not quite...

didn't get to the bike until Wednesday, parked it Sunday when I got back to Lincoln & walked away. This week sucked, had to work Monday & didn't really start feeling "normal" until Thursday.

Rode to work & back all week but that was as intense as I got. Felt somewhat fresh going into this mornings PCL - Tour of Dirt Roads IV. At least I thought I felt okay. Like 40 people showed up for the ride including 5 from Omaha. Thanks for the route Schmidt-dog! Good times! Below: forced re-group at the Waverly crossing...
big thorn forced this stop...
sprint dead zone, at&t was rockin' it, that doesn't happen very often...
my vet in the house on his Steve Potts...
oh yeah, not quite. Thought I was feeling fine, but about 40 in the left knee started talking to me. First I dropped back a bit then made the decision to cut the ride short. Well, short is a relative term. I had 25 miles to get back to Lincoln. Knee was pretty annoying. Not sure what to think? Only hurt when pedaling. Once I got home all good. Hmmm?
So started in on the sodding the back yard project, knee felt fine. This was my wife's request for her birthday. Hopefully a little less mud in the house from 2 dog's paws who are in & out constantly. Before...
during...
Fin...
Looks like knee maintenance for me, Royal 162 in 2 weeks & DK in a month. Gotta be careful.

Later,

TK

a little something like this...

I had told Dennis this was to be my first foray into the realm of the overnight ride. It wasn't really that cold, wind had died down, & as complete darkness set in we clicked on our lights. I can do this!? It wasn't long before we made our first wrong turn & from that point on we jointly navigated. Dennis went from good to bad in a matter of no time, he was tired (no shit) & still feeling the effects of his earlier dehydration. Benton-Iowa Rd. alps, are you kidding me! Huge gravel walls, one after another. I was feeling really good while he was at his lowest, probably a good balance, helluva a lot better than both of us in a dark place simultaneously.

We clawed, crawled, poured ourselves into Belle Plaine. I'm not sure but I feel like it was well past midnight, doesn't matter much now. I sat on the pavement outside the convenience store, peeled off my tattered Defeet shoe covers (had those babies for many years) & threw them in the trash. I pulled out my thermal shoe covers & I was good to go. Nothing really happened but Dennis seemed a bit more motivated after our pitstop. We rolled out & it was a just a few minutes later that we ran into Mr. Ek & Mr. Farrow. Hey guys! The power of four rallied Dennis's spirits, mine as well.

Dennis took back the primary navigational role & set a pace that Tim, Charlie, & I would find challenging to say the least. He was killing the hills & we were scrambling to follow. He wasn't trying to drop us he was just riding his ass off & as a result we were pushed to our limits but covering a bunch of ground. The night was flying by! Huge climbs followed by 30+ mph descents, over & over again.

Then...bam! There they were, John & Sean. We had been hauling ass but John had been battling flats. Dennis gave John his pump & we rolled on, we all knew once they got that tire fixed we would see that freight train go whistling by again. Prior to running into the two leaders I had rolled up to Dennis & told him that we wished him well & wanted him to leave us if he wanted. He was riding way stronger & we didn't want to hold him back, we could find our way. Plus he was killing us. He said he would stay with us but seeing Sean & John changed the game. Dennis lit the afterburner & disappeared into the night.

What time did all this happen? 4am-ish? Not long after, I began to have trouble keeping my focus. Oh shit, sleepy time. Drifting off. I shook my head, coherent for a few seconds then nearly nodding off the next. A few light slaps to the face proved to be the best medicine. It was the gentle glow of the dawn that revived me, that & a 1 mile hike of a sloppy B Rd., our last I believe. I failed to mention that Sean & John did blow by us after their repairs, "where's Dennis?" John asked. "Up the road" we responded.

It was our 2nd sunrise of the event. Tim, Charlie, & I had become a team. Our mission was to get to the finish. My motivation...if I can finish this event, I won't have to come back! We were all hurting, tired, but driven. Charlie had been suffering through the night, but the warrior that he is kept him in the fight, unable to succumb. DBD for F^%#'s sake. I had been reading this crew's motto on the back of Tim's Camelback all night, "death before dishonor".

I was doing "ok", at first my right knee was starting to bother me but it ended up being my left that gave me the most trouble. My quads aching from pedaling for how many hours? Rider up the road...it's Sean, he's cooked. Now it's us three with John & Dennis somewhere ahead, 40 to go? I have no idea. 20 to go, it's John. Another flat! Now its us three with just Dennis up the road. Remember he gave John his pump, hope that doesn't bite him in the ass.

