TOMRV - careful, for roadies

[grizzly adam]

I thought I'd start a thread about a ride listed in one of my other posts. I'm going to try to get some sort of group together to do this ride. I have pretty much done this ride each year since I was 10, except the last three years and it's a blast. Here's the link:

http://www.qcbc.org/tomrv/index

Please note: It traditionally falls on the same weekend as the DirtSpanker in Duluth. Check the dates so you know what you're getting into.

I'll be going regardless, so don't feel bad if you can't make it. Check out the link and please, ask me any questions you have about it.

[zerpy]

That looks cool but if everything goes as planned I will be riding the MS150 which goes on the same weekend, this year at least.
http://www.ms150.com
Looks like a blast though, maybe another year!

[tmac]

I'm definitely there, Adam. Mmmm, MINI Caravan . . .

And by the way, I am riding the Chequamegon 40 for Bent Crank (if i get in through the lottery). I guess I'll need a jersey. And some trainin'.

-T

[grizzly adam]

Awesome.
Do you think you'll camp? We usually get a dorm room. If we have enough people interested, we might be able to get a suite that's air conditioned, but those go fast!

A MINI caravan with bikes! suh-weet!:D

Ya - training and lots of sun block. This is the ride that I get my tan for the entire summer. No kidding.

[grizzly adam]

Here's a .pdf of the registration. There's also online registration.
I'll be registering within the next couple of weeks. I'll be getting a double dorm room. There's camping available as well.

[grizzly adam]

For those of you who thought that Iowa and Illinois were mostly flat, check out this link to the terrain of this ride.

http://www.qcbc.org/tomrv/options.htm

[Crash]

Yea - I was looking at that. I was thinking of taking my wife - who doesn't bike all that much but the hills would be a bit much.

Can't remember the elevation on the MN Ironman, but I don't it was even close to one day on this ride.

Definately looks challenging.

[jeffgude]

My brother in law is a serious touring cyclist, he rides RAGRBRAI self-supported, carrying all gear, etc on his bike. He rides TOMRV, says it is usually his toughest ride of the year.

[grizzly adam]

I can remember that at one point, years ago, we used to go up a hill which had a 17% grade. And it wasn't short either. :shocked:

They've since changed the route a bit and we go DOWN that hill now :crazy2:

The thing about this ride is that there are short steep hills and there are also some that just go for like a mile, but there's lots of flat and rolling hills. I've seen all sorts of riders on this ride. There have been times that I've not finished it and then seen people on mountain bikes, without slicks, keep going.

I would really suggest that people try this ride cuz it's a tour with some of the best scenery I've seen. Plus, the fact that there are 1,500 riders, you always end up riding with a group and talking and pretty soon you're at the next rest stop.

Several of the towns have a lot of rich history and are a pleasure to stroll through - Galena is one of them. Set along the river, it has giant flood doors that shut to keep water out. It's really cool to ride through those.

The food alone at the end of the first day is worth the trip! Huge buffet with everything you can think of. Dessert bar with pie, ice cream, cookies, bars, chocolate, jello, mmmmmmmm

Here's another option:
Grab a friend who doesn't want to ride the whole thing and have them drive sag for you. My parents have done this quite often. One person drives ahead for a bit and then waits until you pass by saying everything is okay. OR the person drives a bit further ahead and then gets on the bike and rides to you and you all ride to the vehicle, with the driver picking up the vehicle again. This way, if you get hot or tired, you can jump in the sag wagon and get rested and continue when you feel like it.

The tour provides repair services, but not an official sag wagon.

This ride is definately one of a kind. Challenging, beautiful, fun and lots of riders. Truly a fun experience.

[grizzly adam]

I registered last week and got a single dorm room. If anyone is interested in coming along for this awesome ride, the registration fee goes up after the 31st of this month, so think about getting set up soon, if you haven't already.

[grizzly adam]

Tyson and I are set and ready to roll out this afternoon. We'll be travelling in style, as we'll both be pimpin' in our MINIs.
Before we go, we're going to have lunch at Burrito Loco! Mmmmm

Good luck to everyone riding the MS150 - hope the rain stays away.
John and crew - hope you can get some trail work done this weekend too. Don't do it all this weekend, save some for us for this Tuesday! :)

[grizzly adam]

First off - congrats to Tyson for doing a kick-ass job this weekend! What an amazing ride we had. In all the years I've done this ride, this is the first time that I've started early, finished early and for sure this was the fastest time I've done the ride.

