An Interesting Thought Examined

Cues for the 2009 Good Life Gravel Adventure

So many good topics for discussion come out of the comments section here on the blog and this was the case again last week. So, first of all, thanks for making comments here, if you do, and if you do not, then maybe consider it sometime. You never know when something you post in the comments might become another article here. 

Today's post comes out of a comment made last week on my "New Finds After All This Time" post. A comment there made by "Brett" stated the following: "I keep thinking they should go back to using just cue sheets for the Unbound 200 and XL. That would really tick off those pro riders!"

You can go back and read my response to Brett, and I will not go over that specifically here. However; what I do want to cover is why the way events were done then, including the cue sheet navigation, wouldn't fly with almost anyone today. Much less the Pros! 

There are certain things which fall under the category of "Expectations" when one signs up for an event today. These items change over the course of time as new things enter into the lexicon of how events are produced and younger people enter into attending those events. Furthermore; technology, culture, and current social trends affect how events are going to look and feel as well. 

There was a time when you signed up to do an event by mailing in a flyer, or signing on at a bicycle shop. Now? There is no way anyone is doing things that way. How many folks are buying wired computers these days? We used to sell those by the dozen on a daily basis at the bike shops I worked at. How about Power Bars? Anyone still trying to chew one so they can swallow it out there? (IYKYK)

Yeah, so doing things like cue sheet navigation isn't 100% gone, (Hello Ragnorok 105!), but it is functionally extinct now in terms of events. 

People expect a gpx route file now. People expect "aid stations", (you unfortunate folks will never know the joy of a slice of Casey's pizza when your world is undone), and of course, if you are in the Pro category, expectations are even more demanding. 

Could we strip it back to the way things were done back almost 20 years ago? Possibly. How many would even be interested in that? Not enough to support a person putting on the event, which by the way, is another expectation these days. Hardly anyone is willing to put themselves out there at no charge, like many did back when Gravel got started.  Heck, hardly anyone puts on a free gravel event anymore. 

So, while it may seem fun to think about cue sheet navigation and a thousand folks out on course trying to figure it all out on their own with an analog computer, this is all just fanciful mind games now. It's unrealistic.But yeah.......those were great days. Make no mistake. 

And think about this: In twenty years, nothing will be like it is now either. So, "The Good Ol' Days" are the days you are taking for granted today. Trust me......I know all about that.   

And We're Back!

Sorry about the lack of a real post for earlier today. I'll have a regular post up for tomorrow and hopefully going forward. Apparently some critter decided fiber optic cable was good for snacking. 

Anyway... Here are some things which will be upcoming on the blog here for y'all to look forward to.

• Stan's Products: I'll probably update the lubricant with a new post in the Guitar Ted Lube-Off Series. Fun fact: The Lube-Off has been ongoing here since the blog has been around, so pert-near 21 years! 
•  That TPU tube thing keeps garnering interest and I have a new update on the Aeron TPU tubes coming this week. 
• New Country Views: Hoping to add more of these this Summer.
• Fargo Wheels: Still looking for rims, but when I decide, there will be some posts on this.
• Maybe a surprise ride announcement for June......maybe not. Things are still up in the air with regard to something I cannot talk about just yet. 
• Ride For Jacob: A date will be announced soon. Details coming.... 
• The Regular Stuff. You know if you hang out here.....

Okay, that should do it for this delayed "regular post", which wasn't what I had in mind, but I did not predict an internet outage due to unforeseen, (and unseen) reasons.  

As always..... Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Technical Difficulties

 Sorry for the inconvenience to my regular blog readers. Our internet has gone out and will be out until later today (hopefully that’s all)

Look for a regular blog post on Wednesday. 

Country Views: Cool May Day

Escape Route: Riverside bicycle trails East.

This Spring has been wet, April was super warm, but now May has entered the chat. And it has cooled down a lot. We've got frost warnings, low 50's, and gray skies. Yeah, you get the weather you get. Just ride, right? 