Tim & I can smell the finish. We see Charlie drop back & we push on. He's not done, just burying himself to turn over the pedals, pushing through the pain. That 14 was a blur. We traded pulls for the first 4-5 & then Tim took the front for the remainder. "I'm barely hanging on man" I told Tim, he was counting down the miles for me, willing me in. Grinnell was right there!

We made it, Charlie was less than 10 minutes behind us. Tim took the well deserved 2nd, me 3rd, & Charlie 4th. Gravel glory!

Dennis had soloed for the win, so sweet. Congratulations and thanks for riding with me. I've known Dennis for years, just never knew what an animal he can be. You earned it buddy.

Tim, Charlie...we'll always have TIv7. Friends for life.

Later,

TK

downtown guy...

Slowly coming around, my mental state that is...

The story continues...I forgot to mention that after I dropped off the pace letting Tim & Charlie forge on, I was passed shortly thereafter by a runaway freight train consisting of Dennis Grelk, John Gorilla, & Sean Mailen. John calmly stated "hi troy" as the locomotive thundered by. These three were on a mission to get Tim & Charlie back under control.

During my time alone, I came upon the B Rd. that we had been warned about at the pre-race meeting. These pictures don't really illustrate how g-narly this track really was. A 20 minute sketchy hike up & over this rutted out monster.

Where am I? I have no idea...
Rideable? Not today boy...
As I exited this section I happened upon Steve Fuller preparing to grab some photos of folks coming off this section. He advised me that a large group of about 10 was coming up behind me. I told him I would welcome the company. Truth be told, part of me wanted the companionship but another part wanted to push harder to keep the group behind me.

I made it to Traer where I found Dennis at the convenience store getting his self back together. The pace the lead group was setting forced him to take a step back & regroup for the long haul. He said he would wait for me to grab something inside & we could head out together. This was the best news I had heard all day. Just what I needed, a veteran racer to team up with & guide me through the night! As we departed, the group behind rolled in to Traer. This was the last time we saw them. Dennis was hammering & I was right behind him. We hit the 2nd checkpoint (mile 177) at around 7:30 pm.

Fast forward...1:00 am - Belle Plaine, IA. Dennis & I roll out of town & there in front of us coming our way are 2 riders, it's Tim & Charlie! Now we are 4 & only 2 riders up the road, Gorilla & Mailen. Lets go...

So how was I feeling? Riding through the night for the first time in my life? Good for now, but it's always darkest before the dawn (or something like that). Rough times alert.

Hey! Downtown guy, Thanks for being there my friend, BYH.

More coming.

Later,

TK

see buttons...

I'm still in shock. I flashback to a moment over the weekend & I can't even comprehend what I was up to. I never really knew where I was, somewhere in IA. Towns & direction were meaningless, it was just lefts & rights looking at road signs. I tried looking at a map last night & I still can't figure out exactly where I was, a general idea of the big picture now but the finer details are beyond me. Maybe somebody will post a map using the cues & I will be able to enlighten myself.

Move on! Way less stress going into this year's TI. I made my equipment choices early, tested things out & stuck by my decisions. This year I told myself to not get wrapped up in going with the early break, my goal was to finish. Last year my attitude was make the break at any cost & the early pace last year was wicked. This year it started out quick but manageable, huge group (maybe 40 or so) was together for the first hour? Eventually whittled down to about a dozen by sun up. So I did make the break but didn't have to kill myself doing it.

First CP @ 53 we were down to 9 or 10. Gorilla taking about a 2 hr. pull to get us there, damn dude is strong. C-bread blew his rear der about 7 miles out, shit! Oh yeah...it was muddy as hell, folks drive trains were screaming.

Tim Ek, Charlie Farrow, & myself rolled out first with a big tail wind. The pace they were setting & the tail-wind induced high cadence was bringing on cramps so I just let them roll away around mile 70, time to settle in, got 250+ to go. Spent 70 -120 by myself, brutal wind. It was during this time that I had the most doubts in my endeavor, secretly hoping for a calamity to put me out of my misery. The thought of riding all night by myself was unimaginable.

I found a wind block, ate a bagel with peanut butter I had stuffed in my pocket & kept rolling.

