing strollers, and people walking dogs. This was a stark contrast to last Sunday’s gloomy and cool day when people were hunkered down wondering when spring would get here.

Wednesday night the Melon City Bike Club had the first dinner ride of the year. These rides have been a first and third Wednesday night staple of the club for close to 10 years. The normal format is to ride 15-25 miles to a restaurant in a small town and then shuttle back. To start the season this ride was out and back with dinner taking place at a local bar called Wine Nuts. The “dinner” consisted of pizza delivered from another local establishment called Salvatore's. It was nice to have the food ready to eat as soon as we got done riding and the bar has a wide variety of vines and beers.

36 riders showed up at the riverfront for the ride. Around 15 more friends and family showed up to join in the festivities. What a great way to start the riding season. The tough part will be the few chilly days that the weather man will throw our way just to make the nice warm days seem that much more warmer.

As summer draws near there are more phone calls for riding partners. There are also more chances to get out and ride with Connie. She joined me for two rides this week. Wednesday for the dinner ride and today (Sunday) for a 26 miles ride. She shocked me today wanting to ride because her legs were still sore from an eight mile run on Saturday. She even picked the direction to go and choose a very hilly route. We headed out around 2:00 as the temperatures reached 60 degrees with the sun shining. As usual she was over dressed with a vest, tights, sleeves and shoe covers. She took off the shoe covers and the vest before we left, the tights 4 miles later and the sleeves after 10 miles. In her defense the forecast was for upper 60’s but it was 75 by the time we got done. What a great surprise. This was the second Sunday in a row the weather man was wrong. This time it was finally in our favor.

I am always thankful that one of my riding partners is Connie. I am even more thankful that when she rides it is not just tooling along. Today, being only her second outdoor ride, she pushed it up the hills pretty well. In the windy sections she was doing her share of pulling. With the boys off at college we will be able to enjoy many evenings and afternoons riding together this srping. We will miss the tennis meets and soccer games that we attended while the boys were in high school but riding together beats them all. Once in a while if we are lucky we can get both boys to ride as well.

CIRREM Gravel Road Race 2011

2011-02-28T18:41:00.001-08:00

On Saturday the 26th I entered the third annual CIRREM gravel road race held in Cumming Iowa (10 miles south of Des Moines).The 64 mile race is put on by Des Moines area cyclists who three years ago organized a group ride as motivation for some cold weather training This year saw 80 riders pre-registered with another 30 race day entrants.

I have been eye-balling this race for a couple weeks as training for April’s Trans Iowa. With 7 weeks to go it is time to ramp up the training intensity and start to focus on hill climbing. As the day approached the weather forecast looked pretty good with temperatures in the low 30’s and no snow or rain. Mid-week we got about 3 inches of snow but it missed the Des Moines area and the forecast temperatures was still in the mid 30’s. Earlier in the week, before our snow, our gravel roads were in great shape so I figured the race course would be dry and fast. Friday night saw 2 inches of new snow and colder temperatures for the race. I tend to stress about rides like this as I over think every little detail. What tires to run, what to carry to eat/drink, what to wear, will I stop at the sag stop. Every time the forecast changed my strategy would change. This was a 4 to 5 hour training ride and not that important for my season. For Trans Iowa my mind will really be in overdrive.

Leaving Muscatine at 6:30 a.m. we headed west for a 9:00 arrival in Cumming and a start time of 10:00. With temperature in the upper teens my main concern was keeping the water from freezing during the 4-5 hour ride. I had two insulated bottles filled with warm water, one was Perpetuam. I also was trying a Camelbak under my jacket. I had some Power Gel bites along as an extra fuel source that would be easy to eat on the move. I was worried I might be a little under dressed and hoped the harder pace would generate enough heat to get me by and it did.

After the start Connie was headed to Des Moines for some shopping and to meet Chris for lunch. They were going to meet me back at the Cummings Tap after 5 hours or earlier if I called. The pace was pretty social as we rolled out. We even stopped at one corner for a nature break. It was interesting after an hour it seemed like we rolled though the feed zone. Riders started digging in there pockets for gels, bars and thawed water bottles. The challenge was completing this simple task with lobster gloves on your hands. More then one gel ended on the ground.

Our front group of 30 hit some serious hills around mile 20 and the group began to thin out. The hills were endless and after the 4th or 5th serious roller I was one of the casualties. During a brief reprieve a handful of us were able to get back on the tail of the group.

Near the 25 mile mark we had a long gradual downhill. Partway down the hill a rider on the far left of the road hit a rut that launched him and his bike sideways through the middle of the group. I was behind him and had to move clear to one side to avoid the carnage. Total three rides hit the deck. Once we got to the bottom of the hill we stopped to wait for everyone to re-group. When was the last time you saw that during a road race? A few miles later I was off the back again for good.

My plan was to ride non-stop so I rolled through the sag stop at the 30 miles mark. 1:57 was my time at that point. That is less then 15 mph average. I was comfortable with the fact I was going to be on my own the rest of the race. I caught a few riders, got caught by a few, but basically was on my own. Just past the sag stop both my water bottles were frozen beyond use. I could not even unscrew the caps to get the liquid out. Getting my Camelbak nozzle out from inside my coat, while moving down the road, proved impossible wearing my heavy gloves so I decided to pull over. I also needed to remove my goggles because they kept freezing over and I was tired of scrapping the ice off them to read the cue sheet. My heart sank as I grabbed the nozzle that would supply the only water I would have for the next two hours only to find it frozen solid.

Around mile 45 I was passed on a climb. A couple miles later I was feeling pretty good and decided to use the rider ahead as a rabbit. I picked up the pace and kept my mind focused on the chase. By mile 58 I caught up with him. At the pace we were going there is not much benefit to drafting but misery loves company. With all the hills it is easier to ride your own pace. A few miles later it was obvious his uphill pace was more then mine and I was on my own again for the last 5 miles of the race.

I really had no goals for this race other then a really good workout. Not drinking or eating enough had it’s effect on how I felt finishing. The last 4 miles seemed to take forever as I counted down each mile. It was nice to finally see the finish after 4:34 of riding. I was pleasantly surprised to find out I finished in 12th place.

This is the third type of in-formal gravel road ride I have entered. Very low key with the focus on the social event before and after the ride. Each race has had less then ideal riding conditions but I have come away really enjoying the day. Next time I need to stick around longer to partake in the post-race activities and get to know more of the riders.

CIRREM Stats

2011-02-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

My write up will come later today. Here is a link to the Garmin stats of an ISU student who was on the back of the winning tandem. I have also added a few write ups.

Results
Guitar Ted
Cycling Obsession
Rest Stop Pictures

Cast of Characters

2011-02-16T10:07:00.001-08:00

With the warmer weather the area saw last week I was able to get a nice ride in with a group for a change. For some reason this off-season many of the locals have been hiding instead of riding. Cylcling is always more fun if you are surronded by a cast of characters. Meet the group I spend quite a bit of time with.

Greg Harper has always been up for a few winter time rides but this year his calender seems to be a little busier. He runs the roller races in Eastern Iowa and that keeps him traveling most weekends. Thankfully those are almost over. A few winter-time get aways south of the border have kept him busy as well. He just added a cross bike to his collection and has been out a few times. Hopefully that will continue this spring.

Mike Doyle(Doyley) has been the closest to a regular riding partner I have had this off-season. He just got a new cross bike around the first of the year so he has been eager to explore the gravel roads with me. His work schedule has been a little crazy so he has been hit and miss as well. The earlier in the season I can get him out the better chance I have of talking him into some crazy long spring rides. He is so gullible!

Bill Ford (Wiford) dropped off the face of the earth in September. Until this year he has been the rock steady guy to get out with in the winter. It was nice to see him re-surface to join us on Sunday's ride. The rides are always a little more intense when Bill is along. His motto is "every ride is a race" and "every stop ahead sign or city limits sign is a sprint". Don't invite Bill on a tail wind ride. His idea of enjoying the tailwind is to see how fast he can go the entire time. He is great to have along as a horse in the headwind though.

Jon Sulzberger (Jonnie) had a really strong fall and joined me on cross bikes early in the winter. You never know if he is going to show up. He will call thirty minutes before a ride to ask if anybody is riding and not know for sure if he is going to ride. Last year for the ride out to RAGBRAI an hour before we were leaving for a three day trip he was not sure yet. He did not go with us. Hopefully we can rope him into this years ride out.

Bill Harper (Billy) has not taken the cyclo-cross bike plunge yet. A couple of really dusty gravel road rides in the fall ruined his taste (literally) for the gravel. He teaches a spin class on Sunday mornings so that screws up early Sunday rides. He will be a steady participant as the spring approaches. Last year he rode out to RAGBRAI with us and had a great time. I think I can get him on a few more crazy adventures this year.

Chad Bishop is the proto-typical racer type of the group. Put Chad and Wiford together on the same ride and hold on for dear life as the testosterone is thick. I am trying to teach him the meaning of a base building ride. He did a pretty good on Sunday keep the pace down. Chad want to work on building his endurance so hopefully I can get him on some longer (3-5 hour) rides this spring.

I have the fortune of riding many miles each year with my wife Connie. She is definitely a far weather rider. Once the weather warms up she is out in full force. Monday nights are her riding night and once in a while I can convince her to come out and play on a Tuesday night ride. When she does join us she can hold her own. She really likes the longer weekend group rides for the social aspect. She

Trash talking is always part of any group ride. On this weekends ride Wiford shows up, pats Doyley on the stomach and says"now I don't feel so bad". Greg was way over dresses. There is a lady who rides with us on accasions and she is always overdresses. I told Greg he looked like her. Let the season begin!!

Spring is Around the Corner?

2011-02-06T07:54:00.001-08:00

With only six weeks of winter left it still feels like it will never get here. The 16 inches of snow that fell/blew this weeks only reinforces that feeling. I have ridden more miles outside this off season then any other still I yearn for a ride that I can sweat from a hard effort on a warm day instead of from being over dressed. Or to feel the wind cool me on a 40 mph decent instead of freezing me to the core. Getting motivated to spend 30 minutes getting dressed, 20 minutes getting undressed and several hours getting warmed back up gets harder each ride. Now that I am done complaining I will switch to some brighter subjects.

The last two days the sun has shined while I was riding. Last week the weather man said we had 50 out of lasts 60 days that were cloudy or mostly cloudy. It was really nice to look back and see my shadow following you as I passed huge piles of snow on the local gravel roads. Just having the warm sunshine while riding always makes the ride more enjoyable.

I am fortunate to live outside of town so I don’t have to deal with the slushy city streets every time I venture out to ride. My housing addition has been a little messy but that is only half a mile from the highway that has a clear dry paved shoulder for riding. From there I have many gravel roads and county paved roads to choose from. The county has done a great job keeping these clear after the big storm. For the most part the snow has melted and the roads are just a bed of frozen gravel. That makes for fast riding conditions.

Since the housing additions has been snow packed most of the year the cyclo-cross bike has been the ride of choice. Of the 17 outdoor rides this year only three have been on my road bike. Outdoor miles have ranged from 97 to 12 with most falling in the 30-35 mile range. Two to three hours of riding in the below freezing temperatures is all I care to ride. Besides the normal water bottles spouts are usually frozen enough that you can’t drink from them after an hour. During the summer I don’t like to use the insulated bottles because they don’t hold as much water and are too hard to squeeze. During below freezing rides filling them with hot water is the best way to ensure you have something to drink longer then an hour. With temperatures in the upper 20’s it takes about two hours for an insulated bottle to freeze beyond use.

Since the first big event of the year will be the Trans Iowa(TI) on my cyclo-cross bike getting big miles on that bike has been a training objective. Eleven weeks from today (Easter Weekend) I hope to be sitting here writing my story about what an awesome adventure TI was and how I can’t wait for next year. In a few weeks I will ramp up the intensity of my rides by adding some hill repeats and increasing my weekly long rides. If you have ridden many gravel roads you know they tend to be a little hillier. The big hills are also steeper and add in some gravel for poor traction and the going gets pretty tough.

This is the Mapmyride route for one of my planned training routes. Both big climbs are on gravel and the second one, at the 12 mile mark, is very tough. I have ridden it four times. Twice I had to walk. One of those times was in the snow and they had not plowed it. Between the 14 and 16 mile mark are a series of rolling hills. On one of the hills I managed a max speed of 36 on the cyclo-cross bike. That is a little scary on gravel.

Another training route will be the hills up the bluff off highway 22 east of Muscatine. In a 10 miles stretch of highway 22 if you go north there are four paved climbs and three gravel climbs. It will be interesting to wear Connie’s GPS on that route and see what percent grades they are.

For the next couple weeks, prior to increasing the intensity, the plan is to increase the miles each week with the focus being the long rides on the weekends. Hopefully the temperatures will start to increase and there will be some group rides to add a little more fun to the rides and get me motivated.

Total miles Year to date: 992

Mileage goal Year to date: 944

Outdoor miles: 610

Indoor miles 382

Weekly average: 193

More Cold Weather

2011-01-18T18:07:00.001-08:00

As winter continues its firm grip on the mid-west riding outside becomes a mental challenge. I have always thought that you do not have to be tough to ride outside in the cold. You have to be tough to take the first step outside to ride. I have all the clothes I need to keep me pretty warm during a chilly ride. After a couple days of riding in the sub-freezing temperatures it is hard to get the motivation to spend the 20-30 minutes getting everything out and dressed for the actual ride. By contrast it only takes 2-3 minutes to be dressed and riding the trainer in the 70 degree basement.

For this winter I would like to keep my outside miles above my inside miles. That would be pretty easy if I just quit riding inside but I have mileage goals to meet each week so I don’t turn into a slacker. The goal for the month is 785 miles and so far I am just a little ahead of schedule.

Weekly Miles: 210 miles (118 outside,92 inside)

Monday: 10 miles easy on rollers

Tuesday: 46 miles indoors

Wednesday: 20 miles easy on Velodyne

Thursday: 16 miles medium on Velodyne

Friday: 30 miles outside at medium tempo

Saturday: 38 miles cross bike on Gravel with Mike

Sunday: 43 miles cross bike on gravel

Sunday: 7 miles easy indoors

Winter Riding Clothing Tips

2011-01-09T08:39:00.001-08:00

This time of year is tough for a cyclist in the frigid snow belt of the US. It seems like I have been bundling up to ride outside for a very long time and the warmth of spring is still a ways off. The days are slowly starting to get long and that is always welcome. I don’t hate riding indoors but I don’t seem to be as motivated to doing the mind numbing workouts like I used to. I have been cycling seriously for 22 years and have learned a few tricks to cold weather riding survival.

Keep your feet warm: In a previous post I talked about the toasty winter riding boots I use. These boats combined with the carbon activated hand warmers keep my feet toasty and allow for longer rides in the bitter cold without the discomfort of frozen toes.

Warm Hands: Keeping my hands warm is the next priority. Like your feet these are very delicate areas that are just sitting in place therefore do not create there own warming factor. Unlike feet the hands can get too warm, start to sweat and then get cold. Because of that factor I have an “arsenal” of gloves to choose from. Below is a table of what I wear and the corresponding temperatures.

Type	Temperature Range
Nothing	Above 70
Cycling Gloves	60 - 70
Cycling gloves and windproof shell	50 - 60
Long finger gloves	50 - 60
Long finger gloves and windproof shell	40 - 50
Thick gloves	30 - 40
Lobster gloves	below 30

You will notice there is some overlap. On long rides the temperature can change 20-30 degrees, warmer or colder, as you ride. During those rides I cannot carry all the gloves I will need. That is where the windproof shell comes in very handy. To look at these gloves you would not think they would be very warm. If you can keep the wind off your hands it is amazing how much warmer they are. They are easy to store in your pocket or bike bag and allow quite a bit of flexibility. During late afternoon rides in the spring and fall I will likely have these gloves in my pocket. In addition most wind proof gloves are also water proof. That does not mean wearing them while riding in the rain will keep your hands 100% dry but it sure helps. There are several brand of windproof gloves on the market. Make sure if you buy a pair that they fit over your cycling gloves. I very rarely, if ever wear mine by themselves.

Ian Henriksen, Eric Henriksen, Bret McGreer, Jon Sulzberger, Greg Harper, Me

Bike club New Year’s Day Ride

One of my latest “discoveries” had been riding with ski goggles. I started this last year in an attempt to keep my cheeks warm. The cheeks are a hard part of the face to keep warm. If you pull your balaclava up too far it covers the nose and fogs your glasses. Goggles not only keep me cheeks warm they also don’t fog up the instant you stop at an intersection. Busy intersections are not a good time to have your vision impaired. If the temperature is 30 degrees or below I am wearing goggles. You can buy a pair at most sporting goods stores for as little as $20 or as much as $100. Mine cost $19.99. Make sure they are anti-fog and have good padding where they sit against your face. The anti-fog lenses are actually two lenses with an air pocket in between. As you can see in the above picture goggles were popular on this 14 degree windy day. The rider second from the left actually ending up wearing goggles as well.

Don’t let the cold temperatures force you inside all winter. With some smart options you can venture outside even on the coldest days. Winter gear is a great investment. It will not get used very often so it should last for many years.

Weelkly Miles: 200.29

Monday - 25 easy around town on Cyclo-cross bike

Tuesday - 40 on velodyne doing various intervals with Doyley

Wednesday - 28 road bike out F70

Thursday - 36.2 Cyclo-cross bike with Greg on his B-day

Saturday - 30 easy on Velodyne

Sunday - 51 on raod bike F70, Nichols, Conesville and G28

Winter and Nutrition: Fueling for Cold Weather Exercise

2011-01-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

By Nancy Clark For Active.com
Some athletes embrace winter's chill as a welcome change from exercising in summer's heat. But others complain about hating cold weather.

