Getting Ready To Go

A Moment of Silence

This trip is coming up fast and I spent much of the past few days getting things done so I could leave town on Tuesday. Mid-week trips are so weird. In a way, it is better to travel mid-week as long as you avoid bigger cities during their rush hours. I know. I went through Kansas City at the wrong time of the afternoon in 2022 coming back from the GCHoF thing and paid the price! 

I had a bunch of bicycle stuff to attend to Thursday last week and then Friday was initial packing after doing the laundry. I've been pre-writing some stuff for this blog, including this post, so the blog will not be interrupted while I am busy getting ready or when I am gone. 

During one of my test rides through the neighboring cemetery I noted the cemetery volunteers were having an "end of season" meal/party. These volunteers do a ton of beautifying and lawn work the week before Memorial Day weekend. The place is a bee hive of activity which goes unmatched the rest of the year. This is the cemetery's biggest weekend, and once the workers got everything in order, I suppose blowing off a little steam by having a beer and some food was in order. 

So, if you go visit a cemetery this weekend, you might say a little prayer of thanks for those workers who give of their time to make these places of honor look the part. Judging from what I've seen, this takes a lot of hours and work. 

Thursday was also the day I was contacted by Sakamoto-san, a  Japanese journalist who wants to write a 10 page feature on the history of gravel cycling in the USA and gravel culture. He was tipped off to me by Kae Takashita, who won the woman's C.O.G.100 N.Y. Roll and I put on back in 2019. We chatted via Messenger a bit and set up a meeting in Emporia on Thursday coming up. This man is doing Unbound as well, so he's in town for that also. Should be a fun meet-up.

Anyway, today I am taking the day off to rest, and tomorrow I hope to get some riding done. Look for a report on that on Tuesday. I've got a special post ready for Wednesday. Thursday I may have some notes from the road, and Friday the full-on GCHoF report will begin.

Unbound Gravel: The Real Heros of the Event

 The gravel racing scene in North America just held its "Super Bowl", its premier event. The event with the biggest pay-off for winning in terms of life-changing benefits to the male and female Pro who pulls off the win there in Emporia, Kansas on Commercial Street. 

And perhaps no other street name is as appropriate for this finish line's home as this event epitomizes the commercialization of gravel riding and racing in North America. Maybe even for the world, as far as gravel goes. 

While the evolution of the DK200 into Unbound has been well documented here and elsewhere, I wanted to see where this event has led not only gravel cycling in general, but how Unbound has affected the town of Emporia, Kansas. Enough about the winners, the social media posts, and the Facebook comments, what about the average citizen in this town? What really makes this event tic?  These are some things most of us give little thought to. But as large as this event has become, as important to the cycling calendar as it has grown to be, there are still six times as many residents who live there, make a living there, and call Emporia "theirs" as there are racers. It is from these people that the backbone of Unbound is formed from.

So, briefly, please allow me the chance to paint a picture here for context. It is safe to say that for several of the early years of the DK200, most residents of this once sleepy little Kansan town were totally unaware of gravel cycling. A few nut-jobs showed up every early Summer, rode around out there in the Flint Hills, and disappeared as quickly as an afternoon pop-up thunderstorm on the prairie, never to be heard from again. But at one point, an enterprising businessman approached co-founder of the DK200, Jim Cummins, with an idea. Bring this downtown. Let's get the local businesses involved, we can grow this to benefit the community. That's what I overheard as I was sitting within earshot of that conversation in 2009. UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that Kristi Mohn, also a member of the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame, was the first to suggest this to Jim and Joel in 2008. The gentleman I saw a year later was influenced by Kristi's idea, so credit where credit is due. Thank you Kristi Mohn!

That was the impetus that began the slow evolution from this event having less than 100 riders overall in 2009 to having 160 riders two years later, and ten years after that the event grew to host 2,626 riders in five event distances. This year in 2023? The event is claiming to have approximately 4,000 riders! 

This obviously has strained the resources of Emporia to their limits and maybe beyond in some ways that most people never think about that attend the event. 4,000 riders with support people. 4,000 riders with all the infrastructure, UNBOUND staffing, volunteers, and extra help businesses bring in to service the attending riders and support people. This doesn't even consider media and event expo people coming in to cover the event and show company wares and services. In fact, Emporia Police Captain Ray Mattas estimates that the entire population of Emporia grows by 8,000 - 10,000 people over the four days of the event. 

