People Of 2024: "The Northfield Crew"

 In my travels and life during the year, I have been blessed to be supported, befriended, and on occasion visited by some pretty awesome folks. Sometimes I visited them. (Hopefully they were equally blessed!) I wanted to take some extra space to recognize and celebrate these people at the end of the year. I hope you gain some insight and appreciation for what these people mean to me this year and beyond. 

The "Northfield Crew" that took me in and made my trip to Stillwater Oklahoma a reality on their way out to ride Mid-South

Last I left off with this series I mentioned that Erik Mathy was largely responsible for the whole bike/Mid-South idea. Well, if Erik could be called the instigator, then the fellows from Northfield, Minnesota were the enablers of this idea. At least partially. There was a bicycle welded up by King Fabrications that figured heavily into all of this as well. 

But even with a bicycle made, I was not getting any closer to going to Mid-South without these fine fellows from Northfield. I call them "The Northfield Crew", but they consisted of long time friends Ben Witt, Marty Larson, Justin Michaels, and new acquaintance Michael Lemkuhl. These guys went waaaaaay outta there way to accommodate me, take me in as if I were one of them, and they made me feel wanted there with them. This is especially cool when you realize that this little group had been taking in Mid-South on their own for a few years before this trip. I was a definite "outsider", but trust me - I was never made to feel that way.

Ben Witt (R) and Michael Lemkuhl in the Heywood Ride booth. Image by M Larson.

Again, I spent a lot of time with these guys. Traveling, eating, sleeping, hanging out, and riding as well. There were plenty of opportunities for friction, but that never raised its head, if it were there at all, and that is a testament to these guy's characters. I am forever in their debt!

And as well, I was able to meet with a lot of friends that these guys had made in previous visits to Mid-South, so that was another thing they brought to me. It was an enriching and satisfying experience all around because of this. 

So, shout out to the Northfield Crew! Thank you again, and know that I appreciate you all very much. 2024 would not have been the same without you all!

The Northfield Connection

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

 The year 2011 was a big one, as many were, but on the blog there was a theme that ran from one end of 2011 to the other. That would be my appearances in Northfield, Minnesota. I made several trips Northward during that year, and such was the influence of those trips that there were some serious conversations being held at the Guitar Ted Headquarters about possibly moving North. 

A "mutt bike" built for screwing around inside Mike's Bikes.

There was the trip for Frostbike. By now an annual trip that I looked forward to with great anticipation. The best part being the visiting with locals at Mike's Bikes with Ben Witt, Marty Larson, and some other locals who rotated through the years including Stuart and John, not to mention Mike himself. 

Those were some times! Shenanigans and tomfoolery of the highest degree were accomplished within those walls at Mike's and sometimes outside of them as well. 

Then there was the criterium at Northfield that I went up to help Ben with. We got in a fun gravel ride to the chapel and I got to hang out with Ben's father, Mark, and drive his classic Mustang convertible, plus ride around in a split window 63 Vette. 

There was the trip to Northfield again on Labor Day weekend which was another cool hang and on this occasion I built my wheels for the Snow dog and went on an urban/country combo ride that was a blast. 

The June gravel grinder to the chapel outside of Northfield.

Through it all I was feeling drawn into the Northfield community and friends like Ben and Marty who lived there did nothing to dissuade this. In fact, Ben kept trying to speak it into existence. It was an attractive thought and even Mrs. Guitar Ted was entertaining thoughts of moving to Northfield at one point. 

However; it was not to be. There were a lot of reasons for that, one being that Mrs. Guitar Ted was finishing up her Master's degree and another being that I would have to find new employment. That might be a problem since then I most likely would have had to have given up Trans Iowa, doing my side gig as a reviewer, and it would have impacted my ability to be there for my kids when they went to school and when they got out of school. Financially all of that also did not add up for us either.

Ben Witt clears some rails with his Mukluk fat bike in 2011.

Could we have moved anyway, made it work somehow, and had a different but still awesome life? No doubt, we could have, but at what cost? I don't know. Comfort is the enemy of adventure, but maybe we were wise to stick around in Iowa. 

All I know is that this blog would have been radically different had I moved and who knows if I would even still be writing it today? Life takes you in strange curves and turns sometimes, but in this instance, it was but a dream. Fun to have considered it, but a dream nonetheless.

Remembering Shenanigans

From 2010's Frostbike 'show'- Back when Frostbike was cool.

 From about 2003 until 2015, I attended the annual Frostbike dealer open house, as it used to be called, every year. In the beginning it was merely a day-trip with my former boss to go see what was new for the coming year in components, mostly, from vendors that Quality Bicycle Products distributed. 

These first few trips to Frostbike were mainly boring affairs as my former boss wasn't very socially adept and really shied away from interactions with 'strangers' that weren't interested in giving him the limelight. Now on occasion he would find a willing subject which he would then assail with half-baked tales of 1980's era crit racing. That was always my cue to escape and ferret out new friends, new stuff, and to just generally poke around. 

Then things changed around about 2006 when I started attending Frostbike on my own. I got the shop invite and just drove up myself and did whatever I wanted. Blogging here and my association with Trans Iowa and "Twentynine Inches.com" gave me access to more people and places. During this time I met Ben Witt, Marty Larson, Jason Boucher, Mike Reimer, and several other QBP people. This was the start of the "Years Of Shenanigans" at Frostbike. And let me tell ya....it was insanity! 

