Hugh Jass fatbike race #2

 Round 2 of the HughJass series was in Evanston, IL last weekend. The conditions were nasty, standing water and mud.  It was warm out though, it was nice to race in a jersey and shorts on December 12th.

Great photo by Keen Eye Photographs

The course was completely flat, so they added in some cyclocross obstacles to make it interesting.

Scoring by putting your number plate in a bucket.

Brody, Dave, Brad, and Dave.

POS Bike Toss Challenge

Mens Podium

Another great race put on by the hughjass guys and gals. The after race festivities are bigger than any other race I've been to.  DJ's, beer, food, prizes, bike toss, and good times. You should come to the next one, January 2nd in Franklin, WI.

Loop Out of Orangeville

The Hills are taller than Silos

Fence Post Decorations

I was surprised to see an atv trail as part of the route.

Mountains in Illinois

Crush it

http://www.strava.com/routes/3255625

Grumpy Grind Photos

Photo by Fred Johnson

SS 29er

So after riding Ragnarok up in Minnesota, I drove straight home. I went to bed, woke up early, and drove out to Milledgeville, IL for the Grumpy Grind. It is another gravel race, 80 miles in the Northwest of the state.   The hills were much smaller than Minnesota, which was nice, but the wind was a big factor.

Out to the check point at mile 37 we were primarily against the wind.  I found that with the single speed geared pretty low, it was not too bad.  I was able to get in a group and grind, but once we turned and had a tailwind the group left me.  My top speed on a flat was 20 mph, if I were on a bike with shifters I would have clicked up and cruised back in at 30 mph no problem. That was not the case though, so I just cruised along for a couple hours with a strong tailwind and an easy ride.

Then we turned back into the wind for the last 15 miles or so, luckily the hills got bigger as well toward the end and blocked some wind.

The Grumpy Grind is a very well put on event, with many volunteers.  I was really impressed with how well the race was ran.  The que sheets were the most accurate I have ever used, typically I take a wrong turn and mess up my mileage, but not that day.  The pulled pork was an awesome treat at the end!

David S