Updates and Information

Howdy!

So... it's been a while. Winter is still trying to improve the roads as I type... so far in Red Wing it has stayed fairly liquid with leanings towards ice... no real snow yet, so we'll see if the forecasts were close or not by the end of the day tomorrow.

Here is some important things to know leading up to next week.

1) Night before sign-in

The last few years we've been holed up at Wheelhouse Cycles on Friday night to check people in ahead of time. This is a good way to get an extra 30-40 minutes of sleep! Unfortunately Wheelhouse Cycles had to shut their doors, so we had to find a new location. With a new location comes a slightly new time.

Friday night check in will be from 8 pm - 9 pm at the Red Wing Brewery (1411 Old West Main St.). Really good pizza, and I hear the beer is pretty tasty as well.

2) Saturday Morning check-in

We'll be shooting to open up check-in at about 6:15 or so in the parking lot of Mississippi National Golf Links.

We'd like to start the ride at or around 7:30 am, so unless you're Mr. Tri we suggest getting to the golf course by 7:00 at the latest!

3) Notes on the Golf Course

We have use of the lower parking lot yet again (where we were two years ago, not last year). I'm guessing that the golf course won't be open by next weekend with the persistant cold and the deep frost, but I could be wrong. My guess is that if they aren't open for golf, that they may not be open for much else either. There is new "management" and I think they may have shut down the grill, and we've never had good luck getting bathrooms open. I'll post next week about the bathroom situation. There should be at least one porta-john but we may be able to improve that situation.

4) Roster 

Jake is keeping track of this (this is Isaac typing) and I'll have him get on here to update everything that isn't up to date.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Let us know if you aren't going to be able to make it so we can let in someone who can.

5) Tulip Notes

Same drill as previous years. If you are new to the gravel game, here is a primer that we've posted before. CLICK FOR KNOWLEDGE

6) Checkpoints

As in previous years, the cue sheets that you'll get at check-in will get you to checkpoint #1. At checkpoint #1 you'll get sheets to get you to checkpoint #2. At checkpoint #2 you'll get the cues to get you home. If you've done the race before, you'll recognize the checkpoints. Zumbro Falls, and Lake City will be your stops.

We will have cutoff times that you have to beat to get the next set of cues. They are as follows:

Zumbro Falls - 11:45 am
Lake City - 4:45 pm

Technically we want everyone to finish by 7:30, but if you get to LC by 4:45 that shouldn't be a problem.

Phew....

I think that is it for administrative stuff. Post up if you have any other questions. Jake and I will be driving the course one last time to make sure that the counties haven't thrown us any curve balls. We'll post up on conditions and stuff this weekend.