Frostbike generally happened mid-February, so last weekend would probably have been about right, except this year that was Valentine's Day, so maybe this weekend would have been the weekend? I don't know, of course, as I haven't been to Frostbike since 2015. I'm sure QBP's legal and PR departments are quite happy that I no longer come up. Especially after that last year I went! 

Mike, of Mike's Bikes in Northfield, Minnesota, checking out my new Singular Gryphon in 2010

Of course, most of my shenanigans weren't at Frostbike at all, honestly. No, they happened in Northfield, Minnesota at a bike shop which no longer exists anymore called Mike's Bikes. Mike, the owner, was a former resident of San Francisco, (or that vicinity) back in the 70's and worked as a bicycle mechanic during the days of the early klunker experiments. He rode with Gary Fisher and Charlie Kelly and had a few great stories about them. He even had his own klunker which he grafted old Shimano disc brakes to! (I saw the pictures)

You may have seen that reproductions of these are available now. Well, these are The Originals! Seen at Mike's Bikes in 2009.

Mike's Bikes was the Center of Shenanigans. Ben, Marty, myself, and usually a few others would gather there on the Friday evening or Saturday evening of Frostbike weekend. Greek style pizzas and lots of beers were brought in. Old collectable bikes were brought out, and a 'track' of sorts was set up. We could speed through Mike's from the front, retail area, through the shop, up a ramp, make a hard left into the storage/office/back room, another hard left through a doorway, down a ramp in a hallway, through another door that was propped open, and then down a longer hallway to the final hard left and back into the retail space. Mike's was all concrete flooring, so grip wasn't an issue and carpeting wasn't going to hold us back either. 

Food + beers + bicycles + inebriated riders going waaaaay too fast = mayhem sometimes. You wouldn't believe how fast we'd get going! It was a blast! Between sessions we'd repair to the back room and drink and yak until we'd all had enough and we would wander off to our beds, for far too little sleep and an early morning. This happened several years and was a big part of why I loved Frostbike weekend.

I got to attend the Grand Opening night of the Angry Catfish bicycle shop.

There were extra-curricular activities as well throughout those years. I was honored to attend several functions, like the opening of the Angry Catfish bicycle shop, and a few "Cutter's Ball" events which were held in various venues. One being the Peacock Groove headquarters. The final shindig was a big affair at a motel in downtown Minneapolis. I remember crashing one shindig for QBP's top dealers held upstairs in the QBP facility. I was snuck in and had to 'hide out' in the cubicle farm with some other "Q" folk until the coast was clear. Good times! 

There were late nights at bars in Northfield, walking around at night through snowy streets as we went from place to place attending affairs and parties. There was the infamous night when I illegally parked Jason Boucher's Honda Element across from One on One Bicycle Studio and got it towed, which cost hundreds of dollars to rectify. There was the assault on the parking ramp, where myself and several others were risking life and limb to short-cut a way to somewhere we thought we needed to be. All at the risk of falling several stories in a concrete jungle. There was the one year when Mrs. Guitar Ted and I ended up driving on a closed to traffic I-35 during an all-out blizzard. But the most notorious dumb deed has to be when I attended Frostbike the last time, and this one ended up being my swan song of sorts. 

About halfway back- I started on 7th downtown Minneapolis!

That would have been my infamous "walking tour of Minneapolis" which I undertook during a snow storm at night in 17° weather wearing nothing but a stocking hat and a red Raleigh Tamland hoodie besides my normal street clothes. 

The situation was that I was to meet Ben Welnak, my then new partner in RidingGravel.com, at the downtown Minneapolis motel where Frostbike was having a big dinner/awards ceremony.  My family came along and we had a motel procured near QBP just off of I-495 in Bloomington, quite a ways South of the 7th and Nicolette area where I was dropped off early in the evening. The family went back to the motel, while the plan for me was to get a ride from Ben after the evening's activities were done.

Well, drinking ensued and Ben had more than enough, and wandered off with a group of folks somewhere when I wasn't looking. I was left with a few acquaintances and figured I better stay put until Ben came back to find me. Well......that never happened. One thing led to another, 'bar time' came and went, people went to their rooms, and I was left alone in a lobby of a strange motel at about 3:00am with no Ben, and no way to get home without incurring the wrath of Mrs. Guitar Ted, who was most likely sleeping by this time. 

So, using my much clouded powers of wisdom, I determined by looking at my dying iPhone with its map app, that I could "easily walk that distance back to the motel!", and so I memorized a basic route, and set off a walkin' South on Nicolette Avenue. Snow, cold, and time to come to my senses eventually shocked me to the reality that I had gotten myself into quite a pickle. My tennis shoe clad feet were getting frozen, my body was in early stages of hypothermia, and the Sun was broaching the Eastern skyline. I was within about a mile or so of my destination by this time though, so I gutted it out and went as far as the infrastructure of interstate roadways would let me. Finally, I had to declare 'no mas!' and I called my wife with my last bit of battery power on the phone. She retrieved me, with a stern scolding,and I got back to the motel by around 8:00am and went directly to sleep. 

I missed the entire first day of Frostbike, since I slept in till about 6:00pm, and I went in on Sunday. People found me and I had several concerned folks giving me what-for and reminding me that I could call for help anytime. Jason Boucher being probably the most adamant in this regard as I remember him poking me in the chest as he admonished me for my previous evening's shenanigans. Word had obviously spread far and wide about "Guitar Ted's Walking Tour of Minneapolis", an approximately 12 mile hike of dubious wisdom overnight in the snow and cold. 

