So my caffeine consumption lately has been somewhat excessive. I tend to start my days with 2-3 cups of coffee (we have some starbucks blackness at the office) and then round out my afternoon with 2-3 or more cups of English Breakfast tea. My lunchtime meal often includes a Coke, too. I am not so worried about the caffeine, really, as much as that I tend to have a packet of sugar with each cup of hot caffeinated love. So I am going to try to curb my sugar consumption. I enjoy my coffee and tea, I just need to work my taste into a place of not needing the sugar packet. I imagine that my coffee will still include the processed killer that is refined sugar since the starbucks is not really fit for consumption otherwise, but my tea will go without.

So discussions regarding TransIowa gear, bike choice, training, etc has already begun here. I have my opinions, and some of them are expressed on that forum, but I may expound on them further here. I'm not making promises. So anyway... today it is about bike choice and my current plan.

One of the key things to keep in mind when planning for the TransIowa is that depending on weather conditions, the race and terrain could vary widely. Last year was about perfect as far as weather and the conditions leading up to the ride. I rode my Gunnar cyclo-cross bike with standard speedmax cx tires of 700x32 or 35 or something. I never had any problems and my bike rolled well. If conditions appear to be similar this year, then I will follow the same plan. The only thing I may do differently is to try to find and ride some tires that clear my frame/fork but provide a little more volume for riding comfort.

As much as we can hope for good conditions again this year, the possibility of adverse conditions are very high. Iw ill be watching the weather up there closely leading up to go time. Since there will probably not be enough space to take two bikes with me, I will need to commit to which bike I take a couple days before heading to Iowa. In the case of wet conditions, the plan is to take Nepolean, my Indy Fab steel deluxe. I have a marathon race fork on that bike that can lock out for efficient gravel grinding, and it can handle much more stable, volumous, and wider 26" mountain bike tires which would be better for dealing with horribly muddy b roads (I would think). I would hopefully be able to ride much more of it with those tires. On the other hand, if I am carrying a bike, the 26" tires can hold more mud (weight) to be carried r pushed. I still need to test this theory for which is best in wet conditions. Two years ago, there were no finishers of TI due to such horrible conditions. I wasn't there. I am under the impression, though, that if those conditions are repeated, there will, once again, be no finishers. So maybe it's a moot point. I still want to run tests, however, to gain confidence that I will be on the best configuration possible.

There is always much discussion about which bikes are best for this event. The 29er riders are convinced they have it correct. We cyclo-cross riders feel pretty good about our choice. I do believe it still comes down to personal preference, comfort, and strenghts. For me, this is also a moot point because I am in no position to acquire a new bike even if I wanted or felt the need to. So for me the discussion is not what the best bike is but more how I can best set up the bikes that I have, and preferably with parts from my own parts bin.

One thing I am convinced of, however, is the single speed/geared decision. This is also a personal choice, but I have pretty strong feelings about single-speed being the way to go about this event. Note that this opinion is not necessarily for people looking to win but more for people like me looking to just finish. One of the biggest reasons I believe SS is the way to go is that in the long run, i believe it to be more efficient and energy conserving. Riding SS forces you to rest when you can instead of using a downhill to maximize speed. On the other hand, less time is spent climbing the hills that you do encounter. With so much of Iowa being flat, this race is even more suited than others for this style of riding. The trick is finding the appropriate gear for your ability. Too tough a gear will tire you out, too easy and you will spin out more and likely not make the required time checks. Last year, I rode a geared bike, but after the first mile or so, I didn't shift. I found a gear that was comfortable to me and that matched Thad's pretty well and then just left it there and had no problems at all. This year I plan to ride in the same way, but I will just choose my gear prior to starting. I also intend to have my bike switched over to a SS configuration by April. I am signed up in the single-speed class this year, so it's pretty necessary. Nepolean is already set up that way if weather dictates the bike change.

So anyway, that's my spiel on bike choice and format. Take it or leave it. More to come... (but don't expect much on my training regimen... that's top secret)