Gravel, Single Track, and Windsheild Time

 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!

I mentioned last week in this recurring series of posts about happenings from this blog's past that there was a weekend that was pretty crazy at the end of August 2009. This weekend was a snapshot of my entire year of '09 and is a perfect example of how nuts things were at that time. 

The weekend in question was started out by working at my old bike mechanic position at Europa Cycle & Ski. I got off probably around 3:00pm or maybe 4:00pm back then, I don't recall now, and had to get my ducks in a row for a four-plus hour long drive to Omaha, Nebraska. The trip was arranged so that my wife and two kids could stay with friends we had living there who also had children and the parents were longtime friends of my wife. So, it was agreed that I could go do a gravel race Saturday and then check out a venue for the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo I was involved in putting on near Brady, Nebraska.
 

This was how the Pofahl Signature single speed was set up for the Good Life Gravel Adventure.

Unfortunately my camera which I had at that time needed recharging but I had zero extra time for that. So images are either from previous to that weekend or from others. This bites because the Good Life Gravel Adventure, which I partook in, was a blast and one of the original gravel grinders in the nation. 

After getting to Omaha I spent a little time with the family and friends there and then drove solo to Lincoln, Nebraska in the dark and found what was then known as the "D Street Hotel" where Corey Godfrey was waiting for me. But before that I had stopped at Matt Gersib's house and chatted up some folks staying with him to ride the next day's event. They were Joel Dyke and Joe Fox. I did not6 remember this until I read a passing sentence about it in my brief pre-report report on the Good Life Gravel Adventure. 

Now this is a good thing, but it is a reminder that I have regrets. On the one hand, I mentioned this meeting with MG, Joel Dyke, and Joe Fox which otherwise I would have completely forgotten about. The regret is that I did not get any images and no record of the time spent with those three other than that brief mention of our time together. Joel is dead and I rarely see Joe Fox anymore, although I did get to see him in March when I went to Mid-South. This is a reminder to make a record when I see someone because I may not ever see them again. 

The regrets continue with the lack of images from the GLGA, meeting Corey at midnight as he waited on the porch at the D Street house. Riding with Matt Wills, Troy Krause, and I think one other as we sped through back yards and across streets to the MOPAC Trail and the event's start. No images of Ben and Oliver whom I rode a big chunk of the event with. No images of Troy Krause, the winner of that year's GLGA, picking my worn out body and bike in Courtland where I DNF'ed. 

But - I do have vivid memories of events from that weekend. So there is that. Ironically I was half out of my mind with lack of sleep and my typical for then lack of proper nutrition and hydration. I fell asleep on the bike three times too. It is amazing I lived through it all! 

Me riding at Potters Pasture on the Horseshoe Loop. Image by "Llama".

After the GLGA, the afternoon it ended, MG and I hopped in my car and drove to Gothenburg, Nebraska and drank Red Bull Cola to keep awake, as we did not arrive there until well after dark. The black top road out to Potter's Pasture, where we were to meet a few people to ride the following day, was black as night with the only light coming from our headlights. 

On the way out I wrote that I was "hallucinating" seeing myself riding down a gravel road and then realizing Matt was driving us down an interstate highway. Weird! But I was so into sleep deprivation and exhausted physically from riding all day that it was no wonder. And then there was that Red Bull Cola....

The next day was a blur. We rode some and then I had to get back to Waterloo, Iowa, which was over 500 miles away and seven hours straight through. But I had to stop in Lincoln and in Omaha, so my travel time was longer by three hours. 

That was but one weekend in my life during 2009. There was a lot more with family illnesses, work, vacation, and trips for the Twenty Nine Inches site. Trans Iowa was looming, and that all would be a big time suck also. How I found any time to write a daily blog and do all that stuff was amazing. All I can do is shake my head and remember what I did write down, which, as I said, wasn't enough looking back. 

From the Potter's Pasture ride. Image by Llama

Ironically the weekend represented a new beginning and an ending. A transition was happening in my life, as I stated before. It was also represented in this crazy weekend. The Good Life Gravel Adventure saw 42 people toe the line. The following year, 2010, Corey and Craig Schmidt decided to call it Gravel Worlds and have rainbow jerseys for winners. The event saw over 100 people attend. Gravel was taking off.

Conversely the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo was a bit of a failure due to my not being able to attend as my father-in-law had to go in for emergency open heart surgery just days before the event was to happen. Then a freak snow storm dumped up to ten inches of snow on Potter's Pasture the night before the event was to happen. It would be the last mountain bike event I would be involved in. 29"ers became "just bikes" in the ensuing years, and my involvement in that scene faded as that acceptance of that wheel size became ubiquitous across the globe. I started Gravel Grinder News late in 2009, and the trajectory of my writing changed as a result for this blog.

More craziness from 2009 in future installments of this series will be coming. Stay tuned...

Proto Gravel

 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!

Back in 2009 I was riding the wave of everything I had found myself involved with which was a crazy time in my life. This all spilled out on the blog in an almost dizzying stream of posts with varying subjects ranging from event productions, gravel riding and racing, 29"er news and development, and my shop job. Honestly, looking back on this time, I have no idea how I managed to fit it all together. 

To think this all happened because I started this blog is incredible. In four short years I was on a crazy train of bicycle related things which, somehow, did not derail into a mass of smoking carnage. It came really close to it, but thankfully it did not happen. 

I'll spend a lot of time breaking down 2009 and this blog in future 20th anniversary posts, but for today's entry I wanted to focus in on something that was a time-stamp in the nascent gravel racing scene. That being the appearance of a dedicated gravel racing bike. 

Not many people ever saw this bike, or knew of its existence.

In early May of 2009, (the only Trans Iowa not held during the last full weekend of April) a grey framed, metal bicycle with traditional cantilever brakes appeared at the start line of an ultra-distance gravel event. You may think that this is "no big deal", but you don't know the context of what this bike meant for a certain, very small subset of cyclists and why this was a cog that helped propel gravel cycling into the heights which we now know in 2024. 

Previously to this, all bicycles that were ridden at gravel events were intended for other disciplines. Imagine this world if you can! Predominantly gravel events were ridden using cyclo cross bicycles or mountain bikes. Yes, there was the odd road bike, touring bike, and maybe someone used a recumbent in there at some point. However; the point is that a "gravel specific bike", while being thought of by many at the time, just was not a reality. 

Joe Meiser, an engineer at Quality Bicycle Products and often allocated to working on designs for Salsa Cycles, a QBP owned brand, was at Trans Iowa v3 in 2007. Apparently this and a few other gravel events sparked an interest in gravel cycling within the walls at Quality Bicycle Products and specifically at Salsa Cycles. Work began on a design focused on the needs of racers at these events. 