 Yeah, that was a good way to leave it. No more shenanigans at Frostbike for me!

Someday I'll have to do a more thorough retrospective of things I saw at Frostbike. That can wait for another time....

Remembering Shenanigans

From 2010's Frostbike 'show'- Back when Frostbike was cool.

 From about 2003 until 2015, I attended the annual Frostbike dealer open house, as it used to be called, every year. In the beginning it was merely a day-trip with my former boss to go see what was new for the coming year in components, mostly, from vendors that Quality Bicycle Products distributed. 

These first few trips to Frostbike were mainly boring affairs as my former boss wasn't very socially adept and really shied away from interactions with 'strangers' that weren't interested in giving him the limelight. Now on occasion he would find a willing subject which he would then assail with half-baked tales of 1980's era crit racing. That was always my cue to escape and ferret out new friends, new stuff, and to just generally poke around. 

Then things changed around about 2006 when I started attending Frostbike on my own. I got the shop invite and just drove up myself and did whatever I wanted. Blogging here and my association with Trans Iowa and "Twentynine Inches.com" gave me access to more people and places. During this time I met Ben Witt, Marty Larson, Jason Boucher, Mike Reimer, and several other QBP people. This was the start of the "Years Of Shenanigans" at Frostbike. And let me tell ya....it was insanity! 

Frostbike generally happened mid-February, so last weekend would probably have been about right, except this year that was Valentine's Day, so maybe this weekend would have been the weekend? I don't know, of course, as I haven't been to Frostbike since 2015. I'm sure QBP's legal and PR departments are quite happy that I no longer come up. Especially after that last year I went! 

Mike, of Mike's Bikes in Northfield, Minnesota, checking out my new Singular Gryphon in 2010

Of course, most of my shenanigans weren't at Frostbike at all, honestly. No, they happened in Northfield, Minnesota at a bike shop which no longer exists anymore called Mike's Bikes. Mike, the owner, was a former resident of San Francisco, (or that vicinity) back in the 70's and worked as a bicycle mechanic during the days of the early klunker experiments. He rode with Gary Fisher and Charlie Kelly and had a few great stories about them. He even had his own klunker which he grafted old Shimano disc brakes to! (I saw the pictures)

You may have seen that reproductions of these are available now. Well, these are The Originals! Seen at Mike's Bikes in 2009.

Mike's Bikes was the Center of Shenanigans. Ben, Marty, myself, and usually a few others would gather there on the Friday evening or Saturday evening of Frostbike weekend. Greek style pizzas and lots of beers were brought in. Old collectable bikes were brought out, and a 'track' of sorts was set up. We could speed through Mike's from the front, retail area, through the shop, up a ramp, make a hard left into the storage/office/back room, another hard left through a doorway, down a ramp in a hallway, through another door that was propped open, and then down a longer hallway to the final hard left and back into the retail space. Mike's was all concrete flooring, so grip wasn't an issue and carpeting wasn't going to hold us back either. 

Food + beers + bicycles + inebriated riders going waaaaay too fast = mayhem sometimes. You wouldn't believe how fast we'd get going! It was a blast! Between sessions we'd repair to the back room and drink and yak until we'd all had enough and we would wander off to our beds, for far too little sleep and an early morning. This happened several years and was a big part of why I loved Frostbike weekend.

I got to attend the Grand Opening night of the Angry Catfish bicycle shop.

There were extra-curricular activities as well throughout those years. I was honored to attend several functions, like the opening of the Angry Catfish bicycle shop, and a few "Cutter's Ball" events which were held in various venues. One being the Peacock Groove headquarters. The final shindig was a big affair at a motel in downtown Minneapolis. I remember crashing one shindig for QBP's top dealers held upstairs in the QBP facility. I was snuck in and had to 'hide out' in the cubicle farm with some other "Q" folk until the coast was clear. Good times! 

There were late nights at bars in Northfield, walking around at night through snowy streets as we went from place to place attending affairs and parties. There was the infamous night when I illegally parked Jason Boucher's Honda Element across from One on One Bicycle Studio and got it towed, which cost hundreds of dollars to rectify. There was the assault on the parking ramp, where myself and several others were risking life and limb to short-cut a way to somewhere we thought we needed to be. All at the risk of falling several stories in a concrete jungle. There was the one year when Mrs. Guitar Ted and I ended up driving on a closed to traffic I-35 during an all-out blizzard. But the most notorious dumb deed has to be when I attended Frostbike the last time, and this one ended up being my swan song of sorts. 

About halfway back- I started on 7th downtown Minneapolis!

That would have been my infamous "walking tour of Minneapolis" which I undertook during a snow storm at night in 17° weather wearing nothing but a stocking hat and a red Raleigh Tamland hoodie besides my normal street clothes. 

The situation was that I was to meet Ben Welnak, my then new partner in RidingGravel.com, at the downtown Minneapolis motel where Frostbike was having a big dinner/awards ceremony.  My family came along and we had a motel procured near QBP just off of I-495 in Bloomington, quite a ways South of the 7th and Nicolette area where I was dropped off early in the evening. The family went back to the motel, while the plan for me was to get a ride from Ben after the evening's activities were done.

Well, drinking ensued and Ben had more than enough, and wandered off with a group of folks somewhere when I wasn't looking. I was left with a few acquaintances and figured I better stay put until Ben came back to find me. Well......that never happened. One thing led to another, 'bar time' came and went, people went to their rooms, and I was left alone in a lobby of a strange motel at about 3:00am with no Ben, and no way to get home without incurring the wrath of Mrs. Guitar Ted, who was most likely sleeping by this time. 

