Friday News And Views

Dot Watchers will be busy for the next month or so. Tour Divide starts today.

Musings On The Tour Divide:

Today is the day a lot of riders full of hope will clip in somewhere around Banff, Canada for a long ride down the spine of the Rocky Mountains to Antelope Wells, New Mexico. Maybe some of their hope will win out and they will actually accomplish this feat.

I used to get really excited about this event, but anymore......meh! It isn't the event it once was, and for me at least, it isn't as intriguing as it once was. Actually, I think the Tour Divide is responsible, in part, for why the "shine is gone" off this event after 12 or so years of its existence.

That's right. "TD" has only been around about a dozen years. But you may have heard about events like the Tour Divide that predate this. You aren't wrong, but it was a completely different event. It was an event that left from the "Port Of Roosville" Montana and ended in Antelope Wells. That event had cutoff timing points, a rule against cell phone use, and was largely done in an era where "social media" was either absent, or did not even exist yet. The ubiquitous SPOT trackers which generate the "dots" which fascinate today's Tour Divide watchers weren't a thing then. The only real feedback anyone could get outside of actually participating in the Great Divide race were the phone calls some riders would post along the way on a specific call in site. For a great look at what once was the Great Divide race, check out John Billman's excellent write up for "Outside" HERE.

John's story heralds the event as "The World's Toughest Bike Race", and back then, there was a plausible argument to be made for that claim. There are those who would say that the Tour Divide is still "that sort of an event", but to my way of thinking, that ship set sail a LONG time ago. In fact, I wrote a bit about this in a past "Minus Ten Review" on the blog a couple of years back now. I was musing on what the Great Divide Race once was compared to today.

".....that was a time when "bikepacking" had yet to become a term on the tongue of every wannabee hipster wanderer with a beard and a high priced bivy. There were lots of people using racks and hard mounted bags. SPOT trackers weren't a thing yet, but they were coming on strong by that time. Cell phones didn't work throughout most of the route, and GPS wasn't something most folks even had access to yet. There weren't ten ways to follow someone on the route, there was only one, and if they had a "dot" to watch, it was a bonus. Most of the time you had only the uploaded call ins, if a rider made call ins at all.

Am I saying that the Great Divide was a bit "purer" event than the TD is now? Maybe. You could make an argument for that for sure. I guess I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know I liked the event back then better than I do now."

I still feel the same about it today. You know though, that's just me. I'm probably an outlier. I know that there are "different levels of self-support" events and everyone has their own definition. I've written about that before as well.  

The thing is, the TD has become a marketing tool, a social media scene, and more. It obviously is difficult, and it has elements of the previous years events which are laudable and worthy of pursuit. That said, it isn't as tough to ride 2,000 plus miles today as it was back ten plus years ago alone with no Facetime, no "likes" to count, and no interaction on digital platforms. There was no Salsa top cap pie token, no folks camped out looking for you along the way, and you had to hustle because there was only an allotted 25 days to "get 'er done". If you didn't get there within the time allotments, it didn't count. Imagine if that were the case today. 

GTDRI Reactions:

It's funny, because in years past I would never know if anyone would show up for this ride. I posted about it, asked for comments, or if anyone was coming, and......... crickets. Usually a good handful would show, but one year I had only two other guys show up! This year I have already had at least a half a dozen folks say they were coming. 

Last year I had the most riders ever show up. Now you never know, but it would't at all surprise me to see that equaled or surpassed this time. Then again, maybe only a half dozen will show up! One thing that has been a bit of a disappointment over the years is that there have been very few women that have ever done the GTDRI. Maybe three years we had any women show up. It sure would be great to get some of the females out along with the group.

But whatever..... I'm riding no matter if anyone shows up or not. So, in my opinion, when folks do show up, I count it as an amazing thing, and I am very grateful for it when people decide to come spend the day with me. 

Mud guard success evidence.

When Mud Guards Are Good:

This past Spring was a wet, cool affair and the roads were often messy. I have two rigs set up with fenders and they worked great this Spring keeping me cleaner and my bike less goopy. My choice? Planet Bike ALX fenders. 

I have been a Planet Bike fender user for years, but the Cascadia ALX is their top choice for me these days. The hardware is stainless steel, the fenders are aluminum, and the simplicity of mounting these and removing them is tops. One set resides permanently on the Black Mountain Cycles "Orange Crush" single speed and the other I installed on the Raleigh Tamland Two last year. 

Well, with summer here I figured I would remove the fenders from the Raleigh. I took the rear fender off first, and it was dirty underneath, certainly, but when I removed the front fender, I was shocked. 

First of all, it was oddly heavy in the hand. The ALX fenders have a bit of heft to them, which I appreciate since that heft results in strength and rigidity. The ALX fenders are dead quiet on the bike. But I knew they didn't weight this much! I turned the fender over to find what you see in the image to the left here. I was amazed!

The part you see between my feet? That was level full of dried up mud. My tires must have had barely any clearance! And as I recall, during one of my recent rides on the Tamland, I heard some high pitched whining/buzzing, which was this mud scraping the tire, most likely! Obviously, I cleaned that out before storing them until later in the year when I will remount them for Winter and early Spring. 

That's a wrap for this week. Get some riding in and thanks for reading!

Friday News And Views

Dot Watchers will be busy for the next month or so. Tour Divide starts today.

Musings On The Tour Divide:

Today is the day a lot of riders full of hope will clip in somewhere around Banff, Canada for a long ride down the spine of the Rocky Mountains to Antelope Wells, New Mexico. Maybe some of their hope will win out and they will actually accomplish this feat.

I used to get really excited about this event, but anymore......meh! It isn't the event it once was, and for me at least, it isn't as intriguing as it once was. Actually, I think the Tour Divide is responsible, in part, for why the "shine is gone" off this event after 12 or so years of its existence.

