Put Some Respect On Him

From a recent social media post. 

About a quarter century ago now I started working with a young college aged student of the arts named Jeff Kerkove. He was known then as a quiet person, unassuming, and the kind of person one maybe didn't take note of. He wasn't going out of his way to get to know you and he didn't give off the kind of vibe that he wanted you to bother to get to know him. He was content to do his thing. And his thing was riding bicycles. 

He was good at it, by all accounts. His mother said he would ride for miles on gravel just to get to a good spot for fishing. Something he spent a lot of time doing as he grew up in Algona, Iowa.  

Eventually, a small bicycle shop run out of a garage in Algona caught Jeff's attention. He learned about races on mountain bikes which were occurring in nearby Minnesota, Wisconsin, and a few in in his home state of Iowa. Jeff found a small, like minded group of young men who were infatuated with riding fast off-road. It didn't take long before his talent at racing became apparent to the owner of that local shop. He did all he could to encourage Jeff in pursuing racing bicycles. Like it was going to take much persuading. Jeff took to racing bicycles immediately and was all about racing by the time he left for the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. 

Once Jeff had given longer, 24hr races a try he realized his forte was in the long haul. He vaulted up through the ranks of solo 24hr racers in the Mid-West. He forged a name for himself both within the racing community and online doing this new thing called "blogging".

Just behind Jeff was where we concocted the Trans Iowa in 2004

I came to work at a place called Europa Cycle and Ski in the middle of September of 2002, Jeff was a mechanic at the time there and I was paired with him doing the repairs for the shop. 

Now, I did not try to do anything special, or different when I started working directly across from Jeff. Just throwing out the usual small talk at first, and then we seemed to hit it off. I said something that made him laugh, and as one does, I found this encouraging. I laughed at his retorts. We found a groove. It was pleasant. Fun even. But I wouldn't have called our initial relationship extraordinary by any stretch. But apparently I was wrong about this.  

About two weeks into working there I was in on a day when Jeff wasn't working. Our boss at the time asked if he could talk to me. I was curious as to what it could be about when suddenly my boss says, "What did you do to Jeff?"

I was shocked and confused until my boss explained that when he and the office staff heard Jeff talking  and then laughing, they were amazed that anyone had gotten him unlocked like that. Apparently Jeff had worked with a few other guys in the shop and was stone cold to them. How was it that I got Jeff to open up? This was what my boss wanted to know. I shrugged my shoulders and said I did not know what it was I did. I was just n=being myself.  

Jeff Kerkove circa 2003 (Image by Paul Buchanan)

So, Jeff apparently took to me and he was never hard to get along with for myself. Our relationship grew as time went on, but it wasn't as if we hung out after work or anything. Heck, Jeff didn't have time for those things. He was training. All. The. Time. 

 

I always have said that Jeff Kerkove was the most disciplined person I have ever met. He had goals and he worked every moment toward them. 'Lazer focused' is a term which gets abused a lot in our culture, but to my mind, Jeff epitomizes this phrase. He is the picture in the dictionary next to "single minded". It paid off too. Jeff was wining 24hr events worldwide. He competed in Canada, Germany, Japan, and all across the United States when I was working with him. He had professional sponsorships with the likes of Giant, Cannondale, Cat Eye, and other cycling brands for years.  

And of course, it was Jeff who propelled myself into blogging here, and into a thing I hadn't any business doing, which was promoting and running a cycling event. It is without question that without Jeff Kerkove, I would still be "just a mechanic" from Iowa who no one would have ever heard about. I wouldn't have made a dent in what became the standard mountain bike wheel size of today. I would have never been feted as a founding father of a style of bicycle racing and riding which has taken over the world. 

What about Jeff? Well...... he never changed. He still is out there winning, doing well, and racing when and where he wants to. Jeff doesn't seem to care about the accolades nor does he need to be in the limelight. But here's the thing: Whenever you hear about gravel riding and racing, and if you think about where it came from, please remember Jeff Kerkove's name 

Please remember he had some hand in making the thing start up and without his influence and resources Trans Iowa would have died in the water. One has to wonder if gravel racing would have ever become a thing had it not gotten off the ground in 2004/2005 when it did. And it did, in large part, due to Jeff Kerkove.  

I owe a huge debt of thanks to Jeff myself. Obviously. So I am biased when it comes to putting his name out there for consideration to be recognized. However; I think it is only right to do so. I will continue to put a shine on him, to give him the respect due to him, as long as I am able when it comes to gravel cycling. 

Thanks Jeff!