Trans Iowa v12: Stop This Game

When I started this series on Trans Iowa v12 I mentioned that there was a lot of behind the scenes drama this time. Well, there was and some of it was pretty dismaying. It is a side of Trans Iowa I usually don't talk about, but I think it is high time to have a little "full disclosure".  Everything has its bad side, its negatives, and things that aren't all that fun to deal with. Here's a list of things from this edition of Trans Iowa.   

First off, I was made aware that an individual that came to Trans Iowa to help support a rider was, well......drunk and out of order. So much so that this individual was being inappropriate to others and got "sick" in a public hot tub at a motel where other riders were staying for the event. I heard from a good friend that went down to use this hot tub that it was a complete mess and that there was even more vomit spread elsewhere in a public area. A worker at the motel was so upset that they were crying as they had to clean up the mess.

Really? 

Besides the completely obvious, many don't know that I sign a contract with the motels to guarantee the room blocks get filled up which has a clause about damages to rooms which I could be liable for. In this instance, it was a mess made in the common area, but still..... Just stop it already! This isn't high school prom or a college beer party. Grow up! Sheesh.....This is something that needs to be discussed and I am going to put it out there in the hopes that with the knowledge that stuff like this is going on, maybe the gravel cycling community can police itself and knock this nonsense off.

The scene at CP#1

Okay, so then after the Meat-Up, I find out someone is missing a page out of their cue sheets. Bah! Well, we had extras and I hit the fellow up at the start line with a spare. No problem. But then after CP#1, we had a guy missing pages in his set of cues. He hooked up with a following rider, then we had no further issues with cue sheets, but you start worrying, you know.

Then at Deep River some of the riders were being approached by an emergency vehicle on a gravel road just outside of the village and did not yield the road way. Look.....red lights, sirens blaring.... You get the hell out of the way, right? I'm sorry, but this is unacceptable behavior. It really bugs me that people would not take a few seconds to just get out of the way. It's not going to affect the ride and their time. There is no excuse. Had I seen it, I would have DQ'ed the offending riders right then and there.

Well, that wasn't the end of it, as I had to apologize to the Deep River head of the EMS department which was necessary, but only because of some boneheaded riders actions. We're better than this folks. Really, we are.

Contested ground at Checkpoint #2

Next up was some tense moments at the location of Checkpoint #2 when we set up to receive the riders. Of course, we had the issue with the re-route, but that was well in hand. The Checkpoint seemed a benign deal, until we were approached by a local farmer, who was concerned that we were along the lines of what they normally see around there. Folks that tear up the dirt road with their cars, turn around on their land, and then get stuck. Finally, these nere do wells approach their farm asking for a pull out of the mud. Well, there also was the issue of "parking on their land", amongst other things. We were able to assuage the farmer's fears, and after some discussions, we were on good terms. But, that could have gone poorly and we may have had some problems with our checkpoint location. Even though we were on a public roadway. In the end, it was not a big deal, but it added to the stress levels.

Then we had a volunteer's wife get ill back home and she had to be taken to the hospital. That volunteer was released to go back home immediately, of course, but we were very concerned for that situation during the remainder of Saturday and Sunday. I should say that everything turned out well with them, so no worries now. 

I should also mention that we had a rider hit a large dog, go down, and separate his shoulder. More bad stuff to deal with, but again, it worked out okay and we were able to move along. Things went smoothly Saturday afternoon, night, and Sunday, until we couldn't track down a couple of riders. One called the wrong number to DNF, and the other forgot. That happens every year, but on top of the rest of the stuff that happened, it was not what I was looking forward to at the end of a long weekend.

I felt inside my brain like Josh Lederman felt here at the end of T.I.v12

Then there is the usual let down at the end of any Trans Iowa. Most of you have no idea what I go through, but after all the hoopla, stress, and worry of any Trans Iowa, I find myself alone and completely exhausted at the finish line area. It is really, really tough on me, not only physically, but mentally. It is a time I usually have to fight my demons and try to stay "up". This sometimes carries on for only an hour or so, but sometimes it can be a couple of days. These days, depression is talked about a lot more than it used to be, so I don't mind saying that I find post-Trans Iowa a time that can be a real struggle with that. This year things were compounded when on the Tuesday after the event my Grandmother died.

So, when you see me writing or hear me talking about not thinking about a future Trans Iowa, or maybe even talking about it not happening, maybe, ever again, that is real. I'm not joking, and these things I have outlined today all contribute to that feeling that I just want out. Stop this game. Walk away. Be free.

This isn't a post many of you thought you'd ever expect me to write about Trans Iowa. However; it is a side of putting this on that has always been there. Every year there is some level of drama, life happenings, and stress and yes- depression- that happens with this deal. It is a side of Trans Iowa that hasn't "won out" yet, but I have struggled mightily with it over the years. I figured it was about time to just get that out there.

Now you know.

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