Of course, I understand the importance of this upcoming anniversary and I have already written a post, set for release on April 23rd, which will commemorate this anniversary.
It will be a part of my "Where We Came From" series which concerns itself with the telling of the story of Modern Gravel's early days. My position is Trans Iowa was the event that marked the line where this gravel scene started and grew to what it is today.
So, consider this post a "Public Service Announcement" telling all I am fully aware this is a big anniversary and I do have a special post coming on the anniversary date which will celebrate this event and tell you all a few more behind the scenes stories concerning the first Trans Iowa. I will point out some folks out there who were pivotal in getting Trans Iowa off the ground also.
Tentatively I also have scheduled a podcast episode with co-founder of Trans Iowa, Jeff Kerkove, to be recorded sometime after the 16th of this month. Hopefully this can drop right about the same time as the written post here does.
If you have any comments concerning the early days of gravel, or specifically to Trans Iowa, I would love to read those. Meanwhile, you might get a kick out of checking out the Trans Iowa History site with stories on each of the 14 versions of Trans Iowa, a full results page, and a full roster page showing each person who ever rode in the event and which versions they were a part of. Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions. Stay tuned for the podcast episode and the special anniversary post on Wednesday, April 23rd!
7 comments:
20 years! No wonder I am feeling old. Sadly (or wisely) I only toed the line once (v3) and made it about 140 miles (was it Independence where I dropped? - still regret that call...). TI was 100% the inspiration for our race that just had its 18th edition last weekend (17th official running with COVID) - the Ragnarok. We still are free, still use postcards to enter a lottery, still have a fairly limited start list (150 people) and still use cue sheets. I guess you could say we completely ripped off what Trans Iowa did/was doing! Thanks for doing what you do!
@IMG - Ha! We are ALL getting older this side of The Dirt. ;>)
Thank YOU for what you do! Long Live The Ragnorok!
@IMG – Thank YOU for what you’re still doing!! That’s the spirit of gravel and you’ve kept it going. Cheers to you!!
After all these years, some of my most fond memories come from riding in and helping put Trans Iowa on. Amazing feats. Amazing failures. Humbling conditions. Incredible conversations. Beautiful nights. Howling Wind. It was all there for us… and it still is.
Interestingly, there's still photos of Ira Ryan's winning bike online from the first and third editions...pretty amazing to see how gravel bikes have evolved (or not) in the last 20 years: https://www.flickr.com/photos/iraryancycles/481531578
@Owen - Ira's bike was smashed in a wreck between Trans Iowa v1 and V3. He actually replaced the top tube before TIv3, which the link is an image from. If I recall correctly, that bike was not painted at T.I.v1 as Ira had just finished it up not long before the first TI.
20 years. Man, the things that some of us have seen over the years...
@S. Fuller - Yeah..... It's really pretty crazy when you stop to consider it.
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