Saturday was my first Renegade Gents Race in Slater Iowa, while it was my first it is the 8th such race put on by the folks at Bike Iowa and it is a completely different format than the races we usually do so we rounded up 5 team members and signed up. Todd and I got off a bit early on Friday and decided to drive over together ahead of the rest of the crew and scope out things. The weather was pretty crappy in Lincoln and Omaha on Friday with flurries at times and cold temps, thankfully the snow didn't follow us out of Omaha even though the chilly temps did but we are pretty used to riding in the cold; didn't miss too many Saturday rides all throughout the winter.
Our residence for the weekend was the Red Roof Inn in Ames, not too shabby and decently priced. Accommodations are one of the priciest parts of traveling for races so it's always nice to find a decent place that doesn't break the bank and the Red Roof fit the bill just fine.
Todd was not playing around with his hydration for the race, one water bottle per 10 miles really ought to do it. I rib him just a bit but he is fairly new to the long distance gravel racing scene and we've all second guessed ourselves at the beginning until we figured out what worked for us.
Todd and I unpacked and then met up with Pablo and Karla who weren't far behind us and also stayin at the Red Roof Inn. Karla and Pablo were starving so we decided to go check out the El Azetca just down the street. Todd and I had grabbed a bite leaving Omaha so decided just to drink our lunch and wait for the rest of the crew to find some food but Pablo and Karla both said the food was good, judging from the crowds that started to gather when we left Ames agreed with their thoughts on the place.
Dave, Doug and Joe eventually graced us with their presence as well a little bit later. Dave and eventually Carlos, who showed up much later in the evening, ended up on the other side of the dividing door on the adjoining room... I figured that spelled trouble for any thoughts of going to bed early for any of us.
Once the rest of the gang arrived, minus Carlos who was still enroute, we hit up Dublin Bay for some good beer and delicious Irish food, the Corned Beef and Cabbage was pretty phenomenal. I wish we had a good Irish place in Omaha or Lincoln, maybe we do but I haven't found it so if you know of one shoot me your recommendations.
A quick trip to the local Hy-Vee for some adult beverages after Dublin Bay and things got a little more weird or interesting back at the hotel, depending on your definition of each of those words. Always good times with this crew, even if it might at times have an adverse effect on the getting up early the next morning plan.
Dave's knowledge of good beer consists of what is on sale and what has a bicycle on it, the owls are optional. It's not the best method for selecting a good beverage an this one was horrible... beer and chai tea should never, ever, ever go together. Carlos dubbed this one the Double-Eww rather than the double brew it claimed to be, it was an apt description. Things finally wound down around midnight as everyone found their own rooms and did any last minute preparing for the race the next morning. Luckily we didn't have a super early start time, ours was at 10:26 so the plan to get up around 7 to eat breakfast then load the cars and get headed to Slater around 9 was still doable without being overly sleep deprived.
We got over to the Nite Hawk Bar & Grill right around 9:30 which meant that teams had been gathering and departing since 9 so things were already bustling at the bar. I suppose we should back up just a little here in case people aren't familiar with a Gents Race format. The idea is to get a team of 5 (men/women or both on a team) members together and then race as a team, the team's time is the time given to the last person on the team to cross the finish line. In addition to racing as a team, each team is also ranked from the fastest to the slowest prior to the beginning of the race and given a staggered start time, so no two teams start at exactly the same time. Originally there were 5 teams signed up to come down from Lincoln and Omaha that I knew of but with chilly temps most of those teams lost one or more members and didn't qualify as a team anly longer but the folks at Bike Iowa were still allowing them to ride but they wouldn't get an official time. Our team, Dave and the Dirty Debutantes ( not the official Cycle Works team although the Rasta colors were flying that day on team Dave) was the only whole squad that ended up making it to the race of the 5 teams we had going originally but several of the usual crew came to ride even if they didn't have a full team any more. I'm glad that they did, it was good to see them out there and to ride with those of them that started around the time that we did.
Despite the forecast calling for temps in the 30-40 degree range by 1 o'clock it didn't feel all that cold with winds in the single digits and the sun high in the sky without a cloud to be seen. All those who decided not to come really missed out on a beautiful April day to race some Iowa gravel.
Probably the easiest set of cues I've ever gotten for a race, not a whole lot of turns or elevation but Iowa gravel is a bit thicker and sandier than what we have around Lincoln/Omaha and it will rob you of momentum at times and you'll wish for less sandbox like gravel even if it means relentless rollers. At least rollers give you some reprieve on the down slope and the ability to gain momentum back for the next up hill, thick gravel is just a constant slog without those brief breaks.
Promptly at 10:26 we were set free on the course and we went out at a decent pace but nothing too hasty. I'm not a big fan of cold starts as it takes my legs a bit longer than usual to get warmed up and thus it takes a bit longer until I get into a pedaling groove and can zone out and not have to stay uber concentrated on things. Saturday was no exception to that and I probably didn't feel like I was in my zone for at least a good hour of the race, maybe a tad longer. I find once I get into that groove, time doesn't seem real in a sense; I'll look back on a race and think that I was pedaling for 10+ hours but it didn't seem like 10 hours when I was doing it.
