Jersey Time: Part 2

Craig Schmidt, one of the Gravel Worlds promoters, holding up the first Gravel Worlds jersey.

 Last February I posted about my ordering a new Pirate Cycling League jersey. Well, actually.....I got two designs that they offered. Those just came in to Guitar Ted Productions headquarters, so I thought I might just go ahead and show off all the PCL jerseys I have collected throughout the years. 

The first one I ever got wasn't really just a PCL jersey. No.....it was a Gravel Worlds jersey. No....I did not earn it, so no one has ever seen me wear this thing, and no one ever will. I was just honored by Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey, one of the promoters, by this gift of a GW jersey. Since the PCL puts on the event, it was my first in the collection. You can see an example in the image here to the left. 

Okay, then I am pretty sure the next one I got was this older design with a mostly black background with a red and white design all over it. I have a short sleeved version and a long sleeved thermal version of that jersey. I have to be honest and say that out of all the ones I have, this one is my least favorite design, but it isn't that I don't like it. I do like it, but subsequent designs out of the PCL have been better, in my opinion. After that one I have lost track of which design came before which. So, I'm just going to wing it and throw them out there for your consideration. 

The next one here is a jersey I had to have because it hearkened back to an original PCL jersey from about 2010. It was an army green design with the traditional PCL skull and chain logo. I saw it on Troy Krause originally when he wore the OG design at Trans Iowa v7. When the PCL did a tribute jersey to that one, I had to get it! 

I'm pretty sure this might be the first PCL jersey offered to the 'outsiders' of the PCL

This design was inspired by an earlier one available mostly only to PCL racers.

Again, I cannot remember when I got each of these, or if I got two designs in the same year, or what. So, these are not in any sort of 'order'. Next up is maybe my favorite PCL jersey of all, the red version, which also was done in black. I happen to have both. But for some reason I think the black and red ones were different years. I say that because I have two red ones, and I cannot imagine myself popping for two red ones and a black one. 

I'm getting older. I don't remember everything!

Perhaps my favorite in my PCL collection are the two red PCL jerseys.

This is the black version of the red one above.

The PCL's Gravel Worlds celebrated ten years of gravelly goodness recently, and to honor that, they had a special ten year anniversary jersey made. Well, you know I had to get that one! NOTE: The guard on the sword handles are drop bar shift levers!

Here I am modeling the ten year anniversary Gravel Worlds jersey.

This season's two choices in designs were both so good I could not decide which one to get, so I just got both! I like the red one because of the pattern and the colors they chose, but orange! Yeah, it was going to be way too hard to decide between the two for me. Here they are....

The subtle fade in the red/black pattern was a surprise that I liked.

The orange one is stunning, in my opinion.

You can definitely see a theme with the PCL jerseys and I like that they keep a certain continuity to their yearly offerings. That said, they really do a nice job choosing themes and colors that make each one stand out and I don't seem to be getting bored with what they come out with! 

Also, I certainly do not have every year's designs. I did skip a few years here and there over time and some years had alternate designs I did not choose to acquire. There are a couple I wouldn't mind having, but hey! It isn't like I am lacking for PCL jerseys! 

You may wonder why I get these in the first place. Isn't this a club, or a team that I am not affiliated with? Fair question. So, here's my answer.....

Way back in about 2006, a bunch of Lincoln, Nebraska cyclists came to the second Trans Iowa and became big fans and supporters of the event. Of course, me being new to all of this gravel/endurance stuff, I didn't know anyone. I only found out later that this was a core bunch of the PCL that had come to support what I was doing. In fact, they became inspired to do something for a gravel event themselves, and when I heard about it, I was compelled to reciprocate. It didn't hurt that I was becoming friends with these people too. 

So, when the PCL put out a design for a jersey that anybody could get, I jumped at the chance. Over time, they have created a sort of "PCL diaspora". Adopted pirates of the gravel seas who, like them, just like to ride bikes on gravel. Pretty simple, really. And so I consider myself one of them as I ride displaying 'the colors' and I try to always "Ride Right" and not be a dick to others, because I am pretty sure those are the only bylaws of the PCL. I can dig it. So, I am all-in with that. 

Hope you enjoyed seeing my collection. Thanks for reading!