Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #14

In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

Editor's Note: Images courtesy of Cale Wenthur.

I have no recollection of doing this!

 Trans Iowa v3, in terms of the event, was shaping up to become an epic, Mano-a-mano showdown between two, haggard road warriors. I was excited to see what would happen. I remember racing through the night on twisty, turny highways with Zach barely able to follow me to make sure we'd be at the finish line before either Ira or Marcin could climb that steep, two tiered hill to the cemetery.

As we pulled up, I saw Captain Bob, my finish line helper and not long afterward, there came Marty with his Haro Mary single speed 29"er. These guys and several others began hanging out in the pre-dawn twilight waiting to see who would crawl up the hill first. It was cold and dreary, but we didn't have to wait long until we saw Ira Ryan struggling to reach the crest of the hill. He put in a final finishing flurry, coasted to the side of the road where his support crew was, and collapsed onto the pavement.

Now in his defense, Ira was obviously exhausted, and mentally he likely may not have been 100%, but as I congratulated him on his win, he swore and cursed me and the course, while his crew scowled at me as they drug him away, wrapping him in a blanket. That was my last contact with Ira Ryan to this very day. He didn't come to the awards ceremony, and I had to ship his prizing to him in Portland, Oregon. He stands out as the singular example of a finisher in nine Trans Iowas that has reacted negatively. So, that is definitely a chief memory from the past years!

Well, with that bit of a shock, I was reeling. However; it was all soon forgotten as Team Polska arrived, (Marcin's brother, Majiec, and Doug Pietz), and they were armed with wooden spoons and metal pots. They screamed some Polish encouragements to Marcin, beating the pots and running alongside him, as he toiled up the final slope to finish just ten minutes down on Ira. Unlike Ira and his crew, Team Polska stuck around to the bitter end, encouraging every finisher that came up that hill loudly and with banging pots in hand!

One of Trans Iowa's enduring images came from V3

And we had finishers! It must be pointed out here that V3 was the first time I got to witness anyone finishing a Trans Iowa. V1's 9 finishers all finished without anyone from Trans Iowa being there, and of course, no one finished the second version. So, this was all new and fun for me. (Ira notwithstanding)

24 folks climbed that last hill, and it was a glorious, sun drenched morning with folks hanging out and having a fantastic time. I had a great time, but soon, I was getting a bit antsy to get on to the upper room above T Bock's to run the awards ceremonies. The event was scheduled to run until 2pm, and it was 1:40pm. I was packing up my stuff. Everyone was gone except Team Polska, who were sitting in their car waiting for me to pull away. I sat down in my Honda, I looked hard at the crest of the hill in front of me, hesitating. I was missing one person, unaccounted for. Could they still be out there? I hated to leave, but I wanted to get the awards done so folks, (and myself), could go home. Just as I hit the key and put the Honda in reverse, I saw a helmet bob above the horizon line. It was a rider!

I shut the car off, jumped out with clipboard in hand, and began encouraging the rider. Team Polska leapt into action as well, and Mike Denehy finished T.I.v3 with 15 minutes to spare!

You know.....that's the last thing I can remember about T.I.V3! I went and did the entire awards ceremony, packed up the Honda, probably said some goodbyes to folks, and left town. All of that time I have zero memory of. I'd been up for 34+ hours straight, and I suppose my mind was fried. Stressed out before the event for sure, and I know that had to be an issue afterward as well. 

Tomorrow: How Trans Iowa almost never happened again, and what made it continue.

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #14

In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

Editor's Note: Images courtesy of Cale Wenthur.

I have no recollection of doing this!

 Trans Iowa v3, in terms of the event, was shaping up to become an epic, Mano-a-mano showdown between two, haggard road warriors. I was excited to see what would happen. I remember racing through the night on twisty, turny highways with Zach barely able to follow me to make sure we'd be at the finish line before either Ira or Marcin could climb that steep, two tiered hill to the cemetery.

As we pulled up, I saw Captain Bob, my finish line helper and not long afterward, there came Marty with his Haro Mary single speed 29"er. These guys and several others began hanging out in the pre-dawn twilight waiting to see who would crawl up the hill first. It was cold and dreary, but we didn't have to wait long until we saw Ira Ryan struggling to reach the crest of the hill. He put in a final finishing flurry, coasted to the side of the road where his support crew was, and collapsed onto the pavement.

Now in his defense, Ira was obviously exhausted, and mentally he likely may not have been 100%, but as I congratulated him on his win, he swore and cursed me and the course, while his crew scowled at me as they drug him away, wrapping him in a blanket. That was my last contact with Ira Ryan to this very day. He didn't come to the awards ceremony, and I had to ship his prizing to him in Portland, Oregon. He stands out as the singular example of a finisher in nine Trans Iowas that has reacted negatively. So, that is definitely a chief memory from the past years!

Well, with that bit of a shock, I was reeling. However; it was all soon forgotten as Team Polska arrived, (Marcin's brother, Majiec, and Doug Pietz), and they were armed with wooden spoons and metal pots. They screamed some Polish encouragements to Marcin, beating the pots and running alongside him, as he toiled up the final slope to finish just ten minutes down on Ira. Unlike Ira and his crew, Team Polska stuck around to the bitter end, encouraging every finisher that came up that hill loudly and with banging pots in hand!

One of Trans Iowa's enduring images came from V3

And we had finishers! It must be pointed out here that V3 was the first time I got to witness anyone finishing a Trans Iowa. V1's 9 finishers all finished without anyone from Trans Iowa being there, and of course, no one finished the second version. So, this was all new and fun for me. (Ira notwithstanding)

24 folks climbed that last hill, and it was a glorious, sun drenched morning with folks hanging out and having a fantastic time. I had a great time, but soon, I was getting a bit antsy to get on to the upper room above T Bock's to run the awards ceremonies. The event was scheduled to run until 2pm, and it was 1:40pm. I was packing up my stuff. Everyone was gone except Team Polska, who were sitting in their car waiting for me to pull away. I sat down in my Honda, I looked hard at the crest of the hill in front of me, hesitating. I was missing one person, unaccounted for. Could they still be out there? I hated to leave, but I wanted to get the awards done so folks, (and myself), could go home. Just as I hit the key and put the Honda in reverse, I saw a helmet bob above the horizon line. It was a rider!

I shut the car off, jumped out with clipboard in hand, and began encouraging the rider. Team Polska leapt into action as well, and Mike Denehy finished T.I.v3 with 15 minutes to spare!

You know.....that's the last thing I can remember about T.I.V3! I went and did the entire awards ceremony, packed up the Honda, probably said some goodbyes to folks, and left town. All of that time I have zero memory of. I'd been up for 34+ hours straight, and I suppose my mind was fried. Stressed out before the event for sure, and I know that had to be an issue afterward as well. 