The drive down was pretty uneventful - except for the time that my pedals were spinning backwards and a pedal kept smacking my sunroof. We took that one off. Then there was the timet that I almost missed the exit and swerved across a coulpe lanes to make it. Of course, since we were both driving MINIs, it wasn't a problem. :)

Once we arrived at our hotel, we found out that my reservation had been cancelled. My parents were to supposed to do this also, but they couldn't come, so my mom cancelled her reservations, and the hotel cancelled mine as well. Grr. We found a place across the street luckily and we went to find dinner. I got directions from the dude at the front desk, but if you've met me, you know I'm dingy and within a couple blocks I had no idea where to go. We drove around and found a place called the Golden Corral.

This place was awesome! It's an all-you-can-eat buffet. But this is the MOTHER of all buffets. Check out the list!
http://www.goldencorral.net/images/redrightarrow.gifOn the Hot Choice Buffet you can enjoy all-you-can-eat: <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:P> </O:P>
Fresh Fried Chicken
Rotisserie Chicken
Bourbon Street Chicken
Pot Roast (varieties subject to change)
Meatloaf (varieties subject to change)
Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
Pizza
Macaroni and Cheese
Fresh Made Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Baby Carrots
Broccoli, Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce
http://www.goldencorral.net/images/redrightarrow.gifFrom the Cold Choice Buffet you can enjoy:
Coleslaw
Macaroni Salad
Pasta Salad
Potato Salad
Seafood Salad
Tuna Salad
Fruit Salad
http://www.goldencorral.net/images/redrightarrow.gifFrom the Soup Choice and Potato Bar you can enjoy:
Clam Chowder
Timberline Chili
Fresh Baked Potatoes
http://www.goldencorral.net/images/redrightarrow.gifFrom the Bakery and Dessert Cafe you can enjoy:
Specialty Cakes
Carrot Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fudgy Brownies
Yeast Rolls
Variety Pies
Banana Pudding
Bread Pudding
Cobblers
Sugar Free Bakery Products
Soft Serve Ice Cream

Needless to say, we were STUFFED! After that we picked up a few items from the grocery store and headed back to our respective rooms for some shut eye. Our plan was to get up at 5 and head over to the start of the ride, get checked in and get on the road by 7am.

[grizzly adam]

The weather was a fantastic 77 when we woke up and I think it was somewhere around 80 once we got on the road. We were able to start at 7am and were moving along pretty well. We passed quite a few riders and took in the scenery as we cruised along the river. We went through the home town of Buffalo Bill and a couple miles later, Tyson changed his slow-leak tube. As we were changing the tube this guy went by standing up, riding his bike. Not really unusual, until we looked at his bike and saw there was NO SEAT! In fact, there was no seat post. The frame looked like a trials bike that had been modified with gears. His front chainring must have had like 80 teeth on it!

We passed him once the tube was fixed and we came to our first rest stop which was in Elvira. Of course the song was in my head as we approached, just like it is every year.....

The rest stop served fresh fruit, cookies, GORP and water and Gatorade. The local church was also selling grilled sandwiches.

We moved along and hit kind of a hilly section which rolled up and down. Tyson owned each and every climb. They didn't even seem to be hills, they were merely bumps to him.

The second stop of the day was at a park and had the usual food. This stop had a few more people as we started to catch the people who started at the butt-crack of dawn. We also saw lots of cool bikes along the way - MOOTS, Seven, Colnago, Independant and of course Bianchi ;) . However, there were also lots of mountain bikes, recumbants, cross bikes and even a couple folding bikes with 20" wheels. The fact that these people are pushing this kind of hardware is impressive! Nice work.

We were both feeling pretty good still and our pace seemed pretty fast. A couple times we would have a rider or two ride with us and we would get a nice paceline going and then we were really moving.

The scenery is always awesome. Lots of times you're next to the river, other times you're above it, looking at vast farmlands or the rolling forrests in the hills.

There's a bridge crossing that is particularly exciting. It's narrow and has a LOW railing and the grate surface, so that when you look down, you can see the mighty Mississippi below. This combined with cyclists and vehicles, makes for an exciting crossing. Once on the other side, we were in Illinois and headed towards more climbing. We followed the river and were able to cruise at 25 for a couple miles. What a rush.