That's right. "TD" has only been around about a dozen years. But you may have heard about events like the Tour Divide that predate this. You aren't wrong, but it was a completely different event. It was an event that left from the "Port Of Roosville" Montana and ended in Antelope Wells. That event had cutoff timing points, a rule against cell phone use, and was largely done in an era where "social media" was either absent, or did not even exist yet. The ubiquitous SPOT trackers which generate the "dots" which fascinate today's Tour Divide watchers weren't a thing then. The only real feedback anyone could get outside of actually participating in the Great Divide race were the phone calls some riders would post along the way on a specific call in site. For a great look at what once was the Great Divide race, check out John Billman's excellent write up for "Outside" HERE.

John's story heralds the event as "The World's Toughest Bike Race", and back then, there was a plausible argument to be made for that claim. There are those who would say that the Tour Divide is still "that sort of an event", but to my way of thinking, that ship set sail a LONG time ago. In fact, I wrote a bit about this in a past "Minus Ten Review" on the blog a couple of years back now. I was musing on what the Great Divide Race once was compared to today.

".....that was a time when "bikepacking" had yet to become a term on the tongue of every wannabee hipster wanderer with a beard and a high priced bivy. There were lots of people using racks and hard mounted bags. SPOT trackers weren't a thing yet, but they were coming on strong by that time. Cell phones didn't work throughout most of the route, and GPS wasn't something most folks even had access to yet. There weren't ten ways to follow someone on the route, there was only one, and if they had a "dot" to watch, it was a bonus. Most of the time you had only the uploaded call ins, if a rider made call ins at all.

Am I saying that the Great Divide was a bit "purer" event than the TD is now? Maybe. You could make an argument for that for sure. I guess I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know I liked the event back then better than I do now."

I still feel the same about it today. You know though, that's just me. I'm probably an outlier. I know that there are "different levels of self-support" events and everyone has their own definition. I've written about that before as well.  

The thing is, the TD has become a marketing tool, a social media scene, and more. It obviously is difficult, and it has elements of the previous years events which are laudable and worthy of pursuit. That said, it isn't as tough to ride 2,000 plus miles today as it was back ten plus years ago alone with no Facetime, no "likes" to count, and no interaction on digital platforms. There was no Salsa top cap pie token, no folks camped out looking for you along the way, and you had to hustle because there was only an allotted 25 days to "get 'er done". If you didn't get there within the time allotments, it didn't count. Imagine if that were the case today. 

GTDRI Reactions:

It's funny, because in years past I would never know if anyone would show up for this ride. I posted about it, asked for comments, or if anyone was coming, and......... crickets. Usually a good handful would show, but one year I had only two other guys show up! This year I have already had at least a half a dozen folks say they were coming. 

Last year I had the most riders ever show up. Now you never know, but it would't at all surprise me to see that equaled or surpassed this time. Then again, maybe only a half dozen will show up! One thing that has been a bit of a disappointment over the years is that there have been very few women that have ever done the GTDRI. Maybe three years we had any women show up. It sure would be great to get some of the females out along with the group.

But whatever..... I'm riding no matter if anyone shows up or not. So, in my opinion, when folks do show up, I count it as an amazing thing, and I am very grateful for it when people decide to come spend the day with me. 

Mud guard success evidence.

When Mud Guards Are Good:

This past Spring was a wet, cool affair and the roads were often messy. I have two rigs set up with fenders and they worked great this Spring keeping me cleaner and my bike less goopy. My choice? Planet Bike ALX fenders. 

I have been a Planet Bike fender user for years, but the Cascadia ALX is their top choice for me these days. The hardware is stainless steel, the fenders are aluminum, and the simplicity of mounting these and removing them is tops. One set resides permanently on the Black Mountain Cycles "Orange Crush" single speed and the other I installed on the Raleigh Tamland Two last year. 

Well, with summer here I figured I would remove the fenders from the Raleigh. I took the rear fender off first, and it was dirty underneath, certainly, but when I removed the front fender, I was shocked. 

First of all, it was oddly heavy in the hand. The ALX fenders have a bit of heft to them, which I appreciate since that heft results in strength and rigidity. The ALX fenders are dead quiet on the bike. But I knew they didn't weight this much! I turned the fender over to find what you see in the image to the left here. I was amazed!

The part you see between my feet? That was level full of dried up mud. My tires must have had barely any clearance! And as I recall, during one of my recent rides on the Tamland, I heard some high pitched whining/buzzing, which was this mud scraping the tire, most likely! Obviously, I cleaned that out before storing them until later in the year when I will remount them for Winter and early Spring. 

That's a wrap for this week. Get some riding in and thanks for reading!

Nerding Out On Bikes

I've spent an inordinate amount of time nerding out on bikes, but I'm not the only one.

Bike nerd here. Maybe you are as well? How do you know? Maybe if you cannot keep from constantly thinking about "improvements" to your bicycle. Maybe if you are super curious about "that other guy's rig", or how that set up works. Basically, you think "bike" all day.

If any of that fits you, it may mean that you are a "bike nerd". I am, (big surprise!), so are a lot of other folks. It's okay.

So, to that end I post today about one of the "OG" riders of what is now known as "Tour Divide". Back then, it was "The Great Divide Mountain Bike Race" and one of its pioneers was Mike Curiak. He has been randomly posting his memoirs and images drawn from his experiences racing the Divide in the early 00's. Mike recently posted an article on his bike choices here. It is a fascinating look at the gear and why he chose it. He also goes on to explain what he would use if he were to attempt Tour Divide today. That's "if" as in "never again", according to how I am reading that, but it is a good look into how Mike would choose his bike and basic set up.

