Lost In The Transaction

The reasons we rode gravel are now ghosts of the past.

 I was in line at the Post Office the other day waiting to drop off a package to be shipped. A couple of people were ahead of me. One man. a tall, thin, athletic looking older gentleman, had on a t-shirt with a small logo on the back. I recognized it as the Life Time logo and just underneath it was the Unbound logo.

I smiled, thinking about how I was a part of what made the Unbound event what it is today. Then I started thinking about how that seminal, top-tier gravel event no longer represents what it did 20 years ago. 

Of course, I know why this is, and I just enjoyed the memories I have of what it was which motivated us back then.. Things this man ahead of me at the Post Office that morning likely does not know about, or care to know about.  And why should he? Gravel is big business now in cycling. It is a UCI recognized sport, and there is a UCI "World Champion" in gravel racing now with events spread across the entire globe. The gentleman probably thinks this is normal. It is how it is. Right? Why should he, or anyone who attends a UCI gravel event, or who reads the cycling internet sites, or attends Unbound, think otherwise.

It is dangerous for me to write about things concerning gravel riding and racing in 2025 because most folks coming across these thoughts probably have a completely different viewpoint than I do. And my viewpoint is unique in that I am looking at gravel events and modern day gravel cycling from "the beginning', so to speak. In other words, I have two decades of perspective on this sport. If you've been riding gravel for five years, or ten, your perspective is going to be quite a bit different. I understand this: Many people reading my perspectives may think I'm crazy.

I've recounted this story a few times here before, but I will risk one more retelling, since it has relevance to this subject. Many years ago, Joel Dyke, one of the co-founders of the event which became Unbound and a Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame member, emailed me after he had stepped away from the event. He was encouraging me to stick to my way of doing Trans Iowa, the gravel event I used to promote and produce. Trans Iowa was free to enter, self-supported, and ultra-distance with hard time cut-offs. We had no "podium" awards ceremonies, no prize money to 'winners', and no finish line furnishings or hoopla. The entire reason Trans Iowa existed was to be an alternative to what racing had become. An alternative to just focusing on "the Winner" and disregarding all other competitors. At Trans Iowa, if you even lined up to start, you won.

Joel knew this, and his event he started with Jim Cummings, (again - why isn't Jim in the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame?), was like Trans Iowa in the beginning, but it "grew" and changed, and well, Joel finally had had enough of that. Joel messaged me, as I said, and stated that "...when the money comes into it, it will ruin gravel."

UCI Gravel Worlds (Image courtesy of the UCI)

Ruin? Well......c'mon! I mean, look what we have now. Gravel tires, bicycles, gear, and even gravel specific bibs, for cryin' out loud! How would we have any of this without gravel cycling becoming a money-making machine? Who would invest their time doing anything for gravel cycling unless they could make a living out of it?

Well, I don't know.......ask me. I can tell you how that works. But I'm not like most people, so I understand.

But was Joel correct in his prophecy? Can we look around and see how "gravel is ruined", or is it at the pinnacle of cycling in terms of popularity? I would say it is a pretty big deal now, and thanks to gravel being big business for this. So, "ruin" in terms of the overall impacts of gravel, yeah.... This sport has put a LOT of people on bicycles, so just from this standpoint, I think the prophecy is not correct. But this is not the only way to look at what gravel has become.

There has always been something about what Joel emailed me which stuck with me though. In the context of what gravel cycling once was, and where it is now? Maybe there is something to this "prophecy" which is true.

I always felt what he meant, and in my heart, I knew something was right about what Joel, and to be honest, many others, were saying back then. Gravel cycling was done for many reasons, but there was an element of gravel cycling which was unique, had nothing to do with who crossed a line first, and was something which any person could experience, whether they were blessed with a top-tier athletic ability or not at all. 

Recently, a press release and an old public television episode helped me make sense of these feelings.

The press release came from a European cycling brand. They sent out a press release about their athlete's experiences at the 2025 Unbound event. I got eight seconds in before I stopped and sat aghast at what I had heard. I assumed this was from their male athlete in the event. His quote was this: "I don't think there is any reason to come here (Unbound) unless you have a chance to win the race".

Spoiler alert, this athlete did not win. (At least his name did not pop up in results for winners of Unbound) So......I guess he shouldn't come back again and this year was a waste? Admittedly, there could be something worthwhile about this person's experiences which came out through the video, but I couldn't get past those first eight seconds. I had heard enough. And this is why it is dangerous for me to write about this sort of thing. 

Here is another quote. This time from a person who had ultra-distance cycling experience and knew competitive cycling norms from before 2010. His name, Jeff Frings. He filmed and produced the award winning documentary, "300 Miles of Gravel", which Iowa Public Television picked up on when they ran a portion of this film and interviewed Jeff about it. 

Image courtesy of Mondraker Bicycles.

Jeff was struck by Gravel Cycling Hall of Famer, Cory, "Cornbread" Godfrey's efforts in Trans Iowa v7, the version of Trans Iowa Jeff filmed. In describing this effort, Jeff asked some questions which summed up the very reasons all of us engaged in gravel cycling events in the early days of gravel. He said, "Can I finish this? Can I push myself beyond what I thought I could do?"

Looking at gravel cycling in this way, if you simply engaged in the activity, you were "winning". It did not matter who crossed a line, as long as it was a line you didn't think was possible for you to cross. This made gravel events inclusive of everyone. All bodies, all levels of fitness and talents. It did not matter a whit what bicycle you had as long as it was what made you happy and successful in reaching goals for yourself, or going beyond those to reach points you never dreamed of before.

So, was Joel right in this view of things? I think we have lost something here in 2025. We've exchanged a personal growth aspect to attain a business growth aspect. We've left the focus on "everyone" and focused on the riders so talented we could never hope to be like them. Where does this leave us who cannot attain to such heights?

Well, maybe you have no reason to come "here" (grave cycling) anymore. This wasn't how things used to be though.

pfft! I probably should watch the end of that video.....but I probably won't. 

On The Bunny Trail

 In celebration of the twentieth year of this blog, I have a few tales to tell. This post is one of them. This series will occur off and on throughout this anniversary year, I hope to illuminate some behind-the-scenes stories and highlights from the blog during this time. Enjoy! 

 We are in the final stretch of celebrating the 20th year of blogging here at Guitar Ted Productions. In about a month the day will arrive which will mark when this blog started. Expect there to be a bit more 20th Year posts as the day approaches.

