Pre-Dirt Bag

Well tomorrow is the Dirt Bag race in Clearwater, MN. It is the final race in the AGRS series. I have done every race this year except for the Dirty Benjamin and completed all of them. I don't know how many people have done that, but I'd guess that the list is short.

I have never done this race, but I hear that it is pretty flat. I am going to try a high gearing of 48x18 (2.66) to see if I can latch on to some pace lines rather than spinning like crazy to try and keep up. For the Heck of the North I went with 42x16 (2.62) so there is not a lot of difference, but it may help over the course of 100 miles.

I have not gotten a lot time to ride this month, which is unfortunate since fall is great riding whether, but with kids sports 4 times a week it leaves little extra time to go for a ride. The GF's work schedule has been different as of late too so that doesn't help any. Other than riding to work (Which I think has only happened 3 or 4 times in October) I have only ridden twice. Once a Wednesday night group ride that I was pressed for time and only got in 8 miles and a BC-Carver fat bike ride that was about 21 miles. Oh, and the Adventure Ride that was about 22 miles. Needless to say, not exactly the prep that you would want heading into a 100 mile ride.

Despite all that, I am shooting for a 6 hour 30 minutes or under time. My previous best 100 is 7h25m, so this would be quite a leap. I think you gotta set goals to push yourself. I'm at the point where I don't take a 100 miles for granted, but "Just finishing" is not a positive for me.

The frame bag has been a life saver. I have done two races with it now and can't say enough positive things about it. It holds everything that I need and allows me easy access to anything. I no longer need the small feed bag on my top tube that would rub my knees when I climb and bothered me. It allows me to wear nothing on my back which no matter how light, would start to bother me around mile 60 and put me in full on pain around mile 80. I think it would also put more pressure on my ass which would start to bother me around mile 70 and force me to stand and glide or become more willing to walk a hill towards the end just to relieve some pain for a little bit. There is also a trash pocket on the side, but I found it nice to put the trash in my jersey pocket and use the pocket to hold my note cards.
If there's any negative at all, it's that drinking is a little harder. I bought a longer tube, but I still have to lean forward some to drink. I didn't want the tube to be too long otherwise it will just flop all over the place while riding.


The weather will be interesting. Weather.com is currently showing:

Saturday, Oct 27
Hi: 43°
Lo: 29°
Mostly Sunny
Chance of rain: 10%
Wind: S at 5 mph Sun

Sunday, Oct 28
Hi: 43°
Lo: 28°
Rain / Snow Showers
Chance of rain: 40%
Wind: ESE at 8 mph

That's fairly chilly. I'll have to at least start with a jacket and pants on. The jacket keeps me pretty warm so I won't need to layer much underneath it. I'll also start with fleece gloves, thin UA winter cap, and wool socks.

I still need to get to the grocery store to pick up some last minute items and then I will be ready to go. I'll post a race recap some time early next week and I'll try and get some pictures as well.