If that's your stance, remember that exercising with proper nutrition (and layers of dry clothing) offers the opportunity to chase away the chills. After all, an aerobic workout can increase your metabolism by 7-10 times above the resting level. This means that if you were to exercise hard for an hour and dissipate no heat, you could raise your body temperature from 98.6 to 140 degrees F. (You'd cook yourself in the process!)

In the summer, your body sweats heavily to dissipate this heat. But in the winter, the warmth helps you survive in a cold environment. Runners can enjoy a tropical environment in their running suit within minutes of starting exercise. Because food provides the fuel needed to generate this heat, the right sports diet is particularly important for skiers, skaters, runners and other athletes who are exposed to extreme cold.

This article addresses some common questions and concerns about winter and nutrition and offers tips to help you enjoy the season.

For safety's sake, winter athletes should always carry with them some source of fuel in case of an unexpected slip on the ice or other incident that leaves them static in a frigid environment. Winter campers, for example, commonly keep a supply of dried fruit, chocolate or cookies near by for fuel if they wake up cold in the middle of the night. You want to have an emergency energy bar tucked in your pocket, just in case.

Why do I feel hungrier in the winter than in the summer?

A drop in body temperature stimulates the appetite and you experience hunger. Hence, if you become chilled during winter exercise (or when swimming at any time of year, for that matter), you'll likely find yourself searching for food.

Eating "stokes the furnace," generates heat, and helps warm your body. Food's overall warming effect is known as thermogenesis (that is, "heat making"). Thirty to 60 minutes after you eat, your body generates about 10 percent more heat than when you have an empty stomach.
This increased metabolism stems primarily from energy released during digestion. Hence, eating not only provides fuel but also increases heat production (warmth).

Do I burn more calories when I exercise in the cold?

Cold weather itself does not increase calorie needs. You don't burn extra calories unless your body temperature drops and you start to shiver. (And remember: The weather can actually be tropical inside your exercise outfit.) Your body does use a considerable amount of energy to warm and humidify the air you breathe when you exercise in the cold.

For example, if you were to burn 600 calories while cross-country skiing for an hour in 0-degree F weather, you may use about 23 percent of those calories to warm the inspired air. In summer, you would have dissipated this heat via sweat. In winter, you sweat less.

If you are wearing a lot of winter gear, you will burn a few more calories to carry the extra weight of layers of clothes, or skis, boots, heavy parka, snow shoes, etc. The Army allows 10 percent more calories for the heavily clad troops who exercise in the cold. But the weight of extra clothing on, let's say, winter runners, is generally minimal.

Why do I find myself shivering when I get cold?

Shivering is involuntary muscle tensing that generates heat and offers a warming effect. When you first become slightly chilled (such as when watching a football game outdoors), you'll find yourself doing an isometric type of muscle tensing that can increase your metabolic rate two to four times.

As you get further chilled, you'll find yourself hopping from foot to foot and jumping around. This is Nature's way to get you to generate heat and warm your body. If you become so cold that you start to shiver, these vigorous muscular contractions generate lots of heat - perhaps 400 calories per hour.

Such intense shivering quickly depletes your muscle glycogen stores and drains your energy. This is when you'll be glad you have some emergency food in your pocket!

What's a big nutritional mistake winter athletes make?

Failing to drink enough fluids is a major problem among winter athletes--hockey players, skiers, runners and winter hikers alike. Cold blunts the thirst mechanism; you'll feel less thirsty despite significant sweat loss (if you overdress), to say nothing of respiratory fluid loss.

That is, winter athletes need to consciously consume fluids to replace the water that gets lost via breathing. When you breathe in cold, dry air, your body warms and humidifies that air. As you exhale, you lose significant amounts of water.

Some winter athletes purposefully skimp on fluids because urinating can be problematic--too much hassle to shed layers of clothing (ski suit, hockey gear, snow pants, etc.) Yet, dehydration hurts performance and is one cause of failed mountaineering adventures.

What's best to eat to warm myself up?

If you become chilled by the winter weather, as can easily happen if you:
Wear sweaty, wet clothing that drains body heat
Fail to wear a hat (30 to 40 percent of body heat can get lost through the head)
Drink icy water (from a water bottle kept on your bike or outside pocket of your backpack when winter hiking)

The best way to warm yourself up is to consume warm carbohydrates--hot cocoa, mulled cider, steaming soup, as well as oatmeal, chili, or pasta. The warm food, added to the thermogenic effect of eating, contributes to rapid recovery.

In comparison, cold foods and fluids chill your body. Research subjects who ate a big bowl of ice cream in five minutes experienced a drop in fingertip temperature of 2 degrees F in the first five minutes, 5 degrees in 15 minutes.

In summer, this cooling effect is desirable, but in winter, hot foods are the better way to warm yourself. Bring out the thermos of soup!

Why do I gain weight in the winter?

Some people eat more because they are bored and less active. Instead of playing tennis, they are eating mindlessly in front of the TV. For others, the change of seasons has a marked affect upon their mood (known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD). Changes in brain chemicals increase carbohydrate cravings and the desire to eat more.

Holiday temptations also contribute to weight gain. A study of 195 people indicates they gained on average 0.8 pounds in the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Overweight and obese people gained even more, with about 14 percent of the group gaining more than 5 pounds. The problem is, very few of the subjects lost those holiday pounds. Hence, yearly holiday weight gain--that's 8 pounds in 10 years--becomes a major contributor to America's obesity problem.
One weight-management solution is to stay active in the winter. By investing in proper clothing, you'll be able to stay warm from head to toe. You'll benefit from not only being able to enjoy exercise but also from sunlight--a good way to battle winter depression (and attempts to cheer yourself up with food).

Winter exercise is an asset for managing health, weight and the winter blues. The tricks are to dress right, fuel well, prevent dehydration--and you'll stay warm!

Nancy Clark, MS RD offers nutrition consultations to casual exercisers and competitive athletes at her private practice located at Healthworks, the premier fitness center in Chestnut Hill MA (617-383-6100). Her best selling "Sports Nutrition Guidebook," 3rd Edition ($23) and her "Food Guide for Marathoners: Tips for Everyday Champions" ($20) are available via http://www.nancyclarkrd.com/.
This article originally appeared on Active.com—your source for event information, training plans, expert advice, and everything you need to connect with the sport you love.

Cold Weather Gear

2010-12-18T09:34:00.000-08:00

Cycling outside during the winter season can be a challenge. My toes used to be my weakest link so my "long" rides were limited to the amount of pain I could handle. Consequently getting motivated to ride outside was tough. After an outside ride with frozen toes it would take quite a few days before I could work up the ambition to venture out into the cold once again.

Many years ago I started using the little chemical hand warmers and placing them between my shoes and shoe covers. They work pretty well sometimes. The problem is they need a good air supply to react with the chemicals and my shoe covers were pretty tight. Part way through the ride they would suffocate and I would finish with frozen toes once again. Another issue you run into is trying to wear thicker socks to help combat the cold. This only leads to restricted blood flow to the toes which is just as painful, if not more then cold toes.

As another cold, Iowa winter approached in 2008 I decided enough was enough and I was going to find a different strategy. I had signed up for RAW and knew that I needed to keep my endurance during the off-season and riding indoors was not the way. I started looking into heated insoles or socks. There was not much to choose from Sidi made a very impressive insole but I could not see forking out $300 just for an insole. Besides I was not sure the extra thickness would fit in my cycling shoes. Then I did some serious research on winter riding boats.

Several companies make a winter model of cycling shoe, Pearl Izumi, Sidi and Lake just to name a few. Some road models offer little added warmth while the mountain bike versions are a little thicker. I settled on the Lake's. I ordered one size bigger then I normally wear and got the wide version. Both my road bike and mountain bike have Shimano SPD pedals so I would be able to ride either bike without changing pedals. I also like the BOA retaining system they use instead of laces. This gives an evenly snug fit and allows for easy adjusting even while wearing gloves.

Even with these great boots my toes still get cold when temperatures dip below 40. I have really wimpy toes. During the colder rides I use the chemical hand warmers inside the boots between layers of socks. If you purchase the warmers in 10 packs the cost is about $.80 per ride. This is a small price to pay for comfortable toes.

Add "Schadenfreude" to your vocabulary

2010-11-26T06:04:00.000-08:00

I came across the word schadenfreude reading a write up about Trans Iowa. I believe it applies to the goal of a few of the guys I ride with. It is a German word that means pleasure derived from the misfortunes/sufferings of others. In english the closest saying we have is "it sucks to be you".

From Wikipedia: In the 2004 Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q the song "Schadenfreude" parodies the language instruction songs of Sesame Street. The song sung by characters Gary Coleman and Nicky, describes schadenfreude as "German for 'happiness at the misfortune of others'". In the song, schadenfreude is also described as "making me feel glad that I'm not you" and "people taking pleasure in your pain". The characters use examples like "D'ja ever clap when a waitress falls and drops a tray of glasses?" and "Don'tcha feel all warm and cozy, watching people out in the rain?" as being schadenfreude.

I have been on some grueling Tuesday night hammer-fests when the word could be used. I would guess most of us have been in situation that we had the thought but did not have the word to describe our true feelings at the time. I would guess most of us have been on the other side of the word as well. Maybe not Wiford.

Bike Signs In Muscatine County

2010-11-22T17:01:00.001-08:00

The much debated bike signs started turning up in Muscatine County recently. These pictures were taken of the signs on the Burlington road just after turning off Hershey. I am not sure this will do a lot of good but it cannot hurt. Maybe this is the beginning of a bike more bike friendly city/county. The ironic part about the location of the signs is that this very location four of us got yelled at by a guy in a septic tank “sucker” truck. As mad as he was that day I think he would have run over the signs. It is just a matter of time before there is an editorial in the local paper complaining about the signs.

Attacked on the bike path

2010-11-17T10:10:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Connie and I took a long weekend to go to Ames and Des Moines for some visiting and shopping. We left Thursday with plans to spend the night in Ames then go to Des Moines on Friday and Saturday night. I took my bike in the hopes of riding some of the bike paths in the Des Moines area while Connie was shopping. Thursday afternoon with the bright sun and slight breezes gave me the first chance to ride. Connie was meeting a friend in Des Moines for lunch before heading to Ames so I was going to meet her at the hotel around 5:00 as the sun set.

My ride started out un-eventful as I pedalled from Des Moines to Waukee then on to Adel along the Raccoon River bike path. Once to Adel I wanted to head towards Ames on county roads to Sailorville reservoir and then north on the new High Trestle Trail that runs from Polk City to Slater before riding the just completed bike lane that goes from Slater to Ames. This road is one block from Christopher's apartment and two blocks from our hotel. The goal was to get 60-70 miles of riding by dark.

You hear of problems on bike paths with people placing wires across them or riders being attacked in non-populated areas. I don't ride many trails but have never known anyone who has had problems. Normally, for a cyclist, you are safer on the path then risking your life playing with hurried motorists.

I was just leaving the small town of Sheldalh, 15 miles south of Ames, when I noticed him standing at the grassy edge of the newly constructed trail. He was looking towards me but I got the impression he wasn't looking directly at me. As I peddled near him he was startled and began running on my right side the same direction I was headed. This type of strange behavior I have seen in dogs before but this time it was not a dog that was chasing me. After 10 yards of shadowing me he made his move. He suddenly lunged in my direction like you see squirrels do in the road when they are not sure which direction to go. He hit my front wheel and bounce down to the ground. I reactively dogged to the left running part of him over with the back wheel as I struggled to keep my balance. My heart was racing as I looked back to see what his next move would be. Would he lay on the trail in pain, come after me, or just run out of sight. He chose to run away.

Not sure what to do I continued down the trail trying to get my heart back into my chest. As I looked down I noticed my computer was not working. For this I stopped. Heaven forbid I ride any miles without them counting. It was at this time I noticed the magnet on my front wheel was gone. That must have been what he was after the entire time. He must have been a collector of magnets.

If you are in that area please beware of suspicious looking cats that have collars of bike magnets. Unless you are prepared to aggressively defend yourself you could be the next helpless victim.

Trans Iowa here I come again

2010-11-10T16:53:00.001-08:00

The roster for the veterans is posted and I made the list again this year. Now begins five and a half months of worry, preparation, worry, planning, worry and training. This year they have promised less outside support available from pass through towns. In the past you could at least rely on the check points as re-fueling locations. This year the check points will not be in towns. 300 plus miles of graveled/muddy Iowa back-roads and you have no idea where your next meal our bottle of water will come from or even where you are. Now that is adventurous. Maybe a little insane as well.

The “big picture” plan for this winter is to focus more on core and upper body conditioning. Focusing more for me means actually working out the core and upper body. A better core should translate to better hill climbing and comfort on the bike. Most gravel roads are pretty hilly and the promoters have a knack for finding the hilliest. Conditioning the upper body will help when I will have to carry the bike over any mud roads that are as sticky as peanut butter like last years. I can’t imagine they will be that bad but if they were bad last year they could be again this year.

Trans Iowa VII sign up is tomorrow

2010-11-07T08:18:00.000-08:00

My post card is off to Cedar Falls for my second attempt at the Tran Iowa VII. Wish me luck. This is a great write up on last years event and will have you wondering what I am thinking in entering this event again. Trans Iowa VI write up. Also a link to promoter Guitar Ted's blog.

Night Nonsense Gravel Road Adventure

2010-10-28T19:30:00.001-07:00

A couple month ago Jeff Hunt told me about a gravel road century ride that was to be held in Iowa City. The unique aspect of this ride was the starting time of 8:00 PM. I immediately got on-line to get the details. I have ridden familiar gravel roads at night, unfamiliar paved roads at night but never unfamiliar gravel roads at night. This type of ride is what I like to call a bike adventure not a bike ride.

Most night time road bike rides have quite a few safely requirements. Check out this all the rules on Randonneurs USA. The Ultra Marathon Cycling Association has almost as many rules. Most of the gavel road races have no specific rules. They did recommend that you have a helmet, headlight and rear flashing light. Some of the riders rear light were almost non-existent and the rider that finished 2nd overall did not have a working head light for the entire race. He just rode in the light from the other riders when his failed. Each scenario shows extremes and somewhere in the middle is my comfort zone.

Another unique feature of many gravel road races is the entry fee. There is none. There might be a few merchandise prizes donated by some local suppliers and maybe some food and beverage. This makes for a very low key event with camaraderie becoming the over-riding theme. This was also the first race I have entered that served beer and pizza at the rest stops.

The forecast for Saturday was rain but un-seasonably warm with 10-15 mph winds most of the night. As the riders started preparing for the start the lightning was lighting the sky and long, low rumbles of thunder could be heard. The darkness made it hard to tell how close the pending rain was but there were tornado warning for three of the counties to the south. 30 minutes before the race started the rain began to fall and continued the rest of the night. The 25 nervous rides squeezed under the refuge of the pop-up tents and into the race promoters garage waiting for our last minute instructions. During this time I put on my rain coat, took off my rain coat and then put it back on again. I knew that once the race started there would not be time to make a clothing change. Staying warm took precedence and the rain coat stayed on for the start. Tights, long sleeves and wind proof gloves finished off my attire. The gloves only made it 15 miles and the rain coat was off at the 40 miles mark. Note to self, if the temperatures are above 60 no need for the rain coat or long finger gloves.

After the 5 mile roll out the race was on as we hit the first gravel road section. This was a hilly section and provide a great launching pad to get a select group off the front. I was ready for the attacks and was able to bridge up to the break away instigator, Drew Wilson (read his write up) with Jeremy Frye and another rider named Paul. Ben Shockey soon joined us and the five of us were flying along the rolling hills with no head lights behind us. We had a nice gap. It was then Ben pointed out why we had a nice gap. About three miles back we had missed a turn. After some deliberation, back over the rolling hills we flew in search of the missed turn. At the turn we came across three other riders who had missed the same turn. Navigation at warp speed, in the rain, over the gravel, cue sheet in a ziplock bag, covered in rain drops, using your headlamp is impossible unless you come to a complete stop at each turn and no one was slowing down. This haunted us again at the 20 mile mark when we missed a turn by 6 miles following a local rider who thought he knew the route. At this point the race turned into a ride. The three riders we had met decided to head for Iowa City and call it a night and only two of us, Jeremy and myself, had legible cue sheets the rain had not destroyed. Even I was missing a 10 mile section of turns that would lead us to the first check point.

At the 30 mile point on the route, 47 for us, we saw the flashing light of the vehicle that was manning the check point. They shared the fact that we were about 90 minutes behind the lead group and only 14 riders were still riding of the 25 starters. Water refills and a new cue sheet and we were headed off in the darkness to finish the adventure.

The five of us decided that we would stay together, slow down at each turn so I could read the cue sheet and just enjoy the adventure. We stopped a couple times for nature breaks right in the middle of the road. We even created our own sag stop sharing some food in the middle of no where Iowa. During the few times it was not raining it was a great night. Temperatures were in the low 60’s with just a slightly annoying wind out of the south.

The only mud road we encountered was just before the very welcome beer and pizza stop at mile 68 of the race,(mile 88 for us). This section was 3/4 mile long. The first section was rideable, then you had to push up the hill before remounting and sloshing your way through the thick mud. It was kind of fun and much easier then the peanut butter thick mud had been for the Trans Iowa race in April. Growling dogs met us as we left the mud and entered the gravel before the stop. A slice of pizza and a water bottle fill up and it was back on the road for the home stretch.

