Friday News And Views

Check it out! A Motorcycle!

Just Because It Has Pedals....

I know, I know....I go over this again and again here on this blog, but it truly bears repeating: Electric-assist, "e-bikes", electric bikes, or by whatever name you call them, these are really primitive motorcycles.

Motor + Bicycle = Motor-cycle. 

Why is this so hard for people to grasp? I don't know. The whole marketing schtick behind these vehicles with electric motors is that somehow, some way, they are bicycles. I completely reject this idea as being wrong. Bicycles are a human powered machine. (Note: No mention of any "assistance" or motors.)  In fact, I would go as far to say that the electric motor equipped, two wheeled vehicles being foisted upon the public are really just poor excuses for motorcycles and a throwback to turn of the century motorcycles circa 1900. 

Hey Look! A Gas Assisted Bicycle!

 That's right. A bad motorcycle. Check out what the earliest Harley Davidson motorcycle was all about back in 1903. It was mostly based upon bicycle technology, but everyone understood it wasn't a bicycle. Why? Because bicycles are and always have been completely human powered vehicles.

So why on earth would anyone want a motorcycle with a top speed of 20mph that is heavy and cumbersome when we've advanced from that point for over 100 years? Here's why it is a "thing" at all in 2014......

The subversive/rebellious angle is certainly one reason. I've said it before here: Folks that are into this like the fact you don't have to license these, get a license to operate them, and that you can go where other motorized vehicles cannot go. They masquerade as "bicycles" when really, they are anything but a bicycle. I would say they are the antithesis of bicycles on many levels, but that's another post for another day.

The other angle is the "green transportation" thing. Look, even bicycles are not "green". Look at anything they are made from and how those components are made, and you'll have to agree, bicycles are not "green". What is "green" is how they are powered. Add an electric, (or heck, a gas motor), to it, and you've sullied even that part of the "green" equation. So, yeah......

The original Women's MTB skills clinic

Women's Skills Clinics:

Maybe if you give a rip about  history in the bicycle realm, you know that Jacquie Phelan used to do a women's mountain bike skills.......club? Organization? Seminars? Well, she did this "thing" that was supposed to help women out in a male dominated sport to become skilled in off road bicycling. And she did just that for many, it seems. She was the first, to my knowledge, and possibly ahead of her time. Well.....she was ahead of her time. Truly a pioneer there.

I point this out because I got a press release just yesterday about another mountain biking woman doing a set of seminars on skills for women off roaders. Her name is Leigh Donovan, and she pretty much kicked butt going fast on anything pointed downhill. Jacquie kicked butt too, by the way, but she did it more on the XC courses. Anywho.....

Leigh Donovan's venture is called "I Choose Bikes" and she aims to encourage and teach women cyclists in an off road setting. Here's a bit from her site:

 "With more and more bike parks opening around the world, the timing is perfect to start this business. Leigh (along with other extraordinary coaches) will teach women riders how to do it safely and give them the tools they will need to be more confident when riding the trails."

If you are in SoCal, her first big three day deal will be at Mammoth Mountain July 23-26, 2014. So there ya go. Leigh is following in the trail cut by Jacquie, and hopefully this is a successful deal going forward. 

The Never-ending Winter Continues

A Bad Word Or Two About The Weather:

You know, they say that "if you don't like the weather in Iowa, wait five minutes". I feel this needs to be amended to "if you don't like the weather in Iowa, wait five months!"

Okay, it hasn't been frigid for five months, really, but it has been frigid for a longer time than I can remember in recent years.  Maybe since I was a kid. It's been getting to the point now where folks are seriously being affected in a negative way around here.

I knew it was jacked up when I was reading about the Iditarod Trail Invitational and they were complaining of rain and temperatures in the 40's above zero! That's in interior Alaska folks. That's not right! It's been too warm in Alaska all Winter too.

Well, it is what it is, and I've got to get out and start doing stuff regardless. So do a lot of folks getting ready for events like Trans Iowa, the Almanzo events, and others coming up this Spring. Maybe I'll have to start running.....

Well, that's a warp for this week. I hope you all can get out and do something this weekend. Keep the rubber side down!

Friday News And Views

Check it out! A Motorcycle!

Just Because It Has Pedals....

I know, I know....I go over this again and again here on this blog, but it truly bears repeating: Electric-assist, "e-bikes", electric bikes, or by whatever name you call them, these are really primitive motorcycles.

Motor + Bicycle = Motor-cycle. 

Why is this so hard for people to grasp? I don't know. The whole marketing schtick behind these vehicles with electric motors is that somehow, some way, they are bicycles. I completely reject this idea as being wrong. Bicycles are a human powered machine. (Note: No mention of any "assistance" or motors.)  In fact, I would go as far to say that the electric motor equipped, two wheeled vehicles being foisted upon the public are really just poor excuses for motorcycles and a throwback to turn of the century motorcycles circa 1900. 

Hey Look! A Gas Assisted Bicycle!

 That's right. A bad motorcycle. Check out what the earliest Harley Davidson motorcycle was all about back in 1903. It was mostly based upon bicycle technology, but everyone understood it wasn't a bicycle. Why? Because bicycles are and always have been completely human powered vehicles.

So why on earth would anyone want a motorcycle with a top speed of 20mph that is heavy and cumbersome when we've advanced from that point for over 100 years? Here's why it is a "thing" at all in 2014......

The subversive/rebellious angle is certainly one reason. I've said it before here: Folks that are into this like the fact you don't have to license these, get a license to operate them, and that you can go where other motorized vehicles cannot go. They masquerade as "bicycles" when really, they are anything but a bicycle. I would say they are the antithesis of bicycles on many levels, but that's another post for another day.

The other angle is the "green transportation" thing. Look, even bicycles are not "green". Look at anything they are made from and how those components are made, and you'll have to agree, bicycles are not "green". What is "green" is how they are powered. Add an electric, (or heck, a gas motor), to it, and you've sullied even that part of the "green" equation. So, yeah......

The original Women's MTB skills clinic

Women's Skills Clinics:

Maybe if you give a rip about  history in the bicycle realm, you know that Jacquie Phelan used to do a women's mountain bike skills.......club? Organization? Seminars? Well, she did this "thing" that was supposed to help women out in a male dominated sport to become skilled in off road bicycling. And she did just that for many, it seems. She was the first, to my knowledge, and possibly ahead of her time. Well.....she was ahead of her time. Truly a pioneer there.

