Trans Iowa Stories: More Tales of v3- Part 2

"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!

Last week I left off with tales of the event up to the checkpoint. Past that point of the event is a moment that was cemented in my memories of Trans Iowa as being one of the best ever. When Zach Dundas, the author shadowing me for the event that year, reunited with me, we decided to hang out in a section of Level B Road in Tama County. The thought being that (a), it was about as "rural" as it gets there, and (b) we wanted to see how Team Polska was doing as they had overtaken the duo of Ryan and Hannon at the checkpoint in a well told exchange that I won't cover here.

What hasn't been told is how, for several hours, Dundas and I relaxed in the afternoon Sunlight of a late April day without a single care in the world. I recall Zach reclining in his red Pontiac rental car, doors open, with his feet sticking out of the rear door, snoozing. We didn't talk with each other. We weren't even within several feet of each other most of this time. It sounds really boring, I am sure, but to have had some time in a quiet, peaceful rural setting without a worry in the World? Priceless. I am not sure I've had many times in my life where I felt such peace and contentment in just "being", if that makes any sense. Zach? I just hope he had anything similar to my experience. But I don't really know.

Team Polska crests a hill on a Level B road in Tama County. My car is obscuring Zach's here, but you can see his open door.

So, after this, of course, racers started coming by, and I recall Zach being sort of amazed by the fact that they were so strung out on the road. We then proceeded to follow the course behind the front runners that had gone by us. One by one, or in pairs, we would occasionally catch them, slowing waaaay down so as not to 'dust" them badly. It was dry and almost hot that day, as I recall. Then, just as we turned left onto Ridge Road off  K Avenue in Tama County, we saw a rider coming backward toward us. It was Brian Hannon.

Wow, were Zach and I ever heartbroken for him! He had been pushing so hard that his knee was giving him fits. Something about a pre-event change he made, and didn't test out, a new to him bike, had bitten him. He knew it was his fault for changing something right before an event, but Zach and I were still very sad for him. We did our best to lift his spirits, telling him his efforts earlier in the day were super-human. Eventually, with his head down, he made his way back toward Traer, the last town the route had passed through, and called for a ride. I haven't seen Brian since then.........

A famous image from T.I.v3 which was on the T.I. website front page for years.

Of course, this left Ira Ryan alone at the front of the event. So, now I was very concerned. Where was Ira? You'd think we'd come across him not much further up the road. Right? Hannon said he had turned back not long before we had found him.

So, following the cues I had, I drove with my head on a swivel. Zach followed in the Red Pontiac. Peering ahead, I was looking for any signs of a rider alone. From South of Reinbeck to Dike, Iowa, where the next convenience store was, I figured we would have to come across Ryan. But.......there was no sign of him! Now, I wasn't much for math, and I still am not, but I knew Ryan wasn't going that fast. Eventually Zach and I reached the convenience store, the next likely stopping point on route, and Ira Ryan wasn't there. We still had no idea where Ryan was. I was super suspicious now, especially since I knew Ryan's short-cutting the course in v1 was in his history. Was he doing that again? No way. There was no where to short cut this course that would have given him any advantage. It was pretty much due North from where we had seen Hannon last. But, maybe he was lost? Could be. Wrong turns are not uncommon at gravel events.

 Or, was Ryan getting pre-arranged support? Hmm.... That wasn't out of the question. He certainly wasn't carrying much, that's for sure, and he gave me a bunch of his home made energy bars at the checkpoint, saying he couldn't gut them anymore. So, just what was he going to be eating? 

At the convenience store, I kept watch up the street, not standing still for Zach's conversation. To be honest, I was so distracted by Ryan's "missing in action" that I don't remember a word of what was said there. I kept walking over to the street from the parking lot, peering up Main Street, to the South, which was the route to the convenience store. Then I saw him.

Ryan was up the street a couple of blocks, chatting with someone in a Chevy van stopped in the street. I carefully watched to see if anything was exchanged between he and the van driver, but saw nothing. Ryan then waved to whomever that was and made his way to the convenience store where I questioned him about his whereabouts. He answered with dismissive, short sentences, saying that I must have missed him, that he got off the route for a bit. Maybe he got off at Reinbeck to look for water? Ryan wouldn't say. The course did skirt the city limits of that village. Hmm..... I was suspicious, but I let it go. But I was also going to keep a very close eye on him through the night.

