Okay, so the event started out with the get-together and a meal, (if you bought the ticket for that) at the fabulous Grenada Theater on Commercial Street in Emporia, Kansas. I want to thank Shimano, the main sponsor for this, and all the other sponsors for the event. It was really a great time.
This year we were entertained and led through the ceremony by none other than cycling influencer Marley Blonski, who was wearing a great sparkling pink dress. I love sparkles! It was an awesome dress. Anyway, Marley did a great job and did not miss a beat when her microphone lost battery power. She just popped out from behind the podium and amped up her voice a bit and that got us through that rough patch. She also navigated a switch in the way the nominees were presented on the fly seamlessly. She did a wonderful job and I thought she was fantastic given the potential pitfalls she was handed to navigate.
Now on to each nominee in the order that they were presented....
Jay Petervary:
We nearly lost Jay last September when he was hit from behind by a young driver on a dirt road North of Salida Colorado while Jay was attempting another solo Tour Divide run. He was left on the side of the road broken and with an unintended course change in life. After months of physical healing and mental healing Jay was able to be there for his induction, and he made it a point to underscore how this was not a moment taken lightly for him.
Jay made his name doing the ultra-distance stuff like the Iditarod and, of course, the Great Divide/Tour Divide race. Tour Divide could be the longest "gravel race" in the world, and I, for one, believe that to be a true statement. That said, I was not aware until recently, (I was told by Jay himself in a message), that Trans Iowa was his first "proper" gravel event that he ever was a part of. He and his wife, Traci, came and rode their tandem for T.I.v6, the version noted for it's rain, lightning, floods, and for its shortened distance. Jay gave a not insignificant portion of his acceptance speech concerning that and also his first DK200, which he rode in, about three years after Trans Iowa v6.
There is no doubt that Jay Petervary hearkens back to the earliest beginnings of gravel in that he came from the same background that many of the first gravel grinders did. However; I feel it was the attention that "JayP" brought to gravel by attending T.I. and the DK that was a very influential part of his contributions to getting him this recognition. Then factoring in his influence during his tenure as a sponsored athlete at Salsa Cycles and it is apparent that Jay has a place in the GCHoF which is well deserved. Jay has undoubtedly spurred on many a rider via his actions as a rider, and an event director now, to "Ride Forward" and take on challenges on gravel and dirt.
Known best as a photographer and for telling the story of gravel through her imagery, Linda came up to the podium and gave a very interesting and inspiring acceptance speech in her own, down to Earth style.
I did not know, however; that Linda was also a participant in early gravel races, such as the DK200. But that wasn't how she got into the GCHoF. Actually, it was from an opportunity after losing a job in 2014 to try photography then, as it was an interest of hers. Linda gave herself two months to "make it work", and she did some imagery on the Tour Divide route that year, since it was near to where she lived at the time. After a chance meeting with one of the racers who suggested she sell her imagery to cycling brands, Linda found work that made that risk of being a photographer worthwhile for her.
Then Linda, taking her experiences as a rider as a guide, found ways to illuminate that grind, that story of "fighting the demons" to overcome and finish gravel events, and put that into images that described the,as she put it, the Spirit of Gravel.
Now, you'll see a lot of "click-bait" articles online these days that claim some knowledge of this "Spirit", but they are almost always B.S. Linda? She gets it, and in her speech, it was apparent to all in attendance that she understands why that term was coined in the first place. Again, Linda is a very deserving member of the GCHoF and I am glad she's in the hall.
Selene Yeager:
Selene Yeager, or "The Fit Chick", as she became known as through her time as a magazine writer, was also an accomplished athlete in the early days of "monster-cross" events. Many people hold those types of events as "gravel-adjacent" events that had many of the same elements as today's gravel races. Given a platform at Bicycling Magazine by Bill Strickland in the late 1990's, Selene advanced her career and became an advocate for women in cycling including gravel cycling.
Selene has expanded her influence from writing into the podcasting realm and continues to inspire athletes to push beyond their perceived boundaries. Selene has certainly impacted the gravel scene as a result, especially when it comes to women and gravel cycling.
Her speech was a heartfelt thank you to her husband, Dave Pryor, and to the aforementioned Bill Strickland. Then Selene also touched upon this idea of a "Spirit of Gravel" and I thought she did a great work in explaining it in her view. Not unlike Linda's view, and I thought that Selene nailed it and this was far from what you'll read in most endemic cycling media concerning this subject.
Selene then ended her acceptance speech by cementing the fact that menopausal women are not sidelined and incapable of great athletic feats. Her work is ongoing in that realm and I applaud her for this and for her induction into the GCHoF.
Nick Legan:
Nick Legan has been a mechanic, an athlete, an author, and a cycling industry insider who has - through all of those ways - influenced and changed gravel cycling. I've had the honor to know Nick a tiny, very tiny bit, and I can say that Nick is the nicest, hardest working man in terms of advancing gravel in many ways that I have known.
There is no doubt that Nick has a hand in influencing how this gravel scene has gone and grown over the years. Then you have his athletic accomplishments in gravel events on top of that and well, Nick deserves to have a place in the GCHoF alongside the rest of us.
Nick's speech was an emotional one, as were the others, but perhaps more poignantly so in this instance because of the loss of his father recently and because his mother was there to witness this occasion. I feel like Nick represents one of those stories in gravel that is untold generally, but the more that you know about his story, the more amazing it becomes. This is a prime reason for the GCHoF to exist and I am happy that Nick has made it into the GCHoF.
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| Post Card Entries was the Gravel Icon Award winner for 2024. |
Post Card Entries:
The Gravel Icon Award, which was introduced at last year's GCHoF ceremonies, and was first won by the Salsa Chaise Lounge, was awarded to "Post Card Entries" this year. Since they didn't have a screen shot or any physical item to show on stage I give you this rendition of "post card entry" from a T.I.v11 card I received.
Post cards were the main form of entry into most of the early iconic gravel races such as Trans Iowa, the Almanzo 100, Gravel Worlds, and many other smaller regional gravel events like the Ragnarok 105, which still utilizes post card entries to this day. While today's registration processes are mostly digitized, they are without personality, cheer, inventiveness, and not packed with hopes and dreams of the entrants, like those old post cards were. So, the GCHoF Board recognized the importance of that form of registration and chose Post Card Entries as this year's Gravel Icon Award winner.
And I gave the acceptance speech. Nuff about that! (There is a video on You Tube somewhere of that, if you care to find it)
Overall this was an interesting and worthy class of entrants and I was proud and honored to be a small part of the goings on that Wednesday evening. There was an after-party, which Mrs. Guitar Ted and I attended briefly, since she cannot stand for long periods of time. But, in the short time that I was there, I received more congratulations on being in the GCHoF than I did the year I was inducted. Maybe not to be wondered at since I was in the first class and no one really was on to the whole thing quite yet back then.
Part 3 tomorrow.....
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