I point this out because I got a press release just yesterday about another mountain biking woman doing a set of seminars on skills for women off roaders. Her name is Leigh Donovan, and she pretty much kicked butt going fast on anything pointed downhill. Jacquie kicked butt too, by the way, but she did it more on the XC courses. Anywho.....

Leigh Donovan's venture is called "I Choose Bikes" and she aims to encourage and teach women cyclists in an off road setting. Here's a bit from her site:

 "With more and more bike parks opening around the world, the timing is perfect to start this business. Leigh (along with other extraordinary coaches) will teach women riders how to do it safely and give them the tools they will need to be more confident when riding the trails."

If you are in SoCal, her first big three day deal will be at Mammoth Mountain July 23-26, 2014. So there ya go. Leigh is following in the trail cut by Jacquie, and hopefully this is a successful deal going forward. 

The Never-ending Winter Continues

A Bad Word Or Two About The Weather:

You know, they say that "if you don't like the weather in Iowa, wait five minutes". I feel this needs to be amended to "if you don't like the weather in Iowa, wait five months!"

Okay, it hasn't been frigid for five months, really, but it has been frigid for a longer time than I can remember in recent years.  Maybe since I was a kid. It's been getting to the point now where folks are seriously being affected in a negative way around here.

I knew it was jacked up when I was reading about the Iditarod Trail Invitational and they were complaining of rain and temperatures in the 40's above zero! That's in interior Alaska folks. That's not right! It's been too warm in Alaska all Winter too.

Well, it is what it is, and I've got to get out and start doing stuff regardless. So do a lot of folks getting ready for events like Trans Iowa, the Almanzo events, and others coming up this Spring. Maybe I'll have to start running.....

Well, that's a warp for this week. I hope you all can get out and do something this weekend. Keep the rubber side down!

Trans Iowa V10: Doing The Details

I can write the ol' fashioned way pretty fast, but digitally?

I am a terrible typist. Really, really bad. You might be surprised to know that, considering the blogs and written work I do. It is kind of ironic.

I remember when I first started writing online for Twenty Nine Inches. The founder of the site, who had asked me to contribute some content, was wondering one day what was taking me so long to post a certain story he was anxious to have up on the site. Back then, it was all about speed, and exclusivity that getting stuff up before the endemic media gave the site. I told him I was still typing it out, and I had been doing so for over an hour. He was incredulous. How in the world could I be so slow?

Of course, I had a typing class in secondary school. We all had to take it. It lasted a semester and took students from nothing to fast, competent typists. Well.......except for me, that is. I never really ever caught on. I recall that we had competency tests every so often. You could only be scored until you made three mistakes. Generally I was incapable of getting past ten words before I made three mistakes! Sometimes it only took one word. I felt pretty bad about this, so I cheated.

I would take the mechanical arms and press them by hand for each letter ahead of the "go" signal to get as many words on the page as I could with no mistakes. Even doing this, I could only manage a personal best of 21 words a minute. Yep, I was a miserable typist back then, and I've not improved much since.

I resorted to the "hen pecking", two finger approach, and it has served me well over the years. Well, I don't make so many mistakes, but it is slow and tedious work. To give you an example, I sent about 140 e-mails yesterday to the Trans Iowa roster and volunteers, plus a few extras for other reasons. Even with a "cut and paste" approach to the letter's body for the Trans Iowa stuff, it took over four hours to wade through all those e-mails, and that's without a break.

I should have timed how long it took to type this post, but I'd only get depressed!

Trans Iowa V10: Doing The Details

I can write the ol' fashioned way pretty fast, but digitally?

I am a terrible typist. Really, really bad. You might be surprised to know that, considering the blogs and written work I do. It is kind of ironic.

I remember when I first started writing online for Twenty Nine Inches. The founder of the site, who had asked me to contribute some content, was wondering one day what was taking me so long to post a certain story he was anxious to have up on the site. Back then, it was all about speed, and exclusivity that getting stuff up before the endemic media gave the site. I told him I was still typing it out, and I had been doing so for over an hour. He was incredulous. How in the world could I be so slow?

Of course, I had a typing class in secondary school. We all had to take it. It lasted a semester and took students from nothing to fast, competent typists. Well.......except for me, that is. I never really ever caught on. I recall that we had competency tests every so often. You could only be scored until you made three mistakes. Generally I was incapable of getting past ten words before I made three mistakes! Sometimes it only took one word. I felt pretty bad about this, so I cheated.

I would take the mechanical arms and press them by hand for each letter ahead of the "go" signal to get as many words on the page as I could with no mistakes. Even doing this, I could only manage a personal best of 21 words a minute. Yep, I was a miserable typist back then, and I've not improved much since.

I resorted to the "hen pecking", two finger approach, and it has served me well over the years. Well, I don't make so many mistakes, but it is slow and tedious work. To give you an example, I sent about 140 e-mails yesterday to the Trans Iowa roster and volunteers, plus a few extras for other reasons. Even with a "cut and paste" approach to the letter's body for the Trans Iowa stuff, it took over four hours to wade through all those e-mails, and that's without a break.

I should have timed how long it took to type this post, but I'd only get depressed!

Randomonium: Fat Bike Thoughts

100mm of float foundation

Whelp.........I am wheeless. On the titanium Mukluk, that is. The Velocity Duallys had to return back home, and I had other ideas anyway. Big, floaty ideas.

Not that I didn't like the Duallys, because I did, but my priority wheel set has to be a big, fat, ridiculous one. Why? Well, I am tired of punching through and being in an unstable situation on the blasted, drier snows, like we had to ride at Triple D. So, I have this plan to set up some 100mm Clownshoes with some Vee rubber tires. But first, I needed to get some hubs.

Those hubs should show up today. Purple hubs. Salsa Cycles purple anodized hubs. They are convertible from quick release to through axle, so if these go to a different bike, it's no problem. You may say, but aren't those front hubs a front disc spacing?, and I would say, "Right you are". Still no problem, since I can get an adapter for my rear spaced front fork. Going forward, if I get another fork, it would most likely be front disc spaced, so I would be good there as well.

So anyway, the first piece of the puzzle arrives today and I will be slowly making my way toward getting a big, wide, expedition worthy wheel set up and running for the titanium Mukluk. Now if I were to be racing more, I would get a Dually wheel set. Those are sweet for that purpose.  The thing is, the Triple D, which is pretty much the only fat bike race around here I am interested in, isn't done on a groomed course. 100mm rims and big tires are overkill anywhere else races are held around here. The Triple D would be a suitable event for the big fatties, but otherwise I am not doing any super-groomed, fast, hard packed trail on my fat bike in a racing situation. Why? Because lap races on groomed courses is so 1990's. My opinion, and it isn't what I think of when I think of fat biking. Many of you might enjoy that sort of thing, and I think you should go do that then. It just is not for me, that's all.

