Analog Navigation

 In celebration of the twentieth year of this blog, I have a few tales to tell. This post is one of them. This series will occur off and on throughout this anniversary year, I hope to illuminate some behind-the-scenes stories and highlights from the blog during this time. Enjoy!

 In speaking with Ari a couple weeks ago (and featured in the podcast I did with him), the subject of cue sheet navigation was brought up. I was reminded how most riders do not understand the impact of cue sheets on events and what a different challenge that can be for the riders. Also, with this blog often serving as the "long-form" explainer for Trans Iowa related issues and topics, the cue sheet idea has bearing on the history of this blog. 

A typical Trans Iowa cue sheet

Now, maybe you are reading this and you don't know what a "cue sheet" is. Maybe you do know what they are, but have never ridden an event using them. Let me tell you, these things can really be a difference maker. 

We use to use cue sheets because when we started gravel events there were no GPS cycling computers. None. 

Imagine this if you can!

So, to send someone out on a course with no markings, (I know! Another nearly unfathomable thing for some folks), we had to give riders 'directions'. You can think of cue sheets as "riding directions" which you must follow to stay on course. 

Using cues meant that you had to do several things. One: You had to be able to read the cues. This may seem obvious, but think about it: How do you read a cue sheet while riding? You must consider several things. First, you have to have something to hold the cues with. Make sure the wind and the bumping around doesn't knock them off your bike! How do you move from one cue page to another? How can you see a cue sheet - either with poor vision or at night? Almost none of this is necessary for using GPS navigation these days. 

Next, you need to pay more attention to your mileage, sight cues, and the cue sheet! Again, with modern GPS you simply listen for the audible prompt and check the arrow to see which way to turn. You don't read signs, landmarks, or mileage on a computer or cue. Simple. Faster. Easier. 

Cues had their own "language" which varied from event to event. There was no real "standard" unless you were using "tulip" style cues which a lot of events were using back then. To my knowledge Trans Iowa was one of the only events to use strictly alphanumerical cues. You had to read them, as there were no symbols used besides the occasional "arrow". This put a premium on "paying attention" to not only the cues, but your surroundings. 

I could give a long dissertation here on why I think cue sheets are a good idea for events, but I'll just say here that the whole "paying attention" thing was the reason I made a  deliberate and intentional move to include as much "vagueness" in my cues as I could while still providing the clearest directions I could possibly give. 

For instance, I quit giving information as to where you were in a city, town, or village, as that should have been readily apparent to the rider if they were observant. Only in the case of crossing highways and County blacktops did I give any warning ahead of getting there.That was a safety concern. 

Anyway, getting back to the blog, I had to use "Guitar Ted Productions" as a means to give long-form explainers for cue sheets, and this became even more necessary as time went on as more and more I found new riders to be unfamiliar with the cue sheet navigation idea. As an example, you can read THIS POST from 2017 where I went into great detail about how the cues were to be used for Trans Iowa v`13.

I did this to not only inform the riders of Trans Iowa, but to keep the formatting of the Trans Iowa site in its mostly unmolested form which Jeff Kerkove set up in late 2004. I think, and have always thought this, that the OG Trans Iowa blog page is a treasure to be archived and curated so that anyone curious about how things got started could maybe get a feel for the event through that page. Especially the rules which were copied outright or borrowed heavily from by a LOT of following gravel events. 

So, in a way, I leveraged this blog to be what maybe should always have been on an event site, but now you know why I never considered that as an option.