A Level B road in Tama County during Trans Iowa v7, Image by Steve Fuller

When David Pals and I started thinking about running a seventh Trans Iowa the date of the event was sort of a given. By this time I had determined I would set Trans Iowa's date whenever the last full weekend of April was. This had been the default anyway, with the exception of Trans Iowa v5, which I pushed back to being the first weekend in May due to my involvement covering the Sea Otter Festival in mid-April. Having a week of separation between those events was not ideal for putting on Trans Iowa

But by 2011, when Trans Iowa v7 was run, I was no longer doing a trip out to Sea Otter, so we were solidly back to the last weekend of April for Trans Iowa. It wasn't until registration for T.I.v7 was about to open that I was made aware by a potential entrant that the weekend we had chosen was Easter weekend.

I had a small bit of anxiety over this. I understand the importance of this event to many, including myself, and was afraid we'd get a lot of push-back over the date if we stuck to it. I was in favor of changing the date, but David allayed my fears and sent me some information about how Paris-Roubaix had been held during an Easter weekend once upon a time in heavily Catholic (at that time) France and there was no real issues with this happening.

So, I capitulated and put my fears behind me and we forged on ahead with it. Trans Iowa v7 was one for the record books. We had eighteen finishers that year out of 76 with 40 of those riders being "rookie" first-timers. We had our very first female finisher of a Tans Iowa in Janna Vavra. It would turn out to be the last Trans Iowa I put on with David Pals as co-director.

John Gorilla finishes T.I. v7 on a prototype Warbird with his wife Adele looking on. Note the bunny ears.

 We had a crazy, epic flip-flop during the last hours of this event where leader John Gorilla, riding a prototype titanium Salsa Cycles Warbird, had five flats and relinquished his lead to eventual surprise winner Dennis Grelk. John ended up coming in fifth place.

We had one of the legendary stories of the early gravel days happen at this event. Earlier in the event, on Saturday morning, Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey blew his derailleur off his bike and damaged his frame to the point which he was looking like a sure DNF. However; he hitched a ride back to the start in Grinnell, had the local bike shop fix his bike up as a single speed, returned to the course, and caught up with some buddies. He ended up riding the entire rest of the event. Although he had to be DQ'ed for outside assistance, his determination to ride and complete the course was without peer, and stands as one of the outstanding accomplishments of Cornbread's Hall of Fame career in gravel.

It turned out to be quite the Easter Sunday that year, and is one I won't soon forget, especially since this was the event which was documented by Jeff Frings and won an Emmy award for regional best documentary. That documentary is called "300 Miles Of Gravel", in case you are interested in seeing it.

Trans Iowa Stories: Epic Race, Epic Documentary

The temporary header for the Trans Iowa v8 site. Story on that coming....

"Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject by going back to earlier Sunday posts on this blog. Thanks and enjoy! 

The Trans Iowa event was, for the first half of its lifespan, a pretty 'underground, 'under the radar' affair. I mean, people knew about it, but only the ones who were tuned in for something different, off the wall, and crazy. It wasn't nationally known, and folks in my home town of Waterloo, Iowa, even if they were cyclists, did not know anything about Trans Iowa. That all changed with Trans Iowa v7.

We had stories come out about Trans Iowa in some indy-mags like "Iowa Momentum" and "XXC" magazine after v8. There was the feature article in "Dirt Rag" after v7, along with a cover story in the cycling industry trade magazine, "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" in December of 2011. Then there was Zach Dundas' book, "The Renegade Sportsman", which had a big chapter devoted to Trans Iowa v3 in it which came out in 2010. Those all blew the lid off the idea that Trans Iowa was 'under the radar' and exposed the idea of gravel racing and riding to a much wider audience. But the one media effort that came out of Trans Iowa v7 that had the most impact, and the longest lasting impact, without a doubt, is the film documentary "300 Miles of Gravel" by Jeff Frings.

The idea of someone documenting Trans Iowa in images was, of course, not a new one. Starting with Trans Iowa v2 we had many offers and requests to have several different folks come and photograph Trans Iowa. I recall when this first started happening that it was mostly annoying little requests which came off, to me at least, as excuses for people to be out on course to spectate, which I was firmly against. The idea of some yahoo running around in a car with a point and shoot camera masquerading as a "photographer" was not on my list of things to even consider having. I promptly shut down most of these offers.

Now I am glad that the Pirate Cycling League guys talked me into letting David Story document Trans Iowa v3. He did such a great job at capturing imagery, that in my opinion, he set off the imaginations of many creatives to come and do similar things for future Trans Iowas. During Trans Iowa v4 we had two individuals shooting the event. After not really having anybody doing imagery for two years, we had Steve Fuller step into the imagery taking mode for Trans Iowa v7. Steve was tasked with image taking for the upcoming "Dirt Rag" story, so he armed himself with a lot of rental lenses and camera gear. I knew of this going in, so when I got an email on December 3rd, 2010 from a stranger with the email address "info@jefffringsphotography.com", I was on the defensive right away. His last line really had me wondering though.

"I'd like to come down and do a documentary on the event because I think an epic race would make an epic documentary."

This didn't sound like a request to photograph Trans Iowa. What was this guy on about? All I could imagine at the time was some creepy weirdo running around my course in a Ford Pinto with a Super-8 movie camera. Uggh! I didn't need any distractions or more issues. I was trying to right the ship and put on the best Trans Iowa ever. Having to help some guy with what could very well be a half-baked idea resulting in a sub-par product was not something I wanted to entertain doing.

However; Jeff Frings sent me a response that pretty much sold me on his concept for the project. Then I, somehow or another, I must have archived the email thread. Finally, Jeff, awaiting a response from me, got a hold of me again in March of 2011. He must have really wanted to do this project, because I feel like most folks, after three plus months of being ignored, would have shrugged and moved on with other things. So, in a way, the documentary almost didn't happen!

Interestingly, Jeff told me that the interviews he had planned on doing were only going to be 10-15 minutes. He did mention wanting to get myself and David interviewed, amongst other riders, and obviously you all know what happened there. My interview went far longer. I think what happened was that Jeff kind of knew when he started asking me questions that he had something special being captured, so he kept the camera rolling for twice the length of time he had originally intended. By the time we reached the end of that interview he had captured that very emotional, last response, which you see at the end of the documentary.