So, using my much clouded powers of wisdom, I determined by looking at my dying iPhone with its map app, that I could "easily walk that distance back to the motel!", and so I memorized a basic route, and set off a walkin' South on Nicolette Avenue. Snow, cold, and time to come to my senses eventually shocked me to the reality that I had gotten myself into quite a pickle. My tennis shoe clad feet were getting frozen, my body was in early stages of hypothermia, and the Sun was broaching the Eastern skyline. I was within about a mile or so of my destination by this time though, so I gutted it out and went as far as the infrastructure of interstate roadways would let me. Finally, I had to declare 'no mas!' and I called my wife with my last bit of battery power on the phone. She retrieved me, with a stern scolding,and I got back to the motel by around 8:00am and went directly to sleep. 

I missed the entire first day of Frostbike, since I slept in till about 6:00pm, and I went in on Sunday. People found me and I had several concerned folks giving me what-for and reminding me that I could call for help anytime. Jason Boucher being probably the most adamant in this regard as I remember him poking me in the chest as he admonished me for my previous evening's shenanigans. Word had obviously spread far and wide about "Guitar Ted's Walking Tour of Minneapolis", an approximately 12 mile hike of dubious wisdom overnight in the snow and cold. 

 Yeah, that was a good way to leave it. No more shenanigans at Frostbike for me!

Someday I'll have to do a more thorough retrospective of things I saw at Frostbike. That can wait for another time....

Gravel Grinder News: Changes At The Almanzo

Changes with the Almanzo may result in a new name.

NOTICE! This story has been updated on 12/9/19 to reflect new information. This post will be updated again if/when anything new and significant should be added here. 

Since 2007 there has been a gravel road event called "Almanzo", but that seems set to change in 2020. The Almanzo has had a turbulent past year-plus where it has seen a change in venue and a change in its leadership.

A brief recap of events to bring you up to speed here:

The chain of events started with the original founder of the Almanzo 100, Chris Skogen, announcing in August of 2018, that he was taking over the reins as the organizer of the Almanzo events. This after three years of being "retired" from organizing the events which traditionally have been held the weekend after Mother's Day in Spring Valley. Then, in a bombshell announcement in November of 2018, Skogen announced that the event was leaving Spring Valley due to some communications and requirements from officials in Spring Valley that seemed to be untenable to Mr. Skogen. The Almanzo events (100, 165, and 380 mile events) were moved from Spring Valley, Minnesota to Northfield, Minnesota, requiring all new courses for the three traditional event distances plus the addition of a 50 mile event which was added as well. 

 Shortly before the 2019 events, Skogen announced that all the Almanzo events were not going to be timed and scored, and that there would be no number plates issued to riders. This announcement produced a flurry of both supportive and negative reactions. Skogen then, according to my contacts that saw it, posted a Facebook video claiming that the negative comments were inflicting too much stress and that 2019 would be the last year for the Alamnzo. That video was pulled down within an hour of its posting. Then the following day, Skogen posted on Facebook saying that he stood by his decision to eliminate timing and scoring and to not issue bib numbers since it was "a barrier to participation". Skogen then went on to cite the failing of bicycle businesses and falling participation in events as a reason for this decision to stand.

Finally, at the start line of the Almanzo, Skogen introduced the new RD of the event, Marty Larson, and said he was bowing out of the Almanzo altogether after 2019. This was all that happened then and the events went off as planned. 

Mr. Skogen's post to the thread mentioned below confirming his exit from Almanzo

Due to the sudden pulling of the event from Spring Valley, Minnesota, an event was proposed and run there, on the "original" (Spring Valley) Almanzo course and was facilitated by Drew Wilson, a man from Southeast Minnesota that had been putting on some events previous to this on his own. Spring Valley embraced this event and it went off well, according to reports I have seen. It is not known whether this event is set to happen again in 2020. UPDATED 12/14/19:   See Keep Gravel Weird and SV Visitors Bureau sites for updates.  I heard from Mr. Wilson, via e-mail, and he indicated that the event is named "The Spring Valley 100" and it will occur on June 6th, 2020 with City involvement and a "great after-party".


Okay, that's "the history", now for the "news'....... 

From a Facebook post on a Minnesota gravel page seen over Labor Day weekend.

 It does appear that the Northfield events are going to happen again, on the traditional Almanzo dates, but the name of those events are in question. In fact, whether there are multiple distances is a detail we do not know yet.  UPDATED 12/9/19: According to the event director, Marty Larson, I learned in a phone call from him that the event will be known as The Heywood, and that all four distances offered for the 2019 Almanzo, 50, 100, 162, 1nd 380, would also be offered for The Heywood. More details soon.


  Mr. Larson posted that the event would "maintain the ethos of Almanzo, but under a new name". Co-event director , Ben Witt, also added to this by indicating The Heywood would not be a re-hash of the Almanzo. So, based upon that, it would appear that the "Almanzo" is over, and that a new event, with the new name, The Heywood, using the same "ethos" as Almanzo's did, will occur based out of Northfield. Minnesota on May 16th-17th, 2020. 

Furthermore, speculation that this was "going corporate", was quelled when Mr. Larson posted that it was "just two guys with a passion for getting folks on bikes" that would be putting this on. This is an interesting point because at one time in the Almanzo's history, it was told to me by a person intimate with the details, that the Almanzo was offered to become a part of the Life Time Fitness group of events. That never happened, obviously, and it appears nothing of the sort will in the near future. 