To Carbon Infinity....and beyond!

Besides, I don't ride a fat bike to be out racing anyway. In fact, I like it for quite the opposite reasons. I do like lighter weight, high performance parts though. The thing is, I just don't see the value in going with carbon fiber rims for a bike I am not going to be racing on. The Clownshoes are fine for me. Yes......they are heavier, but they also cost a heck of a lot less money, and for the times I will want to be using them, cost is a consideration. Weight is way down the list of "needs" for this project. Besides, there are no 100mm wide carbon rims........yet. Sarma is coming out with them, but their 80's cost over a grand a pair already. Nope. Not gonna go there.

Now for tires I am going to probably slap a Snowshoe on the rear and a Snowshoe, or an upcoming Vee Rubber tire that isn't out yet, or a Bud on the front. We'll see there when the time is ripe. There may be an offering from Bontrager, or others, before Winter comes back around here and I need such monster tires. So, what will I do with the bike until then?

 Skinny set up

Why I will slap on the "skinny" wheels, that's what! I did this back in 2012 and I really enjoyed the Mukluk that way. It rode really well, albeit more like a "touring" set up. I don't mind that at all, and actually, for casual mountain biking, just to see the sights, it was fantastic.

This will make it so I have a good geared hard tail with a flat bar set up. I have the Fargo Gen 2 with the drop bar, but no other geared, flat bar hard tail. Ironically, back in 2012 I was trying out a bike packing set up, but now that I have the Bike Bag Dude's frame bag, seat bag, and Chaff Bags, I am set to go in that way. I already told my son that we're going camping this Summer, so we'll be taking his fat bike and mine will be there with the "Summer-set up".

So the Winter "big wheels" will be slow in getting put together. Winter is about shot here, (really......just you wait and see!), so no hurry to get them done just now. I figured I may as well get started on next year now though.

Randomonium: Fat Bike Thoughts

100mm of float foundation

Whelp.........I am wheeless. On the titanium Mukluk, that is. The Velocity Duallys had to return back home, and I had other ideas anyway. Big, floaty ideas.

Not that I didn't like the Duallys, because I did, but my priority wheel set has to be a big, fat, ridiculous one. Why? Well, I am tired of punching through and being in an unstable situation on the blasted, drier snows, like we had to ride at Triple D. So, I have this plan to set up some 100mm Clownshoes with some Vee rubber tires. But first, I needed to get some hubs.

Those hubs should show up today. Purple hubs. Salsa Cycles purple anodized hubs. They are convertible from quick release to through axle, so if these go to a different bike, it's no problem. You may say, but aren't those front hubs a front disc spacing?, and I would say, "Right you are". Still no problem, since I can get an adapter for my rear spaced front fork. Going forward, if I get another fork, it would most likely be front disc spaced, so I would be good there as well.

So anyway, the first piece of the puzzle arrives today and I will be slowly making my way toward getting a big, wide, expedition worthy wheel set up and running for the titanium Mukluk. Now if I were to be racing more, I would get a Dually wheel set. Those are sweet for that purpose.  The thing is, the Triple D, which is pretty much the only fat bike race around here I am interested in, isn't done on a groomed course. 100mm rims and big tires are overkill anywhere else races are held around here. The Triple D would be a suitable event for the big fatties, but otherwise I am not doing any super-groomed, fast, hard packed trail on my fat bike in a racing situation. Why? Because lap races on groomed courses is so 1990's. My opinion, and it isn't what I think of when I think of fat biking. Many of you might enjoy that sort of thing, and I think you should go do that then. It just is not for me, that's all.

To Carbon Infinity....and beyond!

Besides, I don't ride a fat bike to be out racing anyway. In fact, I like it for quite the opposite reasons. I do like lighter weight, high performance parts though. The thing is, I just don't see the value in going with carbon fiber rims for a bike I am not going to be racing on. The Clownshoes are fine for me. Yes......they are heavier, but they also cost a heck of a lot less money, and for the times I will want to be using them, cost is a consideration. Weight is way down the list of "needs" for this project. Besides, there are no 100mm wide carbon rims........yet. Sarma is coming out with them, but their 80's cost over a grand a pair already. Nope. Not gonna go there.

Now for tires I am going to probably slap a Snowshoe on the rear and a Snowshoe, or an upcoming Vee Rubber tire that isn't out yet, or a Bud on the front. We'll see there when the time is ripe. There may be an offering from Bontrager, or others, before Winter comes back around here and I need such monster tires. So, what will I do with the bike until then?

 Skinny set up

Why I will slap on the "skinny" wheels, that's what! I did this back in 2012 and I really enjoyed the Mukluk that way. It rode really well, albeit more like a "touring" set up. I don't mind that at all, and actually, for casual mountain biking, just to see the sights, it was fantastic.

This will make it so I have a good geared hard tail with a flat bar set up. I have the Fargo Gen 2 with the drop bar, but no other geared, flat bar hard tail. Ironically, back in 2012 I was trying out a bike packing set up, but now that I have the Bike Bag Dude's frame bag, seat bag, and Chaff Bags, I am set to go in that way. I already told my son that we're going camping this Summer, so we'll be taking his fat bike and mine will be there with the "Summer-set up".

So the Winter "big wheels" will be slow in getting put together. Winter is about shot here, (really......just you wait and see!), so no hurry to get them done just now. I figured I may as well get started on next year now though.

Frostbike 2014: The Show

So I got a good night's sleep, awoke at dark-thirty, and joined Ben Witt for the short trip to "Q" Headquarters for Frostbike. I hit the floor at 8:30 am sharp, did not stop, did not pass "Go", eat lunch, drink anything, or use the facilities until well after 5:00pm. Here is what eight and a half hours of yakking and taking images was all about, for the most part.....

The "Spray Tan" Karate Monkey

I stopped first at the Surly booth, because I knew they had that monster fat bike, the Ice Cream Truck, and I figured I'd get that out of the way first. I ran into Tyler Stilwell, the master of marketing disaster at Surly, and he showed me the ropes.