I, however, did not see the framework, nor the possibilities that Jeff was obviously seeing from that point on. In fact, I still was really skeptical about this whole thing being any good at all. The dramatic and emotionally draining circumstances surrounding the end of Trans Iowa v7 pretty much put my mind off Jeff Frings' project as well. That is until I saw the very short trailer sample he sent me during the Summer of 2011.

Whoa! This might actually be something good! 

The scene just prior to the debut of "300 Miles of Gravel" at the T.I.v8 pre-race.

Of course, Jeff held his cards close to his chest until the documentary was unveiled at the Pre-Race Meat-Up for Trans Iowa v8. I hadn't seen anything other than two trailers released ahead of the project, but my expectations were raised a lot higher than I figured they would have been to begin with. And in the end, I was not disappointed. The project was a smashing success, in my opinion.

The documentary went on to win a Regional Emmy and was rebroadcast in two different forms on Iowa Public Television for several years afterward. The impacts of each of those things are still being felt today. The story of Trans Iowa had been told in a moving visual form for the first, and as it turns out, only time. This spread the story of gravel riding and racing, the story of courage and determination, and the story of grassroots sports, to a very wide audience.

It's a testament to Trans Iowa, the people who made the event tic, and gravel racing. It is kind of embarrassing for me, since I take up a big part of the film, but I think even Jeff saw that the event was a representation of a part of myself. How Trans Iowa came from the heart, and every part of it was affected by that. No escaping that part, I guess, so it shouldn't be something I am reticent to embrace, but it feels weird.

I cannot let this post end without thanking Jeff Frings, his wife, and the few other individuals responsible for the production of this film. They pursued a vision and executed it with the highest craft and class imaginable. It was all far more than I could have ever hoped or asked for. And for that I am forever in their debt. Thank you!

Next: Feeling Low

Trans Iowa Stories: Epic Race, Epic Documentary

The temporary header for the Trans Iowa v8 site. Story on that coming....

"Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject by going back to earlier Sunday posts on this blog. Thanks and enjoy! 

The Trans Iowa event was, for the first half of its lifespan, a pretty 'underground, 'under the radar' affair. I mean, people knew about it, but only the ones who were tuned in for something different, off the wall, and crazy. It wasn't nationally known, and folks in my home town of Waterloo, Iowa, even if they were cyclists, did not know anything about Trans Iowa. That all changed with Trans Iowa v7.

We had stories come out about Trans Iowa in some indy-mags like "Iowa Momentum" and "XXC" magazine after v8. There was the feature article in "Dirt Rag" after v7, along with a cover story in the cycling industry trade magazine, "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" in December of 2011. Then there was Zach Dundas' book, "The Renegade Sportsman", which had a big chapter devoted to Trans Iowa v3 in it which came out in 2010. Those all blew the lid off the idea that Trans Iowa was 'under the radar' and exposed the idea of gravel racing and riding to a much wider audience. But the one media effort that came out of Trans Iowa v7 that had the most impact, and the longest lasting impact, without a doubt, is the film documentary "300 Miles of Gravel" by Jeff Frings.

The idea of someone documenting Trans Iowa in images was, of course, not a new one. Starting with Trans Iowa v2 we had many offers and requests to have several different folks come and photograph Trans Iowa. I recall when this first started happening that it was mostly annoying little requests which came off, to me at least, as excuses for people to be out on course to spectate, which I was firmly against. The idea of some yahoo running around in a car with a point and shoot camera masquerading as a "photographer" was not on my list of things to even consider having. I promptly shut down most of these offers.

Now I am glad that the Pirate Cycling League guys talked me into letting David Story document Trans Iowa v3. He did such a great job at capturing imagery, that in my opinion, he set off the imaginations of many creatives to come and do similar things for future Trans Iowas. During Trans Iowa v4 we had two individuals shooting the event. After not really having anybody doing imagery for two years, we had Steve Fuller step into the imagery taking mode for Trans Iowa v7. Steve was tasked with image taking for the upcoming "Dirt Rag" story, so he armed himself with a lot of rental lenses and camera gear. I knew of this going in, so when I got an email on December 3rd, 2010 from a stranger with the email address "info@jefffringsphotography.com", I was on the defensive right away. His last line really had me wondering though.

"I'd like to come down and do a documentary on the event because I think an epic race would make an epic documentary."

This didn't sound like a request to photograph Trans Iowa. What was this guy on about? All I could imagine at the time was some creepy weirdo running around my course in a Ford Pinto with a Super-8 movie camera. Uggh! I didn't need any distractions or more issues. I was trying to right the ship and put on the best Trans Iowa ever. Having to help some guy with what could very well be a half-baked idea resulting in a sub-par product was not something I wanted to entertain doing.

However; Jeff Frings sent me a response that pretty much sold me on his concept for the project. Then I, somehow or another, I must have archived the email thread. Finally, Jeff, awaiting a response from me, got a hold of me again in March of 2011. He must have really wanted to do this project, because I feel like most folks, after three plus months of being ignored, would have shrugged and moved on with other things. So, in a way, the documentary almost didn't happen!

Interestingly, Jeff told me that the interviews he had planned on doing were only going to be 10-15 minutes. He did mention wanting to get myself and David interviewed, amongst other riders, and obviously you all know what happened there. My interview went far longer. I think what happened was that Jeff kind of knew when he started asking me questions that he had something special being captured, so he kept the camera rolling for twice the length of time he had originally intended. By the time we reached the end of that interview he had captured that very emotional, last response, which you see at the end of the documentary.

I, however, did not see the framework, nor the possibilities that Jeff was obviously seeing from that point on. In fact, I still was really skeptical about this whole thing being any good at all. The dramatic and emotionally draining circumstances surrounding the end of Trans Iowa v7 pretty much put my mind off Jeff Frings' project as well. That is until I saw the very short trailer sample he sent me during the Summer of 2011.

Whoa! This might actually be something good! 

The scene just prior to the debut of "300 Miles of Gravel" at the T.I.v8 pre-race.

Of course, Jeff held his cards close to his chest until the documentary was unveiled at the Pre-Race Meat-Up for Trans Iowa v8. I hadn't seen anything other than two trailers released ahead of the project, but my expectations were raised a lot higher than I figured they would have been to begin with. And in the end, I was not disappointed. The project was a smashing success, in my opinion.