After the rest stop, we met some other riders and worked together for another 10-12 miles until we reached Hanover, a cute little town whose population has to be easily doubled this weekend every year. After Hanover starts some climbing. We head up blackjack road to the top of Chestnut Mountain. We drop the guys who were with us on the flats and Tyson drops me until the next rest stop 8 miles later.

The next stop is at the top of Chestnut mountain. They have really good popsicles and licorice and doughnuts, fruit, water, etc. Once we leave the stop we get to fly down a twisty 15% decent. That's right 15%! It would have been more fun had there not been so many riders in my way, but it was fast nonetheless.

The next city we would come to would be Galena. It's a cute, small, old historic town with giant flood gates to keep the water out. The main drag is heavilly populated with typical tourist shops and the pedestrian has the right of way - anywhere in the street. This would be a great place to stop and have lunch and walk around sometime. Very memorable.

[grizzly adam]

After Galena, we head back out on our way. I think by now, we're about 3/4 of the way done. We're still feeling pretty good, although I'm getting a little tired. There are more hills after Galena and they are in the countryside and vary from short and steep to longer and not-so-steep. There was even once section where we had to go cyclo-cross style up a climb cuz there was dirt in place of the road as they were doing construction. We managed okay - no flats. This section of the ride is nice cuz you're generally rewarded right away with a downhill after a climb.

Tyson met his alter-ego in a gentleman who was flying down hill. He was a larger guy and he just put the hammer down and was pedalling like crazy to get as much speed as he could for the trip down the hill. It was funny to watch him.

One more climb before we start he decent into Dubuque. It's on a highway and is about 1/2 mile long. Once over the top, we're put on the shoulder of the highway to cruise into Dubuque. It's a long downhill. While you think it might be fun, it's hard work after 100 miles. Your legs are ready to just pop. You keep thinking to yourself, I'm going down, this is supposed to be easy, but at times it seems like just as much work.

We wind through town a little bit and then we see the last climb up to the college. It's long. It's riddled with other bikers, barely moving, some walking. As I look at it, I realize it's not as steep as I always thought it was, but then I start my trip up. My legs are telling me it's steep. And long. Usually there are people on the hillside cheering and clapping us on, but we've arrived so much earlier than years' previous, so we get none of that. Instead we go on knowing that we've finished the first day of riding.

Whew.

[grizzly adam]

We find our trusty MINI sagwagon and drop our bikes off at the secured tennis court. Clark College is a pretty big college overlooking Dubuque. They have offered their dorms and cafeteria to us every year. It's wonderful. We check in for our dorm rooms and wait for the shuttle to arrive. While we're waiting, we notice the beer garden is open - hurray! We occupy that for a couple beers and then grab our shuttle.

The dorms are a little ways away cuz we registered kinda late. If we would have registered sooner, we'd be staying onsite. Oh well. Once we get our room assingments, there's another dilema for me (imagine that). We have a single room, but there are two of us. While I'm trying to find another room, my wife tells me that someone next to us is by himself and he'll switch with us - awesome!

We get cleaned up and then wait for the shuttle back so we can eat dinner. We wait...and wait....and WAIT. It must have been 45 minutes or so. Finally it arrives and we're on our way to an awesome buffet. There are two buffet tables with all sorts of food. Fruit, salads, vegetables, hot stuff and feshly carved roast (the Golden Corral beats it for variety though...). Everything tastes great.

After dinner we head back to the beer garden and sit and listen to the band and watch people get massages. We decide that we need ice cream, so we drive to a nearby ice cream parlor and indulge. Mmmmmm

Now we're ready for bed. Except that it's way to hot in our rooms to sleep. It seriously had to be like 90 degress in there. It was awful. My wife and I had a small fan, but that didn't do much. We ended up getting some washclothes wet and sleeping with those all over us! Ughhh.

Morning comes and we get up 5am again. Pack the car, head over to eat breakfast. Another buffet. Fruit, cereal, bacon, eggs, french toast sticks, corn beef and hash. Oh and even biscuits and gravy!

After breakfast we're about ready to go. On our way to pick up our bikes, we hear this strange noise and turn around and look. We see this sheet of rain coming towards us. We can hear it hitting the trees and street and from about a half a block away this rain is coming towards us! We race to a tent an hang out there for a bit. It let's up, we start to ride. Ooohh - the butt is stell tender from yesterday.....
About 10 minutes later we hear the same noise and ahead of us comes another sheet of rain. Luckily this one's pretty short. Our route out of town is kinda fun. It gradually goes downhill, through a nice part of town with a decorated divider in the street. Lots of big houses, nice lawns and trees. We end up cruising through a park for a little while until we're dumped onto a long sustained climb. It isn't steep, it just keeps on going, and going, and going. I think it's over a mile long. Anyway, Tyson left me (or I slowed down) and we met up at the days first rest stop, refueled and continued on our way. There were some rolling hills with longer climbs, but the sun had started come out and the weather was pretty nice. It was starting to get a little windy by the time we got to Bellevue.

