More March Updates

Some soupy gravel near the Des Moines river. There were still a few ice chunks on the opposite side of the road from the river!

A few more updates from those who have been enjoying spring weather in Iowa. Courtney Hilton got his fifth metric on the 14th with a 77-mile ride out of West Des Moines, and scoped out a potential route for an official Cup O' Dirt ride. You hear that right - more details to come.

Myself, Paul Jacobson, and Jared Morford did a full century a little over a week ago on the 13th. It was Jared's first full gravel century, and he rode the tights off of Paul and I. Good work, Jared! It started out pretty darn cold, but the day got much nicer and warmer. We went up to Stratford then to LeHigh and back through Stratford to Ames along the river valley. It was too cold for mushy gravel in the morning, but it got a little tougher to ride in the afternoon. Quite a fun day for a century.

Keep sending in updates, lurkers.

New Cup Chaser - Craig Irving

Richard Simmons, eat your heart out.

We have another Cup O' Dirt chaser, Craig Irving. He jokingly asked if there was any hazing involved in the process, and I jokingly replied, "Maybe one should have to ride their first metric in nothing but a speedo or bikini? With a clown wig." I immediately received the above photo, which is no joke.

To get to know the man behind the wig, here's a bit about Craig:

I live in Mount Vernon, IA and I've been a cyclist for 15 years.  I got back into racing last year after a 10 year layoff and now focus on sucking at endurance events.  My big goal this year is to finish either Trans Iowa or Dirty Kanza, or maybe even both if I can find the right lamp to rub.  When I'm not working or riding you can usually find me tinkering in the garage, wasting time on the computer or (unsuccessfully) attempting to ignore my girlfriend's "requests" for me to do some housework.

Craig finished both the Triple D and CIRREM, for two metrics so far in 2011. Welcome to the chase! We all look forward to seeing more photos.

Updates from Courtney Hilton and JJM

The weather's getting nicer, so you should be out there getting more rides in! Here's another update from Courtney Hilton:

I've been a little under the weather the last couple days but I got the first full century in on 2/17.  South through Earlham and Winterset, this was my first ride of any real distance on a geared bike this year.  Attached are some Pictures.

 

 We also have another cup chaser, Jared J. Morford. He happens to work with me at Skunk River Cycles, and with his successful CIRREM finish he's got two metrics so far this year. Welcome to the chase, Jared.

I sadly missed out on the snowy, cold fun that was CIRREM because I was on the verge of harfing up my breakfast that morning. There's always next year, right?

Keep sending those updates in to iowacupodirt _at_ gmail -dot- com.

More Metrics to Report

Those look like some sloppy roads, Courtney!

This wonderful weather in February is certainly getting a few people out the door and onto the gravel. Courtney Hilton has two more, to make 4 total for this year. He wrote about #3:

" Got my 3rd Metric for the year,  79 miles.  30 of us rode the GRR2BRR up to Perry for the annual BRR ride.  I took another almost 30 miles after that to complete my metric for the day.

He also wrote to me today to report that #4 was on Saturday on the Earlham loop.

I got a metric of my own yesterday. A few guys from Skunk River Cycles, plus one of our friends/customers, rode up to Stanhope and back. I made up the last few miles with a trip to the grocery store on the other side of town. The roads were really dry for this time of year. Only a few sloppy spots, and lots of great packed gravel. The wind wasn't as bad as the weatherman forecasted, which is always nice.

A few of us boys from the SRC. Thanks to Paul J. for snapping photos on his fancy iPhone.

In other news, Dave reports that the mugs for 2009 and 2010 are being decorated right now. They may be done in time for CIRREM, in which case I'll bring a few of them down for distribution. When the time comes, we'll have them distributed. Exciting!

Keep 'em coming.

A Cupple More

I know I'll run out of ways to insert "cup" cleverly (or not) into the titles of these posts, but I buy that kinda stuff in bulk. Anyway, Courtney Hilton has this to say:

"Got the second metric in January 31.  Dave Cornelison (who might do cup-o-dirt now) joined me for 81 miles and 3k of climbing southern gravel  roads."

Here's the accompanying photo.

And I have my first full century to report. I finished the Arrowhead 135 on the single-speed Pugsley. It was a balmy -30 degrees F at night on the 31st, and even colder the second night, though I had finished by then. Total time was 35 hours and 35 minutes, though I had a rather cold bivy during the night, due to stupidity on my part. Sometimes, you can be too warm at -30F, and sweat through your clothes and sleeping bag while conked out. Take heed, folks. Here's a photo I snapped about 20 miles into the race.

 

That's all. Get out there and ride! Don't forget about CIRREM on the 26th of February. It's always some slushy goodness.

Winter Updates

Ya gotta wonder what's in Courtney's thermos this time of year...

It may be only January, but I've been getting a steady stream of updates from those who love riding in the snow. Well, maybe it's not love.

Jeremi Walker already has a full century and two metrics in the bag. He wrote, "Well if this weather continues I might get my first cup by the end of January! I wish!!"  He did this here 86-mile ride on the 9th, and also finished the Triple D race yesterday (67 miles, a few more for those who happened to get lost).

Courtney Hilton bagged a metric on the 7th, riding on "southern gravel". He sent me the accompanying photo, but go to his regularly updated blog for more photos and details.

As for myself, I completed the Triple D race as well, marking my first metric for the year. Anyone looking to get started in the winter racing scene should definitely check it out. There were lots of finishers this year - historically, the bikers have about a 25% rate, this year it was around 75%. The running and skiing categories had much better representation than in the past as well, and it turned out to be a really fun event on what was (this year, anyway) a fast course.

Keep riding and keep the updates rolling in!

First 2011 Cupdate

It's only January 5th, but we've already got our first update. This one is from Jeremi Walker of Iowa City, who did 114 miles on January 3rd. He wrote:

The weather was great and I had the day off! I figured no better time to get my first hundo done for the year:) Oh and by the way, that special prize for the person or persons who finish a century per month, just as a suggestion, maybe a Mug O' Dirt? Thanks again for providing us crazy folk who like to ride gravel a place to mingle. Jeremi Walker

He also provided me this link to his ride on Map My Ride. Check it out - it looks like a fun route, and with a few hills. I like the Mug O' Dirt idea - maybe like one of those convenience store ultra-huge mugs?