Minus Ten Review 2009-33

The last one. The ill-fated 2009 Big Wheeled Ballyhoo poster.

Ten years ago this week on the blog there was a LOT of 29"er news. Gary Fisher Bikes, (remember that brand?) announced their new MTB's for 2010. It would be the last year that Gary Fisher would be a stand alone brand. But, of course, we didn't know that then.

I also had news of a 29" Maverick American bike with one of those Maverick American forks on it. Remember THAT brand?

Weird handle bars were still a big deal back then and several were introduced into the market. What was it about 29"ers and "alt bars"? Gotta say this- 29 inch wheeled bikes really opened up a can-o-worms not just in the wheel size realm, but in several other areas as well.

I also announced the details on the 2009 Big Wheeled Ballyhoo. While it didn't all turn out the way I wanted it to, due to a family emergency and weather, this was the version I had in mind from the beginning. No vendors. No hoopla. Just a bunch of yahoos getting together to ride 29"ers. In fact, it was still too tied to media and the industry for my tastes. But whatever..... It was what it was.

Ah! The "what ifs" about this idea still haunt me to this day. Had I not listened to Tim Grahl and just done it my way, ya know? But you cannot re-live the past. Only learn from it. In fact, the failures of the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo actually reinforced my desires to do better and to "do it my way" in regard to Trans Iowa. The lessons from this deal finally pushed me out of "Twenty Nine Inches" and into doing something else I really wanted to do. The lessons of the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo helped me to end Trans Iowa in the way I wanted to do it.

So, while on the surface of it, the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo may seem like a colossal failure, it was not. It gave me some good lessons in life. It helped me forge friendships and I owe a lot to the event for that. Yes- I have regrets. But had it not gone the way that it did, who knows what my life would be like now.

Not as good, I bet.