Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Trans-Iowa recap, Finally!!!
It has taken me a while to sit down and write up my thoughts on Trans-Iowa. There were a lot of very good things and a couple of bad things that really made the ride interesting.
To start our trip off the Jackal’s Exploder decided it did not want to make the trip and would rather stay at Wal-Marts parking lot. After a quick tow truck ride the Explorer was returned to its home, and we quickly stuffed all our gear into the P5 and loaded the bikes on top.
We had a good trip out to Hawarden that included a HUGE wind farm, a GIANT Pocahontas and the Sinclair dinosaur. Naturally our cameras were buried in the back of the car. We rolled into Hawarden to meet up with the other racers and host families at the Pizza Ranch (which has taken over all small towns in Western Iowa). After eating we met our host family. They were Great people, more room than any hotel and a killer breakfast!! A big thanks goes out to everyone in Hawarden for welcoming the riders into their homes.
Race day morning was beautiful. Temps in the low 40’s, sunny skies, and mild winds. We all rolled out in great spirits and it didn’t take long for riders to spread and groups to form. About 10 miles in Carl and I found our place in the world working together taking pulls and drafting each other. We would catch riders that would suck tire but not pull, so we would then drop them like a bad habit. I HATE riders that only suck tire.
Things were going pretty well until about 10:00 when the winds kicked up to a sustained 20-25mph from the N / NW and we entered the “Level B” roads. They were not roads, they were mud holes and the earlier riders made single track in the grass that we all followed. It was rough and beat me up pretty good on the full rigid Rockhopper.
After the level B roads my average speed took a major hit along with my body. Carl and I made it to Primghar, did the math, spoke about our current situation and decided to call it a day. I hate quitting, but there was no possible way we could make the 6:00 check in Algona. We decided to save our bodies for another day. Our wonderful support crew, Cheese Queen and Nicole, picked us up and we drove to Algona. In Algona we found others that had been destroyed by the wind and stopped riding. The final totals were 52 started, 16 made Algona, and only 9 finished the race. Big standing round of applause for those that made Algona and those that finished.
I am disappointed in having to quit. I have never logged this many miles this early in the season and I really thought I would finish. Staying positive I learned a lot about endurance events, training, and fueling. I discovered things that don’t work for me in regards to fueling and carrying gear. (I carried way too much stuff) I am really excited for the first triathlon in June and if there is a Trans-Iowa part II, I would probably ride.
That’s it for my Trans-Iowa #1. Big thanks to Jeff and Ted, everyone in Hawarden, and our sponsors for some major schwag!!!!!!
Tifosi good, Ergon good, GU always good.
Stay tuned for pictures of the Jackal at the Decorah Time Trials.
To start our trip off the Jackal’s Exploder decided it did not want to make the trip and would rather stay at Wal-Marts parking lot. After a quick tow truck ride the Explorer was returned to its home, and we quickly stuffed all our gear into the P5 and loaded the bikes on top.
We had a good trip out to Hawarden that included a HUGE wind farm, a GIANT Pocahontas and the Sinclair dinosaur. Naturally our cameras were buried in the back of the car. We rolled into Hawarden to meet up with the other racers and host families at the Pizza Ranch (which has taken over all small towns in Western Iowa). After eating we met our host family. They were Great people, more room than any hotel and a killer breakfast!! A big thanks goes out to everyone in Hawarden for welcoming the riders into their homes.
Race day morning was beautiful. Temps in the low 40’s, sunny skies, and mild winds. We all rolled out in great spirits and it didn’t take long for riders to spread and groups to form. About 10 miles in Carl and I found our place in the world working together taking pulls and drafting each other. We would catch riders that would suck tire but not pull, so we would then drop them like a bad habit. I HATE riders that only suck tire.
Things were going pretty well until about 10:00 when the winds kicked up to a sustained 20-25mph from the N / NW and we entered the “Level B” roads. They were not roads, they were mud holes and the earlier riders made single track in the grass that we all followed. It was rough and beat me up pretty good on the full rigid Rockhopper.
After the level B roads my average speed took a major hit along with my body. Carl and I made it to Primghar, did the math, spoke about our current situation and decided to call it a day. I hate quitting, but there was no possible way we could make the 6:00 check in Algona. We decided to save our bodies for another day. Our wonderful support crew, Cheese Queen and Nicole, picked us up and we drove to Algona. In Algona we found others that had been destroyed by the wind and stopped riding. The final totals were 52 started, 16 made Algona, and only 9 finished the race. Big standing round of applause for those that made Algona and those that finished.
I am disappointed in having to quit. I have never logged this many miles this early in the season and I really thought I would finish. Staying positive I learned a lot about endurance events, training, and fueling. I discovered things that don’t work for me in regards to fueling and carrying gear. (I carried way too much stuff) I am really excited for the first triathlon in June and if there is a Trans-Iowa part II, I would probably ride.
That’s it for my Trans-Iowa #1. Big thanks to Jeff and Ted, everyone in Hawarden, and our sponsors for some major schwag!!!!!!
Tifosi good, Ergon good, GU always good.
Stay tuned for pictures of the Jackal at the Decorah Time Trials.
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Hey Jeff
Sorry to hear TI did not turn out like you wanted but like you said at least you learned something.
Great job of giving this race a try, that's alot more than most can say.
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Sorry to hear TI did not turn out like you wanted but like you said at least you learned something.
Great job of giving this race a try, that's alot more than most can say.
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