A local grocer gets into the spirit of the event with this display.

Despite the meteoric growth of Unbound Gravel over the years you'll be hard-pressed to find any locals that will publicly voice any negativity over the event. It undoubtedly brings in a windfall economically to the community. LeLan Dains, head of Visit Emporia, claims that in 2018 the impact was 6 million and "is probably more than that now". Given the nearly doubled amount of riders since then, I'd say he's on to something there. 

But big money windfalls that come in a short window of time not only stress the community's resources but the residents themselves to a high degree. I watched a female employee of a motel near the Kansas Turnpike sigh and in reserved tones explain that she was on day four of a 14 day stretch of work because taking the Unbound weekend off was not an option for her. 

In another case, where we saw an effect on the local economy, my wife and I walked into a restaurant on the Wednesday before Unbound where there were no clean tables and after ten minutes of waiting we ended up leaving without being spoken to. Apparently they were so busy they couldn't keep up with the lunch rush. 

Back at the motel on Thursday morning a discussion arose amongst some locals who did not know the details of the event other than that it snarled the usual traffic flows and that it involved "thousands and thousands of cyclists". Disruptive cyclist who were making impacts on the local citizens that the cyclists probably were not thinking about. Heads were wagged and eyes were rolled, but you somehow got the feeling that the bother was worth it somehow.

Vendors were setting up on Wednesday for the All Things Gravel Expo.

Then there are residents of Emporia that are directly impacted by the Unbound gravel event and have had their lives redirected as a result. I met one such man, who I'll call "Mike", at the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame after-party. Mike told me that around 2016 he was made aware of an event called Lunar Kanza, a night time gravel event which was about 50 miles in length. More or less this was a for fun ride in the middle of Summer. 

Up to that point the man hadn't been riding a bicycle since childhood. After the event, he discovered the gravel riding community that had grown up around the DK200 event. This got him even more interested in gravel riding in the Flint Hills and eventually he entered the DK100. After riding several 100 mile versions of DK/Unbound, he has stepped up to ride the 200 mile event. 

Mike said after that Lunar Kanza ride he was smitten with the Flint Hills. He loved the welcoming and accepting qualities of the local gravel riders. He felt welcomed and encouraged. Now he is ready for the big miles. 

Mike was pretty stoked about the gravel scene around Emporia and thought Unbound was a worthwhile event for Emporia overall. Mike did admit that there were "pockets of resistance' locally to the gravel scene and Unbound. Despite that, he felt that most folks thought it was a good thing. Mike said, "I suppose the town benefits from it economically. At least from what I've heard it has", voicing the general populace's views on the production. 

However; not all is well in Gravel City. Last year, a man named Greg Bachman was tragically mowed down out on a gravel road near Emporia by a driver of a truck, a local resident, while Greg and his wife were riding a day or so before the 2022 Unbound. An article published on a Colorado based website paints a picture of anti-cyclist bias in the police's handling of the case, (Read that article here), and many questions are raised concerning responsibilities for rider safety and public education. So, while there is much good that Unbound brings, there are still some areas that could use some improving.

While today you'll see scads of posts celebrating the wins, the epic efforts, and the crazy conditions which typified this year's edition of Unbound, there is a "behind the curtains" thing that is going on and has a huge effect on Unbound and those who ride in it. Things that, if one of them goes wrong or haywire, (like Greg Bachman's death) it could derail the entire event and its future. 

While we engage in debates about aero bars, race tactics, and "fairness", don't forget that there is an entire foundation which exists that supports all of that to even exist as a thing. Consider the motel worker, the police officer, the waiter and waitress, and the people at the sanitation department. You are not bringing 4,000+ people and all the accoutrements associated with that to ride an event without those people and more. 

Those are the people behind the curtains that are the real heroes of Unbound.

Unbound Gravel: The Real Heros of the Event

 The gravel racing scene in North America just held its "Super Bowl", its premier event. The event with the biggest pay-off for winning in terms of life-changing benefits to the male and female Pro who pulls off the win there in Emporia, Kansas on Commercial Street. 

And perhaps no other street name is as appropriate for this finish line's home as this event epitomizes the commercialization of gravel riding and racing in North America. Maybe even for the world, as far as gravel goes. 

