File photo: 10/29/06
Local framebuilder, and ex-bike messenger Ira Ryan covered 300+ miles of gravel roads in 25 hours to win the third annual Trans-Iowa Endurance Race.
Ira, who also won the inaugural edition of the event in 2005, beat out 120 other racers for the win.
According to live audio updates provided by ultra-endurance website Ride424.com, Ira soloed for the final 12 hours of the event and was only challenged 20 miles from the finish, when he pulled away from a Polish rider on one of the final climbs.
Photo: Ira Ryan
a local cyclocross race.
File photo: 10/16/05
To train for the race, Ira did some epic rides from his house in North Portland. He rode at the front of the recent De Ronde van Oeste Portlandia, got lost in the steep logging roads in the hills west of Portland, and took a 165-mile jaunt to Tillamook.
Ryan’s trip to Iowa was made possible in part by donations from the community, and according to an entry in his blog before the event, his win was fueled by an iPod full of, “plenty of Cult, Van Halen, Distillers, Dee lite and Common.”
Congratulations Ira! I can’t wait to read more about it on your blog.
Check out my image archives, for more photos of Ira Ryan and his bikes.
UPDATE: Ira has updated his blog with photos and a report on his race.