It Was Twenty Years Ago Today

April 23rd, 2005. The moment the Modern Gravel Era started

 Twenty years is a long time when it comes to people's memories. Things are so quickly forgotten now and no wonder. We have a fire hose of information streaming into our faces on a daily basis. How anyone can remember anything these days is amazing when there is so much going on.

So, I started doing a "Where We Came From" series to remind those folks who may have forgotten, or just as likely - are too young to know - about gravel goings on back in the 2000's.

On the other hand, it may seem a bit presumptuous of me to write a post ballyhooing the "start of the Modern Gravel Era" when I was part of the story. Perhaps it might seem a bit more "authentic" if someone else told the story and put the honor of starting the gravel scene as we know it today on Trans Iowa. My take is that no one else is going to bother to point this out in cycling media, and how much more "authentic" can you get when I was there from the get-go. So, take this for what it is - an eye-witness accounting. 

The first Trans Iowa was more than a starting point for modern gravel cycling, it was a huge turning point in my life. The morning of the event marked my introduction as an "event director", although at the time, I felt like anything but an event director. In my mind, I was a "volunteer", a nobody. I was there to "help" and while I was willing to do whatever it took to get the event completed, I had no idea  what this might have meant going in.

Jeff Kerkove circa 2004

Someone who did have an idea of what was going on was the co-founder of Trans Iowa, my friend, and co-worker at that time, Jeff Kerkove. Jeff had been dominating XC MTB in the Mid-West and especially in the realm of solo 24 hour racing in the early 2000's. He was fairly well known in those circles. Since Jeff had a blog, which he posted to nearly daily back then, many cyclists who followed ultra-distance, endurance, and XC MTB were fans of his before Trans Iowa. 

Because Jeff had an audience, and because he was well aware of many of the facets of endurance cycling we'd need to be aware of in putting on Trans Iowa, his participation in the first event, both as organizer and racer, was invaluable. His connections within this community and with sponsors, who loved Jeff, by the way, were also of incalculable worth to getting this off the ground.

An example of this was not well known, and probably still is not, but Jeff had a good relationship with Mike Curiak, he of Iditarod fame, and who was part of the group who put on the first Great Divide events, which became Tour Divide later on. Mike was well versed in self-supported, long distance events, and he was leaned on heavily to help us out with the rules and formatting of Trans Iowa. Many of today's 300 mile type course events such as The Long Voyage at Gravel Worlds, the "XL" at Unbound, and the Mega Mid-South have Mike Curiak to thank for the ultimate end inspiration for such events on gravel. We may have introduced many to gravel as a way to have this "Type 2 Fun", but without Mike Curiak's assistance, this type of challenge probably would not have reached as many people as it has.  

Another huge moment came when Richard, "Deke" Gosen asked if we wanted to merge our event ending with his Decorah Time Trial MTB event being held on the same weekend in April as Trans Iowa. Jeff and I went to Decorah to meet with Rich and he sat us down to ask us a few questions about this new event we were going to put on. It was like an interview, to be honest, with the pivotal question Rich asked being kind of a philosophical touchstone for the rest of Trans Iowa's historic run. The question?

"Would you guys be okay if no one finished this event? Would you be alright with that?"

I remember Jeff turning to me after a brief pause and we met eyes. We agreed then and there that Trans Iowa would be an event no one might finish, and that this was just fine by us. Rich responded with a slap to the knee and said "Good! That's what I was hoping to hear!" 

Jesse LaLonde with the 1000 yard stare at the end of  his T.I.v2 Image by J. Kerkove

There were a lot of things I was soaking in during those days. I felt like I was in over my head at many points, and the level of competition at the first Trans Iowa really made me feel out of my element. Who was I to tell these, at that time, stalwarts of the endurance MTB scene, what to do?

This was where I fell in love with putting on this event. The way I was accepted, the way I was treated by these people, was completely different than what I had experienced participating in the late 1990's MTB scene. 

A lot has been made of the "gravel family' - One event in particular has co-opted the term as one of its main marketing slogans. But this facet of the early gravel scene was not born with the Modern Era of Gravel. It existed outside of this scene and was adopted by it mainly due to the influences of those ultra-endurance freaks who came to the first gravel events. It was they who instilled this part of gravel culture into the mix, and I was a recipient of this first-hand in 2005.

At any rate, this was another thing I wanted to curate and preserve in Trans Iowa. The entire familial, personal experience thing. This is why the Pre-Race Meat-Up was of such importance to me. It is why I cherish the hangs while the event was winding down at the finish line on Sunday. It all was sparked by my experiences interacting with those endurance freaks of the past.

 I learned a lot before, during, and after Trans Iowa in 2005. I grew as a person by leaps and bounds due to being involved in Trans Iowa. I was afforded the opportunity to learn from so many great people. It boggles my mind today to think of it.

 A gift to me from Kimberly Bruer and Jeremy Fry, this shows every T.I. site header except T.I. v1. Note the banned V8 header rarely shown.

 Apparently, by the reactions I received over the years and by the results I have witnessed which came out of Trans Iowa, this day in 2005 was a pretty significant day, not just for me, but for many. I cannot imagine what things would be like now had Jeff and I, at any time during the first two Trans Iowas, had thrown in the towel.

 Yeah, you can certainly argue that other events were "gravel" before Trans Iowa. You can say other people were integral to gravel getting off the ground, and I might agree with your choices. But I do know history would not be the same without Trans Iowa, and that Trans Iowa was the reason many other things happened in the gravel cycling realm. I know I would not be who I am without Trans Iowa or gravel cycling. That's enough for me.

Check out the companion podcast with Jeff Kerkove HERE.

 So, I celebrate today with fondness, thankfulness, and love for what has happened, and especially for the people I have been blessed to get to know. Ultimately, those people are what matters the most.

If you are a part of gravel cycling - Thank you! I appreciate you all, and while I may not know you, I feel you are an important part of the story of gravel.

Keep Riding!

Guitar Ted