Many gravel events weren't very big back then. This is the results from the GLGA in 2008.

Which, if you consider how many folks were actually gravel racing then, is amazing. Rosters for these early gravel events were tiny in comparison to what we see today. That did not seem to matter to Salsa and its designers who came to Trans Iowa and the DK200 in 2009 with the bicycle shown above.

 The bike was a titanium prototype which kind of walked the line between cyclo cross and gravel. This made sense in 2007/2008 because a business had to hedge their bets on gravel which wasn't big enough then to support a bicycle specifically dedicated for gravel only. The time period this bike came from also shows up in the quick release axle standard, the cantilever brakes, and the straight steer tube. Note the two bottle mounts with no other accessory mounting points. 

I snagged the image above during Joe Meiser's stop at a convenience store during Trans Iowa v5 in North English, Iowa. Joe would go on to win the event overall. At the time I had squirreled away this image as Salsa hadn't been offering anything other than Scandium aluminum and steel frames up to that point. But toward the end of the year Salsa introduced titanium frames so I posted the image on the blog then. 

It didn't catch on with many folks that a gravel specific bicycle was on the way, but of course, we all know now that happened in 2012. In the meantime I actually got to see other Salsa prototype gravel bikes at Trans Iowa, but those were never discussed on this blog out of respect for Salsa and the people I knew there at the time. 

And a note on that Good Life Gravel Adventure results image: David Pals was so impressed with that event in 2008 that he insisted I go do it in 2009. Which I did and was a part of a crazy, insane weekend which I will document in a future 20th Anniversary post coming soon. 

Stay tuned for that...

Gravel History With Guitar Ted: The Good Life Gravel Adventure

Welcome To Gravel History With Guitar Ted! This will be a random series here on the blog where I will give you my take on the history of gravel riding and racing in the modern era.* 

There may be a "Ted-terview" or two where I speak with those from the early days of the Modern era of Gravel as well. 

The early days of the gravel scene, as we have come to know it, were very, very different than they are today. Nothing illustrates this better than looking at the transition of what was an idea on a relatively unknown blog in 2008 to what became one of the most well known gravel events on the planet. Of course, I am speaking of "Gravel Worlds", which will take place in Lincoln, Nebraska in a little over two weeks from now. 

My connection to Gravel Worlds goes way back and I have known the promoters of the event for a long time, but the beginnings of Gravel Worlds goes back further than that. The beginnings of the event are closely tied to the development of a loose confederation of cyclists who called themselves "The Pirate Cycling League". 

That story is another one for another time. I'm going to keep the focus here on the genesis of Gravel Worlds. That event grew out of another event, which itself has its beginnings in the very earliest part of the Modern Era of gravel riding/racing. 

The blogging scene, which was at its zenith in the mid-2000's, helped bring a sense of community to many facets of American culture. Cycling was no different in that regard. Suddenly everyone had a voice, and the Lincoln area cycling community capitalized upon this phenomenon very successfully. At first, it was exemplified by the "Folks from Lincoln" blog. This was a blog that featured all sorts of activities ranging from cycling, music, skate boarding, and art. I suspect that the amount of cycling related stuff, especially the gravel stuff, made the Pirate Cycling League's decision to form its own blog a rather easy decision to make. Much like the "Folks From Lincoln" blog, the PCL's blog was, at first, a community driven affair. Everyone was welcomed, and everyone had a voice. 

"CVO" or Christopher Van Oyen, at Gravel Worlds 2010

The PCL blog and the Folks From Lincoln" blogs worked together for a while, but eventually the man known as "CVO", (Christopher VanOyen) sort of became the de-facto blogger of that site and it became a quite different thing. So, the PCL eventually was the clearing house for anything "gravel" in terms of cycling in the Lincoln/Omaha areas.

During the Summer of '08, an idea was floated on the PCL blog which would become an event. But as with what came before, this was decidedly a "community driven" idea. You can get the gist of it here from a post I found on the PCL blog which is still on the net!

"As a reminder, the Pirate Cycling League is race promotion group focusing on fun, free, and friendly bicycling events. The PCL is run by no one and everyone. Anyone can organize a PCL event. The founding fathers will remain anonymous. I (Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey) have taken the reigns to create a blog. If you would like to become a contributor, please send me an email and I'll send you an invite."

As the Summer rolled along the event ideas came in and things were cooked down to a singular idea. Again from the PCL blog:

"In keeping with PCL tradition and mission statement, there will be no entry fee. Riders will be required to purchase Nebraska Lottery Powerball tickets as proof of reaching a checkpoint (date and time are indicated on the ticket). Four lottery tickets should cover ya (not every town will be an official checkpoint). The local convenience stores will serve as the checkpoints which will also provide nutritional support for your $."

No date or distance had been determined at this point, but taking a bigger picture look at the landscape at that time will reveal that Spring and early Summer were pretty set with gravel events by 2008. You had Trans Iowa, Almanzo 100, and the DK200, (now Unbound Gravel), going on and in deference to those events, the PCL leaders were thinking about late Summer or Fall. 

The event idea was to be one that kind of fit into the ethos of the first Modern Era gravel events and so a longer distance was contemplated. Eventually settling in on a 150-ish mile course, the event, which was known as "The Good Life Gravel Adventure", was run in September of 2008. 

The results for the first GLGA (Courtesy of the PCL Blog)

One of the event's attendees, my co-director at the time for Trans Iowa, was David Pals. He could not stop talking about how great the event was and insisted that I give it a try the following year. Upon his recommendation,and with a few "life" things falling my way, I was a part of that second running of the GLGA in 2009. 

Unfortunately, my camera decided to not charge up, so I have no visual record of the event, but I did write up this race report afterward here on the blog in 2009. 

The event was deemed a success and the PCL saw their attendance numbers more than double. This and the positive feedback they received was more than enough to spur the PCL guys and gals along the way to re-up for another go at things in 2010. By that time of the announcement, which was a month after the last GLGA,  response to their event had indicated to the PCL crew that maybe a name change and a venue change was in order. 

I don't know why they decided to go with "Gravel Worlds", but my impression was that at that time it was a stab at the stuffy, overly-complicated Pro roadie scene and its age-old conventions. A tongue in cheek take on racing which flew in the face of normal road racing conventions and even going so far as to usurp the icon of Pro road racing's achievement, the rainbow jersey, with a Gravel Worlds version. 

One of the PCL's co-founders, Craig Schmidt, holding the inaugural Gravel Worlds jersey.

Of course, this got the PCL in hot water with the UCI several years later, but all is well nowadays! The "rainbow stripe" design has been modified and now appears a bit differently on the current jersey for the category winners of Gravel Worlds in 2023. 

My post card entry for the 2010 event.