The coolest rig in the booth was the Karate Monkey refresh. No more funky track ends. No more antiquated 1 1/8th straight steerer. And check out that tinted clear over raw finish. Nice.

And while it is a cool upgrade to an old classic, one has to wonder if it is enough to do that only. There are so many great hard tails now that the Karate Monkey seems a bit lost these days in the white noise of everything else around it. Even Surly's own line up boasts more interesting bikes like the Krampus, ECR,  and Instigator. Throw the "everything but the kitchen sink" Ogre into that mix and one has to wonder why this bike, or the long in the tooth 1X1 still hang on in the Surly catalog. I could see this bike being a bit fresher with a geometry tweak, but Surly didn't see fit to do that here.

Finally, the Ice Cream Truck. Hmm.......this should have happened when they did the Moonlander. Other than this, I don't see this as ground breaking, besides the fact that it signals a break with past Surly traditions.

An Instigator with a fat front fork and 26 X 3" Knards. 

Moving on from there, it was all about tires. Tires, tires, and more tires. Of course, I checked into the Dillinger 5 fat bike tire. Yes, it is huge.......

From L-R: Dillinger 5, Dillinger 4, and Husker Du

The funny thing is that yesterday I really could have used a studded fat bike tire. We have sheets of glazed ice everywhere in town lately. Bah!

But here's the deal: $250.00 bucks a pop? (Dillinger 5) Ouch! I'll take my chances for $500.00, Alex. That's too rich for my blood. And you get a tire rated for......tubed usage. Lame.

You know, the Dillinger 5 will sell out, and probably will be a sought after tire, but I can shod my entire fat bike with Vee Rubber tires for the price of one Dillinger 5 studded tire and the Vee Rubber tires are tubeless compatible. Surly has nothing much better either.

I was hoping to see the Q brands up their game in the fat bike tire market, but I was slightly disappointed. It should be interesting to see how Bontrager fat bike tires and anything else Specialized comes up with compares to Surly/45NRTH. This could get interesting this Fall.......

Tubular gravel road tires?

Then I moved on and talked about gravel road tires with a few folks. I found out that not one, but two companies are seriously working on tubulars for gravel road use. Big tubulars.

Now, I get why the tubular seems to be a great solution for mountain biking and gravel road riding. Basically eliminate pinch flats, supple, smooth, comfortable ride, high degree of traction with low rolling resistance, can be ridden flat, etc. However; I noted two things about this idea that still need work. Rims and tire failure in the field. Oddly enough, the solution for both issues may lie in a single specialized product. Special rim tape that is pressure sensitive.

That said, and I know this may make me sound like a "Negative Nancy", but I don't really see how tubulars become a better solution than tubeless tires. Especially if tubeless tires for gravel road riding are a system of rim and tire that are designed to work together. (Stan's Iron Cross/Crest suggestions need not apply here) I'm not talking conversion of a standard tire to tubeless. That's cutting corners. I'm talking a dedicated, real tubeless solution for gravel road riders. Doesn't exist, you say? Well.......

WTB announced the Nano 40 tire just ahead of Frostbike. The Nanoraptor is an awesome tire for 29"ers and is fast, light, and comfortable. (When made in the right factory, but that's another story.....) The Nano 40 will come out late Spring, most likely, but I found out a TCS, (WTB's tubeless ready, UST based system) version will be coming later. WTB already has a disc and rim brake 700c TCS compatible rim brake models available today. There's the beginnings of your gravel road based, tubeless ready, proven system. Oh, and......Hey Surly/45NRTH! Take notes here........ Fat bikers deserve to get the same for the high dollars you ask for your products, don't cha think? I sure do.

Anyway......

Moving on, I saw some promising ideas for gravel road clinchers and tubeless ready tires and rims were talked about as well. So the other companies will be doing some cool things coming in the near future.

This is Anna Schwinn's Light, Strong, and......Pretty drop out.

I love Anna Schwinn. Really. She's a very interesting person to chat with, and she's designed a drop out that solves an issue I have cussed about several times. The track ends with disc brake deal. Drives me nuts. I hates it, I do. We hates it forever! 

But here comes Anna's cool All City drop out to the rescue with an ingenious design that moves the IS brake adapter along with the rear axle when you turn the adjuster screw.  Beautiful, strong, and light, (so says Anna, and I chose to believe her), this makes living with an All City Nature Boy disc model that much easier. Other companies take notes, please! 

Tim Allen's new bike. He's a National Champeen, ya know.

 Foundry Bikes. Oh the brand with the ironic name! All plasticky bikes with a name that screams "metal". (Not as in "Motorhead", but as in the ferrous, 4130 meaning.) I never quite figured out where the heck they were going with that schtick, but anyway....you could never tell a Foundry from a Chinese direct frame. The "low key branding" thing just didn't work with the all blackness thing going on in carbon fiber. Well, now these rigs are painted.

At least you can easily pick out the ironic name of the bike now! They should change the name of this brand to "Chemical Stew", or "Autoclave". At least it would fit better. Besides that, the bikes are straight up cyclo cross screamers. Don't think about putting anything bigger than a legal sized CX tire in the back, because you won't have any mud clearances. It's tight back there!

A word about Mr. Allen. He won the CX single speed national championship, I guess. You'd never know it by talking with him. A great, down to Earth, humble fellow. He was truly stoked to be getting the bike pictured here and to fly the Foundry flag. It was genuine. The thing about meeting him was that I didn't realize "who he was" until afterward when someone pointed it out to me, so I had no preconceived notions there.

SRAM's 1X road/CX set up appeared at Frostbike

Another good moment or two was had when I was able to present Jeff Kerkove with an "official Trans Iowa v10" shirt. I thought it appropriate that he get the very first one out in the "wild" to wear or use as an oil rag, if he so chooses!

I don't think that he will, of course, and he seemed truly stoked to get it. I think he was genuinely struck  by the fact that this upcoming T.I. is number ten. I know we were pretty amazed that folks wanted to do Trans Iowa a second time after we put on the first one, much less having it last ten editions.

So there were several other conversations with several other folks I don't get to see all too often. Some Trans Iowa veterans and finishers, some others that have been reading this blog or one of my other sites, (thanks, by the way), and then I looked at my watch. Dang it! I missed lunch again this year! Oh well........Onwards through the fog!

A special Trans Iowa tribute in the Salsa booth: Images by Scott Haraldson

I ran across Jason Boucher. He and I got to know each other back when he was the Salsa Cycles brand manager. Now he's moved on up the "Q" ladder. We stood and chatted for a good long while. I really enjoyed that. Then he asked if I'd seen the Trans Iowa tribute in the Salsa booth. I hadn't.