While the evolution of the DK200 into Unbound has been well documented here and elsewhere, I wanted to see where this event has led not only gravel cycling in general, but how Unbound has affected the town of Emporia, Kansas. Enough about the winners, the social media posts, and the Facebook comments, what about the average citizen in this town? What really makes this event tic?  These are some things most of us give little thought to. But as large as this event has become, as important to the cycling calendar as it has grown to be, there are still six times as many residents who live there, make a living there, and call Emporia "theirs" as there are racers. It is from these people that the backbone of Unbound is formed from.

So, briefly, please allow me the chance to paint a picture here for context. It is safe to say that for several of the early years of the DK200, most residents of this once sleepy little Kansan town were totally unaware of gravel cycling. A few nut-jobs showed up every early Summer, rode around out there in the Flint Hills, and disappeared as quickly as an afternoon pop-up thunderstorm on the prairie, never to be heard from again. But at one point, an enterprising businessman approached co-founder of the DK200, Jim Cummins, with an idea. Bring this downtown. Let's get the local businesses involved, we can grow this to benefit the community. That's what I overheard as I was sitting within earshot of that conversation in 2009. UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that Kristi Mohn, also a member of the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame, was the first to suggest this to Jim and Joel in 2008. The gentleman I saw a year later was influenced by Kristi's idea, so credit where credit is due. Thank you Kristi Mohn!

That was the impetus that began the slow evolution from this event having less than 100 riders overall in 2009 to having 160 riders two years later, and ten years after that the event grew to host 2,626 riders in five event distances. This year in 2023? The event is claiming to have approximately 4,000 riders! 

This obviously has strained the resources of Emporia to their limits and maybe beyond in some ways that most people never think about that attend the event. 4,000 riders with support people. 4,000 riders with all the infrastructure, UNBOUND staffing, volunteers, and extra help businesses bring in to service the attending riders and support people. This doesn't even consider media and event expo people coming in to cover the event and show company wares and services. In fact, Emporia Police Captain Ray Mattas estimates that the entire population of Emporia grows by 8,000 - 10,000 people over the four days of the event. 

A local grocer gets into the spirit of the event with this display.

Despite the meteoric growth of Unbound Gravel over the years you'll be hard-pressed to find any locals that will publicly voice any negativity over the event. It undoubtedly brings in a windfall economically to the community. LeLan Dains, head of Visit Emporia, claims that in 2018 the impact was 6 million and "is probably more than that now". Given the nearly doubled amount of riders since then, I'd say he's on to something there. 

But big money windfalls that come in a short window of time not only stress the community's resources but the residents themselves to a high degree. I watched a female employee of a motel near the Kansas Turnpike sigh and in reserved tones explain that she was on day four of a 14 day stretch of work because taking the Unbound weekend off was not an option for her. 

In another case, where we saw an effect on the local economy, my wife and I walked into a restaurant on the Wednesday before Unbound where there were no clean tables and after ten minutes of waiting we ended up leaving without being spoken to. Apparently they were so busy they couldn't keep up with the lunch rush. 

Back at the motel on Thursday morning a discussion arose amongst some locals who did not know the details of the event other than that it snarled the usual traffic flows and that it involved "thousands and thousands of cyclists". Disruptive cyclist who were making impacts on the local citizens that the cyclists probably were not thinking about. Heads were wagged and eyes were rolled, but you somehow got the feeling that the bother was worth it somehow.

Vendors were setting up on Wednesday for the All Things Gravel Expo.

Then there are residents of Emporia that are directly impacted by the Unbound gravel event and have had their lives redirected as a result. I met one such man, who I'll call "Mike", at the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame after-party. Mike told me that around 2016 he was made aware of an event called Lunar Kanza, a night time gravel event which was about 50 miles in length. More or less this was a for fun ride in the middle of Summer. 

Up to that point the man hadn't been riding a bicycle since childhood. After the event, he discovered the gravel riding community that had grown up around the DK200 event. This got him even more interested in gravel riding in the Flint Hills and eventually he entered the DK100. After riding several 100 mile versions of DK/Unbound, he has stepped up to ride the 200 mile event. 

Mike said after that Lunar Kanza ride he was smitten with the Flint Hills. He loved the welcoming and accepting qualities of the local gravel riders. He felt welcomed and encouraged. Now he is ready for the big miles. 