The next advertise obstacle was the water crossing shortly after the stop. It looked like a flooded road crossing that the weather channel warns you to “turn around and don’t drown” when you are in you vehicle. It was a good thing we did not have cars. The water was about 12 inches deep for roughly 20 yards. This gave you a chance to wash the mud off your shoes as you peddled across. Of course now your damp feet were really wet but with the finish in sight this was more then tolerable.

The last 20 miles heading to North Liberty and back to Iowa City were pancake flat and provided a nice finish to a fabulous adventure. Paul had called it a night at the sag stop but the remaining four rolled into town at 4:35 AM with 111 miles covered on a 91 mile route.

Thanks to Adam for organizing the event and to all the sponsors. This will be a “must” do event on my calendar next year. I just need to figure a better way to mount my cue sheet to avoid the navigation problems. Although it was nice to get the extra miles and being that far off the back allowed us to enjoy the adventure instead of beating our brains out all night.

No-Nonsense Gravel Road Race

2010-10-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

I will write my story later this week. Here is a link to Guitar Ted's write up to keep you entertained until I get mine typed.

In a nut shell:
I was in the lead group at mile 10.
Mile 15 we had gone 3 miles out of our way missing a turn.
Missed another turn at mile 20.
Three other riding companions.

Race turned into a ride the last 60 miles

90 mile ride turned into 111 finished at 4:35 AM
Felt great but suffered on the hills early
Great time, great event great night...really.
Would to it again in a hearbeat.

Late Season Motivation

2010-10-16T14:57:00.001-07:00

Around this time of year getting motivated to ride becomes tough. There are no races in sight to train for, the days are getting shorter and I have ridden the same roads more times then I care to count. Each day is a mental jousting match as I try to come up with excuses not to ride. Here are a few tricks I use to keep the motivation level high.

At the beginning of each year I set a mileage goal then brake the yearly goal to weekly goals and try to hit those miles each week. This lets me know if I am on track to reach the goal. Towards the end of the year I track how many miles I need to average each day to make the goal. This helps motivated me for a while. This years goal was 13,000 the same as last year. It has not been a good year in keeping with the weekly goals. I was ahead of schedule early then for some reason as the weather got nice my miles declined. Crewing for RAAM gave me two weeks off the bike and really set me behind the eight ball. A really good July closed the gap but not enough. Now it will be a struggle to reach the goal my the end of the year. I have to average 34 miles per day for the rest of the year. Come November and December that is going to be tough. The graph below shows my actual year to date running weekly average compared to the goal. I like to track the average week to reduce the peaks and valleys.

A new motivation this year has been riding my cyclo-cross bike on gravel roads. I purchased the bike in early April for the Trans Iowa gravel road race. Since that time I have ridden over 1200 miles on that bike. This fall I have ventured out at least twice a week in search of new roads to ride. In Muscatine county there must be 3 miles of gravel for every 1 mile of paved roads. On the longer rides I just head out into the wind following the roads to wherever they lead me. I know my way around the area well enough to know about where I will end just not sure the route that will take me there. Even pre-riding a group ride from the bike shop there are many more options of how to get there.

Gravel road riding is picking up steam in the Midwest. Each year new events are added to an already long list of gravel road ride/races. http://www.gravelgrindernews.com/ is a great sight for information. Many of these event are low key and have no entry fee. There are some riders that are completing for the win but many riders are just riding for the enjoyment. I am planning just such a race on Saturday October 24th call the Night Nonsense 100. The race is 100 miles of gravel and dirt roads around the Iowa City area. The unique aspect of this race is that is starts at 8:00 PM. 100 miles of gravel in the dark for some reason sounds like a blast. I love to ride at night and I love to ride gravel, perfect. Some of my friends might think I have lost my marbles again or that my cassette is a few teeth shy of a cluster. That is because, like my 8 year old nephew who does not like any new foods until he tries it, they have never tried this format. If they did they would be hooked like I am.

The third form of motivation is getting on the scale and see my weight increase. The equation, calories consumed must be less then or equal to calories burned only leaves two choices. I love food too much to reduce the intake as the riding reduces. Therefor I need to keep riding.

Do you have a mountain bike hanging in your garage that you are not sure where to ride. Find a gravel road and just start riding and see where it takes you. There is a huge network of roads with little traffic that will rejuvenate you and give you a good reason to get out and ride this fall. Who knows you might be the next person lining up at a gravel road race. Try it you’ll like it.

Iowa 24 hour Race

2010-09-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

The annual Ultra Midwest 24 was held Labor Day weekend outside of Port Byron Illinois. Four of the last five years I have competed in this exceptionally run event put on by the Ultra Midwest (Big Dogs) group led by Dave Parker and Joe Jamison. The race includes 6,12 and 24 hour options on lightly travelled roads in western Illinois.

As the race started the 50 participants, which included 11-24 hour, 28-12 hour and 11-6 hour entrants, were clad in tights and long sleeves to combat the crisp 6:30 AM temperatures. This would provide a nice break from the oppressive heat the area has experienced over the summer. All riders start together with the 24 hour riders separating themselves from the others in the first couple miles. The 24 hour ride is non-drafting while the other two races allow drafting.

The route: This years route consisted of a new, flat as a pancake, 60 mile long loop, an intermediate 19.6 mile loop, and a short 8 mile loop. The 60 mile loop closes at 2:00 PM for the 12 and 24 hour rides so each rider completes as many laps as you can before the cut-off. You then proceed to the intermediate loop. The intermediate loop closes at 5:00 PM or AM depending on which race you have entered. After 5:00 riders finish on the short loop. The 6 hour group completes one long loop before riding the intermediate and short loops as needed.

The Game Plan: The last three times I have entered the 24 hour race my mileage has been 300, 408 and then 431. The 300 mile total I stopped at midnight the other two I rode all night. The goal for this year was 450 miles. To accomplish this total I would have to average 19.2 on the bike and only be off the bike for 30 minutes total. This was a pretty lofty goal but one I thought was attainable. With my wife Connie as head crew member and son Chris and his girl-friend Chelsey helping during the daylight hours the limited time off the bike was not going to be a problem. They do a great job of keeping me fed and watered. Going in I had a great pacing and nutrition strategy that I was very confident success was attainable.

Blustery Day as Pooh would put it: The forecast for the day was cool and breezy with winds out the west-north-west at 15-20. This was going to make the long loops a little tougher with the last 20 miles each lap going west and north. Even though the route was flat, I mean really flat, ,the biggest hill between mile 5 and 55 was an overpass, the road surfaces were rough. By the third time around the expansion cracks felt like a jackhammer hitting your rear, arms and feet each time you crossed them. During this stretch I opted for a few sanity breaks just to rest my jarred body. I was extremely glad to make it back to the school to start the intermediate loops. Even though the wind was still blowing the hardest head wind stretch was only 4 miles.

Off the big loops as last: I started the intermediate loops at 3:50. Total miles ridden was 180 in 9:50 with an average on the bike of 19.6 mph. Time off the bike had totaled 7 minutes. The goal was to ride 13 of the intermediate loops in the next 14 hours. I would have to keep the pace around 19 mph on the bike and limit my stops to 1-2 minutes per lap. I was feeling good and settled in to the task at hand. Riding, eating and drinking was all I had to do. At 7:15 I was off the bike for 5 minutes while put on tights, arm warmers, reflective vest, head-light and tail light. Putting the tights on took the longest. I still had my light shoe covers on from the chilly morning start hoping that would save time as the temperatures dropped. While I was getting dressed Chris put on the lights, Connie refilled my bottles and bento box and I ate a fresh off the grill hamburger. The last three times I have done this event my crew has grilled as the sun set. This was the first year I was able to partake in the cuisine. It went down really well.

Reality Check: Thing were going pretty well until the lap around midnight. I was on pace to finish with about 435. The early wind had dashed any hopes for 450. I had lapped the second place rider (Paul Carpenter) at 11:00 PM which put me 20 miles ahead. Paul is the RAAM rider I did support for this year plus we have compete against each other several time so we are pretty familiar with each other. I slowed for breif chat as I made the pass. This gave me a little boost but by 12:30 AM I was starting to hurt. The energy level was great, I had not cramped (which is a first for this race), my stomach felt fine but my rear, arms, neck, back and shoulders were stiff and sore. This was making it very uncomfortable to be on the bike. I was stretching a lot and sitting up trying, in vain to find a way to relief the aching muscles. I headed back out at 1:00 after an 8 minutes stop. During this long stop I started to get chilly as the temperatures had dropped back into the mid-fifties. I really could have used a longer break but knew I would be shivering if I did. That lap took 1:27 minutes to complete as I rolled in at 2:27 AM. During that lap I had shut down and knew my night was going to end early. I could not fathom 4 more hours on that infernal machine.

Stats: 356.3 miles in 20 hours. 38 total minutes off the bike. 18.4 average speed. First in my age group second overall. Here is the link to the complete results.

Food and Drink:
7- 20 oz Perpetuams @ 280 cal each

4 - Ensures

1-20 oz Gaterade

2-20 oz Sobe's

14 chocolate chip cookies

12 power gels

Cheese Stick

2 Chicken Salad Sandwich

5 pringles

Beef Jerky

3 Pasta shells stuffed with chicken salad

2 dill pickles

Grilled Hamburger

Orange

Banana

2 cups of chicken broth

A big thanks to Connie, Chris and Chelsey for keeping me moving and to Dave and Joe, there wives and the other volunteers who made this a great event. I will give my body a break from the super long riding for a while and just enjoy the fall season before making plans for next years adventures.

2000+ miles July

2010-08-14T18:15:00.001-07:00

The goal for July was to get into the top 5 on the Big Dog standings for the month. I was number 5 last year for July. With the miles from RAGBRAI and the ride out July is usually my biggest month. With the 600K brevet in early July and RAGBRAI starting clear up in Sioux City I knew I had a chance to get to 2000 miles for the month. The month ended at 2042 miles and was enough miles to earn me the top spot of the Big Dogs for the month for the first time ever. Of course first place and fifth get the same prize but it did help build a good base for Labor Day’s 24 hour ride.

The Pee Wee’s Big Adventure

Bill Harper (he did not get the memo), Joe Mann, Mike Doyle (Doyley) and Bill Ford (Wiford)

2010 marked the 5th time I have ridden out to RAGBRAI. Mike Doyle has also completed this journey 5 times with Bill Ford riding his fourth. The reason the ride is called The Pee Wee’s big adventure is because unlike the original move title there is more then one PeeWee on this adventure. Joining us this year was Bill Harper. The route this year took us to over-nights in Little Amana, Boone and Ida Grove. This is close to the 2006 route that saw RAGBRAI start in Sergeant Bluff just south of Sioux City. This year, unlike 2006, we opted for an extra half day to keep the daily miles a little lower. 2006 miles were 175, 130, 55 and 2010 was 70, 135, 100 and 55. This picture sums up how the ride went. I was always changing my flat tires and Mike was always peeing. We had a great time. Thursday’s 130 miles day from Little Amana to Boone was very challenging with the heat, headwinds and rolling hills. The lunch stop at Marshalltown for monster sub-sandwiches had at least one of us second guessing that decision with the heat and 60 miles of riding to go. While the weather in Muscatine was very rainy we never got a drop. Friday leaving Boone looked ominous but no rain materialized. Saturday was very hilly and we were glad to finally make it to Sioux City. Once in Sioux City Mike, Bill and Bill headed for home and left me with seven more days of riding.

RAGBRAI 2010

2010 marked the 19th year in a row that Connie and I have done RAGBRAI. This year was one of the most enjoyable. (No, neither one of us were at the Cartersville party) Most of the camp-sights were good, the weather was better then expected for July in Iowa and the riding was pretty easy. We started with a couple pretty hard days, a long day on Thursday, a little rain on Friday then the toughest climb RAGBRAI has ever taken us on, Potter’s Hill as part of Saturday’s ride into Dubuque.

All in all it was an un-eventful RAGBRAI year. That is not a bad thing considering the years we have spent the night in the gyms, riding in the rain, sweating in the tents….. I will take un-eventful any day.

600K Brevet 7/17 - 18

2010-07-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday July 17th Ultra-Midwest (Big Dog's) hosted an RUSA sanctioned 600K brevet. The route was an extremely hilly out and back to Viroqua Wisconsin. Three of us headed out of Le Claire Iowa at 6:00 AM treated to a gorgeous Iowa sunrise. Whenever I start these long rides my mind immediately thinks about how long it will be before I am finished. The stretch goal was 24 hours with a more realistic goal of 26 hours.

The forecast was for hot, humid and possible storms during the night. The cue sheet showed limited re-fill and re-fuel stops along the route with even fewer chances for stops after the sun went down. Most of the forecast was correct as temperatures and humidity climbed quickly as the serious climbing started shortly after Savanah Illinois and north to the Illinois-Wisconsin border at a town called Apple River Illinios.

I made pretty good time, and pulled away from my riding companions by the 50 mile mark. I rolled into the turn around at 6:30 pm. Despite the heat and many climbs I was feeling pretty good considering I had just ridden 192.6 miles. 20 minutes later I was back on the road. In the first 12 1/2 hours I drank 480 ounces of liquid and still felt like I was a little dehydrated.

As the sun set I got a chance to use my Schmidt Dyno hub for the first time with my road bike. Descending is always a little scary at night especially if you are not familiar with the roads. There were more then a couple "nerve-racking" 40 mph downhills but with this light I was able to go down the hill like it was daylight. The Busch & Muller Lumitec Fly LED light only requires that you be going 1.5 mph for the light to be full brightness. This came in very handy as most of the 40 mph downhills were followed by 5 mph uphills.

By 5:00 am as the sun was rising my energy level was sinking. I staggered into Sabula around 5:30 with very little energy and motivation, not to mention I was getting sleepy. A quick 10 minute nap at the picnic table and a can of Mountain Dew provide a little energy to get me back on the road. The next 50 miles were pretty tough going. The wind had picked up slightly out of the south west (the direction I was going) and the rolling hills are endless.

I finally made it to Le Clarie at 9:50 am completely wiped out but satisfied that I had pushed through some pretty rough times and finished the ride.

Drinks:
19- 24 ounce bottles
3- 70 ounce camelbacks
66 ounces of Misc

Food:
12 fig newtons, 3 servings of Powerbar Gels, Turkey and ham Sandwich, Turkey Salad sandwich, Egg Salad Sandwich, 2 Salted Nutrolls, 2 Granola Bars, 3 servings of Hammer Perpetuam (280 calories), rice Krispy Bar, Slice of Pizza, Strawberry/Blueberry fruit cup, Ham and Cheese McMuffin. 46 S-Caps (about 400 mg of sodium).

RAAM 2010 comes to an end for Paul

2010-06-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

Paul Carpenter's 2010 RAAM attempt came to an end 10 miles east of El Dorado Kansas at mile 1612 of the race. We had a great day yesterday covering 330 miles in 22 hours to try to make up some time before we get to the time cut-off at the Mississippi River. The cut-off is 3:00 pm Eastern time on Thursday. This morning Roger, Sam and myself headed out at 7:15 and right away we could tell that it was not going to be our day. After 7 miles Paul pulled over and could not even get clipped out of his peddles due to knee problems. A 15 minute break and some ice did nothing for the pain. We got him back on the bike for a few miles of alone time on the course before loading him into the van and going back to El Dorado.
Paul is very pleased with his accomplishments and is not disappointed with his effort. We probably pushed a little far yesterday but that was needed as a last ditch effort to be an official finisher.

Catching Up

2010-06-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

It has been a few days since I updated other then a quick call to my wife.

We had a long day through the Rockies with Paul riding 218 miles that included three passes over 9500 feet with Wolf creek pass being the tallest at 10,800. This pass is where Des Moines cyclist Bob Breedlove was killed during RAAM. We managed to dodge the heavy rains over the passes and got him into South Fork, Alamosa and La Veta. The climb to La Veta was harder then it looked and really took it out of him. He rolled into Trinidad at 1:30 am and was shot. 3 and 1/2 hours sleep later we had him on the road and it was not a pretty sight.
Our average speed heading towards Kim was about 12-13. This was slightly downhill section and we figured we would move along pretty good. Paul was really struggling and it took quite a bit to keep him moving down the road. We bribed him with candy and gum, gave him some short breaks and even took a nap in Kim but nothing was working. Shortly after Kim it was decided that we would stop at Springfeild CO, just short of the TS in Walsh and get 8 hours of sleep before pushing on early in the morning. This decision was going to put us behind the time schedule cut-off but there is no "official" cut-off until Maryland so we would have to push harder after the long break but that would be better then the alternatives. It was our last ditch effort to finish this race. The sleep did him wonders as he headed out this morning as a new man. We were 12 hours behind schedule and we cannot afford another long break and still finish the race.

Hopefully now that we are out of the mountains we can get more updates in a timely fashion.

