From left Charlie Farrow and Tim Ek (who, along with Jason Buffington and Jeremy Kershaw make up the Death Before Dishonor group) at last year's Trans-Iowa. Note the headlamps because they will be riding all night.
Two of Duluth’s strongest endurance cyclists completed an amazing feat today in Iowa. The Trans-Iowa is a two-day, 300-mile bike race on mostly gravel backroads that starts at 4 a.m. on Saturday morning and finishes when you either cross the finish line or quit, which many people do. To win, you have to pretty much ride without stopping for a little more than 24 hours.
Tim Ek placed second in a sprint for the finish. Tim rides for Salsa bikes.
Charlie Farrow placed fourth after riding all night with Tim.
You can listen to the audio updates of the event here.
These guys pretty much have no off season, riding bikes all year long while the rest of us are skiing or waiting for winter to end. In these races, they don’t know the route until the race starts. They get cards that tell them how long to ride and when and where to turn (and hope they don’t get lost). They have none of the silly support cars or other help you see in professional bike racing. They are basically on their own.
In September, Duluth will host its own version of this race for the third year. Called the Heck of the North, it runs along gravel roads from Duluth to points north with a grueling finish up Seven Bridges Road.
Congrats guys.