Tomorrow: How Trans Iowa almost never happened again, and what made it continue.

Friday News And Views

Trek Valencia+

The Electric Bicycle Conundrum: At this year's  Interbike show, there was a very large presence of and prominent placement for "electric" bikes. Many in the U.S. cannot figure out why these rigs have not taken off here as they did in Europe.

Then there is the "pedelec" versus "throttle control" electric bike debate that goes on within the electric bike industry here itself. The term "pedelec" is in reference to how these bicycles are "assisted" types, where the rider has to pedal to enjoy any benefit from the motor on board. The "throttle" controlled type needs no introduction as it works like any motorcycle or scooter.

In brief, the whole premise behind the electric bike is that it will presumably get those who would not otherwise be cyclists to become cyclists. This is itself a flawed philosophy merely from the standpoints of safety and cycling infrastructure.  Getting an electric bike will not begin to fix those issues, and non-cyclists either know this, do not care, or are the very ones trying to kill cycling commuters.

Secondly, as was recently pointed out in "Bicycle Retailer And Industry News" latest "Reader Feedback" column by a CEO of an electric bicycle company, Americans do not want "pedelec" type bikes, but the throttle type. I would go even further and say that what Americans really want are motorcycles with proper turn signals and lights that don't require any license or insurance and that can go on any bicycle path, where cars do not go, so they can circumvent the "system" like cyclists do, only under power.

It is important to understand this. Non-cyclists with the disposition to get out of their cars are not going to do that on normal bicycles. They probably see how cyclists "get away" with doing things that the motorized set can not do, and they want in on the action, but they want to bring their motors along with them. I'm pretty sure the guy with the Huffy equipped with a small gas motor and the fellow with the full on electric scooter dressed in full leathers and full face helmet I see on a regular basis on my city's bike paths would be a clue here.

Maybe I'm wrong though.......

Workin' on it.....

Trans Iowa Masters Program:

The Trans Iowa Masters Program seems to have struck a nerve with a lot of riders in the gravel riding scene. There seems to be something about a "border to border" crossing that gets folks stoked. Maybe it is something else, but whatever "it" is, I have heard from a lot of riders that are thinking very strongly about taking a stab at this one. Frankly, I am surprised and humbled by this.

So, with Trans Iowa v10 stuff calming down a bit here, I am starting back up with this project. I have a rough idea for the certificate for finishers that do the route, submit the GPS proof, and do the written report. I am going to set up a web page where the reports and images can be viewed, and of course, the cues will be drawn up soon.

Basically, the final outline for this event will be in place. Then all I will have left to do is to verify the course, and it will be ready to roll. As I have been working on this again, I have wondered about the course, actually. It will be fun to see just how the entire thing plays out when I do get a chance to check on it, likely early next year.

Sterling Tire Update:

My previous update is here. Now we've had some minimal snow stick around for a bit and here are my thoughts.

I figured the tires were a "win" over my previous Larrys, and I still think that, but I do not like a couple of things about these tires and it kind of bugs me the longer I get into ownership of these.

First of all, there is no way these tires are stretching anymore than they have and they are a far cry from being anywhere as big as advertised. If I had some Rolling Darryls to mount these on, they would likely gain a bit more girth, but here is the problem with that theory- It wouldn't make the tires work any better. This is because the Sterling has a very "flat" top and the side walls start turning down to the rim immediately after the outer row of knobs. Pooching out the side walls with a wider rim won't gain you anything, which is just the opposite with a Surly tire. The Sterlings will only have what they have for float, unless there is a new, wider casing with a wider set of rows of knobs on it.

The second thing that kind of bugs me is how these tires seem harsh, but I don't think lower pressure will help that without hurting steering and rolling resistance a lot more. I hope to find some sand somewhere around here to test out my theories on air pressure with these tires. More snow at some point wouldn't hurt either!

Again, these are better than Larrys that I was running, but if I had to do this again, knowing what I know? I'd get the Husker Du or Dillinger out back and a Lou up front.

That's it- Have a great weekend, and don't get mowed down by shoppers!

Friday News And Views

Trek Valencia+

The Electric Bicycle Conundrum: At this year's  Interbike show, there was a very large presence of and prominent placement for "electric" bikes. Many in the U.S. cannot figure out why these rigs have not taken off here as they did in Europe.

Then there is the "pedelec" versus "throttle control" electric bike debate that goes on within the electric bike industry here itself. The term "pedelec" is in reference to how these bicycles are "assisted" types, where the rider has to pedal to enjoy any benefit from the motor on board. The "throttle" controlled type needs no introduction as it works like any motorcycle or scooter.

In brief, the whole premise behind the electric bike is that it will presumably get those who would not otherwise be cyclists to become cyclists. This is itself a flawed philosophy merely from the standpoints of safety and cycling infrastructure.  Getting an electric bike will not begin to fix those issues, and non-cyclists either know this, do not care, or are the very ones trying to kill cycling commuters.

Secondly, as was recently pointed out in "Bicycle Retailer And Industry News" latest "Reader Feedback" column by a CEO of an electric bicycle company, Americans do not want "pedelec" type bikes, but the throttle type. I would go even further and say that what Americans really want are motorcycles with proper turn signals and lights that don't require any license or insurance and that can go on any bicycle path, where cars do not go, so they can circumvent the "system" like cyclists do, only under power.

It is important to understand this. Non-cyclists with the disposition to get out of their cars are not going to do that on normal bicycles. They probably see how cyclists "get away" with doing things that the motorized set can not do, and they want in on the action, but they want to bring their motors along with them. I'm pretty sure the guy with the Huffy equipped with a small gas motor and the fellow with the full on electric scooter dressed in full leathers and full face helmet I see on a regular basis on my city's bike paths would be a clue here.

Maybe I'm wrong though.......

Workin' on it.....

Trans Iowa Masters Program:

The Trans Iowa Masters Program seems to have struck a nerve with a lot of riders in the gravel riding scene. There seems to be something about a "border to border" crossing that gets folks stoked. Maybe it is something else, but whatever "it" is, I have heard from a lot of riders that are thinking very strongly about taking a stab at this one. Frankly, I am surprised and humbled by this.

So, with Trans Iowa v10 stuff calming down a bit here, I am starting back up with this project. I have a rough idea for the certificate for finishers that do the route, submit the GPS proof, and do the written report. I am going to set up a web page where the reports and images can be viewed, and of course, the cues will be drawn up soon.

Basically, the final outline for this event will be in place. Then all I will have left to do is to verify the course, and it will be ready to roll. As I have been working on this again, I have wondered about the course, actually. It will be fun to see just how the entire thing plays out when I do get a chance to check on it, likely early next year.

