PCL 2009 Calendar of events - Soon to be released!

No, not that calendar! Yes, the 2009 PCL calendar!

Tentative meeting this coming week with PCL Maties to plan for 2009. Hoping to have the calendar posted within the next two weeks.

The Gravel Conspiracy

The Pirate Cycling League proudly endorses The Gravel Conspiracy. Fellow gravel addict Joshua Stamper has put together a fun and challenging 100 mile route in the Northern Flint Hills of Kansas. The event is a couple of weeks prior to the Dirty Kanza and a great chance to test gear and check out the lay of the land. This should be a great event and in the PCL tradition, is FREE! Donations are encouraged to help offset aid station costs and to benefit the K-State Cycling Program.

The Good Life Gravel Adventure 2009

Dates are being pondered for the 2009 edition of the Nebraska gravel grinder. The adventure will take place sometime after TI and DK. Most likely in mid to late June. We're waiting for a couple of race schedules to come out before nailing down a date.

The adventure will be anywhere from 150 to 200 miles of gravel and dirt roads (with minimal tarmac) surrounding the great city of Lincoln, Nebraska. Small town convenience stores will serve as checkpoints and aid stations. Start and finish will be in Lincoln, Nebraska!

Riders will be required to purchase Nebraska Powerball Lottery tickets as proof of reaching a checkpoint. All Nebraska Powerball tickets will be collected and verified at the finish line. The tickets will then be pooled and any winnings split amongst the race participants.

All riders are own their own after leaving the start/finish area. This is a self-supported event. You are responsible for you. Please train accordingly and bring all the necessary gear and equipment. Fortunately, most checkpoints will be less than 30 to 40 miles apart. The checkpoints (small town convenience stores) will have ample refreshments for thirsty and hungry riders. Bring some cash along!

This is a FREE event. There will be prizes and medals, but most importantly, there will be Gravel Glory.

Stay tuned for more details...

Transportation for America

http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/t/3224/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=152

How cool would it be to take a commuter train to Omaha and stop half way and ride out to Platte River State Park...How cool would it be to take a super commuter to Denver and then go and ski for the day and be home later that night...How cool would it be to be able to take a train up to Minneapolis for a bike feastival?

We're behind the ball...make some noise.

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.