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CIRREM

Post #34: 
I registered for CIRREM. Usually I do not bother with this race due to the registration timing and my Thanksgiving plans. This year was a bit different. CIRREM is one of the first gravel races I have ever done, and I think this year is either year 14 or 15. It has a history of gnarly weather, it can be a blizzard to 70 degrees and sunny. One year the roads were iced over and slick, and only handful of people finished. After my NY trip home, I found out registration was still open. So, I signed up. I am in the open class with 110 other fellows. Not a big deal, I will just be happy to finish in under 4.5hrs. I am way out of shape, and I need to drop a few pounds. Also, I have other training goals in the works. This race is just and excuse to visit Des Moines and see some old friends more than anything. 
    CIRREM course has remained mostly unchanged over the years. It has had some small modifications over time. But I will say this about CIRREM. CIRREM is true to the roots of gravel racing. Yes, people win using road racing tactics, other years it is a year of attrition. Yes, people show up with the latest and greatest. But the magic pixie dust has always been the people who raced and who heckled. I think the last year I raced CIRREM was 2016, and that year was a warm year. 
    CIRREM use to cap the registration at 65 people, because that is what will fit in Cummings Tap. These days it is wide open and taking on all on-comers. Will this change the event? I do not think it will matter. CIRREM has always been like the ground hog for the Des Moines bike community. Half the people at CIRREM were not racers or riders, but friends of the entrants in the field. I think the Race Directors have a pulse on this event and let it unfold naturally. I have been at races where the race promoters went into stores and bars and asked people to come to the finish line to cheer on the winner. This was for the photo opportunity and had nothing to do with the race. That is not the case at CIRREM. You will find some car pulled off some where or driving up to asking one question. “Do you want Prairie Fire?” That is a local version of fireball, so the serious level at this race is at a 3 out of 10. 
    I will depart with these words. CIRREM is what you want it to be, like much in life. 



Thanks and Godspeed 
Dave
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Location: Waterloo, IA, USA

Comments

  1. Guitar TedDecember 3, 2021 at 7:55 AM

    Pretty fair assessment of CIRREM. It and the Gent's Race seem to have a similar vibe. I did CIRREM once as well, but the year I did it it was 28° and there was three inches of fresh snow on the roads!

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