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| I think this header got used for five yeas. So get used to seeing it! |
The 2011 GTDRI was a big success and a huge turnaround in terms of participation which made me very happy. I was astounded that riders would drive many hours to come spend a day on a bicycle with me and whomever else might show up. Keep in mind, I never publicized a roster or let anyone know who might show up, generally. So, it was as much a surprise for those who came as it was for myself.
Now let me set the stage for the upcoming seventh running of this event. Things were changing all around me and I think in terms of the gravel side of my cycling life, this is when the tide turned from a focus on MTB to more gravelly things.
The big mess that happened internally with "Twentynine Inches", the 29"er site I had been involved with since 2006, was finally being settled out. I had taken full ownership of the site but the site was in a shambles in terms of advertising, the inner workings, and in terms of presentation. Fortunately for me I had a friend in SoCal that helped me muddle through all of that and by the time 2011 concluded we had made a new site which we had 100% control of. Up to that time we were living on a site which the old owner had set up and still had "the keys" to, so the advertising was not 100% coming my way. This consumed my time to a degree that not many know about.
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| Interbike 2011: The MTB side of my life started to fade about this time. |
But that wasn't the only thing draining my energy at this point in my life. I had a major change involving Trans Iowa. I was essentially on my own with it and the story has been shared elsewhere. The main point for the GTDRI was that Trans Iowa was my main focus. Everything else was pretty much secondary to that event.
That meant that if I had time for another GTDRI, it might happen. But I was completely, 100% prepared not to do the ride if Trans Iowa or the website needed my attention more. Of course, if you know anything about the series of rides, you already know that it continued on. But many of you do not know how close it came to a point where I stopped with the GTDRI.
Fortunately, my Trans Iowa plans fell into place really well and the website work was pretty much settled before the conclusion of 2011. This allowed space for the GTDRI, but 2011 was also really full of other things going on. Essentially, I was not going to have the time to go recon a course. This meant that either I was going to recycle a course or...... I could use the GTDRI for recon. Recon for future Trans Iowas. Maybe.....
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| The recon and prep went well for T.I.v8, which was a good thing for the GTDRI! |
I had a big family trip to El Paso, Texas to go on. I also had to recon the Trans Iowa v8 course before the event in late April. On top of all of that I started a weekly gravel group ride. I was still doing MTB reviews and working at the bike shop as a mechanic. My schedule was stuffed and wandering around to do recon of a fully new course for the GTDRI seemed of least import to me.
But in the end, it all came together as I used several bits from the Trans Iowa v6 and v7 courses in a sort of amalgamation with a bit of extra roads I hadn't been on thrown in for good measure. The course I came up with was an odd one since it was essentially two loops. One more or less east and south of Grinnell and the other more West and North. I came up with this and used the loop back in Grinnell as a way for some to get in a shorter, less than death, Death Ride. I had received some criticism about my lack of an easier option, and this was done to appease those who were clamoring for me to offer such an option.
Interestingly there was no recon done for the ride since most of the roads were from past Trans Iowa events in and around Grinnell. the parts that were new I wanted to keep as a surprise for myself, and ostensibly as recon for possible inclusion in a future Trans Iowa. So, what did I do instead?
Next: Training? Yes, Training!
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