May 20, 2017 marked the 11th running of Almanzo 100, often considered the Granddaddy of all gravel races. This edition will be remembered as the wettest in the history of the race. 1.47″ of rain fell in the Twin Cities on that day, just two hours further north.
Check out the race report from JOM of the Gravel Cyclist crew HERE.
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Great video J, thanks!
The 2017 Barry-Roubaix was, I heard, similarly brutal.
Hardcore racing and the race volunteers just as tough.
Great job !
I would love to attend a remote race this year that isn’t raining! Every event I have done has experienced bad conditions… oh well, it does build a lot of character 🙂
So for the water crossing, did you have waterproof socks or did your feet just get all wet, cold, and squishy in the shoes?
Waterproof socks would have been nice, but that is one piece of kit I need to acquire. The feet were a bit squishy, but they had already gotten pretty damp from the non-stop rain. I used wool socks, chemical toe warmers and Pearl Izumi time trial overshoes. This was a surprisingly effective setup.
I had waterproof socks on, but the water was deeper than the socks were tall!
The river water actually felt warm at that point…. Also, that’s me wringing my gloves out at checkpoint 2 – nice to meet you on course, and great work on the video and write-up!
I was thinking the waterproof socks would be immersed by the crossing, so a bit moot, but good to have a pair for sure. I should have taken my gloves off at Checkpoint #2, but I didn’t want to disturb the balance of the hand warmers I had squeezed into them haha. As it was, I wasted well over five minutes lubricating every link my chain… but, it was noiseless during the entire ride, so that was something! Likewise, nice to meet you, let’s hope the 2018 edition is in better weather… thanks for the kind words!
Simple and cheap answer to keep feet and hands warm here in Central Victoria Oz where it’s not unusual to ride in -4 C on Winter morning s. For feet, 2 pairs of socks with a freezer bag between, then winter booties over the shoes and for hands a pair of disposalable gloves under your good winter gloves
Done the freezer bag solution in the past, you need a bigger pair of shoes for the brass monkey weather days! I’ve used disposable gloves a few times but they don’t work out so well for me… usually, my hands perspire, then freeze. Bloody first world problems!
Bonzer!
well done…it has been a wet spring for gravel racing…looking forward to a hot and dry ride in Kansas