Trans Iowa Stories: It's About The People - Part 3

Sarah Cooper's portrait by Wally Kilburg. Sarah would go on to help produce IWAR.

 "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 clicking on the "Trans Iowa Stories" link under the blog header. Thanks and enjoy! 

In this, the third and final look at the important people of Trans Iowa's past, I'll be focusing in on those individuals who were key to the last three Trans Iowa events. Some I've mentioned before, but their influence and contributions spanned several years of Trans Iowa. Some I will mention here for the first time. 

Finally, I've been treated to some great Trans Iowa stories and memories from riders recently. I am collecting these to - hopefully - put into a book at the end of this series. If you were a Trans Iowa rider and have any memories that you'd like to share, please do and send those to g.ted.productions@gmail.com. Maybe your tale will also end up in the Trans Iowa Book Of Tales! 

I'm going to kick off this last post on the people important to Trans Iowa by featuring Sarah Cooper, a highly accomplished cyclist and now event promoter, along with longtime Trans Iowa volunteer and veteran rider, Steve Fuller. Sarah was important to Trans Iowa not only for winning the Women's Open division twice, but for being the person that most influenced me after T.I.v10 to keep Trans Iowa going. She was also very supportive of me behind the scenes over the last few years of Trans Iowa and was the first person to ask if there were any way to keep a T.I.-like event going post-Trans Iowa. Obviously, she, Steve, and a few other folks started up the "Iowa Wind and Rock" event which is Trans Iowa's direct descendant. I'll get around to all that soon enough here. 

Greg Gleason during T.I.v14- Image by Jon Duke

Another important rider who was in the last three Trans Iowa events, besides winning T.I.v10 and v12, was Greg Gleason. Greg animated all the T.I.'s he was in very heavily and I cannot speak about Trans Iowa's history without acknowledging Greg's heavy influence upon the story lines. 

As a person, and as a rider, I always have had nothing but the utmost respect for Greg. He always had one of the best attitudes I ever witnessed in a Trans Iowa event and was a pleasure to get to know from my view. Likewise, Greg always supported the event and was very complimentary toward me and Trans Iowa. Something, obviously, that means a lot to me even now. 

There was only one heart wrenching incident which Greg was a part of that, I would imagine, he regrets as much or more than I do, but I'll get to that story later in the series. Besides that incident, I will chiefly remember Greg's affable character, broad smile, and as always, his green handle bar tape!

Gt congratulating Jana Vavra upon finishing T.I.v14- Image by John Duke

Jana Vavra, the stalwart woman cyclist from the Lincoln, Nebraska scene, was obviously cemented into T.I. history when she became the first woman to ever finish the event in T.I. v7. She also had the distinction of being the only female to finish T.I.v14, winning the Women's Open, and becoming the last woman to cross a Trans Iowa finish line. 

What's even more impressive is that Jana not only was the only female to finish that last T.I., but that roster featured the most women that ever started a Trans Iowa! Of all the things that we accomplished and witnessed at Trans Iowa, for myself, Jana Vavra's participation in Trans Iowa is amongst the top of the heap of the best of those things. In my opinion, she blew the roof off the barriers to participating in Trans Iowa. She represented an example of toughness, not just for women, but for athletes in general. There weren't many other people that participated in Trans Iowa's events that were tougher and had more grit than Jana Vavra. I'll say it again- one of the most under-rated women in gravel grinding history. 

A rider with a farm tractor in the background from T.I.v14 by Jon Duke

In terms of support and volunteers, I have to mention the selfless support and creative energy that Jon Duke gave to the last few Trans Iowa events. Starting out as a volunteer at Trans Iowa, Jon stepped in as the event photographer when Wally Kilburg's life took a turn and prevented him from being a part of things. 

Jon took some fantastic images, some which are iconic to the end of the Trans Iowa era, and his contributions to the imagery of Trans Iowa are every bit as important and impressive as those who came before him. Not only was Jon an important part of the story-telling in images, but he was also a great help to me in interfacing with the City of Grinnell. 

Jon also was important post-Trans Iowa as an image taker and liaison between the Grinnell officials and my last event I promoted, the "C.O.G. 100". Jon then went on to become a key individual in promoting and running the Prairie Burn 100 gravel event in Grinnell.  

Dennis (L) and Christina Grelk at CP#1 during T.I.v13

Former winner of Trans Iowa, Dennis Grelk, became a volunteer for me at both of the first checkpoints for the last two Trans Iowas. He and his wife, Christina, ran the checkpoint to perfection and were so reliable and efficient that I never gave a thought to a thing concerning how they would handle the affairs. 

Dennis also had a very distinct, dry wit which was full of wisdom. The thing is, you could really never guess when the deep waters of his mind would open up and let one of the many gems about Trans Iowa come forth. In fact, two years past the last Trans Iowa, Dennis gave me a gem of a quote concerning the events of days gone by that I will always cherish. I'll share that quote later in this series. 

Mike Johnson (L) and Matt Gersib (MG) at T.I.v14

Of course, I cannot finish this series without mentioning a few of my main supports which were always there for me during the last Trans Iowas. There were people like Tony McGrane, who was always willing and able to do whatever heavy lifting I needed done during a Trans Iowa weekend. He along with Mike Johnson, typically, were running interference ahead of the riders, marking corners, being lookouts, and always ready to be there for me to just hang and have a good time. 

The Mathias'- Celeste and John, who selflessly gave of their time and talents to be image takers and course observers for me during the last three Trans Iowas. I never asked them to do this, they just gave of themselves. The last Trans Iowa was one where their loyalty and help was most appreciated. I'll get to that story later as well. 

Jeremy Fry, of course, was my right-hand man for recon and logistics with regard to cues. He did not help me in that way for T.I.v14, but he had a good reason for this, which will be told when I get to the T.I.v14 story. Suffice it to say that to this day Jeremy is a staunch supporter of what we did at Trans Iowa. 

And finally, my brother, Matt Gersib. Wow..... It just wouldn't have been the same without his massive contributions to the event. He was a stalwart supporter of Trans Iowa, and the one I leaned on in tough times during those last Trans Iowas. There were things that we shared which I consider sacred. I won't tell of them, but that's the way it should be amongst brothers. Needless to say, I'll never forget those times I had with Matt.

So, there are a few more souls I owe a lot to. I'm know that there are many, many others too, but this could go on forever if I keep adding names. I feel like I have covered the main players in the field. That said, one always feels that they probably have short-changed someone when they make a list of those they wish to call out and thank. I'm no different in that area. 

Next: A Look At The Landscape in 2016