Sterling Tire Update:

My previous update is here. Now we've had some minimal snow stick around for a bit and here are my thoughts.

I figured the tires were a "win" over my previous Larrys, and I still think that, but I do not like a couple of things about these tires and it kind of bugs me the longer I get into ownership of these.

First of all, there is no way these tires are stretching anymore than they have and they are a far cry from being anywhere as big as advertised. If I had some Rolling Darryls to mount these on, they would likely gain a bit more girth, but here is the problem with that theory- It wouldn't make the tires work any better. This is because the Sterling has a very "flat" top and the side walls start turning down to the rim immediately after the outer row of knobs. Pooching out the side walls with a wider rim won't gain you anything, which is just the opposite with a Surly tire. The Sterlings will only have what they have for float, unless there is a new, wider casing with a wider set of rows of knobs on it.

The second thing that kind of bugs me is how these tires seem harsh, but I don't think lower pressure will help that without hurting steering and rolling resistance a lot more. I hope to find some sand somewhere around here to test out my theories on air pressure with these tires. More snow at some point wouldn't hurt either!

Again, these are better than Larrys that I was running, but if I had to do this again, knowing what I know? I'd get the Husker Du or Dillinger out back and a Lou up front.

That's it- Have a great weekend, and don't get mowed down by shoppers!

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #Special Edition

In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

Making a Trans Iowa Radio post during T.I.v6

 This particular "tale" will be all about the "Trans Iowa Radio", a "feature" I have been doing during Trans Iowa events since v2. A lot of folks have found the posts I made on different audio-blog services interesting, so I figured that maybe a segment of this "Tales" series should be dedicated especially to that.

The whole idea of doing an audio-blog during Trans Iowa was mine. I basically was looking at it as a way to have some fun during the event. A way to keep my mind engaged, and also a way to express my "goofy, creative" side, which many folks probably don't realize I have. So, anyway- During T.I.v2 I would call in a post, make up fake sponsors, fake ads, and maybe add in something about the actual event as an aside. These typically appeared as a link you could click on and listen to on this blog. It was all just a farce, as far as I was concerned, and I had a blast doing it, for as long as the event actually lasted!

Post T.I.v2 I found out that folks were actually listening, and what's more- they wanted more detail and seriousness than I provided and some went as far as to chide me for "not doing my job" correctly. Wow! They just didn't get it! Even though I didn't pre-plan the Trans Iowa Radio thing, or make a big deal out of promoting it, folks still thought I should not have been goofing around, but giving detailed reports on where each person  was. (Namely the ones they knew, but whatever..), They seemed to want to know where everybody was during every second of Trans Iowa. I counted it up as a misunderstanding, but I found the reaction rather bizarre.

Getting social. (Image by J Fry)

This was all happening pre-social media as well, so I guess you could say Trans Iowa Radio was a bit ahead of its time, and folks didn't quite know what to make of it yet. I was insisting that it was purely an "extra", a way for me to be "social", and share what I was seeing. I never, ever intended for the audio-blog part of Trans Iowa to be a "race tracker", or a blow-by-blow accounting of everybody's experience in the event. Nor would I ever want that. Trans Iowa, as far as I am concerned, is a personal journey/experience. Hey- if the racers want to write a tell-all after the fact, well, that's their business. While they are in the event, they are (mostly) out there on their own, and that is one of the main reasons for the event in the first place. I was just wanting to tell about what I was seeing and that was that.

It probably didn't help matters any when during Trans Iowa v3 I allowed the audio to be broadcast over "Ride424", a now defunct endurance racing site/calendar. But I did that, and the same hue and cry afterward was seen. Although I did get a lot of nice compliments, and found out that Team Polska's relatives in Poland were listening in!

Trans Iowa Radio continued for T.I.v4 and at that time it was hosted by an audio-blogging service available here on this blog and not on any other site. During this time, it was not uncommon for me to have a little kids toy that made some music or unusual noise which I would use as "bumper music" for my posts. A funny thing about what folks were expecting from Trans Iowa Radio can be told by example of an incident from v5.

It was pretty late Saturday evening when we found ourselves near the town of Marengo and David Pals' then residence. It was decided that things were running smoothly enough that we could catch a few "z's" at David's place, then wake up and finish the event. There was a phone call, (which I will relate to you all later in a Trans Iowa Tales post), and I figured, "okay....NOW I can get to sleep!" But the phone rang again, and it was a worried woman, asking if I knew where her man was, and that she hadn't heard anything about him on Trans Iowa Radio, so could I tell her anything? Well, I did, and that was cool, but again, I could see that the audio-blog thing was a bit misunderstood yet.

The pre-start of T.I.v7: Image by W. Kilburg

By the time Trans Iowa reached its Grinnell phase, the audio-blog was better explained by me and folks finally took it for what I had intended for it to be all along. Of course, social media, instant connectedness, and what not also allowed racers to be sending/receiving messages without any reliance on Trans Iowa Radio, so I suppose that helped with regard to the current understanding.

The pinnacle of the whole Trans Iowa Radio experience was when Jeff Frings used a bunch of the audio-blog soundtrack for his documentary, "300 Miles of Gravel". For the record, I had absolutely no idea at all that Mr. Frings would use that stuff ahead of the event, so it comes off as a true rendering of what the audio-blog portion of Trans Iowa has become over the past few years or so. 

Last year a new feature was added where riders could call in their own "Trans Iowa Radio" posts along with mine. This was graciously hosted by Mountain Bike Radio and was well done and well received by listeners. It is just one more step in the evolution of this crazy feature I dreamed up on my own back in 2005.

Next: Back to the regular posts on Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales.....

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #Special Edition

In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

Making a Trans Iowa Radio post during T.I.v6

 This particular "tale" will be all about the "Trans Iowa Radio", a "feature" I have been doing during Trans Iowa events since v2. A lot of folks have found the posts I made on different audio-blog services interesting, so I figured that maybe a segment of this "Tales" series should be dedicated especially to that.

The whole idea of doing an audio-blog during Trans Iowa was mine. I basically was looking at it as a way to have some fun during the event. A way to keep my mind engaged, and also a way to express my "goofy, creative" side, which many folks probably don't realize I have. So, anyway- During T.I.v2 I would call in a post, make up fake sponsors, fake ads, and maybe add in something about the actual event as an aside. These typically appeared as a link you could click on and listen to on this blog. It was all just a farce, as far as I was concerned, and I had a blast doing it, for as long as the event actually lasted!