I took this image of Ira Ryan in Janesville, Iowa during T.I.v3

 Team Polska arrived not long after Ryan pulled out of town. They were animated and everyone's spirits who were around them were lifted. Macjei, who was riding his first T.I., was done. He was calling it in there. He offered his stash of goodies to Douglas and his brother, Marcin, who gladly accepted his offer. Macjei stripped down to his bibs and kept pulling out bars, gels, and stuff like clowns out of a circus car. He lined up everything on a edge of a brick wall of the store. It was amazing to watch customers trying not to get caught gawking at Macjei's muscular, slim body, now nearly naked. It was quite the scene!

Then an overweight male lumbered towards the door of the convenience store from his Harley Davidson motorcycle. He asked what was going on here? When we described the event to him, he was flat out amazed. He offered advice and quipped, *"You know what you need, boy?  A got-dammned motor, that's what!" Then he ambled on into the store. We laughed pretty hard about that after he disappeared!

I stuck around for a while and Zach said he needed to take a break, and he stayed while I went on chasing the leaders again. I bypassed a bit of the route in order to leap frog the riders that had passed through already, and staged a look-out at the next convenience store up the road in Janesville, Iowa. I came across David Story and his friends, who were documenting the event in images. They were weary, and it sounded as though they were going to pack it in not long after I saw them. I stuck around, and it wasn't long before a weary Ira Ryan, alone, moved in toward the convenience store.

He didn't waste any time and was in and out quickly. When he came out, I made some comment to break the ice, and Ryan, slowly munching on a cheeseburger, flatly told me that there were flooded roads he had to navigate. No emotion in his voice, so I was a bit taken aback by this, plus I was immediately concerned. Ryan said that the road was passable, so it probably was no big deal, but mentioned that he was surprised by this turn of events. Ryan then whipped out the second cheeseburger, and quipped something to me about that these were a good deal. Two for two bucks, or something. He ate a couple bites, wrapped up what was left and stuffed it into his jersey pocket, and asking a bit about which way out of town, then rode off in the direction I pointed him.

I waited for what was left of Team Polska to arrive, and they weren't far behind. Pietz was shot. His knee was toast and he was dropping out there. He bid Marcin the best. Marcin then asked for information on Ryan's lead, and when he heard that he wasn't far up the road, he set his face with steely determination and took off smartly down the course. I followed out shortly afterward, but took another short cut to reach a point up the course in Hawkeye, Iowa. There I wanted to wait to see how the progress of these two leaders was playing out.

*Note: blue italicized quote is from Zach Dundas' "Renegade Sportsman" chapter on Trans Iowa. I'll be quoting from this book more in the future.

Next: Hanging Out In Hawkeye, Iowa

Trans Iowa Stories: More Tales of v3- Part 2

"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!

Last week I left off with tales of the event up to the checkpoint. Past that point of the event is a moment that was cemented in my memories of Trans Iowa as being one of the best ever. When Zach Dundas, the author shadowing me for the event that year, reunited with me, we decided to hang out in a section of Level B Road in Tama County. The thought being that (a), it was about as "rural" as it gets there, and (b) we wanted to see how Team Polska was doing as they had overtaken the duo of Ryan and Hannon at the checkpoint in a well told exchange that I won't cover here.

What hasn't been told is how, for several hours, Dundas and I relaxed in the afternoon Sunlight of a late April day without a single care in the world. I recall Zach reclining in his red Pontiac rental car, doors open, with his feet sticking out of the rear door, snoozing. We didn't talk with each other. We weren't even within several feet of each other most of this time. It sounds really boring, I am sure, but to have had some time in a quiet, peaceful rural setting without a worry in the World? Priceless. I am not sure I've had many times in my life where I felt such peace and contentment in just "being", if that makes any sense. Zach? I just hope he had anything similar to my experience. But I don't really know.

Team Polska crests a hill on a Level B road in Tama County. My car is obscuring Zach's here, but you can see his open door.

So, after this, of course, racers started coming by, and I recall Zach being sort of amazed by the fact that they were so strung out on the road. We then proceeded to follow the course behind the front runners that had gone by us. One by one, or in pairs, we would occasionally catch them, slowing waaaay down so as not to 'dust" them badly. It was dry and almost hot that day, as I recall. Then, just as we turned left onto Ridge Road off  K Avenue in Tama County, we saw a rider coming backward toward us. It was Brian Hannon.

