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| The temporary header for the Trans Iowa v8 site. Story on that coming.... |
The Trans Iowa event was, for the first half of its lifespan, a pretty 'underground, 'under the radar' affair. I mean, people knew about it, but only the ones who were tuned in for something different, off the wall, and crazy. It wasn't nationally known, and folks in my home town of Waterloo, Iowa, even if they were cyclists, did not know anything about Trans Iowa. That all changed with Trans Iowa v7.
We had stories come out about Trans Iowa in some indy-mags like "Iowa Momentum" and "XXC" magazine after v8. There was the feature article in "Dirt Rag" after v7, along with a cover story in the cycling industry trade magazine, "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" in December of 2011. Then there was Zach Dundas' book, "The Renegade Sportsman", which had a big chapter devoted to Trans Iowa v3 in it which came out in 2010. Those all blew the lid off the idea that Trans Iowa was 'under the radar' and exposed the idea of gravel racing and riding to a much wider audience. But the one media effort that came out of Trans Iowa v7 that had the most impact, and the longest lasting impact, without a doubt, is the film documentary "300 Miles of Gravel" by Jeff Frings.
The idea of someone documenting Trans Iowa in images was, of course, not a new one. Starting with Trans Iowa v2 we had many offers and requests to have several different folks come and photograph Trans Iowa. I recall when this first started happening that it was mostly annoying little requests which came off, to me at least, as excuses for people to be out on course to spectate, which I was firmly against. The idea of some yahoo running around in a car with a point and shoot camera masquerading as a "photographer" was not on my list of things to even consider having. I promptly shut down most of these offers.
Now I am glad that the Pirate Cycling League guys talked me into letting David Story document Trans Iowa v3. He did such a great job at capturing imagery, that in my opinion, he set off the imaginations of many creatives to come and do similar things for future Trans Iowas. During Trans Iowa v4 we had two individuals shooting the event. After not really having anybody doing imagery for two years, we had Steve Fuller step into the imagery taking mode for Trans Iowa v7. Steve was tasked with image taking for the upcoming "Dirt Rag" story, so he armed himself with a lot of rental lenses and camera gear. I knew of this going in, so when I got an email on December 3rd, 2010 from a stranger with the email address "info@jefffringsphotography.com", I was on the defensive right away. His last line really had me wondering though.
"I'd like to come down and do a documentary on the event because I think an epic race would make an epic documentary."
This didn't sound like a request to photograph Trans Iowa. What was this guy on about? All I could imagine at the time was some creepy weirdo running around my course in a Ford Pinto with a Super-8 movie camera. Uggh! I didn't need any distractions or more issues. I was trying to right the ship and put on the best Trans Iowa ever. Having to help some guy with what could very well be a half-baked idea resulting in a sub-par product was not something I wanted to entertain doing.
However; Jeff Frings sent me a response that pretty much sold me on his concept for the project. Then I, somehow or another, I must have archived the email thread. Finally, Jeff, awaiting a response from me, got a hold of me again in March of 2011. He must have really wanted to do this project, because I feel like most folks, after three plus months of being ignored, would have shrugged and moved on with other things. So, in a way, the documentary almost didn't happen!
Interestingly, Jeff told me that the interviews he had planned on doing were only going to be 10-15 minutes. He did mention wanting to get myself and David interviewed, amongst other riders, and obviously you all know what happened there. My interview went far longer. I think what happened was that Jeff kind of knew when he started asking me questions that he had something special being captured, so he kept the camera rolling for twice the length of time he had originally intended. By the time we reached the end of that interview he had captured that very emotional, last response, which you see at the end of the documentary.
I, however, did not see the framework, nor the possibilities that Jeff was obviously seeing from that point on. In fact, I still was really skeptical about this whole thing being any good at all. The dramatic and emotionally draining circumstances surrounding the end of Trans Iowa v7 pretty much put my mind off Jeff Frings' project as well. That is until I saw the very short trailer sample he sent me during the Summer of 2011.
Whoa! This might actually be something good!
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| The scene just prior to the debut of "300 Miles of Gravel" at the T.I.v8 pre-race. |
The documentary went on to win a Regional Emmy and was rebroadcast in two different forms on Iowa Public Television for several years afterward. The impacts of each of those things are still being felt today. The story of Trans Iowa had been told in a moving visual form for the first, and as it turns out, only time. This spread the story of gravel riding and racing, the story of courage and determination, and the story of grassroots sports, to a very wide audience.
It's a testament to Trans Iowa, the people who made the event tic, and gravel racing. It is kind of embarrassing for me, since I take up a big part of the film, but I think even Jeff saw that the event was a representation of a part of myself. How Trans Iowa came from the heart, and every part of it was affected by that. No escaping that part, I guess, so it shouldn't be something I am reticent to embrace, but it feels weird.
I cannot let this post end without thanking Jeff Frings, his wife, and the few other individuals responsible for the production of this film. They pursued a vision and executed it with the highest craft and class imaginable. It was all far more than I could have ever hoped or asked for. And for that I am forever in their debt. Thank you!
Next: Feeling Low
3 comments:
I have read and followed along with your Trans Iowa Stories since you started to post them on Sunday mornings. With the last few postings, I have been lead to notice the costs, to you, of directing t.i. not exclusively in financial terms but, also, in physical and emotional terms. Anyone who would wish to direct a similar type event should read your Trans Iowa Stories.
@graveldoc - Thank you. I think that this has become my reason, or one of my reasons, to tell these stories. I noted something unique once when I was standing with Jim Cummings of the DK200, Craig Smith of Gravel Worlds, and Dave Pryor of the unPAved of the Susquehanna River Valley. All of us were race promoters. There was an unspoken bond between us which was something I thought was remarkable and unique.
I hope that what you are noticing communicates at least 1/100th of what the reality of race promoting on gravel is like. I probably am not quite hitting the mark, but it's an untold story that needs to be articulated, in my opinion, so that we all can better understand how special these times are.
In my opinion, I feel you did a good job of articulating the story. I keep your Stories in mind when I watch 300 miles of gravel and the PLP interview of you. I hope the future will allow for things to open up so promoters can hold the events which you've enjoyed so much.
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