The documentary went on to win a Regional Emmy and was rebroadcast in two different forms on Iowa Public Television for several years afterward. The impacts of each of those things are still being felt today. The story of Trans Iowa had been told in a moving visual form for the first, and as it turns out, only time. This spread the story of gravel riding and racing, the story of courage and determination, and the story of grassroots sports, to a very wide audience.

It's a testament to Trans Iowa, the people who made the event tic, and gravel racing. It is kind of embarrassing for me, since I take up a big part of the film, but I think even Jeff saw that the event was a representation of a part of myself. How Trans Iowa came from the heart, and every part of it was affected by that. No escaping that part, I guess, so it shouldn't be something I am reticent to embrace, but it feels weird.

I cannot let this post end without thanking Jeff Frings, his wife, and the few other individuals responsible for the production of this film. They pursued a vision and executed it with the highest craft and class imaginable. It was all far more than I could have ever hoped or asked for. And for that I am forever in their debt. Thank you!

Next: Feeling Low

Trans Iowa Stories:The Reasons Why It Happened Again

"Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject by going back to earlier Sunday posts on this blog. Thanks and enjoy!

One of the first gifts I got for putting on Trans Iowa from Gary Cale, vet of  V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V7

Summer 2007. A normal day, one in which I worked at the bike shop, came home to write reviews and do behind the scenes stuff for "Twenty Nine Inches", and of course, to write the next day's post for this blog. Along the way I was checking e-mails. I had one from a friend in the in-box. It was from the head of Salsa Cycles at the time, Jason Boucher. I was excited. Maybe it was news of a new 29"er, or a new Salsa component. But the subject line wasn't encouraging. It sounded more deeper and personal than a chance to review a product.

Jason wasn't a Trans Iowa guy, but he knew guys that had been in it. Joe Meiser, a young engineer at Quality Bicycle Products, had been in v3. There were also other guys that Jason heard buzzing about Trans Iowa. Then, I suppose, he had also got wind of my desire to quit the thing. By the way, and this will come up again, I became aware over the years that many people were very passionate about Trans Iowa and myself, and you folks were talking about myself and T.I. a lot over the years. Rumor spread like wildfire amongst the Trans Iowa Freaks. This I know now.

Anyway, I am imagining this was how Jason heard the story. Or it could be that I told him myself about the reasons I didn't want to do another Trans Iowa. Either way, but I cannot recall if I had told him or not. He felt compelled, based upon what he had understood from the riders of Trans Iowa, and possibly from myself, to send me this particular e-mail. He was, and is, a good friend, and while it could be argued that he had an ulterior motive, being the head of Salsa Cycles, I am quite certain that was not his motivation.

In this documentary I shared the story of the famous e-mail that I got post T.I.v3

In the video documentary, "300 Miles of Gravel", by Jeff Frings, you see a scene which shows me telling the story about Jason's e-mail, and it is pretty easy to see how choked up I got while telling it. That should tell you how powerful this e-mail was for me in 2007. Jason asked me to consider how it was that I was giving people the chance to change their lives. It was a short e-mail, but the weight of its impact helped to pushed me on towards another decade plus of doing the event.

But the question of Jeff's influence missing in the event, and whether or not what I would do could even be Trans Iowa, or whether Jeff would ever feel okay about that, still was hanging out there. That question was answered not long after I received the e-mail from Jason. In an odd, and what turned out to be final visit, Jeff told me he was okay with me carrying on. Basically, he didn't care what I did, trusting to my judgment, and he was just happy to hear I wanted- maybe- to do it again.

Also during this time, I was riding and communicating with a Trans Iowa rider by the name of David Pals. He a veteran of V2 and V3. He and I attended the first DK200, and David was helping me to organize and put on the second Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. Of course, I told David about my misgivings concerning the putting on of another Trans Iowa. David offered himself up as my assistant, should I decide to do this event again. This was a huge thing, by the way, because despite Jason's e-mail, and despite Jeff's blessing, I was not going to do Trans Iowa alone again.

So, those three things conspired to tip me toward doing Trans Iowa again. If any one of those three things had not happened, I doubt Trans Iowa would have ever been put on again.

But they did happen. And so did more Trans Iowas.

Trans Iowa Stories:The Reasons Why It Happened Again

"Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject by going back to earlier Sunday posts on this blog. Thanks and enjoy!

One of the first gifts I got for putting on Trans Iowa from Gary Cale, vet of  V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V7

Summer 2007. A normal day, one in which I worked at the bike shop, came home to write reviews and do behind the scenes stuff for "Twenty Nine Inches", and of course, to write the next day's post for this blog. Along the way I was checking e-mails. I had one from a friend in the in-box. It was from the head of Salsa Cycles at the time, Jason Boucher. I was excited. Maybe it was news of a new 29"er, or a new Salsa component. But the subject line wasn't encouraging. It sounded more deeper and personal than a chance to review a product.

Jason wasn't a Trans Iowa guy, but he knew guys that had been in it. Joe Meiser, a young engineer at Quality Bicycle Products, had been in v3. There were also other guys that Jason heard buzzing about Trans Iowa. Then, I suppose, he had also got wind of my desire to quit the thing. By the way, and this will come up again, I became aware over the years that many people were very passionate about Trans Iowa and myself, and you folks were talking about myself and T.I. a lot over the years. Rumor spread like wildfire amongst the Trans Iowa Freaks. This I know now.

Anyway, I am imagining this was how Jason heard the story. Or it could be that I told him myself about the reasons I didn't want to do another Trans Iowa. Either way, but I cannot recall if I had told him or not. He felt compelled, based upon what he had understood from the riders of Trans Iowa, and possibly from myself, to send me this particular e-mail. He was, and is, a good friend, and while it could be argued that he had an ulterior motive, being the head of Salsa Cycles, I am quite certain that was not his motivation.

In this documentary I shared the story of the famous e-mail that I got post T.I.v3

In the video documentary, "300 Miles of Gravel", by Jeff Frings, you see a scene which shows me telling the story about Jason's e-mail, and it is pretty easy to see how choked up I got while telling it. That should tell you how powerful this e-mail was for me in 2007. Jason asked me to consider how it was that I was giving people the chance to change their lives. It was a short e-mail, but the weight of its impact helped to pushed me on towards another decade plus of doing the event.