Wow, were Zach and I ever heartbroken for him! He had been pushing so hard that his knee was giving him fits. Something about a pre-event change he made, and didn't test out, a new to him bike, had bitten him. He knew it was his fault for changing something right before an event, but Zach and I were still very sad for him. We did our best to lift his spirits, telling him his efforts earlier in the day were super-human. Eventually, with his head down, he made his way back toward Traer, the last town the route had passed through, and called for a ride. I haven't seen Brian since then.........

A famous image from T.I.v3 which was on the T.I. website front page for years.

Of course, this left Ira Ryan alone at the front of the event. So, now I was very concerned. Where was Ira? You'd think we'd come across him not much further up the road. Right? Hannon said he had turned back not long before we had found him.

So, following the cues I had, I drove with my head on a swivel. Zach followed in the Red Pontiac. Peering ahead, I was looking for any signs of a rider alone. From South of Reinbeck to Dike, Iowa, where the next convenience store was, I figured we would have to come across Ryan. But.......there was no sign of him! Now, I wasn't much for math, and I still am not, but I knew Ryan wasn't going that fast. Eventually Zach and I reached the convenience store, the next likely stopping point on route, and Ira Ryan wasn't there. We still had no idea where Ryan was. I was super suspicious now, especially since I knew Ryan's short-cutting the course in v1 was in his history. Was he doing that again? No way. There was no where to short cut this course that would have given him any advantage. It was pretty much due North from where we had seen Hannon last. But, maybe he was lost? Could be. Wrong turns are not uncommon at gravel events.

 Or, was Ryan getting pre-arranged support? Hmm.... That wasn't out of the question. He certainly wasn't carrying much, that's for sure, and he gave me a bunch of his home made energy bars at the checkpoint, saying he couldn't gut them anymore. So, just what was he going to be eating? 

At the convenience store, I kept watch up the street, not standing still for Zach's conversation. To be honest, I was so distracted by Ryan's "missing in action" that I don't remember a word of what was said there. I kept walking over to the street from the parking lot, peering up Main Street, to the South, which was the route to the convenience store. Then I saw him.

Ryan was up the street a couple of blocks, chatting with someone in a Chevy van stopped in the street. I carefully watched to see if anything was exchanged between he and the van driver, but saw nothing. Ryan then waved to whomever that was and made his way to the convenience store where I questioned him about his whereabouts. He answered with dismissive, short sentences, saying that I must have missed him, that he got off the route for a bit. Maybe he got off at Reinbeck to look for water? Ryan wouldn't say. The course did skirt the city limits of that village. Hmm..... I was suspicious, but I let it go. But I was also going to keep a very close eye on him through the night.

I took this image of Ira Ryan in Janesville, Iowa during T.I.v3

 Team Polska arrived not long after Ryan pulled out of town. They were animated and everyone's spirits who were around them were lifted. Macjei, who was riding his first T.I., was done. He was calling it in there. He offered his stash of goodies to Douglas and his brother, Marcin, who gladly accepted his offer. Macjei stripped down to his bibs and kept pulling out bars, gels, and stuff like clowns out of a circus car. He lined up everything on a edge of a brick wall of the store. It was amazing to watch customers trying not to get caught gawking at Macjei's muscular, slim body, now nearly naked. It was quite the scene!

Then an overweight male lumbered towards the door of the convenience store from his Harley Davidson motorcycle. He asked what was going on here? When we described the event to him, he was flat out amazed. He offered advice and quipped, *"You know what you need, boy?  A got-dammned motor, that's what!" Then he ambled on into the store. We laughed pretty hard about that after he disappeared!

I stuck around for a while and Zach said he needed to take a break, and he stayed while I went on chasing the leaders again. I bypassed a bit of the route in order to leap frog the riders that had passed through already, and staged a look-out at the next convenience store up the road in Janesville, Iowa. I came across David Story and his friends, who were documenting the event in images. They were weary, and it sounded as though they were going to pack it in not long after I saw them. I stuck around, and it wasn't long before a weary Ira Ryan, alone, moved in toward the convenience store.