That first Gravel Worlds, held in mid-August of 2010, solidified the event as one of the important gravel grinders on the calendar for years to come. The event grew by over twice its size again in 2010 over 2009, with attendance somewhere over 150 riders. Gravel Worlds had now become a staple of the gravel scene.

And of course, it has only grown with every coming year to become one of the most important gravel grinders in the USA. What I find amazing is that through it all - the growth years and through a pandemic through to the other side - Gravel Worlds has maintained that "everyman's event" feeling and its basis for inclusiveness which it has had from its beginnings. It has grown, and it has become fancier, with all the race event trappings which many events have, but somehow that basis from which the event has its foundations has remained solid and unyielding. A true testament to its founders and to the directors, volunteers, and sponsors that the event has today. 

Additionally, this event and Barry-Roubaix are really the only gravel events which can trace an unbroken line from before 2010 to the present day. The Gravel Worlds event is one of those iconic American inventions that not only represents "gravel" in perhaps its truest form today, but is an event with a historical importance that not many current events can even hope to touch. That one of its founders is in the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame should underscore that sentiment. 

 I want to also take a moment to say that I wish all those involved in Gravel Worlds this year much success. 

Until next time on Gravel History With Guitar Ted.

Gravel History With Guitar Ted: The Good Life Gravel Adventure

Welcome To Gravel History With Guitar Ted! This will be a random series here on the blog where I will give you my take on the history of gravel riding and racing in the modern era.* 

There may be a "Ted-terview" or two where I speak with those from the early days of the Modern era of Gravel as well. 

The early days of the gravel scene, as we have come to know it, were very, very different than they are today. Nothing illustrates this better than looking at the transition of what was an idea on a relatively unknown blog in 2008 to what became one of the most well known gravel events on the planet. Of course, I am speaking of "Gravel Worlds", which will take place in Lincoln, Nebraska in a little over two weeks from now. 

My connection to Gravel Worlds goes way back and I have known the promoters of the event for a long time, but the beginnings of Gravel Worlds goes back further than that. The beginnings of the event are closely tied to the development of a loose confederation of cyclists who called themselves "The Pirate Cycling League". 

That story is another one for another time. I'm going to keep the focus here on the genesis of Gravel Worlds. That event grew out of another event, which itself has its beginnings in the very earliest part of the Modern Era of gravel riding/racing. 

The blogging scene, which was at its zenith in the mid-2000's, helped bring a sense of community to many facets of American culture. Cycling was no different in that regard. Suddenly everyone had a voice, and the Lincoln area cycling community capitalized upon this phenomenon very successfully. At first, it was exemplified by the "Folks from Lincoln" blog. This was a blog that featured all sorts of activities ranging from cycling, music, skate boarding, and art. I suspect that the amount of cycling related stuff, especially the gravel stuff, made the Pirate Cycling League's decision to form its own blog a rather easy decision to make. Much like the "Folks From Lincoln" blog, the PCL's blog was, at first, a community driven affair. Everyone was welcomed, and everyone had a voice. 

"CVO" or Christopher Van Oyen, at Gravel Worlds 2010

The PCL blog and the Folks From Lincoln" blogs worked together for a while, but eventually the man known as "CVO", (Christopher VanOyen) sort of became the de-facto blogger of that site and it became a quite different thing. So, the PCL eventually was the clearing house for anything "gravel" in terms of cycling in the Lincoln/Omaha areas.

During the Summer of '08, an idea was floated on the PCL blog which would become an event. But as with what came before, this was decidedly a "community driven" idea. You can get the gist of it here from a post I found on the PCL blog which is still on the net!

"As a reminder, the Pirate Cycling League is race promotion group focusing on fun, free, and friendly bicycling events. The PCL is run by no one and everyone. Anyone can organize a PCL event. The founding fathers will remain anonymous. I (Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey) have taken the reigns to create a blog. If you would like to become a contributor, please send me an email and I'll send you an invite."

As the Summer rolled along the event ideas came in and things were cooked down to a singular idea. Again from the PCL blog:

"In keeping with PCL tradition and mission statement, there will be no entry fee. Riders will be required to purchase Nebraska Lottery Powerball tickets as proof of reaching a checkpoint (date and time are indicated on the ticket). Four lottery tickets should cover ya (not every town will be an official checkpoint). The local convenience stores will serve as the checkpoints which will also provide nutritional support for your $."

No date or distance had been determined at this point, but taking a bigger picture look at the landscape at that time will reveal that Spring and early Summer were pretty set with gravel events by 2008. You had Trans Iowa, Almanzo 100, and the DK200, (now Unbound Gravel), going on and in deference to those events, the PCL leaders were thinking about late Summer or Fall. 

The event idea was to be one that kind of fit into the ethos of the first Modern Era gravel events and so a longer distance was contemplated. Eventually settling in on a 150-ish mile course, the event, which was known as "The Good Life Gravel Adventure", was run in September of 2008. 

The results for the first GLGA (Courtesy of the PCL Blog)

One of the event's attendees, my co-director at the time for Trans Iowa, was David Pals. He could not stop talking about how great the event was and insisted that I give it a try the following year. Upon his recommendation,and with a few "life" things falling my way, I was a part of that second running of the GLGA in 2009. 

Unfortunately, my camera decided to not charge up, so I have no visual record of the event, but I did write up this race report afterward here on the blog in 2009. 

The event was deemed a success and the PCL saw their attendance numbers more than double. This and the positive feedback they received was more than enough to spur the PCL guys and gals along the way to re-up for another go at things in 2010. By that time of the announcement, which was a month after the last GLGA,  response to their event had indicated to the PCL crew that maybe a name change and a venue change was in order. 

I don't know why they decided to go with "Gravel Worlds", but my impression was that at that time it was a stab at the stuffy, overly-complicated Pro roadie scene and its age-old conventions. A tongue in cheek take on racing which flew in the face of normal road racing conventions and even going so far as to usurp the icon of Pro road racing's achievement, the rainbow jersey, with a Gravel Worlds version. 

One of the PCL's co-founders, Craig Schmidt, holding the inaugural Gravel Worlds jersey.

Of course, this got the PCL in hot water with the UCI several years later, but all is well nowadays! The "rainbow stripe" design has been modified and now appears a bit differently on the current jersey for the category winners of Gravel Worlds in 2023. 

My post card entry for the 2010 event.

That first Gravel Worlds, held in mid-August of 2010, solidified the event as one of the important gravel grinders on the calendar for years to come. The event grew by over twice its size again in 2010 over 2009, with attendance somewhere over 150 riders. Gravel Worlds had now become a staple of the gravel scene.

