Jeff Evans Pulls the Trigger

It's good to have so many new names to add to the Cup O Dirt rider list. Here's another one who has been pondering the Cup, and finally decided to go for it. Best of luck, Jeff! It's easier (and more addictive) than you think once you get started, I promise you. And SS gravel is not as bad as most people think.

Hi,
I've followed your blog for a few years but i think this is the year i go for the cup, so consider this my official entry! I have a ways to go but I'd like to chase the dozen full century cup. 

With that in mind here's century #1:
1. Almanzo. Saturday 5/18- 109 miles of gravel (had a wrong turn and some re-routes).
I'm looking forward to many more of these now that spring has arrived here in Minnesota! 

Hopefully i'll be sending you another email soon! I converted my gravel bike to SS so this is going to be an interesting year.

Kevin Loseke's Third Metric

Here's another update from Kevin Loseke from May 29th.

Morning from Central IL
This weekend I knocked out the Gravel Metric out of Dekalb.  Hell of a ride!  Taking me up to 3 metrics for the year. 

Dallas Wynne Update

Another new name to add to the list of Cup O' Dirt riders: Dallas Wynne. Here's his first update for the year from the Strada Fango Spring Classic in Wisconsin.

This weekend rode the Strada Fango near Rice Lake Wisconsin.
https://www.facebook.com/StradaFangoSpringClassic54 miles of gravel, snow and ice. 14 miles paved
Hoping to make up for lost time in the next few months with a few more metrics and full 100 milers.

Double Kevin Loseke Update

I've got a couple of reports to present to you loyal Cup O' Dirt followers from Kevin Loseke from Illinois, complete with links to his blog. Keep it up, Kevin.

The first, from April 23rd:

I'm way late in getting my first one in, but better late! 

Rode the Grumpy Grind in Rock Falls, IL on Sunday.  Great ride with great people.  I clocked it at 76+ miles, well over 80% gravel/dirt. 

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/196401340 

Here is my blog on it.
http://grudhunt.blogspot.com/2013/04/grumpy-grind-wride-wreport.html

And the second one from April 30th:

Mornin, over the weekend I knocked out my second metric at the Dirty Mudd'r outside of Streator, IL.

Aaron Lackman Joins the Cup O Dirt

I have another update from a newcomer to the Cup this year, Aaron Lackman. Here's his first quick update, and we should be hearing more from him soon!

I just heard about the Cup o dirt recently and would love to get in on the fun.  I've already completed several rides this year of qualifying length on gravel/dirt roads.  One century, one century and a half, and one metric century all on gravel/dirt.

Steve Fuller Lightning Edition Update

Steve Fuller has been rockin' the gravel this year. Here's just a few of the rides he's done so far.

I've been training for TI pretty much non-stop since the start of the year. Weather has made getting outside impossible, or at the very least, extemely unappealing. I've lost track of how much time I've spent on the trainer this winter and spring. Anyway, here's a lightning update on my Cup O Dirt rides so far. 

GRR2BRR 2/2 - Metric. Group of 30+ left my house in Johnston and rode to the start of the BRR ride in Perry. I took the Fargo so I could pack plenty of food and warm drink. After we arrived, our group broke up, so I ended up making the return trip by myself. 66 miles in about 4.5 hours. 

CIRREM - Metric. This was a good early TI fitness test for me. I opted for my Salsa Fargo instead of my La Cruz just so I could run a bit bigger tire, expecting the roads to be lousy. Turns out that the course was fast and frozen. Despite the slightly higher weight and larger tires on the Fargo, I managed a respectable, for me, 4:22 for the course. 

March 31 - Headed west from Waterworks Park w Kyle Sedore and made our way west into some hellish west winds all the way to Earlham. 105th/Adams was blazing fast. Too bad we were riding into the wind. We headed south and did some exploring, finding a really cool new road, Hogback Ridge, that had a scenic descent, and a curvy steep climb. It had the benefit of connecting back in to the CIRREM route. Some more headwinds and hills rounded the day and our 67 miles in a little under 5 hours/ 

Gents Race - Metric. Another great day on the bike with the same team I've had for the last two years. Sam Auen, Bob Moural, Guitar Ted, and Dave Cornelison. The weather was windy and overcast, but we still had a great day on our bikes, even with some of the team running on just a few hours of sleep. The course was flat, and didn't have the enormous amounts of fresh gravel we experienced last year. 

Plenty of other gravel events on tap this year, so I'm sure I'll have another report or two. :)
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Steve Fuller

Zach Bonzer Joins the Chase

We have yet another newcomer to the Cup O' Dirt chase: Zach Bonzer. Here's his first of many updates for the year. It's good to see so many new people entering the cup - maybe I should be better about updating the blog :)

I'd like to enter the Cup O' Dirt challenge with my first ride being the Gents Race 3.0 on April 6th.  We started at 8:45 with our team of 5 for the race that day with strong winds out of the south pushing us north about 19 miles.  When we made our first turn we knew it was going to be a rough day (especially for the guy on the single speed...).  At about mile 23, we had our first member drop out (the guy with the singlespeed) as we made our second turn to head into the wind.  A couple miles later our second teammate dropped.  We geared down and spun away into the strong south wind and finally made it to the halfway point in Slater.  After departing Slater at about mile 35, the 3rd member left the team.  My remaining teammate and I pushed our way south with the now SW wind. Finally catching a break and headed east for several miles before pulling back into Ankeny and finishing the course at about 3:15. 

Looking forward to another 11 100k gravel rides this year...I think.