That time of year again. Snow and ice are gone. Temperatures are such that one does not need to dress for a polar expedition just to ride 20+ miles. Time to get ready for the first full week of June when we will once again ride across South Dakota.
I prefer to suffer at home so that when I am out on the weeklong ride that I paid for I won't suffer as much. South Dakota is flat, hilly, empty, beautiful and often very windy. But first we need to build endurance, saddle time, and the ability to conquer hills. Also see what breaks, bikes, tires, body parts and other equipment. Also, do not neglect creature comforts which is where I began.
I began as a thought decades ago during BRR. How can heat up sake for when we stop in the middle of the tundra between Perry and Rippey? That never came to fruition but something else did. Coffee. I am addicted. During a camping trip a few years ago, a friend showed me his wood burning French Press system. Compact, can also charge phones or other USB devices. But messy, ashes. This year I purchased a French Press that runs on white gas, gets the water to temperature in 2 minutes and is fairly compact. Since RASDAK schleps our luggage from overnight to overnight, the only burden is cleaning the grounds out and remember to have enough water. I am hoping that this will be an incentive to get moving faster in the morning and a nice post ride coffee while setting up the tent.
Trials began in February using my touring bike. That bike will be my ride during the RAGBRAI in July. I would pick a 20-mile round trip for tests. Usually, the Chuck Stop on the Great Western Trail and the Scotch Ridge Nature Park in Carlisle. Both places are 10 miles from my house. The Jetboil system works quite well. I purchased a second brewing cup so a second coffee could be made two minutes later for Mary's latte. The only issue to iron out was creamers. I switched from half and half to oat milk. But how does one carry oat milk on a weeklong ride? The trailer for the SAG truck gets hot during the day. Powdered oat milk! It will not spoil and can handle the heat. JOI's packets do the trick but it is necessary to stir well. Nothing is too good for Mary Ellen's son!
Endurance and hill training began in earnest when the weather warmed up. Upper 40s to the 50s for minimum start temperatures. Should have done a few rides in the rain for these temps as we also seem to experience it on the ride. Having to remove a jacket or gloves a after 10 miles and then carry them for another 50 miles is a bit lame but often is necessary. And riding 50 miles in a light rain is always a possibility in South Dakota. A possibility that we have experienced several times.
Carlisle was a frequent destination. Take the trail to Easter Lake and then county roads to Carlisile. Better hills and less bikes to deal with on a narrow trail. There are a lot of blind spots on the Carlisile trail. Morning Glory Coffee or Smokey Row as the stop. We would take the new trail back to Easter Lake, but it can be a bit uncomfortable with blind switchbacks and the blind curve at the bottom of the steep hill. And of course, other trail users, small children and dog walkers with 300' leashes.
We rode to Johnston once for breakfast at Hy Vee. Really misread the weather and our ability to warm up during the ride and ended up dropping $$ on gloves and hats. Lesson learned.
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| A mile or 2 north of Martensdale along the Great Western Trail |
Cumming on the Great Western Trail was a destination few times and a ride through town as we did our annual ride to Martensdale. A lot of people complain about the condition of the trail surface especially south of Cumming. Yeah, not the best but I find north of Cumming bad too. Quite honestly, I'd pay for a bicycle license IF 95% OF THAT FEE WOULD GO TO TRAIL REPAIR AND NOT TRAIL EXPANSION. Trails get built then neglected.
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| Coffee break! |
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| Warm day in March! |
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| White Gold in Dawson, IA!! |
A good 50 miler is on the Raccoon Trail from Waukee to Dawson. We would have liked to have done a full loop of that trail but endless construction and burnt bridges prevented this. For that matter riding from home to Perry would have been a good long ride but alas, read the previous sentence again. But the route we take is fast, wonderful during banking hours and has coffee. What used to be the Perry Perk is now the Farm Store.
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| The secret compartment of the Domane. |
This year my issue was not the trail surface itself but the intersections south of Cumming. Dangerous but we did notice a road grader working on a Warren County gravel road. However, the trail intersection at Coolidge St, the first lean-to south of Cumming damn near killed my bike. Heading north I crossed at a decent speed and immediately noticed after returning to pavement that my front tire was extremely flat. Pinch flat! I did not feel the event, just the aftereffects. Fortunately, I had everything I needed to fix it.
The ultimate test/training ride was our adventure from Banner Shooting Range (Summerset State Park) to Lacona, IA. Start with a 5 mile climb up the Summerset Trail and finish with a 5 mile decent on that trail. Indianola, stop at the trailhead for restrooms and water, if needed. A mile or two of McVay Trail to Highway 92 for 3 or so miles on a wide shoulder and then 20 miles of county highway S23. 10 miles to the Casey's in Milo and another 10 to the convenience store in Lacona.
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| There is a hill over White Breast Creek that is steep and long. A good test for one's fitness. The flat stretch above the south turn to Lacona is now known as Roadkill Rd. At least 4 smeared creatures with vultures circling overhead. |
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| First turn on S23. Google Maps said go straightforward on the gravel. Not on our gravel bikes. Also the route takes us much further west than we needed to go. Some year.. |
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| To the right of the previous photo. That's a hill! S23. Not as long or as steep as the one outside Lacona over White Breast Creek. |
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| Summerset/McVay Trailhead in Indianola. I really love those tires but Dakota highways are littered with broken beer bottles. |
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| There is a library in Lacona. More importantly, for our needs, a Casey's General Store and a pub. Did not use the pub on this ride but would have stopped for coffee. |
The Summerset Trail is showing its age. I remember pulling over in Carlisle to check on the trail's progress, railroad rock, circa 2000. Then after it opened the big drops onto the surfaces of the bridges. Eventually the bridges were adjusted. Now it suffers the same fate of all asphalt trails, cracks and tar-over-crack repairs. But there are no cars to worry about and few intersections to cross. Once past the turn to Summerset the trail gets bad. Not GWT bad but it'll get there some day unless something is done.
