Trans Iowa V9: So, What Is Allowed For Support?

Out here, yer on yer own...

Recently I received a question regarding "support" and what was and is now allowed in terms of the upcoming Trans Iowa V9. The questioner had said that he had read blog accounts of pizza hand ups, folks waiting for riders at checkpoints, etc. Here you can read my response to him, as I wrote it, and it should quell any concerns about this question. If not, hit the comments... Here ya go:

In the case of Trans Iowa, it has NEVER been allowed that riders receive outside support. You might note the post date on the rules on the Trans Iowa site. Yep- that's right, posted by "Jeff Kerkove", who wrote those rules out in 2004. The thing is, folks have sought to circumvent that basic tenet of Trans Iowa ever since.

My challenge is to provide a fair and even playing field for those who are willing to take up the challenge of Trans Iowa. To my mind, that has meant the changing, tweaking, and clamping down upon enforcement of rules and the allowances for "support". In the case of Trans Iowa, you must source your own pizza, ride devoid of fans, onlookers, and people you know cheering you on, and depend upon your decisions to either see you through to the end, or to make the right choice not to endanger yourself and others. In this you would be riding according to the spirit of the event.

This sort of honor amongst riders can not be totally enforced by one individual, (me), but it must be an unsaid agreement amongst all of the riders. It must be enforced by you and the others, holding each other accountable out there. There will be cheaters, and those who try to bend the rules to make things easier to accomplish, but they will have a hollow and meaningless reward if they choose that path. I can not, nor can my volunteers, be expected to have 100% success in seeing that the rules are followed due to the nature of the event, but we will DQ anyone we see that has been receiving outside support. We will ask tough questions if it comes down to that. Thankfully, I haven't had to do anything of the sort.....yet.

We have checkpoints and at those checkpoints we have sponsor's product which is free for the taking, but it isn't a guarantee. I don't send folks out to suffer unnecessarily either, so I do route past convenience stores, and in the case of last year, where there was a stretch of well over 100 miles without a chance for resupply, we allowed a checkpoint with food and water. That will not be necessary this year. But the point is, I try to provide each rider with fair chances to get what they need on the route I devise.

Okay, I kind of got on my soap box there, but this means a lot to me and others who have ridden Trans Iowa. It means a lot to those who have gone on to finish similar events like the Arrowhead, Tour Divide, and the Iditarod Invitational. I hope you understand.


So, to summarize-  You Are Responsible For You. No Outside Support Is Allowed At Trans Iowa. From the rules section on the Trans Iowa site:

" 4:Pre-arranged outside support is not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to assistance with navigation, delivery of supplies, lighting, or lodging."

 There you have it. Any questions? Ask away in the comments section. Thanks for reading!