Mike was pretty stoked about the gravel scene around Emporia and thought Unbound was a worthwhile event for Emporia overall. Mike did admit that there were "pockets of resistance' locally to the gravel scene and Unbound. Despite that, he felt that most folks thought it was a good thing. Mike said, "I suppose the town benefits from it economically. At least from what I've heard it has", voicing the general populace's views on the production. 

However; not all is well in Gravel City. Last year, a man named Greg Bachman was tragically mowed down out on a gravel road near Emporia by a driver of a truck, a local resident, while Greg and his wife were riding a day or so before the 2022 Unbound. An article published on a Colorado based website paints a picture of anti-cyclist bias in the police's handling of the case, (Read that article here), and many questions are raised concerning responsibilities for rider safety and public education. So, while there is much good that Unbound brings, there are still some areas that could use some improving.

While today you'll see scads of posts celebrating the wins, the epic efforts, and the crazy conditions which typified this year's edition of Unbound, there is a "behind the curtains" thing that is going on and has a huge effect on Unbound and those who ride in it. Things that, if one of them goes wrong or haywire, (like Greg Bachman's death) it could derail the entire event and its future. 

While we engage in debates about aero bars, race tactics, and "fairness", don't forget that there is an entire foundation which exists that supports all of that to even exist as a thing. Consider the motel worker, the police officer, the waiter and waitress, and the people at the sanitation department. You are not bringing 4,000+ people and all the accoutrements associated with that to ride an event without those people and more. 

Those are the people behind the curtains that are the real heroes of Unbound.

Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame 2023; Photo Dump

Your Corporate Overlords drive an SUV.

I took a bunch of images while on my trip to the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame ceremonies and I thought I might go ahead and share those with you all today. 

These do not all have a direct connection to the GCHoF thing, but as you all know, UNBOUND week has several satellite events attached to it now and the GCHoF thing is one of those. 

In this photo dump I may or may not have some commentary for each image. There was a lot to take in and what impresses me more than anything else about UNBOUND is how large and overwhelming it has become. 

No longer is it a place to "meet your gravel family" because, truthfully, you could easily never see someone that is there due to the vast amount of people coming into the area for the week. Yes, I said the week. 

That's the other thing. This event is not a Friday-Saturday thing anymore. I saw more people on bicycles and wandering around that were out-of-towners than I ever have on a Wednesday before an event. Even Tuesday, when we arrived, you could easily find out-of-towners on bicycles cruising around. So, this event has major impact, not only economically, but in terms of the local residents as well. I'll have more to say about that in my final take on UNBOUND coming soon. For now, the images.....

There is something about the Flint Hills that hits differently.

Mrs. Guitar Ted and I ate at Casa Rojas on Tuesday evening. While the service was its usual top-tier and beyond reproach, the quality of the food wasn't up to snuff. This was a big disappointment for us. I remember this place having excellent Mexican cuisine in the past, but now it is just average fare. 

Some women's wind jackets that looked like something a rock star would wear. As seen in Merchant Cycles.

The Shimano vans were easy to spot. This is one of two that were there plus they had a "team car" as well.

I'm on the right just ahead of the rider in the foreground. Image by Jeff Kerkove.

Image by Jeff Kerkove

The efforts put forth to document every sweat bead shed at UNBOUND is amazing.

Image by Phyllis Stevenson

I ended my time in Emporia with my appearance for a recording of the "Gravel Family Podcast" in front of Merchant Cycles on Thursday morning. Normally I do not EVER get interviewed, so this was a fun change of pace. 

Sofia Gibson and Jason Strobehn do a great job of putting the show together and had some great questions lined up for me. I'll try to make sure I get a link thrown up here whenever that show is ready to go. I think they had six guests planned for recording so it may take a bit for this to show up. But I'll try to share it here when it does. 

I'll have an essay about the whole Emporia scene at Unbound coming out soon. Stay tuned.....

Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame 2023; Photo Dump

Your Corporate Overlords drive an SUV.

I took a bunch of images while on my trip to the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame ceremonies and I thought I might go ahead and share those with you all today. 

These do not all have a direct connection to the GCHoF thing, but as you all know, UNBOUND week has several satellite events attached to it now and the GCHoF thing is one of those. 