Paul Carpenter - 51 Years Young

2010-06-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

Wolf Creek Pass

2010-06-15T17:20:00.001-07:00

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

2010-06-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

The picture of Wolf Creek Pass shown above was a pass in Colorado that Paul went through on Sunday. It was beautiful.....grueling for him....but beautiful!! And today ----- Oh what a difference a day......and sleep.....makes!! On Monday, Paul was in Colorado and it took approximately 9 hours to ride 100 miles. Not a very good day unfortunately. It was tough for him. His legs just had a hard time getting the pedals to churn. The decision was made that Paul would stop and sleep 8 hours and see how he felt after that. So about 20 miles away from the Kansas border, Paul and the entire crew stopped. Paul quickly fell asleep while the crew fed themselves. At about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, the crew woke Paul and it was a new day!! And was it a new day! Paul is making great time today! His first 100 miles were completed in 6 hours and that was with 45 minutes off the bike. The crew that started following him is being referred to as "The Dog Pound". I'm not sure how this crew got it's name. This 3-person crew consists of Jay Yost, Tim Richardson, and Chris Mann. Sounds like Paul had a great breakfast from good old McDonalds. He had a sausage McMuffin AND a McGriddle. Mmmmm. Did that do wonders. He has been motoring ever since. So far today (Tuesday) they have made it through Time Station 22 (Walsh, Colorado); TS #23 (Ulysses, KS); and TS #24 (Montezuma, KS). They plan to push through Time Station #25 which is Greensburg, KS. This is where a tornado flattened the town about 3 years ago and it is being completely rebuilt. Also, Paul hopes to make it through Time Station @26 Pratt (where riders eat for free at Starvin Marvin's BBQ) and then Time Station #27 in Maize, KS (suberb of Wichita); and land at the town of El Dorado where they will his Time Station #28. That will be over 325 miles today which is much different than the 120 miles he rode yesterday.

Some other meals Paul has enjoyed have included double cheesburgers, strawberry shakes, PayDay bars. Yesterday he really didn't even want to drink any water. He drank some sparkling water but that is about it. Didn't want any perpetuem (which is a Hammer Nutrition product) but today is back on the perpetuem too.

We hope to continue to report good news for our rider.

RAAM Day 1 on the Books

2010-06-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

At 2:33 pm central time Paul left Oceanside bound for Annapolis. The start was a time trial style at 1 minute intervals. The RAW riders went first then the RAAM riders with the rookies leading off followed by seniority with Jure going last.
The sun came out as we headed out with temps in the upper 70's. Sam, Roger and I were up first in the follow vehicle. The first 20 miles there is no support, the next 35 miles is limited leap frog support areas, at 7:00 pm local time we can do follow support. Leap frog is tough because you are in and out of the van about every 20 minutes.
Paul was strong up the big climbs up to Lake Henshaw and to the descent at the Glass elevator at around 4500 feet. The glass elevator is a 9 percent descent that takes the rider from 4500 feet to the desert floor at 200 feet. Starting the descent the temperature was 74 and by the time we got to the bottom it was 99. The van could not keep up with the bikes on the descent and the brakes were a little hot by the time we got down.
The wind was pretty favorable through the night and even switched from the south as we headed north to Blythe to meet the rest of the crew for a scheduled exchange at 2:00 AM. Our crew had been working for 14 hours but were still pretty pumped. Paul took a shower and 45 minute nap before heading out with Joe and Rose Mary Jamison and Susie. The three of us then slept from 4:00 to 7:00 before breakfast, laundry, vehicle change with Tim, Jay and Chris.
Paul rode strong through the night and was eating and drinking very well. He switched from his Cervelo to the Felt in Brawly to see if he could get more comfortable. It seemed to help but his "back side" is still his biggest concern. He has been changing shorts about every 100 miles and cleaning and lubing regularly to stay on top of his bottom.
Please post comments and we will read them to Paul during the night.

RAAM Preperation

2010-05-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Most of the plans are finalized, the vehicle is ready. Only 15 days until the race and 9 days until we leave. The trip officially begins at 3:00 pm on Thursday June 3rd. There will be seven of us driving out in three vehicles. The plan is to be in LA by the end of the day on Saturday. Paul has relatives we will be staying with. Monday morning we drive to Oceanside for a series of inspections, meetings and photos. There are many stickers and signs to put on the vehicles before we can pass inspection. It is petty neat to see all the vehicles in the parking lot at the start. Total there are 10 of us on the crew. Three drivers, three feeders/navigators, and three medical personnel. The medical personnel are responsible to log everything Paul eats, drinks as well as many other vital measurements. In my next post I will list all the stats they will be gathering during the race.

I have added some links to different RAAM pages that can be used to follow Paul and the team as me move across the country. Chris will be updating his face book, Paul has a facebook and web page that will also be updated. To make the time cut-offs you have to avereage 250 miles per day for the entire 12 days. We should cross the Mississippi near Alton Il. around the 16th of June eight days into the race. That is the roughly the 2/3 mark of the race.

Riding has been a little on the light side in the last four weeks. After the Trans Iowa and the 300K I took a little break but have started ramping it up a little again. It is tough to get motivated not having a scheduled event in the near future.

RAAM is Close

2010-05-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

This week has been one of the lowest milage totals for me in a long time. After TRANS IOWA and the 300K Brevet I thought I needed a break. I have been training pretty hard since December and with no races in sight I am having a tough time getting motivated. Oh well you will have that. Next week I will pick it up.

Three weeks from today I will be halfway to California on the drive out to the start of RAAM. I have been working on getting the van ready with the PA system and speakers for Paul’s music. I have a good idea on how we are going to put some shelves in the back of the van with a sleeping “bunk” on top for Paul to take naps of even get his 3 hours of nightly sleep if there are no close Hotels.

There are 9 of us on the crew in three vehicles doing 8 hour rotations. Paul has some co-workers that are going to use him as a guinea pig and conduct all kinds of tests on him as the race progresses. Power output, heart-rate, core temperature, hydration level, swelling and many other things will be captured as we spend 12 days crossing 3000 miles of the center of the USA.

There will be updates to his facebook and web page and I will post the links on my blog as the race gets closer. I will also update on my blog from time to time.

Paul's RAAM Profile

All for now.

Trans Iowa is not for you if:

2010-05-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

Found this on a riders blog.

http://buffduluth.blogspot.com/2010/04/trans-iowa-v6-v1.html

The comfort zone is a behavioural state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.

The TRANS IOWA is not for you if:

You don't like riding your bike.
You don't like the dark.
You don't like rain.
You don't like thunder and lightning storms.
You don't like loose gravel.
You don't like speed.
You don't like steep hills.
You don't like gravel in your eye.
You don't like riding your bike in the dark, down steep hills covered by loose gravel, in a thunder and lightning storm, in the pissing rain, with gravel shooting up into your eye.

You don't like Iowa.
You don't like the farm country.
You don't like spending all day outside.
You don't like the smell of pig manure.
You don't like walking in mud.
You don't like carrying your bike.
You don't like spending all day outside in the Iowa farm country, riding and carrying your bike thru mud, with the sweet smell of pig manure constantly in your nostrils.

You don't like spending all day with the same people.

You don't like strange people.
You don't eccentric people.
You don't like gas stations.
You don't like gas station food.
You don't like eating food who's first ingredient is sugar, corn syrup, or high fructose corn syrup.
You don't like spending all day with strange and eccentric people, living off gas station fodder made of high fructose corn syrup, including Pop-tarts, cherry pies, Suzy Q's, Coke, and cookies.

You don't like like pain.
You don't like physical exertion.
You don't like mental exertion.
You don't like exploring your dark side.
You don't like the hurt tank.
You don't like stepping outside your comfort zone.
You don't like stepping outside your comfort zone, into the depths of physical and mental exertion, exploring the hurt tank, the dark side.

Time for a break

2010-05-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

After the 300K Brevet last weekend I am ready for a break. 16 1/2 hour ride one weekend followed by a 11 3/4 hour ride the next weekend and my legs are shot.
The 300K was put on by the Big Dogs in the Quad Cities. The ride started and ended at Comfort Inn in LeClaire with the turn around at Key West Iowa. Hard to believe there really is a Key West Iowa and if you google it I am not sure you will find it. It is a suburb of Dubuque right on highway 61 and 52. Of course it is at the top of a big hill. Not surprising since this route had 8000 feet of climbing. It basically is the TOMRV Sunday century route up and back. McCausland, Follets, Low Moor, Elvira, Miles, Sabula, Bellevue, St. Donatus, Key West and back. There were 11 of us starting the ride but it soon broke into 6 of us and then down to small groups of two or three.

The ride up was great as the wind was blowing from the south pretty strong but promised to be a tough ride home. The trip up took 5 hours and 10 minutes and after a 20 minute break in Key West the trip home took 6 hours and 15 minutes. Total time was 11:45 with 55 minutes off the bike. The 27 miles from Sabula to Low Moor took 2 hours of non-stop riding. The wind finally died a little for the last 25 miles as Keith Wells and I rolled back into town.

I am still working on the write up for Trans Iowa but for your reading pleasure here are some other riders blogs and some pictures from the ride.

http://cornbreadblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/pics-nowwords-later.html

http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/2010/04/trans-iowa-v6-race-report-pre-race-meat.html

http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/2010/04/trans-iowa-v6-race-report-start-and.html

http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/2010/04/trans-iowa-v6-race-report-unravelling.html

http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/2010/04/trans-iowa-v6-race-report-seven-bikes.html

Tune in for my final report.

Tran Iowa

2010-04-28T03:10:00.000-07:00

Soupy gravel roads, lightning storm, some sunshine, thick mud, pushed 3 ½ miles of mud roads (either pushed in the grass of carried bike) soft hilly roads with 3-4 mph uphills, and some 4 mph flats through the quick sand, light to moderate head wind all day until the end then 30 mph head wind. 134 miles of racing in 13 hours (less then an hour off the bike) followed by 3 ½ hours of pavement back to Grinnell in pouring, driving rain with three others. 181 total miles in 16 ½ hours. It really was fun and I felt great except for the blister on my foot from walking in wet shoes. I stayed warm, did not cramp and the bike worked great. Needed a bigger cassette. 58 starters, 27 made the first check point, about 15 made the second, 7 still riding when the race was stopped at mile 154 of the race. Conditions were such that we were not going to make the next check point so I figured no finishers. Chose the easy route of 43 miles back to Grinnell in the rain with 23 being head wind and 20 cross wind. Found out later if I would have gone on I would have been stopped but at least been a finisher. Bummed about that. Next year????????? I will post a more detailed adventure and some pictures later this week.

Scary

2010-04-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

April 24th is about here. The training is done as much as I can. The only thing left it the execution of the ride plan. This will have to include many calories and ounces of water along with electrolytes and pacing. Physically I think I am ready and feel I am in the best shape of my life. Mentally I really want to finish this ride to wipe out the RAW DNF.
This is the picture of how my cyclo-cross bike will be set up for the ride. I will also carry a 70 ounces camel back.

Training has gone well. I did a 95 miles gravel road ride last Friday and felt really good finishing. Total time was 6 1/2 hours with 12 minutes off the bike. The diet was mainly fig newtons and perpetuam. Now all that is left is figuring out what to pack and how to carry it on the bike. The new headlight works great and I can't wait to get in the middle of no where and see how bright it really is. Being able to see well on the gravel/mud roads is going to be a big plus.

200K Brevet

2010-04-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

The photo at the top of the page is looking over the Mississippi at the Interstate 280 bridge at 6:10 Saturday morning. I decided to ride to LeClaire for the 8:00 start of the 200K brevet. I left home at 5:10 and was along the river right as the sun was cresting over the horizon. It was tough rolling out of bed at 4:30 but riding as the sun comes up is very rewarding.
The weatherman got the forecast correct and the wind was already blowing from the south west by the time I got to LeClaire for the start of the ride. This made for a nice ride to LeClaire and would also provide quite a push as we headed to Bellevue for the turn around. 15 riders started the day but the climb out of town split is up pretty good and left 8 of us together. The out and back route follows quite a bit of the Saturday TOMRV route going through McCausland, Elvira, Miles before heading north to Bellevue. There are no really big climbs but the entire course had rolling hills.
The pace was pretty high all the way up with Keith Wells of Des Moines pushing the pace on the hills. We averaged a little over 21 mph on the way up. We arrived in Bellevue with five of us together and another group of two right behind.
After a quick stop we headed back to enjoy the nice head wind. The first 11 miles along the bluff were protected from the wind before heading south to Miles. Just before heading south I dropped off the pace and was on my own for the next 25 miles until we got to Low Moor. There I caught up with three other riders and heading back to LeClaire as a group.
We finished the ride in 7:16. I did not eat enough early on and definitely did not drink enough water. I had plenty off water with me just did not drink it. This is something I will improve as I get closer to the Trans Iowa.
My next training ride will be 100 miles of gravel around Muscatine county with the bike set up as it will be for Trans Iowa.

Ultra Training

2010-04-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this at the begining of April but due to computer problems it did not post.

March and April need to be a big months for me as far as miles go. The 24th or April is my first big race of the year the Trans Iowa VI. Work has made my training very sporadic with some long hours and business trips. The weather the last couple weeks has been great so when I was able to ride it was pretty enjoyable.

Weekly miles:

Feb 22 - 333
Mar 01 - 190 (In New York for work)
Mar 08 - 199 (injured shoulder)
Mar 15 - 316
Mar 22 - 190 (In Canada for work)
Mar 29 - 196 (12 hour days at work)

Currently there is no traveling or "special" project at work so the miles will level out around 300-350 per week.

Training for ultra-distance events can very daunting. As with training for any type of sporting activity the weeks prior to the event need to be focused to prepare yourself for the event. When I was racing criteriums and road races I would work on sprinting, hill climbing or short burst of 100 percent effort. When your event is 24-26 hours in length specific training can be pretty tough. Training for ultra-distance races also includes comfort on the bike, fueling, hydration and night riding. To get a good handle in these areas you have to do looooonnng rides. Ideally a long training ride would be 10-12 hours. My longest this year has only been 8 hours. I have quite a few 4-6 hour rides but they are not enough. I plan to get a 10 hour ride this weekend.

Some of my miles have been on gravel with the cyclo-cross bike. Right now the roads are in pretty poor shape. There are sections that are like quick sand and are very difficult to keep a good speed or straight line. Hopefully some heavy rains will take care of the problem. Riding last Friday with a stiff cross wind on the gravel proved to be a bit of a challenge. Picture yourself riding down the road with a 20 mph cross wind. Your bike is leaning into the wind to compensate. The challenging part with the gravel is your wheels are basically sitting on ball bearings. If your center of gravity gets too far off you are laying in the road. When you hit the lose sections you need to be centered over the wheels but then the wind pushes you to the side of the road. During this ride I was actually looking forward to the head wind sections. Some of the aspects of gravel road riding that I love are low traffic, new roads and the new scenery. There are more miles of gravel roads in Muscatine county then paved roads. After 4 months of exploring them I still find new ones almost every time I ride. This picture is of a dirt road I found near the Cedar river off Independence avenue. My plans for the year are to keep riding the gravel once in a while just to keep from getting into a rut.

Counting my Blessing

2010-03-20T11:21:00.001-07:00

While heading home after a group ride this week I got to thinking about how really lucky I am. The list of items I should be thankful for kept popping in my head. It seemed like the list would go on and on. When I am doing long solo rides there is plenty of time to ponder deep thoughts but this was after a shorter group ride. I guess I was feeling blessed with the way the week had gone.
Our health is the biggest blessing that most of us seem to take for granted. Having the ability to ride a bike is great let alone for the distances and speed we do. Bill Lang is the Big Dog of the year. He has had a tough couple of years but continues to ride. Click on his name to read a short story.
I have a great family that supports my insane adventures. Dragging them 4000 miles across the western U.S. last year for RAW just proves that. My wife has always been supportive of my training and racing. With Ultra-distance training the long rides can get really long and mean riding from sunrise to sunset on weekends. Not to mention the financial commitment.
I have a couple friends that have been convinced to join me on more then one occasion. Mike Doyle and Bill Ford have both completed Balltown several times, ridden with me out to RAGBRAI, completed the Midwest 12 hour challenge and numerous long training rides. Chad Bishop and Greg Harper (both accomplished racers) force me to work on speed during shorter training rides.
I am fortunate to have a nice paying job that lets me get off work at 2:30 each day to allow me to ride outside, without lights, even in the middle of winter. On early spring days with nice weather like last week that really is a plus.
Just living in rural Iowa is a blessing. I live just north of town and when the snow is melting and the city streets are sloppy I don't have to mess with it. There are many roads around Muscatine that are great to ride, paved and gravel. I am glad I don't have to fight traffic each time I ride or load my bike to get someplace safe.
I am sure there are many more blessing I am lucky to have. On your next ride as you are in the middle of no-where let your mind drift away from the worries of life and take time to count your blessings and be really thankful of the great life we all enjoy.
It was a great week of riding with the weather finally looking like the end to winter is near. Although, as I type this there is a blanket of snow on the ground. Iowa weather at it's finest.
A quick recap of the week starts with a 112 mile ride on Sunday. This was the longest ride for the year and consisted of several smaller rides. The scheduled ride was the bike club St. Patrick's Day ride at 1:00. There was 7 of us that completed a 32 mile loop. Greg Harper and I added a loop afterwards and then I took the long way home to make 112. I ran a little short on food during the second loop but started feeling better towards home.
The weather for the week was great. Low 60's and sunny was the standard for most days except Tuesday. Daily totals for the weekdays were 70, 60, 39, 71 and 13.

End of Winter

2010-03-03T15:58:00.000-08:00

This really has been a long winter. I always wonder if it seems longer to the people who train out in the cold and are tired of freezing or the people who train indoors and are just dying to get outside. My training is about half and half so either way I am ready for warmer weather.

February was an up and down month for me. My weekly miles started out good, went down the toilet one week (117 miles) that I worked late every night and then ended with my biggest week (333 miles) in a long time including a century on February 28th. 256 of the 333 miles were outside as the sun shined and the winds were light. The new challenge with the warmer weather is the sloppy roads but that is better then ice.

