The Lottery Entries Post

Hi all... in lieu of individually emailing everyone... I'm going to just make a running list here in this post of folks that have sent in postcards. I will update this post and try and update it at least once every couple of days at least. Remember, unless you have entered all editions or won a previous running you aren't still for sure in unfortunately. We're still capping the final roster at 150. If you don't see your name, I haven't seen your postcard.

For any questions/concerns/etc. - isaacmgiesen@gmail.com

Thanks!

Alphabetically (Last Name, First Name):

Abel, Matthew
Anderson, Bruce
Anderson, Jon
Arquin, Mike
Backman, Daniel
Bahls, Don
Bakker, Carl
Barr, Megan
Bell, David
Bell, Pete
Benton, Joel
Birkemeier, Ryan
Braasch, Grant
Breckon, Royce
Brown, Robert
Bujold, Sean
Callas, Bill
Carlson, Mick
Carlson, Van
Carlton, Philip
Carroll, Paul
Cary, Neil "O"
Casey, Mike
Clark, ,Kevin
Clausen, Ted
Cotter, Shawn
Cox, Ben
Criego, Mike
Denis, Charles
DeMars, Joseph
Dingemans, Max
Doom, Ben
Dosse, Rob
Early, Ken
Eastlund, Alan
Eckert, Seth
Eklund, Lukas
Elson, Brandt
Elson, Samuel
Endres, Chris
Englund, Erik
Erickson, Thomas
Evanoff, Nick
Evans, Greg
Everstone, Hurl
Floden, Amy
Flynn, Shaun
Fosler, Bryan
Frane, Jeff
Franzone, Carolyn
Fry, Jeremy
Funke, Dan
Gaffke, Dustin
Gaz, Dan
Gerten, Bob
Gonzales, Kevin
Grant, Jennifer
Gruhn, Leah
Haberman, Paul
Hamlin, Joe
Hanka, Matt
Hansen, Boyd
Hau, Tim
Haug, Ryan
Haye, Jeff
Henkemeyer, Jeff
Hippen, Scott
Hoogendam, Ian
Hop, Angie
Hudson-Erdman, Jonah
Hunter, Melissa
Hurd, Wendy
Irving, Craig
Johnson, Eric
Johnson, Joe
Johnson, Matt
Johnson, Wade
Karow, Eddie
Kauth, James
Kelly, Chad
Kelly, Justin
Kern, Jon
Kies, Scott
King, Susannah
Koeneke, Andy
Koppi-Kohn, Alex
Kusler, Dean
Kvittem, Brent
LaLonde, Jesse
Langum, Leigh
Larson, Mara
Larson, Patrick
Landreville, Michael
Lee, Mike
Lindberg, Gary
Loosen, Ted
Loye, Jon
Mach, Elizabeth
Mailen, Sean
Meiser, Joe
Meitler, Barry
Messer, Adam
Millner, Chad
Moeding, Andrew
Mohr, Jere
Morgan, April
Nederloe, Tryg
Newberg, Carl
Nickles, Ray Ray
Nikodym, Matt
Nygård, Jonas
O'Neill, Jeff
Oney, Ben
Pace, David
Parsons, Charles
Pettes, Jeff
Piech, Dawn
Pramann, David
Rambow, Meredith
Rasmussen, Bryce
Raygor, Trenton
Rhoads, Dan
Riley, Matt
Roenfanz, Parker
Rogers, Cole
Roll, David (looks like Devil, but my guess is David)
Russel, Luci
Sauber, Larry
Schacht, Ryan
Schad, Charlie
Schmitt, Barry
Schneider, Jay
Schneider, Joshua
Schotz, Chris
Schuetz, Justin
Schwinghamer, Jack
Seaburg, Mark
Seipp, Carrie
Sheedy, Patrick
Shelley, Dirk
Shepherd, Bob
Shoemaker, Darryl
Showalter, Charles
Shupe, Jeff
Sloma, Brett
Smith, Harlan
Sobota, Kyle
Soltis, Steve
Staufenberg, Adam
St. Pierre, Sam
Strate, Chelsea
Stuckman, Chris
Stukel, Jason
Sundheim, David
Swenson, Brett
Tiede, Travis
Urbanski, Paul
Vaith, Jake
Venteicher, Lee
Vick, Jon
Vold, Svetlana
Ward, Denise
Watchmaker, Todd
Webb, Matthew
WeinzierL, Andy
Weisbrod, Heath "Red Squirrel"
Williams, Rob
Wilson, Drew
Worley, TC
Yore, Steven
Zylstra, Ken

Registration Information

Alright...

