Written up today in the Rochester Post-Bulletin, the Alamanzo 100 is a 100-mile ride, primarily on gravel roads, from Rochester to Mankato, taking place on May 19. No support, no registration fee, 18+. I emailed the guy to let him know about us. To register, you have to send a postcard to an address on the web site.

greetings from the south. nice to see that people are connected in the metro. i know this ride is short notice, but it is the first year so i am getting organized on the fly. anyway, if your interested, let me know chris (at) chrisskogen.com i think i'll browse your site for a bit. cheers.

I have updated the blogspot (almanzo100.blogspot.com) with the final course information and the like. I drove the course yesterday and there was plenty of fresh gravel. I would imagine this should be packed down or washed out by the 19th of May. It looks like the course is about 70% gravel with some crazy long straight stretches. Looks like a lot of fun. Thanks.

So you don't have to go copy-and-pastin': http://almanzo100.blogspot.com/

I've never seen routeslip.com before, it seems pretty cool but with one major flaw: they don't have the zoom controls on the map! What's up with that?

I am committing to this ride, so unless something unforeseen occurs between now and then I am going for it. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm going to ride down there or arrange for automotive transport to the starting line.

Can I get the touring rig done in time, or is it gonna be fixed-gear???

Definitely fixed.

I had the same question when I first discovered http://routeslip.com, but i found the key. There is a thin vertical arrow button on the right side of the info frame that contains all pertinent information regarding the route. Just click that button and you will find a brand new world of zooming possibilities. I included all of the turn information (blue bullets) that will be made available the day of the race. Just a side note for anybody who might think this is too much for them, the oldest participant so far is a gentleman who is 69 years old, so I look forward to seeing you in Rochester.

Oh, I see, their slideout is covering a key part of the interface. I'd call that bad design! I didn't even realize that it was a slideout. Now I feel much better.

Sadly, my wife Holly (and her car ) will be unable to attend, so if someone is interested in driving, I'd totally kick down for whatever.

A biking alternative: leave Thursday, ride to Cannon Falls or so, then on Friday roll into Rochester. Get up and do the Alamanzo on Saturday, stay over in Mankato, then ride it back over one or two more days. Anyone interested?

This sounds like a lot of fun. It would be a perfect ride for the Long Haul Trucker with the 700x37 tires on it. I think I'll try to do it.

I'm in Bjorn's boat; I don't really want to ride all the way down there and back, so I'd gladly accept a ride if someone is heading that way. I'll chip in for gas and whatnot as well.

psst...

crap! go figure...

I was thinking the same thing.

me too! omg thats crazy! lol!

Crofut winery ride is the same weekend.

Well, it looks like Hurl and I are the only bikelove representin' at the Almanzo 100 tomorrow. I just taped my bars and packed my food. All I have to do is set my computer for the new tires and find a map for my seester, who is going to run sag for me.

I know its not normal to talk about your condition before a race, but its not really a race and I don't care. I've done almost everything wrong over the last week to prepare for a century or any other long race.

I didn't get my mileage up last weekend, instead I wandered around Montreal, possibly to the point of causing injury to some unused leg muscles--I probably walked 20 miles over the weekend. This week I never really got a good training ride in. I got in 20 miles shaking down the new ride.

I'm riding a basically new bike. Big no-no.

I haven't been sleeping much and I've been working a lot on my feet.

I've been abusing caffeine.

Okay, off to bed...

Whoop'ed that ass, dude!