This post could go on forever. I need to wrap it up for now. Below: "the setup". I had it all, but needed very little. Like I said, I committed to my equipment choices & stuck with it. I wasn't carrying anything ridiculous but I was prepared for the quest.
More later...

Later,

TK

packing it in...

Was that me? Did I really put myself through that this weekend? I'm in some short of mild shock, disbelief. 329 miles, 29+ hours , 3rd place finish. That 329 is the riding part, there was also many miles of walking muddy B roads.

I'm considering retirement from cycling. Nip it in the bud before it gets any bigger. You ask yourself now what? If I can do that...what's next?

As of this morning my attitude is never again, I won't put myself through that ever again. Get out while you can. Time heals a lot of wounds, we'll see what the future brings to my mental state.

I'll recap TIv7 throughout the week, time permitting.

A blanket "thank you" to everyone involved. Mark & Dave...that was an incredible experience.

Later,

TK

listen to the engines hum...

In my travels yesterday I stopped to take a look at Pella going West off 77, wet with standing water. B's are in bad shape at the moment...

Tuesday night ride, gravel was soft but actually in pretty good shape. Last night, gravel was in great shape. Everything drying rapidly. That brings us to the subject of Iowa gravel. How is it different than ours? Well...I guess I would say it's more gravelly. Here in Lancaster Co. our gravel is borderline pavement-esque, extremely well maintained with a rock hard base. Iowa...is a different animal. The base must not be as compact. You never see a frost heave around here. Last year at TI the roads were so water logged that anything other than a 4-wheel drive would have struggled, never seen anything like it. I remember cresting a hill last year, my front wheel sinking in to the quagmire & just tipping over.

I'm guessing by the forecast we won't have the deluge of rain we saw last year, but with some periods of rain predicted & cool temps the roads are going to be...challenging. Getting ready to wear the B Rd. mud slippers.

Is anyone ever truly ready for TI? The answer is most likely, no. Am I ready for TI? Of course I am, or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

Pre-ride last night I had the in the garage ride-postponing buzz-kill front flat, on the ride I had the rear version. I'm looking at it like I'm just getting the flats outta the way.

Talk to you on the other side...

Later,

TK

enhance my calm...

One of many B-25 sightings this weekend. On this date 69 years ago...

fresh macaroni with a bird shit accent, I always interpret that as a good portent...
Had it ready to roll so spent a couple days on it. Saturday all paved, Sunday got the tires dusty:) Nope, didn't stop just to grab this shot...
killing time...
hiv prevention cube farm in the S.O.B...
leashes tight, all business...

enhance my calm...
Later,

TK

how am I feeling...

...lucky I guess. Started Tuesday evening on a ride, sounded like a bb cup was grinding to its death on the one of the CX bikes (actually it wasn't that dramatic, but it was crapping out all the same). Got back to the lab to find that I had no replacements in stock, well I had plenty of replacements but all crap, see I have a problem with throwing anything away. To make a short story long, I spent an hour getting my road bike ready. Ready for what? WNW's of course, shit I haven't been in over a year. I heard last week people were crashing, breaking bikes & bones, slicing open appendages...I want in!

Then this happened on Wednesday afternoon. *I was driving the van, not on my bike. Sorry for any confusion* Coming out of the hole on 77, heading back to the shop. Dude pulled out on to 77 in Cortland, didn't see me. Your classic t-bone, spun me around, jumped the median, taking out a sign & left me facing southbound on the southbound side. First thought...I'm alright, second thought...shit we don't have an extra van, third thought...no way I'm making world's. Again, how am I feeling? Lucky. Physically? All good. Lucky. The van...not so good. Drive shaft knocked off, rear axle at a bizarre angle, & the below pictured caved in side. The fluid you see is water from an impact detonated 3 - gallon bottle of water. The other guy was fine also, lucky.
So WNW's in my future, maybe. Maybe not. The tulips sure are pretty in our yard though.
Later,

TK

yacht in s.f. - not pg...

because I'd forgotten what the S#%* sandwich tastes like...

...this tale has some happy moments but a bad ending, read on. Don't worry nobody gets "hurt".

Today was a business trip. Up at 3:00am, rolling down the drive @ 4:26. Had some equipment that needed to be put through real world testing. Lighting wasn't one of them, doesn't matter what system you've got when the fog's so thick you can only see about 30 feet. There was moments when I was pushing into the strong ESE that I couldn't exactly tell if I was climbing slightly or descending slightly, the gravel was so soft that it was offering resistance up & down, combine that with no visibility...strange.

