A couple of things.

First:

The greatest race in the world is winding down. Follow Minnesota's very own Joe Meiser and his travels through the New Mexico wild. Click here to listen and here to watch.

Second:

*photo courtesy of J.Kershaw

There is something happening in the great north woods and it doesn't involve a canoe. You see, a couple of the guys that came down here to ride in the windfest known as the Almanzo 100 have decided to build their very own gravel road race. It's called the Heck of the North and it is set to take place on the 26th of September. There are details on the site, which you can find here. It looks like the registration process is the same as it was for the Ragnarok so get out your crayons and get an adult to help you fill out the address 'cause this is one you're not going to want to miss.

An early morning course sampler.

I went out this morning and took some photos along the Almanzo route. What a beautiful place. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

A nice short film with bicycles.

Come on, feel the Groningen! from MUZIEKTELEVISIE.NL on Vimeo.

Mobile post sent by Almanzo using Utterli.  Replies.  mp3

A ride survey.

I have received a number of questions regarding the Gentlemen's Ride and it's "race" status, so I made a survey. If you could take a second and fill it out I would really appreciate it. The answers collected here will help guide me through the planning stages and allow me to make decisions as to whether or not volunteers are going to be needed. Thanks in advance.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Follow this.

Joe Meiser is just outside of Helena, MT as I write this. How do I know you might ask? He's riding the Great Divide! Follow him here. http://tourdivide.org/leaderboard

Updates.

A few things to keep in the back of your mind. The website is up and ready to go. There is plenty of information regarding both the Almanzo and the Gentlemen's Ride. There is also a page full of links to the fine people that filled the swag table and coolers at the end of the ride last month. That's that.

Now, about the Gentlemen's business. NO, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A MAN TO RIDE IN THIS EVENT. You do however, either have to have ridden in the May version of the Almanzo or be on a team with someone who did.

How to sign up:

Option #1.
Assemble a team of four riders. Put the names of each rider, a contact email and the team name on a postcard and send it to the address at the bottom of this page.

Option #2.
Do not assemble a team of four riders. Send a postcard with your name and contact email to the address at the bottom of this page and I will assemble a four person team for you. I will also name it for you*.

*Note: This could be risky considering my sources for help in naming things (5yo girl and 3yo boy).

Both of the above options need to be postmarked by August 4th, 2009 and sent to:

Chris Skogen
1217 7th Ave NW
Rochester, Minn.
55901

If you have questions please email me.

Updates.

So there are a few things melting here on the Almanzo fire. For starters I am going to give the mountain bike thing a go tonight at Lebanon Hills. This could get very interesting. Quickly.

Second, I am still sorting out the details for the Gentlemen's Ride this fall, but I might suggest that everybody starts thinking about assembling a team. The deal is, everybody is going to need three others to pull them up the hills for this one, so I hope there are a few bridges left standing amidst the ones you've all torched along the way. Also, there is going to be a party the night before (Sept. 18th) at a bar here in Rochester where we hope to be screening a portion of the film that we have been working on. We will also have a couple of other gravel road related projects available for your viewing pleasure.

Third, I have heard news from the Duluth faction of the Crazy Endurance Racers Brotherhood that this guy and this guy are brewing up some sort of North Shore ridiculousness. I'll keep my ears to the tracks and let you know as more becomes available.

Also, I made a page on Facebook for anybody that is interested. You can find it here.

The troops.

Some race day photos...

Here a couple of photographs I just got from Chris Delisle. He was one of the two gentlemen that were out filming on race day. Enjoy.