Here are the details, after Thanksgiving:

1 ) Please send a STANDARD POSTCARD to:

Ragnarok 105 c/o
Isaac Giesen
428 Franklin St.
Red Wing, MN    55066

2) NOTE that I said STANDARD POSTCARD. This does not mean a randomly sized chunk of cardboard, or a slip of paper in an envelope. Go out to countless places and buy a postcard. We will be holding a random lottery style drawing and no one will get preferential treatment (outside of the previous winners or those who have been through all of the editions of the 'Rok.

3) On the postcard, please LEGIBLY write out the following:


Your Name
Your Email Address
and the statement "I am responsible for myself"

I will attempt to let everyone know that they card has been received. Only one entry per person, so please don't flood the mailbox with cards.

4) Black Friday is the first day that I'll "accept" cards, and you have until December 31 to have your card postmarked and on its way to Red Wing.

5) I'm not actually that much of a stickler for the rules, but we really do appreciate not getting random little bits of paper with names, oddly shaped chunks of cardboard, etc. It just makes things easier for us.

6) We will cap the roster at 150 riders. Last year we didn't have that many150 cards. So there is a chance that the lottery will not be needed. If we have more than 150 cards, the drawing will take place a week or so after the new year.

7) Previous winners still need to send in a card. You just won't go into the drawing (this goes for Men and Women)

8) I think that is it. Ask questions if you have any.

9) Happy Thanksgiving!

Primo Conditions!

No real race updates or anything. I did get out for a short gravel and singletrack jaunt yesterday afternoon (thanks for watching the kids Grandma and Grandpa) and the roads were PRISTINE!

Haycreek was rolling fast (watch out for the massive washboard sections!), Old Church was like concrete, Flueger was awesome, and Lehrbach was like a magic carpet. Sections of the climb up Memorial to get to the little sections of singletrack that I did were a bit damp... but even they weren't too bad. Any 2 hour ride that ends with a descent of the Cow Path is a good one. Note that I suck at descending in general, and when the descent is wet, rocky, those rocks have moss, and it is fairly leaf covered... that descent takes way longer than it should!

NOTE to self... contact the farmer(s) right at the base of Lehrbach. There isn't the chicken menagerie anymore, but there are now 4-5 dogs that are very interested in messing with a passing biker. Note that we haven't gotten bit yet, but they see you from a long ways away and like to be right up in your grill (and there are so many that they are tough to completely just sprint past cleanly... not to mention the stupid hill you are trying to sprint up while they chase).

Everyone's Favorite Sign

The Sheep were Happy to See Someone

Crappy Picture of the Cowpath

Registration "Details" - or semi-details

Hi All -

Long time no type.

Anyways... We here at Ragnarok Central are happy to be in the "gettin' things ready" phase of next year's Ragnarok 105ish.

Quick bullet points since my brain works in little chunks and not rolling soliloquies:

• The big day will be April 9th. Starting time will almost certainly be 7:30.
• Planned starting location is the Mississippi National Golf Links, but that has yet to be confirmed (to be fair I haven't asked yet)
• Any previous winner who submits a valid postcard will be in
• Anyone who has shown up for every edition and who submits a valid postcard will be in (this is about 6-10 people... the actual finishers of everyone is smaller)
• Everyone else will get thrown into a lottery.
• With the % of no-shows, and the odds of early golf not being too great... I think we'll cap the roster at 150 folks. Note... this is about the size that gives me a bit of heart burn but not an ulcer... We will not expand in the foreseeable future.
• Entering this race will still be free.
• "Real Life" takes precedence and is crazy at the moment (only to get crazier), so course will be similar to, if not the very same as the previous two years. If work and home permit, we may try and change up a few small things just to make people use their cue sheets instead of a previous Garmin map or memory

What am I missing? Oh... Registration Details:

I'll have another post (we'll try and be more active leading up to April this year) with firm details, but quick summary... 

Postcards will be accepted from the day after Thanksgiving until December 31 (postmarked date). We'll have a new address to send them to, which will be detailed out in a couple of weeks.

Feel free to post up if you have any thoughts, concerns, questions, etc.

Thanks again!

So it was another wonderful Ragnarok! This time with actual nice weather too!


Before we get too far away from the fun day, I wanted to get down a few thoughts. Most will be messages of thanks.