This is all especially interesting to me for several reasons. First off, the obvious- it is about bicycles. Then I find it fascinating since Mike has often said that Tour Divide is essentially a gravel race/route. That makes what he is saying about bikes very relevant to my interests. Mike also did the first Trans Iowa, on his Moots YBB, by the way, so there is also that connection. Finally, Trans Iowa drew most of its structure and rules straight from Mike Curiak himself. Even the full, original name of the event I am known for drew its inspiration from the GDMBR- "Trans Iowa Mountain Bike Race". (Jeff Kerkove and I decided to drop off the "Mountain Bike Race" part of the name after V1, but the official name of the blogspot site still includes that bit.)

At any rate, if you enjoy nerding out on bikes as much as I do, check out that link and get ready to go nerdtastic!

Nerding Out On Bikes

I've spent an inordinate amount of time nerding out on bikes, but I'm not the only one.

Bike nerd here. Maybe you are as well? How do you know? Maybe if you cannot keep from constantly thinking about "improvements" to your bicycle. Maybe if you are super curious about "that other guy's rig", or how that set up works. Basically, you think "bike" all day.

If any of that fits you, it may mean that you are a "bike nerd". I am, (big surprise!), so are a lot of other folks. It's okay.

So, to that end I post today about one of the "OG" riders of what is now known as "Tour Divide". Back then, it was "The Great Divide Mountain Bike Race" and one of its pioneers was Mike Curiak. He has been randomly posting his memoirs and images drawn from his experiences racing the Divide in the early 00's. Mike recently posted an article on his bike choices here. It is a fascinating look at the gear and why he chose it. He also goes on to explain what he would use if he were to attempt Tour Divide today. That's "if" as in "never again", according to how I am reading that, but it is a good look into how Mike would choose his bike and basic set up.

This is all especially interesting to me for several reasons. First off, the obvious- it is about bicycles. Then I find it fascinating since Mike has often said that Tour Divide is essentially a gravel race/route. That makes what he is saying about bikes very relevant to my interests. Mike also did the first Trans Iowa, on his Moots YBB, by the way, so there is also that connection. Finally, Trans Iowa drew most of its structure and rules straight from Mike Curiak himself. Even the full, original name of the event I am known for drew its inspiration from the GDMBR- "Trans Iowa Mountain Bike Race". (Jeff Kerkove and I decided to drop off the "Mountain Bike Race" part of the name after V1, but the official name of the blogspot site still includes that bit.)

At any rate, if you enjoy nerding out on bikes as much as I do, check out that link and get ready to go nerdtastic!

Book Review: "Gravel Cycling"

The copy of Gravel Cycling that I paid for has been read now. How was it?

Instead of a typical "Friday News And Views" post you are going to get my take on this new book about gravel cycling called......"Gravel Cycling".

I know, an amazing title, right? But it gets right to the point. The book is by Nick Legan, who you may remember from his stint at "Velo News". Nick is an admitted gravel cycling lover and he also has a penchant for bikepacking. Yes- he managed to squirrel that into a book called "Gravel Cycling". 

So, how's that work? Well, it does to the extent that a certain event is arguably the defining event for the bikepacking genre'. That would be the Tour Divide. The course for this event, early on known as the "Great Divide Race", has been described by one of its early promoters as "a boring gravel route". So there ya go. It fits in that vein, I suppose. Oddly enough, when you read the book it actually does fit together. This gravel to bikepacking leap is more seamless than you'd imagine at first.

And that is really a feat. Nick Legan has basically shown us that in between the go-fast, shaved leg world of road cycling and the full-face helmet wearing, knobby tired world of mountain biking, their exists a realm of cycling based more on adventure and challenges. Ridden off pavement, this realm of cycling ranges far and wide and this is where "Gravel Cycling" is aimed at. The places, people, and gear that help define this genre's place in the cycling world is what Nick Legan has attempted to show us here. Is he successful?

Well, for the answer to that you can click HERE and read my review on "Riding Gravel". What I will say here is that if you are new to gravel road riding, "gravel curious", but maybe never intending to ride gravel, or if you have been reading these Trans Iowa Rookie advice posts all week with great interest, I suggest that you get this book. It's only $24.95, and I will tell you- you'll get more good tips than $24.95 can buy you elsewhere. In other words, just the knowledge within the pages is worth the asking price. But you also get some awesome photography as well. The book is loaded with stunning images.

So, for the "real review", read my piece on "Riding Gravel". But yes- it is a good bit of work and I feel that many who enjoy gravel road cycling will enjoy this book.

Note- I bought "Gravel Cycling" with my own damn money and I was not bribed nor paid for this review.

Book Review: "Gravel Cycling"

The copy of Gravel Cycling that I paid for has been read now. How was it?

Instead of a typical "Friday News And Views" post you are going to get my take on this new book about gravel cycling called......"Gravel Cycling".

I know, an amazing title, right? But it gets right to the point. The book is by Nick Legan, who you may remember from his stint at "Velo News". Nick is an admitted gravel cycling lover and he also has a penchant for bikepacking. Yes- he managed to squirrel that into a book called "Gravel Cycling". 

So, how's that work? Well, it does to the extent that a certain event is arguably the defining event for the bikepacking genre'. That would be the Tour Divide. The course for this event, early on known as the "Great Divide Race", has been described by one of its early promoters as "a boring gravel route". So there ya go. It fits in that vein, I suppose. Oddly enough, when you read the book it actually does fit together. This gravel to bikepacking leap is more seamless than you'd imagine at first.

And that is really a feat. Nick Legan has basically shown us that in between the go-fast, shaved leg world of road cycling and the full-face helmet wearing, knobby tired world of mountain biking, their exists a realm of cycling based more on adventure and challenges. Ridden off pavement, this realm of cycling ranges far and wide and this is where "Gravel Cycling" is aimed at. The places, people, and gear that help define this genre's place in the cycling world is what Nick Legan has attempted to show us here. Is he successful?

Well, for the answer to that you can click HERE and read my review on "Riding Gravel". What I will say here is that if you are new to gravel road riding, "gravel curious", but maybe never intending to ride gravel, or if you have been reading these Trans Iowa Rookie advice posts all week with great interest, I suggest that you get this book. It's only $24.95, and I will tell you- you'll get more good tips than $24.95 can buy you elsewhere. In other words, just the knowledge within the pages is worth the asking price. But you also get some awesome photography as well. The book is loaded with stunning images.

