[KERKOVEJ]

Trans Iowa V.2 Discussion

Since there is a lot of Q & A going regarding nutrtion, bike set up, best flavor of cookie dough, etc, etc, etc for Trans-Iowa V.2 I am going to start this forum so we can have it all in one place for easy reading.

So what was the best flavor or cookie dough?
I say P.B.
I bet there is an extra bit a protein in there being it's P.B.
Right?

Discuss.

Those of you that have registered keep in mind that all information that is important to you will be posted on the T.I. website and sent to you via e-mail.

 

[How27spd]

Maybe next year !

Congrats to everyone that signed up ! I sit here sulking because I talked myself out of signing up after I talked about this race since last year. So why didn't I sign up ? I guess it's the commitment for a race that is 4-1/2 months away and if my work schedule changed
I didn't want to take a spot from someone else.

Thats the 1st excuse ! 2nd is using two personal days and I can use them for two different races next season.

3rd- mentally the risk of getting burned out so early in the year !

4th- just plain old WUSSING OUT !!!!!!!!!

I'll be watching and learning from all the post over the next 4-1/2 months !

good luck everyone !

 

[Fastskiguy]

OK, let's talk tires!

Thanks Jeff for setting up this thread, I'm sure it'll be huge and hopefully helpful too.

So about tires, what about'em? I'm thinking cushy but I don't want to push a really heavy slow tire for 340 miles so what is everybody thinking? I've read from 26X2.somethings to 700X35's so far for a range. I'm thinking some nearly bald 29X2.1's (WTB nanoraptors shaved down a bit) right now but those guys on cross tires sure did well last year.

 

[KERKOVEJ]

Rubber Goodness.

Tire choice is pretty simple. I ride a 26er, so for me the best tire choice to accept all the conditions that might come about during this epic race would be something similar to the WTB Nano's, Maxxis Larsen TT, etc, etc, etc. You need something fast, yet something that can give you hook-up if needed. Don't forget about comfort. There was a wide tire variety last year. Maybe some other can shed some light on the subject.

 

[PaddyH]

last yr, I rode 26'ers--1.8 kenda klimax lites, they worked good, no issues...this year will be different as far as bike setup goes(and tyre size)

 

[flyingwedge]

Cookie Dough

While thrilled to be in this year, my worries are a bit more global than cookie dough - my question is regarding food, in general! What convience stores are open and serving pizza by the slice at 3am in the middle of no-where-ville Iowa?? Will I be riding alone and able to keep my wits about me in the wee hours of the morning? (reference Getzelman's story from the 05 edition!). Weather?!

Yes, tire selection is an important one - light and quick... but flats can slow you down, so also beefy and strong. I think, however, that most important is having the will, discipline, tanacity to keep moving, keep rolling on even when yer tired, hungry, cold and alone.

Thanks, Jeff and Guitar Ted for hosting this little journey across the state - I think I'm excited about this! I'm looking forward to riding with some folks I've met at other rides - Lance, Bruce, Eppen, (Dee and I are taking you down at Chequamegon this year!).

Meanwhile, I'll be out there testing tires and cookie dough! Peace - Dave Mable

 

[dmsigurdur]

obsessing is a good thing

As far as food goes I know that in the past I've finished 24 hour bike races on bk and coke before and I've ran 100 mile trail runs on redbull (15 cans at mcnaughton park) and hot dogs ,so I'm not to worried about food stuffs.I figure as long as there are places to stop and some in hand cash then I'll be alright.That being said I plan on carrying two cans of bull and protein bars with me as i go (water is far to obvious to even say I would think).I find that if I don't take in protein as I race my body gets worn down far easier than without.Now as to why this happens.....I don't know I'm a plumber.
Tire choices will be interesting as I don't even have the rig yet and will most likely look to buy the lightest tire I can get for it.(close your ears paddy) In my 11 years of raceing bike I have only flatted two times and once was do to a rim strip not being put in.So I guess I can safely say that flats are not even on my worries list.
What is on it is getting lost as I am primarily a ultrarunner and the courses are very well marked out and the chance of getting lost is slim.Having said that the 24 hour bike races I've done were impossible to get lost on so this will be very new to me.

I am so freakin psyched!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[KERKOVEJ]

Like last year, the longest you might end up going with out a pass though town might be 40-50 miles. You just have to make sure that you always have enough calories with you. Cookie dough is a great option.

Will will keep the route planning along these same lines.

