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

Grelk Earns A Third Cup!

I have 3 ways to earn a Cup... The Full Cup O' Dirt, a watered down version called a Cup O' Mississippi Mud and the metric one called the 1/2 Liter O' Dirt.

One Cup is hard to earn. Just ask me. I created the danged thing and haven't earned one yet. Ask anyone. They just don't come easy. Earning a Cup -any of em - is recognition of time spent in the saddle - intentional time. You don't just turn around at the end of the year and say "Hey! I earned a Cup!" - it is something that is sought. Earned.

Dennis took the challenge. Took it full on. The dude's blog name is short for "Never Rest". He didn't For all of 2008 he didn't rest. The dude rode. And rode. And rode.

By mid summer, he'd earned the full Cup O' Dirt - 12 full dirty centuries. Not content, he started riding metrics - and by mid-fall had earned his 1/2 Liter O' Dirt. Then he decides that that's not enough and goes after the watered down Cup O' Mississippi Mud. That means 6 full dirty centuries before December 31.

Well, he did it. With 3 to go at the beginning of December - Dennis 'never rested'!

Congratulations Dennis. you have the honor of the quickest Cup earned and now, the most Cups earned. Not only in a single season, but total. Impressive!

Now, here is his final report:

Started my weekend by hike-a-biking around in the crusty snow in the forest for five hours on Thursday afternoon. That didn't get me very far though.

Friday was forecasted for a 15-20mph South wind with 30mph gusts, so I apted for something new, a tailwind ride. Rode from home up to IA City. Started out super fast on the glazed ice, like 16mph avg fast. Then it turned to slush/mud about 40 miles in and the average died. The tailwind was still appreciated, got in to town before dark.

Saturday's Data
Todays forcast was much nicer with a 10-15mph winds and a fresh layer of ice on the gravels. Unfortunately the ice was short lived, and the mud was abundant. TI training conditions. I'm not sure I like TI training conditions. I found a bunch of new roads to ride and linked a bunch of old favorite routes together for the route. Finished just after watching the sunset, a good finish for the cup quest.

Sunday's Data
Thanks for the motivation Dave!

DG

Two to go for Grelk!

From Thursday, the 18th of December:

So we got 1/2" of glare ice on everthing Thursday and temps in the single digits with forcasted winds holding 20mph gusting to 30 Saturday afternoon? Good time for a century!

I converted the cross bike back to winter duty with the addition of studded tires and gears and I'm glad I did. The Nokian W240s did alright on the glare ice, but the small piles of ice/snow on top of the ice were sudden death. I only lost it three times throughout the day though, so I think I did pretty well. The winds did indeed pick up about the time it got dark. Lucky for me that was about halfway through the ride and it was a headwind! It's really neat when the wind is strong enough that it can actually slide your tires sideways on the ice. And you know its a good ride when your eyelashes start freezing together.

Click here for motionbased route

Will They Make It?

It's December 18 (dang!) and Grelk and Anderson are still in pursuit of some hardward. Or glasswear - or, well, tableware? No, no - it's STONEWARE! That's what they are in pursuit of! Stoneware! Anyway - Grelk is after his 3rd Cup of the year. He's earned a Cup O'Dirt (for 12 dirty centuries), the 1/2 Liter O' Dirt (for 12 metric dirty centuries) and now he's after the Cup O' Mississippi Mud, a watered down version of the Cup O' Dirt, earned by completing 6 dirty centuries. He's got 3 done, and two weeks and 3 to go. Will he be the first person ever to earn all 3 Cup? With a blog name like 'nvrrest' my bet is on him getting it done. After all - what else is there to do, but go for a bunch of long dirt road bike rides this time of year -eh?

Mr. Anderson, while he's earned his Cup O' Mississippi Mud, is in pursuit of the Cup O' Dirt - and not just any Cup O' Dirt, but the Holy Grail of dirty coffee transportation devices- the One-A-Month Club Cup! You may not have known that we have that.... well, neither did I.

Last January a bunch of guys around the Des Moines area, set out for a hundy - planning on doing one every month. Little by little guys bagged the effort. Some earned some Mississippi Mud along the way, some just plain bagged it. Not Anderson. Every month I'd get his report. Every month, sometimes in the nick of time, I'd get his report. Except this month.

He had a hundy planned for December 7th, but bitter cold, wind and maybe a late 'Nadas' show curtailed his effort.

Will he make it? Will he be the first, the one, the only, to earn the coveted One-A-Month Club award? (I'm still working on what that may be....)

Stay tuned - 13 days to go. I just realized - some ambitious soul could start today and earn the full Cup... so, all you kids that have been laid off from your mortgage or real estate job and have an Uncle in Pheonix, pack up your bike and head south - get a work on it - and get those centuries in! The Cup O' Dirt - MMMmmmm - doesn't it just make you drool?!

Here's Grelks latest report, from last weekend.

Another century down, and three to go.
I started out Friday at 6pm, riding off into the moonlit night on snowy roads. The moon was bright enough that I only turned the lights on for cars, beautiful. My Garmin battery died at midnight, so I had to pause for awhile to get that charged back up. In the mean time temps went up, snow turned to mud, and winds picked up to somewhere in the twenties, gustng to the thirties. Finishing it off Saturday was nowhere near as much fun as the night before. Anyway, two weeks and three hundys to go.

The Full Set

Way back when I started all this ultra nutty cup challenge you said this:

"we've got 3 cups, Cup O' Dirt - 12 dirty centuries
Cup O' Mississippi Mud - 6 dirty centuries
1/2 Liter of Dirt - 12 dirty metric centuries"

I've got the Cup O Dirt and the 1/2 Liter of Dirt. I figure if I can manage 6 more centuries in November/December, that should make for good training motivation for the TripleD/Arrowhead 135/ TransIowa/ Ect.

So here's my first stab at those last six:

40 miles of state forest trail riding and 60miles of gravel on Thanksgiving Thursday.


Another 100 miles riding from home to Jingle CX on Friday: http://I was going to ride back home after the races, but I was smoked and I'm glad I stayed to watch the mayhem, that was awsome!

One month and 400 miles to go.

DG

Editorial by Dave: I say we're all invited to Grelks for coffee - he'll have enuough Cups for all of us!!! Keep rolling!