Trans Iowa Stories- Prelude

A Guitar Ted Productions series.

 This is the preliminary post on the future series, "Trans Iowa Stories". Please feel free to comment or make suggestions about this idea!

 Trans Iowa was obviously a major influence in the gravel scene and also was/still is a major influence upon my life. After retiring the event, it was suggested that maybe writing down some of the interesting stories of the event was in order. So, essentially, this is what this series is about. The suggestions I got pointed toward a book, but as I have already covered Trans Iowa (some would suggest "to death") here on the blog in several ways, I am at a loss for where to start at the moment. I could simply gather all the posts, whittle that down, add some images, and BAM! There would be a book. That would be easier, but I know that some of you are looking for the untold stories, the tales, the lore that I never let on to throughout the years of the event.

My main issue with just pulling all the posts out I've done up to this point is that a story based upon those things leaves out a big part of Trans Iowa. I would argue the most important part. That being, "The People". It is what kept me going for 14 years of craziness. The people made the event. They made it worthwhile. They made it, ultimately, what it was. Without the characters that make up the event, there is no story.

I'm thinking that's what you, the readers, are most interested in as well. Stories about people, why they mattered. Which people were important to Trans Iowa. Why? Which people were pains in the ass? Also why? I think those are the stories most people would be interested in. Not how I did cue cards, or why I did checkpoint cut-offs the way that I did. (Although that may come up in the telling of a story about a person)

I can already think of several stories about the personalities behind Trans Iowa, the riders, the volunteers, the people who supported the event, and the people who were critics of the event. I think this is the direction I want to take for now and see where it leads.

Will there ever be a book? Maybe. I will have to look back on these posts when they are finished, determine the validity of a book, and gauge the response. It could happen, but I will not promise anything. I will say that the upcoming posts will be a "draft" of sorts, so I will look at this series in that light going forward.

In closing, I want to say thank you to a special person who kicked off this whole idea- Rob Evans of Lincoln, Nebraska. Without his suggestions, I may never have considered doing this. So, this is dedicated to you, Rob. Thank you!

Next, I will start out with a general overview of what this series will look like specifically, and I will mention a few names that I intend to start out with in the telling of this tale. See ya tomorrow!