Details and a new site for information are promised on The Heywood. Since, in fact, it is not named Almanzo, it will mark the end of the run of events under that name. A name which had been synonymous with "grassroots gravel" and the name of the event which was touted as the "Granddaddy of all Gravel Events" by several publications which feted the event in their pages and on their sites.  

Comments & Opinions: Okay, my take is that the tumultuous twists and turns regarding the Almanzo look to have brought this particular incarnation of a gravel event to an inglorious end. That the name looks to be "retired", I feel, is a good thing at this point. Disregarding the actions of Mr. Skogen, a change in leadership of the events is, perhaps, a good time to switch names, and especially so since the classic "Almanzo" course did not emanate from Northfield. That Spring Valley based course is, for good or bad, cemented into many people's minds as "the Almanzo", and no substitutes will be the same.

Keeping elements of the ideals from the Almanzo is in the The Heywood's  best interest, as the ideals which were promoted by the Almanzo event's former director, Chris Skogen, were what made the spirit of the Almanzo 100 what it was. And in fact, that "spirit" took on a life all its own without Mr. Skogen at the helm while the Almanzo was run for a few years by the Spring Valley Tourism Board.  So, I think having those ideals as the backbone of whatever they come up with in Northfield is a good idea.

So, it would appear that, if the Spring Valley based event happens again in 2020, gravel enthusiasts can partake in what once was the "Almanzo" and in a new event in Northfield called The Heywood based upon ideals set forth by Mr. Skogen. If, in fact, these two events can accomplish this, it is, in a way, an evolution. An evolution of what was once the "Grandaddy of all Gravel Events" into two, new options, which hopefully will carry forward an important part of grassroots gravel events into the future. 

UPDATED 2/6/20: The Heywood Ride releases details and new website:  https://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/2020/02/gravel-grinder-news-flash-heywood-ride.html 

The Heywood Ride 

Gravel Grinder News: Changes At The Almanzo

Changes with the Almanzo may result in a new name.

NOTICE! This story has been updated on 12/9/19 to reflect new information. This post will be updated again if/when anything new and significant should be added here. 

Since 2007 there has been a gravel road event called "Almanzo", but that seems set to change in 2020. The Almanzo has had a turbulent past year-plus where it has seen a change in venue and a change in its leadership.

A brief recap of events to bring you up to speed here:

The chain of events started with the original founder of the Almanzo 100, Chris Skogen, announcing in August of 2018, that he was taking over the reins as the organizer of the Almanzo events. This after three years of being "retired" from organizing the events which traditionally have been held the weekend after Mother's Day in Spring Valley. Then, in a bombshell announcement in November of 2018, Skogen announced that the event was leaving Spring Valley due to some communications and requirements from officials in Spring Valley that seemed to be untenable to Mr. Skogen. The Almanzo events (100, 165, and 380 mile events) were moved from Spring Valley, Minnesota to Northfield, Minnesota, requiring all new courses for the three traditional event distances plus the addition of a 50 mile event which was added as well. 

 Shortly before the 2019 events, Skogen announced that all the Almanzo events were not going to be timed and scored, and that there would be no number plates issued to riders. This announcement produced a flurry of both supportive and negative reactions. Skogen then, according to my contacts that saw it, posted a Facebook video claiming that the negative comments were inflicting too much stress and that 2019 would be the last year for the Alamnzo. That video was pulled down within an hour of its posting. Then the following day, Skogen posted on Facebook saying that he stood by his decision to eliminate timing and scoring and to not issue bib numbers since it was "a barrier to participation". Skogen then went on to cite the failing of bicycle businesses and falling participation in events as a reason for this decision to stand.

Finally, at the start line of the Almanzo, Skogen introduced the new RD of the event, Marty Larson, and said he was bowing out of the Almanzo altogether after 2019. This was all that happened then and the events went off as planned. 

Mr. Skogen's post to the thread mentioned below confirming his exit from Almanzo

Due to the sudden pulling of the event from Spring Valley, Minnesota, an event was proposed and run there, on the "original" (Spring Valley) Almanzo course and was facilitated by Drew Wilson, a man from Southeast Minnesota that had been putting on some events previous to this on his own. Spring Valley embraced this event and it went off well, according to reports I have seen. It is not known whether this event is set to happen again in 2020. UPDATED 12/14/19:   See Keep Gravel Weird and SV Visitors Bureau sites for updates.  I heard from Mr. Wilson, via e-mail, and he indicated that the event is named "The Spring Valley 100" and it will occur on June 6th, 2020 with City involvement and a "great after-party".


Okay, that's "the history", now for the "news'....... 

From a Facebook post on a Minnesota gravel page seen over Labor Day weekend.

 It does appear that the Northfield events are going to happen again, on the traditional Almanzo dates, but the name of those events are in question. In fact, whether there are multiple distances is a detail we do not know yet.  UPDATED 12/9/19: According to the event director, Marty Larson, I learned in a phone call from him that the event will be known as The Heywood, and that all four distances offered for the 2019 Almanzo, 50, 100, 162, 1nd 380, would also be offered for The Heywood. More details soon.


