SA 8/6 Gravel Grinder - CANCELLED.

See ya next year on the gravel. Signing off.

SA Aug 6th - Let's crush some rock

It's time for another gravel grinder. Route should be up in a couple of days.

Same place: Sibley Swale Park

Same time: 8AM

See ya there!

Government shutdown. Gravel Still Open.

Headed down to Sogn Valley early this morning on a solo mission to ride gravel. Got on the bike at 6:55am and set out on a shorter 45mile route. Explored a new climb previously only ridden downhill and rode further south where I found some good gravel.

This is the entrance to Bow Trail, a minimum maintenance road that I discovered and proved to be exactly that! The small print on the sign says "travel at your own risk" and it definitely got exciting!! Details further in the post.



First part of the ride featured some fresh gravel.




Not sure what the "Former Site of Fagen" was. A quick search on Google didn't result in anything, but what's important to note is that each time Paul and I have I've passed this location, there are two dogs that are bored and love to chase bikers! Today I was rolling through and thought they might be inside still sleeping, but NO. Chase ensued!! I saw about six dogs all day and I really like lazy dogs.



This is the start to a road we have only gone down. It's probably one of the steepest in the area and with the recent rains the gravel was soft making the climb very difficult. The next four pics were taken on the way up.










Dan's favorite field was mowed!




Wonder how old this barn is?





So, here's why Bow Trail is minimum maintenanc - road closed!. With cross bike there was no turning back but was quickly confronted with dog #6 of the ride, a Doberman! I thought the quicker I get down this road the better. So, with Doberman heading toward me, I go around the barrier, ramp up the speed and head down the road. Around the corner I suddenly find it's totally washed out and with the shade it's hard to see the deep ravines. I was very suprised I didn't go over the bars with the speed I was carrying, dog chasing.





I dismounted and got partway down the hill. Doberman is smart not chasing me down the road, instead, it's going down the tree line looking for a spot to attack!



There are a lot of beautiful churches in this area.

The new SS wheel with WI hub worked great. Need to figure out how to turn that freewheel down!!

Conditions don't get much better than this

Weather was near perfect, gravel was fast yet tacky for climbing, and the sausages/brats Paul brought were very tasty!!

Here's a sampling of pics from the ride.

SA 5/28 Gravel Grinder - We're Riding

Rain, showers, wind storm, mud, chasing farm dogs, one gear...we're still riding. 50% showers forecasted. Whatever. Gotta ride. Paul and I will "definitely" be there. Usual start time - 8am. See ya there!

Proposed Memorial Weekend Gravel Route

Sat May 28th, 8:00am.

Start/Finish: Sibley Swale Park in Northfield (directions here)

Mapped out a 65 mile ride, not quite the 70 I was thinking but should be a hard course anyways.
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/34825876

Next Gravel Grinder - Sat May 28th?

Who's available for a gravel grinder the SA during Memorial weekend? With Dirty Benjamin less than a month away, a long gravel ride is in order, say 70 miles? Who's in? Spread the word!

I'll start working on the ride route. Thinking we may need to add some new terrain. 8am start at Sibley Swale Park as usual and it would be great if the weather cooperated so we can grill some brats after!

Inspired

After Almanzo, thoughts of creating a 100mile route have been on the mind. We've got some good 60 mile routes and I'm sure adding another challenging 40 would not be a problem. How does one get an event like Almanzo and Dirty Benjamin started? I'm just thinking of a small event, something slightly more than our usual group of half dozen. I'm inspired but not sure what to do with our gravel rides. Hmm.......

Riding gravel in the rain

These gloves and socks work really well when conditions are wet.


Glacier Gloves - These are the Perfect Curve Cycling Glove, neoprene with fleece lining. You're hands will get wet from sweat, but they stay warm because they keep out the cold rain.

http://www.glacieroutdoor.com/products_cycling.php




These are Sealskinz socks. Along with shoe covers they keep the feet warm. I wear a thin wool sock inside the Sealskinz for comfort and added warmth. Your feet will still get wet as water rolls down your leg, but like the gloves, your feet won't be constantly drenched with cold rain, road spray, river crossings, etc.

http://www.rei.com/product/678045/sealskinz-h20-waterblocker-waterproof-socks

An EPIC Almanzo!!!

(a water bottle to be saved for next year!)

This post is not about our much lesser, Sogn Valley Gravel training rides, but about The Big Show - Almanzo. Dan, Paul and I headed down Friday night, stopped in Rochester to pick up our race packet and got into Spring Valley at 9:05. Five minutes after A&W closed, bummer no pre-race root beer float. Let me say something about the race packet, I'm pretty confident you will not receive anything like it in any other race, even the one's you pay for. Simply amazed at what Chris puts into this event and how personal he makes it.

So, the weather forecast looks iffy for the ride, temp around 50 with 30-50% showers. Let's just say the weather forecasters and I woke up SA realizing our errors, it was raining and I had left the rear fender at home. Dan headed out shortly before 7AM for the start of the Royal 162, yes 162 miles on gravel. The mind and body cannot fathom the level of pain it would take to do that. Paul and I started at 9AM with the 100 group, sizable but it looked like a good number decided not to show up. The 100 started and rolled slowly out of town and hit the first piece of gravel. Clearly, fenders would have been nice. Gravel was soaked and soft, and gravel spray was bad! Paul and I worked our way to some open gravel and started to set our tempo for the long haul. We rolled into the Forestville State Park checkpoint at ~63miles in good shape. Downed a coke and salted nut roll. Later find out Paul took a couple of Ibuprofen, huh is that legal? :) We left the checkpoint cold but the hills out of park are probably the toughest of the course to that point. With a little tailwind, we climbed out of the Forestville valley to find ourselves high on the farm fields and facing stiff north winds as we worked our way west and then back north. At mile 80, there was a stream crossing that was not rideable, so some early season cross shouldering was in order. Through the stream and a climb back up to the open farm fields and more north wind in the face. The two biggest challenges in my mind were the hills and wind. The rain was an inconvenience, and having a rear fender would have kept the rear a little drier.



