Shockey lands on #3

From Ben:

"left this morning just before 9 a.m. with an actual temp somewhere around -4* so i headed north with a gentle tail wind hoping that by the time i turned around the temp would have risen some. made it up to hesper then headed west til i was north of bluffton. came south through bluffton and continued south just a bit before heading west toward ridgeway. when i turned south just before ridgeway the temp had come up but unfortunately the wind had as well. had enough miles to go south til i was just below highway 9 that the wind really beat me up. headed back east then and got to finish with a handful of miles going north/northeast so the wind kinda blew me home. ended up around 66 miles (fixed). now its off to the bar for the next 8 hours (unfortunately just to work)."

shockey

Tom's One-A-Month Club Story

Thanks for chasing Tom, and thanks for the story!

Cups......

In case you think that there are Cups running around the neighborhood willy-nilly - think again. To this point there have been exactly 2 Cups that have been in the hands of people who did not earn them by riding the required centuries. Myself and Brian Duffy. Me? Well, I have the prototype. #1. It had some flaws and served as the model for the REAL Cups. And Duffy? Well, he designed the logo - that's only fair, wouldn't you agree?

That's been it.... until now.

I thought it only fitting, as this weekend ticked by, that the one who laid the ground work for our humble sport, the one who coined the term "mountain bike", the one who sweats a passion for this great sport from his pores... should have a Cup.

Saturday, while he was signing pictures, drawings and bikes at Bike World, I presented Mr. Gary Fisher with a Cup O' Dirt! I gave him the link to our little blog, inviting him to read up on your adventures across this great land. He was impressed by the stories I regaled upon him of your pursuits to earn the Cup.

So, this Cup just became a little more storied - and, as you continue to turn the pedals over dirt and dale across the country-side - it shall become even more storied - Keep on plugging on - and enjoy the fact that you can share a Cup of joe with one of our fore-fathers!

In the mean time... Mr. Shockey has been riding:

hey dave,

spent most sunday afternoon on a fixed gear tour of the gravel roads north and east of decorah. a quick weather check before i left predicted a -5* windchill but the bright sun and mild breeze certainly didn't seem quite that cold. finished the ride at 64 miles just before the sun (and temps) started to drop. aboslutely gorgeous day out there.

shockey

It's An Adventure Out There....

I decided to go out for a gravel road ride today while it was warm. I came across several large dogs...all friendly. One encounter was with a rather massive, scraggly St. Bernard that was chowing down on the remains of a deer carcass!!! I was unsure if he killed it himself, if it was road kill or if it was some hunters discard...the blood on his face indicated he was enjoying it though. He tensed up briefly when I rode right by him, but he went back to business when he realized I had no interest in his meal.

It is always an adventure out there.

John Newell

Iowa is in the Chase!!

From Ben Shockey:

if i remember right from my days of high school cross country...
5k=3.1miles
10k=6.2miles
so...i'm assuming a metric is 62?

hit just over 62 this last sunday. gravels from decorah through bluffton up to harmony, mn and back. got a brief write up on the blog. www.theshockstar.blogspot.com

let me know if i'm off on my metric conversions :)

thanks again,
shockey

Mr. Mizzou Gets Two!

Dave,

I was able to get in another metric yesterday. I'm fortunate that the winter weather is probably better than most of Iowa. I grew up in Iowa and know for a fact that Missouri gets a lot less snow than Iowa, and what snow we do get doesn't stick atound. The weather was 30 degrees with NW winds 15 to 20 MPH.

I headed north-northeast out of Chillicothe until I made my way up to a little town of Galt. From there I turn southeast and rode to Laclede where my wife and daughter picked me up. Overall there were many hills and few flat sections. The worse part was the intermitant fresh gravel laid down. Total milage was 64. My average was 10.6 MPH.

The ride was extremely uneventful except that I broke a rear spoke on my Niner. First time I've ever broke a spoke off singletrack. Must have been the fresh gravel!

Thanks again,

Tim Riekena
Chillicothe, MO

On some other notes:

1. Don't forget to come to Bike World West (60th and Ashworth in West Des Moines) on Saturday afternoon to meet the one, the only, Gary Fisher! 11am- 2:30pm or something like that.

2. Cups have been ordered from New Harmony Pottery - what with all the great advertising I've been giving them from this Cup O' Dirt thing, they've got some good orders going - so our precious cups will be a few weeks - but hey - we've been waiting all year, huh?

Thanks! Dave

Mizzu Leads the 2009 Chase!

Dave,
I'm a Missouri rider throwing my hat in the ring. Got in a dirty metric yesterday.