Met these two as dawn approached, I would have offered some Clif Bar but the ditch between us had water in it...
glasses were useless, add that to the mix...

All B roads were impassable, not even a chance. No surprise with the rains we just had, but I lost count how many times I detoured, my fingers crossed that it wouldn't be too far before I would find a useable Eastbound path. Go left or right? I was about 50/50 on my choices, probably added 10 miles to the day with impromptu route adjustments. You can see my adjustments on the ride map below.

Allright...fast forward. I had a plan for the day, but it started to fall apart as I was twisting through IA along the Missouri River. All paths involved big detours & ultimately returning to where I started by retracing my steps. Road choices were limited. I'm not going to tell you the plan, it's sweet & I'm going to save it for another adventure. I did find some interesting double track along the levee. Whoops, that can't mean me?
Too much of this today...
Anyway...I did get the 3 stater, but that was part of my bigger plan anyway.
Did I see anything cool today? F yeah I did! I found this by accident as I was "checking out" that levee that your not supposed to be on:)

Cast iron...

then this right next to the stela...
the unhappy ending...Within 5 - 10 minutes after I left the border I started to experience a very sore neck & shoulders? Couldn't find a good position on the bike...hoods, drops, even straight upright with only my fingertips on the bars. Painful? No. Uncomfortable? Oh yeah. I'd ridden 90+ miles into the wind & now that I turn my back to the breeze this starts up. I limped into the convenience store in NE City (I wasn't planning any stops today, I had it all with me). Scored a throwback & some advil, stepped outside & started to feel light headed, neck still in discomfort. Not good. I've still got 45 to go & its going to be a hot crosswind all the way back. Fast forward again...I pulled the plug. Called my wife, only the second time in 9 years. Other time I got caught in a crazy storm down by Cortland. Sucked, but I never feel like this. Could I have made it back? Not sure? At what cost? How big a hole did I want to dig? Bummed though.

Waiting for the ride of shame photos. Did I eat enough, probably not. Drink, thought so. Hitting the e-caps throughout the day. Who the f knows. Hope it's the first & the last time I melt down.

I'm not going to classify this ride as a confidence builder going into the big one in 2 weeks. Ahhh big bite of the shit sandwich, yum!

bring it...

happy birthday biz...

put the needle on the record..

...when the drumbeat goes like this. Strava is a free ap on my iphone, a gps tracker. Start it when you leave & you end up with this loaded to their website, plus some basic stats from the ride like avg. mph & elevation gain graph. This embedded version is bare bones. The mileage difference between it & my computer is less than a mile. I think it's a pay service at some point but I was just messing around with it. Downside...it used 60% of my phone battery in a 9 hour sesh. I knew that would happen, just saying.

left early enough to get a jump, but late enough that I didn't need lights...

first mmr, s. 38th section, 4 straight miles of dirt. I saw some jack rabbits here 3 years ago, keep looking but haven't seen any since. All road conditions were perfecto, mmr was pristine all day.

it was fairly cool yet, had a good nasal drip flowing...

the wind & I struck up a deal yesterday...a gentle push part of the way down, switching to a manageable distraction in my face to my destination, & eventually an all out "lets get ya home" blast from behind. Thanks buddy, generally we grumble but yesterday we we're on the same page.
passed here on the way down, so paused on the way back to start the shedding of clothes. Eventually my jersey pockets were over-stuffed with every piece of layering I left Lincoln with. Not much left to Barneston, NE. We raced through here a few years ago, still a ghost town. I would guess this is local stone. This far South there is a lot of signs that you are nearing flint hills country.
I need to get my camera back in business cuz every time I want to take a picture I have to stop & dig out my phone, saw a bunch of cool stuff but usually decided to keep rolling. Below: entrance to a hilly mmr that was partly reminiscent of the easier bits of Little Egypt & partly like the climb after the creek crossing at Almanzo last year. Should have grabbed a picture of this anomaly for SE NE, but I was busy out of the saddle climbing & avoiding loose and embedded rock in the road...
a bit later...

pit stop in Cortland, then ghetto motor pace back to Lincoln on 77. Good plan on paper, but spinning a 42x12 with a 20 mph tailwind....

trip down has become an annual for me, but first time solo. good day.

Later,

TK