So, for the "real review", read my piece on "Riding Gravel". But yes- it is a good bit of work and I feel that many who enjoy gravel road cycling will enjoy this book.

Note- I bought "Gravel Cycling" with my own damn money and I was not bribed nor paid for this review.

Cycling For The Adventure: Part 2

Can you imagine cycling without one of these?

Yesterday I touched upon how today's version of "adventure" differed from where I came from. But am I just being an "old fart"? Maybe I'm a retrogrouch and I just am out of touch with a better version of cycling that has more people jazzed about getting out there than ever before.

Or, maybe that's just not really what is happening here. Consider that by the very nature of social media, we are, or can be, more aware of who is out there. Think about the Tour Divide, or even better, its predecessor, The Great Divide Race. In the late '90's, John Stamstad rode the route solo. Did anyone follow that dot? Well, of course not. He wasn't wired with a SPOT device. So it was with everyone else that was "out there" previous to SPOT's launch in 2007, social media, Strava, and whatever else you have to "connect" with. In other words, who can really say that folks weren't "out there" in just as big a way then as they are today? What we can say is that in 2017 we are more aware than ever of who is doing this adventuring by bicycle. 

Conversely, it is also easier than ever to be found. Think about it: We used to get on our bicycles to "get away from it all", but are we doing that anymore? Most of the time, we are not. Especially if we are carrying a cell phone. At a moment's notice, we can be drawn right back in to the rat race by a text, a notification, or a phone call. That doesn't even count devices like GPS computers for cycling which can push notifications right to your wrist or handlebars. Heck.....they even have a heads-up display for glasses for cycling now! Talk about life being "in your face"!

Of course, all those devices with GPS can be tracked too, so you can have a significant other or (who knows who) tracking your every move out there. Is that what we signed up for when we went in search of adventure?

So, yeah......to be completely honest, I don't buy in to the whole being connected 24-7 thing. If I leave my cell phone at home I kind of kick myself, but more so because it ticks off Mrs. Guitar Ted. Me? I don't care. After a moment of guilt I am really relieved no one can bother me. If something happens when I'm 20 miles from the house on a gravel road traveling by bicycle, what the heck can I do about anything that happens anyway? By definition I am out of the loop at that point, You'll have to carry on without me, or come and find me out there....

Oh, you may say that I should have my cell phone handy in case of an emergency, but really..... If I can't be self-supported/self-sufficient, should I be riding out in the country at all? Then there might be the super rare time I get myself injured, have a bad mechanical, or whatever, but look...... That's a risk I'm willing to take that wasn't a rarity at all previous to 2007 or so. Stop and think about that for a minute. Everyone that rode a bicycle away from a population center before then was likely doing what I do now when I forget my phone at home. It's a risk I'm willing to take anytime now.

But that said, I know I am in an ever shrinking group of like-minded people. I get pressure all the time from folks wanting routes provided to them, to have Trans Iowa have GPS downloadable course maps, to have on-line registration for that event, and on and on. It's hard to keep "on point" when everyone seems to be going whole hog for being connected and have everything handed to them on a silver platter when it comes to adventure stuff. Gravel roads seem to freak folks out, or they are just to lazy to do some simple research and take a small risk to see what is out there. I don't think I am remarkable in that I just go out and ride and see what I can find, but then again, it seems a lot of people are hamstrung by the idea of just winging it. It really isn't that tough, in my opinion.

Plus, the lessons learned make memories and teach you far more than checking off a list from some internet site and downloading a pre-ridden course on your GPS device. I don't know.......

Maybe I've got it all wrong.......

Cycling For The Adventure: Part 2

Can you imagine cycling without one of these?

Yesterday I touched upon how today's version of "adventure" differed from where I came from. But am I just being an "old fart"? Maybe I'm a retrogrouch and I just am out of touch with a better version of cycling that has more people jazzed about getting out there than ever before.

Or, maybe that's just not really what is happening here. Consider that by the very nature of social media, we are, or can be, more aware of who is out there. Think about the Tour Divide, or even better, its predecessor, The Great Divide Race. In the late '90's, John Stamstad rode the route solo. Did anyone follow that dot? Well, of course not. He wasn't wired with a SPOT device. So it was with everyone else that was "out there" previous to SPOT's launch in 2007, social media, Strava, and whatever else you have to "connect" with. In other words, who can really say that folks weren't "out there" in just as big a way then as they are today? What we can say is that in 2017 we are more aware than ever of who is doing this adventuring by bicycle. 

Conversely, it is also easier than ever to be found. Think about it: We used to get on our bicycles to "get away from it all", but are we doing that anymore? Most of the time, we are not. Especially if we are carrying a cell phone. At a moment's notice, we can be drawn right back in to the rat race by a text, a notification, or a phone call. That doesn't even count devices like GPS computers for cycling which can push notifications right to your wrist or handlebars. Heck.....they even have a heads-up display for glasses for cycling now! Talk about life being "in your face"!

Of course, all those devices with GPS can be tracked too, so you can have a significant other or (who knows who) tracking your every move out there. Is that what we signed up for when we went in search of adventure?

So, yeah......to be completely honest, I don't buy in to the whole being connected 24-7 thing. If I leave my cell phone at home I kind of kick myself, but more so because it ticks off Mrs. Guitar Ted. Me? I don't care. After a moment of guilt I am really relieved no one can bother me. If something happens when I'm 20 miles from the house on a gravel road traveling by bicycle, what the heck can I do about anything that happens anyway? By definition I am out of the loop at that point, You'll have to carry on without me, or come and find me out there....