In this photo dump I may or may not have some commentary for each image. There was a lot to take in and what impresses me more than anything else about UNBOUND is how large and overwhelming it has become. 

No longer is it a place to "meet your gravel family" because, truthfully, you could easily never see someone that is there due to the vast amount of people coming into the area for the week. Yes, I said the week. 

That's the other thing. This event is not a Friday-Saturday thing anymore. I saw more people on bicycles and wandering around that were out-of-towners than I ever have on a Wednesday before an event. Even Tuesday, when we arrived, you could easily find out-of-towners on bicycles cruising around. So, this event has major impact, not only economically, but in terms of the local residents as well. I'll have more to say about that in my final take on UNBOUND coming soon. For now, the images.....

There is something about the Flint Hills that hits differently.

Mrs. Guitar Ted and I ate at Casa Rojas on Tuesday evening. While the service was its usual top-tier and beyond reproach, the quality of the food wasn't up to snuff. This was a big disappointment for us. I remember this place having excellent Mexican cuisine in the past, but now it is just average fare. 

Some women's wind jackets that looked like something a rock star would wear. As seen in Merchant Cycles.

The Shimano vans were easy to spot. This is one of two that were there plus they had a "team car" as well.

I'm on the right just ahead of the rider in the foreground. Image by Jeff Kerkove.

Image by Jeff Kerkove

The efforts put forth to document every sweat bead shed at UNBOUND is amazing.

Image by Phyllis Stevenson

I ended my time in Emporia with my appearance for a recording of the "Gravel Family Podcast" in front of Merchant Cycles on Thursday morning. Normally I do not EVER get interviewed, so this was a fun change of pace. 

Sofia Gibson and Jason Strobehn do a great job of putting the show together and had some great questions lined up for me. I'll try to make sure I get a link thrown up here whenever that show is ready to go. I think they had six guests planned for recording so it may take a bit for this to show up. But I'll try to share it here when it does. 

I'll have an essay about the whole Emporia scene at Unbound coming out soon. Stay tuned.....

Country Views: Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame Ride

Escape Route: 18th Ave NW, Emporia, Kansas

The Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame Ride was one of the things I most looked forward to about our trip. It is the reason we left to get to Emporia, (Mrs. Guitar Ted and I) on Tuesday. I won't bore you with the trip down details. It was a mundane 6.5 hr drive. I tell ya this much - I'm getting to the point where I don't like sitting in a car for that long. 

But I did it for this, and I am really happy about that. I saw a lot of folks I haven't seen in a long time. Some for a really long time. 

So, anyway, the ride! It was a ride that was kind of a strange one in that we were to meet a ride in progress and escort those riders back to Emporia. That ride we were to meet, loosely known as the "Gravitude Ride", started in Lawrence Kansas at Sunflower Bikes, led by their owner, Hall of Famer, (or "GCHoF'er - pronounced "geechoff'er" ) Dan Hughes. 

The ride was to start out for me in front of Merchant Cycles, (formerly Gravel City Adventures), at 11:00am. I figured that if I left my motel room, which was at the far Northwestern part of Emporia, at 10:00am or slightly afterward, I would have plenty of time to get there. I took the pink BMC for this one, and wore a Summertime kit which was appropriate for the high 80's-low 90's that was forecast for the ride. 

I arrived in front of the bike shop and saw someone I have not seen in probably more than a decade.

A clue as to who I saw.....

My Trans Iowa co-founder! Jeff Kerkove!

So, Jeff was in town for the big gravel expo and the event. He was pretty sure he was doing the 200, but.... If it rains..... (And it appears that will be the case.) Maybe not, but we will see. Anyway, that was the least of our concerns at the time. I had a nice long chat before the start of the event, and I actually spent some time chatting on the road with him as well. What a great surprise! I could have left and gone home with that being enough, but there was more!

Gravel Worlds promoter and GCHoF Board member, Jason Strobehn was the ride leader.

Riding out on Commercial Street.

My brother from another mother, MG was there too! I haven't seen him in so long! This was already an awesome ride and we hadn't even left town yet! Well, that time came, finally, and after Gravel Worlds and "geechof" board member Jason Strobehn called us to order, we rolled out of town on Commercial Street.