  Mr. Larson posted that the event would "maintain the ethos of Almanzo, but under a new name". Co-event director , Ben Witt, also added to this by indicating The Heywood would not be a re-hash of the Almanzo. So, based upon that, it would appear that the "Almanzo" is over, and that a new event, with the new name, The Heywood, using the same "ethos" as Almanzo's did, will occur based out of Northfield. Minnesota on May 16th-17th, 2020. 

Furthermore, speculation that this was "going corporate", was quelled when Mr. Larson posted that it was "just two guys with a passion for getting folks on bikes" that would be putting this on. This is an interesting point because at one time in the Almanzo's history, it was told to me by a person intimate with the details, that the Almanzo was offered to become a part of the Life Time Fitness group of events. That never happened, obviously, and it appears nothing of the sort will in the near future. 

Details and a new site for information are promised on The Heywood. Since, in fact, it is not named Almanzo, it will mark the end of the run of events under that name. A name which had been synonymous with "grassroots gravel" and the name of the event which was touted as the "Granddaddy of all Gravel Events" by several publications which feted the event in their pages and on their sites.  

Comments & Opinions: Okay, my take is that the tumultuous twists and turns regarding the Almanzo look to have brought this particular incarnation of a gravel event to an inglorious end. That the name looks to be "retired", I feel, is a good thing at this point. Disregarding the actions of Mr. Skogen, a change in leadership of the events is, perhaps, a good time to switch names, and especially so since the classic "Almanzo" course did not emanate from Northfield. That Spring Valley based course is, for good or bad, cemented into many people's minds as "the Almanzo", and no substitutes will be the same.

Keeping elements of the ideals from the Almanzo is in the The Heywood's  best interest, as the ideals which were promoted by the Almanzo event's former director, Chris Skogen, were what made the spirit of the Almanzo 100 what it was. And in fact, that "spirit" took on a life all its own without Mr. Skogen at the helm while the Almanzo was run for a few years by the Spring Valley Tourism Board.  So, I think having those ideals as the backbone of whatever they come up with in Northfield is a good idea.

So, it would appear that, if the Spring Valley based event happens again in 2020, gravel enthusiasts can partake in what once was the "Almanzo" and in a new event in Northfield called The Heywood based upon ideals set forth by Mr. Skogen. If, in fact, these two events can accomplish this, it is, in a way, an evolution. An evolution of what was once the "Grandaddy of all Gravel Events" into two, new options, which hopefully will carry forward an important part of grassroots gravel events into the future. 

UPDATED 2/6/20: The Heywood Ride releases details and new website:  https://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/2020/02/gravel-grinder-news-flash-heywood-ride.html 

The Heywood Ride 

Fixing What Ya Broke

Paying for last October's hooliganisms

Last October I went up to Northfield Minnesota and had an awesome time at the Fargo Reunion Ride. Well, I don;t know if I ever mentioned it here, but I done broke something on my Fargo that night. As I endoed off the front of my bike, I clipped the wing units of my Bar Yak System and broke them both in the process. Essentially, I ripped the fastener holes on the corner of both the left side and right side with only one fastener holding each wing on. Obviously, that wasn't going to fly for the ride the next day so I removed those bits and made do without them.

Of course, I had only really ever used the dang things once and that was on my Fat Bike Century Ride earlier in the month of October last year. I was a bit put out after the Fargo Reunion Ride when I let it sink in that the wing units were basically unusable in the state I caused them to be in during my alcohol fueled crashing. A plan of redemption had to be formulated that would not only repair the wing units, but make them better.

Of course,with Winter coming on and everything coming to a head before the air was just to cold to be cruising the gravel on happened, I put the project on the back burner. I had some RidingGravel.com stuff to attend to and more. The holidays came and went, and now I have some time to put a plan of action together to salvage the wing units.

The plan was to fashion some sort of small metal reinforcing plates that would be far more difficult to rip through than the basic foam/carbon layer that the wing units are made of. I guess in one way the "break-away" nature of the wing mounting plates is smart. Had the system been done how I am envisioning it, I may have a bit more bruising than I had. But at any rate, now I had to do something or I'd have nothing. Essentially, there were two 3-4mm holes drilled through the base plate at the corners and you attach those base plates with two 5mm Allen bolts. That screws into your Bar Yak extensions, which are pretty burly aluminum arms. The weakest link is that foam/carbon layer bit that the arm rests are attached to. Laying up some thin aluminum plate on both the top and bottom sides, drilled for the fasteners, should do the trick here.

I thought a while about what I could use when it dawned on me that I had a bit of aluminum license plate material laying around. Once I located that, the project took off. I fashioned two plates just wide enough to cover the needs for the job. I had to trim them up with my Dremel tool and final smoothing up and rounding off of burrs was done using a file. then I roughed up the mating surfaces with some coarse sand paper in preparation for gluing.

I laid on a thin bead of Gorilla Glue and clamped that in my vice for extra pressure. I have a couple pilot holes for the fasteners already drilled, but those will get enlarged to their final size once I have both plates on there and out of the vice. That'll be one side done. Then I have to get the other side going.

If it works- hey! That would be just great, but if it doesn't, well then I guess I will have to pay for another pair of new ones. Lesson learned! Don't break yer stuff!

Fixing What Ya Broke

Paying for last October's hooliganisms

Last October I went up to Northfield Minnesota and had an awesome time at the Fargo Reunion Ride. Well, I don;t know if I ever mentioned it here, but I done broke something on my Fargo that night. As I endoed off the front of my bike, I clipped the wing units of my Bar Yak System and broke them both in the process. Essentially, I ripped the fastener holes on the corner of both the left side and right side with only one fastener holding each wing on. Obviously, that wasn't going to fly for the ride the next day so I removed those bits and made do without them.

