GTDRI '19: Barns For Jason

The Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational went through Poweshiek County, for the most part, with short forays into Tama and Iowa Counties. There was a LOT of new roads to me covered this year, and as a result, I saw a LOT of barns. For those new to "Barns For Jason", it is a running series of posts/images that I collect from the saddle of my bicycle documenting the barns of Iowa's rural countryside. Structures that are becoming more rare by the year, as many farmers do not need barns, and so the ones that remain are often times in various states of disrepair. Added to this is the ever increasing amount of corporate farms which take over these old family farmsteads and either raze the existing barns, or let barns fall into disrepair.

Pardon the smudge, but it was raining when I took this image!

Of course, not all the barns are falling apart, nor are they all not in usage. The fact is that there still remains a good portion of barn structures that are in use and well maintained, and this is perhaps no better represented than by the barns in Poweshiek County. Most barns I saw were in excellent, or very good condition, and most looked as if they were still "working barns" and not restored for show only.

To be sure, there were barns in awful states of disrepair in Poweshiek County, but these seemed to be in the minority. One other thing- barns in Poweshiek County and a few surrounding counties have a very unique barn architecture. You'll note it most in the hay loft overhang. Some of the barns I have pictured from this year's GTDRI feature this unique look. I first noticed this when we brought Trans Iowa to Grinnell and having been all over in the surrounding counties, I can safely say the majority of these unique structures are located in rural Poweshiek County.

Finally, before we get into the images, this whole "Barns For Jason" thing was originally a contest between Jason Boucher, at the time the brand manager of Salsa Cycles, (he's since moved on to other responsibilities within QBP) and myself. The rule being that only barns seen while riding a bicycle could be employed in this "contest". Jason has since ceased posting any barn pics, but I have continued with the focus of my efforts being the preservation of barns in imagery. By the way, Jason has moved on to much better subject matter, and his images are stunning. If you'd like to check out his stuff, go to his Instagram page here. I hope that you enjoy these "Barns For Jason".