And of course, it has only grown with every coming year to become one of the most important gravel grinders in the USA. What I find amazing is that through it all - the growth years and through a pandemic through to the other side - Gravel Worlds has maintained that "everyman's event" feeling and its basis for inclusiveness which it has had from its beginnings. It has grown, and it has become fancier, with all the race event trappings which many events have, but somehow that basis from which the event has its foundations has remained solid and unyielding. A true testament to its founders and to the directors, volunteers, and sponsors that the event has today. 

Additionally, this event and Barry-Roubaix are really the only gravel events which can trace an unbroken line from before 2010 to the present day. The Gravel Worlds event is one of those iconic American inventions that not only represents "gravel" in perhaps its truest form today, but is an event with a historical importance that not many current events can even hope to touch. That one of its founders is in the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame should underscore that sentiment. 

 I want to also take a moment to say that I wish all those involved in Gravel Worlds this year much success. 

Until next time on Gravel History With Guitar Ted.

Signed Up

Spent Friday morning shoveling this super fluffy snow.

I was rather proud of myself on Saturday. I actually remembered not only to awaken before 8:00am but I remembered to register for Gravel Worlds in August coming up. Let's see now.......this will be my eighth time, assuming we can go. THAT is a rather big assumption at this point. But I will hold off on that opinion a minute here......

Of course, my eighth Gravel Worlds would have been last year, but you all know what happened to that. I'm pretty sure, besides events I put on, I haven't been to another event eight times. So, let that sink in. That's what I think about Gravel Worlds. 

I suppose you could add in the last Good Life Gravel Adventure, the event which Gravel Worlds grew out of. I went to that the year before Gravel Worlds started. The GLGA was pretty much exactly like Gravel Worlds, only with a lot less people. While it may not be an 'officially recognized' attendance of Gravel Worlds, I'm counting it in there. So, this would be my ninth trip to Lincoln for this event. 

Now for my opinion on this and the pandemic..... I am not signing up for anything else at this point. I'm just going to start out this season like last year- by doing a lot of solo rides out in the country. As far as I am concerned, 2021 is '2020 Part 2' until further evidence that things are going to be more like 2019 crop up. THAT has not happened yet, nor will it happen soon. 

So, no use signing up for anything else, even if "other stuff" does happen. I'm going to wait for the hard evidence. Others may try to pretend things are getting better based on.......whatever. Not me. That all just means that the plan will be to do regularly scheduled long rides. Hopefully there will be a few century rides in there. That would help tremendously. Changes I made to diet and exercise last year resulted in some positive gains. I plan on ramping that up more for the remainder of 2021. Signing up for Gravel Worlds is a motivation, for sure, but I'd do this regardless.  

And so, if Gravel Worlds is forced to be a virtual event again for 2021, I will be ready for that too. My registration will be a donated fee, just like last year's was, and if we can go, well all the better. I'm in for either way it goes, as long as we can all be safe and healthy. 

Signed Up

Spent Friday morning shoveling this super fluffy snow.

I was rather proud of myself on Saturday. I actually remembered not only to awaken before 8:00am but I remembered to register for Gravel Worlds in August coming up. Let's see now.......this will be my eighth time, assuming we can go. THAT is a rather big assumption at this point. But I will hold off on that opinion a minute here......

Of course, my eighth Gravel Worlds would have been last year, but you all know what happened to that. I'm pretty sure, besides events I put on, I haven't been to another event eight times. So, let that sink in. That's what I think about Gravel Worlds. 

I suppose you could add in the last Good Life Gravel Adventure, the event which Gravel Worlds grew out of. I went to that the year before Gravel Worlds started. The GLGA was pretty much exactly like Gravel Worlds, only with a lot less people. While it may not be an 'officially recognized' attendance of Gravel Worlds, I'm counting it in there. So, this would be my ninth trip to Lincoln for this event. 

Now for my opinion on this and the pandemic..... I am not signing up for anything else at this point. I'm just going to start out this season like last year- by doing a lot of solo rides out in the country. As far as I am concerned, 2021 is '2020 Part 2' until further evidence that things are going to be more like 2019 crop up. THAT has not happened yet, nor will it happen soon. 

So, no use signing up for anything else, even if "other stuff" does happen. I'm going to wait for the hard evidence. Others may try to pretend things are getting better based on.......whatever. Not me. That all just means that the plan will be to do regularly scheduled long rides. Hopefully there will be a few century rides in there. That would help tremendously. Changes I made to diet and exercise last year resulted in some positive gains. I plan on ramping that up more for the remainder of 2021. Signing up for Gravel Worlds is a motivation, for sure, but I'd do this regardless.  

And so, if Gravel Worlds is forced to be a virtual event again for 2021, I will be ready for that too. My registration will be a donated fee, just like last year's was, and if we can go, well all the better. I'm in for either way it goes, as long as we can all be safe and healthy. 

Trans Iowa Stories: The Myth Of The Triple Crown

Dan Hughes shortly after winning T.I.v13 Image by Michael Roe

 "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!

Once the gravel scene got rolling, and I would say this would have been around 2007 or so, there was an idea batted around. This idea had to do with promoting the Mid-West as the "center of gravel racing". It was, most likely, a way toward a path which has manifested itself in another way, and I think it is easy to see now that time has passed us by. But back in these days, I am not sure anyone really had the vision that maybe only one or two others did at the time.

This is the story of the mythical "Triple Crown of Gravel".

Trans Iowa inspired the Dirty Kanza 200. That's not a claim that is up for debate. It's been said many times by Jim Cummins, the co-founder of the DK200, and it was also acknowledged by the late Joel Dyke, the other co-founder of that Kansas event. So there was a certain kinship that developed early between us and our events.  At some point early on in both events timeline, Jim had brought up the thought of coming up with a "triple crown" with me, but at the time he was thinking along these lines, he didn't have a particular third event in mind. What other "like minded event" could it be? There were two- the T.I. and the DK.  I recall that Jim thought it might be desirable to have that third event be in Nebraska, a natural choice because of geography and the interest in gravel riding at the time in Nebraska.

There was a possibility of the third event becoming the one which Nebraskan Skip Cronin helped put on. It was a very challenging, mostly dirt road and remote event that ended up being a one-off and never happened again. Then, in 2008, the Pirate Cycling League put on the first "Good Life Gravel Adventure". It was a 150 mile challenge and in its first year it drew a handful of riders, but the 2009 version saw much greater interest. The PCL started talking about a "gravel worlds" back in those days, and that sort of grand thinking was something that perked up the ears of Jim Cummins who then poked around with the triple crown idea again. What the PCL was doing was right up the pipeline of where the DK200 was going, and the PCL took some cues from both T.I. and the DK. I am sure that the 2009 announcement of the AGRS (Almanzo Gravel Road Series) "Race For The Cup" in Minnesota was another influencer upon this renewed talk of a "triple crown". There were a few emails going around between myself, the PCL, and Jim Cummings back then discussing how a triple crown might work.