So I walked over to check it out finally after the show was clearing out for the day. I have to say that I thought it was really impressive, well done,  and definitely humbling. You know, I never planned on having all this attention on Trans Iowa, and even now I am still kind of shocked when I see people making a special effort to express something in print, on film, or in the digital realm that concerns the event. I know........it means something to a lot of folks, I get that part. Heck, it hasn't gone unnoticed in my life that it means some things as well to me personally. However; to see it at a trade show expo........ I never woulda thunk it.

Then there were beers, some vittles, some Korean food at Hoban, then nighty-night. The next day I made a brief appearance back at the show, then I had to skee-daddle back to the home base. It was a good Frostbike, but a different one. No Mike's Bikes, less shenanigans, bad weather, epic travel, and lots of great friends and acquaintances.

I'll have a bit more to say about Frostbike elsewhere, but for here that's a wrap. Thanks to the Witt Family, QBP, all the friends and acquaintances, and everyone that made Frostbike possible.

Frostbike 2014: The Show

So I got a good night's sleep, awoke at dark-thirty, and joined Ben Witt for the short trip to "Q" Headquarters for Frostbike. I hit the floor at 8:30 am sharp, did not stop, did not pass "Go", eat lunch, drink anything, or use the facilities until well after 5:00pm. Here is what eight and a half hours of yakking and taking images was all about, for the most part.....

The "Spray Tan" Karate Monkey

I stopped first at the Surly booth, because I knew they had that monster fat bike, the Ice Cream Truck, and I figured I'd get that out of the way first. I ran into Tyler Stilwell, the master of marketing disaster at Surly, and he showed me the ropes.

The coolest rig in the booth was the Karate Monkey refresh. No more funky track ends. No more antiquated 1 1/8th straight steerer. And check out that tinted clear over raw finish. Nice.

And while it is a cool upgrade to an old classic, one has to wonder if it is enough to do that only. There are so many great hard tails now that the Karate Monkey seems a bit lost these days in the white noise of everything else around it. Even Surly's own line up boasts more interesting bikes like the Krampus, ECR,  and Instigator. Throw the "everything but the kitchen sink" Ogre into that mix and one has to wonder why this bike, or the long in the tooth 1X1 still hang on in the Surly catalog. I could see this bike being a bit fresher with a geometry tweak, but Surly didn't see fit to do that here.

Finally, the Ice Cream Truck. Hmm.......this should have happened when they did the Moonlander. Other than this, I don't see this as ground breaking, besides the fact that it signals a break with past Surly traditions.

An Instigator with a fat front fork and 26 X 3" Knards. 

Moving on from there, it was all about tires. Tires, tires, and more tires. Of course, I checked into the Dillinger 5 fat bike tire. Yes, it is huge.......

From L-R: Dillinger 5, Dillinger 4, and Husker Du

The funny thing is that yesterday I really could have used a studded fat bike tire. We have sheets of glazed ice everywhere in town lately. Bah!

But here's the deal: $250.00 bucks a pop? (Dillinger 5) Ouch! I'll take my chances for $500.00, Alex. That's too rich for my blood. And you get a tire rated for......tubed usage. Lame.

You know, the Dillinger 5 will sell out, and probably will be a sought after tire, but I can shod my entire fat bike with Vee Rubber tires for the price of one Dillinger 5 studded tire and the Vee Rubber tires are tubeless compatible. Surly has nothing much better either.

I was hoping to see the Q brands up their game in the fat bike tire market, but I was slightly disappointed. It should be interesting to see how Bontrager fat bike tires and anything else Specialized comes up with compares to Surly/45NRTH. This could get interesting this Fall.......

Tubular gravel road tires?

Then I moved on and talked about gravel road tires with a few folks. I found out that not one, but two companies are seriously working on tubulars for gravel road use. Big tubulars.

Now, I get why the tubular seems to be a great solution for mountain biking and gravel road riding. Basically eliminate pinch flats, supple, smooth, comfortable ride, high degree of traction with low rolling resistance, can be ridden flat, etc. However; I noted two things about this idea that still need work. Rims and tire failure in the field. Oddly enough, the solution for both issues may lie in a single specialized product. Special rim tape that is pressure sensitive.

That said, and I know this may make me sound like a "Negative Nancy", but I don't really see how tubulars become a better solution than tubeless tires. Especially if tubeless tires for gravel road riding are a system of rim and tire that are designed to work together. (Stan's Iron Cross/Crest suggestions need not apply here) I'm not talking conversion of a standard tire to tubeless. That's cutting corners. I'm talking a dedicated, real tubeless solution for gravel road riders. Doesn't exist, you say? Well.......

WTB announced the Nano 40 tire just ahead of Frostbike. The Nanoraptor is an awesome tire for 29"ers and is fast, light, and comfortable. (When made in the right factory, but that's another story.....) The Nano 40 will come out late Spring, most likely, but I found out a TCS, (WTB's tubeless ready, UST based system) version will be coming later. WTB already has a disc and rim brake 700c TCS compatible rim brake models available today. There's the beginnings of your gravel road based, tubeless ready, proven system. Oh, and......Hey Surly/45NRTH! Take notes here........ Fat bikers deserve to get the same for the high dollars you ask for your products, don't cha think? I sure do.

Anyway......

Moving on, I saw some promising ideas for gravel road clinchers and tubeless ready tires and rims were talked about as well. So the other companies will be doing some cool things coming in the near future.

This is Anna Schwinn's Light, Strong, and......Pretty drop out.

I love Anna Schwinn. Really. She's a very interesting person to chat with, and she's designed a drop out that solves an issue I have cussed about several times. The track ends with disc brake deal. Drives me nuts. I hates it, I do. We hates it forever! 

But here comes Anna's cool All City drop out to the rescue with an ingenious design that moves the IS brake adapter along with the rear axle when you turn the adjuster screw.  Beautiful, strong, and light, (so says Anna, and I chose to believe her), this makes living with an All City Nature Boy disc model that much easier. Other companies take notes, please! 

Tim Allen's new bike. He's a National Champeen, ya know.

 Foundry Bikes. Oh the brand with the ironic name! All plasticky bikes with a name that screams "metal". (Not as in "Motorhead", but as in the ferrous, 4130 meaning.) I never quite figured out where the heck they were going with that schtick, but anyway....you could never tell a Foundry from a Chinese direct frame. The "low key branding" thing just didn't work with the all blackness thing going on in carbon fiber. Well, now these rigs are painted.