The last ~10mile had some major hills starting with Oriole Rd. Fifty feet riding up that on the SS was all I could muster, it was time to walk. Paul and I hoofed it up, got back on and the legs were like, "hey, do we really need to ride again?". "Hell yeah" I responded and off we went. Another couple of hard climbs and we were up on the plains heading back to Spring Valley with a nice tailwind pushing us there.

As we rolled into the parking lot, we were met with cheers from Chris and his crew, wow. What was interesting about the last forty miles, is that I think we say one or two other riders and that was it. As we got closer to Spring Valley, the number of wheel tracks seemed to be few. While it would be cool to finish in the top 100, I was doubtful that there were that many ahead of us. Not that it mattered, finishing was the only goal anyways. So, we roll in to find out we were somewhere in the low 30s.

We rode back to the hotel and tried to quickly change in the parking lot, but pulling off wet clothes in the rain and wind was an event in itself. Paul and I could only start laughing. We were doing okay. Dry, warm clothes on, we hung out for a while before heading over to a much earned double burger at A&W. Good times!!

So, back we went to the hotel lobby which was becoming the base station for Dan's Royal 162 feat. The cell phones were on, signal strength checked, no messages from Dan. I asked Dan if he wanted a key to the car in case he bailed and we were still out on the 100. I don't know why I even asked that question, as his response was like "are you kidding me?". We calculated how long it would take Dan, 44x18 gearing with an estimated MPH, with number of stops, etc. Paul was close with 7:30 but Dan rolled in sometime after 8. That's ~13hours on the bike. Simply unbelievable. Again, I canno fathom this. Dan walked in and the look on his said everything but the fact that he just finished 162 miles, only four weeks after getting broadsided by a Lexus and busting the windshield and walking away battered. A mental fortitude that I could only dream of.

Another visit to A&W before heading out of Spring Valley. See ya next year!!

(discharge from washing machine)

Cooked beyond well done

Very tough gravel grinder today. Paul and I headed south from Apple Valley down to Sogn Valley. 20+ mph headwind and rain for the first two hours made it slow going but with Almanzo two weeks away, we forged ahead. Finally crossed the Cannon river into Sogn Valley GG territory, rain stopped but the wind seemed to pick up a bit. We worked our way over to Sogn Valley Trail and climbed that long, awesome gravel hill. Started making our way back with a nice tailwind that seemed to last about 5 miles. How did the wind shift from the SE to the WSW so quickly? The ride back was going to be hard. The rain had soaked the gravel roads, and there were some that were pretty much sand. Riding these stretches was a battle where just keeping the bike moving forward. There were moments when the pedals barely moved, the wind forced you sideways, the rain didn't let up, and the mind eventually wandered toward the deep void. Reaching some faster gravel roads improved spirits but the last 15 miles felt like a death march. Paul's coca-cola he had purchased in Dennison was kicking in and he was chatty! I noticed the pace pick up and Paul seemed to be pedaling with ease. I may need to pack a coke for Almanzo. Rolling back to Paul's pad, the body was not happy. Paul's garage was our base camp and I had to laugh at how long it took to get my wool socks on. Pull halfway up the foot, take a break, continue on. Paul graciously pulled out some Surly Furious and I was in such a stupor that I couldn't even finish it. Wow, that has to be a first.

Total 85 miles on the SS. Nice route Paul!

Here's the route.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/32936454/

Gravel Grinder This SA - 4/30

Only two weeks til Almanzo, so 80.11 miles are on the docket for SA's gravel ride.

NOTE: We're starting/ending at UR's palatial estate in Apple Valley. Contact him for his address if needed.

Start Time: 8:00am but most definitely by 8:11.

UR is drafting up the route for this GG. Looking forward to some new gravel scenery as we ride down to the Iowa state line!

Gravel, good to see you again.

Gravel grinder opener in the books

Despite a brisk NE wind, it was an awesome day on the gravel as Paul and I cranked out 60miles. Sun was out and the roads were suprisingly hard packed.

Taking a break at the old mill.

Entrance to Shady Lane climb. I guess they really do mean "minimum maintenance road"!

Paul was undeterred though!!

Shady Lane yet to be ridden on a SS, and today was no different. Bets were placed on whether The Butcher would have tried to ride it anyway!

Another deceiving hill that led to "I think I've got a cramp"!

Not too cold for this post-ride beverage.

9am Start for SA's Opener

Directions to start.

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=16103044707692018836&q=sibley+swale+park+northfield+mn&gl=us

Sun is on the forecast

Still planning on riding SA down in Sogn Valley. Feeling the need for an epic ride. Might be a solo ride? Clock is ticking on Almanzo.

Benefits of gravel

Proposed Route for Gravel Opener

See proposed route for SA March 26th ride.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/29855996

60miles

Ride starts on the north side of Sogn Valley so we'll get some miles in the legs before hitting some of the bigger hills which will include Dog Chase, Shady Lane, Double 63rd, and Bow Trail.