Trans Iowa Stories: Some Observations From A Failed Ending

T.I. v10 winner, Greg Gleason.

 "Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject by going back to earlier Sunday posts on this blog. Thanks and enjoy!

The end of Trans Iowa had been a goal of mine to reach for at least five years before I found myself standing in front of a restored barn West of Grinnell, Iowa in late April of 2014. I was just going to act like it was no big deal, run the event as always, and then just kind of ignore it afterward. See, I didn't want a big send off, I didn't want people making emotional pleas to have me keep it going, and really? Well, I wasn't going to be comfortable with any of that because I am an emotional guy. I would have been sobbing big cow tears if everyone knew it was the last Trans Iowa and if they were making a 'big deal', as we Mid-Westerners say, about that. But the funny thing is, often times we don't get to call our own shot and walk away the way we want to. 

But all of that was a million miles away from my mind at the time as I shook rookie rider Greg Gleason's hand, congratulating him as the winner of Trans Iowa v10. I was just getting settled in to being present for the possible finishers of this arduous event. Frankly, I was elated to be coming into an understanding that this particular Trans Iowa was going to be another successful one. The third one now in a row. I was, and still am, very proud of that fact. Now Trans Iowa was an event with an upstanding reputation for being run well, fairly, and with a strong sense of purpose. 

People knew what it was about by this point and that you either bought into the culture and spirit of Trans Iowa or you should probably stay away. That's why only certain folks even were attracted to this event. The ones that were not attracted to Trans Iowa 100% let me know why too. Either it was cue card navigation, or it was the entry process, or it was the self-support ethic I enforced, or it was too long. There were some other reasons too. I knew that some people just didn't like me. I was aware of that, of course, and I didn't care either. Still don't.....

But that wasn't going to matter. Trans Iowa v10 was going to be the last one. I was going to close up the books and get on with Life. I had a daughter that was a few years from graduating and a son that was getting into football and needed me around more. My wife, who really wasn't a big fan of the negative side effects of Trans Iowa upon me, was always hoping the next one was the last one. I owed it to them, and to myself, to walk away from Trans Iowa, which was a huge drain on my energy every year. 

The hang at The Barn for the finish of Trans Iowa v10 was a really good one.

And of course, I failed... Trans Iowa v10 ended up not being the last one. But if it had been, it would have worked out beautifully well. So many highlights were there and the vibe at the finish was spectacularly good. I know that I was not the only one that felt it either. It was so easy to see that this one had maybe the best ending to any of the Trans Iowa events that preceded v10. I may have failed at ending this thing, but this ending wasn't a failure by any stretch of the imagination.

(L-R) Troy Krause, Derek Weider,(obscured), Jeremy Kershaw, Guitar Ted. Image by Wally Kilburg.

Wally Kilburg's images from the end of this event are just inspiring, even to this day. I think it is the best event photography he has ever done. The images just speak to me yet, even now. Even my own imagery is maybe some of my best work at the finish of a Trans Iowa. Not that I was actually trying, or that I was anywhere near the talent that Wally Kilburg is mind you, it was just that I couldn't get a bad shot because everything I was shooting was so good. 

There was drama right up until the final hour of the event. My over-night companion, Ari Andonopoulos, the Slender Fungus Cycling Association leader, also agreed that it was good. Ari had one great point to add though. He said that there was a 'cherry on the top' which made the event sweeter for him. That was Jay Barre, a Slender Fungus member, finishing right at the end, for his third finish in a row, on a fixed gear bicycle. 

Jay Barre, at the finish of Trans Iowa v10 with his fixed gear Gunnar.

It was only the third time that a fixed gear cyclist had finished a Trans Iowa and as it turned out, the last time. Jay Barre also was the rider portrayed in the documentary "300 Miles of Gravel" that missed checkpoint #1 by a minute and was DQ'ed from the event. The famous scene that always brings a lump to my throat when I see it. Jay also has the distinction of being the only Trans Iowa rider to have finished Trans Iowa three years in a row on three different types of bikes- Geared, single speed, and fixed gear. Jay kind of gained a 'cult figure' status within the gravel scene as "Fixie Jesus", owing to his accomplishment and his appearance at the end of the event. 

 The image that I had taken intending it to be the last Trans Iowa related image ever.

So, eventually it was over. I knew I needed to really soak this one in because, you know.....it was the last one. I left it all out there. I had pulled off the best three Trans Iowa events I knew how to do and I had righted the ship. There would be no bad taste left in my mouth, no sense of having not turned over every stone I could to do anything better than it could have been done. This was it. This would be where I walked away.

Only it wasn't.

Next: So, You're Saying There's A Chance?