NEXT!

The Arrowhead 135 is done and I can now move on to other things...like more riding. I did get a 2 hour ski in this morning (first time in 1.5 months) and had a pretty good time. However I do have other riding events/races coming up. They are:

1.) C.I.R.R.E.M.* February 26th. A metric century on the dirt roads of Iowa. Last year this was a gooey frozen mess. Good times and great people.

*I have signed up and payed for this event, yeah some do cost money. But work scheduling may rule this one out, time will tell.

2.) TransIowa V7, April 23-24. Gravel race traversing the great state of Iowa, (whoa two Iowa races in a row). The exact mileage is not known but around 320. A sub 24 hour finish has yet to be achieved. This is not my goal but I'd like to be up front with the "big" boys.

3.) Almanzo 100/Royal 162, May 14th. Kind of the "Grand Daddy" of gravel races. Chris Skogen puts on a hell of an event...for free. Last year was the first year of unlimited enteries, with this year being the same. Sounds like over 600 riders may toe the line, if they all show. New this year is the 162 mile version. I, along with 89 others, have signed up for this. Looking at the roster, there are some good riders in the bunch. Should be a great time.

4.) Dirty Benjamin, June 11th. I have sent the post card in, just waiting on confirmation that I got it. I did this last year on a single speed and had a blast. I got two flats and finished 10th. I hope to get 0 flats and finish in the top 5. But goals change so who knows!

5.) Graniteman Triathlon, July 9th. Yep, a tri. I did Nevis last year with Jen and had a pretty good time. They are fun to "just do" with no expectations on performance. We host the DuTri team and have numerous members all pumped for the season. Their excitement is contagious!

6.) Northwoods Triathlon, Nevis August 13th. Had so much fun at this event last year that I signed up again. We are the official race mechanics as well! Two tri's is enough for this guy.

7.) TBD. We are also the sponsors of a Master's Team, 35+, and since I am 35 the guys have been bugging me to race with them. It's a road team and I am not a huge fan of road racing but I love riding with the guys that I just may have to jump in a race or two. But that requires renewing my USA Cycling license, which costs money, requesting an upgrade to Cat 3, and paying to do the races. Gravel is so much better!

8.) DirtBag mf V2.0, October 29th, maybe. Yes Brian and I plan on hosting the DirtBag again. That date is just a guess and by no means set in stone. Not sure if I will ride it or not. Most likely not but we preride the damn thing so much that by race day we are so shot anyway! Stay tuned for more on this. We are still working on acquiring AGRS status too. Well, hell yeah! While looking up the AGRS site to post on the link I noticed we have been added to the list on races in the region! That means riders wishing to partake in the AGRS can submit their top 5 results for points. Check the site for more info. Oh man, and I just got crazy excited. I'm glad I'm by myself since I shouted out a hell yeah...what a dork!

9.) Arrowhead 135!

Looks like my spring/summer/fall are taken care of!

Let's ride.

Later.