Post T.I.v2 I found out that folks were actually listening, and what's more- they wanted more detail and seriousness than I provided and some went as far as to chide me for "not doing my job" correctly. Wow! They just didn't get it! Even though I didn't pre-plan the Trans Iowa Radio thing, or make a big deal out of promoting it, folks still thought I should not have been goofing around, but giving detailed reports on where each person  was. (Namely the ones they knew, but whatever..), They seemed to want to know where everybody was during every second of Trans Iowa. I counted it up as a misunderstanding, but I found the reaction rather bizarre.

Getting social. (Image by J Fry)

This was all happening pre-social media as well, so I guess you could say Trans Iowa Radio was a bit ahead of its time, and folks didn't quite know what to make of it yet. I was insisting that it was purely an "extra", a way for me to be "social", and share what I was seeing. I never, ever intended for the audio-blog part of Trans Iowa to be a "race tracker", or a blow-by-blow accounting of everybody's experience in the event. Nor would I ever want that. Trans Iowa, as far as I am concerned, is a personal journey/experience. Hey- if the racers want to write a tell-all after the fact, well, that's their business. While they are in the event, they are (mostly) out there on their own, and that is one of the main reasons for the event in the first place. I was just wanting to tell about what I was seeing and that was that.

It probably didn't help matters any when during Trans Iowa v3 I allowed the audio to be broadcast over "Ride424", a now defunct endurance racing site/calendar. But I did that, and the same hue and cry afterward was seen. Although I did get a lot of nice compliments, and found out that Team Polska's relatives in Poland were listening in!

Trans Iowa Radio continued for T.I.v4 and at that time it was hosted by an audio-blogging service available here on this blog and not on any other site. During this time, it was not uncommon for me to have a little kids toy that made some music or unusual noise which I would use as "bumper music" for my posts. A funny thing about what folks were expecting from Trans Iowa Radio can be told by example of an incident from v5.

It was pretty late Saturday evening when we found ourselves near the town of Marengo and David Pals' then residence. It was decided that things were running smoothly enough that we could catch a few "z's" at David's place, then wake up and finish the event. There was a phone call, (which I will relate to you all later in a Trans Iowa Tales post), and I figured, "okay....NOW I can get to sleep!" But the phone rang again, and it was a worried woman, asking if I knew where her man was, and that she hadn't heard anything about him on Trans Iowa Radio, so could I tell her anything? Well, I did, and that was cool, but again, I could see that the audio-blog thing was a bit misunderstood yet.

The pre-start of T.I.v7: Image by W. Kilburg

By the time Trans Iowa reached its Grinnell phase, the audio-blog was better explained by me and folks finally took it for what I had intended for it to be all along. Of course, social media, instant connectedness, and what not also allowed racers to be sending/receiving messages without any reliance on Trans Iowa Radio, so I suppose that helped with regard to the current understanding.

The pinnacle of the whole Trans Iowa Radio experience was when Jeff Frings used a bunch of the audio-blog soundtrack for his documentary, "300 Miles of Gravel". For the record, I had absolutely no idea at all that Mr. Frings would use that stuff ahead of the event, so it comes off as a true rendering of what the audio-blog portion of Trans Iowa has become over the past few years or so. 

Last year a new feature was added where riders could call in their own "Trans Iowa Radio" posts along with mine. This was graciously hosted by Mountain Bike Radio and was well done and well received by listeners. It is just one more step in the evolution of this crazy feature I dreamed up on my own back in 2005.

Next: Back to the regular posts on Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales.....

The Singular Gryphon Gets A New Look

Gryphon with Luxy Bars

The Singular Gryphon is my "other" Singular bike in the stable. I had originally set it up with Salsa Cycles Woodchippers, but I never really took to those bars. They were "okay" for me, but I like On One Midge Bars, Luxy Bars, and the Salsa Cycles Cowbell bars a whole lot better.

So I took a set of extra Luxy Bars I had and dedicated them to going on the Gryphon. It just took a while to get around to getting them on there. There also was some other work to be done before the bike got to the point it is at now.

For one thing, I was switching up wheels on it. I decided to get my dusty old Chris King wheels with Stan's Flow rims going again. There was a broken spoke nipple to address, and then new tape and mounting the Vee Rubber X-C-X tires tubeless. Then I got a different stem lined up, since the old Thomson stem was a 25.4mm one and I needed a 31.8mm stem. New tape and a switch of the Brooks saddles and here ya go!

I still need bar end plugs, to clean up the drive train some more, and to just clean up this bike overall. Then I should be good for some long, slow miles of gravel whenever the single speed fit takes me.

The Singular Gryphon Gets A New Look

Gryphon with Luxy Bars

The Singular Gryphon is my "other" Singular bike in the stable. I had originally set it up with Salsa Cycles Woodchippers, but I never really took to those bars. They were "okay" for me, but I like On One Midge Bars, Luxy Bars, and the Salsa Cycles Cowbell bars a whole lot better.

So I took a set of extra Luxy Bars I had and dedicated them to going on the Gryphon. It just took a while to get around to getting them on there. There also was some other work to be done before the bike got to the point it is at now.

For one thing, I was switching up wheels on it. I decided to get my dusty old Chris King wheels with Stan's Flow rims going again. There was a broken spoke nipple to address, and then new tape and mounting the Vee Rubber X-C-X tires tubeless. Then I got a different stem lined up, since the old Thomson stem was a 25.4mm one and I needed a 31.8mm stem. New tape and a switch of the Brooks saddles and here ya go!

I still need bar end plugs, to clean up the drive train some more, and to just clean up this bike overall. Then I should be good for some long, slow miles of gravel whenever the single speed fit takes me.

End Of The Year Scheduling

With the end of the year coming up, I figured I had better lay out how things are going to happen around here in the coming weeks. In years past I have done a bit of a year end retrospective. I may do a small bit of that at the end of December, but not quite to the extent that I have in years past.

However; I have been having a lot of fun telling you all about my past Trans Iowa memories in my "Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales" posts. I have been rolling out those every Saturday for a while now. However; this past weekend I started crunching some numbers and realized I might only get up through Trans Iowa v7 by the time Trans Iowa v10 hits. I had wanted to get through that series long before then, so I started doing two in a row posts just this past weekend.

Even with two every weekend, I doubt I'll quite get through all of those when I want to, so I have hatched a plan where on Holidays coming up, you will see the "Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales"  appear on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day also.

So, look for a Thanksgiving Day post from this series and then Saturday and Sunday posts from this series as well. Just figured that those who are looking for those stories should be aware of when they are going to get posted. Thanks for all the positive feedback I have gotten on those so far. It is much appreciated.

End Of The Year Scheduling

With the end of the year coming up, I figured I had better lay out how things are going to happen around here in the coming weeks. In years past I have done a bit of a year end retrospective. I may do a small bit of that at the end of December, but not quite to the extent that I have in years past.

