Almanzo change of venue
Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery
First and foremost I would like to thank you for your interest in this
event and extend to you my most sincere appreciation for your
willingness to participate. This event and the people I have met
through it since its inception have proven (and continue to prove) to
be an incredible, unparalleled source of inspiration. The community
that has grown up out of this gravel road cycling phenomena is
exciting and I am grateful to be a witness to it.
With race day fast approaching there are a couple of things I’d like
to pass along just to make sure that we are all on the same page. You
see, there have been a couple of changes for the Almanzo this year.
For starters, the start/finish has been moved from Rochester to Spring
Valley (the checkpoint city the last two years). After nearly 6 weeks
of phone calls, emails and boardroom meetings with Rochester City and
Olmsted County officials and law enforcement, I have been forced to
move the race. Luckily for all of us, the new host city is more than
excited to have us. So much so in fact that they have offered the use
of their high school grounds for start/finish staging (to which my
wife and I have offered to make a monetary contribution in the Almanzo
name). They offered (at no charge) a Sheriff’s department escort from
pavement to gravel (they even offered a fire truck!). They gladly
approved the course and are graciously willing to work with me (us) to
ensure the safe travels for all of us on May 15th.
So what does this mean for the weekend schedule? Here it is:
Friday:
1:00 to 4:00pm – Pre-registration at Bicycle Sports (Rochester)
5:00 to 9:00pm – Pre-registration at Kathy’s Pub (Rochester)
Saturday:
7:00 to 8:15am – Day-of registration (Spring Valley)
8:00 to 8:45am – Staging along the north side of the school (Spring
Valley)
8:45 to 9:00am – Pre-race announcements (Spring Valley)
9:00am – Starting Bell
That is the schedule. Please note the 9:00am start time. This is
pushed back from 8:00am to accommodate the change in start/finish
location. The window for completion will still be 12 hours. What this
means is that the tail end of the group will be coming in at dusk.
This late arrival will require a white light on the front of the bike
as well as a red rear flasher. It’s a minor change and the lights are
something everyone should already have so I can’t imagine that will be
a problem. If it is, let me know. Also, the late start should allow
for the sun to climb a bit higher in the sky, which should raise the
starting temperature (that’s good).
As far as support goes here is the low down. Near mile 40 the course
will come very, very close to the city of Preston. If you are going to
get support from your “crew”, you will need to go into the city of
Preston and meet your people to collect your things. Your support
people will not be allowed to meet you along the actual course. That
said, the volunteers and I will be taking “drop bags” to the official
checkpoint. These “drop bags” must be small and very, very well marked
(please have these bags ready to go when you arrive at the school the
morning of the race).
The checkpoint will be similar to those in years past. As you enter,
your number will be recorded. Once you have been confirmed, you will
be sent to the next “station” where you will receive your second set
of cue sheets and then on your way to the finish. My hope is that this
checkpoint system will be smooth and efficient, but please remember
that we are human and we may make a mistake. Keep in mind this is a
free event with no electronic means for recording time and getting
pissy isn’t going to do anyone any good.
Where the course is concerned, there are some amazing changes in
store. This new course (much thanks to the jerk officials in Olmsted
County) is beautiful. The landscape is a bit more dramatic, with more
hills and more valleys. There are a number of trout streams that twist
and turn their way along the route. The wind should be a different
factor as the course turns much more frequently and doesn’t dump you
on the plains for the back 40 (this is good for those that came last
year). Unfortunately we lost the ATV trail as we abandoned the county
in which it is located, but fear not…there is going to be a water
crossing. Yes, a water crossing. Not sure you’re up for the challenge?
No problem, let me know in advance if you’re not up for it and I’ll re-
route you (might be a couple extra miles, but you’ll be able to ride
them dry). That’s it for major course changes. If there are more, I’ll
keep you posted.
With all of the changes that have happened in the last few weeks, it
seems as though none of them were by mistake. The problems with the
city/county led to the start/finish moving which allowed me to sleep
soundly for the first time since February 3rd, but it also relieved
some of the pressure in losing Summit Brewing Company as an in-kind
contributor. A couple of weeks ago, after my first big meeting with
the “powers that puffed out their chests to be” I met with someone
from Summit. They told me that day that would not be able to make an
in kind contribution unless I had a license to serve alcohol…I don’t.
They offered to “reimburse” me for the price of one keg and I told
them I would think about it. Well, while I was thinking about it I got
kind of busy trying to deal with the city/county issues and spent a
lot of time and energy on keeping the race in Olmsted County. In the
meantime, I arranged a meeting with the Tourism Board in Spring
Valley, met with them and everything else just fell into place and
now, since we have be given the high school for the start and the
finish, the post race beer issue resolved itself. In my opinion, I
would rather have a quality place to start and end than a free keg
that would most likely not serve everyone that is planning to attend
in May. It was an executive decision I felt I had to make. If you’re
upset that there won’t be beer waiting at the finish line, there are a
couple of great bars I’ll highlight on the blog in the next few weeks.
I apologize for not getting this out sooner, but I have been dealing
with some pretty unbelievably difficult officials in regards to trying
to keep this thing in Rochester. At the end of it all, I am glad the
Almanzo 100 is moving to Spring Valley. The folks there are excited to
have us. They are happy we are coming and I am glad to have the
opportunity to show them what kind of incredibly genuine people the
cycling community is made of.
I will send another email a bit closer to race day to confirm again
everything that is to be expected for that weekend. I look forward to
seeing you all and I am excited for what I am confident will be the
greatest gravel road race of its kind. I hope you’re getting in your
base miles and I’ll see you in May (if not before). Thanks again for
everything.
Best always,
Chris
p.s. If you are not going to be able to make it, could you please let
me know as soon as possible? The packets are currently being assembled
and to create unnecessary pieces wastes time and money.