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| Switching out to purple Bike Bag Dude bags for the event. |
In fact, I'm going in and treating it like an "organized training ride" and that's all my goals are for this. Just a ride. Nothing more, and the distinct possibility that it will end up being a short one. But I gotta start somewhere and climbing that hill isn't going to get easier the longer the year goes on.
But anyway, this event is perfect for exactly the reasons I am going for. It is not a race. It's pretty much just an organized ride with number plates. Speaking of which, it was famously announced just before the Almanzo this year that number plates were being eliminated. They were perceived as being a "barrier" to participation. Yeah.......I don't buy into that at all. In my view, it's the opposite. Number plates, if anything, are attracting folks to events. They are souvenirs of participation. I don't see that having them, or not, is a barrier. It's just a thing. It shows you "were there" and rode.
I recall one year at Trans Iowa we didn't have numbers at all. (T.I.v7) If anything, we heard more grumbling that we didn't have them. We heard nothing about how cool it was that we didn't have them. But I digress.........
I hear a lot of locals are going to be at the Prairie Burn 100 too. That's awesome. My friend, Tony, mentioned it is the kind of event, "we all want to go to." It's just a fun ride, a potentially good time with bands, music, and food. Of course, the gravel family will show up. That and hopefully new folks too. I just don't see any downside to it.
So, I'll ride it and get whatever I can get out of the riding part, then I'll hang out maybe a bit and come home. Should be a good time.
4 comments:
Several of us Nebraskans are heading over for the Prairie Burn, should be a great time. I'll try to find ya and say hi.
"Yeah.......I don't buy into that at all. In my view, it's the opposite. Number plates, if anything, are attracting folks to events. "
Just as another viewpoint: when I went out for my very first gravel event, I found the whole 'race numbers' thing hella intimidating. I'm not sure why, honestly. But it was. It was so very organized and made it feel more high stakes and serious. I can totally see why it's a barrier for new riders - because it was for me.
Certainly now I like having them. Like you said, it's a souvenir. I usually keep my race number and my cue sheet - at least for the season.
I'm excited for it! I went to school in Grinnell and lived there briefly, but I never got out on the roads around town. It will be interesting to see the area from a different perspective.
@Chilly Willy- I would agree- if you are talking about a race, But if it is "just a ride", I think the number plate takes o a different meaning.
But in the end, you can remove all the barriers that *you can remove*- you cannot remove the barriers people bring with them.
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