It's a wrap!

Here are the results to the Inaugural Pirate Cycling League's The Good Life Gravel Adventure. A big thanks to all the participants, sponsors (Cycle Works, Moose's Tooth, Bike Pedalers, Screen Ink and Jason, TMCO, War Axe, and Snappy Caps), and volunteers (Steph and DK). The event wouldn't have happened without ya!

Twenty one participants ended up hitting the gravel roads surrounding Lincoln at 6 AM on Saturday morning. Some had other obligations and had to end the journey at Cortland, but 16 riders finished the adventure (17 including myself, but I don't count as neutral support). The weather was beautiful and the wind was very timid for Nebraskan standards. We couldn't have asked for a better day to be on the bike. If you weren't there, you were missed and you definitely missed out.

The course ended up being around 135 miles. The mapping software used by Bikely.com was very inaccurate with the elevation gain. According to Bikely.com the total elevation gain was less than 1000 feet. Oly had a Garmin and measured close to 7700 feet of elevation gain during the event. Check out the stats here! For those of us that rode the whole route, the 7700 feet would probably seem much more accurate. Lots of rollers on the course especially on Pella Road and Branched Oak Road.

There was one error on the cue sheet (58th after Saltillo Road should have been 56th) and I apologize for the error, especially to those riders that were lead astray at that intersection.

Please let me know how the event can be improved upon for next time. I would appreciate feedback on any aspect of the event including start time and location, distance, terrain, checkpoints, purchase of lottery tickets, cue sheets, and the time of the year (late September). Feedback can be here via blog posts or to my email (see profile for address).

The Nebraska Powerball Lottery tickets are being reviewed. It'll take a while since over 60 tickets were purchased. If we win, you'll be receiving a phone call soon!

Again thanks to all that came out to enjoy the day. I was very excited to see some folks from Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. Hope to see you folks again at some cross races this fall or at events next year. Congrats to all the finishers!

Cue sheets

Need help posting the Cue Sheet!

Anyone have a clue how to post a Microsoft Word document on Blogger? The cue sheet is ready, but I am unable to post it here.

I can be reached via email at coreycycle@hotmail.com

If you email me, I can send you the Word document. Please feel free to format the cue sheet to your liking.

The Good Life Gravel Adventure - The Course is Posted!

The Good Life Gravel Adventure

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

The Good Life Gravel Adventure course is posted! The cue sheet will be posted shortly. Take a look of the route via Bikely.com. Use the zoom tool in the upper right hand corner to get a closer look. The start of the Adventure is located on 84th street in Lincoln (East side of map towards the middle). The total mileage per Bikely is approximately 135 miles.

The map can also be found on the Bikely.com website here!

The weather has been beautiful the past couple of days and the forecast is looking very promising for the rest of the week. Forecast for Saturday is a Hi of 79 and a Low of 59! All the dirt sections on the course should be dry with minimal or no mud at all.

Again, if you plan on attending, please send me an email. The rider check-in will begin at 5:30 AM at the Mopac trailhead on Saturday morning. The Adventure will be starting promptly at 6:00 AM.

Who's ready for some gravel!

Rough Riders...Any bike any where!

Ponderings...

The Good Life Gravel Adventure - Course Recon

Finished recon of the course yesterday and am very pleased. The recon started off badly when we ran into some road construction within the first 2.3 miles. That's why we did the recon. Sometimes a course looks great on paper/PC, but isn't feasible on a bike. Bikely.com (or any mapping software for that matter) doesn't always clearly indicate small "doglegs" (chicanes) in roads that can throw a rider off. All of those "doglegs" have been identified and the cue sheet has been updated accordingly to make the route easy to follow. All ambiguity should be eliminated to prevent riders from going astray.

Speaking of dogs, there was only one dog who gave chase and it gave up rather quickly after a stern finger point and a very loud, "No!".

Some rerouting will be necessary with a little bit of tarmac to get back on course due to the construction in the first few miles, but other than, there were no other major problems identified during the recon. I was very excited to find numerous DIRT roads on the course. Also came across a small section of LOOSE GRAVEL road that will test a rider's strength and technical ability.

The first 40 to 50 miles are relatively flat with the next 60 miles consisting mostly of "rollers". The Bohemian Alps to the north of Lincoln are included in the route. The final 15 miles are slightly downhill or flat.

The start time has been modified to 6 AM. Starting an hour earlier will maximize the daylight. Please adjust travel plans accordingly!

The Adventure will begin at the Mopac Trailhead in Lincoln, NE located on 84th street.

Required items for the event:

Headlight (white bulb)
Taillight (red)
Cyclocomputer that can indicate mileage (necessary for reading the cue sheet)
Cellphone

The morning of event (Saturday September 20th) we will have rider check-in starting at 5:30 AM. The Adventure starts at 6 AM with a neutral roll out down the Mopac Trail.

I will be posting the cue sheet within the next 10 days for riders to preview and format/print for themselves if they choose. I will also have copies of the cue sheet available at the rider check-in on September 20th. Posting the cue sheet will allow riders to format the cue sheet to their preference. The cue sheet that I have will most likely be a standard 8 1/2 x 11 inch double sided sheet of paper in a vinyl sleeve.

Friendly Reminder: You are responsible for you! Please be sure to have a bail out option! The course keeps you close to Lincoln if you need to pull the plug. Please be sure to have someone available to come and get you if that becomes necessary.

Please feel free to email me questions, comments or concerns at coreycycle@hotmail.com

The Good Life Gravel Adventure - Update

September 20th is fast approaching! The Good Life Gravel Adventure is almost upon us.

The route is being finalized this weekend. The route will be available via Bikely.com for folks to review. Matt Wills, has graciously posted a tentative route (see post below). The adventure will begin and finish at the Mopac Trail head located on 84th street. There are restroom facilities, a drinking fountain, as well as a candy and pop machine. Parking is also available, but we encourage all Lincolnites to ride your bike to the start as to save spots for folks traveling from out of town.

I will be posting some pics of the course as well as giving some details of the distances, elevation (flat vs. hilly - don't have a fancy computer on my bike), and checkpoints sometime in the next several days (most likely on Sunday).

Folks that are planning on attending, please email me! I can be reached at coreycycle@hotmail.com Please refer to the PCL Good Life Gravel Adventure as your subject in the email to prevent me from deleting it.