Left Chillicothe, MO and headed north for just a couple of miles and then headed back to the southwest. I had to pick up a blacktop to cross the Thompson River and then headed off on some very hilly gravel that took me to the Grand River Bottoms (as we say around here). Eventually it headed north and west. Flat, flat, flat gravel and eventually flat, flat dirt. I rode around on the bottoms for a total of 25 miles. Luckily it was frozen as I followed the dirt lane up river. After the 31 mile mark, I turned around and headed home the same route.

It was in the low 30s and very windy. The strong wind was out of the northwest which made the flat bottom riding very frustrating. There were times where I struggled just to get 7 MPH. After I turned around it was a different story! I flew most the way back home which was good because I hadn't started my ride until noon. I only averaged a 10.4 MPH which meant I finished around 6:00PM ....well after the sun went down.

I've followed your website for the last two years and this is the year I'm hoping to go the distance.

Thanks for doing such a interesting competition. Great training! I'm talking with a few other riders down here that might have an interest.
Hope to get in a true century this month.

Tim Riekena
Chillicothe, MO

That Must Be It!

A week into 2009, and I haven't heard of any additional hundies logged by anyone - which means that we have our final tally!

Here's the breakdown of 2008 Cup Earners:

Cup O' Dirt (12 full centuries)
Tom Anderson, One-A-Month Club!
Dennis Grelk

Cup O' Mississippi Mud (6 full centuries)
Dennis Grelk
Matt Maxwell
Steve Fuller
Norbert Koenigsfeld
Scott Sumpter
Mike Johnson
Paul Meyerman
Nick Wethington

1/2 Liter O' Dirt (12 metric centuries)
Dennis Grelk (yep, all three!!)
John Adamson
Kat Porter
Dave Geigerrich
Tim Bierbaum

Congratulations to one and all for taking on this challenge - That was so fun... let's do it again! (it will probly continue until I get a freakin Cup of some sort! - maybe this is the year!!)

I'll be ordering the Cups next week from New Harmony Pottery - creators of hand-thrown stoneware pottery. They can create custom pieces to mark special occasions - great baby gifts (how's a small plate and cup with the baby's name on them?!) Wedding gifts (pie-sized plates with the couple's name and date) Dinner sets, awards... all kinds of cool stuff - Jugs, bowls, plates, mugs, saucers, crocks...
You can see their work at the FolkArt Shop -333 5th Street in Valley Junction.

enough of the plug - send me the address you want it shipped to - or otherwise coordinate the Cup delivery. dmable@juno.com

Thanks for playing!

Peace - Dave

One-A-Month!

In January, 6 began a journey that only one could finish.

It took discipline, patience, commitment, perseverance and time, lots and lots of time!

My hearty congratulations goes out to Mr. Iowa Griz, Tom Anderson, for completing a dirty century each month of 2008. It took several tries in December, but on the last day, with only 17 hours of the year left, he ventured out into a cold and windy Iowa day for his last 100 miler of the year. (maybe ever??!!)

I don't have details of his ride yet - but I do know his toes were cold. Maybe he'll be kind enough to send us a little report of his day, and perhaps a reflection on the year. Suffice it to say, that he's gunna have some stories for the grand-kids from his monthly 100mile jaunts in 2008!

This little Cup O' Dirt thing has been interesting to watch - I've been surprised and a bit amazed at the lengths that chasers have gone to earn a Cup. From Dave G. simply deciding to start riding just to get the Half Liter O' Dirt, and ending up buying a new cross bike and completing 18 metric centuries, to Matt and Nick nailing a 200 mile ride to get their last 2 centuries in... and of course, Mr. Grelk earning all 3 Cups so his friends and neighbors will have a nice mug to drink from when they stop over for a cup o' joe.

I've enjoyed the fact that you crazy folks have taken it seriously - seriously enough to go out of your way to earn some form of the Cup. It's pretty cool, actually. I will be the first to attest that earning a Cup - any Cup - is a difficult challenge, an endeavor that takes a real commitment. You don't just "happen to earn" a Cup. You must seek the cup. (a little Monte Python here?)

Again - congratulations to all the folks that got in the miles - I believe there are 12 of you earning 15 Cups. (though it's not too late to submit rides... the deadline for completing the rides is December 31... the deadline for submitting rides is, well, before I place the final order!)If you look at the list and are not on it, and should be - just let me know. I've done this whole thing on the honor system, so I trust ya!

I'm going to continue this little challenge - and, as today is the 1st of January, it's a great day for you to decide. You've got 365 days to get in a dozen rides... that doesn't sound so bad, does it? Take the challenge. See if you've got what it takes for the Cup O' Dirt!

Peace - Dave