Speaking of Mr. DaveyGie...

I haven't had an update from Mr. DaveyGie for his 2011 rides. For someone who managed to bag 100 metric centuries in one year, I found this curious. So, I thought I'd make a game of guessing just how many you think he got in 2011. As of right now I have no idea. I think it's above 13, though. 100? 15? I'm inviting anyone to hazard a guess as to the real number. I'll get the answer out of him soon enough, even if I have to break into his house, steal all of his bikes and hold them ransom. Sure, I'd need a semi trailer to nab his collection, but I have connections.

I am offering an award to the person whose guess is closest to the number of metrics that Dave completed last year. I have a full box of Clif gels to offer up. No Price Is Right rules, just whoever is closest. I'll get creative with any ties. Leave your guesses in the comments! I'll probably reveal the genuine number sometime next week.

It only took Dave three minutes to reduce this animal to bone. Just imagine how many miles he can get in one year with his superpowers? Image gratuitously stolen from Dave's Facebook page.

Another Metric from Charles Showalter

Charles Showalter sent me this. Two metrics for the year, and we're only 10 days into it! Keep it up, Charles.

I rode a metric today with Craig and MrDaveyGie in Dubuque. Dave took us on a slightly modified version of the Triple D course. I forgot my camera at home so no pics from me other than the few I snapped with my phone. This one is of Dave after we settled into a nice trail ride. It was a good ride, and thanks to Dave for being our tour guide. Take care,

Charles

That's funny. This image of Dave Giegerich doesn't have any photoshopped antlers, a doppleganger or any illicit cycling drugs. I've always wondered what he really looked like in the wild...

Cup Delivery to Courtney Hilton

In the spirit of the Cup O' Dirt, I decided that I needed to try and hand-deliver as many of the cups from previous years that Dave has given me. (You East-Iowans will get yours someday, I swears!) So, this past Sunday I rode down to Des Moines and delivered Courtney Hilton's 2010 cup. We met on the Neal Smith trail, and he played tour guide around a lot of the trails in Des Moines. We found some wonderfully muddy ATV trails near the river. We would ride about 100 feet (or less) and then poke all of the sticky mud that accumulated in the chainstays/forks of our Pugsleys.

After that, we ate junk food at a gas station, then checked out the Center Trails (which were also a bit muddy). Courtney had to be home later in the afternoon to watch the kids, and I had to head back to Ames. So we headed out north of town, and parted ways on a gravel road near Granger. Courtney bagged 70 miles for the day, and I ended up with my first full century of the year with 118 miles. It was a great day on the bike. Screwing around in the mud on a fat bike makes one realize that you never really grow up, and the little kid in you that would purposely ride through mud puddles on your BMX bike hasn't completely disappeared.

Courtney proudly holding his Cup O' Victory.

I collected enough mud on my Pugsley to fill all the cups with it for 2012!

The Moon reflecting of an icy creek on my way home.

Rob Schneider and Charles Showalter Join Up

Craig Irving is indeed delivering the New Year Babies. We have another two new cup chasers, both admitting association with Craig. Welcome Rob Schneider and Charles Showalter to the chase. They went with Craig and Courtney on a Jan. 1st metric that I am sad to have missed (family stuff...). More details and pictures are on Craig and Courtney's blogs. Kudos to all of you guys for braving the ridiculous winds and earning a metric on the first day of the year. This should inspire everybody to get out and ride this winter!

New Chaser Andrea Venteicher

Not one full day into 2012 I got the first Cup O' Dirt update! Andrea Venteicher is joining the chase for 2012, and is wasting no time getting out on the gravel. Here's what she had to say about the ride:

Hey--i'm new to this scene, but i'm super excited about trying to complete a Cup in 2012.  So excited, as a matter of fact, that i just completed 103.5 miles (from Manly, IA, to Waukon, IA) today.  I wanted to get out of the starting gate right away and get this party started!  It worked out nicely that i could celebrate a belated Christmas w/ my parents yesterday, then Lee dropped me off partway back home, and I rode the rest of the way to complete my century.  I did find out that sometimes Gmaps is a bit off on which roads go through, but any ride that includes a creaky suspension bridge is automatically legit.  (I hope that i attached the confirmatory pictures correctly).  Thanks for hosting this challenge, and i'll hopefully be emailing again in February to let you know about ride #2. 

Sincerely,

Andrea Venteicher
Waukon, IA

Baby New Year is Delivered

Craig has kept up the fake Richard craziness to the bitter end of the year. I think a new character is in the works for 2012. Maybe it will be the bringer of destruction upon mankind. Or perhaps not. In any case, here's the 2011 final update for Craig. Way to go on all of the rides, man!

Procrastination is awesome at first, but after a while it really starts to suck.  I'd been putting off my updates, but now here I am on the last day of the year scrambling up a Fake Richard pic worthy of topping off 2011.  Anyway, I have three more metrics to report on the year.  It was almost four, but I had a race that fell a few tenths of a mile short of that magic 62.  Since I'd already had that cup locked up, I didn't bother taking the necessary laps around the parking lot to finish it off.  Anyway, let's get down to business...

Nov. 25th:  Headed out with my new riding buddy Charles for a trip to the Amanas and back.  Hit the Hawkeye Wildlife area for five miles of DK rough roads and finished the day with 69 miles *snicker*

Dec. 4th:  Head out with Charles again and hit a long series of B roads north west of West Branch.  They were sloppy and we ended up hiking it though a few miles of mud and sludge.  We could have gone around, but then I would have felt compelled to shave off all my chest hair in shame.  Forgot to start my Garmin until a few miles into the ride, but I figure we did between 63 and 65 miles.

Dec. 17th:  Tuscobia!  First and only snow ride of the season to date (lousy winter).  I came in 6th place in the 75 mile bike event, which was my best result of the year.  My Garmin wouldn't pick up a signal, fought mechanicals and bonkage for half the race, and I dropped my sunglasses in the toilet in Winter because it seemed like the thing to do.  Still, it was good to get out on some snow.  Learned some valuable lessons along the way that I'll be taking in to Arrowhead.

That's it for me this year.  Starting off the new year proper with a gravel metric.  My goal for 2012?  Snag that one cup I'm still missing.  Cheers!

And here I always thought it was the stork...

Nick Wethington's 2011 Cup

Well, I didn't qualify for all three cups this year or anything, but I at least eked out a Cup o' Mississippi Mud. In total I had 10 metrics and 6 full century rides on dirt/snow.

Matt Maxwell and I did a ride down to Chichaqua Valley Bottoms on December 4th on our Pugsleys. We got 72 miles in on gravel/icy B-roads. It was officially the first time I had to ride in the grass on the side of a B-road because it was too slippery instead of too sticky. The day after that, December 5th, I took the Pug over to Jefferson to visit a friend, then rode down to Adel on the Raccoon River Valley Trail. It was icy/snowy enough in the northern part to get me about 85 miles on dirt/snow, and the last 15 or so on relatively dry pavement to get a full century. I also finished the Tuscobia 150 in Wisconsin on the 17th of December. 150 miles of crusty, icy snow with a few miles of rutted, mushy stuff in there. It was a great ride, despite some GI problems about halfway through.

This B-road was pretty sketchy. Image courtesy of Matt Maxwell.