Minus Ten Review 2009-27

Scene from the 2009 Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational course. The lilies were on fore ten years ago.

Ten years ago on the blog this week I was yapping about the course for the upcoming GTDRI. I just noted that this was the year the lilies were crazy in many spots along the course. I also remember how that wasn't the case for the following three tries at this course. Interestingly, ten years removed from this event, the lilies are going nuts again.

It's also worth noting that this recon trip was the first that I had done with the "Truck With No Name". That vehicle replaced the "Dirty Blue Box", the 1990- (or was it a '91?)- Honda Civic Hatchback wagon. So, it's been ten years now that I've had that truck. Pretty sure it is the longest I've kept a vehicle around.

Also of note- I took an informal survey of readers of this blog on whether or not I should move the date of Trans Iowa. The results were mixed, but I got the sense overall that riders just wanted David Pals, (co-director at that time) and myself to be happy, (and keep putting on the event, no doubt). So, as it turned out I moved the date back to the last weekend of April and that is where it stayed till the end. One of the reasons for that was that I had met Grannygear and he lived in SoCal. He was willing to go to Sea Otter every year, and so I did not have to go for coverage for "Twenty Nine Inches". That freed me up to fully concentrate on Trans Iowa in April. Which......it was good and it was bad.

Having every April afterward for nine years be consumed with thoughts and actions for a Trans Iowa got to be pretty wearing. Basically, after the Renegade Gents Race, which happened at the beginning of April,  I was busy with TI stuff everyday until a week or so into May. Getting my April back was a nice thing this year, but I digress.........

Finally, I made note of a magazine article that was trying to poo-poo the idea that 29"ers were going to take over the MTB scene. (Of course, they have now.) To my mind in 2009, it wasn't an if, it was when. 27.5" bikes sort of delayed the ultimate take over of MTB by 29"ers, but for all intents and purposes, 29"ers rule now. And 26"ers?

Like I said ten years ago, they were toast.