But the question of Jeff's influence missing in the event, and whether or not what I would do could even be Trans Iowa, or whether Jeff would ever feel okay about that, still was hanging out there. That question was answered not long after I received the e-mail from Jason. In an odd, and what turned out to be final visit, Jeff told me he was okay with me carrying on. Basically, he didn't care what I did, trusting to my judgment, and he was just happy to hear I wanted- maybe- to do it again.

Also during this time, I was riding and communicating with a Trans Iowa rider by the name of David Pals. He a veteran of V2 and V3. He and I attended the first DK200, and David was helping me to organize and put on the second Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. Of course, I told David about my misgivings concerning the putting on of another Trans Iowa. David offered himself up as my assistant, should I decide to do this event again. This was a huge thing, by the way, because despite Jason's e-mail, and despite Jeff's blessing, I was not going to do Trans Iowa alone again.

So, those three things conspired to tip me toward doing Trans Iowa again. If any one of those three things had not happened, I doubt Trans Iowa would have ever been put on again.

But they did happen. And so did more Trans Iowas.

Randomonium- Vans, Single Speeds, & T.I. Radio

People on Facecrack were going ga-ga over this pig of a vehicle. Why?

Okay folks, if you haven't been around long enough here to know what a "Randomonium" post is, then here is the deal. I ramble, rant, and randomly moan about all things cycling in one, incohesive, bizarre post. "Randomonium", okay?

Yesterday I was amazed by a weird post on Facecrack about a van on Craigslist. People were going nutso over this pig of a Chevy van and thinking it would be the bees knees for adventuring around in. Frankly, I just do not understand why. I know, I know....... "Van life". But this Vandura? Really?

Maybe it is the recent "Dirt Rag" issue that came out extolling the purported virtues of "van life" and cycling. C'mon people. Living out of a van? Have y'all gone Matt Foley on me here? I cannot think of a worse way to spend a weekend, much less a month, going around to cycling destinations. I know, because I have done it.

And I know that the Vandura that the folks were falling all over themselves to "like" on Facecrack is a giant turd of a vehicle to drive, and to work on. I know this because I have done both with and on Vanduras and their variations. See, I used to work at a car repair shop for five and a half years. I am fully aware of what's under the "doghouse" in a Chevy van. It ain't pretty either.

Gah! Just the thought of those vans brings back all the smells and feels. Uggh!

Oh so wrong, antiquated, and stupid. Ah.....yeah. Whatever!

I read another amusing bit that, for all intents and purposes, is likely just clickbait to inflate the "BikeRadar.com" website's numbers. It was about why single speed mountain bikes are stupid. The following quote was my favorite:

"These things are all terrible in that they simply don’t need to be that way any more. Nowadays we have inflatable tyres, commercial jets and simple cash. We have the technology to change gears."

I liked it because it exposes the flaw in the logic of the piece. You see, if single speed mountain bikes are terrible and one of the reasons why is because we have "better technology", then by that measure all human powered vehicles are to be regarded as stupid. Because "technology", right? I mean, at that point, why pedal at all when you don't have to? Why do we not review all bicycles as being technologically backward? 

See, that whole line of thinking is what is really stupid. It is so obvious, and I know all the health, "green", and community enhancing benefits as well as you do. That is why that article is clickbait and why I am not going to link to it. You'll just have to go look for yourselves if you want to see it, but keep in mind, that's playing right in to their hands. Besides, if you want the real low down on why single speeding is a bad idea, just follow me on a gravel ride in hilly territory someday. I'm sure you'll come to understand quickly.

Home of Trans Iowa Radio

And now for something completely serious and maybe even.....useful? Yes. Useful. 

My RidingGravel.com partner, Ben Welnak, has decided to sacrifice a weekend of time he'll never get back and facilitate "Trans Iowa Radio". I did not ask or cajole him in to doing anything. He offered to do it again of his own volition, and honestly, had he not, I would have completely understood. Trans Iowa Radio is a huge time commitment and while I know Ben would say it is "no big deal", it is a big deal. Trust me. 

I know this because back in the early days of Trans Iowa I did "Trans Iowa Radio" as kind of a way to have fun and pass the time while driving around Iowa's backroads like some stray dog on an all night bender. I made up fake sponsors and did fake commercials. I had noisy toys and sounds that led into vague updates and quasi-serious rantings on course conditions and progress of the leaders of the event. I didn't think anyone was taking any of it seriously.

Boy! Was I ever wrong about that!

People would send me angry e-mails after the fact because I wasn't covering their second cousin who was in the event. They would tell me I was doing it all wrong and would tell me what they thought I should be covering and how often and when. It was completely annoying, unnecessary, and the whole intent and purpose for Trans Iowa Radio back then was completely misunderstood. I vowed not to do it again several times. Then I would do it and get another round of criticisms. 

The thing got set in stone once the mini-documentary, "300 Miles of Gravel" came out since my TI Radio updates were sprinkled throughout the piece. Ben came along shortly afterward to facilitate Trans Iowa Radio on his Mountain Bike Radio site. That's when it started to open up to having rider call-ins and it didn't have to be something that relied on myself stopping to call in occasionally. Ben helped put things to right with the "audience" and what it was they wanted- updates from people they wanted to hear about, straight from the "horses mouth". It has freed me up to do what I do and not have to be concerned with trying to please every listener. It has been a great arrangement.

That said, I know it is a huge investment for Ben in terms of time and energy. That is why I cannot ask him to do this. I know how taxing it is. So, if you have the chance, give him a shout and let him know that you appreciate the efforts. I know I sure do. 

 

Randomonium- Vans, Single Speeds, & T.I. Radio

People on Facecrack were going ga-ga over this pig of a vehicle. Why?

Okay folks, if you haven't been around long enough here to know what a "Randomonium" post is, then here is the deal. I ramble, rant, and randomly moan about all things cycling in one, incohesive, bizarre post. "Randomonium", okay?

Yesterday I was amazed by a weird post on Facecrack about a van on Craigslist. People were going nutso over this pig of a Chevy van and thinking it would be the bees knees for adventuring around in. Frankly, I just do not understand why. I know, I know....... "Van life". But this Vandura? Really?

Maybe it is the recent "Dirt Rag" issue that came out extolling the purported virtues of "van life" and cycling. C'mon people. Living out of a van? Have y'all gone Matt Foley on me here? I cannot think of a worse way to spend a weekend, much less a month, going around to cycling destinations. I know, because I have done it.