I recall that I found several difficulties with the idea. How would a points system be set up so that riders could accumulate points from one event to another fairly and in a way that was easy to understand? How would the differing events come to terms with the difference in opinions regarding rules? Would there be a separate "governing body"? Would there be entry fees? Prizing?

There were far too many obstacles to getting there, in my mind. Add in the fact that I would have had to make some fundamental changes to Trans Iowa, which, frankly were not going to happen due to my loyalty to Jeff Kerkove's original ideas, and as far as I was concerned it was a no-go.

So, maybe you can blame me for the death of the "triple crown" idea. But I do recall that the PCL wasn't super jazzed on the idea either. That said, it is fun to look back and think "what if"? Had a true "Triple Crown of Gravel" series been set up, where would that be now? I'm betting things would be a heck of a lot different these days.

The whole idea died then, or so I thought, until April of 2017 when Dan Hughes crossed the line first at Trans Iowa v13. Afterward, in Dan's race report, he mentioned something about being the only "Triple Crown" winner. See, he had won Dirty Kanza, Gravel Worlds, and at that time, Trans Iowa. Dan, being fairly close to Jim Cummins back in the day, may have found out about the Triple Crown idea from him. Especially when you think about Dan winning the very first DK. It maybe would have been discussed back then, in 2006. But however Dan came to his knowledge of such a myth, it was just that, a myth. There never was a "Triple Crown of Gravel", but if anyone could lay claim to such a thing, it would be Dan.

Next week; I talk about how Trans Iowa was influential early on, but soon became the outlier in the young gravel scene in "How This Event Became "The Trans Iowa"".

Trans Iowa Stories: The Myth Of The Triple Crown

Dan Hughes shortly after winning T.I.v13 Image by Michael Roe

 "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!

Once the gravel scene got rolling, and I would say this would have been around 2007 or so, there was an idea batted around. This idea had to do with promoting the Mid-West as the "center of gravel racing". It was, most likely, a way toward a path which has manifested itself in another way, and I think it is easy to see now that time has passed us by. But back in these days, I am not sure anyone really had the vision that maybe only one or two others did at the time.

This is the story of the mythical "Triple Crown of Gravel".

Trans Iowa inspired the Dirty Kanza 200. That's not a claim that is up for debate. It's been said many times by Jim Cummins, the co-founder of the DK200, and it was also acknowledged by the late Joel Dyke, the other co-founder of that Kansas event. So there was a certain kinship that developed early between us and our events.  At some point early on in both events timeline, Jim had brought up the thought of coming up with a "triple crown" with me, but at the time he was thinking along these lines, he didn't have a particular third event in mind. What other "like minded event" could it be? There were two- the T.I. and the DK.  I recall that Jim thought it might be desirable to have that third event be in Nebraska, a natural choice because of geography and the interest in gravel riding at the time in Nebraska.

There was a possibility of the third event becoming the one which Nebraskan Skip Cronin helped put on. It was a very challenging, mostly dirt road and remote event that ended up being a one-off and never happened again. Then, in 2008, the Pirate Cycling League put on the first "Good Life Gravel Adventure". It was a 150 mile challenge and in its first year it drew a handful of riders, but the 2009 version saw much greater interest. The PCL started talking about a "gravel worlds" back in those days, and that sort of grand thinking was something that perked up the ears of Jim Cummins who then poked around with the triple crown idea again. What the PCL was doing was right up the pipeline of where the DK200 was going, and the PCL took some cues from both T.I. and the DK. I am sure that the 2009 announcement of the AGRS (Almanzo Gravel Road Series) "Race For The Cup" in Minnesota was another influencer upon this renewed talk of a "triple crown". There were a few emails going around between myself, the PCL, and Jim Cummings back then discussing how a triple crown might work.

I recall that I found several difficulties with the idea. How would a points system be set up so that riders could accumulate points from one event to another fairly and in a way that was easy to understand? How would the differing events come to terms with the difference in opinions regarding rules? Would there be a separate "governing body"? Would there be entry fees? Prizing?

There were far too many obstacles to getting there, in my mind. Add in the fact that I would have had to make some fundamental changes to Trans Iowa, which, frankly were not going to happen due to my loyalty to Jeff Kerkove's original ideas, and as far as I was concerned it was a no-go.

So, maybe you can blame me for the death of the "triple crown" idea. But I do recall that the PCL wasn't super jazzed on the idea either. That said, it is fun to look back and think "what if"? Had a true "Triple Crown of Gravel" series been set up, where would that be now? I'm betting things would be a heck of a lot different these days.

The whole idea died then, or so I thought, until April of 2017 when Dan Hughes crossed the line first at Trans Iowa v13. Afterward, in Dan's race report, he mentioned something about being the only "Triple Crown" winner. See, he had won Dirty Kanza, Gravel Worlds, and at that time, Trans Iowa. Dan, being fairly close to Jim Cummins back in the day, may have found out about the Triple Crown idea from him. Especially when you think about Dan winning the very first DK. It maybe would have been discussed back then, in 2006. But however Dan came to his knowledge of such a myth, it was just that, a myth. There never was a "Triple Crown of Gravel", but if anyone could lay claim to such a thing, it would be Dan.

Next week; I talk about how Trans Iowa was influential early on, but soon became the outlier in the young gravel scene in "How This Event Became "The Trans Iowa"".

Minus Ten Review 2009-44

Before CVAST, before Ingawanis Woodland- There was the Turkey Burn!

Ten years ago on the blog I had some chit-chat about a Salsa Cycles El Mariachi frame I had "Gun Koted". It had been a Superior Blue 2007 model from Salsa's demo fleet that I purchased from a friend. I ran it geared for quite some time but it ended up becoming a single speed. It's still in the area, but I do not own it anymore.

Then there was a bunch of reporting on the Trans Iowa v6 recon which was occurring at that time. This was going to be the very first one out of Grinnell. Little did I know then that I would be going back there to recon for gravel events to this day. (Not Trans Iowa! That's over, but the C.O.G.100)

But with the news that came out this week about Life Time Events debuting a new, fancy gravel event at 100 miles for $140.00 a pop, I thought what I said ten years ago about some news in the gravel world of the time was relevant to today. Here's the bit I am talking about:

"Well, you knew it had to happen sooner or later! Yes, some of the "under the radar" classics are banding together into a series. Mostly located in Minnesota, the Almanzo Gravel Road Series "Race For The Cup" consists of The Almanzo 100, The Ragnorok 105, "The Gentleman's Ride", The Heck Of The North, and the lone Iowa event, CIRREM. 