So, Friday afternoon on May 1st I had a chance to go for a quick ride. I was thwarted in my attempt to go down near Washburn, Iowa last time and I just felt like I needed to get that done. So, I departed the HQ here and headed down along the river toward Evansdale. Once again, I found the bike trail closed. 

So, I did some urban scrambling and came into Evansdale on the main drag, which hasn't changed at all since the 1950's, I would bet. The last bit of road between Waterloo and Evansdale is so narrow. Fortunately there is a fairly wide dirt shoulder, but the cars and trucks passing by are so close you feel like you could reach out and touch them and they are on two lanes so narrow they cannot move an inch to the side without possibly running into an oncoming vehicle. 

Maybe someday that will be addressed and we can have a real separated bicycle path like Evansdale has on the Southeast side going to Elk Run heights. 

Maybe.... 

The trees are almost all leafed out. The river is full again. This looks normal for once. 

The chip seal part of Foulk Road just past its dead end to the CVNT.

I finally got on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail (CVNT), and then a short while later I turned Right onto Foulk Road. My plan was to go up and see if I could ride McKellar Road and the dirt part of Weiden Road. I didn't know if these dirt roads would be passable after all the rains we had in April. 

Stopped by a train of empty flat bed cars? Weird!

McKellar Road was fine. It looks weird with no crops though!

The dirt was fine on McKellar, which made me hopeful I'd be okay on Weiden Road. Every field along the way had just been worked up and planted. Maybe this season this area will be all soybeans. It was all corn last year. 

My Dad used to call these a "honey wagon" IYKYK

Later on the Sun tried to come out, but it just wasn't quite there.

Weiden was full of water pits, but all had work-a-rounds, so I made it through. Then it was just time to loop it back around to get going home. I didn't have time to get a big loop in on this day. I did make it home after a couple of hours of riding though. 

Stacking days....... 

New Finds After All This Time

Trans Iowa v14, the last start. Image by Dori Jaansma

 Last week was filled with Trans Iowa memories on my Facebook timeline. It happens every year, right? Anyone who uses that social media platform can probably nod their head in agreement with how this "memories" thing works. 

My surprise is that even after eight years I am still finding new stuff on Trans Iowa I'd never seen before, or knew about. To me, this is remarkable. 

Images are the most common thing, obviously, but I have found a story about Trans Iowa v14 written by Nick Legan, a fellow Gravel Cycling Hall of Famer, by the way. It is a story about his efforts to finish the last Trans Iowa. I found it fascinating since Nick tabulates some numbers which I had no access to from athletes or from my own research. Things I had guessed at, but now I have some hard numbers to point to. The story, on "Rambleur" can be read HERE.  

Mark Lowe (L), and Nick Legan on the course of Trans Iowa v14. Image by Jon Duke

 As an example, I knew it got really cold the night of v14 going into the Sunday finish. Matt Gersib and I were freezing standing on a Level B Road just East of Grinnell, trying to toast to the end of an era. It wasn't to be as Matt said it was "too damn cold" and he was bailing out. A moment dashed. A moment I was hoping would be an intimate, final farewell to Trans Iowa with him. No hard feelings, Matt. I was 100% with you. I just was wishing it wasn't so cold right at that moment. 

And I never really knew just how cold it had gotten. Now I have a number, thanks to Nick. 23°F! In late April! No wonder we couldn't enjoy that moment! It all just makes so much sense and now, eight years later, I have found some solace as to why this moment did not work out for me. 

My image of the full moon, standing on a gravel road near midnight during T.I.v14

 I used to get asked all the time what the elevation gain was for any Trans Iowa. Frankly, I had no way of knowing this for certain. Especially in the earlier years of the event when GPS tracking was nearly non-existent or so poor it could only be taken as a guidepost. 