And I know that the Vandura that the folks were falling all over themselves to "like" on Facecrack is a giant turd of a vehicle to drive, and to work on. I know this because I have done both with and on Vanduras and their variations. See, I used to work at a car repair shop for five and a half years. I am fully aware of what's under the "doghouse" in a Chevy van. It ain't pretty either.

Gah! Just the thought of those vans brings back all the smells and feels. Uggh!

Oh so wrong, antiquated, and stupid. Ah.....yeah. Whatever!

I read another amusing bit that, for all intents and purposes, is likely just clickbait to inflate the "BikeRadar.com" website's numbers. It was about why single speed mountain bikes are stupid. The following quote was my favorite:

"These things are all terrible in that they simply don’t need to be that way any more. Nowadays we have inflatable tyres, commercial jets and simple cash. We have the technology to change gears."

I liked it because it exposes the flaw in the logic of the piece. You see, if single speed mountain bikes are terrible and one of the reasons why is because we have "better technology", then by that measure all human powered vehicles are to be regarded as stupid. Because "technology", right? I mean, at that point, why pedal at all when you don't have to? Why do we not review all bicycles as being technologically backward? 

See, that whole line of thinking is what is really stupid. It is so obvious, and I know all the health, "green", and community enhancing benefits as well as you do. That is why that article is clickbait and why I am not going to link to it. You'll just have to go look for yourselves if you want to see it, but keep in mind, that's playing right in to their hands. Besides, if you want the real low down on why single speeding is a bad idea, just follow me on a gravel ride in hilly territory someday. I'm sure you'll come to understand quickly.

Home of Trans Iowa Radio

And now for something completely serious and maybe even.....useful? Yes. Useful. 

My RidingGravel.com partner, Ben Welnak, has decided to sacrifice a weekend of time he'll never get back and facilitate "Trans Iowa Radio". I did not ask or cajole him in to doing anything. He offered to do it again of his own volition, and honestly, had he not, I would have completely understood. Trans Iowa Radio is a huge time commitment and while I know Ben would say it is "no big deal", it is a big deal. Trust me. 

I know this because back in the early days of Trans Iowa I did "Trans Iowa Radio" as kind of a way to have fun and pass the time while driving around Iowa's backroads like some stray dog on an all night bender. I made up fake sponsors and did fake commercials. I had noisy toys and sounds that led into vague updates and quasi-serious rantings on course conditions and progress of the leaders of the event. I didn't think anyone was taking any of it seriously.

Boy! Was I ever wrong about that!

People would send me angry e-mails after the fact because I wasn't covering their second cousin who was in the event. They would tell me I was doing it all wrong and would tell me what they thought I should be covering and how often and when. It was completely annoying, unnecessary, and the whole intent and purpose for Trans Iowa Radio back then was completely misunderstood. I vowed not to do it again several times. Then I would do it and get another round of criticisms. 

The thing got set in stone once the mini-documentary, "300 Miles of Gravel" came out since my TI Radio updates were sprinkled throughout the piece. Ben came along shortly afterward to facilitate Trans Iowa Radio on his Mountain Bike Radio site. That's when it started to open up to having rider call-ins and it didn't have to be something that relied on myself stopping to call in occasionally. Ben helped put things to right with the "audience" and what it was they wanted- updates from people they wanted to hear about, straight from the "horses mouth". It has freed me up to do what I do and not have to be concerned with trying to please every listener. It has been a great arrangement.

That said, I know it is a huge investment for Ben in terms of time and energy. That is why I cannot ask him to do this. I know how taxing it is. So, if you have the chance, give him a shout and let him know that you appreciate the efforts. I know I sure do. 

 

Looking For A New Bridge

Leaving Prairie Grove Park we were watched over by a large Red Tailed Hawk on the line.

That dratted bridge was out and that cost me. Well, it wasn't too bad, in the end, but when I found out the bridge over the Wolf Creek on J Avenue was out during the running of Trans Iowa v10, it put me into a panic. So, yeah.....it cost me a lot of unwanted stress, but after all this time, it is kind of a laugh now.

I never went back after that Saturday night to see if it ever was replaced. I figured that there was really no other choice for the county but to replace it, but then again, in these times, weirder things have happened. So, it was always a plan in the back of my mind. The idea to go search for the new bridge, if it was there. I went on that quest early this Spring but was thwarted by a muddy B Level road or two. This past Saturday was "take two" on the quest.

I was planning for a while to make this a combination of recon for the upcoming Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational, and the quest for the bridge, so I had two motivations to get out there. A third motivation to get out on this long ride presented itself when I was texted by Marty, who asked if I was going on a gravel ride and if I was, could he join me? Of course, I said yes. So, we planned on leaving from the starting point of the upcoming GTDRI, Prairie Grove Park, and set a time of 8:00am to get started on the long day's riding.

Looking at the old Geneseo School as we went on our way to Traer. 

I got out of the house a bit late, so I had to "time trial" it down to the meeting place, which was 5.85 miles from my front door. Most of that being bike path, so it went by quickly and I ended up being 1 minute late. (Sorry Marty!) I hate being late, but now I know I have to budget a little more time when I leave the house in a couple of weeks to do the GTDRI. Lesson learned!

The day could not have been more perfect. It was in the lower 60's when we left with a light Southeasterly headwind. The day was drier, with low humidity. Really, a picture perfect day if ever there was one for riding on gravel roads. We headed out on the original GTDRI route which starts down Aker Road, but then it turns East to get over to Ansborough via Orange Road. The route then went all the way into Tama County before we turned East for one more mile to catch V Avenue South and then to a right on D-65 where that bridge was out for this year's Trans Iowa. That bridge is all in and complete, boding well for our quest to find the bridge intact over the Wolf Creek later on.

Barns For Jason: Some rural decorative choices are a bit hard to understand, but.......oh well!

Marty with his snack at our first convenience store stop in Traer.

We reached Traer by 10:00am, so we made decent time, but we weren't burning up the road either, since that was about 25 or so miles in. We checked out the convenience store there. The same one I've been visiting now for a decade or more by bicycle. Every time I stop here I see the place fall more and more into decay. It makes me a bit sad, I guess. Lots of memories here for sure......

Anyway, after a brief stop and a chance to freak out the locals, we moved on. South out of town on P Avenue, where we would hit up one of my favorite B Level Maintenance roads. You can read about that and see an image in the post previous to this, so I won't get into the details of that visit.

The corn is REALLY tall, and the gravel was REALLY fresh and deep in Tama County.