He didn't waste any time and was in and out quickly. When he came out, I made some comment to break the ice, and Ryan, slowly munching on a cheeseburger, flatly told me that there were flooded roads he had to navigate. No emotion in his voice, so I was a bit taken aback by this, plus I was immediately concerned. Ryan said that the road was passable, so it probably was no big deal, but mentioned that he was surprised by this turn of events. Ryan then whipped out the second cheeseburger, and quipped something to me about that these were a good deal. Two for two bucks, or something. He ate a couple bites, wrapped up what was left and stuffed it into his jersey pocket, and asking a bit about which way out of town, then rode off in the direction I pointed him.

I waited for what was left of Team Polska to arrive, and they weren't far behind. Pietz was shot. His knee was toast and he was dropping out there. He bid Marcin the best. Marcin then asked for information on Ryan's lead, and when he heard that he wasn't far up the road, he set his face with steely determination and took off smartly down the course. I followed out shortly afterward, but took another short cut to reach a point up the course in Hawkeye, Iowa. There I wanted to wait to see how the progress of these two leaders was playing out.

*Note: blue italicized quote is from Zach Dundas' "Renegade Sportsman" chapter on Trans Iowa. I'll be quoting from this book more in the future.

Next: Hanging Out In Hawkeye, Iowa

Trans Iowa Stories: More Tales of v3

T.I.v3 volunteers carefully consider Ken Yokanovich's Rivendell fixed gear rig at the checkpoint.

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

The night T.I.v3 started was a dark, fairly decent one, and the 3:00am wake -up call came in the motel and I sprang into action. I recall wondering where Zach Dundas stayed the night, then I saw his red Pontiac rental car parked on the road where we were to muster the starters and realized he likely spent the night there sleeping in the thing. So started my solo running of Trans Iowa.

As you fine readers may recall, I had already spent a LOT of time running this event myself. Most of the first one after the pre-race, and a lot of time during the truncated v2, I was on my own. However; what was different this time was that I had to shoulder the responsibility of this event alone. There was no "back-up", no one else to lean on for support or advice. I was "The Guy" now. If there were any issues, the excrement was going to roll uphill and stop right at the top, with me.

While that was known quite keenly by myself at that moment, I was also pretty ticked off yet about all the no-shows and was ready to just kick the can over and get on with this deal. Looking back, I think this attitude served me well for the duration of v3. See, as I stated a couple of posts back, I was pretty sure I didn't want to do this without Jeff, and having all those no-shows pretty much sealed the deal. All I had to do was to make sure I held up my end of the responsibilities of putting on the event and that I did that in the best way I knew how.

I already wrote a bunch about this event. (You can read a fine recapping of some of the event here) So, I'll just hit on some of the highlights I neglected in the previous post and tell you a bit here and there which Zach Dundas wrote about so well in "The Renegade Sportsman" book. Zach described the Trans Iowa experience he had and Trans Iowa thusly: "In deepest, darkest Iowa, I tracked the inspiring and insane Trans-Iowa endurance race, a 300+-mile amateur exorcism of cycling’s Lance Armstrong-ish demons."

Yeah, it was pretty funny, me being a rustic, 40 plus year old bicycle mechanic and Zach, an erudite college graduate cum punk rocker from Montana. I recall standing alongside the road North of Decorah, shivering under a star filled sky awaiting the leaders, and watching riders smack through a huge pothole at the bottom of a speedy downhill at the Sattre Store. Both times showing Zach why I felt the event mattered and both times answering a lot of his questions. Then we separated for much of the remainder of that morning.

Judging from this cue sheet, this road is in Allamakee County and the image was shot during T.I.v3

Interestingly, this was the Trans Iowa when I started inserting in odd and historical bits along the way for the riders to experience. During T.I.v3, I realized that the riders would likely be going through Postville, Iowa during Saturday morning. No big deal, except that at that time, Postville, Iowa had one of the largest ascetic Jewish communities in the nation, and I knew that they all would be out in full regalia on their Sabbath walk. Many riders reported seeing this afterward, much to my satisfaction.

This was also my full introduction to "Team Polska", a three man group consisting of Marcin Nowak, Macjei Nowak, and Douglas Pietz. The first two being brothers and natives of Poland. They showed up in matching kit, rode as a team, and were giving chase to the lead duo of Brian Hannon and Ira Ryan. Marcin had attempted the ill-fated T.I.v2, and during this version, he came prepared to lay down what would become a very memorable performance. His brother and Doug were support, and gave everything to the effort. It was amazing, beautiful, and unreal to see this as a bystander. Zach Dundas got his money's worth there for a story!