Of course, things have changed. Even by 2018, which was the year of the last Trans Iowa, GPS data was much more reliable.  Nick had a Wahoo Elemnt onboard his ride of Trans Iowa v14 and shared this data in the story linked above. His device read out 19,291ft in 350 miles. (Nick admittedly did some "bonus miles" due to a navigational error or two)

While this number may not be all that impressive, consider the fact that Nick accomplished that elevation gain and mileage in under 33 hours overall with no sleep. Plus, he had to do his own navigation by cue sheets. No gpx files. No simply following audible prompts for where to turn. 

Post T.I.v14 scraps. Image by Ryan Simon

Of course, none of this probably hits anyone quite like it does me. I understand this to be true. Eight years later not many folks even think about Trans Iowa anymore. Maybe the riders do. Some of the volunteers might. I don't know. 

It seems to me that the whole thing should have blown away like Fall leaves down a chip sealed street. Tumbling away until there are only remnants of what was once a green, living thing. 

Then those memories posts show up and the old feelings are reignited. Especially when images and words I hadn't see before are popping up all these years later. These new finds make me think about why this all may still matter to some people. Why it still matters to me. 

Jason Boucher, a good friend and supporter of myself and Trans Iowa when it was an event, once wrote to me and encouraged me to keep the event going because "..you give people a chance to change their lives".I know he was right about that. I've heard from people who have said as much to me. I know it changed me too.

And in the end, when it comes to this old stuff concerning Trans Iowa, we can find new things as a result inside our lives because of those times. What those things are may be different for each person who was touched by the event. 

And that is what matters. 

Two Things

Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles

The Cycling Industry Is Not Out To "Get You".  

With the advent of the 32" wheel diameter the oft heard cries of "foul" aimed at marketers and the cycling industry at large are being brought back to the fore. 

I read comments, (I know......you aren't supposed to read the comments!), on threads concerning the new 32" wheels and I see the same old complaints I've seen over the years. Complaints concerning internal cable routing, disc brakes, 27.5"ers, "Plus sized tires". and 29"ers, not to mention bottom brackets, head sets, and more component changes. 

"It's just another thing they've done to make us spend more money!"

This one is one of my favorite old saws concerning the bicycle industry. It is as if anything new comes along with a gun held to your head "making you buy it". This is such a ridiculous complaint and it deserves the utmost derision in return. It is just a stupid, knee-jerk, thoughtless comment. No one is making you spend your money. The consumer can vote by NOT spending any money on new tech, and often they do. Quit complaining in this manner and keep your credit card hidden, go out and touch grass. It'll be okay. 

I know I could go on because I've seen so much negativity lambasted at products people thought no one needed and were a waste of time over the years. Guess what? More often than not, those things become the hill someone else is going to die on concerning something that shouldn't be changed in the future. See 29"ers vs 26"ers, and now what people say about 29"ers vs 32"ers. I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of those who are against the idea of a 32"er were against the idea of a 29"er twenty years ago. They probably have forgotten all about this though. 

And the whole "standards" thing is a farce. There haven't been standards, in a strict sense of the word, EVER in cycling. There is the standard you came into cycling with, and which you think shouldn't ever change, yes. But in reality, cycling is in a state of constant change. Just ask any bicycle mechanic who has to buy hundreds of dollars worth of tools every year just to keep up with those changes. 

In one sense, this is the problem with cycling. Not that any company is out to get you by changing things, but that these companies keep inventing "new" things which we don't really need. Once in a while actual innovation to the betterment of all is achieved. (Threadless head sets, cartridge bottom brackets, 29"ers), and at other times it is change for no real benefit to anyone (internally routed cables, various bottom bracket types, XD drivers). So, this foments the idea that cycling is just trying to make it so you have to buy the latest thing. You do not "have to" buy anything. 

You just think you do..... 

Gravel Porn: Ben Witt on the Heywood 390 course

Doing It Right

Wednesday I saw some Instagram stories from the guys at the Heywood Ride.  They were out  for a long day of course-checking for their upcoming event on May 16th. 

