The Good Life Gravel Adventure 2008

When we say "humble beginnings", we weren't kidding. The writeup below came from the PCL Blog and was written the day after that inaugural voyage. It's great to see that so many of the original supporters are still on board, and that the precedent of good vibes carries on today.SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2008It's a wrap!Here are the results to the Inaugural Pirate Cycling League's The Good Life Gravel Adventure. A big thanks to all the participants, sponsors (Cycle Works, Moose's Tooth, Bike Pedalers, Screen Ink and Jason, TMCO, War Axe, and Snappy Caps), and volunteers (Steph and DK). The event wouldn't have happened without ya!Twenty one participants ended up hitting the gravel roads surrounding Lincoln at 6 AM on Saturday morning. Some had other obligations and had to end the journey at Cortland, but 16 riders finished the adventure (17 including myself, but I don't count as neutral support). The weather was beautiful and the wind was very timid for Nebraskan standards. We couldn't have asked for a better day to be on the bike. If you weren't there, you were missed and you definitely missed out.The course ended up being around 135 miles. The mapping software used by Bikely.com was very inaccurate with the elevation gain. According to Bikely.com the total elevation gain was less than 1000 feet. Oly had a Garmin and measured close to 7700 feet of elevation gain during the event. Check out the stats here! For those of us that rode the whole route, the 7700 feet would probably seem much more accurate. Lots of rollers on the course especially on Pella Road and Branched Oak Road.There was one error on the cue sheet (58th after Saltillo Road should have been 56th) and I apologize for the error, especially to those riders that were lead astray at that intersection.Please let me know how the event can be improved upon for next time. I would appreciate feedback on any aspect of the event including start time and location, distance, terrain, checkpoints, purchase of lottery tickets, cue sheets, and the time of the year (late September). Feedback can be here via blog posts or to my email (see profile for address).The Nebraska Powerball Lottery tickets are being reviewed. It'll take a while since over 60 tickets were purchased. If we win, you'll be receiving a phone call soon!Again thanks to all that came out to enjoy the day. I was very excited to see some folks from Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. Hope to see you folks again at some cross races this fall or at events next year. Congrats to all the finishers!