However; I have been having a lot of fun telling you all about my past Trans Iowa memories in my "Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales" posts. I have been rolling out those every Saturday for a while now. However; this past weekend I started crunching some numbers and realized I might only get up through Trans Iowa v7 by the time Trans Iowa v10 hits. I had wanted to get through that series long before then, so I started doing two in a row posts just this past weekend.

Even with two every weekend, I doubt I'll quite get through all of those when I want to, so I have hatched a plan where on Holidays coming up, you will see the "Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales"  appear on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day also.

So, look for a Thanksgiving Day post from this series and then Saturday and Sunday posts from this series as well. Just figured that those who are looking for those stories should be aware of when they are going to get posted. Thanks for all the positive feedback I have gotten on those so far. It is much appreciated.

Project LTHT: A Frozen Buzzard Takes Flight

The Buzzard @ Ingawanis Woods

After a long delay waiting on parts, I finally got the Singular Buzzard all together. This is my Project LTHT, which I've written about here before, but it has been a while, so a quick recap:

I had ridden a Diamondback Mason HT a while back and really was impressed by how it handled the local trails, with an extra capability to go on trips and tackle bigger terrain. That bike had to go back, since it was a test bike for TNI.com. That planted the seed to get a longer term rig in as a replacement, and hopefully take it with me on trips to El Paso, or elsewhere.

I liked the Singular Buzzard since it is a steel bike, and I already own a Singular Gryphon. I like the way Singulars look, and so I pursued getting this size Large frame in. Then I was going to build it up with a parts bin selection, but I decided to look into a more modern build, and I had to wait for the SLX group to show up, then put the bike together. This is the highlight list:

• Size large Singular Buzzard frame
• Rock Shox Reba 140mm travel fork
• Velocity "Dually" wheels featuring Velocity's new hubs.
• Shimano 2X10 drive train and brakes from the SLX level.
• Shimano PD-M530 pedals with the "cage" deal. In white, no less. 
• Shimano Tharsus riser bar.
• KORE B52 stem in white
• Ergon grips
• Specialized dropper post
• Bontrager saddle
• On One Smorgasbord rear/Chunky Monkey front tires tubeless. 
• Cane Creek 40 series head set for tapered steer tube/44mm head tube. 

Enough snow to make things interesting

The snow we got recently stuck around this time, instead of melting right away, but it wasn't enough to make me think about riding something else like a fat bike quite yet. This bike with the Duallys is almost a "fat-lite" rig anyway. The On One tires are really spread out and "flatter profiled" than the same tires are on a set of Charger Pro wheels I have, and that means all the tread is hitting the ground all the time. That means great traction.

I set the tires at 20psi indoors, which likely yielded a lower pressure outside in the cold by a tiny bit, but whatever it actually was really worked nicely out there. I wasn't pushing things too hard at first anyway, what with this being a new bike to me and for the fact that I was not tempting fate due to the new build. But both things faded rather quickly as I rode along the frozen snow and dirt. The tires felt fantastic. Smooth and with loads of traction. I climbed the steeps with no problems at all.

Climbing meant a slight forward shift, but unlike many bikes, the back tire still is tucked up underneath you, since the chain stays are shorter on this bike than most. (425mm) The front end wasn't hard to keep pinned down either. It also didn't seem to have much, if any flop or a tendency to wander. The wider bar/stubby stem combo helps here.

The Sun! She sets early!

I had one weird noise going up a steep, like a dry torque sound, but then nothing else. Gotta love clutch equipped derailleurs! No chain slap at all. But there was one small issue. A tire buzz on the front fork's brace. Just a slight rub, and when it happened, the snow would be scraped from the tire and spewed into the air like a puff of pixie dust. It was kind of cool, actually.

The Duallys are to blame. They spread the On One tires out to 61.5mm in the back and 63.1mm up front. The edge knobs on the front tire are pretty close on one side of the brake arch, and there is where the rub happens. Happily, I can report that the Singular page on the Buzzard reports tire clearance for "up to a 60mm wide tyres", but that is rather conservative, as it turns out. If these tires stretch a bit, I am going to be in trouble with the front. We'll see.

So, what do I think? Well, it's really hard to say how I will end up liking this, but things are pointed in the right direction for sure. The bike felt great yesterday, and climbing was maybe better than the Diamondback with just as good a cornering feel and of course, going down anything was really almost too easy. It's amazing what a little longer fork and big, fat cushy tires will do for that. One thing the Diamondback had going on was a tendency to never feel quite right while seated. I never could quite get comfortable with the seated arrangement on that rig, but the Singular, which has the same handle bar height and saddle height from the ground as my On One Inbred, doesn't strike me as that it will be that way. That's good!

So, there is Project LTHT up and running. I'm not sure how many more rides I can get in on this rig with Winter coming on, but maybe a few before the snow gets too deep!

Project LTHT: A Frozen Buzzard Takes Flight

The Buzzard @ Ingawanis Woods

After a long delay waiting on parts, I finally got the Singular Buzzard all together. This is my Project LTHT, which I've written about here before, but it has been a while, so a quick recap:

I had ridden a Diamondback Mason HT a while back and really was impressed by how it handled the local trails, with an extra capability to go on trips and tackle bigger terrain. That bike had to go back, since it was a test bike for TNI.com. That planted the seed to get a longer term rig in as a replacement, and hopefully take it with me on trips to El Paso, or elsewhere.

I liked the Singular Buzzard since it is a steel bike, and I already own a Singular Gryphon. I like the way Singulars look, and so I pursued getting this size Large frame in. Then I was going to build it up with a parts bin selection, but I decided to look into a more modern build, and I had to wait for the SLX group to show up, then put the bike together. This is the highlight list:

• Size large Singular Buzzard frame
• Rock Shox Reba 140mm travel fork
• Velocity "Dually" wheels featuring Velocity's new hubs.
• Shimano 2X10 drive train and brakes from the SLX level.
• Shimano PD-M530 pedals with the "cage" deal. In white, no less. 
• Shimano Tharsus riser bar.
• KORE B52 stem in white
• Ergon grips
• Specialized dropper post
• Bontrager saddle
• On One Smorgasbord rear/Chunky Monkey front tires tubeless. 
• Cane Creek 40 series head set for tapered steer tube/44mm head tube. 

Enough snow to make things interesting

The snow we got recently stuck around this time, instead of melting right away, but it wasn't enough to make me think about riding something else like a fat bike quite yet. This bike with the Duallys is almost a "fat-lite" rig anyway. The On One tires are really spread out and "flatter profiled" than the same tires are on a set of Charger Pro wheels I have, and that means all the tread is hitting the ground all the time. That means great traction.

