TIV7 Photograph Usage

I have received emails regarding the photographs that were taken during TIV7. I wanted to answer those questions here.

If you took part in this year's race, you are welcome to any photos that I have taken of you. The ones posted to my TIV7 set on Flickr have been resized so they uploaded quickly. I have higher res versions that you are welcome to use for personal purposes.

All I ask in return is that:

1. All usage must be non-commercial in nature. Posting to a personal or club web site is OK. Please include a link back to here somewhere in your article.
2. Please leave my copyright tag in place.
3. Please be patient with me getting those images pulled and sent to you.

A number of people have asked about purchasing certain images. In the spirit of "free" grass roots events such as TransIowa, The Almanzo 100, and PCL Gravel Worlds, I am not going to charge for any of the photos. If you wish, you can make a Tribute Gift, in the name of TransIowa, to the American Red Cross for any amount you are comfortable with.

For commerical use of any images, please contact me at "stevefuller at gmail dot com"

Thanks.

TransIowa V7

Patience

It's been a while since my last post. For the few readers I'll summarize the reason for the lull in one word - numbness.

The nerve issues that I suffered during and after TransWisconsin have basically left me unable to ride more than a handful of times up until a month or so ago. The first two weeks back required me to look at my hand when holding a sandwich or a glass of liquid to ensure that I wouldn't drop it. Our cats enjoyed the dropped sandwiches a lot. Typing caused the numbness to get worse (bad when your job requires you to type for 8 hours a day). Day to day tasks became actual tasks. I have much more insight as to how I will be when I age to the point of not being able to handle some of life's basic tasks myself. Caretakers, you have been warned.

I've spent some time talking to medical doctors, sports therapists and acupuncturists over the last six months. The first (or even second) opinion isn't always the right one. I had two doctors ready to slice into my wrist to alleviate my numbness because they were convinced it was carpal tunnel. A four day onset of carpal tunnel seemed a bit unlikely to me. Thankfully I found third and fourth opinions from Cindy McGuire at Hands on Sports Massage and Jay Heaverlo at Midwest Acupuncture Clinic. I credit both of them with really getting to the root cause of my issues and getting me healed up. Insurance companies that don't cover accredited massage therapy or acupuncture are missing the boat IMHO.

Although I'm finally better, I can't begin to (again) tell you how important getting your bike fit properly is. My Salsa Fargo was the *one* bike in my fleet that I had not taken in to Rasmussen's to have adjusted and it completely screwed me for close to 6 months. I will be taking my Fargo into Adam for a fit once I'm ready to start riding it again.

While I was busy with not riding my bike, I picked up a real camera and started taking photos as a way to still stay involved with cycling and see my friends. I have bunch of them here on Flickr if you are interested in taking a peek. While we're on the subject of photography, I'm honored to announce that I've been accepted an offer to be the Official Photographer for TransIowa V7. I'm hoping that I am able to capture even a portion of what this ultra-endurance event is like. A huge thank you to Guitar Ted for allowing this to happen.

Finally, I still have some TransWisconsin writing to finish up. I'm finally ready to reference my little composition book so I can write "the rest of the story". Hopefully the details won't be too fuzzy.

After 6 months of numbness, soul searching, and depression, this biker is finally getting back into his Zen state. It feels good.

TransWisconsin - Day 0

Some people have recently accused me of being a little too Type A when it comes to my cycling prep. With that in mind, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that my Thursday AM packing routine consisted of nothing more than loading my bike on the top of the Explorer, throwing my backpack in the passenger seat and tossing a cooler in next to it.

I had been riding around town with my TransWisconsin items on my bike and back for close to five days prior to leaving. I had gone through and pared things down to what I had considered bare minimums, ending up with a 5 lb sleeping roll, a 13 lb Egon BC3 backpack, and another 3 lbs of stuff in a small frame bag. I went to Rasmussen's for a bit in the AM before meeting Courtney at his house in West Des Moines. We loaded up Courtney's mountain bike, backpack and rear rack, stopped to fill the cooler with ice and drinks and left for Wisconsin. The drive up was uneventful. Lots of discussion of rides, tire choices and what to expect over the next few days. We had some spare time in our schedule, so we stopped in Dubuque and visited my friends Gary and Patty. We arrived with zero fanfare in the town of Hazel Green, but had issues finding any cyclists. It appeared that, even at 6 PM, we were early. After peeking in the windows of the local antique store and tdriving to the park to see if anyone was around, we headed back to Gangster's Bar and Grill where we found David, Andy and some others enjoying some tasty food and beverages.