We hit up this super fast and smooth B Level Maintenance road just before getting to J Avenue.

We finally departed the GTDRI course at P Avenue and 220th Street where we went West and headed over to K Avenue where we would come back North a bit before jogging Westward again a couple of miles to set us up to be on J Avenue. Heading North, I saw no signs that would lead me to believe there was no bridge. I figured as much.

The new bridge over Wolf Creek looking back South. The old bridge is forever immortalized in the film documentary, "300 Miles Of Gravel"

 

While we had turned out of the now steady wind coming out of the Southeast, we faced deep, fresh gravel at every turn unless we were riding dirt for a spell. The road coming to and crossing the new bridge was strewn with chunky goodness, making the road a real challenge to traverse. It didn't help that we had the infamous "Wolf Creek Wall" to climb!

Leaving the Wolf Creek valley can leave a mark on your soul! That's only the first of a series of steeps that goes on for a mile and a half.

The Wolf Creek Wall, again, immortalized as the cover shot for the documentary "300 Miles of Gravel", is only the opening shot in a mile and a half, or more, as was in our case, of painful steeps. We'd had it pretty easy up to this point on our ride, but if we were thinking we were in good shape, this section brought the truth home to roost! We both were really humbled by this section and I know I will need more of that pain to get ready for Gravel Worlds in a little over a month from now.

Marty and I then climbed up K Avenue to Ridge Road and we cruised straight into the wind, as Ridge Road runs Southeast/Northwest, till we returned to Traer again. We could have gone North before getting back to Traer, but Marty said we should take the "prettiest option". That was Ridge Road all the way to Traer without question, so we went through the town again.

You can see for many miles in any direction from Ridge Road.

Marty was taking in the views on Ridge Road from his trusty Fargo.

We stopped again at the convenience store for a refueling and refilling. Then we left Traer the way we had come in, but at T.F. Clark Park we went West for a mile then straight North. After a few miles we came across a lady on a riding lawn mower that was spinning her wheels, as if she was stuck. Marty motioned that we should stop and lend a hand, to which I agreed. We asked the elderly lady if she'd like us to push her, but before I could get the sentence out of my mouth she leapt up, got behind the mower, shoved it with a mighty heave, and sat herself back in the seat. Then she declared to us that she was used to getting herself out of her own messes. Now that's a true country gal! We were kind of befuddled, but she shut the mower off and we had a pleasant, short conversation before we bade her farewell and moved on down the road.

Now, that was maybe enough oddness to expect for one gravel ride, but we came upon an even odder sight after we had taken a good long rest stop under a tree's shade on the road because my stomach was fighting me a bit. I had eaten a bit too much and my body was shunting energy to digestion and my mind was falling asleep!

Anyway, I saw a blinking light bar up ahead, which is odd enough out in the middle of nowhere, but this was a accompanied by a string of about eight school buses parked on one side of a crossing road and up along our path. As we passed, we could see that this was a convoy of corn detasslers and a few vehicles ferrying the porta-jons they have to have to accommodate the youngsters who are hired to do this task. Apparently one bus had run into the back end of another, causing some significant damage. The kids were all restrained to sitting in the buses, and as we passed they hung their hands out the windows, waving at us vigorously. It was all a bit surreal, actually. Hope everyone was okay there!

Finishing up a long day out on the gravel roads of Black Hawk and Tama Counties.

And that's another for the Cup-O-Dirt tally!

The ride ended up well, and I got home by 4:30pm, 8 and a half hours after the start. Well, actually a bit longer than that, since I had left the house before 8:00am. Anyway, a good, long day in the saddle with some interesting things to see. A bridge confirmed, hills climbed, and rocky roads conquered. Plus we got to see an odd situation with the detassling crew's bus accident. I am pretty certain I won't ever see such a thing again in my lifetime, nor do I want to, really.

I was a bit surprised by the mileage total when I got back and checked it out. I was suspecting I had about 70 plus, but to have eclipsed the 80 mile mark was very surprising and satisfying. That will go on the Cup-O-Dirt Challenge totals for the year, and it will be a good base to build off of going into Gravel Worlds and the upcoming Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. 

Speaking of which, this ride was also a test, again, of how my dinged up shoulder will react to a bigger ride and that on the Gen I Fargo. I have determined that for now, the big rides will all have to be done on that bike, with that Luxy Bar, because my shoulder still isn't 100%. I can tell right away when I ride one of my other bikes and the left shoulder starts aching badly after about an hour into a ride. Not always, but many times yet, that is the case. This ride wasn't easy, by the way, and I fought the shoulder pain for most of it, but it didn't feel like I was really doing more damage. Just an annoying pain at different times during the ride. Being able to take advantage of all the different positions on the Luxy Bar rotates that left shoulder joint in different ways so I can keep from having it get hammered by the gravel vibrations. Otherwise I am not able to really get away from it on a more standard type bar.

Thanks to Marty for the great companionship and I hope to get out this way again sooner. It had been far too long since I've ridden that way.

Looking For A New Bridge

Leaving Prairie Grove Park we were watched over by a large Red Tailed Hawk on the line.

That dratted bridge was out and that cost me. Well, it wasn't too bad, in the end, but when I found out the bridge over the Wolf Creek on J Avenue was out during the running of Trans Iowa v10, it put me into a panic. So, yeah.....it cost me a lot of unwanted stress, but after all this time, it is kind of a laugh now.

I never went back after that Saturday night to see if it ever was replaced. I figured that there was really no other choice for the county but to replace it, but then again, in these times, weirder things have happened. So, it was always a plan in the back of my mind. The idea to go search for the new bridge, if it was there. I went on that quest early this Spring but was thwarted by a muddy B Level road or two. This past Saturday was "take two" on the quest.

I was planning for a while to make this a combination of recon for the upcoming Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational, and the quest for the bridge, so I had two motivations to get out there. A third motivation to get out on this long ride presented itself when I was texted by Marty, who asked if I was going on a gravel ride and if I was, could he join me? Of course, I said yes. So, we planned on leaving from the starting point of the upcoming GTDRI, Prairie Grove Park, and set a time of 8:00am to get started on the long day's riding.

Looking at the old Geneseo School as we went on our way to Traer. 

I got out of the house a bit late, so I had to "time trial" it down to the meeting place, which was 5.85 miles from my front door. Most of that being bike path, so it went by quickly and I ended up being 1 minute late. (Sorry Marty!) I hate being late, but now I know I have to budget a little more time when I leave the house in a couple of weeks to do the GTDRI. Lesson learned!