I set the tires at 20psi indoors, which likely yielded a lower pressure outside in the cold by a tiny bit, but whatever it actually was really worked nicely out there. I wasn't pushing things too hard at first anyway, what with this being a new bike to me and for the fact that I was not tempting fate due to the new build. But both things faded rather quickly as I rode along the frozen snow and dirt. The tires felt fantastic. Smooth and with loads of traction. I climbed the steeps with no problems at all.

Climbing meant a slight forward shift, but unlike many bikes, the back tire still is tucked up underneath you, since the chain stays are shorter on this bike than most. (425mm) The front end wasn't hard to keep pinned down either. It also didn't seem to have much, if any flop or a tendency to wander. The wider bar/stubby stem combo helps here.

The Sun! She sets early!

I had one weird noise going up a steep, like a dry torque sound, but then nothing else. Gotta love clutch equipped derailleurs! No chain slap at all. But there was one small issue. A tire buzz on the front fork's brace. Just a slight rub, and when it happened, the snow would be scraped from the tire and spewed into the air like a puff of pixie dust. It was kind of cool, actually.

The Duallys are to blame. They spread the On One tires out to 61.5mm in the back and 63.1mm up front. The edge knobs on the front tire are pretty close on one side of the brake arch, and there is where the rub happens. Happily, I can report that the Singular page on the Buzzard reports tire clearance for "up to a 60mm wide tyres", but that is rather conservative, as it turns out. If these tires stretch a bit, I am going to be in trouble with the front. We'll see.

So, what do I think? Well, it's really hard to say how I will end up liking this, but things are pointed in the right direction for sure. The bike felt great yesterday, and climbing was maybe better than the Diamondback with just as good a cornering feel and of course, going down anything was really almost too easy. It's amazing what a little longer fork and big, fat cushy tires will do for that. One thing the Diamondback had going on was a tendency to never feel quite right while seated. I never could quite get comfortable with the seated arrangement on that rig, but the Singular, which has the same handle bar height and saddle height from the ground as my On One Inbred, doesn't strike me as that it will be that way. That's good!

So, there is Project LTHT up and running. I'm not sure how many more rides I can get in on this rig with Winter coming on, but maybe a few before the snow gets too deep!

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #13

In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

Tim Ek at his 1st T.I.

 Editor's Note: Images courtesy of Cale Wenthur

Well, I'd already had enough drama for one weekend, but the event had not even started yet. I got up at 3am, left the motel, and checked out. From here on out I was up for the duration. (This wasn't a wise plan, as it turned out!)

Besides the getting up and starting at 4am, this Trans Iowa was unprecedented. In many ways it was one of the best ones I ever had the pleasure of being a part of. But I'll get into that later. This Trans Iowa was the first to start out of Decorah, and the first to be a loop. A new checkpoint staffed with a really good bunch of guys was going to be waiting for us 127 miles up the road. Of course, there was also Zach Dundas. He was waiting at the start line in a red Pontiac rental car. I think he slept in it all night long!

Much of the chief memories from T.I.V3 are actually recorded in Zach's excellent account in his chapter on the event in "The Renegade Sportsman". I'm not going to relate anything of those here. I will focus on the things Zach wasn't around for, either because he was resting, focusing on another part of the event, or sleeping.

There was the bit where I was trying to ascertain the speed of Ira Ryan and Brian Hannon as they sped along towards Checkpoint #1. I remember waiting for them not far from Fayette, Iowa, when a farmer approached me and asked if I had run out of gas. That actually happened on three different occasions during that weekend! It was always a half "wanting to help" mixed with a very suspicious, "what the heck are you doing out here?" feeling for the other half. I learned not to linger in one place for too long in the country in a beat up Honda Civic!

Checkpoint #2 in Brandon, Iowa

I recall getting to Checkpoint #2, being totally relieved that all was falling in place there, and having Redgie Blanco crack open a beer and hand it to me. That was a big deal then. Jeff wouldn't have ever went in for stopping for a beer. Not that this was a bad trait of his at the time, but a cold one at that point of the event, after everything else, made for one of the best beer moments in my life. It was awesome.

Then there was more waiting. I had been hopscotching down Southwards all morning, and standing along lonely, windswept gravel roads. No one to talk to. I was wondering where the heck Zach had gotten himself to, and then he reappeared. We stayed at the checkpoint until the leaders had zipped through, and then we were obliged to hopscotch around the Cedar River on a different route to the B Road sector South of Traer, Iowa where Zach and I spent the better part of Saturday afternoon.........waiting. 

It was all good, and I think during our hours of lounging around here was when Zach- he of such a different background and scene than I- really made a connection. Somehow something kind of clicked then, and it was something that made the rest of the event outstanding for me. 

How's the water, Skip?

Of course, there were things that I had going on out there that were learning experiences again. It was becoming obvious that the long route to a checkpoint was making the event two different events. The way the riders had to tackle the second half was very different than the "time trial" to the checkpoint on the front half. Then there was the "unknown" of the watery roads.

I didn't know anything about the flooding until after dark on Saturday evening. Ira Ryan was the leader, and had stopped in Janesville to resupply. He flatly told me about the situation with no emotion in his voice. I didn't know if he was pissed about it or what, but I was certainly concerned. More roads afterward were also found to be slightly flooded. All were fordable, but I realized I had to double check the roads ahead of the rider's progress next time, and have a reroute procedure in place.

Then there was the confusion in the middle of the night over a certain corner, which just so happens to have been on my 3GR ride all this past year! Anyway, I understood how riders saw things differently in the dark, and how perhaps marking certain potentially confusing corners might be a good idea. Of course, the mere fact that the cues were even close to being right was a minor miracle to my mind at the time, and even now looking back on it, I still feel that way.

My photo of Ira Ryan in Janesville, IA

That evening I was separated from Zach for awhile and the meeting with Ira and seeing a few others chasing was all done on my own. I flew solo for quite awhile into the night, wondering just what the heck happend to Zach again, and wishing he'd catch up, when the cell phone crackled to life and he called for directions.....twice! Apparently the grid of Iowa gravel roads was a maze too confusing for a Portlander to fathom after hours on the rural roads. He finally caught up with me after I had been sitting a long time in Hawkeye  Iowa, sipping several Red Bulls down waiting on him.

We had some more good conversation. We saw Ira roll through town, and then Marcin Nowak, the Polish native, chasing him. Zach was being overcome by the sleepies, so he bailed out into the back seat of his car for a bit. I stood vigil alone again on a cold April morning in the dark. After seeing a few more of the leaders pass through town, and after finding a suitable shrub behind the church we were standing in front of to relieve myself at, I decided that it was high time to head for Decorah and the finish line of Trans Iowa V3 where I had hoped a few more volunteers would be showing up to help out.

It was 4am in the morning and things were getting weirder and hazier by the minute......