In no particular order:

1. Thanks to the riders! The time, money and energy put forth to run this goofy thing is all worth it seeing everyone smiling and being just generally great folks out on the course. You are the biggest reason why we keep coming back for another year.
2. Thanks to our families!
3. Thanks to Mississippi National Golf Links! The proximity to the traditional Lehrbach climb makes them the ideal location. We didn't know that they have re-opened their grill... so sorry if we didn't let you know that burgers and beer would be available! We also discussed the bathroom situation and got some sincere apologies. We needed to be louder in the days coming up to the race, so hopefully that will be better next year.
4. Thanks to Angry Catfish! Parker forgot his shoes, so didn't make it to the lot before the race, but they were intending to donate a bunch of coffee. But they did have some nice swag that folks towards the back of the pack got to peruse.
5. Thanks to Twin Six! Some nice bottles and shirts for those finishing towards the back of the pack! They have been supportive of gravel rides all over the state for a while now, so give them a look-see next time you are looking for some kit or casual wear!
6. Thanks to the City of Zumbro Falls. We use their park every year, free of charge. I talked with the Mayor on Saturday and he was very excited to have us coming through again. He offered to bring in a bunch of tables etc... Thanks to all who may have stopped in their small town. It is appreciated.
7. Thanks to Goodhue and Wabasha Counties. They are great to work with!
8. Thanks Larry and Job! Larry has stepped away from the general organization of the race the past couple of years, but the help on race day is SO AWESOME!
9. Sorry for the bathroom situation at the start. Next year, due to the generosity of folks at the race, I am committing to at least one porta-potty regardless of the golf course situation. Depending on cost... maybe 2!

Feel free to leave a comment about anything you might want to change (seriously... we may not listen, but we're open to listening and thinking things through), or if there is something you really would hate to see changed.


It's easy to say right now, but the general feeling from Ragnarok central is that there will be a 9th edition in 2016. We'll see if we can settle on a date sooner than later so you can pencil it in.


Thanks again and have a great rest of your 2015!


Isaac

Just the results... attempt #2...

Let's try this again!

Finished	Race Number	Name	Finish Time	Total Time
1	122	Brenden Bellew	13:21	5:49
2	168	Sean G Mailen	13:32	6:00
3	118	Charlie Schad	13:36	6:04
4	167	Jesse LaLonde	13:53	6:21
5	106	Brandt Elson	13:54	6:22
6	135	Chris Schotz	14:06	6:34
7	120	Tim Hau	14:07	6:35
8	187	Jason Stukel	14:10	6:38
9	172	Larry Sauber	14:11	6:39
10	146	Scott Hippen	14:11	6:39
11	158	Kyle Sobota	14:15	6:43
12	157	Jeff Shupe	14:15	6:43
13	175	Matthew Abel	14:15	6:43
14	151	Carrie Sansome **1st Female**	14:15	6:43
15	185	Corey Shouse	14:16	6:44
16	164	Philip Carlton **1st SS**	14:18	6:46
17	131	Roger Karnopp	14:18	6:46
18	149	Ren Stinson	14:18	6:46
19	116	Thomas "Bud" Woodrum	14:20	6:48
20	165	Erik Peterson	14:22	6:50
21	130	Steven Yore	14:22	6:50
22	132	Melissa Hunter	14:23	6:51
23	133	Lee Venteicher	14:24	6:52
24	119	Jeremy Fry	14:24	6:52
25	148	Sam St. Pierre	14:24	6:52
26	162	Ryan Carlson	14:25	6:53
27	147	Ted Loosen	14:25	6:53
28	121	Josh Roeser	14:25	6:53
29	107	David Swanson	14:44	7:12
30	169	Paul Carroll	14:44	7:12
31	174	David Pramann	14:46	7:14
32	163	Bruce Anderson	14:48	7:16
33	180	Megan Barr	14:50	7:18
34	152	Barry Schmitt	14:52	7:20
35	182	Charles Denis	14:53	7:21
36	176	Martin Rudnick	14:55	7:23
37	127	Jeff O'Neill	14:56	7:24
38	103	David Bell	14:56	7:24
39	190	Ben Hey	14:56	7:24
40	191	Scott Swenson	14:56	7:24
41	189	Todd Shanafelt	14:57	7:25
42	126	Tim Kufahl	15:05	7:33
43	136	Devin O'Brien	15:07	7:35
44	186	Ted Clausen	15:08	7:36
45	159	Mick Carlson	15:10	7:38
46	160	Van Carlson **1st Under-18**	15:10	7:38
47	145	Brett Swenson	15:10	7:38
48	137	Leigh Langum	15:16	7:44
49	194	Parker Roenfranz	15:16	7:44
50	183	Trenton Raygor	15:16	7:44
51	193	Herman Cluse	15:16	7:44
52	181	Charles Parsons	15:16	7:44
53	153	Grant Braasch	15:17	7:45
54	155	Chad Millner	15:17	7:45
55	154	Alan Eastlund	15:17	7:45
56	108	Ray Nickles	15:22	7:50
57	150	John Hoch	15:24	7:52
58	91	Jonas Nygard	15:26	7:54
59	117	T.C. Worley	15:30	7:58
60	129	Robert Williams	15:32	8:00
61	199	James Kauth	15:33	8:01
62	197	Ben Cox	15:33	8:01
63	196	Ken Zylstra	15:34	8:02
64	109	Heath Weisbrod	15:38	8:06
65	173	Jeff Bushendorf	15:41	8:09
66	124	Shane Maxwell	15:42	8:10
67	105	Gary Lindberg	15:45	8:13
68	110	Eddie Karow	15:46	8:14
69	142	Chad Kelly	15:50	8:18
70	138	Jose Perez	15:56	8:24
71	112	Paul Haberman	16:00	8:28
72	102	Paul Urbanski	16:03	8:31
73	192	John Carline	16:16	8:44
74	134	Chris Stuckman	16:17	8:45
75	179	Joe Pahr	16:22	8:50
76	171	Meredith Rambow	16:27	8:55
77	139	Alex Koppi-Kohn	16:32	9:00
78	111	Leah Gruhn	16:33	9:01
79	188	Aaron Olson	16:33	9:01
80	198	Joel Benton	16:33	9:01
81	128	Jeff Henkemeyer	16:34	9:02
82	125	Jeff Haye	16:34	9:02
83	104	Andy Weinzierl	16:39	9:07
84	178	Neil Cary	16:43	9:11
85	156	Michael Casey	16:48	9:16
86	123	Dennis Grelk & Christina Anthony	16:49	9:17
87	161	Mara Larson	16:49	9:17
88	184	Matt Johnson	16:50	9:18
89	140	Bob Shepherd	17:01	9:29
90	141	Scott Lenz	17:09	9:37
91	144	Joseph Wirth	17:16	9:44
92	143	Jeff Pettes	17:35	10:03
93	101	Davis Sundheim	17:41	10:09
94	114	Michael Boehnlein	17:50	10:18
95	115	Matthew Webb	17:50	10:18
96	170	Robert Cure	17:58	10:26
97	166	Charly Tri	DNF LC
98	177	David Strachan	DNF ZF
99	195	Mike Criego	DNF ZF
100	113	Peter Stock	DNF ZF
101	200	Justin Julian & Ben Witt	DNF
102	90	Laura Haraldson	DNF