At least you can easily pick out the ironic name of the bike now! They should change the name of this brand to "Chemical Stew", or "Autoclave". At least it would fit better. Besides that, the bikes are straight up cyclo cross screamers. Don't think about putting anything bigger than a legal sized CX tire in the back, because you won't have any mud clearances. It's tight back there!

A word about Mr. Allen. He won the CX single speed national championship, I guess. You'd never know it by talking with him. A great, down to Earth, humble fellow. He was truly stoked to be getting the bike pictured here and to fly the Foundry flag. It was genuine. The thing about meeting him was that I didn't realize "who he was" until afterward when someone pointed it out to me, so I had no preconceived notions there.

SRAM's 1X road/CX set up appeared at Frostbike

Another good moment or two was had when I was able to present Jeff Kerkove with an "official Trans Iowa v10" shirt. I thought it appropriate that he get the very first one out in the "wild" to wear or use as an oil rag, if he so chooses!

I don't think that he will, of course, and he seemed truly stoked to get it. I think he was genuinely struck  by the fact that this upcoming T.I. is number ten. I know we were pretty amazed that folks wanted to do Trans Iowa a second time after we put on the first one, much less having it last ten editions.

So there were several other conversations with several other folks I don't get to see all too often. Some Trans Iowa veterans and finishers, some others that have been reading this blog or one of my other sites, (thanks, by the way), and then I looked at my watch. Dang it! I missed lunch again this year! Oh well........Onwards through the fog!

A special Trans Iowa tribute in the Salsa booth: Images by Scott Haraldson

I ran across Jason Boucher. He and I got to know each other back when he was the Salsa Cycles brand manager. Now he's moved on up the "Q" ladder. We stood and chatted for a good long while. I really enjoyed that. Then he asked if I'd seen the Trans Iowa tribute in the Salsa booth. I hadn't.

So I walked over to check it out finally after the show was clearing out for the day. I have to say that I thought it was really impressive, well done,  and definitely humbling. You know, I never planned on having all this attention on Trans Iowa, and even now I am still kind of shocked when I see people making a special effort to express something in print, on film, or in the digital realm that concerns the event. I know........it means something to a lot of folks, I get that part. Heck, it hasn't gone unnoticed in my life that it means some things as well to me personally. However; to see it at a trade show expo........ I never woulda thunk it.

Then there were beers, some vittles, some Korean food at Hoban, then nighty-night. The next day I made a brief appearance back at the show, then I had to skee-daddle back to the home base. It was a good Frostbike, but a different one. No Mike's Bikes, less shenanigans, bad weather, epic travel, and lots of great friends and acquaintances.

I'll have a bit more to say about Frostbike elsewhere, but for here that's a wrap. Thanks to the Witt Family, QBP, all the friends and acquaintances, and everyone that made Frostbike possible.

Frostbike 2014: The Trip

A Windy, Snowy Landscape

As I watched the storm develop on Thursday, I could see that heavy rain had pushed up ahead of the cold side of the system and later it turned into snow. Here in town, I listened as all night long the wind rattled the rafters and it sounded really wicked out there. We were to leave Friday about noon to drive up to Frostbike, where I hoped to catch a party at a motel that afternoon for the QPB brands and dealers showing up for Frostbike.

Here in town we received very little snow, but a sheet of ice had formed over the side streets. We packed up the vehicle and headed out of town, and at first, it wasn't bad at all. I was in contact with Ben Witt, my friend from Northfield Minnesota, and he told me that the interstate highway was closed in Minnesota due to snow. I guess that they received far more snow up that way, and that blizzard conditions had prevailed overnight. I decided to cut off that section of Interstate 35 by going up Highway 218 instead, which, if I was right, would bypass the closed section of interstate entirely. As we went further North, things got progressively more icy and snowy.

 Heading up Highway 218, it was getting downright treacherous. The highway was completely covered in snow, and speeds were about 40mph at the top to keep us safe. There were very few cars on the roads! We reached the town of Osage without incident. I was noticing how it appeared that the folks there were just getting around to digging out. Hmmm......not a good sign!

Just North of Osage on HWY 218

 The winds were stiff from the Northwest at 20-25mph with higher gusts. Up north of Osage, the drifts were immense. We met a road grader with a massive "V" shaped plow that was ramming through 10-15ft high drifts to allow for the passage of cars and trucks. At one point, it was a one lane passage through, and the snow was so deep that I feared we would get bogged down and stuck, but the Highlander pulled through it.

Not long after, we hit the remains of what the maintainer left behind after punching through another huge drift, and the car started getting sucked to the right toward the big drift, which at this point was taller than our SUV! I cranked the wheel hard left, let off the gas, and the vehicle traveled more or less straight through, saving us from getting stuck. One more of those and I would have turned back, but that was the worst of it, as far as drifts went.

Onward to the North, we were going 20mph at times due to the wind, blowing snow, and ice-snow covered roadway. Finally we reached Austin Minnesota, and crossed Interstate 90, but immediately we saw a "Road Closed" sign, and a long line of semi-tractor trailer rigs lined up waiting to get through. Check!

A couple of interesting things here. (Click to enlarge)

I told Mrs. Guitar Ted we would try going West on I-90 at that point, so we doubled back and went down the on-ramp. There was no signs that this was a closed road, but in fact, we found out later that it was. I should have guessed, since it was largely a deserted stretch of road, which is highly unusual for any interstate highway in the Mid-West.

The roadway was badly rutted ice, probably made that way by traffic running through slushy snow before all hell broke lose with the wind. Cars and trucks littered the ditches on either side. We saw a sedan on its roof! Caution was the order of the day so far, and now I redoubled my efforts to not take any chances at all. (Well, other than to be out driving at all, which was a huge risk in and of itself at that point!)

We reached I-35, and although I suspected it was closed, as Ben had warned, there were no barriers, no officials to stop me, so I took the right hand on-ramp to I-35 and continued Northward. It was super sketchy until we got much closer to Northfield. Normally, it takes me about 3 hours or slightly less to get from my home to Northfield, but on this blustery day, it took over 5 hours. We checked into the motel we were to stay at for the weekend, and I was so tired and stressed out from the drive that I crashed on the bed for several hours only to be awakened later by Mrs. Guitar Ted to go have Mexican out with the Witts. Afterward, a few beers with Ben and Marty at The Cow, a bar in Northfield. We couldn't do the usual Mike's Bikes gig, since our chaperone was out of town. But that was okay, because I wasn't too up for anything but a couple IPA's and more sleep anyway!

