Almanzo 100 Update
Something wicked this way comes. Yes, it's 100 miles over gravel. It's still four months away and it's weighing on my mind
About 80 miles into the Almanzo 100. Image by Bjorn1101 at Flickr. CC license.
I've been doing my research and trying to figure out what setup I'm going to use to ride this sucker. The way I am leaning now is that I'll be riding the Salsa Las Cruces, but it's going to require a few mods from it's current configuration.1
First, I'm going to go back to the double chainring in the front. Easy enough to do, that. Since that's a 50-34 setup, I'm going to bump the baby chainring up to a 39-tooth. Then I'm going to find some 32c file-tread tires (which I'll set aside in favor of my crappy Conti 'cross tires in case of rain).
All my gear is going into a Camelbak HAWG. 100 ounces of beer water, plus room for tools, food, and such.
I'll have my new Birchwood team kit to wear; I just need to get some clear and amber lenses for my Oakleys...and get my ass into the optometrist to get some contacts.
Should be a good day, regardless of where I finish.
1. Provided that my first handbuilt 'cross frame isn't done by then. If so, I'll ride that instead, thank you.
2010 Preliminary Race/Ride Schedule
This is my preliminary racing schedule for 2010. It is, as always, subject to change.
Series:
Black Dog TT Series (Wed. Nights, May through August)
Thursday Night Lights Track Series (Thurs. Nights, May through August)
April:
Durand RR
Minnesota Ironman
May:
Marty RR
Sibley County RR
Almanzo 100
Black Dog Charity TT
June:
Capitol Classic
MN State Criterium Championship
July:
Northfield Criterium
Hopkins Criterium
MN State Time Trial Championship
MN State Track Masters Championship
August:
MN State Track Pursuit Championship
Town Hall 4-Man Team Time Trial
MN State Road Race Championship
September:
Henderson 2-Man Team Time Trial
Red River CX
October:
Hudson Riverfront CX
Wirth Park CX
Baker Orchard CX
Jackson Meadow CX
Red Barn CX
Fridley Fall Back CX
November:
Velodrome CX
Back to School CX
MN State CX Championship
GP Zav Daab CX
Tour de Tucson*
* Depends entirely upon a few things -- money situation, and how exhausted I am at the end of the season. I think it'd be a fun/awesome conclusion to the year.
ME LIKEY THE DIRTS
I just put my postcard in the mail for the Almanzo 100.
Self-supported, 100 miles over nothing but gravel roads. Should be an awesome time.
Anyone else doin' it this year?
(Not sure if I'll be on the Salsa Las Cruces, or on a frame of my own creation. We'll see.)
Hello
So I've been eyeball-deep in a project using elgg, which is at least a contributing factor to my lack of posts here. Once I get the re-skinning done, I should have more time for posts about the exotic, glamorous nature of my life. Until such time, however, I will either be at my day job, my part-time job, in the home office, or on my bike.
The bike is really looming in my mind right now. I need to renew my racing license and send the check to Birchwood that I forgot to send in December, so I can get back to my "attached rider" status and be eligible to race. Yesterday while driving to pick Kate up1 from her part-time gig, I spotted a guy on a Salsa Las Cruces — same frame I ride for cyclocross — and felt a stab of envy. He was out there riding, and I was being a cager.2 Ugh. I must get out there ASAP.
Two issues with bike paint in the last week. First, the color of the Gunnar Ruffian frameset. I was all gung-ho to get the "Sunshine Yellow over Shamrock Green", which is only available through the end of April. Making it a bit tight. Fortunately, the new limited-time color, "Sunset Red over Fine Gold" is available through the end of May, making this a much more reasonable prospect. And it looks ha-awwwwt. The other issue is the repainting of my Trek 720 frame. I've been emailing around to various frame restoring companies, and it looks like Airglow Painting out of Georgia is going to give me the best bang for my bike. Like half the price that CyclArt would charge me.
The Trek 720 is going to be a masterpiece when I'm finished with it. I've decided to thoroughly photo-document the process and will do some light video work to create a short piece on the restoration of the bike.
1. She is without car until the arrival of her new 2009 Honda Fit Sport.
2. cager (n): a driver of motorized vehicles.
Bring the Hurt
Once again, I face the prospects of entering a season with little/no training. Now, to my credit, I actually made an attempt at training this year before I started racing. Unlike last year's festivities which, hereinafter, shall be referred to as the "Year of Blowing Chunks"...
The good news is, it's still early in the season and I have plenty of time to get into some semblance of conditioning.
Sunday, I have my first race of the season, the MSU Campus Criterium. MSU used to be "Mankato State" and is my alma mater. Should be an interesting time.
With that, I must point out the newest entry from Bike Snob NYC -- Sitting In and Bowing Out: The Art of Pass/Fail Racing.
Looking Back
So last year, I made my comeback to racing on July 4th, at the Northfield Criterium. I DNF'ed (did not finish), as I was way out of shape and in no condition to race. In another of my blogs, three days later, I wrote a piece about the experience and why, at the age of 34, I was coming back to racing after a long lay-off. Here it is:
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