Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Announced

Joel Dyke, nominated for the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame 2013

 First of all - CONGRATULATIONS to all the Class of 2023 who are to be inducted into the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame this May on the 31st of that month in Emporia, Kansas. 

The new class consists of four members. Athletes, race/event promoters, and innovators of gear are part of this class which includes Allison Tetrick, Joel Dyke, Miguel Crawford, and Yuri Hauswald. 

You can read the well written bios for each person HERE.

Comments: As a voter on the selection panel, I had a hand in getting these folks in this class, so there is some bias, I suppose, in my analysis based upon that. But you all know that anyway. With that said....

I'm going straight in with a similar thought to what I had to say about the 2022 Class, which you can read in its entirety by clicking here.  So what about Jim Cummings? Yes.....I said it. I'll summarize what I said last year by posting my quip about this situation here: "Someday Jim Cummings has to be in this hall of fame, or it will be laughable. Kind of like 'Pete Rose' laughable. But we'll see......"

Okay, let the darts fly if they must, but that's my take on that. I'm glad to see that Joel was voted in this time. That is a wrong from last year righted. Joel and his story deserve a lot more notoriety than it has gotten since he helped instigate the DK200 and his other event and promotional activities in the Kansas City area. Joel epitomized the inclusive, "everybody gets a chance to play" mentality that became integral to the gravel scene. That and his calling me, and others, "sexy-pants" when he addressed you. Man! I miss that man....

Allison Tetrick on the podium for the 2018 Gravel Worlds

Both Yuri Hauswald and Allison Tetrick represent the bridge between the underground days of gravel and its growing up to become the mainstay of North American competitive cycling that it is today. 

Both are also tirelessly advocating for inclusivity, fairness in opportunities, and adventure for all in the cycling realm. Both have had fairly high profile recognition amongst cyclist and have brought their competitiveness and associations with high profile athletes and sponsors in the realm of performance cycling to gravel. It's pretty easy to see how what these two have brought to the table has grown the gravel scene in many ways and pushed the boundaries out in many directions. 

Miguel Crawford is a name that not only most of you probably have never heard of, but one I was completely unfamiliar with as well when nominations for the Class of 2023 opened up. However; when I read his story which was submitted to the GCHoF, I immediately understood his impact when I read that he instigated the Hopper Series of events in California. 

I had the Hopper Series on my radar going as far back as the early twenty-teens when I was busy compiling events for the Gravel Grinder News events calendar. Back then, a certain fellow named "Murphy Mack" would keep trying to get me to come out for one of those or his event series, which was in a similar area of California. I think his deal was the Superhopper Series, and maybe those were the same thing. I don't remember anymore. That was up to ten years ago now!

But I knew that the Hopper was a big deal in West Coast events that were "underground", under-the-radar type things and were gravel-type deals which were developed before gravel was "gravel". These events were very important from the standpoint of influence, and since Miguel was the instigator of this, I felt he deserved to be in the GCHoF.

Looking Ahead: I've said this before, but a LOT of the nomination stories sent in for the Selection Committee to read were so varied and narrowly focused on one area that it was hard to navigate them. My suggestion for future nominations would be for those who are considering nominating someone to read what is on the GCHoF site for backstories on current members of the GCHoF and pattern their stories in a similar fashion. (See the link above if you are so inclined)

My thoughts would be that any future nominee would have to have included in their stories some, or all of, the following points:

• Influence: Not just "locally", or for a specific group, but in a wider sense. Did the event, performances, actions, or results of this person reach out in a meaningful way to the cycling community overall? Does this person influence through advocacy and ways that are not necessarily via media, race results, or in cycling business? 
• Historical: You can look at an event or person and determine whether or not anything we have seen in gravel cycling today would exist at all, or in a form as we know it now, without them and their efforts. 
• Pioneering: Here I would look at pre-Modern Era Gravel or early Modern Gravel era (2004-2012) people and events that made a dent, influenced others, or were significant in some meaningful way to what we know as the gravel scene today. Not all that were on gravel before 2004 made any marks on the gravel scene today, but some did. 

Yeah, I think making real sure your nominee has a strong case in those three areas would make for a solid nomination and if the story was written cohesively and well like the bios on the GCHoF site, well you are going to get better consideration than you would for a "list of accomplishments" only, or some heart-felt but not very influential plea that goes something like, "this person really made a difference for me and so many others". Like- "Okay..... Tell me how, where, when and why". Just saying "it is so" doesn't cut it. 

Again- CONGRATULATIONS to the four new members of the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame!