Gravel rides are good for my soul

Gravel Worlds!

Rider check-in. Thanks Cycle Works!

Almost ready to go

And we're off into darkness

Sun slowly rising

String

Tandem of Lance and Malcolm

Brady riding in his first Gravel Grinder

First MMR of the day - it was fine

Gravel was good

Clogged

Hoofing it on Road B near Valpo

Bike and footwear got a lot heavier after that walk

Kevin's der explosion at Road B - one of many victims throughout the day

Powerball tickets!

Big rollers all day

Chaser

Tacky MMR

Trevor and Paul - great riding with ya, guys!

Rafal! Thanks for pulling me along all day!

Coach's impromptu single speed

War Axe Checkpoint!

Ditch walkin' on 190th

Final Oasis

Gravel Worlds recon....

Eight heading out for recon

Sunday was a beautiful day. What Troy called a "top tenner for the year". What was supposed to be a full loop of the Gravel Worlds course became an abbreviated version. No biggie. I got a bum knee anyways. Still recovering from our move. Hire movers folks. Trust me. It's worth the money.

A small crew met at Cultiva at 6:30. The sun is up by 6:30. Next week for Gravel Worlds we'll be starting in the dark at 6:00. Lights are a necessity for the first half hour. In fact, they're required.

Carl and Rokke chase the rainbow

We rolled out onto the course by the first Oasis location, the Reinkordt farm. That oasis is about 71 miles into the course. Only about four miles after the second checkpoint of Malcolm. Yeah, it's an optional Oasis that requires a small 50 yard jog off the course, but don't let that discourage you from stopping. The Reinkordt farm has some of the best folks around manning it. Plus some highly refreshing cucumber water! Lots of folks stopped last year just to cool off for a bit in the shade. By the time most riders get to that point, the heat of the day will be climaxing.

Kevin takin' a break while Matt changes out a flat

The crew enjoyed the reroute and the course preview. Lots of great gravel and dirt. Some big rollers too. Plus several dogs who love to bark and chase. All were friendly.

MMR on the most Eastern part of the course

The last leg of the course has several MMR roads to traverse. I was shocked to find as many as we did. Don't remember riding that many on the last leg during last year's recon.

Dry dirt

We had rain earlier in the week, but the dirt roads were already dry, cracking and even bordering on dusty. The forecast for the rest of the week is for 30% chance of rain. Over the past several nights we've had some generous precipitation. Crossing my fingers and praying to the Bike Gods for dry roads.

Bummer

On the last leg of dirt we came upon this. Not too bright. Will it be gone by Saturday? Who knows. We've found cars on MMR's before. Most are stolen and smashed. This one looked certifiably sketchy.

Gravel Worlds Recon!

Silhouette

Wills and Butchy!

Beautiful morning

Road beer!

White rock

Big roller

Splat!

Accept my apology...

Dear blogosphere,

I apologize for my recent (most of 2011) absence from the blog. You see, life has gotten in the way this year and I haven't been riding my bicycles as much. No riding equals no blogging. About all I can muster for rides nowadays is a short ride before and/or after work. Weekend rides have also been curtailed. So there really isn't anything interesting to blog about. Am I upset about this? Yes and no. Yes, because I miss riding with my friends and no, because I have more free time to spend with loved ones.

But don't fret, I anticipate getting back to riding and blogging more often in the coming months as I learn how to balance things. I hope to see you out on some rides. Just be sure to take it easy on me. The legs aren't there right now.

Your friend,

Corey