When shiggy and I were talking about doing this show I did not have in mind the show would be in the Where We Came From series. However; once I was halfway through the interview I realized this was a perfect show for the series.
I think anyone who has listened to a few of the podcasts in this series will have picked up on how the gravel scene was an outgrowth of mountain biking and adventure riding. Probably best expressed in the ultra-mtb events like the Great Divide Race, events like the monster-cross events on the East Coast, or in events like the gravel road based mountain bike races in Northeast Iowa and in Kansas. Gravel events, at least those pre-2010, were mostly affairs with a great mix of competition, adventure, challenge, and social fellowshipping. This mix mirrors what people longed for in mountain bike racing, road racing, and any other sanctioned event where everything good was distilled out of the mix besides competition.
I think listening to shiggy is a good way to gain some perspective on this relationship between what cycling was meant to be and what it ends up becoming. Especially when careers are put on the back of the bicycling part. Also when competition pushes out the rest of the salient characteristics of cycling.
Many will just shrug their shoulders and say, "Well, that is just how it goes". But you see, it doesn't have to 'go that way' at all. We let it get this way because we do not demand it for our events. Promoters get into a pickle with wanting to be recompensed for their efforts so they go down the 'tried and true road' of monetizing the event and then the slippery slope has been engaged. If we had a way to recompense promoters and not have expectations on our end for swag, or prizing, or for a contribution to make it so riding a bicycle is a career choice, well then maybe it would be different. Maybe if we had other goals....
Anyway, a word before I go about the thumbnail I chose for this episode. You see a pile of first generation Salsa Cycles Fargos there. (There were more but I had to crop them out) This was from a "Fargo Adventure Ride" held in 2010 up near the Twin Cities. It was a 55 mile multi-terrain ride with just about every surface imaginable thrown in. We rode for fun, for adventure, for the joy of it, and at the end we had a nice time socially. (If I am not mistaken, we may have had too good of a time the night before as well!)
The Fargo is the original drop bar MTB adventure bike which was great for gravel, pavement, and single track. It held its own then, and now in 2025, the type of bike it represents is still probably the best all-around bike developed. All this talk about fat tires and drop bars being a new thing. pfffft! Whatever.
2 comments:
It's only too good of a time when someone ends up with a baby. There was a time some older heads and I were hanging out rebuilding Dellorto carbs for race car spare inventory. Qe had the grille going, music playing, and loud chatter. One of the old heads looked over and spotted a baby stroller in the driveway. Everyone of us was confused. We walk over and saw a baby in it. No one around. Then the oldest one of us says "Well that baby is whiter than any of us Negros, so we all good!" We all laughed and looked around. Turned out the parent lost control of the dog she was walking. She thought it made sense to leave the stroller with a bunch shady tree mechan
Thanks for having me, GT. Was a fun chat.
I would have gotten a Gen 1 Fargo (I test rode one at interbike in 2007. Was faster on it that a Niner Jet9!), but I already had my own version in a custom Adventure Bike built in 2004.
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