Ryan and Hannon were also just machines. They were killing it, and at one point I was afraid that they would arrive at the Checkpoint in Brandon, Iowa, before my volunteers were going to be ready for them. I spent most of the morning shadowing the duo and crunching numbers like crazy. Fortunately, after 100 miles of scorching fast gravel riding, (they averaged above 18mph including stops), they slowed the pace a hair, enough so that I figured they would get there after the Checkpoint opened. I think it was somewhere around Stanley, Iowa where I realized that would be the case. Shortly afterward, I ran across Zach, near Independence, and we made plans to rendezvous in Brandon at the Checkpoint.

Ah! Checkpoint volunteers! That was an amazing relief to me. And one of them handed me a cold beer. Gosh! This was like, almost fun! That feeling would linger for a while. But later on into the event, I lost that feeling, and the reason why was due to one individual, who has been an enigma of Trans Iowa ever since.

Next: Part 2 of "More Tales of v3".

Trans Iowa Stories: More Tales of v3

T.I.v3 volunteers carefully consider Ken Yokanovich's Rivendell fixed gear rig at the checkpoint.

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

The night T.I.v3 started was a dark, fairly decent one, and the 3:00am wake -up call came in the motel and I sprang into action. I recall wondering where Zach Dundas stayed the night, then I saw his red Pontiac rental car parked on the road where we were to muster the starters and realized he likely spent the night there sleeping in the thing. So started my solo running of Trans Iowa.

As you fine readers may recall, I had already spent a LOT of time running this event myself. Most of the first one after the pre-race, and a lot of time during the truncated v2, I was on my own. However; what was different this time was that I had to shoulder the responsibility of this event alone. There was no "back-up", no one else to lean on for support or advice. I was "The Guy" now. If there were any issues, the excrement was going to roll uphill and stop right at the top, with me.

While that was known quite keenly by myself at that moment, I was also pretty ticked off yet about all the no-shows and was ready to just kick the can over and get on with this deal. Looking back, I think this attitude served me well for the duration of v3. See, as I stated a couple of posts back, I was pretty sure I didn't want to do this without Jeff, and having all those no-shows pretty much sealed the deal. All I had to do was to make sure I held up my end of the responsibilities of putting on the event and that I did that in the best way I knew how.

I already wrote a bunch about this event. (You can read a fine recapping of some of the event here) So, I'll just hit on some of the highlights I neglected in the previous post and tell you a bit here and there which Zach Dundas wrote about so well in "The Renegade Sportsman" book. Zach described the Trans Iowa experience he had and Trans Iowa thusly: "In deepest, darkest Iowa, I tracked the inspiring and insane Trans-Iowa endurance race, a 300+-mile amateur exorcism of cycling’s Lance Armstrong-ish demons."

Yeah, it was pretty funny, me being a rustic, 40 plus year old bicycle mechanic and Zach, an erudite college graduate cum punk rocker from Montana. I recall standing alongside the road North of Decorah, shivering under a star filled sky awaiting the leaders, and watching riders smack through a huge pothole at the bottom of a speedy downhill at the Sattre Store. Both times showing Zach why I felt the event mattered and both times answering a lot of his questions. Then we separated for much of the remainder of that morning.

Judging from this cue sheet, this road is in Allamakee County and the image was shot during T.I.v3

Interestingly, this was the Trans Iowa when I started inserting in odd and historical bits along the way for the riders to experience. During T.I.v3, I realized that the riders would likely be going through Postville, Iowa during Saturday morning. No big deal, except that at that time, Postville, Iowa had one of the largest ascetic Jewish communities in the nation, and I knew that they all would be out in full regalia on their Sabbath walk. Many riders reported seeing this afterward, much to my satisfaction.

This was also my full introduction to "Team Polska", a three man group consisting of Marcin Nowak, Macjei Nowak, and Douglas Pietz. The first two being brothers and natives of Poland. They showed up in matching kit, rode as a team, and were giving chase to the lead duo of Brian Hannon and Ira Ryan. Marcin had attempted the ill-fated T.I.v2, and during this version, he came prepared to lay down what would become a very memorable performance. His brother and Doug were support, and gave everything to the effort. It was amazing, beautiful, and unreal to see this as a bystander. Zach Dundas got his money's worth there for a story!

