Preparation

Well, it's that great time of year again, early April when the weather is unpredictable and I have have 108 miles of gravel to ride. The Ragnarok is my favorite race of the year and it comes up very quickly in the season. This year I have been fortunate to have been riding a lot since late February (I know there was little snow, but I don't ride for an extended amount of time when it is below 20 degrees).

I usually don't post a lot of pictures, even though I should, so I thought I would take a few of the preparations involved in getting ready for the race gear wise:

Here is all the things that I will either be carrying with me or have on me.

Here is just about everything put in the bag. This is the first year that I have had to take rain gear with me. The first year was sunny, last year was cloudy, but no rain. This year there is predicted thunderstorms. After last years Almanzo I am not taking any chances. And truth be told, while bulky, the rain gear doesn't weigh much at all.

Now it is time to get the bike ready. It is all tuned up and ready to ride. I had put all the bags back on it and make sure that I had all the emergency tools that I may need. (Note: I just remembered to grab a quick link. Packed)

So here are the before and after pictures of the bike all loaded up. I am hoping to add a frame bag before the Almanzo so that I can take some of the stuff out of my Osprey.

 

Here is the revamped drivetrain. Surly spacer kit and tug, chain and cog. I'll be running 42x20. That seemed to work fairly well on our 72 mile ride a couple of weeks ago.

Finally I aired up the tires and lubed the chain so that all I have to do is put it on the rack in the morning.

It's going to be a tough day out there, the roads are rough and are probably going to be wet, there will probably be rain and the hills haven't gotten any smaller. In an event like this it is hard to say "I want to finish in x place or better" so I'm going for under 8 hours (And hopefully no chicks beat me).