My 44 Miles of Trans Iowa

I was so geeked for this year's Trans Iowa. My legs seemed to be healed and my mind was in the right place. I had the proper Endura gear to honestly get me through anything, which it did... However, in not enough time. 4am start meant we had 4 hours to go 44 miles. No sweat, right?


If you look closely, I managed to stay with the lead group for the first 100yards. I was feeling good, really good. I was even in front of strong men Eric Brunt and Cornbread!

Some where between the picture above and the picture below, all hell broke loose. We were able to ride through the most beautiful thunder and lightening storm I have ever set my eyes on. I have never felt so small and so not-in-control. The rain came down quite hard, I stopped and blew 5minutes putting on my rain gear and pulling out the Ergon pack's rain fly. To me it was worth it... However, at the time, I was thinking I was going to have to survive 30hours of this.

The gravel was like peanut butter. The tires felt flat. what would be 15mph on a dry day was 7, 8 and 9mph on T.I. day.

The hills... Close to 2000ft gained in 44miles per my new Timex WS4. Made it super tough to create and maintain a group. So it was a solo yoyo morning in the dark.

By 7am I knew I would have to average 13mph to still make the checkpoint on time. No problem right? Just do it. No joke, I made a turn around the corner and saw THE B Road! Crap. This was going to be the first time in all of my Trans Iowa attempts, that the clock was going to take me out. Going into it, I never even factored time into the mix... I will next year, and I will show with the proper EB type legs.

At least I was able to catch up to the Ari (he has pics too!) and his crew, Dan and Russ. Awesome amazing peeps to ride out the last few stressless miles. The math doesn't lie. Need to average 13mph for one hour was not going to happen when you can only push your 40lb mud bike 2-3mph... Why not relax and enjoy the rest of the way to CP1 with some great peoples.

Even when it looked safe to try, it would suck your tire right in. If you didn't have your shoes on tight, it was sure to eat your shoe.

I wasn't lying. Awesome peeps. Nothing like toasting the B-Road.

Thanks for the pick-me-up guys. I truly was a blast!

The pack after CP1, It was a heave one... I'm going to spread some of the weight to a seat post rack come Trans Wisconsin.

Theo and Trixie waited it out for me all morning... I felt so bad, cause last year I made it to CP1 with the leaders in just 2 hours... It just goes to show you what a little rain and hills can do to a T.I. attempt.

The bike rode flawlessly. It was an amazing ride. The only change to be made for the next endurance ride... new/different map reader, and the addition of a seat-post rack mount(any suggestions?)

All in all Trans Iowa always manages to be the best ride and the most memorable one of the year. I can not wait until next year... I can not wait until Trans Wisconsin... I can not wait to start posting on our EXPO Juniors! Please stay tuned for tons of sweet pics and videos of mountain biking's new pros. These kids are on their way to some unforgettable years on the bike.

www.twitter.com/EXPOracing will always have up to the date postings of EXPO Racing, so be sure to check up on that as well as make your way through my links for T.I. write-ups as well as EXPO updates from this past weekend's Iola WORS #1.

The next post will be the Iola post...

Trans Iowa, I love you.

Grinnell, Iowa

Regardless of how well or how poor you do. No matter the weather conditions. The feeling you get before a 4am in Grinnell, Iowa is legit.

Joe Horvath Photography

EXPO Juniors

Joe Horvath Photography : EXPO Racing

Trans Iowa rig 2010

Drove it out west to find some gravel today. Managed a simple 30miles to help dial in a few items. I found myself in love with the Ergon GX3 barend. So much so, that I rarely ever touched the green stuff. So I took off the 100mm stem and slapped on a 110mm. Bam, perfect. Found a feed basket at the Bicycle Doctor which I am pretty stoked about. This should aid in feeding without getting dropped.

Sigh... I am starting to get quite excited for this thing called Trans Iowa. Bike has never been so comfortable. My legs seem to be much better that year's past. I found Tanka Bars to taste so amazing, I will fill my pack the hot ones for sure. Test Battery life of my Stella as I type(4 hours and counting on high...) Oh yeah, I sighed. Yeah. I'm nervous. I want to finish this thing!

The Build

Big Big BIG HUGE thanks to everyone who helped put this dream build into motion. Jay, Russell, Aris, Ian, Jim, Jeff and most of all Trixie. You all dropped what you were doing at some point in the past three weeks to lend a hand in the build. Weather it was opinion, $$$, wrench, space, time or labor you all helped get me rolling. I wish I had a scale because this bike is sick light. Heck, if I can't drop the pounds, might as well shave them off the bike.

Please note the *** identifies new for 2010.

Trans Iowa Bike (attempt 3)
-Bianchi Roger Frame and Fork and Headset
-Sugino XD w/Square Taper BB and Surly Ring***
-Izumi Track Chain***
-Avid BB7 Road w/ Avid SL MTB levers***
-Sun Ringle Black Flag Weelset***
-Schwalbe Marathon Extreme 35mm tires***
-Rear is laced to a Chris King SS hub!***
-WTB Rocket V Ti rails saddle***
-Bontrager X-lite Riser Bar and Stem*** (May switch to a Flat XXXLite Bonty Bar)
-Ergon GR2 grip mated to the GX3 bar end... I know, it's sick.***

Pics to follow tonight. I'm stoked.

Taste

What can I say? It is pretty raw when you have two guys that not only ride EXPO's purple sleeve, but hold such talent in the imaging world as well. Joe Horvath and Jeff Frings certainly gave the EXPO Juniors a taste of what it is like to rock a pro team. Photo Shoot was legit with laughs and the usual down time associated with such a task. It was a blast.

Taste:

Expo Racing Team Video Preview from Jeff Frings Photography on Vimeo.

This week the rest of my Trans Iowa bike parts should finally trickle in. I am so stoked to list the parts make-up of this year's bike... I just want to wait another day to truly make sure the parts are actually coming. I absolutely can not tell you how excited I am to Tackle my third attempt. A finish would make my season.