As I write this I am having another down week with work sending me to Binghamton New York for a few days. Binghamton is where they got 18" of snow last Thursday and Friday. Luckily quite a bit melted by the time we got here on Monday. The hotel I am at only has tread mills so if I want to workout on a bike I have to drive down the road to a health club.

My training is leading up to the Trans Iowa VI that is only seven weeks away. I feel I have a pretty good base but need to start increasing my weekly long ride peaking at 12 hours over the next 6 weeks before tapering off for the race. A big issue before the race is buying or borrowing a cyclo-cross bike to ride. Either way I would like to have 4 weeks of riding on the bike before the race. My 12 hour ride two weeks before the race needs to be on that bike and mainly on gravel roads. There are a lot of gravel roads around to choose from but I am not sure I can convince any of my training partners to join me. They already think I need to be institutionalized.

Read below to determine what type of cyclist you are.

Climber: Body type: lung on a stick. Distinguishing bike characteristic: single water bottle cage, no valve caps. If not a cyclist, would be: runner, supermodel or loincloth-wearing ascetic. Favorite conversation topics: weight in grams of cable end caps; long-forgotten taste of ice cream. In the peloton, likes to: hide.
Sprinter: Body type: quads the size of beer kegs, elbows sharper than stiletto, multiple road-rash scars. Distinguishing bike characteristic: 11-tooth cog, shredded front-tire sidewall from sticking wheel into tight places such as others' cassettes. If not a cyclist, would be: street fighter. Favorite conversation topics: anything involving smack talk. In the peloton, likes to: yell at everyone to "Close that gap!" but never takes a pull.
Time Trialist: Body type: flexible enough to join Chinese acrobat troupe. Distinguishing bike characteristic: aerodynamic frame, wheels, handlebar, water bottle, cable end caps. If not a cyclist, would be: computer programmer or engineer. Favorite conversation topics: drag coefficients, most recent visit to wind tunnel, slipperiness of skin-suit. In the peloton, likes to: get on the front and ride, dammit.
Commuter: Body type: N/A. Distinguishing bike characteristic: grime. If not a cyclist, would be: NASCAR driver. Favorite conversation topics: carbon footprints, climate change, recyclability of objects not commonly known to be recyclable. In the peloton, likes to: ring handlebar bell.
Ultra-distance Rider: Body type: all of the above. Distinguishing bike characteristic: lights, handlebar bag and/orange seat bag, comfy saddle. If not a cyclist, would be: Institutionalized!" Favorite conversation topics: food, miles/kilometers ridden, food, extreme weather experiences, food. In the peloton, likes to: "Peloton?"

Happy riding and hey, spring is around the corner? March 14th starts daylight savings time. Hopefully the snow will be gone by then.

Hard to keep motivated

2010-01-29T18:46:00.000-08:00

Most of my riding this month has been in the basement on my Velodyne. I am really lucky to have that to ride on instead of just a regular trainer. If the sun is shining through the window you can ALMOST pretend you are riding on the road. Climbing up and down the hills makes it seem more realistic and the work out is great. My monthly totals will be about 800 miles with only about 340 outside.

To help lighten the mood, and since I don't have much to post about I am going to add some links to some entertaining You-tubes videos along with some statistics from riders who really are crazy. When you look at there riding it makes me seem normal.

Pre-ride conversation
Another pre-ride
Post ride conversation
Another post die conversation
There are many You-Tubes videos you can see once you bring up one of these.

Roller Tricks

The Ultra Marathon Cycling Association has an indoor challenge each year from December 1 to March 1. You get points for riding indoors based on how many hours you ride. A ride must be at least 2 hours long to earn points. Additional points are awarded only for full hour increments as follows:
First full two hours in a session 2 points
next full hour (3rd hr) 2 points
next full hour (4th hr) 3 points
next full hour (5th hr) 4 points
next full hour and subsequent full hours 5 points each hour

The leader has 951 point with 396 hours of indoor riding since December 1st. I think he needs to get a life. Follow the link to the rules and standings.

I have been logging my miles with on the Big Dog web page for the last two years. Each year more and more riders are logging insane miles. Paul Carpenter, the top "dog" will be over 1500 miles outside for this month. You would think that he lives in a warm place but he is from the Chicago Suburb of Batavia and commutes to work 31 miles each way. Click on the link on his name to read his post for this month. I am not sure how/why he rides that much in the cold.

Old Man Winter Keeps Coming

2010-01-11T15:32:00.000-08:00

Another week of Iowa winter weather. Last week's bitter cold temperatures and wind chills forced me to ride inside 5 out of 7 days. I kept looking at the long range forecast without any satisfaction. Finally towards the end of the week the long range started to look a little brighter with above freezing temperatures forecasted for this week. If it hits 40 it will feel like a heat wave.

When deciding whether to ride inside or out there are a couple factors that push me to my basement other then the obvious cold:

1. How slick are the roads? Laying on the pavement is not as much fun as it used to be even if it is covered with snow. Just ask Doyley how much fun it is after he went down three times a few Sunday's ago. At our age we don't seem to bounce as much as we used to. Going down a couple times in mid December has me a little gun shy.
2. How windy is it? A 10 mph wind is really awful in the winter. What you are wearing is completely different for the head/cross wind then the tail wind. I usually am overdressed and just sweat with the wind. The problem is being sweaty makes you colder so you have to make sure it is a tail wind home.
3. Daylight hours. I have quite a few different light set ups for both my mountain bike and my road bike. I don't mind riding in the dark but with the snow covered roads you have to watch out for the slick spots. These spots are hard enough to see during the daylight let alone at night.
4. How long will it take to get dressed and undressed? Within 5 minutes of walking in the door I can be downstairs riding the trainer. I have a dedicated bike on the trainer that has not seem outside since 1994. To ride outside will take 20-30 minutes of clothing preparation ahead of time plus 10 minutes after. That does not include the time after the ride in the shower to get the chill chased out of my body. More on Winter clothing in my next post.
5. How much "crud" will I get on my bike? The gravel roads are usually pretty dry but the paved roads and city streets can get a little slushy. For this purpose I do have an old mountain bike with fenders and street slicks. That bike is great if there is no snow or ice on the roads. I don't clean my bike very often but the slushy conditions are really hard on them.
6. Do I want to get a specific workout? During the winter I find it hard to get a hard workout outside. Most the time if the roads are snow covered your mission is to keep the rubber side down and the skin side up. Doing intervals, hill repeats or sprints is out of the question. If you do try to push the pace a little at various intervals you just get sweaty which leads to getting colder. Any hard efforts have to be at the end of the head wind or close to home. On my trainer I can do workouts by percent grade or watts. Everything is controlled and I get a great workout.

If the weather is pretty decent and the sun is shining I will decide at work if I will ride outside or in. Once I decide to ride outside I have to head out as soon as I get home and try not to think of all the reasons to ride inside. Now that the Big Dogs mileage mania does not count indoor miles there is some peer pressure to ride outside when possible.

As we head to the downhill side of winter (January 17th the almanac says the average high goes from 29 to 30 degrees) and the days get longer there will be more opportunities to ride outside. Last year was my highest total mileage year with my lowest indoor miles. Hopefully I can break both those marks this year.

2009 Year in Review

2010-01-03T16:29:00.000-08:00

Well 2009 in is the bag. It is time to look back and see what went right and what can be improved. It is also time to set goals for the new year and plan key events.

2009 in Review: 13,000 miles total. 11,328 road bike, 1083 indoors, 589 mountain bike. Average week was 249.3 miles, average per day was 35.6 miles, 50.6 miles per day for the 256 day I rode.

What went right: The 24 hours of Sebring had a few bright spots. It was the first race I used Succeed by E-caps. I cramped at the 150 mile mark because of sporadic use of the pills but once I got on a schedule of one every 20 minutes I felt great and came back to finish strong. This helped me establish the need for 3 an hour in the hot conditions. I also discovered that the new shoes I was trying were not going to work for ultra rides. They were too tight. I had a good training plan leading up to RAW. My mileage increased gradually peaking with three 200+ Saturday's in a row. The last one being the Balltown Classic that featured 11,000 feet of climbing. I finished feeling real good and confident that my spring training was solid and my nutrition plan was going to work well. A first place at the 200 mile Metamora in August was my best race of the year. The heat and headwind shattered the group but once again my nutrition and hydration was right on and I finished feeling like I could have kept riding.

What went wrong: During Sebring along with the foot issues I had seat issues. This set in motion me changing seats, shorts, and chamois cream. I thought I had it all dialed in but RAW showed me otherwise. I should have had at least on 24 hour ride in May for the final tryout before RAW. There are some issues that just don't surface in a 12-15 hour ride. Not finishing RAW was the biggest disappointment of the year. I kick myself all the time for quitting.

What to improve: More core and strength training. Early in the spring my weekend rides need to be longer. Not so much focus on miles during the week but focus on the long rides. I had 109 days off the bike in 2009 and that needs to be less. August was my lowest mileage month which is just way wrong. I need to have a 200 mile day on RAGBRAI.

2010 Goals and Key Events: Yearly goal is 13,000 miles. My key events will be: Trans Iowa IV on April 24-25th. This is an unsupported 300+ mile gravel road race in central Iowa. HooDoo 500 at the end of August in south west Utah. This is also an unsupported ride.

Iowa in December

2009-12-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

Total miles for the week: 203
Mon 15 easy indoors
Tues 32 Group indoors intervals
Wed 27 easy outside
Thur 40 endurance pace outside
Fri 16 Shop on the rollers 5:58 for Killer 2 miles (best ever)
Sat 33 Outside easy
Sun 40 Endurance pace indoors
Next Week Goal : 175

I think we have been pretty lucky with the weather this December. Last year I only rode outside 3 times for a total of 155 miles. This week I rode outside three times and for the month I have 300 outdoor miles total. Sunday's outside ride got cancelled with the snow coming in early.

I don't mind riding outside if the roads are dry and the wind is not blowing 20+ mph. The big hassle is that it takes 30 minutes to figure out what to wear and get dressed. Gravel roads are great to ride when they are snow covered but in the last week they have been too icy. Last Friday I was on the gravel roads and found myself laying in the middle of the road as the bike went right and I went left. I decided I better wait until some of the ice breaks up before "hitting" them again.

For indoor training I started the second year of Tuesday night indoor group rides in my basement. The turnout has been light the first two weeks but hopefully will pick up as the winter continues. The sessions are usually 75-90 minutes with either a Coach Troy video work out or some other structured workout. My wife is a spin instructor and can be pretty creative with her workouts and I have been know to steal a few of hers.

When the season starts each rider completes and anaerobic threshold test on my indoor trainer. This test is better referred to as the ride-til-u-die test. It is based on Conconi's test to determine anaerobic threshold. Before the test the rider warms up 15-30 minutes. They then ride a pre-programmed 10 minute interval that increases the wattage every 30 seconds. The wattage range is normally 165-412. The subject rides until they can't ride anymore. You are only allowed to stand for your last interval. Since the interval is based on watts not speed shifting or slowing your cadence does not make it any easier. The machine just adds more resistance to keep the wattage at the targeted level. The longest I have made it is 9.5 minutes.

The attached video is Greg Harper on the last 30 seconds.

When repeated at regular intervals this test will let you know if you are in better shape then last time. You can compare your heart rate at a certain watts from previous test. If your hear rate is lower then you are in better shape. My results last week were close to the results from early June right before leaving for RAW and a little better then last year at this time.

Somebody order me a C.A.T.scan

2009-12-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

Last week I sent in my entry form, and actually got in, to the TRANS IOWA VI. The field limit is only 75 and it fills up within hours of registration opening. I was fortunate enough to have Christopher's girlfriend drop my entry off at the store on the weekend so they would have it first thing on Monday. This is a 300+ mile gravel road race that takes place in central Iowa at the end of April. The course is a big loop that is revealed section by section as you arrive at the check points. The route to the first check point is the only cue sheet you start the race with. As if 300 miles of gravel is not enough of a challenge the race is completely unsupported. You have to carry everything or stop at c-stores along the route. Last year the top riders were done in about 25 hours.

Training for this event will begin after the first of the year. The plan is to ramp up the long rides on the weekends. In late March and early April increase to some 150-200 miles rides. Most of my long rides will be on the roads but I will have to throw in some gravel riding as the date gets closer.

Equipment choice for this race will be very critical. The bike of choice over the last couple of years has been a cyclocross bike or a 29" wheeled mountain bike with cyclocross tires. I don't have either. I am hoping to borrow a cyclocross bike from one of my riding partners for the month of April.

Lights are also a big choice. Riding on the pavement you can get by with less of a light then you can on the gravel. Most paved roads are well marked with very few obstacles. Gravel on the other hand has no white lines along the edges and many potholes and other obstacles. My plan is to us a Schmidt Dyno hub. The output of this light is great and I won't have to worry about carrying batteries. The only problem with this light is that when you stop the light goes out. To over come this I will also have Connie's adventure race head lamp on my helmet. The helmet light will be needed anyway to read the cue sheet and the street signs.

Being unsupported means that you will have to carry extra clothing for temperatures changes plus food to get from town to town. It will be a little hard to find food at 2:00 in the morning when you are in the middle of no where. I have not decided if I want to wear a Camelbak Mule or put a seat rack on the back. Right now I am leaning towards the Camelbak.

Now that winter has arrived the training has tapered off a bit but the goal is to try to get at least one 60-70 mile ride in each week. I am not looking forward to the week that I will be stuck in the basement riding for 3 to 4 hours. I am on target to get 13,000 miles this year with 12,000 being outside.

To mix training up a little I entered the Devil's Cross cyclocross race in Bettendorf a few weeks ago. It was a great workout. I raced the fat tire division first and got first place of 6 and then entered the 40+ open race and got 7th of 8. The open race had 29 entries and I got 19th overall. I was the only rider on a mountain bike. I was in it for the fun and work out and accomplished both.

RAAM 2010 I am in!!!!

2009-11-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

Wednesday June 9th the 29th RAAM will start at noon from the pier in Oceanside California and once again I will be there. For 2010 I will be with the RAAM racers not the RAW racers. This is a big step up from last years RAW but I hope that last years experience will make the move easier. Many of you are amazed that after last years DNF I would once again submit myself to that kind of punishment. Before you call and schedule me for a C.A.T. scan the catch is that in 2010 I will be part of a crew for a RAAM racers not racing myself.

I first met Paul Carpenter at the Balltown Classic in 2008. He was finishing his preparations for the Race Across the West. He and I had been at some of the same events but we never had been formally introduced. That fall as I was finishing the Ultra Iowa 24 hour race I briefly asked him about his RAW experience. He is the one that convinced me to give it a try. In February of 2009 we drove to Florida together to compete in the "24 Hours of Sebring". We talked about racing quite a bit and he told me his plans to compete in RAAM 2010. I offered to crew if he needed some help. Last week I got an e-mail from him asking if I was still interested.

Paul has been the top "Big Dog" the last three years riding over 20,000 miles each year and already at 19,000 this year. He lives in Batavia Illinois, a suburb of Chicago and works at Northern Illinois University and rides 31 miles each way to work. You can read some of his ride entries at Bigdogs.

As the race gets closer I am sure I will know what the travel details and what my jobs as a crew member will be.

Fall Riding

2009-10-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

Late September and early October are pretty depressing as a cyclist. Each week 10 minutes of day light vanishes and then slowly, as the temperatures fall, the winter riding gear starts to surface. First it is just tights and maybe a vest, next long finger gloves and shoe covers. Pretty soon the winter boots and all the wind proof stuff will replace the sleeveless jersey's and sandals. Sweating during an outside ride becomes a result of over-dressing not the heat. The bright side is that in 6 months the summer stuff will slowly start to surface. Some one needs to come up with a slick term for the cycling of cycling gear throughout the Midwest year.

This time of year you have to take advantages of each day that is rideable. Of course the definition of "rideable" will be changing with the weather. Every rider has there own definition and many of my riding partners think that mine is a little insane. Normally for me if the roads are pretty dry you can ride. I have all the clothes needed to ride at any temperature sometimes I don't have the motivation to step out and ride.

Last week during the three days of rain I rolled my trainer with my indoor bike out of the back room in the basement and set it in it's customary spot in front of the TV next to the bar with a fan within reach. I kept thinking I was going to ride indoors but could not get the motivation My trainer of choice is a 1989 model Velodyne with a 1990 Trek 2300 mounted . Schwinn marketed the trainer for a couple years and even had some nation wide competitions. I purchased mine in 1990 and have put about 1500 miles per year on it ever since.

For 1989 this was cutting edge technology. There are pre-programmed race courses plus you can make you own courses. It is similar to the computrainers you can buy today but mine has an LCD screen and you are just a "blip" on the course you are riding.

Last winter I programmed some of the tougher sections of the Race Across the West for training. You can create hills up to 15 percent in one percent increments but the length is limited to 20 miles. You can get a really great hill climb workout. There are nine different levels of racers to chooses from to help push you along. Level seven makes for a nice challenge and level six a nice tempo ride. As long as you stay with the pack you get the benefit of drafting as well.

The goal for this off season is to limit the amount of indoor riding and ride outside as much as possible. The indoor rides need to be specific workout with either hill repeats of 3-6 minute intervals. Last year was one of my lowest indoor mileage years with only 650 mile between January 1st and now. Last year the Tuesday night group move our group rides to my basement with each person bringing is own trainer. This cranked up the motivation and the intensity watching coach Troy videos and giving each other crap.