Just the Results - 2015

I'll try and post up some thoughts and musings soon... but here is the important stuff.. the results!

well... that was in a less than ideal format... check back in a bit...

Last minute....

Night before check in - Jake and Job will be at the Red Wing Brewery at 7:45 tonight to get folks checked in that want to sleep in that extra bit of time. I believe they are open until 10, but we'll probably look to leave by 9:30 to try and get some early shut eye.

Bathrooms are 50-50 for the start. Nice weather should mean the golf course is open eventually but might not be open right away (we are trying).

Hope all my flights are on time so I can make it! - Isaac

More race week tidbits

A few reminders 

• First and foremost, we expect you to be responsible for yourself. Don't ride beyond your ability and have a plan in case things go wrong.
• This event isn't very fancy pants. We hope the roads and the adventure make up for our lack of professionalism. 
• We generally put this event on for the folks who are looking for a fun day on the bike. We enjoy you fast guys (and gals) at the front and hope you enjoy the event, but please don't take it too seriously. 
• This event takes place on some roads that don't normally see many bikes. You may get honked at, you may get chased by a dog and you may come face to grill with drivers that use the whole road. Be sure you expect those things and you won't have any issues. 
• Please represent cyclists well. Don't blow through stop signs or take a nature break in view of folks. DO NOT LITTER!!!
• We can't do drop bags for you, sorry. But, you shouldn't have a problem finding someone else who can bring something to a checkpoint for you.
• We won't be able to give you a ride back to Red Wing. Be sure to have someone in mind to help you out if you or your bike isn't up to the task.
• You must wear a helmet during the event.
• Here is a google map with some important locations marked. Let's be sure knowing where the local hospitals are isn't needed.

Checkpoints

• There are two checkpoints. One in Zumbro Falls and one in Lake City. These are the only places you are permitted to get support from someone not biking in the event. Both towns have convenience stores right on the route.
• At the checkpoints we will record your number and time and give you a new sheet of cue notes. Make sure that we get your number. L-M-L had a good system this year.... We may go to that? Who knows... Just know we need to know your number.
• Each checkpoint has a cut off time. If you don't arrive to a checkpoint before that time, you won't be given a set of notes for the next leg and you will be officially out of the event. 
• Cut off times are based on an average speed of about 9.5mph or the speed it would take you to complete the whole event in 12 hours. 

KOM

• We are scuttling the official KOM party for the year. Life has made it hard to focus on any one thing and this was the low hanging fruit. LCR will be the judges as to who prevails.

Finish

• We are going to do a "mountain top" finish again this year for the first 5 or so overall finishers. 
• It will be on the last climb of the course, approx 3 miles from the start/finish area
• All riders after the first 5 or so will be scored back at the start/finish.