Grinding Gravel in April Showers...

Laura and I were in Des Moines, IA. this weekend watching our nieces while our Sister and Brother and Law enjoyed their 12th anniversary in Kansas City (Here's to a happy dozen years!!). Since I was already half-way to his Waterloo, IA. abode, I took it as an opportunity to hook up with TransIowa promoter and 29-inch legend, Guitar Ted, for a sampler of some of the gravel roads around Traer, Iowa that made it onto the 2006 T.I.v3 route.

The man, the myth, the legend -- Guitar Ted, getting ready for his assault on the Dirty Kanza 200 in May. Since he's the promoter of TransIowa, he doesn't get to ride in the race itself. Bummer...

The conditions we rode in Saturday were crazy for April -- 35 degrees and steadily falling snow. What is it with this winter weather that just doesn't want to stop?!! But despite the weather, G-Ted and I had a great ride, and he showed me some incredibly scenic and topographically diverse roads in Northeast Iowa. What turned out to be only about a 2:20:00 ride, due to the conditions, I joked after the ride, seemed like it was about a 4-hour long ride -- and to my legs, it sure felt like it. The soupy, soft gravel/dirt roads were tough pedaling!

Guitar Ted rode his rad OS Bikes Blackbuck singlespeed, with nary a single Shimano bit to be found -- a distinct contrast to my complete Shimano 2x10 drivetrain. "It's one sweet ridin' rig," was his official word, and I don't doubt him one bit. Look at those seatstays -- talk about passive suspension! Amazing... The details of the frame are a sight to behold up-close too. Check out OS Bikes online.

I'll tell you frankly -- if we've got conditions like that for TransIowa, there aren't going to be any finishers this year! It's going to be like it was two years ago, when there were only a select few that made it to the half-way point by the time cut-off. The roads need drying out time, and the good news is it seems they're going to get exactly what they need this week. The weather forecast looks absolutely beautiful.

Riding with Guitar Ted got me really excited for T.I., and made me more confident that I'm zeroing-in on a solid set-up for the race too. His expert feedback was exactly what I needed to get me in the right mindset for the final couple of weeks leading up to the race. Now I know my basic bike set-up is dialed. My tires/wheels are good to go. My lights are set. But now I need to pay additional attention to where/how I'm going to carry gear. That needs to be my primary focus in the coming week.

Specifically, I need to find a rear rack solution, pronto. It doesn't need to hold a lot of weight, so I'm considering a seatpost-type rack. We'll see what materializes... I have to remember that it's a temporary solution and that the perfect is the enemy of the good. I don't think a "perfect" solution exists for me at this point, unless a beautiful Nitto R10 rack somehow finds its way to me.

The Nitto R10 rack would be perfect for the back of my La Cruz at T.I.
Image lifted from www.on-one.co.uk.

Guitar Ted snapped this shot of our bikes at rest above a rain-swollen Wolf Creek. Gotta' love the "whitewall" effect of the reflective sidewalls on the Schwalbe Marathon Cross tires I'm running on my La Cruz. Regardless of how you feel about the look, you can't argue with the safety of reflective sidewalls during a race like TransIowa, so that's a good thing. Plus, Guitar Ted just happened to mention in the course of our conversation that most of the front-runners in last year's TransIowa were on some iteration of the Schwalbe Marathon tire, so clearly there is something good about the tires for gravel road riding/racing. Based on my direct experience, I'd have to concur.