Of course, I had only really ever used the dang things once and that was on my Fat Bike Century Ride earlier in the month of October last year. I was a bit put out after the Fargo Reunion Ride when I let it sink in that the wing units were basically unusable in the state I caused them to be in during my alcohol fueled crashing. A plan of redemption had to be formulated that would not only repair the wing units, but make them better.

Of course,with Winter coming on and everything coming to a head before the air was just to cold to be cruising the gravel on happened, I put the project on the back burner. I had some RidingGravel.com stuff to attend to and more. The holidays came and went, and now I have some time to put a plan of action together to salvage the wing units.

The plan was to fashion some sort of small metal reinforcing plates that would be far more difficult to rip through than the basic foam/carbon layer that the wing units are made of. I guess in one way the "break-away" nature of the wing mounting plates is smart. Had the system been done how I am envisioning it, I may have a bit more bruising than I had. But at any rate, now I had to do something or I'd have nothing. Essentially, there were two 3-4mm holes drilled through the base plate at the corners and you attach those base plates with two 5mm Allen bolts. That screws into your Bar Yak extensions, which are pretty burly aluminum arms. The weakest link is that foam/carbon layer bit that the arm rests are attached to. Laying up some thin aluminum plate on both the top and bottom sides, drilled for the fasteners, should do the trick here.

I thought a while about what I could use when it dawned on me that I had a bit of aluminum license plate material laying around. Once I located that, the project took off. I fashioned two plates just wide enough to cover the needs for the job. I had to trim them up with my Dremel tool and final smoothing up and rounding off of burrs was done using a file. then I roughed up the mating surfaces with some coarse sand paper in preparation for gluing.

I laid on a thin bead of Gorilla Glue and clamped that in my vice for extra pressure. I have a couple pilot holes for the fasteners already drilled, but those will get enlarged to their final size once I have both plates on there and out of the vice. That'll be one side done. Then I have to get the other side going.

If it works- hey! That would be just great, but if it doesn't, well then I guess I will have to pay for another pair of new ones. Lesson learned! Don't break yer stuff!

Fargo Reunion Ride- Part 3

The roads got more familiar real quick as we left the silo stop.

The silo stop was a good regrouping, but I was feeling really well and not at all worried about how I was doing so far. Only the expectation of a possible Shady Lane climb was making me take pause for how I might do. Since there were no cues or data to help me know where the route was headed after the silo stop, I wasn't sure if we would be taking that climb in or not.

I did know that we would definitely be having more head wind sections, and that was an unknown as far as how I might handle that after such a rough evening the night before this ride. Otherwise, I was really okay with the winds. I mean, it seemed as though the first half of this year was so windy that riding with that was now "normal". In fact, the wind was never really anything more than another challenge all year. The same feeling prevailed for me at the Fargo Reunion Ride.

There was a turn into some familiar roads not long after getting going again. I was riding alongside Jason, so I asked if we were heading by the old ruins of the mill I remembered from six years ago. He confirmed that I was going to see that. The bonus that came long with that was that we were out of the wind altogether down in the river valley, which was a nice change for a bit. That and the scenery down there was quite nice as well. I was really enjoying this stretch, but I figured we would have a bit of a climb out at some point.

The old ruins.

There were a few stretches of chip seal that we were obliged to take.

Another charming, well preserved barn.

Sooner or later we were on a chip seal road and I was pretty sure it was the one that led to Shady Lane where the big climb was on the Rawland Route up a badly rutted, very steep Level B Maintenance Road. I was riding along with my friend Tony and I was telling him about it. Sure enough, we came up upon the entrance. I was pretty stoked. I got an image or two on the lower slopes of the climb, but once on the steepest part, it was all business until we reached the top where we all regrouped, rested, and set off again.

Shady Lane. Up around that bend things got downright steep and nasty for a bit.

Making our way against the wind on the way back to Nerstrand.

Once we got going on from the Shady Lane climb we found two more longer, steep climbs, but nothing on the order of the Shady Lane ascent. That was the only time all year I think I used the granny ring on the Fargo! We stopped a couple more times to regroup, and once when a few of us blew a turn. In all, it was slower going due to that and the wind for the last 20 miles or so, but we came in with a good time for the route of 44 miles.

Timothy and Ben chat as we awaited the turn missers.

Getting ready for a staged shot for Jason to take.

Martini photobombing my long shot of a hilly gravel road.

Eventually we rounded a corner and we were coming back in against a stiff Southerly wind which lead us to Nerstrand again. I decided that I would bag a shot of my bicycle in front of the Nerstrand cemetery gates, and Tony offered to take the shot with myself in it as well. So I set myself against the gate with my bike and Tony took this......

One for the album! (Image by Tony McGrane).

Tony's well worn Brooks Cambium

Ben was tuckered out at the end.

So we all made it, our bodies held up, and the wind did not defeat us. Timothy produced a bottle of bourbon which we had a celebratory pull from. Many went round the corner to get an energy drink and something to munch on. After some good fellowship, we all went our separate ways.