Of course, there has been talk of creating a "Gravel Triple Crown" series for several years now, even before a Nebraska based event existed. Now that the GLGA is up and running, the talk of the "Gravel Triple Crown" has resurfaced with Trans Iowa and Dirty Kanza 200 filling out the limestone triumvirate. Of course, it is all just talk right now, but if what I am hearing actually happens? Yeah.......... Crazy stuff!!! And throw into that mix that the GLGA is going to be the "Official Gravel World Championships" , well, things could get "big". And well........I have some reservations about that. 

 I'll keep it brief and just say that these developments most likely signal a slippery slope downwards. You see it all the time with stuff like this. You can call me pessimistic, crazy, and downright wrong if you want to. I say, let's revisit this in five years and see. I am not saying this is all doomed, just doomed to change, and I wonder if it'll be for the better. I'm not feeling all that great about it sitting here today. That's all I'll say."

While none of the above from ten years ago is about the monetization of gravel events for the support of  individual's lifestyles, it was a bit concerning in that the whole "freedom to shape events" seemed to be going away. The trappings of "events" that many in the scene at the time were going to gravel events to avoid was creeping in. Series of events, rules governing series, more serious levels of competition, race venue trappings like finish lines, trophies, prizes, and the like. It was a bit of "growing pains" that was the issue, I think.  

As I said then, and the same applies now- "Gravel riding and the events connected to that are not doomed, but they are doomed to change". Even more than before. Will we see things get better? Or......is this the beginning of the end? 

Ask me again in five years........

Minus Ten Review 2009-44

Before CVAST, before Ingawanis Woodland- There was the Turkey Burn!

Ten years ago on the blog I had some chit-chat about a Salsa Cycles El Mariachi frame I had "Gun Koted". It had been a Superior Blue 2007 model from Salsa's demo fleet that I purchased from a friend. I ran it geared for quite some time but it ended up becoming a single speed. It's still in the area, but I do not own it anymore.

Then there was a bunch of reporting on the Trans Iowa v6 recon which was occurring at that time. This was going to be the very first one out of Grinnell. Little did I know then that I would be going back there to recon for gravel events to this day. (Not Trans Iowa! That's over, but the C.O.G.100)

But with the news that came out this week about Life Time Events debuting a new, fancy gravel event at 100 miles for $140.00 a pop, I thought what I said ten years ago about some news in the gravel world of the time was relevant to today. Here's the bit I am talking about:

"Well, you knew it had to happen sooner or later! Yes, some of the "under the radar" classics are banding together into a series. Mostly located in Minnesota, the Almanzo Gravel Road Series "Race For The Cup" consists of The Almanzo 100, The Ragnorok 105, "The Gentleman's Ride", The Heck Of The North, and the lone Iowa event, CIRREM. 

Of course, there has been talk of creating a "Gravel Triple Crown" series for several years now, even before a Nebraska based event existed. Now that the GLGA is up and running, the talk of the "Gravel Triple Crown" has resurfaced with Trans Iowa and Dirty Kanza 200 filling out the limestone triumvirate. Of course, it is all just talk right now, but if what I am hearing actually happens? Yeah.......... Crazy stuff!!! And throw into that mix that the GLGA is going to be the "Official Gravel World Championships" , well, things could get "big". And well........I have some reservations about that. 

 I'll keep it brief and just say that these developments most likely signal a slippery slope downwards. You see it all the time with stuff like this. You can call me pessimistic, crazy, and downright wrong if you want to. I say, let's revisit this in five years and see. I am not saying this is all doomed, just doomed to change, and I wonder if it'll be for the better. I'm not feeling all that great about it sitting here today. That's all I'll say."

While none of the above from ten years ago is about the monetization of gravel events for the support of  individual's lifestyles, it was a bit concerning in that the whole "freedom to shape events" seemed to be going away. The trappings of "events" that many in the scene at the time were going to gravel events to avoid was creeping in. Series of events, rules governing series, more serious levels of competition, race venue trappings like finish lines, trophies, prizes, and the like. It was a bit of "growing pains" that was the issue, I think.  

As I said then, and the same applies now- "Gravel riding and the events connected to that are not doomed, but they are doomed to change". Even more than before. Will we see things get better? Or......is this the beginning of the end? 

Ask me again in five years........

Minus Ten Review 2009-35

My Pofahl with straight bars. Dang! That looks good too!

Ten years ago this week on the blog I was talking about one of the crazier weekends I had done in my lifetime, and maybe the craziest thing outside of Trans Iowa. Because, well, not much is crazier than putting on a free event and staying up for 40+ hours. This trip I talked about wasn't that nutty. But it was close.

It started out by driving my family out to Omaha Nebraska after work (!) and then getting them settled in at a friends place. Then I took off for Lincoln, Nebraska in the dark, by myself, and hooked up with my brother MG to get some Oakley glasses to review, and then (I cannot remember this part, sadly) I talked with Joel Dyke and Joe Fox. Afterward, I went to the D Street Motel and shacked up with Corey, "Cornbread" Godfrey. The next morning, Matt Wills, Cornbread, and Troy Krause led me on the wildest urban ride through people's yards to the MoPac Trail head where the last Good Life Gravel Adventure started.

I rode that event until I started falling asleep on the bike going down hill at 30mph! I called it in and Corey told me to sit tight, that "someone " would be out to fetch me. It was the winner, Troy Krause!

Then I went back to the D Street where I was taken care of by a gal that was CVO's girlfriend at the time, I think, and then MG and I took a case and a half of Red Bull Cola and went to Gothenburg, Nebraska where the next day we rode at Potter's Pasture. Then we hightailed it back, I drove solo from Lincoln to Omaha, collected my family, and drove back to Waterloo, Iowa.

Crazy! 

Minus Ten Review 2009-35

My Pofahl with straight bars. Dang! That looks good too!

Ten years ago this week on the blog I was talking about one of the crazier weekends I had done in my lifetime, and maybe the craziest thing outside of Trans Iowa. Because, well, not much is crazier than putting on a free event and staying up for 40+ hours. This trip I talked about wasn't that nutty. But it was close.

It started out by driving my family out to Omaha Nebraska after work (!) and then getting them settled in at a friends place. Then I took off for Lincoln, Nebraska in the dark, by myself, and hooked up with my brother MG to get some Oakley glasses to review, and then (I cannot remember this part, sadly) I talked with Joel Dyke and Joe Fox. Afterward, I went to the D Street Motel and shacked up with Corey, "Cornbread" Godfrey. The next morning, Matt Wills, Cornbread, and Troy Krause led me on the wildest urban ride through people's yards to the MoPac Trail head where the last Good Life Gravel Adventure started.

I rode that event until I started falling asleep on the bike going down hill at 30mph! I called it in and Corey told me to sit tight, that "someone " would be out to fetch me. It was the winner, Troy Krause!

