A Discovery Leads To Questions

 The last event I ever promoted and ran was the 2019 C.O.G. 100. This was a single speed, 100 mile long gravel event to determine a Male and Female Single Speed gravel champion for the state of Iowa. 

Official? pfffft! If you mean "sanctioned" by some folks claiming authority, well the answer is an emphatic NO! N.Y. Roll and I just thought we'd try it out to see if the idea had legs. 

It seemed to resonate with folks, so we threw in for doing it again the following year, but you all probably can guess what happened to our late March 2020 scheduled event. 

Yeah....that happened. 

One thing led to another and we ended up cancelling the event completely. We either gave away or sold off the remaining merch we created for the event, licked our wounds and moved on. During this time, when there were no events or anything going on during the Spring of 2020, I came to the realization I was through organizing events on gravel. 15 years was enough for me, and I still am happy to not be doing several events a year. 

However; I was not through with events, not really. There was the Hall of Fame Ride we did in 2022 for my induction into the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame. There was the Victory Ride in 2024. This year N.Y. Roll and I hosted the Tree In The Road Ride which was a highlight of the year for me (so far) 

So, to say I am "completely" out of organizing events is disingenuous. I dabble in loosely organized fun on bicycles for gravel riding. I invite others to come along. N.Y. Roll is also of a similar mindset as I. We both are all about non-competitive, perhaps challenging, but fun-focused rides on gravel That's our jam these days. The Tree In The Road Ride was a smashing success, and we probably will do something again next year, especially now that I have transportation available to me. 

I know the folks down in Kansas sorely wanted me to come down to ride this year, but it wasn't possible, and circumstances have kept me from making this opportunity a reality in 2025. But next year? Yeah, this is an open idea. So, the point being I will be doing something on gravel for a ride in 2026. This was always the plan, but......

What's this? C.O.G. 100 hats?!!

While digging around for a soldering station I knew I had so I could repair an output jack on my 1988 Fender Stratocaster Plus, I came across a big square shaped box. What could be inside of this? 

Well, much to my surprise it was all the signed waivers from the first C.O.G. 100, some jerseys, and about 20 or so C.O.G. 100 hats. 

Oh! Okay......now what? 

I'm not the kind of person who just throws stuff away, especially good, new stuff. I had an idea, and I ran it across N.Y. Roll to see where his head was at regarding my thoughts. He was all-in. 

Yes....we are probably going to give these hats away. However, you also probably will have to show up for a ride. A ride with a single speed bicycle. And yes.....it will be on gravel. Also, it will - of course - be a free ride. That's all I know right now. We have no date, time, or place decided as of this writing. It is just an idea we want to pursue. 

Could it be this Fall? Yes. Probably. However, our seemingly endless Summer is forecast to go straight to very cold, windy, sort of yuck weather. So, I don't know a date, and this Fall could be a swing to difficult weather until Winter. We will monitor this closely. 

It could be we wait until next year, but this is much less likely. At least, this is my feeling. But whenever we do this, we will let you know here, and if you have any ideas to share, or if you just want to show your feelings about doing something like this, let me know in the comments. 

Meanwhile I have a Stratocaster to fix........