Oh, you may say that I should have my cell phone handy in case of an emergency, but really..... If I can't be self-supported/self-sufficient, should I be riding out in the country at all? Then there might be the super rare time I get myself injured, have a bad mechanical, or whatever, but look...... That's a risk I'm willing to take that wasn't a rarity at all previous to 2007 or so. Stop and think about that for a minute. Everyone that rode a bicycle away from a population center before then was likely doing what I do now when I forget my phone at home. It's a risk I'm willing to take anytime now.

But that said, I know I am in an ever shrinking group of like-minded people. I get pressure all the time from folks wanting routes provided to them, to have Trans Iowa have GPS downloadable course maps, to have on-line registration for that event, and on and on. It's hard to keep "on point" when everyone seems to be going whole hog for being connected and have everything handed to them on a silver platter when it comes to adventure stuff. Gravel roads seem to freak folks out, or they are just to lazy to do some simple research and take a small risk to see what is out there. I don't think I am remarkable in that I just go out and ride and see what I can find, but then again, it seems a lot of people are hamstrung by the idea of just winging it. It really isn't that tough, in my opinion.

Plus, the lessons learned make memories and teach you far more than checking off a list from some internet site and downloading a pre-ridden course on your GPS device. I don't know.......

Maybe I've got it all wrong.......

Minus Ten Review- 26

The inspiration for the T.I.v13 shirt was a t-shirt via a post card! Thanks Gary Cale!

Ten years ago this week on the blog I was talking a bit about Trans Iowa, the post-Big Wheeled Ballyhoo, and the upcoming GTDRI. But first, I wanted to touch upon the other topic of note that week, the Great Divide Race.

Okay, you may be thinking, "What the heck is the Great Divide Race? Is that something new?". You could be forgiven for not knowing about this event. It was the precursor to Tour Divide. In fact, the events co-existed for a couple of years before the Great Divide part was let out to pasture. That's another whole story I won't delve in to now.

What I wanted to touch on was how, at that time ten years ago, I had become fully disillusioned with the Pro Road scene and the drug cheating. The Great Divide race was a "purer", simpler form of riding that I could get behind. I see that I commented back then that there were more folks at the start that year, ('07), than the previous four years combined. Yeah........it was a small group of people. Of course, that all has changed now as well.

For instance, that was a time when "bikepacking" had yet to become a term on the tongue of every wannabee hipster wanderer with a beard and a high priced bivy. There were lots of people using racks and hard mounted bags. SPOT trackers weren't a thing yet, but they were coming on strong by that time. Cell phones didn't work throughout most of the route, and GPS wasn't something most folks even had access to yet. There weren't ten ways to follow someone on the route, there was only one, and if they had a "dot" to watch, it was a bonus. Most of the time you had only the uploaded call ins, if a rider made call ins at all.

Am I saying that the Great Divide was a bit "purer" event than the TD is now? Maybe. You could make an argument for that for sure. I guess I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know I liked the event back then better than I do now.

Now days the Tour Divide tracker looks like a segmented snake.

Then there was Trans Iowa. I've brought it up several times before, but it bears repeating that ten years ago at this time Trans Iowa was dead. There wasn't ever going to be another one, as far as I was concerned. I know that many of you think maybe this has become something of a "fisherman's tale", the way that I tell it, but here is a passage I wrote ten years ago this week. See if you cannot read between the lines here.....

"As far as Trans Iowa goes...........don't ask! There are some definite hurdles to putting on another version of this event that may prove to high to clear. The jury is still out."

I cannot remember when I got that pivotal email from Jason Boucher, or the email from David Pals that sealed the deal and made a Trans Iowa v4 a definite reality, but it may have been around this time. Here is a bit more from the same post....

" I'll keep ya'all informed on any updates concerning the status of another Trans Iowa. I'm going to be concentrating on the laid back prep for GTDRI first, then a short break before Interbike. After that I'll make a call on T.I.
Stay tuned....................."

Reading that now I would say that yes- I had gotten those emails at this time, but if anything was holding me back yet it was my determination to get Jeff Kerkove's input on moving forward. I have said many times that I always considered  Jeff to be the "master" of the event and I was merely the "worker bee", so to speak. If he wasn't going to give me a blessing on continuing the thing, and I believed it shouldn't without him, by the way, then it would have died, despite those emails mentioned earlier.

Jeff was, for all intents and purposes, gone from Europa Cycle & Ski where I worked, by this point. Jeff promised to stop by whenever he was around, but sooner or later he would permanently be gone to Colorado. Ironically, now that I think about it, we never got to have a going away party for him. Anyway, it wouldn't be long before he would stop that one last time. That'll be coming up soon in a future Minus Ten Review.

Minus Ten Review- 26

The inspiration for the T.I.v13 shirt was a t-shirt via a post card! Thanks Gary Cale!

Ten years ago this week on the blog I was talking a bit about Trans Iowa, the post-Big Wheeled Ballyhoo, and the upcoming GTDRI. But first, I wanted to touch upon the other topic of note that week, the Great Divide Race.

Okay, you may be thinking, "What the heck is the Great Divide Race? Is that something new?". You could be forgiven for not knowing about this event. It was the precursor to Tour Divide. In fact, the events co-existed for a couple of years before the Great Divide part was let out to pasture. That's another whole story I won't delve in to now.

What I wanted to touch on was how, at that time ten years ago, I had become fully disillusioned with the Pro Road scene and the drug cheating. The Great Divide race was a "purer", simpler form of riding that I could get behind. I see that I commented back then that there were more folks at the start that year, ('07), than the previous four years combined. Yeah........it was a small group of people. Of course, that all has changed now as well.

For instance, that was a time when "bikepacking" had yet to become a term on the tongue of every wannabee hipster wanderer with a beard and a high priced bivy. There were lots of people using racks and hard mounted bags. SPOT trackers weren't a thing yet, but they were coming on strong by that time. Cell phones didn't work throughout most of the route, and GPS wasn't something most folks even had access to yet. There weren't ten ways to follow someone on the route, there was only one, and if they had a "dot" to watch, it was a bonus. Most of the time you had only the uploaded call ins, if a rider made call ins at all.

