Steve Tilford

There is a 100 mile “gravel race” down in Stillwater Oklahoma today. It is called the Landrun 100. I’ve never done the race. I’m not sure I’ll ever do the race. 3 out of the last 4 years, it has rained close to the race day and the course has turned into a mandatory walk for miles. Miles in red dirt that is sticky.

I know a ton of people that are racing today. I’m hoping for the best. I heard that the course was switched up some and that it hasn’t rained there for a long time, so even if the predicted rain comes today, it should be able to hold up better than previously. I’ll cross my fingers for that.

I actually just checked the weather out and it is raining there currently, with the temperatures in the 30’s. Man, what bad luck. It is so hard to stay warm when it is in the 30’s and you are wet. Wet and muddy is a hard thing to persevere through. Best of luck to everyone.

Tucker got neutered a couple days ago. He was a very unhappy camper for a day. I think it was more from anesthesia than from the procedure. He woke up the next morning feeling much, much better. He can run off leash for a couple more days and has so much energy now. He is going a bit stir crazy.

I found a pipe wrench a couple days ago riding. It was too heavy to carry, so I threw it into deep grass by a highway sign and drove out there yesterday and picked it up. It had a bunch of surface rust, but my brother Kris, cleaned it up and it should be fine. It is an 18″ Trimont pipe wrench. It is an antique, which means that it is a nice tool. I’ll make good use of it.

It is supposed to start snowing here in an hour or so. It is in the 30’s, so 30 degrees colder than a couple days ago. The training race today has been cancelled. Hopefully the Perry race will be fine tomorrow. It is only supposed to snow 1 inch and it is supposed to be 50 degrees tomorrow, so it should be fine.

Alright, guess I need to get some inside stuff done today. I’ve ridden nearly 400 miles this week already, so if I ride to the race and back, plus racing, it should be enough miles, so I don’t need to worry too much about getting out today.

Landrun 100 start this morning.

This is Jason Irwin last year. He went out to finish 12th overall, 2nd singlespeed. This is 40 miles in.

This is when it gets really ugly. Here is a link to more photos.

Tucker was getting a lot of attention from Wink.

Pipe wrench.

Pipe wrench cleaned up.

I am going to ride over to the a road race in a couple hours and then decide if I am going to race. I’ve been feeling a little off the last two days. Nothing new, just new for the last two weeks. I’m unfamiliar with this whole thing, so maybe it is normal.

The weather has been pretty exceptional the last month. But that hasn’t worked out so well for the “local” racing.

I forgot, but the Fat Birkie was yesterday. The “real” Birkie was cancelled because of lack of snow. I heard that the riding up in Cable was super icy and it was going to be a challenge staying upright. I saw the results, but haven’t heard first-hand, about the race.

Then there was the Land Run 100 yesterday. I did hear first-hand and it was a slog. Lots of mud, rain and cold. Bad luck once again, considering how nice it has been since early February.

It snowed yesterday here in Topeka. But the temperatures had been too warm and it didn’t stick on the roads. So there is snow on the grass and bushes, but the road is clear. It is only 24 degrees out right now, but is supposed to get up to the 40’s later this afternoon. The 1/2 race starts at 1 pm, so it is going to be cold riding the 25 miles over there, but warmer to race.

Okay, I have some stuff to do this morning to get ready, so I better get going. Hope your weekend is going good.