Thoughts Upon Completing "The Quest"

 I mentioned the other day that I had some closing thoughts about doing this crazy challenge over the course of most of 2020. This post will be about what I learned and what my thoughts about doing this all are now that it is over.

"The Quest" was about riding every road that wasn't paved in Black Hawk County. Now, many of you may not realize this, but I didn't include anything I have ridden a million times in the past. There were two reasons for this. The idea was to have, at the end of this, a ride on every road that was gravel or dirt in the county. That is to say, I already have ridden many of the roads, but I wanted to be able to claim that I had ridden all the gravel and dirt roads in Black Hawk County. Had I started from scratch I wouldn't be done yet. 

Secondly, I wanted to ride new roads. I'd been stuck in a rut, riding the same old roads again, and again for years. I knew there were many roads I had not ridden in the county. Why not try something different? So, this quest was a way to satisfy my itch to see new roads and new places. Plus, after I had completed it, I could say that I'd ridden every gravel and dirt road in the county. 

Someone asked me the other day how many miles I'd ridden doing this. I really do not know. I understand that I am an outlier here, but things like Strava, GPS, and even basic cycling computers don't mean anything to me. I get zero pleasure knowing how fast I am going, or how many miles I have, or in knowing anything about power, elevation, or whatever people are addicted to with regard to generating numbers and data. I never had any of that stuff when I started riding and bicycles were completely awesome then. I figure I don't need anything else. Bottom line? You do you. I'll do me. I don't like computers on my bikes. 

When I gave a mileage figure it was an estimate based upon counting miles on a map afterward. Why did I do that sometimes? Because I get 'that question' sometimes. So, there ya go. Now as far as 'How many miles of gravel and dirt roads are there in Black Hawk County?', well I don't know that either. I do know that a local T.V. station reported in 2018 that Black Hawk County has 520 miles of gravel roads. So, probably something around there would be correct. Doesn't matter to me though. 

You may ask, "Well, how long did it take you?", and I don't know the answer to that either. If you are thinking, "He probably doesn't care about that either.", you'd be correct. I didn't base this effort around times or mileage. Just doing the thing, however long it took and however many miles it was, well.....that's what it was going to be. I do know I rode many more miles than what it was going to take to ride every road because of trips out to and back from areas I needed to knock off, and the out-and-backs were doubling mileage every time I had to do those. It was A LOT OF MILES.

So, with that out of the way, here are some thoughts about doing this......

I learned a lot by doing this challenge. First of all, I had a lot of fun. Just riding, seeing new things, going places, and just not worrying about training or having to have the ride mean anything more than just knocking off a few more miles of roads from the 'to do list'. This reminded me A LOT of why I rode bicycles as a kid. No agenda. Just going out to see some stuff and come back home via a bicycle. 

So, this reminded me also how much effort I was putting into organizing events for myself and others to ride in. The pandemic took that all away, and so all I could do was just ride. And I realized that I'd done enough. Enough organizing and event directing that I didn't need to be spending anymore time in that role. It is time for others to step up to the plate, that is, if they want events. And apparently, that has been and is happening. So, it is high time for me to get out of the way. I've provided many opportunities for people to have experiences and now it is time for me to have some of those experiences on my own.

I learned how many people in rural areas are thinking about things. It was a presidential election year and boy! You knew immediately when you left the city! There is no doubt that rural Iowans are not into a certain political sphere. I kind of figured that, to be honest, but it was probably more apparent than ever this year, judging from the flags, banners, and signs I saw EVERYWHERE out there. 

Recently RidingGravel.com published an article by John Ingham that touches upon what the mix of the more progressive minded gravelist amongst the more conservative rural resident could result in. (Read it here) I would like to think that there is common ground to be had. I thought a lot about that as I rode around. You know, all the shouting, name-calling, and general derisive attitudes displayed by both sides aren't moving the needle. I saw a lot of evidence of that. We need coming together, not driving apart. I learned that more than ever this year doing "The Quest". 

I saw a lot of history. I saw a lot of things fading away. I saw a lot of things changing and not for the better. If you want to know what really gets my goat, it is this- We are so bent upon 'getting out of the city' (which can mean systemic racism, being comfortable, denying less economically endowed folks a way up, and not being challenged, etc) and building out, that we end up creating 'more city' while the inner core of the towns and villages rots away with no concern for upkeep, renovation, or conservation. This isn't a 'big city' issue, or even tied to your race or culture. It is a human issue and we are not getting it right. I see housing developments which are eating up the rich agricultural land and turning it into a paved and built-out tax generating machine. It's sickening.

 I saw a lot of good though. Wild life, good crops, beautiful wooded areas, streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. I saw friendly folks, and I saw folks who looked at me askance, wondering what the heck some big dude on a bike was doing 'out here' where no one had ever been seen riding a bicycle. I saw dogs- some friendly, a few not so much. I saw a couple cats! It was all good. 

I saw a LOT of barns! (The ones posted here are from the ride where I saw 30+ new-to-me barns which I never posted) I saw some cool old buildings in small villages, and even out in the middle of nowhere. I did not see other cyclists. Well....once I did. (Remember that Tom?) I never saw other tracks. I suppose it was because I was riding all these odd-ball roads that no one else would stop to consider. And speaking of that......

I learned that I will be going back to some of these areas. I thought about that a lot during the last ride of this quest. Where would I go back to ride again? Well, those roads immediately East of Waterloo are pretty cool. That high ground south of HWY 20 and North of I-380 is worth another ride or three. I really enjoyed the rides near Dunkerton. I'll be going out that way again. I think linking up some neighboring county roads off some of what I rode near the Eastern border of Black Hawk and South into Benton County near LaPorte City would be rad. 

I also won't be going back to many places! It will come as no surprise that many of those places were the dead end roads, but there were some other places as well. I know I said out loud to myself many a time this year, "Well, I don't ever have to come back here again!" Ha-ha! 

I got a lot of other benefits as well from doing this quest. I got a LOT of mental therapy. Much needed in 2020! I changed my diet some, dropped beer for the most part, (not 100%, but cut WAY back), and with all the riding I lost 20+ pounds this year. So, that was a huge benefit to me in doing this. 

Obviously, I got a LOT of time in for reviewing product for RidingGravel.com, which worked out nicely as I was doing this. I was going to be out there anyway, may as well test and review stuff while I am at it, and honestly, it wasn't a bother. 

So, now that I have covered every gravel and dirt road in Black Hawk County with bicycle tire tracks, what's next? Well, I'll cover that elsewhere, but trust me- I won't be riding every gravel road in another county anytime soon. I won't be riding the same old routes over and over again either. Anyway...

This deal pushed out some stuff I had originally thought I'd get to. Things like the "Fat Bike Century" and some other stuff not related to cycling. So, a balance will be sought because, honestly, this quest thing took over and by the end it was a burden that I had to get off my back. That's not a good thing. So, I'll be looking forward to still riding a lot, but interspersing that with outside-of-cycling activities as well. 

Hopefully you readers got something out of all this questing nonsense. Thanks for reading as always!