Seven Oaks 24 hour MTB Race

2009-09-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

-Chris Caleb Joe -

Labor day weekend I got in way over my head and signed up for the Seven Oaks 24 hour mountain bike race near Boone Iowa. Four or five years ago I ventured onto the dirt several times a year and competed in a few races. In the last couple years my mountain bike has been relegated to the gravel roads and snow. When I stumbled across the information for this race it seemed like a nice change of pace from all the road riding I had been doing this year.

To get ready for the race I got my Schwinn Homegrown tuned up and race ready. I did some test rides around town and through Weed Park and was really enjoying the change of pace. Toward the end of August we had to make a trip to Ames so I used the opportunity to check out the race course. I only had time to ride one loop of the course. The 8 mile loop took 70 minutes and about killed me. My back, shoulders and arms felt like lead. I was not sure how I was going to be able to ride 24 hours or this. The bad part was I had already signed up for the race. To make matters worse the boys had signed up for the two person 12 hour. Chris is a great mountain biker and in great shape. Caleb has only ridden about 5 times all year let alone off road. It was setting up to be an interesting weekend.

The Friday before the race we packed a ton of food, four mountain bikes, camping supplies and anything else you would need for a 24 hour race. The plan was to arrive the night before and set-up camp. Connie would be the main support person with Chris's girlfriend Kelsey helping. Since the race did not start until noon on Saturday we would have plenty of time to get the bikes ready and ride part of the course.

The rules for a 24 hour mountain bike race are little simpler then the road. There are no light or clothing requirements and drafting is allowed. We started with a Leman style start. You lay your bike on the ground, back up about 200 yard. When they start you "run" to your bike and start the race. AFter mounting your bike we climbed a very large hill on a gravel road before heading into the woods.

Chris did the first leg for the boys so we started together. That was the last I saw him on the bike until he lapped me during my fourth lap and thier fifth. I started easy and just wanted to survive as long as I could.

Mountain bike riding is a lot different then road bike riding in that you never get a chance to relax while you are on the bike. Most the time you have to hang on with both hands so even getting a drink is a problem. A camel back is great for the water but there is no way to eat while moving or take electrolyte pills. I could only take e-caps when I was stopped. This turned out not to be that big a deal since there was many times each lap that I had to get off and push up hills or over tree roots.

I got my first cramp at the beginning of the fourth lap about 5 1/2 hours into the race. I had been doing laps in about 1:10 to 1:15 but that lap took me 1:35. There were many times during that lap I had to completely stop and stretch out the cramp. The last half of the lap I pushed my bike up any hill and was only able to ride on the flat and downhill sections.

After that lap I took a 15 minute break to drink a ton, take in more sodium and eat something. Heading out for the fifth lap I was a little worried about how the rest of the race was going to be. But during the next two laps I felt great. It seemed like I was getting the hang of the course and was able to clear a few of the sections that had forced me to dismount the first four laps. I still had a couple small cramps but they seemed to be in control and I was actually having a good time. I was currently in 7th place of 15 and pretty happy with that . Then it got dark.

I like riding at night. I have ridden off road a few times in past so felt pretty confident as the sun went down. That lasted about 10 minutes. This course was tough enough when you could see the obstacles approaching. Now in the dark it was way hard. I had a light on my helmet plus one on the bike. They were OK lights but nothing like the guys that were passing me had. When they came up behind you it looked like daylight. Most of them had one super bright light on the bike and one on there helmet. As I finished the lap I had made up my mind to pack it in for the night and start again in the morning. I was able to see the boys finish thier race as Caleb completed the last of the 10 laps for them at 11:20. He was the only one of us that rode two laps in the dark.

As I was putting things away for the night I noticed there was a problem with the tread of one shoe. As you can see from the picture I did so much walking that I tore the tread right off the bottom of the shoe. To me this was a sign that there would be no more riding at this event. So the next morning we packed things up and headed for home. I was able to ride 9:20 minutes for a total of seven laps of 56 miles. My riding time was right at 8 hours for an average speed of a whopping 7 mph.

Looking back at the race I really had a good time even though it was extremely challenging. If I ever try this type of race again I would definitely do more off road riding and either invest in a really good light of rent one for the night. I underestimated my sodium and water needs for the first four laps and would have to develop a better plan on how to handle that problem.

Metamore 4x50

2009-08-14T14:59:00.001-07:00

Metamora 4x50
After some short fast racing it was time to get back to ultra-distance racing. Metamora is 12 miles outside of Peoria and is run by the Big Dogs group out of the Quad Cities. The route is 50 mile loops that are pretty flat, except for one short steep hill at mile four. This was the third time I have done this race but this time Bill Ford was not with me.

I had not done a fast century since the May 31st Balltown so I was not sure what kind of endurance I still had. The forecast was for heat and wind. I don't mind the wind but the heat usually gets me. 88 riders started the race entering either the 100 of 200 mile races. After the hill the group was down to about 30 as we wandered through the cornfield lined roads on our way back to the start area with an 22 mph average.

The goal for most 200 mile races is to stay with the lead group as long as you can. This is not a problem with a flat course. The challenge comes when you complete the first lap and have to stop for food and water or bathroom break. If you don't stop you risk the chance of bonking. If you stop too long you are by yourself for the last 150 miles. I was ready for a quick "splash and dash" and was in and out in less then 30 seconds to ride with the lead group of 8 starting the second lap. We worked well together and actually finished the second lap 2 minutes faster then the first in a time of 2:15. Riders included Paul Carpenter (RAW 2008 winner), Bryce Walsh (600K indoor track record holder), Jay Yost, Dave Haussler, one of Jays teammates, John Schlitter on a recumbent (2008 Solo RAAM finisher and only recumbent solo RAAM finisher) and one other recumbent. By the end of this lap the sun was out and the temperatures were rising. The wind was blowing 15-25 as well.

The end of the second lap pit stop was as quick as the first. During the third lap Paul, plus Jay's teammate stopped at the halfway sag stop for a break. Shortly after that Jay dropped off the pace with mechanical problems as Dave, Bryce, the two recumbents and I pushed on to the 150 mile mark in 6 hours and 58 minutes.

The third pit stop was a little longer, four minutes. I needed to fill my camel back, get some more salt tablets, and get some clean sunglasses. Bryce got a flat as we left the stop and the two recumbents had already left as Dave and I rolled out one last time. We caught John on his recumbent pretty quick but never saw the other recumbent. Dave and John stopped to cool off at the half way sag and I kept going with the goal of finishing in under 10 hours.

I was unable to catch the last recumbent but held on to be the first finisher in the standard frame class in a time of 9:40. Two minutes slower the my fastest time and five minute behind the recumbent. Not too bad considering the wind. Dave was second in 9:52.

My diet, hydration and sodium was right on for the day. During the ride I drank 140 ounces of water, 68 ounces of gatorade, 44 ounces of perpetuim, 29 S-caps with 400 mg of sodium each, 3 bottles of Ensure, 6 Clif shot bloks, 3 bottles of Sobee, 1 bottle of Cytomax and 2 chicken salad sandwiches. With the heat it is hard to eat solids so I had planned to use mainly a liquid diet. This seemed to be the right decision.

A change of pace

2009-08-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

Late July and August left me looking for something different. I have not competed in a USCF Cat IV race in a couple of years. I did not have anything going on August 1st so I went to West Branch to compete in the State Road Race Championship.

I heard horror stories about last years death march in the heat with rolling hills but that only made it seem like more of a challenge. The goal was to see if I could hang with the young studs and maybe have a good finish. The race was 54 miles, which is long for USCF events but pretty short compared to what I normally do. I was not too worried about the distance. There was some nice rolling hills but I had trained most of the summer in the hills and RAGBRAI was pretty hilly so that did not worry me. One of my weaknesses has been constant changes in the pace from attacks. I can go steady for a long time but I struggle with quick jumps. I assumed going into the race that there would be a series of attacks as the race progressed. I just wanted to be able to hang on.

The morning of the race produced reasonable temperatures with moderate winds. I was carrying three water bottles, salt tablets and some Clif Shot Bloks so I would not need anybody to hand me up any supplies.

There were 40 riders that started as we rode into a stiff crosswind to start. The pace was moderate but nothing I couldn't handle. 5 miles into the race a rider attacked on the first nice climb and I was in position to go with him. We pushed teh pace a little until the group reeled us in. That was a nice warmup and I was feeling pretty good.

I hung out toward the front of the group most the time and was able to push a pretty good pace up a few hills to keep on the pressure. With 10 miles to go I got a twinge of a cramp. I was not taking enough sodium for the effort combinied with the heat. Fro the next 9 miles I sat towards the back and drank everything I had and pushed more salt. I finished the race without anymore cramps but was in very poor position for the late sprint and finished 11th. It seemed like my fitness for racing was as good as it ever was when I was racing regularly.

Night at the Oval:

Tuesday the 4th Greg Harper, Chad Bishop, Bob Hayes and I made the road trip to Cedar Rapids to race at Hawkeye Downs speedway. This is a great format that is run the first and third Tuesday each month during the summer. This was my second USCF race in four days. I was not looking for results just a good time, good workout, racing with the team and a check on my fitness.

We basically competed in three races. The first 11 lap race I rode at the front to make sure that no one got away without Harper's having a rider in the break. I was able to chase three different attacks down by pushing the pace at a fast steady pace. The second was a combination of a win-and-out and a miss-and-out. In this race the first rider across the line on the first lap won and got to sit out fo the rest of the race. Also the last person across the line was last and had to sit out the rest of the race. I was not able to get across the line first until the last lap. I was never last so I got to ride the most laps to finish in the middle. The third race was like the first only we rode the opposite directions. That race was non-eventful. We also did a one lap race in your hardest gear and a one lap race in your easiest gear. I felt really good the entire night and we had a great time. Over all Greg got third, Chad forth and ninth for me in the A group. Bob raced in the B group and got 8th. Next year we need to make the trip a few more times.

Where have I been??

2009-08-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

The summer just flew by once RAW was completed. It seemed like there was no reason for riding/training anymore. I still had to ride RAGBRAI but it was a short year at only 442 miles. There is always the ride out which is a great time. This year Mike Doyle joined me once again and Bill Ford came back after missing a year. But even that ride was going to be short to Council Bluffs at around 300 miles. So I had to get my twisted mind thinking about the next challenge. A few things came to mind including a cross Iowa record attempt.

After some consideration I decided to hold off on any record attempts until next year. June would be a great time to try because of the longer days. The north to south (241 miles) and east to west (275) have never been attempted so just completing the ride, with an official in the follow vehicle, would guarantee a record. This is kind of cheesy but a record is a record. I also have kicked around the south-north-south. Since the south to north has a recorded that crossing could be pushed pretty hard in an attempt to break the record. Once up north I would take a short break and head south. The S-N-S has not been established either so I would establish two records with a chance to break the third. We will see what next year brings.

This still left me with not much motivation or big goals. I usually compete in the Ultra Midwest 24 hour race in Port Byron Illinois. Two years ago I wanted to do my first 400 mile ride and last year I wanted to get RAAM qualified (425) and made both those goals. I do not have a specific goal for this year and was worried that in the middle of the night I would just go home as I had nothing to prove.

Then I saw the flyer for the 24 hour mountain bike race in Boone Iowa and a new adventure started to take shape. This race is held Labor Day weekend, the same as the Ultra Midwest. I have not raced my mountain bike for about 3 years and have never done a race longer then 2 hours. This is definitely going to be a challenge. After committing to the race I talked to a previous winner and he told me the course was brutal. He says there is no flat spots and the entire race takes place in the woods so there is not much air moving. Needless to say this scared me to death.

Seven Oaks has an entire weekend of activities plus camping so we are going to make a family weekend out of it. The boys have even signed up for the 12 hour race. The race starts at noon on Saturday and finishes at noon on Sunday. They even have a free pasta party at midnight on Saturday.

RAW Diet

2009-07-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Below is the list of what I ate and drank during 50 hours of cycling over a little less then three days time. As you see my diet was very diverse. That means that we had a buffet in the van as we moved across the west.

28 bottles of water, 4 bottles of Cytomax, 3 Sobees, 7 bottle of gatorade, 12 clif shot bloks, 5 bottles of Perpetum, 3 ensures, 5 ham or chicken sandwiches, 8 fig newtons, some grapes, banana, 3 cheeses sticks, 2 glasses of chocolate milk, pop tart, 2 dill pickles, 1 piece of meat lovers pizza, a twice baked potato, 3 pieces of beef jerky, rice krispie treat, 2 jelly sandwiches, Twix, 1 bottle of muscle milk, and 2 egg Mcmuffin's. Plus probably a few things that did not get written down.

Add to this probably 50-60 S-caps and many ibuprofen and Aleeve.

Looking back I did not eat enough or have my crew force feed me each hour. If this was a Larry Ide diet it would have been one coke and one candy bar each hour.

Success versus Failure

2009-07-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

I have written this report a thousand times in my head, starting as soon as my rear hit the seat 17 miles from Cortez Colorado when I realized I was not going to finish. There are many great quotes about failure. The quote that keeps coming back to me is "Those who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try nothing and succeed."

The entire RAW experience was great. Our family will have memories that we will share forever. I will have stories that my friends will get tired of hearing for the 100th time but I will never get tired of re-living. I knew this was going to be a tough ride but I guess I was not ready for the pain. Saddle sores were a big concern of mine and I did many things to try to limit the occurrence but evidently not enough.

Positives:
I rode more miles (491) and more hours (35) then I ever have without taking a break. I did more climbing in that 35 hours then I ever care to do. But most big ups have really great downs. I learned that I feel pretty good after 3 hours sleep. Even two nights in a row. I only cramped once and that was the first night on some small rolling hills. It is amazing what 1200 mg of sodium an hour will do. My family got to see more of the country in two weeks then many people see in a lifetime and can be together in a vehicle for two weeks without killing each other. My wife would make a really great nurse. I have friends and family that support me no matter how crazy I am.

I could list many more positives that I have taken from this adventure. The tough part is that several time each day I question my decision to withdraw from the race. I broke an ultra-distance rule by looking at the big picture (275 miles left to ride) instead of breaking the ride into little chunks (50 miles to the next time station). Once the justification of stopping entered my head there was no turning back. Hindsight is 20/20 but I believe withdrawing was the right choice at the time.

Will I do this again? That is a tough question. I really enjoy long rides. It is a great feeling to see the sun come up, go down and come back up while riding. I love riding at night and how it is so much different then riding during the day. Each turn is a surprise that forces you to not anticipate but just participate in the ride living only in the moment. I will be looking for other, questionably sane, but closer to home, riding adventures before I decide if RAW is in my future. I think 2 person or 4 person team Race Across America would be a blast. Riding near the four 75 year old cyclist of team grand pac masters was truly inspirational. That means that I still have almost 30 years to complete a team RAAM.

Thanks to everyone for there words of encouragement before, during and after the race. They really made a difference. I hope you enjoyed following along on this crazy ride and maybe I motivated someone to get out and enjoy bike riding.

PICTURES

2009-06-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

We are finally posting some of the pictures from the trip. Our computer at home crashed so it has taken a little longer to update the web site than anticipated. Check back for updates to pictures and some recaps of the adventure. May have to look at older posts to view additional pictures.

2009-06-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

Joe riding through the Desert on Day 1 of RAW

2009-06-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

Joe riding up to the Prescott Summit (elev 7,000+feet)

2009-06-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Joe and his oldest son - Chris - share a quick moment for a photo

2009-06-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

A great shot of Joe riding on his race. This was a very common scene with the follow vehicle present.

2009-06-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

Eric Furnas lives on Red Bull to stay awake!

2009-06-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

Joe shares a minute for a photo with son, Caleb, at the Utah border before entering Monument Valley.

2009-06-27T10:14:00.001-07:00

The two support vehicles for the race stop on Day 1 along the "Glass Elevator" - a screamin' downhill into the Anza Borrego Desert.

2009-06-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

Congress, Arizona - the first "manned" time station had a cool tub with jets, fresh lemonade, homegrown grapefruit, snacks and a place to change clothes. It was aweseome!!

2009-06-27T10:12:00.002-07:00

Caleb and Eric at the first Time Station - call RAAM Headquarters to report that Joe had made it to that station.

2009-06-27T10:12:00.001-07:00

Caleb doing a handoff at a time station

2009-06-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

Joe getting his hand-ups at Time Station 2 - Lake Henshaw. Eric and Chris are handing up.

2009-06-27T10:09:00.001-07:00

Joe at the Start Line for Race Across the West - June 17, 2009

2009-06-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

Team "Mann Powered"

Joe Mann
Connie Mann
Chris Mann
Eric Furnas
Caleb Mann

Right before the Race start.

2009-06-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

All of the Race Across the West Riders.

2009-06-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

Joe and Connie just before Joe starts his race.

2009-06-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

RAAM Officials inspect Joe's bike, wheels, and the support vehicles.

2009-06-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

Preparing the support vehicles.