Next: The show goes on.....

Frostbike 2014: The Trip

A Windy, Snowy Landscape

As I watched the storm develop on Thursday, I could see that heavy rain had pushed up ahead of the cold side of the system and later it turned into snow. Here in town, I listened as all night long the wind rattled the rafters and it sounded really wicked out there. We were to leave Friday about noon to drive up to Frostbike, where I hoped to catch a party at a motel that afternoon for the QPB brands and dealers showing up for Frostbike.

Here in town we received very little snow, but a sheet of ice had formed over the side streets. We packed up the vehicle and headed out of town, and at first, it wasn't bad at all. I was in contact with Ben Witt, my friend from Northfield Minnesota, and he told me that the interstate highway was closed in Minnesota due to snow. I guess that they received far more snow up that way, and that blizzard conditions had prevailed overnight. I decided to cut off that section of Interstate 35 by going up Highway 218 instead, which, if I was right, would bypass the closed section of interstate entirely. As we went further North, things got progressively more icy and snowy.

 Heading up Highway 218, it was getting downright treacherous. The highway was completely covered in snow, and speeds were about 40mph at the top to keep us safe. There were very few cars on the roads! We reached the town of Osage without incident. I was noticing how it appeared that the folks there were just getting around to digging out. Hmmm......not a good sign!

Just North of Osage on HWY 218

 The winds were stiff from the Northwest at 20-25mph with higher gusts. Up north of Osage, the drifts were immense. We met a road grader with a massive "V" shaped plow that was ramming through 10-15ft high drifts to allow for the passage of cars and trucks. At one point, it was a one lane passage through, and the snow was so deep that I feared we would get bogged down and stuck, but the Highlander pulled through it.

Not long after, we hit the remains of what the maintainer left behind after punching through another huge drift, and the car started getting sucked to the right toward the big drift, which at this point was taller than our SUV! I cranked the wheel hard left, let off the gas, and the vehicle traveled more or less straight through, saving us from getting stuck. One more of those and I would have turned back, but that was the worst of it, as far as drifts went.

Onward to the North, we were going 20mph at times due to the wind, blowing snow, and ice-snow covered roadway. Finally we reached Austin Minnesota, and crossed Interstate 90, but immediately we saw a "Road Closed" sign, and a long line of semi-tractor trailer rigs lined up waiting to get through. Check!

A couple of interesting things here. (Click to enlarge)

I told Mrs. Guitar Ted we would try going West on I-90 at that point, so we doubled back and went down the on-ramp. There was no signs that this was a closed road, but in fact, we found out later that it was. I should have guessed, since it was largely a deserted stretch of road, which is highly unusual for any interstate highway in the Mid-West.

The roadway was badly rutted ice, probably made that way by traffic running through slushy snow before all hell broke lose with the wind. Cars and trucks littered the ditches on either side. We saw a sedan on its roof! Caution was the order of the day so far, and now I redoubled my efforts to not take any chances at all. (Well, other than to be out driving at all, which was a huge risk in and of itself at that point!)

We reached I-35, and although I suspected it was closed, as Ben had warned, there were no barriers, no officials to stop me, so I took the right hand on-ramp to I-35 and continued Northward. It was super sketchy until we got much closer to Northfield. Normally, it takes me about 3 hours or slightly less to get from my home to Northfield, but on this blustery day, it took over 5 hours. We checked into the motel we were to stay at for the weekend, and I was so tired and stressed out from the drive that I crashed on the bed for several hours only to be awakened later by Mrs. Guitar Ted to go have Mexican out with the Witts. Afterward, a few beers with Ben and Marty at The Cow, a bar in Northfield. We couldn't do the usual Mike's Bikes gig, since our chaperone was out of town. But that was okay, because I wasn't too up for anything but a couple IPA's and more sleep anyway!

Next: The show goes on.....

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #46

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....

This will be the final installment of this series. Thanks for all the kind compliments about it and for reading them.

Trans Iowa gets an award from the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce: Craig Cooper on my left here

 With V9, we had a lot of hoopla. Three sets of roaming photographers, an award from the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce, and the Trans Iowa radio set up. We had a record 91 starters, a record Womens open field, and folks riding in the event from the U.K. The Barn thing was all set to go, and to top things off, the weather could not have been much better. Even the wind was (mostly) a non-factor in the event.

A foggy morning to start T.I.V9: Image by A Andonopoulous

The nearly full moon was riding high in the sky at the start and there was a thick blanket of fog in the vales and valleys of Jasper County which made for a scene that produced a slew of outstanding images of riders and the countryside. It was almost impossible to get a bad shot that morning!

I remember stopping high up on a hill on E. 84th Street N and just sitting there for several minutes soaking it all in. I hadn't had the luxury of being in that sort of position before, and I took full advantage of it. It was totally a result of my lessons learned over the years of doing Trans Iowa that allowed for that.

In fact, I stopped twice more. Once to chat with fellow Trans Iowa fans and photographers Wally and George, and to chat with my friend Jason Boucher, who also was there on official photography business. Then again for a good look at the Sun rising over a Jasper County hill. Trans Iowa at this point was a dreamy day out in the Truck With No Name for me, but that would change past my visit at Checkpoint #1.

The Moon and Windmill: Image by M Lemberger

We had a leader's group came in and they took the wrong direction out of the village of Ira because they did not check their cue sheets. So I went blazing outta there in the truck to head them off at a place where the bike path crossed the course West of Ira. Fortunately they realized what had happened and turned back before I saw them. I figured things would go back to being calm then, but I was wrong.

The weather was good- too good- and I figured on more attrition at Checkpoint #1 then there was. My checkpoint folks were running out of cue sheet sets to Checkpoint #2! Fortunately a few clearer heads than mine were able to sort the matter out by finding a copy machine to borrow in the tiny village. Crisis averted, but a lesson learned yet again.

Then things really did quiet down. for the most part, the rest of the event was kind of boring from my perspective as far as any "adventure" went. No silly B Road antics in the truck, no big problems at all with the event. I did have a "whiskey spill" that required some hasty clean up and drying out of the waivers, but other than that little aside, Trans Iowa V9 went off without a hitch. We had a record 35 finishers and a first time single speed women finisher and a first time for a women with two finishes in Janna Vavre.