Am I saying that the Great Divide was a bit "purer" event than the TD is now? Maybe. You could make an argument for that for sure. I guess I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know I liked the event back then better than I do now.

Now days the Tour Divide tracker looks like a segmented snake.

Then there was Trans Iowa. I've brought it up several times before, but it bears repeating that ten years ago at this time Trans Iowa was dead. There wasn't ever going to be another one, as far as I was concerned. I know that many of you think maybe this has become something of a "fisherman's tale", the way that I tell it, but here is a passage I wrote ten years ago this week. See if you cannot read between the lines here.....

"As far as Trans Iowa goes...........don't ask! There are some definite hurdles to putting on another version of this event that may prove to high to clear. The jury is still out."

I cannot remember when I got that pivotal email from Jason Boucher, or the email from David Pals that sealed the deal and made a Trans Iowa v4 a definite reality, but it may have been around this time. Here is a bit more from the same post....

" I'll keep ya'all informed on any updates concerning the status of another Trans Iowa. I'm going to be concentrating on the laid back prep for GTDRI first, then a short break before Interbike. After that I'll make a call on T.I.
Stay tuned....................."

Reading that now I would say that yes- I had gotten those emails at this time, but if anything was holding me back yet it was my determination to get Jeff Kerkove's input on moving forward. I have said many times that I always considered  Jeff to be the "master" of the event and I was merely the "worker bee", so to speak. If he wasn't going to give me a blessing on continuing the thing, and I believed it shouldn't without him, by the way, then it would have died, despite those emails mentioned earlier.

Jeff was, for all intents and purposes, gone from Europa Cycle & Ski where I worked, by this point. Jeff promised to stop by whenever he was around, but sooner or later he would permanently be gone to Colorado. Ironically, now that I think about it, we never got to have a going away party for him. Anyway, it wouldn't be long before he would stop that one last time. That'll be coming up soon in a future Minus Ten Review.

Minus Ten Review- 27

Look at all those blue dots now days! It wasn't like that ten years ago!

Well, on the blog ten years ago I had another week without images!! I wasn't such a shutter bug then as my camera, an old, outdated Nikon Coolpix model, was pretty lame. I remember it had an automatic lens cover and it would stick partially shut when I opened it to take a photo. That would leave the upper left corner and lower right corner looking shaded. If you ever see an image here that has those shadowy corners, you know what camera I used for that!

Anyway....

I was still talking a bit about Tour Divide, although back then it was still The Great Divide Race. I was a bit shocked when I went back to read the posts from a decade ago to see that there were only two individuals still at it out there back then. 

Yep, just two individuals were still going and no one had finished yet. Matt Lee was in New Mexico and was close to getting it done, while second place Kenny Maldanado, was just getting into Idaho. Crazy! Two guys? Look at that map from earlier in this year's Tour Divide. It looks like a traffic jam of cyclists! Things definitely have changed these days.

Other than that I had some chit-chat about how cyclists are odd people, a bit about new 29"er stuff, new offset ideas for forks, and I got sick while re-conning the upcoming GTDRI course for 2006. Speaking of which, I ope to be doing the same thing today. Stay tuned.....

Minus Ten Review- 27

Look at all those blue dots now days! It wasn't like that ten years ago!

Well, on the blog ten years ago I had another week without images!! I wasn't such a shutter bug then as my camera, an old, outdated Nikon Coolpix model, was pretty lame. I remember it had an automatic lens cover and it would stick partially shut when I opened it to take a photo. That would leave the upper left corner and lower right corner looking shaded. If you ever see an image here that has those shadowy corners, you know what camera I used for that!

Anyway....

I was still talking a bit about Tour Divide, although back then it was still The Great Divide Race. I was a bit shocked when I went back to read the posts from a decade ago to see that there were only two individuals still at it out there back then. 

Yep, just two individuals were still going and no one had finished yet. Matt Lee was in New Mexico and was close to getting it done, while second place Kenny Maldanado, was just getting into Idaho. Crazy! Two guys? Look at that map from earlier in this year's Tour Divide. It looks like a traffic jam of cyclists! Things definitely have changed these days.

Other than that I had some chit-chat about how cyclists are odd people, a bit about new 29"er stuff, new offset ideas for forks, and I got sick while re-conning the upcoming GTDRI course for 2006. Speaking of which, I ope to be doing the same thing today. Stay tuned.....

Minus Ten Review -26

Due to the lack of any pictures on the blog this week ten years ago- you get to see THIS!

Ten years ago this week my blog was dominated by news from two Tours- One was the traditional, Pro roadie race, the other was what was to become the Tour Divide. That was being won by Matt Lee, who was out proving his point that the "prologue" section of the Great Divide Route needed to be in the event. One was fun to follow along, the other was maddening and frustrating to follow along with.

Riders were being booted from the 2006 Tour de France faster than you could bat an eyelash, and Lance was playing all nicey-nice and looking to come ride in RAGBRAI. You couldn't believe what you were watching because the next day your hero, your rider that you were inspired by, was being whisked away by the authorities. It was a depressing drama, kind of like that old film "St Elmo's Fire", where these promising young adults all end up becoming failures at post-college life and leave you feeling empty and devoid of hope. The Tour back then was like that, and this was the period where I decided that it wasn't worth keeping track of anymore. The Tour starts this weekend, and I still won't be watching, nor keeping tabs on it. Thanks 2006!

The other Tour was not without its drama as well. Ten years ago, a fellow called "Fixie Dave" came to be known to a wider audience due to his misfortune on the Great Divide route. He was napping under a tree when someone took off with his bike, leaving him stranded and his Divide route finish would have to wait for several years. Speaking of fixed gear bikes, Rudi Nadler and Matt Chester were attempting to do the entire route on fixed gear bikes. I don't think they made it out of Montana before giving up on that quest though.