After polishing off a bacon cheeseburger and a Spotted Cow, we were back at the park looking at bikes, setting up camp and discussing the event. Joe stopped by to see us as well as drop off phone numbers so we could post audio updates to the transwisconsin.com web site. Soon Joe was off for the evening, as the race organizers had comp-ed his costs for a hotel while we camped in the park. :) I slept well in my hammock, other than having my head facing towards the security lights instead of away from them. We did have to deal with a fairly good sized storm that rolled through overnight, but I just hunkered down in my hammock watching the trees blow while some of Duluth crew decided to move to the safety of the shelter.

Back

I am back from Wisconsin. Unfortunately, I only rode slightly over half of the route before I pulled out of the event. I'll have some write ups for the event coming over the next few days, but one of the items I brought back was a good case of ulnar and medial nerve irritation that makes it difficult to use my right hand. In the meantime here are some photos from the trip. I'm already making plans for next year's attempt.

Packing

Have the packing pretty much done. Missing some small, non-essential stuff, but the important stuff is all taken care of. I'm sure some experienced bikepackers could whittle this down a bit more. I'm still hoping that I can figure out a way to mount the stuff sack so that I can completely remove the racks from the Fargo and shave a few pounds off the bike.

Here's a quick breakdown of stuff I'm taking and aggregate weights for anyone that's watching from home. I've left off the obvious tubes, pump, lights, and multitool.

Waterproof stuff sack (4 lb 14.75 oz)

• Hennessy Expedition Asym Hammock
• Hennessy Rainfly
• Lafuma 40F down sleeping bag
• Tyvek ground cloth

Jannd Frame Bag (1 lb 10.25 oz)

• Garmin 605
• External AA battery pack
• Camera
• Knife
• Bug spray
• Advil
• Cell Phone

Ergon BC3 Backpack (13 lbs)

Personal Items (22.63 oz)

• First Aid Kit
• Sunscreen (SPF 75)
• Deodorant
• ToothPaste
• Toothbrush
• Flask w The Macallan 18
• Towel
• Soap

Cookset (11.9 oz)

• Cup
• Stove
• Pot
• Fuel
• Spork
• Matches
• Foil Lid

Clothing (4 lbs)

• Rain Pants
• Leg Warmers
• Arm Warmers
• Shorts
• Bibs
• Jersey
• Socks
• Socks
• Windbreaker
• Oakleys
• Spare Lenses
• Eye Glasses

Misc (12.75 oz)

• Zip Ties
• Stakes
• Dykes
• TP
• Patch Kit
• Tire Lever
• Compass
• Chain Lube
• Backpack rain cover

Water (4 lbs)

Ergon BC3 backpack (3 lbs)

TransWisconsin

I'm in the final stages of prep for The TransWisconsin. After what I can only describe as a complete blast to my physical systems and psyche in Kansas two weeks ago, I was really close to withdrawing from this event. After taking some time to reset myself, I decided that not going would be the worst thing I could do. So here I am, feeling less prepared than I want to, but ready to take on the challenge of 620 miles of Wisconsin's finest gravel roads and single track. My Salsa Fargo will be my home for the journey. I have a complete multipurpose sleeping system compressed into a sub 5 lb waterproof bundle and everything else that I need will either be in my Ergon BC3 backpack or my Jannd frame bag. Food will be gathered along the way and cooked at night, or eaten in whatever restaurant/gas station/farm we can find food at. I'm still working through some last minute issues, but I'm hoping to pull both the front and rear Nice Racks off to drop a few pounds of of the bike. Fenders are staying on. I'd kill for one of the soon to be released Salsa Minimalist racks right now, but they're not in the cards until fall. I do know that I'm looking forward to a few days on the bike to clear my head out. Plan is to pedal, eat, sleep, and fill up the memory card on the camera.