Rode the route today, and it's a lot muddier than a couple years ago when I last rode it. There will be numerous sections where you'll have to carry your road bike (not something I had to do at all last time).
853 is high end steel, but if you want outright performance, then your likely to be riding an alu or carbon frame. 853 also doesn't have the same aesthetics of your old fashioned lugged and inch diameter round tubes, which may be off putting to people attracted to steel for nostalgic reasons.
Rode the route today, and it's a lot muddier than a couple years ago when I last rode it. There will be numerous sections where you'll have to carry your road bike (not something I had to do at all last time).