Ryan and Hannon were also just machines. They were killing it, and at one point I was afraid that they would arrive at the Checkpoint in Brandon, Iowa, before my volunteers were going to be ready for them. I spent most of the morning shadowing the duo and crunching numbers like crazy. Fortunately, after 100 miles of scorching fast gravel riding, (they averaged above 18mph including stops), they slowed the pace a hair, enough so that I figured they would get there after the Checkpoint opened. I think it was somewhere around Stanley, Iowa where I realized that would be the case. Shortly afterward, I ran across Zach, near Independence, and we made plans to rendezvous in Brandon at the Checkpoint.

Ah! Checkpoint volunteers! That was an amazing relief to me. And one of them handed me a cold beer. Gosh! This was like, almost fun! That feeling would linger for a while. But later on into the event, I lost that feeling, and the reason why was due to one individual, who has been an enigma of Trans Iowa ever since.

Next: Part 2 of "More Tales of v3".

Friday News And Views

A gravel bike?

Breadwinner Cycles is a frame building concern from Portland, Oregon and was started by two-time Trans Iowa winner and frame builder Ira Ryan and his partner, frame builder Tony Pereira. They debuted their Breadwinner Cycles brand at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, (NAHBS), and they will be back this year again showing a couple of new models. One is dubbed "B-Road".

It'll be interesting to see just how the name is used here. On one hand, this could be a "650B road bike", and on the other hand, it could be a reference to the minimum maintenance roads in Iowa called "B Maintenance Roads", making one think it may be a gravel road bike design. My guess? Both!

Their will be several "new" things popping up on the radar screens of gravel road enthusiasts soon, and perhaps this Breadwinner model is one of those things. I already have been tipped off to another thing that will be announced Saturday and will have a connection to Trans Iowa. (You'll have to wait till Monday to find out here.) UPDATE: See announcement here.

The growth in gravel road related product seems to be continuing unabated, and I suspect it will rankle some feathers, give fodder for the punter's blog postings, and fuel the keyboard jockey's angst out there. The thing is, the growth in the participation in gravel road riding, as I see it from my seat, is still rising. Events are posting bigger attendance figures, and I have been getting new submissions for the Gravel Grinder News calendar on a regular basis for months. On the order of about 3-5 events per week over the past three months, as a matter of fact.

So, people will have some backlash to this stuff, but it doesn't negate the reality of it. Gravel road riding is popular, the events are growing and increasing in number, and the bicycle industry is going to see if they can capitalize on that. Would you expect anything less than that? I wouldn't.

Image by A Andonopoulous.

Logistics:

I have started to fire up the Trans Iowa v10 machine again. There is a little over two months to go, and there is much to get organized yet.

I have the Grinnell Steakhouse lined up again. They provide Trans Iowa with a free venue to hold the Pre-Race Meat-Up and in return I deliver warm bodies that will eat and drink at their establishment. It's been a very beneficial relationship for both parties for the last four years.

My job now will be to contact each racer and get a head count on meals, what the menu choice will be, and to communicate the meeting details via e-mails which should start going out next week. This has also worked to serve the secondary purpose of finding out if folks on the roster are actually going to show up. That helps save costs on my end in both time and money.

I also will be doing Trans Iowa recon with my two cue sheet checkers, Wally & George, in late March. This will make sure of the clarity of the cue sheets and whether or not they are correct, or need to be changed due to road closures. The side benefit here is I get to see how the roads are coming along.

This Weekend: I have the final four posts in the "Trans Iowa Tales" series going up and then the weekend posts will be reserved for the current Trans Iowa coming up. The Frostbike report will go up Monday, and maybe there will be a couple of posts, depending upon the events going down.

UPDATE: 45NRTH announces a fatter Dillinger. 

Stay tuned, otherwise have a great weekend and ride your bicycles!

Friday News And Views

A gravel bike?

Breadwinner Cycles is a frame building concern from Portland, Oregon and was started by two-time Trans Iowa winner and frame builder Ira Ryan and his partner, frame builder Tony Pereira. They debuted their Breadwinner Cycles brand at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, (NAHBS), and they will be back this year again showing a couple of new models. One is dubbed "B-Road".

It'll be interesting to see just how the name is used here. On one hand, this could be a "650B road bike", and on the other hand, it could be a reference to the minimum maintenance roads in Iowa called "B Maintenance Roads", making one think it may be a gravel road bike design. My guess? Both!

