Mother Nature Won.

As she normally does, Mother Nature threw down at Trans Iowa making it the epic that is. 58 riders starting, 0 finishing: race was called between the 1st and 2nd checkpoints. We've gotta love technology, there were plenty of live audio updates from the event organizers and a few of the riders kept their Twitter feeds live and going throughout the event... check out #tiv6 and see a little of what all the riders went through.

A hats off to all of you would showed up to ride and battled with the elements. Of course, the final group of riders that made it the longest in until the event was called deserve a special shout out:

Joe Meiser

John Gorilla

Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey

Matt Braun

Eric Brunt

Jay & Tracey Petervary

Charles Parsons

For more insight, reports and pictures on all things Trans Iowa related check out the Trans Iowa site, Guitar Ted's site, and the TI History page.

In all things Grand Rapids related:

The other event we told you about last Friday was the Hop Cat Alley Cat here in Grand Rapids. From all reports the event went off without a hitch and the weather held off all allowing our GM to take 2nd overall in the event.

The Grand Rapids Bike Park is in it's final push to meet the deadline for completion. We've mentioned this a few times on the blog and can't help but bring it up again. This week there are 3 days people are going to be out there getting this place into shape: Tonight, Thursday Evening and Saturday. Keep up on all things GR Bike Park on their Facebook page.

We all love riding the local trails, it's easy to forget all the work needed to develop and maintain the trails we love. Regardless of where you are, get connected to your local MBA and play a part.

Axle time

There is a demographic within the cycling world that we all know, the Clydesdale class. This is a group of riders that share the same love for the sport but are more of a diesel than a race car. One of the most notable, but now former Clydesdale's is Fat Cyclist. To achieve the prestigious title of Clydesdale rider, one must be 200+ lbs. That's it.

I don't know if proud is the right term for it but I am an unashamed member of this class, coming in around 225 lbs. If you're like me, you have encountered a few tiers of weight requirements within the cycling industry: 175 lbs, 200 lbs, 225 lbs and 275 lbs. There a lot of factors that come into play with these recommended rider weight requirements. Depending on a riders style, intended use and material strength to weight ratio there can often be a fluidity to where one can land. Race day products perform differently than that of training and can have a differing longevity.

I say all this to lead into today's Friday Product Highlight. Our ability to custom build wheels to your exact specifications and desires does not end at rim and spoke combinations. We know that all sorts, sizes, and abilities of riders are using and enjoying our product; because of that, on our rear road hubs we offer the ability to change out the stock alloy axle [left side in picture, 20 grams] for chromoly axle [right side in picture, 56 grams]. Our rear road hubs come in at a competitive 250 grams with the alloy axle and a respective 286 grams with chromoly.

So who would be a candidate for the cromoly axle? Remembering that the differing factors which come into play, we would suggest anyone over 200 lbs consider using the chromoly axle. And here's the rub, what do I ride? Based on my riding style and use [mainly commuting] I rock the alloy axles and have had no issues. It's always important to note that, we all ride differently and consulting your LBS can help clear up what might best suit your needs. These axles are available aftermarket through your local bicycle shop or can be installed when we are building up your custom wheel.

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Two races going on this weekend, as mentioned before Trans Iowa looks to be soggy affair, I'm looking forward to following G-Ted and David Pals [event organizers] updates on the race throughout the weekend on Twitter [hashtag #tiv6]. Here in Grand Rapids we have the 3rd Annual Hop Cat Alley Cat. The previous years, this has been an extremely stellar event and this year looks to be the same with 79 people already slated to come via the Facebook event page. $15 for a great time and a chance to get your hands on some Benny Gold rims!