Next week: The highs and lows from the end of Trans Iowa v3

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #13

In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

Tim Ek at his 1st T.I.

 Editor's Note: Images courtesy of Cale Wenthur

Well, I'd already had enough drama for one weekend, but the event had not even started yet. I got up at 3am, left the motel, and checked out. From here on out I was up for the duration. (This wasn't a wise plan, as it turned out!)

Besides the getting up and starting at 4am, this Trans Iowa was unprecedented. In many ways it was one of the best ones I ever had the pleasure of being a part of. But I'll get into that later. This Trans Iowa was the first to start out of Decorah, and the first to be a loop. A new checkpoint staffed with a really good bunch of guys was going to be waiting for us 127 miles up the road. Of course, there was also Zach Dundas. He was waiting at the start line in a red Pontiac rental car. I think he slept in it all night long!

Much of the chief memories from T.I.V3 are actually recorded in Zach's excellent account in his chapter on the event in "The Renegade Sportsman". I'm not going to relate anything of those here. I will focus on the things Zach wasn't around for, either because he was resting, focusing on another part of the event, or sleeping.

There was the bit where I was trying to ascertain the speed of Ira Ryan and Brian Hannon as they sped along towards Checkpoint #1. I remember waiting for them not far from Fayette, Iowa, when a farmer approached me and asked if I had run out of gas. That actually happened on three different occasions during that weekend! It was always a half "wanting to help" mixed with a very suspicious, "what the heck are you doing out here?" feeling for the other half. I learned not to linger in one place for too long in the country in a beat up Honda Civic!

Checkpoint #2 in Brandon, Iowa

I recall getting to Checkpoint #2, being totally relieved that all was falling in place there, and having Redgie Blanco crack open a beer and hand it to me. That was a big deal then. Jeff wouldn't have ever went in for stopping for a beer. Not that this was a bad trait of his at the time, but a cold one at that point of the event, after everything else, made for one of the best beer moments in my life. It was awesome.

Then there was more waiting. I had been hopscotching down Southwards all morning, and standing along lonely, windswept gravel roads. No one to talk to. I was wondering where the heck Zach had gotten himself to, and then he reappeared. We stayed at the checkpoint until the leaders had zipped through, and then we were obliged to hopscotch around the Cedar River on a different route to the B Road sector South of Traer, Iowa where Zach and I spent the better part of Saturday afternoon.........waiting. 

It was all good, and I think during our hours of lounging around here was when Zach- he of such a different background and scene than I- really made a connection. Somehow something kind of clicked then, and it was something that made the rest of the event outstanding for me. 

How's the water, Skip?

Of course, there were things that I had going on out there that were learning experiences again. It was becoming obvious that the long route to a checkpoint was making the event two different events. The way the riders had to tackle the second half was very different than the "time trial" to the checkpoint on the front half. Then there was the "unknown" of the watery roads.

I didn't know anything about the flooding until after dark on Saturday evening. Ira Ryan was the leader, and had stopped in Janesville to resupply. He flatly told me about the situation with no emotion in his voice. I didn't know if he was pissed about it or what, but I was certainly concerned. More roads afterward were also found to be slightly flooded. All were fordable, but I realized I had to double check the roads ahead of the rider's progress next time, and have a reroute procedure in place.

Then there was the confusion in the middle of the night over a certain corner, which just so happens to have been on my 3GR ride all this past year! Anyway, I understood how riders saw things differently in the dark, and how perhaps marking certain potentially confusing corners might be a good idea. Of course, the mere fact that the cues were even close to being right was a minor miracle to my mind at the time, and even now looking back on it, I still feel that way.

My photo of Ira Ryan in Janesville, IA

That evening I was separated from Zach for awhile and the meeting with Ira and seeing a few others chasing was all done on my own. I flew solo for quite awhile into the night, wondering just what the heck happend to Zach again, and wishing he'd catch up, when the cell phone crackled to life and he called for directions.....twice! Apparently the grid of Iowa gravel roads was a maze too confusing for a Portlander to fathom after hours on the rural roads. He finally caught up with me after I had been sitting a long time in Hawkeye  Iowa, sipping several Red Bulls down waiting on him.

We had some more good conversation. We saw Ira roll through town, and then Marcin Nowak, the Polish native, chasing him. Zach was being overcome by the sleepies, so he bailed out into the back seat of his car for a bit. I stood vigil alone again on a cold April morning in the dark. After seeing a few more of the leaders pass through town, and after finding a suitable shrub behind the church we were standing in front of to relieve myself at, I decided that it was high time to head for Decorah and the finish line of Trans Iowa V3 where I had hoped a few more volunteers would be showing up to help out.

It was 4am in the morning and things were getting weirder and hazier by the minute......

Next week: The highs and lows from the end of Trans Iowa v3

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #12

 In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

A complete set of T.I.V3 cards

 Editor's Note: Images in this post are courtesy of Cale Wenthur, a T.I.V3 finisher.

With the whole debacle concerning the cue sheets just put behind me, (see last Trans Iowa Tales post), I had taken Friday off to go up to Decorah to meet with Zach Dundas, an author living in Portland, Oregon who had met Ira Ryan in his shop and was turned on to including a bit about Trans Iowa in his new book he was writing concerning "renegade sports". I found him in T-Bock's Sports Bar after back driving some of the course coming into town. Fortunately, I found no mistakes on the cue sheets!

Zach was a anomaly in Iowa. A skinny, freckled, red headed man of approximately 5'8" in height and maybe going a "buck forty" if that. Not the prototypical Iowa farm man build! To say he "stuck out" would be an understatement. I sat with him and was immediately engrossed in his questions and tales from the road. We ate a meal and then he requested a drive through on part of the opening miles of Trans Iowa V3, which worked for me since I wanted to check that out as well. After some more conversation I found Zach to be a pleasant diversion from my stressed out preamble to the production of another Trans Iowa. It took my mind off my having to "fly solo" and I felt a bit more at ease. But eventually Zach had to take leave of me for awhile and I had to go set up for the meeting.

That's me @ the ramshackle T.I.V3 Pre-Race venue

That entailed my hauling everything upstairs to a long unused Odd Fellows hall where an old bar and some tables and chairs were randomly set up for me to make use of. I made all the trips up the stairs with the race bags, prizing, and whatnot. I arranged everything in order so I could find racer's packs in short order, then it was time to see about a bit of food before the racers arrived.

They eventually started drifting in. A keg of some brown beer was brought up and riders were quaffing the suds out of plastic cups. I started the meeting thinking the crowd looked a bit sparse, but maybe I was off on my impromptu head count. I figured the roster, which was right at about 100 riders or slightly above that after a bit of attrition over the previous months, would all show since the weather was predicted to be nice for the event.