Their will be several "new" things popping up on the radar screens of gravel road enthusiasts soon, and perhaps this Breadwinner model is one of those things. I already have been tipped off to another thing that will be announced Saturday and will have a connection to Trans Iowa. (You'll have to wait till Monday to find out here.) UPDATE: See announcement here.

The growth in gravel road related product seems to be continuing unabated, and I suspect it will rankle some feathers, give fodder for the punter's blog postings, and fuel the keyboard jockey's angst out there. The thing is, the growth in the participation in gravel road riding, as I see it from my seat, is still rising. Events are posting bigger attendance figures, and I have been getting new submissions for the Gravel Grinder News calendar on a regular basis for months. On the order of about 3-5 events per week over the past three months, as a matter of fact.

So, people will have some backlash to this stuff, but it doesn't negate the reality of it. Gravel road riding is popular, the events are growing and increasing in number, and the bicycle industry is going to see if they can capitalize on that. Would you expect anything less than that? I wouldn't.

Image by A Andonopoulous.

Logistics:

I have started to fire up the Trans Iowa v10 machine again. There is a little over two months to go, and there is much to get organized yet.

I have the Grinnell Steakhouse lined up again. They provide Trans Iowa with a free venue to hold the Pre-Race Meat-Up and in return I deliver warm bodies that will eat and drink at their establishment. It's been a very beneficial relationship for both parties for the last four years.

My job now will be to contact each racer and get a head count on meals, what the menu choice will be, and to communicate the meeting details via e-mails which should start going out next week. This has also worked to serve the secondary purpose of finding out if folks on the roster are actually going to show up. That helps save costs on my end in both time and money.

I also will be doing Trans Iowa recon with my two cue sheet checkers, Wally & George, in late March. This will make sure of the clarity of the cue sheets and whether or not they are correct, or need to be changed due to road closures. The side benefit here is I get to see how the roads are coming along.

This Weekend: I have the final four posts in the "Trans Iowa Tales" series going up and then the weekend posts will be reserved for the current Trans Iowa coming up. The Frostbike report will go up Monday, and maybe there will be a couple of posts, depending upon the events going down.

UPDATE: 45NRTH announces a fatter Dillinger. 

Stay tuned, otherwise have a great weekend and ride your bicycles!

NAHBS: So, What Did You Think?

All City fat tire roadie: A result of NAHBS?

NAHBS, or the "North American Handmade Bicycle Show" just concluded yesterday in Sacramento, California. It's a "big deal" for cycling nerds in the same way that SXSW is for music, film, and interactive nerds, so if you haven't heard of it, don't feel bad. It's only a thin slice of humanity that even gives a rip about this stuff. But for those who pay attention, it is like the Detroit Auto Show for cycling, but without all the cash, and show girls, and hutzpah. Anyway...

On Frostbike weekend, I went to The Cutters Ball III which was held in the building where Eric Noren of Peacock Groove does his frame building. He had his NAHBS show bike frames all displayed in his office. We got there early enough that Eric was able to spend some "quality time" with us. This opportunity was highlighted by about a half an hour discourse by Eric while we all stood slack-jawed in awe.

Let's just say Eric has a "certain way with words" and a presence that fills a room, not unlike a talented actor might have. He is a very charismatic person, no doubt. Well,anyway, he got on with a bit about NAHBS and how the "Industry" sends their minions to the show with cameras in hand to basically "rip off" ideas from the hand made bicycle builders which then appear on new bicycles the following year. Eric was pointing out how "fat road" was one of these ideas, (but certainly not the only one). Okay, while you can say what you will about Mr. Noren, I believe he has a point worth considering.

Surprisingly, (or maybe not), there weren't too many of these at NAHBS

Look at this years show. I'm willing to bet that if you wade through the mainstream media photo galleries you will note the term "fat tired road bike", or "fat road" used a lot.  If what Eric says is true, you will be seeing more of that in the future at bike shops.

The other thing, which was maybe obvious to predict, was the multitude of ways that builders were integrating Di2 into their designs. I suspect some tricks used at NAHBS will be showing up on mainstream bikes soon that reflect this.

My take on the show, (other than the fact that it is over the top), was that besides the fat road bikes, I saw touring, adventure, and off road bikes make a big impact this year. It wasn't the urban/fixie heavy show that it has been in the past, but those bikes were certainly well represented. That may be a trend, or it may be just a reflection of the locales of the attending builders, due to the far west location of the event this year. I can not say, but I do not recall so many 29"ers, as a for instance, being shown in quite a few years. Add to this the off road adventure bikes like the Hunter single speed drop bar bike, and the Ahearn fat bike and you can see a different flavor to the event than it had at Austin last year.

