Windy City Heat

I had a pretty good week riding. I got back on the dirt Wednesday and rode a little bit of BC, over to Carver, and then back through BC again. I like this route. I get in about 20-25 miles and throw in a few extra hills on the way over to Carver.

I didn't ride again until Sunday. I really wanted to do the Chippewa Valley Century, but it was just not in the cards for me. I managed to get in a decent 40 mile ride in the wind and heat. This was also the first time that I rode my road bike in about a year. I really don't like that thing. Long term I hope to get a more gravel friendly frame and fork and just move the components over.

Today I went out for a 59 mile ride with the plan of winning some KOMs on Strava. There were a few segments where I was close to the top and knew that if I were to ever take the road bike out I would have a very good chance and getting the top spot. The first section of Upper Afton was going great and then I looked up and saw Eddie stopped, yelling at me from his truck so I stopped to chat with him real quick. The second Upper Afton hill was going pretty good as well until I got a phone call that I had to take, so there went that segment. Finally I got to the third Upper Afton segment and put the hammer down. I thought I was going to have to downshift at some point but it never happened. I ended up taking that KOM by four seconds (EDIT: I just got an email that I lost it by a second). That was the only one that I would get though. I had some decent times but the wind today was just brutal. Riding in Afton was windy as shit and I don't think I've ever had a harder time riding 12 miles.

I'm not completely sold on the gears thing. It's great for flats, no doubt, but I think I am a better climber on the SS. The gears allow you to slack off, the SS has no mercy. I'm sure I'll continue to mix it up a bit.

I have to get in a little more MTB with the Cheq 100 coming up in 4 weeks. I need to get to Leb to work on the technical skills a bit so I can keep a good time through Rock Lake. After that there is not too much technical stuff. Like I've said before, I can't decide which race I like more, the Ragnarok or the Cheq 100 but both are always an awesome time. I might have to go with the Cheq this year because it ends at the River's Eatery in Cable and they have great pizza and beer. I especially like this place since we showed up after close last year and the guy fired up the oven and made us a great post ride meal. This year I'll get there much sooner and I'm not driving back to the cabin. Troy and I will leave that up to one of the 62 milers.

Post Almanzo

The day started off early with a 5:40am alarm and I was out the door by 6:02. I headed down to Spring Valley and got there about an hour early.

I knew I wanted to be near the front of the start so that I wouldn't get stuck behind slower riders. For gravel road races this is usually not a problem, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't having to weave through people in loose gravel. I positioned myself in approximately the first 200 people and soon after the race began.

It started off well and I was feeling good. There were a few small climbs to start and that had me passing a few people. Soon after though was a lot of flats and I began to get passed. I wasn't happy about this, but such is life. After the 40 mile mark I began to slowly pass people again. It felt good to see people off in the distance and then catch them. Coming into the 65 checkpoint I was feeling pretty exhausted. I just wanted to lay down and rest. To my surprise, many others were doing the same. I stayed at that checkpoint for a little longer than I had planned to, but I think it payed off down the stretch. I finished off the final 35 miles fairly strong. I had to walk a couple hills but that's all part of it. There was a church with a soda machine and picnic tables with about 10 miles to go that I saw a lot of racers resting at. I thought for a second about stopping there but decided that I would rather have a better finishing time and I don't like Pepsi products.

As I was approaching the final stretch of pavement I knew that it was going to be straight into the wind and that I was going to have to give it my all. I tried as hard as I could to stay on someones wheel, but it just wasn't happening. As I made the last left onto the final stretch of road another race told me to "Sprint it out" so with all the energy I had left I raced into the finish line as fast as I could.

There was a ton of heat, wind, and very loose gravel but that is just the elements that you have to be ready for in these types of races. Everyone suffers through the same elements, some just less than others.

Thanks to all the volunteers that helped everything go so smoothly, including those that stopped cars on a few of the busier streets at the beginning. Biggest thanks to Chris Skogen for putting this race on, allowing EVERYONE to participate, and doing a first rate job of it.

I stole this picture off Facebook. Deathrider refused to snuggle with me :(

Pre-Almanzo

I don't think that 2pac was talking about bike riding in this song, but it's a little more motivating than this bike themed song:



I got all my stuff packed up and ready to go for the race tomorrow. It was much easier packing than for the Ragnarok. The weather is going to be good enough and with fewer hills I expect to be on the course for less time. I got in a couple strong rides the past few days and am feeling good. Earlier in the week in was concerned about water, but I think that I will be alright.

The goal tomorrow is to start towards the front (between 100-200) and hopefully catch on to a fast group and draft them for as long as possible. I am going to take it a little easier on the hills this time and try and conserve that energy for the later parts of the race and hammer out the flats.

Set-up - Bianchi San Jose Pro - 42x18

Goal - Sub 7 hours

Grind On

Lately I have really been hammering some rides out. I started mixing in some flatter rides so that I could get some time in just sitting and spinning for a long distance. I am hoping that all of this will pay off at the Almanzo 100 this weekend. A month ago I was thinking that I should finish it in 7h30m, but as the date gets closer I really think that I should be pushing myself for 7h. It is not an "easy" course by far, but there are a lot of flat sections that I think I can hammer out at a good pace. My goal will be go out strong and try and catch on with some of the faster riders and use their draft to my advantage. I did this with some success at the Mammoth Gravel Classic and we were pushing 19mph for a good period of time. I am going to gear at 42x18 and hope that I have the strength for the later hills. 42x20 was a good choice for the hills at the Ragnarok, but on the flats I felt like I wasted a lot of energy just spinning my legs to keep a decent pace. My one concern about the race is water. It is getting hot fast and my body is not used to it. Yesterday I went for a 32 mile ride and downed an entire water bottle easily. Having to go 100 I will have to figure something out. With only possibly having some support 40 miles in, I am going to have to either conserve water and possibly slow my pace, or hope that my body can adjust over the next couple of days and will need less water then lately. Either way, I am feeling strong for this race and hope to come in with a good time.