One of the things I felt bad about during the lead-up to Trans Iowa v14 was all the times I had to dodge the fact that this was going to be the last Trans Iowa. You'd maybe think that wouldn't have been a big deal, and honestly, I thought it would not be a big deal either. That is, until you get things like a book idea thrown at you, or requests for interviews.
I also had to deal with sponsors speaking to me as though they were in this for the long haul and that really was awkward for me internally. Especially when dealing with WTB, the Grinnell Steakhouse, and my contacts in Grinnell. I hadn't thought about those angles either. Actually, it ended up becoming a stressful thing towards the end of the run up to v14. It probably doesn't help that I am not good at keeping secrets either.
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| Bar Yak sent out these cue sheet holders pre-v14 as prizing for the event. |
One of the more regretful situations I found myself in was something completely unexpected. A book about gravel events was being put together by author Nick Legan and he was featuring Trans Iowa as one of the 'bucket list' events in the nation at that time for gravel riders to do.
This got really sticky as the book was set to come out right when I was going to kill off Trans Iowa. I felt like my event shouldn't have been included, but how could I say that and not give myself away? I didn't know how and so I played along, even helping to promote the book along the way pre-release. Uggh! That felt pretty dirty, but I was sticking to my guns regarding my decision to keep the secret.
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| Nick Legan's "Gravel Cycling" came out the year T.I. ended. |
Another unexpected uncomfortable situation arose when I was asked by "The Path Less Pedaled" for an interview. This occurred just before Trans Iowa v14 and again, I had to keep it real and not give any hint as to the fate of Trans Iowa. In the end, the interview came out after Trans Iowa, so it was even more odd and basically, I felt that was a train wreck. But again, I didn't know how to avoid that either.
Maybe I should have politely declined the interview and risked coming off as aloof or worse. I don't know. But that was another regrettable situation I found myself in.
Speaking with my volunteers was another tough thing to do without spilling the beans. Especially with Tony, as I stated in the previous edition of this series. But occasionally I was in contact with Ben, or Matt, and I could speak freely, or communicate without worry. That was nice. But it didn't happen often.
Speaking of Ben, he was doing these coffee mugs and stainless steel flasks as promotional gifts which he engraved with event logos and the like. He offered to do up a bunch of stuff for me, via our Riding Gravel partnership, and so the Trans Iowa v14 bottle opener was planned for all those who attended the event. I also got cups and flasks for the volunteers as special gifts. That was a nice gesture on Ben's part and I was able to give some nice things to my inner circle of supporters.
But back to "The Secret". Remember that I mentioned my blog post I had been crafting to announce the end of Trans Iowa? Well, in March of 2018 I was tweaking on it for the umpteenth millionth time and when I went to hit "Preview" I accidentally pushed "Publish"! I was immediately aware of my mistake so I hit "Return To Draft" and I think maybe the post was live for like three to six seconds. But that was all it took for a few who subscribed to my blog to catch it and I actually got an email from a reader who had thought he had read this but it was gone. I came clean with him, but I asked him to keep it under his hat, which he promised to do, and he really had no horse in the race anyway. I was horrified. How many others had seen this? I did not know....
So, with THAT hanging out there I lived for about a month not knowing who- if anyone- might post on social media that Trans Iowa was ending and that I would end up with that mass chaos I was trying to avoid all along. But meanwhile I had to keep a stiff upper lip and carry on. I couldn't let on to anyone that this was anything but another edition of Trans Iowa.
Next: Changing Gears On The Finish
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