Then I went back to the D Street where I was taken care of by a gal that was CVO's girlfriend at the time, I think, and then MG and I took a case and a half of Red Bull Cola and went to Gothenburg, Nebraska where the next day we rode at Potter's Pasture. Then we hightailed it back, I drove solo from Lincoln to Omaha, collected my family, and drove back to Waterloo, Iowa.

Crazy! 

Friday News And Views

On One Geoff Bar (Image from One One's Instagram)

On One Does It Again With Trio Of Handle Bars:

A little over ten years ago On One brought three "alt bars" to market which really changed the face of 29"ers, drop bar for off road, and eventually, gravel bikes. Their take on the WTB Dirt Drop, the groundbreaking Midge Bar, became an early favorite of mine with its decent flare and short and shallow drops. The Mary was a bendy bit of tubing which many took and used on 29" hard tails early on and also which influenced several imitations. The third bar in that series, the Mungo, wasn't as popular. Those three bars were based on a popular UK animation show from years past.

Now On One have done a similar trick, only this time basing their bar's names on the show, "The League Of Gentleman". The three new bars, named after characters from the show, are once again aimed at similar disciplines as the originals. The urban focused bar being the "Mike Bar", the mtb focused bar being the "Geoff Bar", and a new off road drop bar named the "Brian Bar".

Also in true On One/Planet Bike fashion, the bars are all pretty reasonably priced. You'll have to order online from the UK, but in my experience, that hasn't been an issue. I haven't had any trouble with their delivery or with components arriving damaged at all.

The Brian Bar. (Image from On One's site)

Well, as far as what I think, I feel there is going to be an eyebrow raised concerning that "Geoff Bar. It strikes a resemblance to another bar designed by a "Jeff" and I am sure a lot of comments will be made regarding that. But On One have never been too shy when it comes to riffing on a theme and the Geoff Bar is a perfect example of that. And well, so too is the Brian Bar. It just seems "less offensive" because everyone does flared drops now.

The Brian Bar seems to be hitting on all cylinders, as far as design. It is offered in a few different widths, including a wide 46cm width, so I think they covered that base well also. It's a constantly varying radius drop design, which can be quite nice. At least the extensions are long, (you can always cut them back) and they are not "opened" in relation to the tops, like a Woodchipper's are, which in my view, is a fatal flaw in that bar's design.

I would be remiss if I didn't express my disappointment that there is no reissue of the Luxy Bar here. My last reliable information was that Brant Richards, the original designer of the bar, had gotten the rights to the design again from a previous employer. He is now doing work, (once again), for On One. I was hoping to see a Luxy reboot, but alas.......not yet.

Jersey order went in earlier this week.

C.O.G. 100 Update:

The special C.O.G. 100 jersey order was paid for and submitted earlier this week. So, the 13 others of you who joined me in ordering one will be waiting for several weeks to get our dirty mitts on them. On a related note, the special C.O.G. 100 Championship jerseys, (design similar to what is shown here with slight difference in logo and colors) was also submitted. The hats for all the registered racers are already done.

Insurance purchase will happen soon after the "year" flips over to 2019 with the company's policy we are using. Then that will get paid for via the registration fees. Part of those fees also paid for the hats and Champion's jerseys, by the way. As per N.Y. Roll and my agreement, we are being 100% transparent about our finances with regard to the C.O.G. 100, so all of this will be put on a financial statement which will get posted to the C.O.G. 100 site at a later date.

Next up is final cue sheet formatting and number plate production. A final recon is scheduled for sometime in February. There still are a few spots left for anyone wanting to register. Just in case you think a single speed race is a good idea on gravel.

The new Gravel Worlds Logo for 2019

Events I Am Doing: Gravel Worlds-

I thought I'd start talking a bit more about some of the events I am signed up to do in 2019 now and give you an idea of why it is that I have decided upon these as worth my time.

Gravel Worlds, as many of you long time readers know, is one of my favorite events. It's an irony amongst gravel events since it has "big name appeal", (Alison Tetrick, Neal Shirley, and Rebecca Rusch are all past winners of this event), it has a "title sponsor" (Gravel Worlds Presented by Lauf), and yet Gravel Worlds retains a VERY grassroots feel and doesn't get near the backlash that the Dirty Kanza 200 gets from those who claim "grassroots gravel is dead".

I attribute this to the clever and steady hands of its RD's, Craig "Schmidy" Schmidt and Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey, who are pivotal figures in the success of this event, amongst a host of other volunteers, Oasis Stop hosts, and "trail angels". I was hooked immediately on the event back when it was still called "The Good Life Gravel Adventure" and that was precipitated by the enthusiastic persuasion for my attendance then by my former T.I. co-RD, David Pals, who did the first ever "GLGA" in 2008.

Things have changed at Gravel Worlds over the past decade, for sure, but all along the changes have been positive and have added to- not taken away from- the grassroots, down to earth vibe that has been part of this event since day one. There are new changes for 2019, but I bet that they will be met with positive comments, or just accepted as "normal". That seems to be the way most of the evolutionary changes this event has had over the years have been seen by its riders.

Interested? there are still spots available on the roster. It's every bit as fun and rewarding as the Dirty Kanza 200, so check it out here.

That's all for this week. get ready for more weird weather out there and keep the rubber side down y'all!

Friday News And Views

On One Geoff Bar (Image from One One's Instagram)

On One Does It Again With Trio Of Handle Bars:

A little over ten years ago On One brought three "alt bars" to market which really changed the face of 29"ers, drop bar for off road, and eventually, gravel bikes. Their take on the WTB Dirt Drop, the groundbreaking Midge Bar, became an early favorite of mine with its decent flare and short and shallow drops. The Mary was a bendy bit of tubing which many took and used on 29" hard tails early on and also which influenced several imitations. The third bar in that series, the Mungo, wasn't as popular. Those three bars were based on a popular UK animation show from years past.

Now On One have done a similar trick, only this time basing their bar's names on the show, "The League Of Gentleman". The three new bars, named after characters from the show, are once again aimed at similar disciplines as the originals. The urban focused bar being the "Mike Bar", the mtb focused bar being the "Geoff Bar", and a new off road drop bar named the "Brian Bar".

Also in true On One/Planet Bike fashion, the bars are all pretty reasonably priced. You'll have to order online from the UK, but in my experience, that hasn't been an issue. I haven't had any trouble with their delivery or with components arriving damaged at all.

The Brian Bar. (Image from On One's site)

Well, as far as what I think, I feel there is going to be an eyebrow raised concerning that "Geoff Bar. It strikes a resemblance to another bar designed by a "Jeff" and I am sure a lot of comments will be made regarding that. But On One have never been too shy when it comes to riffing on a theme and the Geoff Bar is a perfect example of that. And well, so too is the Brian Bar. It just seems "less offensive" because everyone does flared drops now.