The day could not have been more perfect. It was in the lower 60's when we left with a light Southeasterly headwind. The day was drier, with low humidity. Really, a picture perfect day if ever there was one for riding on gravel roads. We headed out on the original GTDRI route which starts down Aker Road, but then it turns East to get over to Ansborough via Orange Road. The route then went all the way into Tama County before we turned East for one more mile to catch V Avenue South and then to a right on D-65 where that bridge was out for this year's Trans Iowa. That bridge is all in and complete, boding well for our quest to find the bridge intact over the Wolf Creek later on.

Barns For Jason: Some rural decorative choices are a bit hard to understand, but.......oh well!

Marty with his snack at our first convenience store stop in Traer.

We reached Traer by 10:00am, so we made decent time, but we weren't burning up the road either, since that was about 25 or so miles in. We checked out the convenience store there. The same one I've been visiting now for a decade or more by bicycle. Every time I stop here I see the place fall more and more into decay. It makes me a bit sad, I guess. Lots of memories here for sure......

Anyway, after a brief stop and a chance to freak out the locals, we moved on. South out of town on P Avenue, where we would hit up one of my favorite B Level Maintenance roads. You can read about that and see an image in the post previous to this, so I won't get into the details of that visit.

The corn is REALLY tall, and the gravel was REALLY fresh and deep in Tama County.

We hit up this super fast and smooth B Level Maintenance road just before getting to J Avenue.

We finally departed the GTDRI course at P Avenue and 220th Street where we went West and headed over to K Avenue where we would come back North a bit before jogging Westward again a couple of miles to set us up to be on J Avenue. Heading North, I saw no signs that would lead me to believe there was no bridge. I figured as much.

The new bridge over Wolf Creek looking back South. The old bridge is forever immortalized in the film documentary, "300 Miles Of Gravel"

 

While we had turned out of the now steady wind coming out of the Southeast, we faced deep, fresh gravel at every turn unless we were riding dirt for a spell. The road coming to and crossing the new bridge was strewn with chunky goodness, making the road a real challenge to traverse. It didn't help that we had the infamous "Wolf Creek Wall" to climb!

Leaving the Wolf Creek valley can leave a mark on your soul! That's only the first of a series of steeps that goes on for a mile and a half.

The Wolf Creek Wall, again, immortalized as the cover shot for the documentary "300 Miles of Gravel", is only the opening shot in a mile and a half, or more, as was in our case, of painful steeps. We'd had it pretty easy up to this point on our ride, but if we were thinking we were in good shape, this section brought the truth home to roost! We both were really humbled by this section and I know I will need more of that pain to get ready for Gravel Worlds in a little over a month from now.

Marty and I then climbed up K Avenue to Ridge Road and we cruised straight into the wind, as Ridge Road runs Southeast/Northwest, till we returned to Traer again. We could have gone North before getting back to Traer, but Marty said we should take the "prettiest option". That was Ridge Road all the way to Traer without question, so we went through the town again.

You can see for many miles in any direction from Ridge Road.

Marty was taking in the views on Ridge Road from his trusty Fargo.

We stopped again at the convenience store for a refueling and refilling. Then we left Traer the way we had come in, but at T.F. Clark Park we went West for a mile then straight North. After a few miles we came across a lady on a riding lawn mower that was spinning her wheels, as if she was stuck. Marty motioned that we should stop and lend a hand, to which I agreed. We asked the elderly lady if she'd like us to push her, but before I could get the sentence out of my mouth she leapt up, got behind the mower, shoved it with a mighty heave, and sat herself back in the seat. Then she declared to us that she was used to getting herself out of her own messes. Now that's a true country gal! We were kind of befuddled, but she shut the mower off and we had a pleasant, short conversation before we bade her farewell and moved on down the road.

Now, that was maybe enough oddness to expect for one gravel ride, but we came upon an even odder sight after we had taken a good long rest stop under a tree's shade on the road because my stomach was fighting me a bit. I had eaten a bit too much and my body was shunting energy to digestion and my mind was falling asleep!

Anyway, I saw a blinking light bar up ahead, which is odd enough out in the middle of nowhere, but this was a accompanied by a string of about eight school buses parked on one side of a crossing road and up along our path. As we passed, we could see that this was a convoy of corn detasslers and a few vehicles ferrying the porta-jons they have to have to accommodate the youngsters who are hired to do this task. Apparently one bus had run into the back end of another, causing some significant damage. The kids were all restrained to sitting in the buses, and as we passed they hung their hands out the windows, waving at us vigorously. It was all a bit surreal, actually. Hope everyone was okay there!

Finishing up a long day out on the gravel roads of Black Hawk and Tama Counties.

And that's another for the Cup-O-Dirt tally!

The ride ended up well, and I got home by 4:30pm, 8 and a half hours after the start. Well, actually a bit longer than that, since I had left the house before 8:00am. Anyway, a good, long day in the saddle with some interesting things to see. A bridge confirmed, hills climbed, and rocky roads conquered. Plus we got to see an odd situation with the detassling crew's bus accident. I am pretty certain I won't ever see such a thing again in my lifetime, nor do I want to, really.

I was a bit surprised by the mileage total when I got back and checked it out. I was suspecting I had about 70 plus, but to have eclipsed the 80 mile mark was very surprising and satisfying. That will go on the Cup-O-Dirt Challenge totals for the year, and it will be a good base to build off of going into Gravel Worlds and the upcoming Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. 

Speaking of which, this ride was also a test, again, of how my dinged up shoulder will react to a bigger ride and that on the Gen I Fargo. I have determined that for now, the big rides will all have to be done on that bike, with that Luxy Bar, because my shoulder still isn't 100%. I can tell right away when I ride one of my other bikes and the left shoulder starts aching badly after about an hour into a ride. Not always, but many times yet, that is the case. This ride wasn't easy, by the way, and I fought the shoulder pain for most of it, but it didn't feel like I was really doing more damage. Just an annoying pain at different times during the ride. Being able to take advantage of all the different positions on the Luxy Bar rotates that left shoulder joint in different ways so I can keep from having it get hammered by the gravel vibrations. Otherwise I am not able to really get away from it on a more standard type bar.

Thanks to Marty for the great companionship and I hope to get out this way again sooner. It had been far too long since I've ridden that way.