Trans Iowa Stories: A Contrast Of Two Cyclists

Mark Johnson struggles against winds, hills, and his single gear. Image by Jon Duke

  "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!  

Dan Hughes had won Trans Iowa v13, and for probably more than half of the event we were pretty much solely focused on his progress. However; Dan wasn't the only one who finished, and he was chased for the entirety of the last 170 miles by Greg Gleason. 

Greg had already proven his acumen at Trans Iowa by winning the first one he entered (v10) and coming in as a co-winner the previous year to v13 with Walter Zitz, the pair nearly breaking the 24hr time for a finish. Greg was expected to do well here, and he proved once again that he was, perhaps, the best Trans Iowa rider in the history of the event. 

There were a few oddities regarding T.I.v13, Greg, and his rival Dan Hughes. First off, Greg was not set up to make an all-out assault on a win for this particular year. No, he had bigger fish to fry coming later in 2017 as he was going to attempt the Tour Divide. So, he claimed he had something of an extra amount of weight which he wanted to test himself with at T.I.v13. At one point during the event he relayed that he couldn't hang on to Hughes' wheel up the many steep rollers, and Hughes got away. This resulted in Hughes gaining about an hour and a half gap on Gleason by Checkpoint #2. 

MG giving Hughes a hug. Image taker unknown

Hughes, as has been documented already, was set up to be as light as possible, his set up eschewing any sense of warm clothes or even extra bottles, bags, or the typical things that you might see a self-supported rider carrying. So, on the one hand we thought that the weather was going to do him in, but since it did not, his set up allowed his faster travel over those roads versus what other riders had chosen to do. 

This is why I feel the most underrated story of T.I.v13 is what Greg Gleason did overnight and up to the end of the event. Greg pulled back a full 45 minutes of that hour and a half deficit to Hughes to finish 45 minutes after him. this is even more astounding when you consider that the finish was into the teeth of a 25-30mph wind and up some of the steepest hills of the event. That Tour Divide load didn't seem to matter much, but you have to wonder, what if? Had Gleason been 100% in for the win? I think we would have seen a very different event. 

Then there was some sort of friction between Gleason and Hughes which I never really understood. Gleason alluded to this when we saw him at Checkpoint #2, but he really was a bit steamed about it at the finish. He spoke about 'attitudes' and a refusal from Hughes to work with him, if I recall correctly. At any rate, there was some agitation on the part of Gleason at the finish which animated his conversation we had at the back of his vehicle as he loaded up to bug out. 

It was quite a contrast in cyclists. Gleason came in pretty much as he had previously at Trans Iowa. He looked fresh, not like a man who had been through a hellish 300+ mile ride. He was animated, jovial, and had a beer while onlookers stood amazed while prying him with questions. Greg didn't seem to mind. He answered them all and with a smile. Hughes, on the other hand, was gone within a few minutes of his arriving at Miller Park and didn't really rub shoulders with many of the onlookers there. He was more reserved, and his countenance was deep and felt more heavy. 

Greg Gleason smiles as he sips his Surly beer after T.I.v13.

Another thing that I always was impressed by, and I think of this particularly when I think about Greg at the finish of v13, is how the human body stays warm after 25-30-ish hours of straight riding. Look at Greg there, bare handing a cold beer in temperatures and in air that conspired to suck the very lifeblood out of anyone else standing there. You'll note the onlookers in the images here. How they are all bundled up against the wind and cold, damp air. 

Not Greg! Coat unzipped, nothing but a cycling cap on his head, and no gloves on. He was toasty warm! I don't know, but maybe I am an oddball for noticing these things. I just always found this characteristic of finishers of Trans Iowa to be remarkable. 

Greg loaded up, said a few goodbyes, and motored out of Miller Park. This seemed to signal to many of the other onlookers that it was time for them to leave as well. Of course, it was after 12 noon by this point in the day. Many folks there had been up all night long, or had been up late and not slept much. The weather was inhospitable yet, and all the excitement was gone. But I still had a few riders to look out for yet, and Trans Iowa was not over.

The ending of T.I.v13 was one which I feel was perhaps the ending with one of the deepest feeling of loneliness I have experienced at this event. Maybe v3 was close, but I was delirious at that point of that event. Anyway.....I'll get to that next week.

Next: When The Clock Strikes Two