The finish line scene for T.I.V9 was one of the most memorable and impactful for me. I suppose having twice the average finishers was one reason why. Another was that it seemed that a lot of the finishers were really emotionally charged and showed it at the finish. Steve Fuller stands out in that regard.

Well, with no co-director, it was kind of an anti-climatic deal when I piled into the truck after everyone was gone and made my way home. Trans Iowa v9 was an awesome event by all accounts. I could have walked away a happy man that day and never put on another Trans Iowa again, but....

The restored barn where T.I.v9 finished: Image by W Kilburg

Epilogue: With that I conclude the look back at ten years of tales concerning this gravel road event. Obviously there were a lot of twists and turns coming up to this time and the impending running of T.I.v10. Even more obvious is the fact that this series was just my take on things. There are other opinions, views, stories, and thoughts on Trans Iowa out there and they may vary a bit in their telling of the story.

That said, this is my experience as I remember living through it. Trans Iowa has gone from an event I was just a helper in to becoming a big part of my life that I have a lot of passion for. Trans Iowa has gone from an idea that was mostly Jeff Kerkove's in the beginning to an event that I have made into whatever ya want to call it! I hesitate to quantify what that is for anyone else!

Of course, the big question on a lot of folks minds is "how long are you going to keep doing this?" I have hinted around a lot that pretty soon there would be no more Trans Iowa events put on by me the way that they have been. I will say that I set a goal for myself back around T.I.v5 that I wanted to get to 10 and see where I stood after that. This April, that goal will have been met......

I am, on the one hand, all finished with this event. It has been a huge tax on my family life and we won't even get into the financials and what not that went along with putting on this event through the years. I want to spend time with my son and daughter before they grow up and leave the house. On the other hand, I want this event to go out on a good note, I want to keep seeing the folks that have come, and how they are changed by this event. I want to keep providing the chance for that, if I can.

It's a hard decision to make and whatever way it goes won't be easy for me. But for now, there is at least one more Trans Iowa to go........

Trans Iowa: Ten Years Of Tales #46

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....

This will be the final installment of this series. Thanks for all the kind compliments about it and for reading them.

Trans Iowa gets an award from the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce: Craig Cooper on my left here

 With V9, we had a lot of hoopla. Three sets of roaming photographers, an award from the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce, and the Trans Iowa radio set up. We had a record 91 starters, a record Womens open field, and folks riding in the event from the U.K. The Barn thing was all set to go, and to top things off, the weather could not have been much better. Even the wind was (mostly) a non-factor in the event.

A foggy morning to start T.I.V9: Image by A Andonopoulous

The nearly full moon was riding high in the sky at the start and there was a thick blanket of fog in the vales and valleys of Jasper County which made for a scene that produced a slew of outstanding images of riders and the countryside. It was almost impossible to get a bad shot that morning!

I remember stopping high up on a hill on E. 84th Street N and just sitting there for several minutes soaking it all in. I hadn't had the luxury of being in that sort of position before, and I took full advantage of it. It was totally a result of my lessons learned over the years of doing Trans Iowa that allowed for that.

In fact, I stopped twice more. Once to chat with fellow Trans Iowa fans and photographers Wally and George, and to chat with my friend Jason Boucher, who also was there on official photography business. Then again for a good look at the Sun rising over a Jasper County hill. Trans Iowa at this point was a dreamy day out in the Truck With No Name for me, but that would change past my visit at Checkpoint #1.

The Moon and Windmill: Image by M Lemberger

We had a leader's group came in and they took the wrong direction out of the village of Ira because they did not check their cue sheets. So I went blazing outta there in the truck to head them off at a place where the bike path crossed the course West of Ira. Fortunately they realized what had happened and turned back before I saw them. I figured things would go back to being calm then, but I was wrong.

The weather was good- too good- and I figured on more attrition at Checkpoint #1 then there was. My checkpoint folks were running out of cue sheet sets to Checkpoint #2! Fortunately a few clearer heads than mine were able to sort the matter out by finding a copy machine to borrow in the tiny village. Crisis averted, but a lesson learned yet again.

Then things really did quiet down. for the most part, the rest of the event was kind of boring from my perspective as far as any "adventure" went. No silly B Road antics in the truck, no big problems at all with the event. I did have a "whiskey spill" that required some hasty clean up and drying out of the waivers, but other than that little aside, Trans Iowa V9 went off without a hitch. We had a record 35 finishers and a first time single speed women finisher and a first time for a women with two finishes in Janna Vavre.

The finish line scene for T.I.V9 was one of the most memorable and impactful for me. I suppose having twice the average finishers was one reason why. Another was that it seemed that a lot of the finishers were really emotionally charged and showed it at the finish. Steve Fuller stands out in that regard.

Well, with no co-director, it was kind of an anti-climatic deal when I piled into the truck after everyone was gone and made my way home. Trans Iowa v9 was an awesome event by all accounts. I could have walked away a happy man that day and never put on another Trans Iowa again, but....

The restored barn where T.I.v9 finished: Image by W Kilburg

Epilogue: With that I conclude the look back at ten years of tales concerning this gravel road event. Obviously there were a lot of twists and turns coming up to this time and the impending running of T.I.v10. Even more obvious is the fact that this series was just my take on things. There are other opinions, views, stories, and thoughts on Trans Iowa out there and they may vary a bit in their telling of the story.

That said, this is my experience as I remember living through it. Trans Iowa has gone from an event I was just a helper in to becoming a big part of my life that I have a lot of passion for. Trans Iowa has gone from an idea that was mostly Jeff Kerkove's in the beginning to an event that I have made into whatever ya want to call it! I hesitate to quantify what that is for anyone else!

Of course, the big question on a lot of folks minds is "how long are you going to keep doing this?" I have hinted around a lot that pretty soon there would be no more Trans Iowa events put on by me the way that they have been. I will say that I set a goal for myself back around T.I.v5 that I wanted to get to 10 and see where I stood after that. This April, that goal will have been met......

I am, on the one hand, all finished with this event. It has been a huge tax on my family life and we won't even get into the financials and what not that went along with putting on this event through the years. I want to spend time with my son and daughter before they grow up and leave the house. On the other hand, I want this event to go out on a good note, I want to keep seeing the folks that have come, and how they are changed by this event. I want to keep providing the chance for that, if I can.

It's a hard decision to make and whatever way it goes won't be easy for me. But for now, there is at least one more Trans Iowa to go........