You might be riding alone at times. Last year, there were always groups of atleast two. People rode together just to pass the time and to keep sane.

Weather? You know what Iowa is like ini late April. It could be 20 degrees and snowing or it could be 80 degree and sunny. Be prepared for anything.

Oh, and one last thing...
Heck yes there will be sweet jumps. Be prepared

 

[Morlahach]

I am an ultra-event roadie (brevets mostly). My technical trail skills are zilch, which is what is so attractive to me about straight roads in rural Iowa. My one question is about tire width. I will be running no suspension (totally not needed for gravel for big hits) but am concerned about hand, groin, and foot numbing vibration.

Wide tires would help midigate this. Narrow tires are fast.

So the question is, what minimum width tire is enough to take the vibration out?

 

[Guitar Ted]

On tires and food

I thought I'd chime in here with some thoughts fer ya'all......

1. Tire choice is/ was a big topic for discussion. Here's what I noticed last year. Several guys showed up, ( at our suggestion) running 2.0-ish rubber. They complained because they thought the psycho-cross dudes had an advantage. Well, out of the nine that finished last year, only four of them were on psycho-cross rigs, and out of those four guys is where all the stories of physical pain, numbness, and bleeding came.........after the race was over for two weeks! This group also reported the most flats. Fast? Maybe. The other five guys on fatties were right there. Look- it's the guys with the best "motors" and toughest mindsets that will complete the course. That said, I'd be running anything over 40mm. and up to 2.1 inches. You should be good to go. Jeff's selections are excellent examples.

2. Food in the middle of the night shouldn't be a problem. A few of the towns that this years route passes through have all night convienience stores that serve single slice pizza, burritoes, and any other form of death munchies you can think of. Pork rinds anyone?

 

[flyingwedge]

Tires

I'm with Guitar, some dude wrote a book appropriately titled... "It's Not About The Bike"

On another note... This little race could develop quite a little community here - kinda cool!

I guess they say that 'missery loves company'!

Peace! Dave

 

[KERKOVEJ]

could develop quite a little community here - kinda cool!

This event has gone beyond "a little community."
When people sit at their computer to register like it's a race all in itself
It has a cult following. Just you wait and see at the pre-race meeting and start line.
Thanks for represent'n we Eye-wee-gens!

I wonder how many sweet jumps G-Ted and myself can work into the first 20 miles

 

[<Cornbread>]

What did most finishers from last year ride? Mtb or cross?

This will be my first longer endurance ride. I'm looking forward to it. I've done some 12 hour events and found Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem works well. I'm also a big fan of beef jerky and corn chips. Both offer a lot of sodium. Plus they taste good. Never tried cookie dough. I may just mix up some smoothies with soy milk, peanut butter, blue berries, cranberries, bananas and peaches.

 

[redsnakebite]

What did most finishers from last year ride? Mtb or cross?

This will be my first longer endurance ride. I'm looking forward to it. I've done some 12 hour events and found Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem works well. I'm also a big fan of beef jerky and corn chips. Both offer a lot of sodium. Plus they taste good. Never tried cookie dough. I may just mix up some smoothies with soy milk, peanut butter, blue berries, cranberries, bananas and peaches.

As I recall the finishers were riding as follows:

1. Ira - Cross bike
2. Brian - Cross bike
3. Alex - Hardtail MTB
4. Todd - Rigid MTB/SS
5. Paddy - 1FG SS
6. Brett (Me) - Spec Epic Full Boinger
7-8. Jim and ? - Tie (Cross Bikes)
9. Joe - Ridid MTB/SS

 

[SlowerThenSnot]

Not gonna happen for me

I'll be bizzy helping my buddy run his bike shop while he is on his honeymoon.....

07 I'll have to make it... I want to put togather something like this in colorado down the road.

I really wish I could have done this race this year to use it to messure my fitness before the GDR.....

Any good luck to everyone that well make it there.

Dave Nice

 

[Fastskiguy]

how did people carry their stuff?

So how did people carry all of their junk anyway? I saw some pics of some really full jersey pockets and camelbacks but did anybody use a <gasp> handlebar bag? or <double gasp> a rack and trunk? I'm thinking overnight it seems everybody was cold last year (at least according to the two or three writups I've read) and to be able to put on and take off a little bit of clothing might be a huge thing at 1am Saturday night.

 

[DF Bernard]

I suppose an introduction is in order...

Well, now that I'm a part of this little "community" I suppose I ought to introduce myself...