Saturday Morning

2009-06-20T10:34:00.001-07:00

Joe arrived in Cortez, Colorado at 3:30 a.m. mountain time. A rider can get in the vehicle to go to a hotel as long as the crew calls the RAAM Headquarters. Joe was 18 miles before Cortez when they decided to head for the hotel for sleep. Eric and Chris were living on 5-hour energy, Red Bull and Mountain Dew. Caleb and I slept for 6 hours. At 6:30 a.m. we headed back to the point where Joe got in the van and called Headquarters to let them know Joe was back on route. He was in extreme pain and the road surface was bad so it made it impossible for him to sit on his saddle. We stopped and made him a PB&J sandwich that he had requested and ate that. He said there was no way he could continue. We tried to motivate him to keep going but it is painful to the crew to try to motivate someone who is in severe pain. It hurts to watch him! Joe got back on his bike and as we came in to Cortez, he asked for a ham, egg and cheese croissanwich from Burger King and he would meet us at Time Station #13. When we stopped at the time station, Joe made the decision to pull out of the race. It was hard for me to call in to RAAM Headquarters and let them know of this decision. Talked to Barb, the manager and she was very encouraging and said that Joe has all of there respect and that it is tough just to get to the start line. With all of this said and posted, we have moved everything we had in the rental vehicle to our vehicle (complete re-packing). We are getting ready to head to TAOS, via our van. Eric is heading out to meet his wife and son in Denver. Joe did a fabulous job and we are all VERY proud of him. The crew did outstanding!!! More later. Thanks for reading the blog and for all of your support!
Connie for Team Mann Powered

VIEWS

2009-06-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't mentioned that the scenery has been incredible and we have taken some awesome pictures and video and will try to upload a couple when we can. RAAM media crew took multiple pics of Joe today throughout Monument Valley, so check the RAAM web site.

Cortez, Colorado

2009-06-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how many times I've heard from Joe - "I understand why firearms aren't allowed to be carried during the race." It's been brutal. There were 5 individuals that signed up for the 50 and under category for the Race Across the West, 4 that started the race and only 2 left in the race. One of Joe's opponents quit in Flagstaff and that was Forward Motion - (Mike). Joe made it to Flagstaff at 11:00 p.m. on Thursday night, quite a bit later than he had originally anticipated. The climbing was insane!! He had one heck of a climb into Flagstaff. I helped him when he arrived get some serious wounds taken care of. (Yeah, nurse duty). He slept for 4 hours before we got up at 3:30 a.m. Flagstaff time and Chris and I were crewing for him this early morning shift, on the road at 4 am. Chris mentioned that he doesn't think he has ever seen his Dad so close to tears before as he was this morning. It wasn't really the fact that it was 44 degrees starting out, but the fact that he couldn't find a comfortable spot on his bike seat. He's eating and drinking pretty well. We found today that plain jelly sandwiches are tasting good to him. He also has been eating other foods and drinking ensure which is a great quick meal. I would be in bed right now (11:43 pm mountain time) but I need to do a load of laundry so Joe has some clean clothes for his ride Saturday. Caleb and I came ahead early tonight to get some rest and Christopher and Eric are helping him get into the time station. Joe had planned to sleep in Durango but decided around 4:00 this afternoon that he wouldn't make it to Durango until 5 or 6 am so we cancelled our rooms in Durango and were able to get rooms in Cortez, Co.

Last I heard, Dallas Morris is still ahead of Joe by 3 hours or so. Most of you that follow the race web site know exactly where these guys are, but we haven't even been able to get cell phone signals, let alone try to update the computer during the day.

Not sure if I'll be able to update before Taos, but will try.

Flagstaff, AZ

2009-06-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

Joe is on his way to Flagstaff. He had a very, very tough day! I can't tell you how many thousands of feet he climbed, including Yarnell Pass which I believe was an 8% grade for 8 miles. And it was hot too. It's all starting to run together after only a couple of hours of sleep for the crews last night. We keep telling ourselves that Joe hasn't had ANY sleep yet!! Twice today he was getting really tired - once was at 4 am. We played music over our loud speaker for him and gave him 2 pieces of Jolt gum which is like a cup of coffee. That really helped. Again he was getting tired this afternoon after Prescott. We gave him more gum and that helped. He missed a turn and we got him back on the right path. There were two climbs today that support was not allowed at all because of all the switchbacks and narrow roads. He is a real trooper. Chris and I left everyone at Cottonwood (one of the time stations) so we could come to Flagstaff and hopefully get at least 5 hours sleep. We have been up for 20 hours. I'm very nervous about Joe coming in to Flagstaff. We came up on 89A North I believe. It's beautiful in the daylight but I wouldn't want to climb in on a bike and especially not at night. At least with Eric and Caleb doing night support, it will be mandatory that they follow right behind him from 8 pm. He will need those headlights and the support! Crew is doing pretty good - tired, but hanging in there. I better call it a night and sleep while I can. Oh - almost forgot. Joe gets to sleep tonight, for a few hours anyway. I see the low in Flagstaff is about 42 degrees -- much, much colder than it has been so I'm not sure how tough it will be to get motivated and get out of bed to go ride. Thanks for reading the blog and for your support and prayers!!! In case you are wondering, it looks like Joe is in 2nd place, behind Dallas Morris by about 2 hours at this point.

TIME STATION #3

2009-06-18T01:58:00.000-07:00

Blythe - CA. Chris and I had about 2 1/2 hours sleep at a hotel in Blythe, CA before we received the phone call from Crew #1 (Caleb and Eric) that Joe was about 16 miles away from Blythe. We met Joe and Crew 1 at the Time Station which was a gas station. Joe said the bugs were nasty, the roads were rough and it's hot. It only got down to 82 degrees for a low. Of course, I like it because I like hot weather. :) He had some food at the time station and is now on a 30-mile stretch of interstate. INTERSTATE! And it's very busy too. Chris is driving and we are in follow mode. He has a nice 10' paved shoulder to ride on and we can't do any handoffs on the interstate unless we exit on a ramp. He has gone about 240 miles. - Connie

On the road...

2009-06-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Joe is through time station 2 in Brawley, CA and is riding through the desert. It is nighttime and its about 90 degrees. The heat is getting to Joe a little bit but he is still doing terrific! Averaging about 18.5mph on the bike and only has about 10min off the bike for the first 150miles. He is doing great and will ride through the night. We went by a lot of about 10,000+ cows and it smelled worse than Iowa hog farm in July! A funny story...Connie and Chris were driving through a Sand Dune recreation area and when they came up a little hill, a police car stopped them and a few cars behind them. Eventually, a semi driver went up and asked the cop what was going on and he told us he was holding us because they were "Taking care of a little business" up ahead on the other side of the hill. I should mention that we were less than 20 miles from the Mexican border... Anyway, keep reading! Updates will be sporadic due to sleeping schedules.

Race-Ready

2009-06-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we are officially checked in. The vehicles are official, the bike is official, the photos are taken. Now it is time to race. We have been getting the whole setup ready since we arrived on Sunday evening. Everything is locked, loaded, and ready to go. Only a small 1044 mile jaunt to Taos, NM and it will really be official.

Thank you

2009-06-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

A big thanks to all who helped us financially for the race. Thanks to Greg Harper for all the things he has done to make sure my bike is ready; Mike Doyle and Bill Ford for putting up with my insanity and helping to make sure my legs are ready; Paul Carpenter for all his advice and confidence-building. Jody Shoppa for working on our van and making sure it was ready for the trip. Lastly, thank you to the Big Dog group for organizing three very challenging and hilly rides to make sure my training got me as ready as a mid-westerner can be for the mountains. This has been a crazy dream(or nightmare) but it will be one that myself as well as the team will never forget.

SPONSORS
Melon City Bike Club
Rick Buller
Big Dogs
Hy-Vee of Muscatine

DONATIONS
Bill Ford
Craig Fry
Nancy Foxen
Ed and Karla Longstreth
Jeff & Amy Castro

PIE SALES
Alma Brunson
Christina Kloser
Greg & Karen Harper
Angie Sink
Dave Bender
Charlie & Jean Harper
Becky Brooker
Dave Everhart
Jennifer Middents
Becky Zeck
Dave Hurlbut
Jim Dotson
Bill & Carrie Harper
Deb & Keith Elliott
Jo Drahos
Bill Pierce
Diana Barry
Jodi Heth
Bob & Sandy Hayes
Diane Olson
Joel Christiansen
Bret McGreer
Eldon Ballenger
Jon Purvis
Brett & Ernie Guerra
Eric & Jenny Furnas
Julie & Mark Evans
Carla Byrd
Fred Lane
Kandice Tjebkes
Karen & Matt Meyer
Mike Taylor
Stacey & Tom Eberhard
Kay Ribbink
Monica Halstead
Steve Fowler
Larry Martin
Nancy Shell
Steve & Marla Lee
Lavene Payne
Paula Gillespie
Tammy King
Lisa Longtin
Peg Heither
Teri Lyon
Lori Lewis
Randy Hill
Tim Kelly
Mario Garcia
Randy Howell
Tina & Randy ball
Marta & Jim Burnham
Rita Painter
Traci Arceo
Mary Ellsworth
Sandy Cordrey
Wendy Durham
Mike & Vesta Doyle
Sara Stych

My Secret Weapon revealed!!!

2009-06-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

I know that some of my competitors are following the other rider blogs. That is why I have waited so long to post what my secret weapon will be of the Race Across the West. My secret weapon is my wife and crew chief Connie.

Connie and I will celebrate our 23rd anniversary the day RAW is officially completed on the 21st of June. Her first crewing experience was Paris-Brest-Paris 2003. She was able to meet me at every time station along the route to feed and water me and listen to me complain about how much further I had to ride. Crewing for PBP is not an easy task if you had a co-pilot but she did it solo. Each time check was about 50 miles apart so she had three hours to drive to the next town (by the way the vehicles do not follow the bike route they have to go around the route), find the check-in point, get a parking spot, find and purchase food (guessing what I was hungry for) and be back somewhere on the route where I could find her. I would be there maybe 15 minutes and then the entire process started again.

In 2006 and 2007 she and Eric signed up for the 6 hour challenge at the Ultra-Midwest race. After riding they crewed the rest of the day/night for me. In 2008 she crewed the first half with Chris and the second half Eric came up to help.

When I finally made up my mind to enter RAW she immediately started working. Her first task was fund raising. She wanted to sell something to raise the money and came up with the idea of baking pecan or pumpkin pies and selling them at Thanksgiving and Christmas. She made close to 50. After Christmas she opened the choices to any kind of pie you wanted. To date she has made over 100 pies and raised over $1500.

My wife has always been the travel agent of the family. I think she enjoys planning the trip almost as much as the enjoys the trip itself. As you can imagine RAW can be a huge logistical task. Just the drive out and the stay in Oceanside can be daunting let alone finding Hotels along the route at just the right distance to make it ideal for the rider and crew. There was also the second vehicle to rent(point to point), and airline tickets for Eric.

Other tasks that you don't even think about are vehicle/bike inspections and photo sessions at the beginning of the race, the correct signs for the vehicles, documents that are needed for the drivers, first aid supplies, and the list of "little" things goes on and on.

All the above mentioned thing are just what she does for the trip. There are many other ways that she has supported me in the last 6 months while I was training. She has dropped me off/picked me up for tailwind rides in the winter when I am too much of a weenie to fight the winds. Many Saturday's are spent at home doing the house work while I am out riding. Making sure the maintenance on the van is up to date. Convincing me to ride on days when I don't feel like riding. Reminding me to take care of the few things that I need to do for the race.

While she is doing all this she is still training 10-12 hours per week for triathlons. If you have ever seen our fireplace mantle you know who the real athlete of the family is. At the end of each year we take all the plaques, trophies, certificates and other prizes she has won for the year and put them away. It only takes one season to fill the shelf back up with awards. She has twice been the Quad Cities female multi-sport champion and top 5 in the Midwest Multi-sport. in 2006 she competed at the World Championships in Hawaii. She has been nationally ranked in the top 10 percent of her age group most years and is a real force to be reckoned with on the bike. Her latest physical challenge has been adventure racing.

I have been riding for over 20 years and have been fortunate to have a wife that understands my obsession. Not only does she understand but I am lucky enough to share the adventures with her. The few of us riders that are lucky enough to be in that situation need to thank our spouses more often then we do.

Thank you Connie for everything you do to support me!

Balltown Classic

2009-06-02T16:56:00.000-07:00

What a great conditions for an out and back bike ride to the north! 51 degrees at the 5:00 am start time with no wind. The forecast for the day was to be near 80 with north west breezes increasing as the day progressed. About 30 ultra-distance cyclists from all over the Midwest gathered in Dewitt Iowa for the Balltown Classic. Bill Ford and Mike Doyle joined me for this year's ride. For Mike this was his third start and for Bill it was his fourth in a row. I was lining up for my fifth consecutive attempt.

The first 60 miles went by quickly as 12 of us rolled into the first stop in 2:50. If you have never seen a sag stop at an ultra-distance event it is more like a pit stop in NASCAR then a RAGBRAI stop. I personally like to be in and out in less then one minute. My stop includes two new water bottle, slam down a bottle of Ensure, and grab a bag with a sandwich to eat halfway to the next stop then back on the road. The goal is to be out towards the front of the group so you don't have to chase. I was the fourth rider back on the road. For most riders, including Mike, first and foremost is a bathroom break. Unfortunately Mike took a little too and never caught back up with the rest of the group.

After the "stop" the route gets hillier and our group dwindled down to 8. At the 85 mile mark as you leave Epworth you enter some back roads that wind around and take you to the turn around at Balltown. This 20 mile stretch has three very steep and long climbs. They all are over 10% grade and one gets up to 18%. Throw in some pretty bad road conditions and you get one heck of a workout.

The eight of us rolled into Balltown (Bill and I sprinted for the sign and he won) for the turn around in 5:07. The turn around is actually at the 105 mile mark so we were still averaging over 20 mph. Not too bad for a bunch of old guys. Other then RAAM finisher Bryce Walsh I don't think any of us were under 40. At Balltown Bill and I decided to wait for Mike and finish the ride together. None of the three of us had ever finished with anybody. Each year on the way back it seemed like ever-rider for themselves. We decided we had nothing to prove and since the three of us had been planning this all year why not enjoy it. Besides misery loves company. Stopping time in Balltown was 35 minutes.

We picked up, and dropped a few riders going back through the big hills. The worst climb we sped up the hill at a whopping 5.5 mph. Back on the flat the three of us worked well together. Nothing hard just steady and efficient as the three of us rolled into the "stop" at 150 miles. We were number 6,7 and 8 to arrive 40 minutes behind the leaders. Three other riders left right after we arrived so we were within sight of third place. Just as Mike was getting comfortable at this stop I told him it was time to go and he would have to eat his food on the bike. This stop totaled about 10 minutes.

The tailwind picked up as we head back through Lost Nation to Dewitt. We were rolling along when we looked up and saw the other three riders. One of them had just got a flat and they all stopped to help him fix it. That is a great thing about Ultra-distance riding. No rider left behind. The guy with the flat was out of tubes so he borrowed one from Bill and a CO2 from me. That time got a hole as soon as we aired it up. It looked like his valve stem hole was causing his problems so Bill used the old tube to make a boot to cover the hole and he borrowed Mikes tube and got rolling again. The three of us pushed it in the tailwind (25-30 mph) and lost two of the riders and finished with Paul Carpenter. Paul was the only finisher of RAW last year and went with Bill and I to Florida in February. This gave me some time to pick his brain about my upcoming race. We were finishers 3,4,5 and 6 in 10:48 with a riding time of 9:55. In Ultra-distance events they only keep time to the minutes not seconds so there is no sprinting to the finish unless you can get a one minute gap. After 201 miles nobody was sprinting.

Food and drink for the ride:
Two 70 oz camelbacks of water, 48 oz of Gaterade, 60 oz of Cytomax Energy Drink, 24 oz Perpetuim, 2-20 oz Sobee's, three chicken salad sandwiches, 10 fig newtons, three ensures, three cheese sticks, one package of Clif Shot Bloks, 20 Succeed S!Caps(no cramps on this ride for the first time).

Check back for the Crew Chief profile and my final thoughts and preparations as the race is only two weeks away.

Bob Breedlove - Legend and an Iowan

2009-05-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

Bob Breedlove (1952-2005), Des Moines, Iowa, racing in the Race Across America. Breedlove was inducted into the Ultracycling Hall of Fame in 2005.

RACE ACROSS WEST DESCRIPTION

2009-05-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

Race Across the West (RAW) and Race Across America (RAAM) Racers start their cycling odyssey in Oceanside, California, leaving the sound of the Pacific Ocean surf hitting Oceanside Pier and enjoy a police-escorted “parade” up The Strand and the San Luis Rey bike path. By the time they cross under I-15, the parade is over and they’re racing with the RAAM staff providing minimal neutral support. The first time that Crews may accompany their Racers on the route comes after about 21 miles. Separate suggested, but not mandatory, routing is provided from the Start for the follow cars and for other Crew vehicles not allowed on the course until after crossing the coastal mountain range. A series of moderate climbs away from the ocean takes the Racers into the shadow of Palomar Mountain near the crest of the Laguna Mountains. Then, not unlike a blast furnace, the temperatures rapidly climb into triple digits during the steep, dizzying, twisty, 3500-foot descent of the “Glass Elevator” into the Anza Borrego Desert. Desert conditions could get even more difficult below sea level along the southern shore of the Salton Sea, as rising humidity levels make a mockery of the “at least it’s a dry heat” West Coast mantra. Brawley, California, is the RAAM first- day desert oasis with a Time Station and full services between two hot 90-mile sections. These sections take Racers over san dunes and through Colorado River Valley agricultural communities to Blythe and the Interstate Highway I-10 bridge to Arizona.

Without an extensive desert detour there is no alternative to riding the shoulder of I-10 for 30 miles as the race enters Arizona. The route trends up over the eastern lip of the Colorado River Valley to Quartzite (last 24-hour fuel opportunity until Prescott) and then departs the limited-access highway hazards on US 60. The barren stretch between Wenden and Gladden will be mentally demanding: for over 20 miles, the road is perfectly straight and not even the string of telephone poles along the left side of the road appears to alter in appearance. The desert is not a forgiving environment and there are few turnout opportunities for support vehicles maintaining the posted speed. 350 miles into the race, Yarnell Grade along with subsequent climbs into Prescott, finally allow the Racer to bid farewell to low desert conditions while providing white-knuckle driving for support vehicles.

