As April kicked in here at Guitar Ted Productions, so did the review work! The move off from Riding Gravel was expected to a be marker for a decline in reviews that I would be offered to do, but it did not seem that there was much fall-off in that area at all. I was surprised by the amount of products I reviewed during this period when I did my research for this post.
Here is a listing of the products I wrote about during the second quarter of 2024:
- Ritchey Design SuperLogic Carbon Venture Handlebar
- Velo Orange Burrito Supreme Handlebar Bag
- Ortlieb Fuel Pack & Top Tube Bags
- Redshift Sports ShockStop Pro seat post
- Redshift Sports Top Shelf Bar
- Camp Snap Camera
- Velo Orange Mojave Bottle Cage
- Caterpy Laces
- Effetto Mariposa Shelter frame protection tape
- Equipt Sardine Multi-Tool
And of course, I reviewed my Honeman Flyer single speed gravel bike I had made by King Fabrications. So, there was a LOT going on there. Probably more than I had going on while I was with Riding Gravel for those three months, which I found really surprising.
It also bears mentioning that many of these reviews garnered record viewing numbers. You'll see this manifested when I post my "Top Ten Posts of 2024" article later in the month here. So, while my assumption that leaving Riding Gravel would hurt my reviewing side of writing, (which I was totally fine with, if that happened, by the way), it did not decrease as expected. In fact, as I said, I may have actually been busier than ever.
Articles of note on the blog for the second quarter included my news of the introduction of Shimano's 12 speed Di2 GRX group. News came out concerning Gravel Worlds changing venues. I also announced my 20th Anniversary year of looking back on the history of this blog. That will wrap up in May next year when the 20th anniversary happens. I announced my "official" reasons for departing Riding Gravel. Then finally, on a sadder note, I received news of the death of Trans Iowa supporter, volunteer, image maker extraordinaire, and friend, Wally Kilburg. I wrote a eulogy in response here on the blog.
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| (L-R) Bobby Kennedy, GT, Curt Young |
A few trips happened during this period. One was to Des Moines to visit the Des Moines Street Collective and Bobby Kennedy. Bobby's work there is similar to what I do at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective. One of the CVBC's board members, Curt Young, and I went down to Des Moines to pick up some extra bikes the Street Collective needed to move on. It is always fun to visit there and Bobby is a great guy to catch up with over a cup of coffee.
Then it was off to Emporia, Kansas with Mrs. Guitar Ted to take in another induction ceremony at the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame. I got another ride in there and caught up with many of my gravel riding friends there as well.
Probably the highlight of the trip was meeting with Japanese journalist, Taiki Sakamoto. Getting to contribute to the publication Sakamoto-san works for was a true honor!
Finally there was the Victory Ride in June which I was really floored by. Warren Weibe was the organizer and the route was planned by N.Y. Roll. We even had "bandit" spray can t-shirts being made to commemorate the ride in the parking lot afterward. So cool!
I was able to write up several "Country Views" posts over this period as well, so I was getting out there and riding, which was a good thing. It was a busy second quarter of 2024! Stay tuned for what the third quarter of 2024 brought next week in my Rear View 2024 series.
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