The Fargo Reunion Ride actually only had three Fargos on it. MG and my Gen I's and Tony's Gen 4. But as Jason and I mused as we were riding along, almost every single bike on the ride had been influenced by the Fargo. Either directly, as in the Vaya that was on the ride, or as with Jason's brand spanking new Deadwood, or indirectly, as with the All City bike, or as with Timothy's Van Dessel WTF. There was one Trek Boone and Martini's Singular Gryphon which did not get their influences from the Fargo. Obviously, the Gryphon is so like a Fargo one could be excused for thinking it was a copy. So, as with the bikes, all the folks there were somehow connected to the Fargo in some way.

I had a blast on this ride. The scenery is great, and the roads were a lot of fun to ride on. We did not have any mechanicals nor did we have any issues with anything, really, other than the missed turn. I have to get back up there to ride again sooner than I have. I think it has been since 2012 or so that I had ridden in the area.

That wasn't the end of my weekend by any stretch. I and my family did not come home until Sunday afternoon, but the ride itself was over. I am very glad I came.

Thank You: Jason Boucher, Ben, Meg, and Liam Witt. Martini, MG, and Tony. Special shout out to Justin The Younger for taking care of racking up the bikes and driving to a from the ride. The rest of the Fargo Reunion Riders. Thanks to Nerstrand and the Nerstrand Meat Market. And finally, thanks to Salsa Cycles for the Fargo model!

Fargo Reunion Ride- Part 3

The roads got more familiar real quick as we left the silo stop.

The silo stop was a good regrouping, but I was feeling really well and not at all worried about how I was doing so far. Only the expectation of a possible Shady Lane climb was making me take pause for how I might do. Since there were no cues or data to help me know where the route was headed after the silo stop, I wasn't sure if we would be taking that climb in or not.

I did know that we would definitely be having more head wind sections, and that was an unknown as far as how I might handle that after such a rough evening the night before this ride. Otherwise, I was really okay with the winds. I mean, it seemed as though the first half of this year was so windy that riding with that was now "normal". In fact, the wind was never really anything more than another challenge all year. The same feeling prevailed for me at the Fargo Reunion Ride.

There was a turn into some familiar roads not long after getting going again. I was riding alongside Jason, so I asked if we were heading by the old ruins of the mill I remembered from six years ago. He confirmed that I was going to see that. The bonus that came long with that was that we were out of the wind altogether down in the river valley, which was a nice change for a bit. That and the scenery down there was quite nice as well. I was really enjoying this stretch, but I figured we would have a bit of a climb out at some point.

The old ruins.

There were a few stretches of chip seal that we were obliged to take.

Another charming, well preserved barn.

Sooner or later we were on a chip seal road and I was pretty sure it was the one that led to Shady Lane where the big climb was on the Rawland Route up a badly rutted, very steep Level B Maintenance Road. I was riding along with my friend Tony and I was telling him about it. Sure enough, we came up upon the entrance. I was pretty stoked. I got an image or two on the lower slopes of the climb, but once on the steepest part, it was all business until we reached the top where we all regrouped, rested, and set off again.

Shady Lane. Up around that bend things got downright steep and nasty for a bit.

Making our way against the wind on the way back to Nerstrand.

Once we got going on from the Shady Lane climb we found two more longer, steep climbs, but nothing on the order of the Shady Lane ascent. That was the only time all year I think I used the granny ring on the Fargo! We stopped a couple more times to regroup, and once when a few of us blew a turn. In all, it was slower going due to that and the wind for the last 20 miles or so, but we came in with a good time for the route of 44 miles.

Timothy and Ben chat as we awaited the turn missers.

Getting ready for a staged shot for Jason to take.

Martini photobombing my long shot of a hilly gravel road.

Eventually we rounded a corner and we were coming back in against a stiff Southerly wind which lead us to Nerstrand again. I decided that I would bag a shot of my bicycle in front of the Nerstrand cemetery gates, and Tony offered to take the shot with myself in it as well. So I set myself against the gate with my bike and Tony took this......

One for the album! (Image by Tony McGrane).

Tony's well worn Brooks Cambium

Ben was tuckered out at the end.

So we all made it, our bodies held up, and the wind did not defeat us. Timothy produced a bottle of bourbon which we had a celebratory pull from. Many went round the corner to get an energy drink and something to munch on. After some good fellowship, we all went our separate ways.

The Fargo Reunion Ride actually only had three Fargos on it. MG and my Gen I's and Tony's Gen 4. But as Jason and I mused as we were riding along, almost every single bike on the ride had been influenced by the Fargo. Either directly, as in the Vaya that was on the ride, or as with Jason's brand spanking new Deadwood, or indirectly, as with the All City bike, or as with Timothy's Van Dessel WTF. There was one Trek Boone and Martini's Singular Gryphon which did not get their influences from the Fargo. Obviously, the Gryphon is so like a Fargo one could be excused for thinking it was a copy. So, as with the bikes, all the folks there were somehow connected to the Fargo in some way.

I had a blast on this ride. The scenery is great, and the roads were a lot of fun to ride on. We did not have any mechanicals nor did we have any issues with anything, really, other than the missed turn. I have to get back up there to ride again sooner than I have. I think it has been since 2012 or so that I had ridden in the area.

That wasn't the end of my weekend by any stretch. I and my family did not come home until Sunday afternoon, but the ride itself was over. I am very glad I came.

Thank You: Jason Boucher, Ben, Meg, and Liam Witt. Martini, MG, and Tony. Special shout out to Justin The Younger for taking care of racking up the bikes and driving to a from the ride. The rest of the Fargo Reunion Riders. Thanks to Nerstrand and the Nerstrand Meat Market. And finally, thanks to Salsa Cycles for the Fargo model!