The GTDRI Stories: The Run Up To GTDRI 2017

The header for the 2017 GTDRI

"The GTDRI Stories" is a series telling the history, untold tales, and showing the sights from the run of Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitationals. This series will run on Sundays. Thanks for reading!

As 2017 got under way I had my typical duties and events to do like Trans Iowa, the Gent's Race, and I went to the DK200 again with my friend Tony, but I did my own ride, as I had the previous year. 

I also had planned a "Geezer Ride", the beginners, not-so-racy ride that was usually around 40 miles, more casually paced, and had a very relaxed feel. It was this ride and my desire to do a tribute to the Pirate Cycling League's "Tour of Dirt Roads" that led to what became the route for the 2017 GTDRI. 

This was actually the header on the GTDRI site until late June

The ride start for 2017 was also influenced by a new business opening in the small town of Reinbeck, Iowa. It was bout a 20+ mile bike ride from the house here. The business was a micro-brewery called Broad Street Brewing. I decided to check it out after I came up with a course for the GTDRI, but before that, this place was the half way point for that Geezer Ride I mentioned.

The place turned out to be quite the hit with the riders so I became more interested in having the GTDRI start there as well. I needed to do a bit of recon work to make everything fit together in terms of the route and resupply, because originally I had the route coming out of Waterloo. However; I was able to adjust things and make it work out. 

I didn't get in the recon miles I wanted to, though, due to the fact that 2017 had a very wet, cool Spring and early Summer. It seemed as though every chance I got to ride was on a rainy day!  It was pretty frustrating too. But in the end, I realized that I had been on most of the roads I chose and as always for a GTDRI, I wanted to have some I hadn't ever seen. That was something that made the ride more interesting for myself. 

Testing Broad Street Brewery's wares. Ironically I don't drink alcohol anymore in 2023!

Geezer Riders entering 110th St Level B Road which ended up on the 2017 GTDRI.

Fortunately I had most of June free from events, which hadn't been the case for several years. That was because Odin's Revenge was retired after the 2016 version and never came back. This was a sad thing for me, in a way, because I never finished that event, but so it goes. At least I had time to figure out what really needed looked at for the GTDRI. 

Then it was on to July, and RAGBRAI work at the shop, with whatever riding I could get in on top of that. The weather starting shaping up with less rains, but I had a fear in the back of my mind that perhaps my dirt road heavy course would come back to bite me. In the end, I threw caution to the winds and decided to go for it anyway. 

Next: The 2017 GTDRI