Gravel History With Guitar Ted: Changing Times

About this time ten years ago...

A story I told in the latest episode of the Guitar Ted Podcast had to do with this image. The image is of myself out North and East of Waterloo at about this time of year in 2016. It is a trading card, one of a set, which was handed out at the tenth anniversary of the Dirty Kanza 200 event in Emporia, Kansas. You know.....the event known as Unbound now? Yeah, that gravel race. 

I remember when the DK folks reached out to me and asked me to send them an image. They wanted something of me recent on a bike. Well.......there are not a lot of images of myself riding a bicycle, so this was a bit of an issue for myself. 

I thought it was a bit of an odd request anyway. I mean....who cares about Guitar Ted riding bikes? Especially racers. I never amounted to much when it comes to bicycle racing. As far as my event went, Trans Iowa was weird and being eclipsed by several other events by that time in gravel. Essentially, the gravel world had grown and passed myself and Trans Iowa by. 

Sure, there was the influence, the history, which Trans Iowa and myself represented. But even by 2016 most gravel folk had no idea concerning any of that. None. Zero. 

This is why I find it ironic when today I see stories written on major online cycling media sites stating how gravel didn't really see growth until 2018, or 2019, and some punters place the "explosion of gravel" after the pandemic. 

They don't know what they are talking about.

I used to compile a calendar of gravel events every year from 2008 until 2020. Gravel events increased in number from 2010 to 2019 by a factor of over six times. Talk about "an explosion of gravel events" But no one cares to research anything in their stories, I guess. That's why I write this stuff down. 

Anyway, back to the trading cards. I eventually settled on taking a quick selfie out on a ride and I sent it off for the DK200 folks to look at. I promptly forgot all about the promotion as I was deep in the throes of organizing the next Trans Iowa event. 

Then it came time for the DK200. I went down with Tony, a friend of mine, and I was there mostly as support for Tony. But I also was there to attend this goofy, (my opinion) autograph session for people who wanted autographed trading cards. The rest of that story is on the podcast, so I'll save you from reading it here. 

The whole deal was pretty much a flop, as I recall. I did get a complete set of cards for being there.  I went home, and probably like most everyone else, I tossed these cards in a "junk drawer" to eventually get thrown out at some point in the future. 

Then one day, well over a year later, I received an odd little package in the mail. It was a playing card box full of my trading cards. I think I have around 30+ of my card in that box yet. I have no idea why I got them afterward or what I will ever do with them in the future. 

Probably throw them out in some fit of cleaning someday.....