Taking pages from historic RAAM routes of the mid 1980s, this race follows the mountain route from Prescott through Jerome, Cottonwood, and Sedona to Flagstaff. It is suggested that support vehicles not required for this 90-mile section use the fast SR89/I-40 bypass to avoid being trapped into illegal caravanning on the mountain roads and narrow streets of Jerome. The 24 Hour Challenge ends in Flagstaff.

Do I need a CAT Scan?

2009-05-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

Weekly Long rides:
4/04 112 Miles three loops
4/11 125 Miles 200K Brevet
4/25 101 Miles solo
5/02 145 Miles three loops
5/08 168 Miles to Ames
5/16 260 Miles the last 160 with Crew Support
5/23 246 Miles 58 in the dark then 300K Brevet

One of my riding partners (well at least one if not more) accused me of needing to have my head examined after riding 260 miles on a very windy and chilly Saturday May 16th. So to prove he was probably right, I completed the Big Dog's 300K (189) mile ride on Saturday. That in itself is not too crazy since there were 12 others who completed the ride. The crazy part was riding 58 miles ahead of time. The ride started at 5:00 am so I had to leave my house at 1:30 am Saturday morning to make it to LeClaire in time to start the ride. This did not thrill my wife.

The 300K ride was a great training ride for RAW because of the amount of long climbs. The 189 mile out and back route started from Leclaire and basically did the Sunday TOMRV optional century route backwards. The towns we passed through were McCausland, Follets, Low Moor, Elvira, Sabula, Bellevue, St. Donatus and then Key West. Key West is basically Dubuque. It sits at the top of the hill where highway 52 and 61 cross just south of Dubuque.

Mike Doyle has been a great riding partner to have around this spring. He did the 50/50 in April the 50/50/50 in May and was even crazy enough to join me for 100 miles of the windy ride on the 16th. After all that, he was still up for the challenge of this 189-mile adventure as well. To top it off, he is already signed up for the very challenging 200 mile Balltown Classic on May 30th.

Mike and I were joined by Larry Ide from Monmouth. Larry is a legend in Ultra-Distance cycling and has many notable results on his resume. I have done several rides with Larry and it is always interesting to see what his diet for the ride will be. Check out the diet for a 400K he completed last year. On this ride Coke was his main fluid of choice and he always had two in his water bottle cages.

The ride featured 8,400 feet of climbing with steep climbs between Sabula and Bellevue and long gradual climbs between Bellevue and Key West. The three of us stayed together the entire ride. The weather conditions were great with very little wind until we had about 50 miles to go and then it was tailwind to blow us back to LeClaire. Our total time was 10:45 with 9:25 (20.1 mph avg) on the bike.

The Balltown Classic ride is up next on May 30th. I have participated the last four years in this event. This out and back rides starts in Dewitt features 11,000 feet of climbing as you head north to the little town of Balltown north of Dubuque. The ride starts out like a race with a pretty big group staying together until you start to hit the hills at about mile 50. Then the group shatters and it turns into individual survival. The last two years Bill Ford has been the first finisher and I have come in fourth. The goal for this year is to get done in around 10 hours to set the course record. Check in next week for the write up.

SPOTLIGHT ON CREW MEMBER - ERIC FURNAS

2009-05-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

2009-05-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

Spotlight this week is on Eric Furnas. Eric is a close friend of the family and has provided support for Joe in previous ultra-distance cycling events. As a cyclist, Eric has competed in various races including six hour races, time trials, and cyclo-cross events. Since Eric has a background of swimming, it only made sense that he also compete in triathlons. For the past 6 years, Eric has competed in various triathlons including sprint and Olympic-distance triathlons. This year, Eric is training to complete his first Half Ironman. The past two years, Eric has also started to dabble in adventure racing and recently was a participant in the largest Adventure Racing Camp in the nation.

Eric is not only an athlete, but a husband and a father. He and wife, Jenny, have been married four years and have a son, Camden, who will turn 3 years old on June 16th, just one day before Race Across the West begins. As a three year old has yet to grasp the concept of exactly when his birthday should be celebrated, the family will throw Camden’s party on Saturday the 13th so that Eric can catch his flight to Oceanside the next morning. Jenny and Camden are then meeting Eric in Colorado immediately following the Race Across the West for a family vacation of fly fishing, hiking, and white water rafting.

Eric has a multitude of other hobbies, which his strongest passion is for scuba diving and hopefully plans to find time for a dive just a day or two before the Race Across the West begins. Other pastimes include hunting and fishing when possible. Recently he and son Camden have shared various entertaining moments fishing at a family-owned pond.

Teaming up with our son Caleb during the Race Across the West, Eric will provide great significance to our team. He brings technical support, creativity (web-site updates), enthusiasm, and humor to the team. He and Caleb will get along perfectly during the race.

We’re pleased that Eric was able to get time away from his busy new job as Director of Administrative Services for Muscatine County. Hopefully, crewing for team “Mann Powered” will be a memorable experience, as well as, an enjoyable vacation for him.

Going Further

2009-05-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

Last weeks Miles: 341
Monday: 33 Miles easy
Tuesday: 73 Miles Hard group ride
Wednesday: 31 Miles Dinner ride
Friday: 168 Miles to Ames
Sunday: 36 Miles Easy

The training ride of the week was to ride 175 miles to Ames and move Chris home for the summer. He had already come to town last week and drove the van to Ames. So he just need the help loading. Early in the week the forecast was for strong winds out of the west-northwest all day. I figured I was not in a hurry and would just take my time. Thursday they had changed it to south-east winds switching to the west in the afternoon. Needless to say the new forecast made me very happy.

I started at 6:00 as the fog was rolling in. It wasn't too bad as I headed out F70 and turned north to Atalissa. Heading towards West Liberty the fog got really thick. I could not even see the houses along the road. Considering myself lucky to make it to West Liberty, I decided to wait out the fog at the C-Store. So I ate some breakfast and read the West Liberty newspaper - All of the West Liberty Newspaper. Forty minutes later I was back on the road.

As the fog dissipated my route took me west to the Sand Road, north into Iowa City and then I planned to work my way across town to get back to Highway 6 before heading through Tiffin. This was no problem since it was 9:00 by now and traffic was pretty light.

Highway 6 from Iowa City to Marengo looked to be the busiest road of the entire trip. Once I got past the new high school they were building in Tiffin, and the dump truck traffic, it was not an issue. Marengo to Belle Plaine was a great ride. There was about a 5 mph tail wind and the road had a paved shoulder. A quick stop in Belle Plaine and I was off through Chelsea (2008 RAGBRAI stop) and into Tama (2008 RAGRBAI overnight).

Marshalltown was to be the lunch stop at the 135 miles mark and call Chris to have him come ride towards me. I passed the first C-Store in town to grab one on the other side of town but one never appeared. After Marshalltown there is really no towns until Colo and I needed to stop and get water and something to eat. As I was headed south towards highway 30 I saw a water tower and some building so I headed off route about 1/2 mile to try my luck. It was the Marshall County sheriff's office and a rural water tower. I stopped at the waer tower, called Chris (no answer), ate the last bit of food I had, finished my water and headed towards Ames.

There is a county road that parallels highway 30 from Marshalltown all the way to Ames. After Nevada there is a bike lane into Ames. On the map this looks like a great route. Actually the road from Marshalltown to Colo is one of the roughest roads I have ridden in a long time. I think the traffic on highway 30 would have been better.

In State Center I stopped and finally got some water. The sky was looking ugly as Chris called to tell me he got my message and that the rain was moving into Ames so he was not going to ride. I told him to stay put and I would call if I wanted him to come get me. Three miles from Nevada I called as the black clouds with thunder and lightning moved in.

Once the storm broke and it was only raining I got back on the road for Nevada. He met me at the Casey's in Nevada and I loaded the bike and jumped into the dry van. I should have kept riding but it was too easy to quit at this point. 168 miles total. 10:30 hours with 8:45 riding time 19.0 mph avg.

Training Plan
5/16 300 miles with the support team
5/23 186 mile Brevet in LeClaire
5/30 200 miles Balltown Classic

2008 RAW Winner's Write-up

2009-05-07T15:32:00.001-07:00

Weekly Miles - 4/27-5/3 330 total
Tuesday: 63 miles hilly group ride
Wednesday: 60 miles tempo with Mike D
Thurday: 31 Easy
Saturday: 145 miles, three loops with Mike and others
Sunday: 31 miles easy

Paul Carpenter was last year's winner and the only finisher of RAW. You can review his race write up here. Paul travelled to Florida with Wiford and I in February.

This week's long ride is 175 miles to Ames on Friday to help Chris move back home. Check back for the write up on that adventure and the rest of the crew profiles later.

Not much to write about

2009-04-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

Weekly miles 297
Tuesday: 47 hard group ride
Wednesday: 70 tempo
Thursday: 19 easy
Friday: 40 Funk's hill repeats
Saturday: 101 endurance pace
Sunday: 20 recovery

The ride Saturday was an unexpected century. Caleb was supposed to play tennis at 1:00 and the forecast was for rain off and on. I headed out at 8:45 with the plan of riding 60 or so. At 1:00 Connie called to say tennis was cancelled. Looking at the sky I thought 100 was a possibility. I did not got very far from home and covered almost every road in western Muscatine county and some in northern Louisa. Lunch stop was at Grandview for Godfathers pizza at the C-store. I can't ever remember having pizza in the middle of a ride but it sat pretty well. This is a great option for RAW.

Friday was the first hill workout I had done in while. It as super windy and Caleb had tennis at 5:00 so my time was limited to 2 hours. Funk's hill is pretty protected so I decided to do five repeats of the hill, then go back in G28 and back out the Burlington road to the start of the hill. This loop is 3.75 miles and gives you two pretty good climbs plus the head wind out Burlington road. I wanted each climb to be faster then the previous for all 5. My times were 2:36, 2:32, 2:26, 2:19 and 2:12. The last time up the heart rate was 187. To finish the workout I went up Miller's hill (Fletcher street) on the way to the high school. Afterwards my legs felt pretty good as if I should have pushed it more.

I need at least one hard hill workout each week leading up to the race. I have attached a YouTube video of the Yarnell pass in Arizona to show why. This 8 mile climb is just out of Congress AZ on the way to Prescott AZ and comes at around the 300 miles mark of the race. Since the race starts at noon I hope to hit this part of the ride around 7-8 AM. The goal will be to get there before it gets too hot. Last year in the afternoon is was 110 at the bottom of the climb. In Prescott they had a wading pool in the shade for the rides to cool off. You will see some of the teams doing "exchanges" during the climbs. They are usally the ones going really fast. There are many You Tube videos from RAAM 2008.

CREW Spotlight of the Week - Chris

2009-04-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

--I (Chris) am writing this from a 15 passenger van on my way to Lubbock, TX for the Collegiate National Triathlon competition.--

I am 19 and a freshman at the Iowa State University. I am majoring in Diet and Exercise. There are probably people wondering... "Wow. Does it get any easier for a triathlete than a major in diet and exercise?" Well, to answer that there is probably some major I could have that is easier but there is nothing I enjoy more than what I am learning about. My main focus is going to be in sports nutrition and I hope to one day be either a personal nutritionist or become a nutritionist for a sports team. I think this is what I bring to the team. Even though Dad (Joe) usually knows what he needs to eat and drink, I have been doing some research on whast he really should be consuming while riding 20-22 hours each day. It might be a little different than what a lot of you probably have in mind.

One of my life passions is triathlons. I have done over 65 multisport races in the last 6 years. ISU has a triathlon club that is one of the largest and fastest growing groups on campus. Currently there are about 50 members and there are 33 of us on our way to race at Texas Tech against 1000 of the best collegiate triathletes from 100 schools from across the nation. Here are a few names you might recognize: Navy, Army, Air Force, University of Colorado, Southern California, UCLA, and our in-state rivals Drake (you see...Iowa really doesn't contest. Sorry!)

Two weeks ago (you know...the weekend of that mini-blizzard that came across the midwest?)10 of us from the ISU tri club went down to beautiful Galveston, TX to do a "warm-up" triathlon. 5 members did the sprint distance race on Saturday and 5 of us did the quarter-ironman distance race on Sunday. ISU was well represented. I ended up finishing 18th overall out of about 800 total in the quarter-iron distance (if you take out the elites it was 4th) and I won my age group. This was awesome to have my first experience in a new age group (20-24) be a win!

Another thing I think I bring to the team is I have inadvertently been practicing my long-hour driving by making numerous trips to Chicago/Milwaukee for my current job working for Jeff Castro and AccuSplit chip timing company. I am looking forward to crewing for Dad. He has trained many many hours and I cannot wait to see his dedication pay off. I am glad I get to be a part of his race.

-CHRIS

The Big Dog 200K

2009-04-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

Weekly miles: 304.5
Tuesday: 30 hard with group (running from Chad) Windy
Wednesday: 40 Endurance pace Windy
Thursday: 58 med with Mike, Wiford and Bill H
Friday: 30 easy Windy
Saturday: 126 Brevet 7:04 19.4 on bike avg
Sunday: 20.5 with Connie recovery Windy

The last two weeks had been pretty un-eventful until Saturday's 200K brevet in Le Claire. Chad joined Wiford and I for the ride. Chad had never ridden more then 115 but wanted to test his pain threshold. Lonnie Cook was also present wanting to put his early season fitness to the test.

A Brevet is not a race. They are very popular in Europe. It is an un-supported ride that requires getting your brevet card signed at the beginning, the end and designated spots along the route to verify you have completed the route. The check-in places (or controls) are usually located at convenience stores.

15 riders stared this group ride from Le Claire with the route heading to Bellevue and back. Much of the route was TOMRV roads that I had ridden many times. There is not many flat stretches but only a couple killer hills. We haeded out of Le Claire as a group but soon broke up after a big climb at the 3 mile mark. Chad, Wiford, Larry Ide, Dennis Grelk, a Cedar Falls rider and myself formed the "front" group. 10 miles later the Cedar Falls rider dropped back and after 40 Larry fell behind on the rolling hills. The four of us rolled into Bellevue pretty close together after 3:36 total time fighting head/cross winds with an avg of 18.7 mph.

After Lunch the four of us headed out as the second group of 8 rolled into the stop. Lonnie was with them and they had picked up Larry. For the next 20 miles they had to slow up for me at the top of the bigger climbs. I did not eat enough on the way up and was paying for it in the hills.

Chad, Wiford and I slowly pulled ahead of Dennis as we left Mcausland for the final 15 miles. The three of us rolled into town together with a total time of 7:04, with a 19.4 avg on the bike, followed by Dennis at 7:18 and then the second group (including Lonnie) at 7:41.

I was hoping there would be more riders to form the front group. I ride with Chad and Wiford all the time. I guess we could have waited for the second group but on a long ride the sooner you can get off the saddle the better. I wanted to push myself a little to see what pace I could handle for that long of a ride. I had to push a little harder then I wanted on the climbs but recovered pretty well on the flats. I drank plenty and did not cramp at all. I forgot my hammer gel flask and I could have used it on several occasions.

Next week I will be in Lubbock from Wednesday until Sunday so maybe I can get some warm weather riding.

CREW IN-TRAINING (Caleb)

2009-04-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

Caleb is 17 years old.

2009-04-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

Caleb is a Junior in High School at Muscatine High School. He spent his entire Spring Break this year in Quetzeltenango Guatemala. This was a Missions Trip with Calvary Church in Muscatine. The team spent many hours sanding desks for a couple of schools in the City so the schools could salvage the desks. Our high school kids also spent time playing with the children of the school. Caleb enjoys being around kids and has been very active throughout his high school years volunteering with the Kids Zone program every weekend at Church. His passion for children is incredible.

Caleb's next "training trip" is to Liberia May 14-22 as part of a missions trip. He once again gets to hang out with kids and help out at a school that our church supports. Watch for updates and photos the end of May.

Caleb brings lots of enthusiasm, energy, and creativity to the team. He looks forward to "crewing for Dad" and claims he will be a great "Pumper and Filler" (pumping up tires and filling water bottles). I'm sure he will also have a crack at updating the web site for your viewing pleasure.

The miles start to increase

2009-03-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

After a week of being out of town it was time to start racking up the miles. March and April are supposed to be my build phase of the training so I need to ramp up the miles. Then really pound them out in May.

Monday: 57 miles with some long intervals at slow RPM's 69 degrees
Wednesday: 68 miles at an endurance pace
Thursday: 73 mile group ride at tempo pace
Friday: 33 miles easy
Saturday: 40 miles at endurance pace 35 degrees
Sunday: 60 miles group ride at tempo
Total: 331

Saturday I needed to do more intervals but with the temperature 35, cloudy, damp and windy I did not feel like getting hot and sweaty. It was all I could do to get out of the house and ride. The only good thing was that it was not snowing when I rode.

After riding Sunday my legs were a little tired. Re-evaluate my training I realize that I need to back off my miles during the week and focus on a really long ride on the weekend. Still trying to stay around 300 miles a week. All I am getting out of 50-60 miles each day is tired legs. I need to be able to ride 100 comfortably and build that up through May.

On April 11th the Big Dogs are doing a 200K from LeClaire. The route goes up to Bellevue and back so it will include many climbs. This will be a good test to see where the fitness it at this time.