I think we might have guessed a little bit wrong on where we needed to start, although the only choices were fast, slow or medium (we were medium), because after about an hour some of the faster teams behind us caught and passed us. But we weren't really killing it either and didn't really have a plan to do so before we got there on Saturday.
Although Dave and Doug might have been the exception, they were both riding really strong for the race and were almost always on the skinny end of the fat peleton. Secretly I think it was that they both had yellow bikes, yellow bikes always seem to be just a hair faster than bikes of darker color ways.
Despite being flat and brown, it really was beautiful country and there were some very cool barns and silos out there if you had the time to look around.
Next year I think we definitely need to put slow down for our pace, we passed a few groups that were off on the side enjoying drink and food while we pedaled away. Given our start time, the speed we figured we'd be able to maintain without killing ourselves and the time we knew we had to be done to make an official time (4 PM) there wasn't a lot of time for tomfoolery. Live, learn and get a better slot next time.
The only official checkpoint for the race was just a touch past the half way point at mile 32, SNUS Hill Winery was the location and it looked to be a great place to come back to and hang out when you weren't, you know, racing bikes on gravel. Minnesota Joe, Pablo and Carlos caught up to us at this point and joined us for a little while leaving the checkpoint until Minnesota Joe and Carlos rode away not to be seen again until the end. Pablo decided to stick it out with the fatties and it was nice to have him in the group. Even ran into local legend and Trans Iowa organizer, Guitar Ted and chatted him up a bit, always good seeing him even if there wasn't a whole lot of time to do so. The checkpoint was actually really well thought out, the course consisted of two loops and the checkpoint was only a few miles from the start/finish so if you had enough fun at mile 32 it was just a short ride back to the finish.
A few more cool old buildings along the route.
One of the last regroups we did was at an old cemetery and across the road was a field of fine looking bovines... now I've been called the dog whisperer of the group but that must also extend a bit to cows because I started talking to the ladies in the field and before long I had them talking back. It was actually kind of surprising and cool, who knew that by mooing at a cow you could actually start up a conversation. Lovely ladies, really the whole lot of them were so nice and well mannered.
Dave, Doug, Pablo and I also practiced our bob sled poses just in case we ever make it to the Olympics and all, our actual bob sled game is pretty weak but our bob sled selfie game is on point.
Todd and Joe were having a bit more a tough go than the rest of us, Todd was plagued by knee issues most of the race and Joe discovered that he wasn't able to keep the front derailluer in the big ring and apply any force to it without it trying to jump off the chain ring so he was resigned to spinning in the small ring all day. I felt for them because I've been in their shoes before where things are less than ideal and you struggle more than you ought to but they powered through and were in good spirits all day and that's about all you can do in situations like that.
With about 8 miles left to go we saw a large group gathered on the corner, realized we still had a couple of ditch beers left and decided to join them for a little bit to enjoy a cold beverage.
As I said, we didn't have a lot of spare time to get this thing done before cut off so Pablo gave us all the a stern look, telling us it was time to get headed out, so off we went to finish it out.
And finish it we did, Doug and Dave a tad ahead of me, Joe and Todd a tad behind but we all crossed the line with about 5 or so minutes to spare and earned an official time for the course. Always been a bit of a middle of the pack rider and even in a group of five that's where I ended up but it was a great day on the bike and I had a lot of fun getting to spend it with our team.
Post race we headed back into the Nite Hawk for some food and conversation, they did a great job getting food and drink out considering how busy it was. Kudos to the bar and the staff for the excellent job on that end.
After cleaning up and eating, everyone packed it up and started their journey back to Nebraska. Todd, Dave and I decided to make the few mile drive to go see the High Trestle Trail bridge, the original plan was to see it the previous night but it was just too cold to make that enjoyable. I am glad we got out to see it, even if it was in the light of day as it was still pretty impressive. I'll definitely put it on my short list of things I want to go back and see at night.
So, the Renegade Gents Race by the numbers to close this thing out. 76 teams registered, 35 finished before the cut off time with all 5 members crossing the line. Temps started out at 19 degrees and got up to about 40 degrees so, not super cold but not super warm either and it was a factor for several teams that lost members before the race even started. Team Dave finished with an official time of 5 hours and 33 minutes total time, I had 4 hours 55 minutes of actual rolling time for about a 12.5 mph average over the 62 mile course. The Bike Iowa guys had us ranked as the last team, which we were the last to cross the finish line under the cut off time but when you break it down by total time spent on course to get it done, we actually come in tied for 28th out of 76 teams and that ain't half bad. More importantly than finish time, we all rode together for the most part and we all finished. Some of us struggled more than others and some of us absolutely killed it and made it look easy but we were a team and we stuck together as a team and I got to spend all day with a great group of people, those officially on my team on those who were still part of our bigger team. Gravel, bikes and the friends you make doing both are a great thing to have in your life and I am happy to call each one of them my friend.
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