OMG, Che!! Riding on a highway!! That's dangerous. Listen up, Buttercup. It's paved and safe. Wide shoulder on both sides of 92. Empty road on S23. Paved. Perhaps safer. the last two cyclists killed by cars were on trails... Also, trails are narrow, poorly maintained and full of other cyclists, pedestrians and eBikers and electric scooters with no knowledge of trail etiquette and manners riding at high speeds. Sure, kids and homeless get killed on city streets all the time but that is where we are not riding for training. Yes, I am an asshole. BUT in order to prepare for long rides in hill country this route is among the best for that purpose. Long ride without frequent intersections to stop at time and time again. Hills, too. Not many hills on former railroads. Warren County, that's where the good hills are!
The roads are a lot smoother than trails. Visibility is excellent. I use a mirror to see what is behind me. Nobody tried to ditch me, honked, yelled or told me to get the fuck off the road. Last year on this route we saw a C3 Corvette on the way into Milo. This year we did not but saw a Pontiac sedan from the 60s. Once again, I could tell it was a pre-72 car by the smell of the exhaust. Vintage cars have a certain smell. Thank the EPA for cleaning that up but I'd still love to own one and whenever I see one I smile.
Stopped at the convenience store, Casey's, in Milo. 89 cent fountain soda. Mountain Dew for sugar and caffeine plus a slice of pizza, lunch. New cashier that was missing his glasses by the way his head got close to the screen. On the way out of town we rode on the right and the road was a bit rough. I thought it would have been funny if a homeowner would run out and apologize for the state of disrepair. I'd reply, "No worries, it is better than Great Western and Summerset trails we have ridden lately."
Although we were passed by a UTV or two, we were surprised to see so many in Lacona. At least 50 of them. Several were loading up on beer at the Cenex where we stopped for Gatorade. They were on a rally. On the way back the old timer at the Casey's said that in Milo he saw 200 of them! "Had to drive to the back of the bar to drop someone off the street was so crowded. We've seen motorcycle rallies there before. An old neighbor was there on his Goldwing. Said his chopper was too uncomfortable for a long ride. My thoughts, I want one, side by side utility vehicle. When the time comes that I am too slow for long rides and need an eBike, I'll get a Honda side by side and explore all the county roads and off-road trails that these people explore.
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| Lacona. Trouble ahead...it was at this moment I found my post-bicycling activity. Pair of Rommel's goggles and a Sportsman Atlas and yes, a cooler. |
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| Lacona. Trouble behind... |
Martensdale to New Virginia. 28 miles of rolling and steep hills. We've exceeded 50 mph twice on this route. Planned to do this bastard but decided that we were in shape. Yet there is still time..
Shittar with a view. Lacona, Iowa 
Highway 92 east of Indianola. 
Highway 92 west of the photo above.
WHICH BIKE TO TAKE???
Always a road bike. Light, fast, efficient. They haul our luggage. Just need water bottles and tire repair--pump, tube, lever and patches. There is SAG support on the route if needed. I have several contenders for the honor.
Cannondale tandem
Trek Domane
Linskey titanium roadie
LeMond Versailles with triple
assort older Trek roadies, steel and carbon
The tandem is out. Although we road it once across South Dakota, it is awaiting a new headset.
My TIE Fighter, the Linskey, is also out. Old school 53/39 crank and narrow range cassette plus the drops on the handlebars are too short to use in headwinds.
The Domane has been used three times. It lacks a triple but has a wide range cassette paired with a 50/36 crank and aerodynamics should offset. But that cassette adds a lot of weight, and it climbs like a dog. Smooth and comfortable but not as fast as I'd like. Also, when adding that final sprint to get the bike past 38 mph to 40+ I noticed that the ISO Speed suspension system kicks in and the bike is not rigid when all my effort needs to go to speed. One only gets so many chances to set speed records on the downhill before the Mighty Missouri River west of Chamberlain, South Dakota. Then the GWT flat tire incident also eliminated it. Need hex wrench to remove the thru-hub front wheel. The wrench I placed inside the secret compartment fell down inside the downtube and it took a lot of time to extract it. During said extraction I pulled a cable or two out of their snap-in holders and I need to put them back. No big deal. The bike came with a bag to put the tools and tube inside, but it takes up a lot of space, so I stopped using it. After the incident I found a smaller bag.
The other Treks are geared wrong for my old legs and hills although I just purchased a 93 2500 with Campy and a triple but tires and saddles and testing needs to be done and it is too late.
So, the Versailles will be making its fifth appearance. Light, fast, comfortable and a triple. New tires as well. After three flats, glass and a staple, it was time for something a bit more puncture resistant. Mary's Liv also received new tires as well. Vittoria's Ride Armor.
Postscript
We are physically and mentally ready. Weather looks good so prepare for several days of rain. I meant what I said about trails. They are not cared for, too narrow, too crowded, too many intersections for serious training.