As I started the call up, I quickly realized that a bunch of folks just decided not to show up without any forewarning. I was getting increasingly angry as the call up went on. By the end of it, I had over 30 no-shows, probably  around 35. With all the effort I had made to get those cues done right and pack everything up, haul it upstairs, and show up somewhat organized, well it left me with a really bad taste in my mouth for putting on the event at that moment. But I had to move on. A motel bed beckoned, and 3am was going to come very quickly.

A few kind souls stuck around to lend me a hand with the tear down. I had been given booze for prizing- a whole case plus a few bottles of Stranahan's Whiskey, an 18 pack of Busch Light from the Lincoln, Nebraska contingent along with a Bush Light beer banner, (which still hangs proudly in my basement shop to this day), and some Yazoo beer and socks from Tennessee racers that showed up. I had some other booze and beer as well. It all went into the back of my Civic, as I wasn't going to leave that behind for folks to pick over while I was gone! The T.I.V3 race event car was a rolling liquor store!

Tomorrow: The fun begins!

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #12

 In mid-November, the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched. The year was 2004. In the ten years since then there have been many stories and memories. These posts will tell of the most prominent ones to my mind. Maybe I'll even spill the beans on some things you never knew....

A complete set of T.I.V3 cards

 Editor's Note: Images in this post are courtesy of Cale Wenthur, a T.I.V3 finisher.

With the whole debacle concerning the cue sheets just put behind me, (see last Trans Iowa Tales post), I had taken Friday off to go up to Decorah to meet with Zach Dundas, an author living in Portland, Oregon who had met Ira Ryan in his shop and was turned on to including a bit about Trans Iowa in his new book he was writing concerning "renegade sports". I found him in T-Bock's Sports Bar after back driving some of the course coming into town. Fortunately, I found no mistakes on the cue sheets!

Zach was a anomaly in Iowa. A skinny, freckled, red headed man of approximately 5'8" in height and maybe going a "buck forty" if that. Not the prototypical Iowa farm man build! To say he "stuck out" would be an understatement. I sat with him and was immediately engrossed in his questions and tales from the road. We ate a meal and then he requested a drive through on part of the opening miles of Trans Iowa V3, which worked for me since I wanted to check that out as well. After some more conversation I found Zach to be a pleasant diversion from my stressed out preamble to the production of another Trans Iowa. It took my mind off my having to "fly solo" and I felt a bit more at ease. But eventually Zach had to take leave of me for awhile and I had to go set up for the meeting.

That's me @ the ramshackle T.I.V3 Pre-Race venue

That entailed my hauling everything upstairs to a long unused Odd Fellows hall where an old bar and some tables and chairs were randomly set up for me to make use of. I made all the trips up the stairs with the race bags, prizing, and whatnot. I arranged everything in order so I could find racer's packs in short order, then it was time to see about a bit of food before the racers arrived.

They eventually started drifting in. A keg of some brown beer was brought up and riders were quaffing the suds out of plastic cups. I started the meeting thinking the crowd looked a bit sparse, but maybe I was off on my impromptu head count. I figured the roster, which was right at about 100 riders or slightly above that after a bit of attrition over the previous months, would all show since the weather was predicted to be nice for the event.

As I started the call up, I quickly realized that a bunch of folks just decided not to show up without any forewarning. I was getting increasingly angry as the call up went on. By the end of it, I had over 30 no-shows, probably  around 35. With all the effort I had made to get those cues done right and pack everything up, haul it upstairs, and show up somewhat organized, well it left me with a really bad taste in my mouth for putting on the event at that moment. But I had to move on. A motel bed beckoned, and 3am was going to come very quickly.

A few kind souls stuck around to lend me a hand with the tear down. I had been given booze for prizing- a whole case plus a few bottles of Stranahan's Whiskey, an 18 pack of Busch Light from the Lincoln, Nebraska contingent along with a Bush Light beer banner, (which still hangs proudly in my basement shop to this day), and some Yazoo beer and socks from Tennessee racers that showed up. I had some other booze and beer as well. It all went into the back of my Civic, as I wasn't going to leave that behind for folks to pick over while I was gone! The T.I.V3 race event car was a rolling liquor store!

Tomorrow: The fun begins!

Friday News And Views

Cycling back roads getting "official" State designation?

The (Scenic) Road Less Traveled: 

The avid gravel road rider in the Mid-West will likely tell you one of the several reasons they like riding on gravel is because of the scenery. Well, it appears that at least one state in the Union just may make some of their gravel back roads official "scenic cycling routes". 

Oregon cyclists are gathering in meetings with State officials to possibly designate certain routes as "State Scenic Bikeways" to help boost tourism and bring people in to the state's rural towns. Roads are being looked at and advisory teams made up of some of the more prominent Oregonian cyclists are helping out. They are aiming to help bring gravel road riding to the masses. It is hoped that by promoting the routes as being scenic, little trafficked by cars, and having friendly rural towns along the way it will lure cycling tourists and their dollars to some of the towns and villages in rural Oregon.

Oregon is home to several gravel road rides and races which generally cover the State's little known Eastern interior. The rise of gravel road racing and the cycling industry's introduction of "gravel road" specific components and bicycles helped spur the idea.

It makes me wonder how this might look in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, or elsewhere. It is quite obvious to me that really great riding exists right here in the Mid-West on back roads that are unpaved. I will be watching this Oregonian idea closely to see how it might turn out. 

For more details on this Oregon gravel initiative see here.

Post cards still coming in...

Mail Bag:

Even though Trans Iowa v10's registration ended on Monday, the post cards have been trickling in all week.  I probably have enough post card enties to field another event!

Not that I am going to, one is enough. I suspect that the uptick in interest in Trans Iowa is maybe due to the word getting spread via the "300 Miles of Gravel" deal and because Trans Iowa appeared in a lot of print articles or was referenced in a bunch of gravel stories throughout 2013. It's getting harder and harder to say this event is an "under the radar" event, like it used to be!

At any rate, I will be moving on to doing up some cue sheet drafts for T.I.v10 and for the Trans Iowa Masters Program. That should keep me occupied for a while on these cold Winter nights upcoming! And I will also mention the Trans Iowa Clinic coming up December 7th. There are still spots available, so send in your RSVP if you are interested.

Oh yeah.....the eagle-eyed here will notice the design for the t-shirt for the Trans Iowa participants is shown in the image with the post cards. More on that soon......

And something I haven't seen before until just yesterday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP5nOBcdZXo&feature=player_embedded

A version of "300 Miles of Gravel" shown on "Iowa Outdoors", a PBS Iowa show. It's kind of weird seeing some T.V. "talking heads" doing a bit about your event. Like I said- it isn't so under the radar anymore!

Have a great weekend ya'all!