The Brian Bar seems to be hitting on all cylinders, as far as design. It is offered in a few different widths, including a wide 46cm width, so I think they covered that base well also. It's a constantly varying radius drop design, which can be quite nice. At least the extensions are long, (you can always cut them back) and they are not "opened" in relation to the tops, like a Woodchipper's are, which in my view, is a fatal flaw in that bar's design.

I would be remiss if I didn't express my disappointment that there is no reissue of the Luxy Bar here. My last reliable information was that Brant Richards, the original designer of the bar, had gotten the rights to the design again from a previous employer. He is now doing work, (once again), for On One. I was hoping to see a Luxy reboot, but alas.......not yet.

Jersey order went in earlier this week.

C.O.G. 100 Update:

The special C.O.G. 100 jersey order was paid for and submitted earlier this week. So, the 13 others of you who joined me in ordering one will be waiting for several weeks to get our dirty mitts on them. On a related note, the special C.O.G. 100 Championship jerseys, (design similar to what is shown here with slight difference in logo and colors) was also submitted. The hats for all the registered racers are already done.

Insurance purchase will happen soon after the "year" flips over to 2019 with the company's policy we are using. Then that will get paid for via the registration fees. Part of those fees also paid for the hats and Champion's jerseys, by the way. As per N.Y. Roll and my agreement, we are being 100% transparent about our finances with regard to the C.O.G. 100, so all of this will be put on a financial statement which will get posted to the C.O.G. 100 site at a later date.

Next up is final cue sheet formatting and number plate production. A final recon is scheduled for sometime in February. There still are a few spots left for anyone wanting to register. Just in case you think a single speed race is a good idea on gravel.

The new Gravel Worlds Logo for 2019

Events I Am Doing: Gravel Worlds-

I thought I'd start talking a bit more about some of the events I am signed up to do in 2019 now and give you an idea of why it is that I have decided upon these as worth my time.

Gravel Worlds, as many of you long time readers know, is one of my favorite events. It's an irony amongst gravel events since it has "big name appeal", (Alison Tetrick, Neal Shirley, and Rebecca Rusch are all past winners of this event), it has a "title sponsor" (Gravel Worlds Presented by Lauf), and yet Gravel Worlds retains a VERY grassroots feel and doesn't get near the backlash that the Dirty Kanza 200 gets from those who claim "grassroots gravel is dead".

I attribute this to the clever and steady hands of its RD's, Craig "Schmidy" Schmidt and Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey, who are pivotal figures in the success of this event, amongst a host of other volunteers, Oasis Stop hosts, and "trail angels". I was hooked immediately on the event back when it was still called "The Good Life Gravel Adventure" and that was precipitated by the enthusiastic persuasion for my attendance then by my former T.I. co-RD, David Pals, who did the first ever "GLGA" in 2008.

Things have changed at Gravel Worlds over the past decade, for sure, but all along the changes have been positive and have added to- not taken away from- the grassroots, down to earth vibe that has been part of this event since day one. There are new changes for 2019, but I bet that they will be met with positive comments, or just accepted as "normal". That seems to be the way most of the evolutionary changes this event has had over the years have been seen by its riders.

Interested? there are still spots available on the roster. It's every bit as fun and rewarding as the Dirty Kanza 200, so check it out here.

That's all for this week. get ready for more weird weather out there and keep the rubber side down y'all!

Minus Ten Review -36

"Team Stoopid" won!

Ten years ago on the blog I was talking about the Labor Day weekend win I had with "Team Stoopid". It was a four man, single speed, rigid fork riding team. I had quite the spectacular "dismount" during this event. One of my better crashes, actually.

There was a left hander, a pretty sharp one, that came after a quick downhill. If you over-cooked the turn, there was a precipitous drop of probably 20-25 feet. Well, I over-cooked the turn and found myself in mid-air with the prospects of a nasty drop and certain injury. I managed to hook a small tree with my right arm and I spun, pole dancer style, all the way to the bottom hooked to the tree by the crook of my arm only. It left a nasty rash, but I landed safely on the ground on my two feet.

That was probably the highlight of my miserably slow two laps. I was woefully over-geared for that steep of a course, but live and learn! The opportunity to experience a 24Hr race weekend, even though we only did 12 hours, was really cool. It remains my only experience with that sort of off road racing.

The other thing that was cool was that I got to spend a weekend with three others that I haven't had the opportunity to spend anytime with ever since. It was an odd arrangement and the timing of the team coming together was maybe a cosmic oddity. I don't know, but I won't soon forget that experience or the time spent with those men.

Me heading out for a lap for "Team Stoopid".

In other news from a decade ago this week, I was talking about the mythical "Gravel Triple Crown". This is interesting now from the standpoint of this past spring's Trans Iowa winner, Dan Hughes, claiming the "Triple Crown" in his blog report for the event. To get some perspective on this, I am going to refer to my writing about the "Triple Crown" idea here:

"Word is perculating (sic) that it (the Triple Crown's third event) might be in Nebraska. We'll see, but this is an idea that hatched not long after Jeff and I came out with Trans Iowa V1. We'll see if there is enough enthusiasm to carry the day."

So, as can be seen, a "Triple Crown" of gravel idea was being discussed "shortly after" T.I.v1 was announced. This was likely in 2005 or so when, as I recall, it was Jim Cummins of the DK200 who bandied the idea about and was asking Jeff and I what we thought about doing such a thing. As I recall, we weren't too hot on the idea of getting involved in a "series", which is how we were interpreting the idea. We were still finding our way, as far as how this gravel road racing idea would pan out, and we wanted freedom to tweak on our event as we saw fit. A series, or any link to a Triple Crown, would mean some sort of guidelines and rules to make it cohesive and we didn't think it was going to be a possibility without severely compromising our visions.

So, here a couple of years later the idea was brought up again as the Lincoln guys were developing their idea for the "Good Life Gravel Adventure" which became "Gravel Worlds" a few years later. The idea never came to any "official" agreement between the DK200, Trans Iowa, and Gravel Worlds folks, so it remained a curious idea at best. As far as I ever knew, it never even reached a point beyond some cursory discussions among the promoters.

Dan Hughes probably heard about this from talk in the early days of the DK200, I don't know, but that is completely plausible. However he came across the idea, it was never anything serious and the idea never got off the ground. Now I see folks on social media urging Allison Tetrick, who has won Gravel Worlds and the Dirty Kanza 200 Women's titles, to come to T.I. to try for the women's mythical triple crown. But be assured that even if she does sign up, and by chance happens to win the Women's category, it will be only an idea that resides with some of the riders. Definitely not an official crown.