Nominations Open

Posted on the GCHoF's Instagram yesterday

 You'd have thought that yesterday's post and today's were premeditated to coordinate with each other, but that's not at all the case. It is just a happy circumstance that yesterday the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame announced that their nomination process would open up November 1st. 

Again, I said much of what I wanted to say about the "why" of this organization's existence. Today I will focus on the "how" of the process of nominating an individual or event/organization for GCHoF inclusion. 

I'm going to specifically take the case of Joel Dyke, the co-founder of the DK200 along with Jim Cummings. By the way, these are two guys I think should be shoe-ins for nomination and induction for 2023. 

As a matter of fact, they should have gotten in this year. But things being what they are, that did not happen. So, following is a true example of why that did not happen, and then I'll show you how it should happen. 

Joel Dyke was nominated this year, but to get inducted, you have to convince a panel of "judges" who are a diverse group of racers, journalists, and bicycle company folks. I know it may come as a complete shock to some of you, but the name "Joel Dyke" doesn't do anything for those who came into the sport in the last ten years, and especially since 2019, which is the date many say that this "gravel thing really took off". (Although, in 2019 they were saying "this thing really took off in 2015, so, yeah.....) 

The result of Joel being a person who has already "faded from memory" or was "lost to history" was that the nomination the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame received, and what they had to go on, was a one word sentence. "Joel was the man", or something to that effect, was what I was told by LeLan Dains, the chairman of the GCHoF. That was not anything that moved the needle for the nomination committee. So, Joel, disappointingly, was not inducted into the first class, as should have been the case. But, the process relies on riders to tell the story, so here is how it maybe should have been written up:

Joel Dyke, (L) as seen at Trans Iowa v2 in April of 2006.

 I nominate Joel Dyke for inclusion into the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame. Joel was the co-founder of the gravel event which eventually became the Unbound Gravel event, based out of Emporia, Kansas, home of the GCHoF, in 2006. Joel was integral to the early success of the modern day gravel scene. He, along with co-founder of the Emporia based event, Jim Cummings, forged a new identity not only for gravel cycling, but for the city of Emporia Kansas as well. The event that Joel helped create is now known world-wide as North America's premier gravel event. This would not have occurred without Joel's participation and influence.

Furthermore; Joel was already a well known cyclist and regarded as a fine "underground" events promoter within the Kansas City cycling community. His events drew cyclists from all stripes to get off the couch, move, and become a part of a welcoming community of cyclists. Joel's affable, outgoing personality helped draw in people. Armed with this and his experiences with events, Joel helped create the prototypical "grassroots gravel" experience for those early gravel events he and Jim Cummings put on in Emporia. Joel drew in influences from his participation in other early gravel events, like Trans Iowa, to expand on his repertoire of knowledge and tools to help the gravel scene expand and grow not only in Emporia, but all over the Mid-West.  

Joel Dyke is then an important figure for the early gravel cycling scene, and as a pioneer of the sport, he deserves to be included in the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame. 

So, had THAT been the story the committee got, I have no doubt that they would have nominated Joel. (Not because I wrote that, but you get the idea here...) Of course, anyone who nominates a person for this needs to get their permission to do so, and in this case, since Joel tragically died several years ago, you'd have to ask his widow, I suppose. But there ya go. Write up something like that for Joel, (or anyone else you deem worthy), and send it in after November 1st to the GCHoF. Heck- you can even copy and paste what I wrote, I don't care. 

That's how it happened that Joel wasn't in on the first class of the GCHoF. This is one of the reasons why I wrote yesterday that it is sooooo important for us to get this all written down, recorded, and preserved somewhere so that these fans of the gravel cycling scene can know what the heck actually happened to get them where they are in the future. 

Without the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame, you wouldn't know about many of us that were there. It may seem obvious to you now, but in another 20 years? Yeah..... Without that history being documented, those folks born today won't know about me, Joel, or anyone else who got them on gravel racing and riding in 2042 because of what we did "back in the day". Instead people might still be writing ding-dong statements like "this gravel thing has really taken off in the last few years", which even now is clearly not the case.  

So, it is important for you folks out there to participate and let your voices be heard with regard to what is and what is not important to gravel cycling. It doesn't have to be about certain people, but let's be real here- Without the people involved, gravel cycling wouldn't be worth a hoot. So, you will never get away from that bit.