This was for their longest route option. A 390 mile beast of a loop running through the Driftless Area. (IYKYK) 

There are shorter distances which, I imagine, most people will rather do, but these ultra-distance gravel routes always tug at my heart. No surprise there, I suppose. 

I was most chuffed to know that Marty Larson and Ben Witt "get it". They understand that you just do not simply throw a route out with a GPS track and expect it to work. It will not work. These guys know it won't work that way. This is why they drove the course to check everything out. And they found a problem they had to account for with a re-route. 

This level of care and attention to detail is worthy of your attending this event. If you have a hankering for a good time on a bike, I cannot recommend this ride strongly enough. Check it out. There is still time to get onboard at any distance or commitment level you want to.  

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Reeb Cycles

Reeb Cycles Offers Taiwan Made Hall Pass Hardtail:

The hardtail is dead! Long live the hardtail! For so many years people were saying full suspension bikes would eventually push out the rigid rear-ended mountain bike. However; once 29"ers came around, a resurgence in hardtail MTB's occurred and the industry hasn't looked back since. 

Currently there seems to be a run on new 29"er, slack front ended, steep seat tubed designs. Recent introductions from Esker, Otso, and now this one from Reeb cycles point to a healthy amount of choices out there in this style of bicycle. The Reeb model is called the Hall Pass, and it is made in Taiwan to help make the bike a bit more affordable. 

A frame will run you $1.299.00  or you can choose from one of six complete builds including two single speed versions of the Hall Pass. Hit the link above for more on this frame designed around a 130mm travel fork. 

Image courtesy of Hutchinson Tires

Hutchinson Announces New Touareg Race Gridskin Tires:

One of my favorite tires I've used on gravel was the Hutchinson Touareg 700 X 45mm tire.  I finally had to retire my pair, and then found the Hutchinson brand was difficult to get here in the USA afterward. So, I moved on.

However; I may have to revisit that as Hutchinson has now released a Touareg Race with its high end "Gridskin" sidewall technology.  

This knitted mesh reinforcement was first used to great success in Hutchinson's road tire range and now is offered in this gravel race tire. The application of Gridskin does not result in higher rolling resistance and adds minimal weight, according to Hutchinson. 

Hutchinson uses its high-end race rubber compound for this model. Dubbed "Mach Tread 3.0", it  is claimed to be Hutchinson's fastest tread compound ever. 

Hutchinson offers this tire in 700c diameter and in 40mm, 45mm, and 50mm widths. Check it out on Hutchinson's site HERE.  

Image courtesy of GRVL

GRVL Shows New ADVNTR Hydration Pack:

Many riders prefer hydration packs for longer gravel rides due to the easy access to water/electrolytes and for cargo carrying capacities as well. For those in this camp, the GRVL brand offers their new ADVNTR hydration pack with a removable cargo pouch. 

The pack comes with a 2L hydration bladder. This bladder is removable from the pack and is easily washed out and easy to refill. 

The pack itself is made from X-PAC fabric which is tear resistant and lightweight. A one click, four point harness is adjustable for the rider from a chest size of 36" to 44". 

The cargo pouch is held in place by clickable connectors so it is easily removed for a race-day effort or attached easily for longer, ultra-distance efforts where more capacity for food and accessories is desirable. 

The ADVNTR hydration pack comes in three colors and is priced at $159.00USD. See this pack on GRVL's website HERE. 

Comments: Another vowel fearing company in the gravel market, GRVL is a performance apparel brand which is branching out into bicycles (1816 brand) and now this hydration pack. It looks like a "high on the back" type pack which may allow usage of jersey pockets. We may be getting one in for review, so stay tuned on this front. 

Image courtesy of Wilde Bicycle Co. 