Backtrack about two months: I'm perusing the MMBA forums when I come across a post by some Kerkove guy about some TRANS IOWA V.2 thing. Initially I ignored it - what interest could Iowa possibly hold for me? But, finding nothing else of interest, I make my way to the thread, and as I read, intrigue begins creeping in. I read on. I follow the web links.I continue reading. Hmmm...this is looking interesting - in a wacked-out, psycho kind of way - very interesting. I sleep on it...and it gnaws at me: 300+ miles in under 34 hours, across Iowa, through the night, unsupported...are they crazy? Am I crazy?? Why, yes I am!

Fast forward to yesterday: I'm anxiously sitting at my computer at 2:00 EDT waiting impatiently for the Active.com registration window to open. It does, I do, and WHAM! What in the world have I gotten myself into?

Anyway, I am completely and totally psyched for this event! This is my first venture into ultra-edurance events, but have no doubt that I will be there, on the starting line on April 29, as physically and psychologically prepared as possibe.

What will I be riding? Probably my Fisher hardtail...but maybe, just maybe there's a 29er in my future (man, I want that 2006 Paragon BAD!). Tires? WTB Nanoraptors. Food? Lots. Sleep? None. Clothing? Weather-dependant, of course. Support? None (not legal!), but my wife will be there for moral support. What a trooper!

Well, I look forward to getting to know all of you in the next 4+ months, and I'll see you in late April in western Iowa!

~D

 

[Guitar Ted]

redsnakebite: You nailed it. Only four cross bikes out of nine finishers.

fastskiguy: No handlebar bags, which surprised me, actually. Look at old photos of Tour riders and they all have the dual waterbottle cages on the handlebars. I'm talkin waaay back! Back when they all rode dirt and gravel. Think about that. Otherwise, a few guys had racks, but really, most just stuffed all they could into their jerseys, or hydration packs and did just fine. Anyway, we are doing the dropbag service, so you can split it up a little bit.

Brian Hannon did have a couple of bottle cages mounted to each fork blade of his Redline crosser though. That was pretty unique!

 

[KERKOVEJ]

So how did people carry all of their junk anyway? I saw some pics of some really full jersey pockets and camelbacks but did anybody use a <gasp> handlebar bag? or <double gasp> a rack and trunk? I'm thinking overnight it seems everybody was cold last year (at least according to the two or three writups I've read) and to be able to put on and take off a little bit of clothing might be a huge thing at 1am Saturday night.

I was right in the mix of things during this race. About 90% of the folks stuffed their hydro-packs and jersey pockets with gear, food, and mojo. Some went as far as a rear rack mounted off a seatpost. I even saw a few of the MOOTS TAILGATOR RACKS.

As G-Ted stated, there where some interesting set-ups. I have attached a picture of Mr. Hannon from Colorado. Notice the bottles on the front fork, and the h-bar bag.

You will want to do some product testing. Figure out your lights, you calorie needs, water needs, etc, etc, etc, etc. Racing is the easy part. Planning and training is the hard and painful part

 

[mikesee]

redsnakebite: You nailed it. Only four cross bikes out of nine finishers.

Or, to look at it a little differently, CX bikes were almost half the field...

The real question is this: Do you wanna be comfy, or do you wanna go fast? Ira was not very comfy, but he was able to bask in the glow of his victory as his body healed the next few weeks.

fastskiguy: No handlebar bags, which surprised me, actually. Look at old photos of Tour riders and they all have the dual waterbottle cages on the handlebars. I'm talkin waaay back! Back when they all rode dirt and gravel. Think about that. Otherwise, a few guys had racks, but really, most just stuffed all they could into their jerseys, or hydration packs and did just fine. Anyway, we are doing the dropbag service, so you can split it up a little bit.

Ira was a madman last year--no racks, no packs, just some crazy overstuffed jersey pockets and some borrowed wool socks pulled almost to his knees. Made me sore and cold just watching him. When asked about it, he used the old quote: Travel light and freeze at night.

The race logistics have changed this year. Starting in the dark and (for the leaders) most likely finishing in the dark forces a bit more strategery. I will definitely be using a rear rack for gear/food carrying. No way around that. Bar bag? Probably not, but you never know...

Brian Hannon did have a couple of bottle cages mounted to each fork blade of his Redline crosser though. That was pretty unique!

That's the beauty of stuff like this--run what ya brung. If you come up with an idea the night before, by all means USE IT if you think it'll work.

MC