This post won't be so much about a GTDRI, but it has something to do with it. No, this post is about a development in cycling that the GTDRI had something to do with, and was a part of in terms of this particular bicycle's story.
Back in early 2008, rumors began to swirl concerning a new bike, a 29"er, and something unlike anything else out there at the time. Which, honestly, wouldn't take much. You see, 29"ers were still the odd-ball bike on the block and there were a lot of people, and companies, that were still saying 29 inch wheels were dumb and wouldn't last.
However; Salsa Cycles wasn't one of those companies. They had already invested pretty heavily in the idea with three solid entrants into the big wheeled world with their Dos Niner, Mamasita and El Mariachi 29"er bike models. Rumors were rampant concerning yet another 29"er or two to come from Salsa. The news was set to be released sometime in late 2008, and we all were figuring that would come at the Interbike trade show in the Fall of the year. Meanwhile, throughout the Spring and early Summer, tantalizing tidbits of information kept being laid out by then Salsa Cycles Brand Manager, Jason Boucher.
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| Jason Boucher at Sea Otter in 2008. |
Jason had become acquainted with me via my association with the website, "Twentynine Inches", my blog, and Trans Iowa. We had frequent email contact back at that time. Jason had dropped on me that he might be coming down from Minnesota to join me for the '08 GTDRI ride and maybe, just maybe, there would be a surprise I would be interested in.
Clues and veiled leads were dropped to the point that Jason garnered the nickname "Cagey McCagerson" at this time. Such were his communications with myself and online with others concerning the new 29"ers to come.
But it was this particular model Jason was pitching to me and other gravel riders via the GTDRI run up that was most intriguing to me. Secretly I was anxious and really hoping Jason could make the trip work out, just from a purely selfish viewpoint. I wanted to know what the heck this might be about. But it also shined another spotlight on gravel riding, and in particular, grassroots adventure style gatherings. This new bike was intentionally designed for such pursuits. Jason knew this, and he chose the GTDRI for the 'soft debut' of the bike, but he had to keep the wraps on the name of the model for many reasons. This almost derailed the entire story I am telling, but, in the end, it all worked out.
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| A dramatic recreation of "Black Electrical Tape" in 2022. |
Plans were laid by Jason and he was in constant communication with me. His family was involved in his planning and he had to accommodate them in this situation as well, so everything had to go "just-so" to make this happen.
Fortunately, it did, and as the third Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational's date drew nigh, on the very eve of the event, Jason Boucher rode this brand new, never revealed before 29'er down from a motel in Waterloo to our meeting campground at Hickory Hills County Park.
I recall seeing the greenish-gold bike in the evening Sun that day, and when asked what this bike was, Jason smiled broadly and said that he could not tell us yet. But, there it was! In fact, we couldn't even take images of it, and Jason strictly commanded that cameras be put away when he was around on the bike. Fortunately, the gravity of what was happening was felt by all in attendance, and this is why no images exist, to my knowledge, of the bike we saw then which was first known as "Black Electrical Tape". The bike got this moniker from us at that GTDRI because of Jason's use of a simple strip or two of the common tape to cover the model name of the bike, which you've probably guessed by now, is the famous Salsa Cycles Fargo.
So, there you go, a very little known fact about the Fargo and the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. The bike that debuted at my gravel grinder, a ride I never thought would host the soft introduction of a very influential 29"er drop bar adventure bike.
Next: Pre-Ride Festivities
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