Wilde Bicycle Co. Partners With Cane Creek On "Logo-less" Headset:

Wilde Bicycle Co. and Cane Creek have partnered again on a head set. This time it is a traditional external cup 1 1/8th inch threadless type head set with no logos. Wilde says in the press release:

 "The branding is very subtle as our logo isn't the point, having a headset that seamlessly blends into
a classy build is. If you don't like the Wilde icon logo on the lower cup, simply rotate it toward the
back and hide it under the down tube."

Available in Purple, Black, or Silver for $120.00 USD. See Wilde Bicycle Co.'s website for more details HERE.  

Comments: I was a bit nonplussed when I first read the press release, but upon further reflection, I began to see how this appeals to me. Logos on parts are, on one hand, just a way to low-key "brag" about your bike. Plus, they can take away from the larger aspect of having a nice, slick looking bicycle overall. I mean, do we really need to know where that part is from? I just want these things to look good and.....well, you know......work.  

I would imagine this chance to get a quality head set with no logos will be a limited time thing. Plus, at one hundred and twenty bucks, it isn't out of line, in terms of pricing, so I see good value here. That is if you don't care about product logos on your components.  

Image courtesy of BMC Bicycles

BMC Shows Off New Gravel Bike:

BMC just released details on the new Kaius 01 model. They used the tagline "Unbound Speed" in their marketing language. An obvious reference to the World's Premier gravel event called Unbound Gravel. 

Using such language would point to a bike with some aero and big tire clearance capabilities, as this seems to be the preference of the top-tier racers at Unbound BMC does not disappoint on both counts in this new bike. 

Boasting tire clearance for 700c X 52mm tires, there is plenty of tire capability for a race like Unbound Gravel. Aero? The new Kaius is designed with such an eye towards aero that the bottle cages are integrated into the design! 

Image courtesy of BMC

The new Kaius 01comes in four different specifications with the top three in the range coming in a choice of two color schemes. Prices range from $14,072.99 USD for the Kaius 01 ONE down to $7.676.30 USD for the Kaius 01 FOUR. A frame set, including fork and integrated bottle cages, goes for $5,754.56 USD. 

Comments: The price to be at the top of the heap in gravel technology just went crazy. I'm pretty sure we won't be seeing any BMC Kaius 01's around here any time soon, unless there is a sponsored athlete or a rich professional with a LOT of disposable cash on hand in the local area. Sheesh! 

I wouldn't ordinarily post about a halo bike which most cannot afford or justify purchasing. However; this bike has all the characteristics which seem to be what brands think racers, (not necessarily gravel riders, by the way), seem to be asking for in a bicycle for gravel racing. The geometry is of particular interest here. 

BMC has provided a 71° head tube angle for smaller sizes to a steepish 72° head tube angle for the largest sizes. Yet they have kept the same trail figure across the range of sizes. They accomplished this by altering the fork offset for each head tube angle. Very unusual and a very detailed design specification here. 

There is no room for a telescopic suspension device here either, with BMC betting on tire volume and their ride tuned compliance in the carbon to account for rougher roads and trail. This keeps the front end low. This is reflected in the short axle to crown and shorter stack heights across the range. A true racing machine with fat tire clearances.  

New Podcast Drop!

If you have a little off-the-bike time this weekend why don't you give our latest episode a listen? It's about the Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska, and specifically their gravel route. 

N.Y. Roll and I hosted Jayme Frye and Adreinne Detanico of BRAN to find out what the deal is with BRAN. 

It is a small-scale, fully supported, cross-state ride which originally began on pavement. While the event is a week long ride, people interested can choose to ride three, two, or even single day section of the route. 

The ride is more grassroots in feel and smaller than something like RAGBRAI. The gravel ride is actually pretty much a group ride, or a ride of groups. But give the episode a listen to get the gist. 

Find out more about the BRAN event HERE. 
 

 That's a wrap for this week! get out and ride those bicycles!

