Friday News And Views

UCI's Version Of Gravel Worlds Set In Italy This October:

 Last week it was announced that the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) was going to hold its inaugural "Gravel Worlds" in the Veneto Region of Italy on October 8th - 9th according to a report on "VeloNews". (Note- I have also seen a report saying the date was the week before, October 1st-2nd)

The exact location will be announced at a later date, but it may have something to do with working around, or with the promoter of Serenissima Gravel, which is set to take place October 14th in the same region of Italy. 

The UCI World Gravel Tour dates for 2022

Comments: The UCI Pro Gravel Tour has already had a few races completed, but there is not a lot of chirping about it here in North America on traditional cycling outlets. Most of the coverage here has been focused on the Pro road tour, which is fully underway after two years of truncated, or no racing at all on the calendar. 

It will be interesting to see if that tour gains any traction with fans, media, and Pro level racers in the future. The race coming up in Fayetteville, Arkansas may generate some interest. So far, it has not really turned any heads here, and any Pro level gravel coverage has been mostly focused on things like the Belgium Waffle Races and Life Time Fitness' Grand Prix of Gravel races.

Image of a rescue of a TD rider from Fernie Search & Rescue last week.

Trouble On The Tour Divide:

I haven't written much on the Tour Divide in recent years because it has become something other than what it used to be, and I think it just isn't quite as impressive these days because of technology/social media. That's my take, might not resonate with you, and that's fine. It is just why I don't feel the need to feature the event here much anymore. 

However; this year it seems that extreme weather conditions have caught out a lot of riders. According to this story published on "Fernie.com", several racers have had to be rescued on the Tour Divide route who were suffering from 'hypothermia to broken ribs.' 

Comments: Interestingly, the story linked went to the Tour Divide website and copied and pasted the 'rules' for rider safety which pretty much exonerate the event from any responsibility or oversight by the event director. I'm guessing that was a pointed attempt to portray the event in somewhat of a negative light here. It doesn't help that reports of riders disregarding officials warnings and the report of a trashing of a room by some divide riders in Whitefish have been noted.

At any rate, the accessibility and popularity of Tour Divide as a "bucket-list" thing to do has about the same connotations as an ascent on Everest these days. So many success stories and little cautionary tales make it seem as though just about anyone could pull this off, and maybe, in the case of a decent weather year at Tour Divide, that might be true. 

But now, with extreme weather conditions happening more frequently, and with the extremely remote nature of this route in many paces, it might prove to be wise to come prepared for the worst. In fact, things are so weird this year that riders could face extreme snow/cold, flooding, and excessive heat conditions, wild fires,and drought all along the route this year. For more on risk taking and my thoughts on that, see this post from earlier this year, and pay attention to the closing paragraphs.

Trek is marketing a digital or print magazine to consumers.

Direct To Consumer Marketing Takes Form Of Magazine:

Trek has taken the challenge of direct-to-consumer marketing and are offering their own magazine. The "Performance Issue" was just released last week in digital form and a print magazine is available upon request. 

The issue details Trek sponsored athletes from road, gravel, and mountain biking with a look at some of their inclusivity programs and the Trek Travel arm of the company is also featured. Along the way you get the obvious adverts for Trek products.

Comments: With the homogenization of media in the cycling niche and the media corporatization which affects the number of independent media outlets, companies are left out in the wilderness when it comes to avenues to advertise and have reviews posted which show their products off in a good light. (Like they used to when companies would buy ads in publications to insure 'good reviews') Of course, there is social media. However; Trek seems to have moved on from the "influencer" marketing strategies employed by some companies which utilize athletes and their social media platforms and audiences. Trek now has taken control directly in terms of their narrative and with this digital release and print publication, they seem to be making their own path to consumers when it comes to marketing. A "Direct-To-Consumer Media", if you will. 

In fact, I've been told that at Trek dealerships it is required by salespeople to obtain "contact information" under the guise of "making an account for receipt" purposes. This data harvesting might be how Trek intends to grow its reach for the digital publication they have launched.

Interestingly, the issue I viewed online featured female athletes, people of color, and an indigenous cycling initiative with almost no "traditional cycling media" type stories at all. It's obvious that Trek means to make headway into the social changes advocated by those who criticized the company's messages heavily over the past few years. 

This is what amounts to the "catalog style" marketing from the 20th Century, updated for today's audience. In fact, Trek calls it a "catalog" and prompts its email subscribers to "Browse the catalog". It will be interesting to see if this catches on and if - or how- it affects traditional cycling media. Will there still be independent reviews of Trek/Bontrager gear, for instance? Or, will all that disappear and will you have to access the Trek "catalog" issues to see tests/reviews of their products by their sponsored athletes/influencers? Hard to say now. But it is an interesting take on marketing in the 21st century. 

From the Summer 2017 Geezer Ride

Geezer Ride Reboot?

During the Hall of Fame Ride last weekend the subject of the Geezer Ride I used to put on came up again. Specifically it was Martin Bunge who brought it up and said that he'd strongly consider doing it if I were to bring it back. Then later on Josh Lederman expressed the same, and after the ride he tried his best to give weight to his suggestion. Then, unbeknownst to those two, and independently of them, N.Y. Roll said that bringing back the Geezer Ride might be a good fundraiser for the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective. 

Okay, now this has gotten me to thinking....

First, many of you probably don't have a clue as to what it is I am speaking of here. So, a 'geezer ride' is an easy, casually paced, no more than 40-ish mile gravel course. It's prime aim is to provide a fun, relaxing, non-competitive arena for anyone that is curious about gravel riding and would like to try it out. 

The secondary purpose was to provide a shorter route which could be ridden without too much training or effort and have good company, a fun time, and a hang out opportunity afterword. 

I started the Geezer Rides in 2014 and they ran up through 2018. Of course, that was when I "retired" from events productions. And I had intended on keeping myself out of doing this entirely, which included even organizing group rides, (like last weekend's Hall of Fame Ride), and I was just going to do whatever rides I wanted. However; the suggestion by N.Y. Roll to make the Geezer Ride a benefit to the mission of the non-profit Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective has merit and I am interested in perhaps doing another Geezer Ride. 

So, what do you think? Comment below.....

Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!