I liked the detail of Ira Ryan's city bike/trailer combination. The more I looked at the photos of it, the more impressed I was by it, (although the ax insignia on the top tube plate was a bit baffling for me), and this bike deservedly won an award at the show this year. I also liked the Gallus classic inspired 650B full rigid mountain bike. It was just really cool.

Rick Hunter of Hunter Cycles definitely was one of my favorites this year with his "Dirt Tour" bike and a killer orange 29"er. Great looking and practical bicycles. I also liked the Cielo Mountain Bike, which was a grey and black 29"er. very classy! Components were highlighted and Paul Components really opened up my eyes with a new 170OLD hub for fat bikes featuring Industry 9 guts. They also showed some trick looking "Mini-Moto" linear pull brakes to work with "fat road" bikes.

Okay, that's what I saw that was of interest. What did you like, or not?

NAHBS: So, What Did You Think?

All City fat tire roadie: A result of NAHBS?

NAHBS, or the "North American Handmade Bicycle Show" just concluded yesterday in Sacramento, California. It's a "big deal" for cycling nerds in the same way that SXSW is for music, film, and interactive nerds, so if you haven't heard of it, don't feel bad. It's only a thin slice of humanity that even gives a rip about this stuff. But for those who pay attention, it is like the Detroit Auto Show for cycling, but without all the cash, and show girls, and hutzpah. Anyway...

On Frostbike weekend, I went to The Cutters Ball III which was held in the building where Eric Noren of Peacock Groove does his frame building. He had his NAHBS show bike frames all displayed in his office. We got there early enough that Eric was able to spend some "quality time" with us. This opportunity was highlighted by about a half an hour discourse by Eric while we all stood slack-jawed in awe.

Let's just say Eric has a "certain way with words" and a presence that fills a room, not unlike a talented actor might have. He is a very charismatic person, no doubt. Well,anyway, he got on with a bit about NAHBS and how the "Industry" sends their minions to the show with cameras in hand to basically "rip off" ideas from the hand made bicycle builders which then appear on new bicycles the following year. Eric was pointing out how "fat road" was one of these ideas, (but certainly not the only one). Okay, while you can say what you will about Mr. Noren, I believe he has a point worth considering.

Surprisingly, (or maybe not), there weren't too many of these at NAHBS

Look at this years show. I'm willing to bet that if you wade through the mainstream media photo galleries you will note the term "fat tired road bike", or "fat road" used a lot.  If what Eric says is true, you will be seeing more of that in the future at bike shops.

The other thing, which was maybe obvious to predict, was the multitude of ways that builders were integrating Di2 into their designs. I suspect some tricks used at NAHBS will be showing up on mainstream bikes soon that reflect this.

My take on the show, (other than the fact that it is over the top), was that besides the fat road bikes, I saw touring, adventure, and off road bikes make a big impact this year. It wasn't the urban/fixie heavy show that it has been in the past, but those bikes were certainly well represented. That may be a trend, or it may be just a reflection of the locales of the attending builders, due to the far west location of the event this year. I can not say, but I do not recall so many 29"ers, as a for instance, being shown in quite a few years. Add to this the off road adventure bikes like the Hunter single speed drop bar bike, and the Ahearn fat bike and you can see a different flavor to the event than it had at Austin last year.

I liked the detail of Ira Ryan's city bike/trailer combination. The more I looked at the photos of it, the more impressed I was by it, (although the ax insignia on the top tube plate was a bit baffling for me), and this bike deservedly won an award at the show this year. I also liked the Gallus classic inspired 650B full rigid mountain bike. It was just really cool.

Rick Hunter of Hunter Cycles definitely was one of my favorites this year with his "Dirt Tour" bike and a killer orange 29"er. Great looking and practical bicycles. I also liked the Cielo Mountain Bike, which was a grey and black 29"er. very classy! Components were highlighted and Paul Components really opened up my eyes with a new 170OLD hub for fat bikes featuring Industry 9 guts. They also showed some trick looking "Mini-Moto" linear pull brakes to work with "fat road" bikes.

Okay, that's what I saw that was of interest. What did you like, or not?