I got early twenty-teens DK200 vibes as the 50-ish riders rolled out down the street. I remember the first year the DK did this and while it would have been darker, with less cars around, I felt like I was rolling back in time a bit there. Especially with Corey, "Cornbread" Godfrey rolling along beside me, just like in 2010! I couldn't believe it. Yeah, I was having a good time already.

MAJOR props to this duo who did the entire ride.

What a wonderful sight to behold.

I had no idea where we were headed, but it was relayed to us at the start that the planned meet-up with the other riders was now not happening. They had planned to overnight at a campground near a lake Northwest of Emporia, but that evening it rained so hard that their encampment was flooded out and they all bailed out of the place and roomed up in Emporia instead. So they joined us for the ride and the distance was cut short accordingly. The route? Not even some of the ride leaders knew where we were going! 

I think that's awesome in these days of pre-planned, curated, GPS filed routes. We just had to trust to whomever had the "plan" and our job was just to stay upright and have fun.

I took this blind, over the shoulder shot, and look at who was sucking my wheel!

That's MG in the PCL jersey to the right there.

We stopped at Rocky Ford Bridge, or "Bird Bridge" as it is known by some. It is on one of the old DK200 "Route Challenge" routes and is a "beginner level" route. I didn't know this until we stopped at the bridge for a photo op with new GCHoF'ers, Allison Tetrick and Yuri Hauswald. There was some chatter about "murder ordained" and then I vaguely recalled the route being named something like that from years past. But that wasn't a big deal. It was just fun to stop and celebrate the new GCHoF members and then we were off again. 

2023 GCHoF inductees Yuri Hauswald (L) and Allison Tetrick (R)

The Flint Hills are all about cattle and feeding them the rich prairie grasses.

Leaving the bridge provided the only real climbing in this route and it wasn't too much of a burden to keep up even though we don't have that steep of a climb near where I live in Waterloo in the country. I'd have to go to Tama County for that. I gotta get down that way soon...

Of course there was a minimum maintenance road on the route!

The ride ended by coming back into Emporia on the road it left for the ride on. In all, it was a 13 mile loop, plus whatever I rode to get down there. When I was finished I chatted with a few folks, including the "Bike Monkey", who I know from Twitter, and Mike "Kid" Reimer from Salsa Cycles. 

Then I got ahold of Mrs. Guitar Ted, and we went and got some lunch. We chilled out for a bit and then we got dressed up for a night out at the GCHoF inductions ceremonies and after party. 

Stay tuned for that report next......

Country Views: Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame Ride

Escape Route: 18th Ave NW, Emporia, Kansas

The Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame Ride was one of the things I most looked forward to about our trip. It is the reason we left to get to Emporia, (Mrs. Guitar Ted and I) on Tuesday. I won't bore you with the trip down details. It was a mundane 6.5 hr drive. I tell ya this much - I'm getting to the point where I don't like sitting in a car for that long. 

But I did it for this, and I am really happy about that. I saw a lot of folks I haven't seen in a long time. Some for a really long time. 

So, anyway, the ride! It was a ride that was kind of a strange one in that we were to meet a ride in progress and escort those riders back to Emporia. That ride we were to meet, loosely known as the "Gravitude Ride", started in Lawrence Kansas at Sunflower Bikes, led by their owner, Hall of Famer, (or "GCHoF'er - pronounced "geechoff'er" ) Dan Hughes. 

The ride was to start out for me in front of Merchant Cycles, (formerly Gravel City Adventures), at 11:00am. I figured that if I left my motel room, which was at the far Northwestern part of Emporia, at 10:00am or slightly afterward, I would have plenty of time to get there. I took the pink BMC for this one, and wore a Summertime kit which was appropriate for the high 80's-low 90's that was forecast for the ride. 

I arrived in front of the bike shop and saw someone I have not seen in probably more than a decade.

A clue as to who I saw.....

My Trans Iowa co-founder! Jeff Kerkove!

So, Jeff was in town for the big gravel expo and the event. He was pretty sure he was doing the 200, but.... If it rains..... (And it appears that will be the case.) Maybe not, but we will see. Anyway, that was the least of our concerns at the time. I had a nice long chat before the start of the event, and I actually spent some time chatting on the road with him as well. What a great surprise! I could have left and gone home with that being enough, but there was more!

Gravel Worlds promoter and GCHoF Board member, Jason Strobehn was the ride leader.

Riding out on Commercial Street.