The week finishes off with more news of impending 29"er infiltration and everyone was wondering when Giant and Trek would introduce their own branded 29"ers. Giant would wait four years more, while Trek absorbed Fisher and blew away all the brand equity that Fisher had back in '09, just so Trek could have its own branded 29"ers.

Minus Ten Review -26

Due to the lack of any pictures on the blog this week ten years ago- you get to see THIS!

Ten years ago this week my blog was dominated by news from two Tours- One was the traditional, Pro roadie race, the other was what was to become the Tour Divide. That was being won by Matt Lee, who was out proving his point that the "prologue" section of the Great Divide Route needed to be in the event. One was fun to follow along, the other was maddening and frustrating to follow along with.

Riders were being booted from the 2006 Tour de France faster than you could bat an eyelash, and Lance was playing all nicey-nice and looking to come ride in RAGBRAI. You couldn't believe what you were watching because the next day your hero, your rider that you were inspired by, was being whisked away by the authorities. It was a depressing drama, kind of like that old film "St Elmo's Fire", where these promising young adults all end up becoming failures at post-college life and leave you feeling empty and devoid of hope. The Tour back then was like that, and this was the period where I decided that it wasn't worth keeping track of anymore. The Tour starts this weekend, and I still won't be watching, nor keeping tabs on it. Thanks 2006!

The other Tour was not without its drama as well. Ten years ago, a fellow called "Fixie Dave" came to be known to a wider audience due to his misfortune on the Great Divide route. He was napping under a tree when someone took off with his bike, leaving him stranded and his Divide route finish would have to wait for several years. Speaking of fixed gear bikes, Rudi Nadler and Matt Chester were attempting to do the entire route on fixed gear bikes. I don't think they made it out of Montana before giving up on that quest though.

The week finishes off with more news of impending 29"er infiltration and everyone was wondering when Giant and Trek would introduce their own branded 29"ers. Giant would wait four years more, while Trek absorbed Fisher and blew away all the brand equity that Fisher had back in '09, just so Trek could have its own branded 29"ers.

Minus Ten Review- 25

A peek at the original GTDRI course from a recon in 2006.

A ten year ago look at this blog from the week of June 19th-25th reveals a long look at the "Great Divide Race". Remember that? It was the precursor to the Tour Divide, which just saw Mike Hall finish in a record, sub-two week, time.

Well, ten years ago, the Tour Divide did not exist, but the roots of the race were being laid by Matthew Lee. That's right, this is the fellow you have to thank for the Tour Divide as it stands today. Here following is a snippet from a post I did ten years ago which better explains what the situation was back then......

"Hey enduro freaks! One of the most epic; if not the most epic, long rides is about to set off from Banff, Canada. It's the "prologue" portion of the Great Divide Race, otherwise known as the "GDR". This event is fully self supported, back road mountain bike touring/racing/ time trialing down the Great Divide Route as laid out by Adventure Cycling and utilized as the race course. Although "officially" the event doesn't start until the junction with the U.S. - Canadian border, the intrepid Matthew Lee, a veteran of the event, utilizes the Canadian section as a "prologue" to the event proper in hopes that one day the entire Great Divide Route will be utilized as the race course."

So, the original intentions Matt had were to keep the race as it was then, but to add the "prologue" portion, so as to make the Divide route complete. Dissenters to this suggestion were against Matt's vision due mostly to traditions and rules set as they were. Eventually, Matt's idea had to be set in a separate event format, and for a year or so, the GDR and TD events were run congruently, but when it became apparent that the TD was more popular, the GDR dropped out of the scene and ever since Tour Divide has been the way we've known this event. Interestingly, in 2008, there were 17 TD riders. This year there were 170 starters for the TD plus some in other categories.

Finally, I had a Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational recon ride.  It went about 80-ish miles in a day where I got rained on, blown away by the wind, and was delayed by an odd man on a Huffy asking weird questions about cycling related numbness of the nether regions. Yeah.... Just what you would want to discuss with a total stranger!

Minus Ten Review- 25

A peek at the original GTDRI course from a recon in 2006.

A ten year ago look at this blog from the week of June 19th-25th reveals a long look at the "Great Divide Race". Remember that? It was the precursor to the Tour Divide, which just saw Mike Hall finish in a record, sub-two week, time.

Well, ten years ago, the Tour Divide did not exist, but the roots of the race were being laid by Matthew Lee. That's right, this is the fellow you have to thank for the Tour Divide as it stands today. Here following is a snippet from a post I did ten years ago which better explains what the situation was back then......

"Hey enduro freaks! One of the most epic; if not the most epic, long rides is about to set off from Banff, Canada. It's the "prologue" portion of the Great Divide Race, otherwise known as the "GDR". This event is fully self supported, back road mountain bike touring/racing/ time trialing down the Great Divide Route as laid out by Adventure Cycling and utilized as the race course. Although "officially" the event doesn't start until the junction with the U.S. - Canadian border, the intrepid Matthew Lee, a veteran of the event, utilizes the Canadian section as a "prologue" to the event proper in hopes that one day the entire Great Divide Route will be utilized as the race course."

So, the original intentions Matt had were to keep the race as it was then, but to add the "prologue" portion, so as to make the Divide route complete. Dissenters to this suggestion were against Matt's vision due mostly to traditions and rules set as they were. Eventually, Matt's idea had to be set in a separate event format, and for a year or so, the GDR and TD events were run congruently, but when it became apparent that the TD was more popular, the GDR dropped out of the scene and ever since Tour Divide has been the way we've known this event. Interestingly, in 2008, there were 17 TD riders. This year there were 170 starters for the TD plus some in other categories.

Finally, I had a Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational recon ride.  It went about 80-ish miles in a day where I got rained on, blown away by the wind, and was delayed by an odd man on a Huffy asking weird questions about cycling related numbness of the nether regions. Yeah.... Just what you would want to discuss with a total stranger!