Bellevue's a little town right on the river and has all sorts of coffee shops, restaurants, etc to stop at if you want. We stopped at the end of town and got some more water and I adjusted my seat a little. That helped and I felt better. The next stretch had some pretty long climbs in it that wound around corners and saw lots of people walking or spinning frantically. It's always fun to ride this because the terrain is wonderful. You'll see the river for awhile, then you'll see rolling hills covered with trees, then you'll see plenty of farmland. It's also great cuz you can hook up with other riders and really get moving if you want. I tried to hang with this guy on his tri-bike, but he sensed that I was there and just dropped the hammer, so I decided to let him go. :)

We met up at the next rest stop and I was getting pooped. The wind was not kind to me and I was started to hurt. My left calf was about ready to cramp up and my right cheek was very sore every time I would come over the top of my pedal stroke.

I wussed out and jumped in the MINI, bruised and sore :hit: and left Tyson to fend for himself. Soon I realized that he wasn't having much fun out there in the wind and hills were finally taking it's toll on him, so after about 15 miles I jumped back on my bike and we rode together. It was great. I felt better for being back on my bike and I know that I was helping him with the wind. Much of the course we were on know was stuff we had riddent he day before, so it kinda went by fast. On our way in, we picked up a guy and the three of us had nice little echelon going for several miles. We flew into town and the guy we picked up pointed out that I missed the turn. He wasn't going that way cuz he lived here and was heading home. Ooops.
We turned around and continued on course. slowly. We had turned into the wind and we were pooped, so our pace slowed a bit, but we still were passing some people.
There was one more rest stop and then the home stretch. We spent some time at this stop, eating graham crakers, potato chips, fruit, etc.

We got back on the road and felt a little better from the last stop. The wind seemed to have died down a bit and we were moving along pretty well. Eventually we were withing striking distance to the end. One more turn and one more climb to go! After the climb, we coasted through the lot to our cars and were happy to be finished!

[grizzly adam]

I just want to Thank Tyson for coming with. It would have sucked royally had I had to do this by myself. Thanks to my wife Tracy who drove the MINI sagwagon for us and took some pics.

It's a really great ride. I usually do it every year, but this was the most fun I've had. Hopefully, I can get more people to do it next season and we'll have even more fun!

[TML]

Nice write up Adam! Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. Glad you guys had a good time!

--TML

[grizzly adam]

You're welcome - hopefully it wasn't too long...
I can't wait to see some of the pics once those get back.

[Crash]

hopefully it wasn't too long...

Your kidding right ;)

Seriously - thanks for writing all that. I grew up in Elkader ,a small town about an hour north of Dubuque and about 20 miles "inland" from the Mississippi. The countryside is beautiful down there and your write-up brings back fond memories.

I've never done the ride before but need to put this on my list for next year.

[tmac]

I just want to Thank Tyson for coming with. It would have sucked royally had I had to do this by myself. Thanks to my wife Tracy who drove the MINI sagwagon for us and took some pics.

It's a really great ride. I usually do it every year, but this was the most fun I've had. Hopefully, I can get more people to do it next season and we'll have even more fun!
Awww, shucks. Thanks for showing me this great tour, Grizzly. I can't think of anything you left out. Except the part where you towed my spent carcass the last 30 miles to the finish.

I posted a few pictures that Tracy took from the MINI in my gallery. Check 'em out. I also carried a disposable with me and will post those pics when I get them developed. A few blurry shots of scenery and strange bikes (including the guy who rode 196 miles without a seat) taken while pedaling.

The riders for this tour certainly came in all shapes and sizes, and rode every conceivable machine. Many recumbants, a number of suspension bikes, full aero shields, you name it. One of the most interesting was a couple who rode a tandem recumbant. The woman sat in front and pedaled, her fella sat behind and used a hand-crank. They were not exactly sprinting the hills: on day two we caught them at the first rest stop after we had seen them rolling out of the start an hour before we did.

All in all a great tour. Hopefully those miles will translate into some easier off-roading.

-T