finalizing the century

took a drive friday afternoon to check out the cue sheets and see just how many street signs are missing/have been turned and to figure out exactly where all of you are going to get lost and hate me. i have done my best to draw your attention to potential problems, danger areas, etc. PLEASE DON'T BE STUPID!!!!! there are a couple times you will be riding the shoulder of highways for short distances, there are some raging fast (35-40mph) downhills, there are dogs, there are cars, there might be ice, it might get dark on you, you have to go from mile 35-85 without refueling...DON'T BE STUPID!!!! the first picture below is the sattre store. this is your 35 mile stop. look close. it is a house in the middle of nowhere and the owner lives upstairs. i will be calling just to make sure she's open for us. refilling your water will probably mean asking her to fill your bottles from her kitchen sink. i don't think the food is expired. do NOT expect hot dogs or pizza. we're talking bags of chips and fig newtons. maybe a 12 pack of busch light. the second picture is a casey's that is your 85 mile stop. expect normal gas station fare here. please understand this...you/we are going to get worked by this century. its no joke. i rode the first 35 miles of it last week and was deviously happy. i rode about 52 miles yesterday that was kind of like riding the last 50 backwards...we're really in for something with this ride. and with it being on the heels of a metric, just make sure you bring the right mindset and plenty of water/food. for what its worth i will probably be leaving with approx. 150oz of fluid with no plans of refilling liquids at the sattre store. i expect the 50oz carborocket and 100oz water to get me to the 85 mile stop. side note...thinking at this point we might have a contest to see who returns with the most busch light mile markers. yes, in northeast iowa the gravels are littered with empty busch light cans and if anyone feel the need to be an environmentalist while you're out there you might just get rewarded for being an awesome person.

carborocket shows the std some love

brad keyes is throwing in some support for the std by sending us some of his top-class endurance drink mix carborocket. this is the only thing i've drank on the bike other than water for the last year and a half and he's sent us plenty to go around so everyone that shows up can give it a try and maybe even have some to go home with. brad's story behind why and how he developed carborocket sounded similar to mine with stomach issues, cramping problems and appetite loss. he developed this to be gentler on your stomach and for me, it works. its gotten me through a 31+ hour finish of transiowa on a fixed gear as well as a large number of other epic rides. if you haven't tried this stuff and you like riding your bike for a really long time, you owe it to yourself to try it out.

recon/advice

recon photo from 2/16:advice from 2/16 recon: really just a reminder, bring all your bikes and every bit of gear. absolutely no idea what we'll be riding in. rode the first third of the saturday century and we're gonna get worked if its anything other than perfect conditions. which, considering the dates...

sag service

HUGE THANKS goes out to travis at decorah bicycles. he has agreed to provide sag service for the std. this is a very big deal especially because the timing of it puts it right when the shop will be getting busy and they will be open almost the whole time we'll be riding which means they'll be sacrificing an employee from the shop if we need someone. please do all that you can to avoid needing this service, but if you do need them please understand and respect what they are doing for us. i'm guessing little things like gas money or little debbie snacks dropped off at the shop would provide a pretty suitable thank you. if you need anything bike related while you're here, they'll take care of you.