Trans Iowa V11: A Look At The Rules Part 5

You're on yer own out there!

Last year I did a historical overview of each Trans Iowa up to T.I.V9. This year I am going to revisit something that I feel many folks have overlooked for a long time; The "Race Rules".
 
 Last week I covered Rule #3, this week I move on to.....

 4: Prearranged outside support is not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to assistance with navigation, delivery of supplies, lighting, or lodging.

 Like I stated in last week's discussion, this rule was likely lifted from the Great Divide Race rule's, or was from a similar event. I'm pretty sure the lodging mention is a tip off that this is straight out of the GDR's rules, because we never would have needed a rule for this in hindsight! This rule was in there to help squelch anyone's idea that they would cache supplies along the route or were thinking about having someone meet them along the way to resupply them.

Of course, we had a plan in place to allow for folks to get what they needed to survive a 300+ mile trek across Iowa on gravel roads. We'll get to that next week!

Now Trans Iowa is even stricter in the sense that we do not allow anyone else outside of riders to help other riders. Convenience stores are all you get out there, and these days, it seems they are harder and harder to find open during the overnight hours.

But that's what makes finishing a Trans Iowa that much more special.

Next Week: A rule with humor.

Trans Iowa V11: A Look At The Rules Part 5

You're on yer own out there!

Last year I did a historical overview of each Trans Iowa up to T.I.V9. This year I am going to revisit something that I feel many folks have overlooked for a long time; The "Race Rules".
 
 Last week I covered Rule #3, this week I move on to.....

 4: Prearranged outside support is not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to assistance with navigation, delivery of supplies, lighting, or lodging.

 Like I stated in last week's discussion, this rule was likely lifted from the Great Divide Race rule's, or was from a similar event. I'm pretty sure the lodging mention is a tip off that this is straight out of the GDR's rules, because we never would have needed a rule for this in hindsight! This rule was in there to help squelch anyone's idea that they would cache supplies along the route or were thinking about having someone meet them along the way to resupply them.

Of course, we had a plan in place to allow for folks to get what they needed to survive a 300+ mile trek across Iowa on gravel roads. We'll get to that next week!

Now Trans Iowa is even stricter in the sense that we do not allow anyone else outside of riders to help other riders. Convenience stores are all you get out there, and these days, it seems they are harder and harder to find open during the overnight hours.

But that's what makes finishing a Trans Iowa that much more special.

Next Week: A rule with humor.

Bedtime Stories

With the passing of the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo and my post event, behind the scenes work. I haven't had much time lately to get around to doing much more than work at the shop and get the important tasks of the week taken care of. That hasn't stopped me from doing one nightly activity though.

That activity would be my catching up on the Great Divide Race. This is really epic stuff. The event, which has been going on for two weeks now, is a backroads race down from the Canadian border to the Mexican border along the Great Divide route as set up by Adventure Cycling. The rules are pretty simple. Time trial the route as a self sufficient cyclist. (Well, there is a little more to it, but that's pretty close to the mark)

This year there were more people lining up for this event at the start than in the previous four years combined. They all are required to call in every day to a specific number which records there message which is then transcribed by Tom Purvis and posted to the site linked above. It helps you see the agony, drama, and hard work involved in this trek across the U.S. Pretty interesting stuff, especially in light of the morass that road cycling has fallen into.

The Tour de France used to be my thing to check out, but not anymore. This Great Divide Race has supplanted it. Why? Well, it's more in keeping with the spirit of challenge and overcoming than the Tour is. It's not over hyped, or hyped at all, really. It's still a grassroots, underground, for the spirit of it all event. The tour? Gutted of any of that. Empty and devoid of anything "true and good", if one can say that about cycling. Maybe I'm a romantic luddite, a reto-grouch, and just not seeing what others find in the Tour. Whatever. All I know is that these Great Divide racers have captured my fancy and I love a good cycling tale before bedtime.

So, I'll keep reading!

If you are so inclined, catch up on the story so far and get ready for the first finishers sometime this weekend. It's going to be awesome! I think it'll inspire you to go out on your own long epic ride this weekend. Do it! I'll be riding somewhere too.

Bedtime Stories

With the passing of the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo and my post event, behind the scenes work. I haven't had much time lately to get around to doing much more than work at the shop and get the important tasks of the week taken care of. That hasn't stopped me from doing one nightly activity though.

That activity would be my catching up on the Great Divide Race. This is really epic stuff. The event, which has been going on for two weeks now, is a backroads race down from the Canadian border to the Mexican border along the Great Divide route as set up by Adventure Cycling. The rules are pretty simple. Time trial the route as a self sufficient cyclist. (Well, there is a little more to it, but that's pretty close to the mark)

This year there were more people lining up for this event at the start than in the previous four years combined. They all are required to call in every day to a specific number which records there message which is then transcribed by Tom Purvis and posted to the site linked above. It helps you see the agony, drama, and hard work involved in this trek across the U.S. Pretty interesting stuff, especially in light of the morass that road cycling has fallen into.

The Tour de France used to be my thing to check out, but not anymore. This Great Divide Race has supplanted it. Why? Well, it's more in keeping with the spirit of challenge and overcoming than the Tour is. It's not over hyped, or hyped at all, really. It's still a grassroots, underground, for the spirit of it all event. The tour? Gutted of any of that. Empty and devoid of anything "true and good", if one can say that about cycling. Maybe I'm a romantic luddite, a reto-grouch, and just not seeing what others find in the Tour. Whatever. All I know is that these Great Divide racers have captured my fancy and I love a good cycling tale before bedtime.

So, I'll keep reading!

If you are so inclined, catch up on the story so far and get ready for the first finishers sometime this weekend. It's going to be awesome! I think it'll inspire you to go out on your own long epic ride this weekend. Do it! I'll be riding somewhere too.