Some Good News

Trans Iowa got the first Nano 40's last year.

Last year I was contacted by WTB about possibly sponsoring Trans Iowa. This was shortly after WTB had surprised the cycling community by introducing the Nano 40, a 40mm wide version of the iconic Nanoraptor, at the 2014 Frostbike show in Bloomington, Minnesota. The representative of WTB told me at that time there was one shipment, a small one, of Nano 40's coming into the U.S. for "evaluation by vendors and manufacturers" that "maybe" they could cull five sets of Nano 40's out of for Trans Iowa.

Well, needless to say, I wasn't holding out much hope that Trans Iowa, a measly little gravel road event, was going to trump the traditions of the cycling industry. However; a white box showed up one day and sure enough, there were those fresh sets of Nano 40's looking me straight in the eye. This was something unprecedented, that an event at the level of Trans Iowa would get this sort of special treatment. I tried to convey that over the coming weeks before T.I.v10, but I am not sure I really ever communicated the level of uniqueness that this gesture by WTB had. It really was something, and I was stunned by that, and still am, really.

Well, a few days ago, I was once again humbled to find out that Trans Iowa V11 will once again be graced by WTB and the new plan for sponsorship is something I am really excited about. See, WTB is planning on giving away a set of the new Nano 40 TCS (tubeless ready) tires to every official finisher of T.I.V11! That's just crazy talk right there, but they assured me they are on board with this deal, because they really think pretty highly of Trans Iowa.

So, if you think that is some good news, and that WTB is pretty rad for doing this, why don't you give them a shout and tell 'em so, would you? It would mean a lot to me and it would make an impact on WTB, letting them know that we're out here and thanking them for this outstanding gesture.

And finally..... I wanted to thank all of you that shared advice and gave me positive vibes concerning my lengthy illness. I wanted to let you all know that I felt that I was my own worst enemy, and was trying to ride too soon without letting things run their course. I vowed last weekend to stay off my bike, gets lots of rest, and drink plenty of water all of this week. It hasn't been easy, but I have stuck to the plan and I am getting progressively better as the days go by. So, there's a bit more good news as well.