Review: Kuat Piston Pro Two Bike Rack

Note: Guitar Ted bought the Kuat Piston Pro car rack and is not being paid, nor bribed for this review. All opinions are Guitar Ted's 

Your welcome when opening up the box

As reported in the "Rack Me" series, I chose to purchase a Kuat Piston Pro two bike hitch rack for my 2016 Toyota 4Runner with a 2" receiver hitch. I recently unboxed it, assembled it, and evaluated the assembly process. . 

The key feature here is the two-tool assembly and the simplicity of the process. There are a couple of steps which make doing the job a bit easier. I'll get around to this in this article. 

I didn't strictly time myself, but I 'think' this took about a half an hour from unboxing to finished, usable rack. This should give you somewhat of an idea of how easy the process is of assembling the rack. 

As with many items these days the instructions are online. I get how this may be a negative for some who would rather look at a piece of paper. However; the QR code works, the online instructions are clear and easy to read, and there is also a video for those who learn better by seeing. 

In defense of electronic, online instructions I will say this. They are paper-less. Good for the environment? Possibly. But they save money for consumers, and they are immediately updatable. The latter is shown in this example: The retaining arms are marked in increments reflecting the popular wheel sizes of 29"/700c, 27.5", and 26" wheel diameters. But the online instructions already say this rack is compatible with the new 32" wheels. Furthermore the online instructions indicated a running change would be made to the printed wheel size indications on the rack in the future. 

Obviously this would be impossible to communicate had the rack shipped with printed instructions. So, I appreciated this information and gaining the understanding my rack is "future-proofed" should I decide to get a 32"er. (Also - It pays to read the instructions first.....sometimes!) 

The box is rather large and heavy. I recommend two people handle it.

Contents of said box.The bag has the tools in it.

Assembly:

After unboxing the Piston Pro the instructions indicate that it is easier to assemble the rack if you put the receiver end into your hitch first. This is true in practice and what I did. However; the receiver comes out of the box in the "folded up" position, and this is not ideal. 

I would recommend the first thing you do would be to put on the Foot Lever Assembly first, then you can release the Center Beam into a horizontal position. This makes everything else go a lot smoother. 

But if your Piston Pro is like mine, you still have to do one other thing before mounting the Center Beam into your receiver hitch. That would be to take the 8mm safety hex key and loosen the nut in the end of the Center Beam which will allow the Flatlock Cam to retreat into the beam and allow you to push the beam into your receiver hitch. THEN you can tighten the hex nut until the Center Beam is secured. 

Next I'd go ahead and follow the instructions for putting the trays on, but it is a bit easier to do if you remove the safety tabs which hold the OneTap buttons in place and tap these open to allow the retention arms to swing up and out of the way. Be careful not to get bonked on the noggin when releasing the retention arms! 

Otherwise I have no quibbles with the instructions. The assembly is super-easy, in my opinion. You could use a torque wrench, as everything has torque specs, (kudos to Kuat for this), but if you do not have a torque wrench just be careful. I don't think you could over-torque the two tray bolts with the provided 8mm hex key, but just use caution and maybe check on the torque values later when you can get around a torque wrench.  

 

Impressions:

Yeah, this is a simple to use rack. I recall the old Thule T2 Pro and its release lever.  I used to have to lift, jiggle, and futz around with it to move it out of the way when accessing the lift gate. The Kuat works so much better. 

I have to hand it to Kuat for informing buyers via the online portal that this rack will work with a 32"er. Not that I am getting one......yet. Maybe someday. But if I do? I have a rack for that, which is nice to know.  

The Piston Pro with its trick, one touch opening retaining arms is fun, and should make mounting a bike a breeze. I can offset bikes as well simply by maneuvering the retention arms and offsetting the bikes in the trays. This is a cool feature. The old Thule had a fixed bike placement and that was the only option you had to carry a bike. 

The Kuat rack isn't necessarily a whole lot lighter than a Thule T2. Maybe somewhat, but it still is an awkward thing to carry alone. It wasn't terrible, but I wouldn't want a flimsy rack either, so.... 

Next thing to do will be to get some bikes on there and go somewhere to ride. Stay tuned....