My brother from another mother, MG was there too! I haven't seen him in so long! This was already an awesome ride and we hadn't even left town yet! Well, that time came, finally, and after Gravel Worlds and "geechof" board member Jason Strobehn called us to order, we rolled out of town on Commercial Street.

I got early twenty-teens DK200 vibes as the 50-ish riders rolled out down the street. I remember the first year the DK did this and while it would have been darker, with less cars around, I felt like I was rolling back in time a bit there. Especially with Corey, "Cornbread" Godfrey rolling along beside me, just like in 2010! I couldn't believe it. Yeah, I was having a good time already.

MAJOR props to this duo who did the entire ride.

What a wonderful sight to behold.

I had no idea where we were headed, but it was relayed to us at the start that the planned meet-up with the other riders was now not happening. They had planned to overnight at a campground near a lake Northwest of Emporia, but that evening it rained so hard that their encampment was flooded out and they all bailed out of the place and roomed up in Emporia instead. So they joined us for the ride and the distance was cut short accordingly. The route? Not even some of the ride leaders knew where we were going! 

I think that's awesome in these days of pre-planned, curated, GPS filed routes. We just had to trust to whomever had the "plan" and our job was just to stay upright and have fun.

I took this blind, over the shoulder shot, and look at who was sucking my wheel!

That's MG in the PCL jersey to the right there.

We stopped at Rocky Ford Bridge, or "Bird Bridge" as it is known by some. It is on one of the old DK200 "Route Challenge" routes and is a "beginner level" route. I didn't know this until we stopped at the bridge for a photo op with new GCHoF'ers, Allison Tetrick and Yuri Hauswald. There was some chatter about "murder ordained" and then I vaguely recalled the route being named something like that from years past. But that wasn't a big deal. It was just fun to stop and celebrate the new GCHoF members and then we were off again. 

2023 GCHoF inductees Yuri Hauswald (L) and Allison Tetrick (R)

The Flint Hills are all about cattle and feeding them the rich prairie grasses.

Leaving the bridge provided the only real climbing in this route and it wasn't too much of a burden to keep up even though we don't have that steep of a climb near where I live in Waterloo in the country. I'd have to go to Tama County for that. I gotta get down that way soon...

Of course there was a minimum maintenance road on the route!

The ride ended by coming back into Emporia on the road it left for the ride on. In all, it was a 13 mile loop, plus whatever I rode to get down there. When I was finished I chatted with a few folks, including the "Bike Monkey", who I know from Twitter, and Mike "Kid" Reimer from Salsa Cycles. 

Then I got ahold of Mrs. Guitar Ted, and we went and got some lunch. We chilled out for a bit and then we got dressed up for a night out at the GCHoF inductions ceremonies and after party. 

Stay tuned for that report next......

Going To Kansas

Well, tomorrow I am off on a trip to visit Emporia, Kansas once again. If you had told me that I'd be going to this Kansan city almost every year for nearly 20 years when I was younger I'd have said, "Emporia what?!", and I would have laughed at you. But I am now kind of forever tied to that town and its Hall of Fame for all things gravel. 

I can still remember cruising around the forlorn looking downtown area of this city back in 2005 with David Pals, who joined me and gave me a ride down to the inaugural DK200. There were more vacant buildings than not on Commercial Street, and no one had ever heard about a gravel road cycling competition that would later help transform this city from a relatively unknown spot at the junction of the Kansas Turnpike and I - 35 in the Flint Hills. 

Now things are a heck of a lot different, and gravel is a big deal in cycling. Emporia, Kansas is arguably the epicenter of gravel riding for the USA with its UNBOUND event holding the premier position and status amongst the hundreds of gravel events here and world-wide. Who'd have thunk it in 2005? No one, that's who, if we're being honest here. This is all an amazing transformation for cycling, Emporia, and its people who live there and are connected to this city. 

So, here I go. Me. A guy who never would have figured I'd be a part of anything like this. Not in a million years. And I am very, very  grateful for what has happened. So, I am going down there once again to celebrate the next class of inductees. 

We did a podcast about the 2023 class and gabbed about some other stuff on the "Guitar Ted Podcast" which you can listen to at the LINK HERE. Check it out if you care to and tell your friends. Thanks!

I'll have a write-up on my trip starting here Thursday. 

Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions