It's Over - But It's Not Over Yet

 March of this year was looking to be a busy, busy month. N.Y. Roll and I had the C.O.G. 100 coming up fast. Last minute recon needed to be done, and things were coming together in that old familiar way for this guy who has put on events for 15 years. I was looking forward to all the reviewing and all the changes coming in the gravel scene. Then.......

Well, you know all about what came next. 

For the next three months I lived in great fear and a renewed sense of wonder simultaneously. On the one hand, I avoided people like crazy, washed and sanitized like my life depended upon it, (because that was the messaging then) and my only time out of the house besides work was to ride my bicycles in the country. 

Out there I found the wonder, the peace, the beauty of creation that had always been there, but which I hadn't really appreciated all that much. Not like I should have been. And I found escape. Escape from news, from politics, from people saying one thing, and then another. Escape from the fear and anxiety. There were times I never wanted to ride back home. 

The rides to work were weird. The normal crazy traffic was gone. I almost didn't have to look for cars. There was a quietness that was unprecedented. It was the missing din of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. People were staying home, and the effects on the outdoors was immense. I actually found this aspect of what happened really nice, actually. 

There was something about April and May that I miss. Not the fear and anxiety part, but there was a peace over the land and everyone had slowed waaaaay down. The pace of life seemed much more manageable to me, anyway. Maybe not to you and others. I liked that part of what happened too.

I spent a little more time tuning in to stuff like this.

Then May ended and so did the peaceful, slower pace of life. Folks eager to 'return to normal' made the highways busy again. Folks seemed to relax and go back to pretty much the way things were before with the caveat that there were none of the recreational/distractional facets of 'normal' life. Things like restaurants and movies, motels and amusements of all sorts- these were still discouraged. So, the focus changed to outdoors activities, including cycling, and the economy got hammered on that end while the 'normal' businesses were left hung out to dry. And then the political mayhem kicked in.

Presidential election years are something I disdain and I do not look forward to all the grandstanding, hearing the lies, and seeing all the money wasted on print ads and digital stuff. It's rather embarrassing from a national standpoint, not to mention extremely annoying to deal with. Schools were gearing up to bring students in and with a son still in public school, I had that fear and anxiety to deal with concerning his safety as well. Fall came and so did the higher numbers of cases and deaths caused by this plague. The weight of all this and having more concerns about myself and my family's safety was overwhelming. 

Winter is here now and we are still going through the dark valley. The days aren't just shorter, but the times are dimmer as well. People are struggling. Hope seems thin. Holiday seasons are rough enough for many of us without the extra weight of the rest of this nonsense.  So far, we're okay. I am still having rough days, as I am sure many of you out there are. 2020 may be over, but we're still needing to make our way. I'm reminded of an old John Mellencamp song these days:

"Now more than ever 

The world needs Love.

Not just a slogan

But the world needs Love

Now more than ever I can't stand alone

Now more than ever.

We've got a long ways to go yet to make it to the other side. I know I'll need encouragements and I know others will as well. Let's be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Going forward won't be easy and well........when was it ever? This is really just a different set of problems and obstacles to overcome or, at the least, be dealt with in a way that builds us up, as long as we build each other up as well. 

Tomorrow a New Year starts, but really, it's just an artificial marker. A boundary that doesn't really exist, we just believe that it does, so we make it real. We can make what we need to be real come to life in 2021. All we have to do is believe.

It's Over - But It's Not Over Yet

 March of this year was looking to be a busy, busy month. N.Y. Roll and I had the C.O.G. 100 coming up fast. Last minute recon needed to be done, and things were coming together in that old familiar way for this guy who has put on events for 15 years. I was looking forward to all the reviewing and all the changes coming in the gravel scene. Then.......

Well, you know all about what came next. 

For the next three months I lived in great fear and a renewed sense of wonder simultaneously. On the one hand, I avoided people like crazy, washed and sanitized like my life depended upon it, (because that was the messaging then) and my only time out of the house besides work was to ride my bicycles in the country. 

Out there I found the wonder, the peace, the beauty of creation that had always been there, but which I hadn't really appreciated all that much. Not like I should have been. And I found escape. Escape from news, from politics, from people saying one thing, and then another. Escape from the fear and anxiety. There were times I never wanted to ride back home. 

The rides to work were weird. The normal crazy traffic was gone. I almost didn't have to look for cars. There was a quietness that was unprecedented. It was the missing din of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. People were staying home, and the effects on the outdoors was immense. I actually found this aspect of what happened really nice, actually. 

There was something about April and May that I miss. Not the fear and anxiety part, but there was a peace over the land and everyone had slowed waaaaay down. The pace of life seemed much more manageable to me, anyway. Maybe not to you and others. I liked that part of what happened too.

I spent a little more time tuning in to stuff like this.

Then May ended and so did the peaceful, slower pace of life. Folks eager to 'return to normal' made the highways busy again. Folks seemed to relax and go back to pretty much the way things were before with the caveat that there were none of the recreational/distractional facets of 'normal' life. Things like restaurants and movies, motels and amusements of all sorts- these were still discouraged. So, the focus changed to outdoors activities, including cycling, and the economy got hammered on that end while the 'normal' businesses were left hung out to dry. And then the political mayhem kicked in.

Presidential election years are something I disdain and I do not look forward to all the grandstanding, hearing the lies, and seeing all the money wasted on print ads and digital stuff. It's rather embarrassing from a national standpoint, not to mention extremely annoying to deal with. Schools were gearing up to bring students in and with a son still in public school, I had that fear and anxiety to deal with concerning his safety as well. Fall came and so did the higher numbers of cases and deaths caused by this plague. The weight of all this and having more concerns about myself and my family's safety was overwhelming. 

Winter is here now and we are still going through the dark valley. The days aren't just shorter, but the times are dimmer as well. People are struggling. Hope seems thin. Holiday seasons are rough enough for many of us without the extra weight of the rest of this nonsense.  So far, we're okay. I am still having rough days, as I am sure many of you out there are. 2020 may be over, but we're still needing to make our way. I'm reminded of an old John Mellencamp song these days:

"Now more than ever 

The world needs Love.

Not just a slogan

But the world needs Love

Now more than ever I can't stand alone

Now more than ever.

We've got a long ways to go yet to make it to the other side. I know I'll need encouragements and I know others will as well. Let's be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Going forward won't be easy and well........when was it ever? This is really just a different set of problems and obstacles to overcome or, at the least, be dealt with in a way that builds us up, as long as we build each other up as well. 

Tomorrow a New Year starts, but really, it's just an artificial marker. A boundary that doesn't really exist, we just believe that it does, so we make it real. We can make what we need to be real come to life in 2021. All we have to do is believe.

Rear View '20: The Top Ten Posts of 2020

 The 15th year of the blog deserves to have a few different things done in celebration of not only what I did, but what you thought about the posts here this year. So, I thought it would be fun to rank the Top Ten posts from the blog during the calendar year 2020. These posts are ranked according to what Blogger stats tell me were the most read posts of the year. 

I'll start with #10 and work up to #1 and then I will put up what post I got the most feedback about, but isn't on the Top Ten List at all for reads. 

Now- On with the list!

#10: A Further Commentary On The Cummins/DK Story, June 23, 2020: 

Much of 2020 was marked by what happened to what was the event known as the "Dirty Kanza 200". Previously, before the turn of the calendar to 2020, back in 2018, it was announced that Life Time Fitness had purchased the Dirty Kanza 200 and its associated events. With that change in ownership, a new set of corporate driven decisions were possible concerning the event and its core principles. Not that anything was meant to change, but with new owners the reins had been handed over. 

This post was an explanation of how corporate decision making and culture trumps personal actions when it comes to public perceptions. It sought to explain 'cancel culture' in this particular instance, and it sought to show that - not only would the event's name have to be changed, but how that all would render this event something completely different going forward. When you 'cancel' your history you don't get to cherry pick elements you want to keep.  

#9: Gravel Grinder News: Dirty Kanza 200 Co-Founder Fired, June 20th, 2020:

Obviously #10 doesn't happen without this happening first and it slotted in at #9 for the most read post of 2020. Pretty self-explanatory here. All over a viewpoint shared on Jim Cummings personal Facebook page. This is representative of a lot of what is frustrating about 2020. But, what about calling people in instead of calling people out? Hmm..... (Some food for thought)

#8: A Concept Bike Revisited Part 4, February 6th, 2020: 

Around about 2011-2012 or so, I was dreaming up what I thought would make for a good gravel bike. This was a pretty deep dive, it was nerdery of the highest order. Then the Tamland happened and that put an end to that dreaming. Well, as I was wont to retire the Tamland going in to 2020, I picked up the thread and started reviewing several bikes I felt were right for me. Apparently, many people thought this was interesting as well. This post slots in at #8 for 2020. 

#7: Salsa Cycles Introduces The Rangefinder, February 1st, 2020:  

The press release machine never stops anymore these days when trade shows are pretty much a dead horse and consumer trade shows are non-existent, even pre-COVID. (Sea Otter notwithstanding) So, these days companies and brands along with marketing agencies often send news to "influential" sites, bloggers, Instagrammers, and the like in a way to get the word out. This post was pretty much my take on the Rangefinder 'range' of bikes introduced by Salsa Cycles along with some of the press release info. It slotted in at #7 for the most read posts of 2020.  

#6: The Elephant In The Room, March 12th, 2020:

On the eve of our World being upended by the pandemic, I wrote this post concerning gravel events for 2020. I asked why in the world no one was talking about just postponing, or even cancelling, the season's events. Obviously, the gravel community thought this was an important topic then, and it still is today. That's probably why it slots in at #6 on my most read posts for 2020. 

#5: A Concept Bike Revisited Part 3, January 28th, 2020: 

Another post from the four part series, this one looked at what materials I preferred in a gravel bike and why, with several examples reviewed. Apparently you readers like nerding out about bicycle stuff here. This put this post at #5 over-all for the year. 

#4: The New Job Announcement, January 7th, 2020: 

 The career of Guitar Ted apparently was of some interest to many readers as the announcement of my new job in January drew enough hits to place it comfortably in the #4 slot of the most popular posts for 2020. 

#3: Gravel Grinder News: DK200 Postponed, Cancelled.......Dead?, July 8th, 2020: 

Among the events cancelled for 2020, Life Time Events announced in early July that they were calling off any gravel events in Emporia Kansas for 2020. There was a move afoot to change the name of this event, which we know now has been done. It will move on as a new event called "Unbound Gravel".

New? Isn't this just going to be the DK200 renamed? I said this in July, "The Dirty Kanza 200 died as an event on July 7th, 2020. It's over folks." The rest of the third most popular post on the site for 2020 goes on to explain why I think this still is the case. 

#2: The State of the Gravel Scene 2020 Part 1: January 1st, 2020: 

Since 2018 I have made a "State of the Gravel Scene" proclamation on the site. Coming into 2020, it looked as though moves by a few major players in the gravel scene- Life Time Fitness, USAC, and a group of high profile promoters, were about to take the grassroots out of gravel and monetize, promote, and codify the scene into 'the next level'.  Basically replacing the old crit/road race scene with gravel events pushed more into what those old racers, promoters, business people, and influencers thought should be the "way things are done around here". I mentioned that I thought there were going to be a LOT of changes.

Boy howdy! Were there ever! Just not in the way I figured there would be. 

#1: The State of the Gravel Scene 2020 Part 2, January 2nd, 2020:  

I take on the notion that HPC's (otherwise known elsewhere as 'e-bikes') are going to bring in more participation in gravel events. I show how these types of motorized vehicles will be used to cheat to gain advantages, and that money to buy technology will actually decrease, not increase, rider participation. I ask what we are doing to reach marginalized and disadvantaged people and bring them into gravel riding, and that only an open heart to these folks and open minds as to how to get them out there really matters. No electrified bike is going to do that. It became my #1 most read post in 2020 by a country mile. 

And Now For The Most Impactful Post Of 2020: 

Once in a while, I get private messages or emails concerning what I have written and how it affects you- the readers of G-Ted Productions. This year, being what it has been, was rather trying and I did not escape this. I wrote a post that elicited a response of the sort that has not been seen by me before in all the years I have blogged. 

It was a risky post to make, but I felt so strongly about expressing these feelings that I just had to go ahead and publish it. That post was titled "Country Views: Learning To Fly", published on July 23rd, 2020.  

And that wraps up my look at posts that pulled the biggest numbers and best responses in 2020.   

Rear View '20: The Top Ten Posts of 2020

 The 15th year of the blog deserves to have a few different things done in celebration of not only what I did, but what you thought about the posts here this year. So, I thought it would be fun to rank the Top Ten posts from the blog during the calendar year 2020. These posts are ranked according to what Blogger stats tell me were the most read posts of the year. 

I'll start with #10 and work up to #1 and then I will put up what post I got the most feedback about, but isn't on the Top Ten List at all for reads. 

Now- On with the list!

#10: A Further Commentary On The Cummins/DK Story, June 23, 2020: 

Much of 2020 was marked by what happened to what was the event known as the "Dirty Kanza 200". Previously, before the turn of the calendar to 2020, back in 2018, it was announced that Life Time Fitness had purchased the Dirty Kanza 200 and its associated events. With that change in ownership, a new set of corporate driven decisions were possible concerning the event and its core principles. Not that anything was meant to change, but with new owners the reins had been handed over. 

This post was an explanation of how corporate decision making and culture trumps personal actions when it comes to public perceptions. It sought to explain 'cancel culture' in this particular instance, and it sought to show that - not only would the event's name have to be changed, but how that all would render this event something completely different going forward. When you 'cancel' your history you don't get to cherry pick elements you want to keep.  

#9: Gravel Grinder News: Dirty Kanza 200 Co-Founder Fired, June 20th, 2020:

Obviously #10 doesn't happen without this happening first and it slotted in at #9 for the most read post of 2020. Pretty self-explanatory here. All over a viewpoint shared on Jim Cummings personal Facebook page. This is representative of a lot of what is frustrating about 2020. But, what about calling people in instead of calling people out? Hmm..... (Some food for thought)

#8: A Concept Bike Revisited Part 4, February 6th, 2020: 

Around about 2011-2012 or so, I was dreaming up what I thought would make for a good gravel bike. This was a pretty deep dive, it was nerdery of the highest order. Then the Tamland happened and that put an end to that dreaming. Well, as I was wont to retire the Tamland going in to 2020, I picked up the thread and started reviewing several bikes I felt were right for me. Apparently, many people thought this was interesting as well. This post slots in at #8 for 2020. 

#7: Salsa Cycles Introduces The Rangefinder, February 1st, 2020:  

The press release machine never stops anymore these days when trade shows are pretty much a dead horse and consumer trade shows are non-existent, even pre-COVID. (Sea Otter notwithstanding) So, these days companies and brands along with marketing agencies often send news to "influential" sites, bloggers, Instagrammers, and the like in a way to get the word out. This post was pretty much my take on the Rangefinder 'range' of bikes introduced by Salsa Cycles along with some of the press release info. It slotted in at #7 for the most read posts of 2020.  

#6: The Elephant In The Room, March 12th, 2020:

On the eve of our World being upended by the pandemic, I wrote this post concerning gravel events for 2020. I asked why in the world no one was talking about just postponing, or even cancelling, the season's events. Obviously, the gravel community thought this was an important topic then, and it still is today. That's probably why it slots in at #6 on my most read posts for 2020. 

#5: A Concept Bike Revisited Part 3, January 28th, 2020: 

Another post from the four part series, this one looked at what materials I preferred in a gravel bike and why, with several examples reviewed. Apparently you readers like nerding out about bicycle stuff here. This put this post at #5 over-all for the year. 

#4: The New Job Announcement, January 7th, 2020: 

 The career of Guitar Ted apparently was of some interest to many readers as the announcement of my new job in January drew enough hits to place it comfortably in the #4 slot of the most popular posts for 2020. 

#3: Gravel Grinder News: DK200 Postponed, Cancelled.......Dead?, July 8th, 2020: 

Among the events cancelled for 2020, Life Time Events announced in early July that they were calling off any gravel events in Emporia Kansas for 2020. There was a move afoot to change the name of this event, which we know now has been done. It will move on as a new event called "Unbound Gravel".

New? Isn't this just going to be the DK200 renamed? I said this in July, "The Dirty Kanza 200 died as an event on July 7th, 2020. It's over folks." The rest of the third most popular post on the site for 2020 goes on to explain why I think this still is the case. 

#2: The State of the Gravel Scene 2020 Part 1: January 1st, 2020: 

Since 2018 I have made a "State of the Gravel Scene" proclamation on the site. Coming into 2020, it looked as though moves by a few major players in the gravel scene- Life Time Fitness, USAC, and a group of high profile promoters, were about to take the grassroots out of gravel and monetize, promote, and codify the scene into 'the next level'.  Basically replacing the old crit/road race scene with gravel events pushed more into what those old racers, promoters, business people, and influencers thought should be the "way things are done around here". I mentioned that I thought there were going to be a LOT of changes.

Boy howdy! Were there ever! Just not in the way I figured there would be. 

#1: The State of the Gravel Scene 2020 Part 2, January 2nd, 2020:  

I take on the notion that HPC's (otherwise known elsewhere as 'e-bikes') are going to bring in more participation in gravel events. I show how these types of motorized vehicles will be used to cheat to gain advantages, and that money to buy technology will actually decrease, not increase, rider participation. I ask what we are doing to reach marginalized and disadvantaged people and bring them into gravel riding, and that only an open heart to these folks and open minds as to how to get them out there really matters. No electrified bike is going to do that. It became my #1 most read post in 2020 by a country mile. 

And Now For The Most Impactful Post Of 2020: 

Once in a while, I get private messages or emails concerning what I have written and how it affects you- the readers of G-Ted Productions. This year, being what it has been, was rather trying and I did not escape this. I wrote a post that elicited a response of the sort that has not been seen by me before in all the years I have blogged. 

It was a risky post to make, but I felt so strongly about expressing these feelings that I just had to go ahead and publish it. That post was titled "Country Views: Learning To Fly", published on July 23rd, 2020.  

And that wraps up my look at posts that pulled the biggest numbers and best responses in 2020.   

Rear View '20: In Images

 The 12 best images from the blog for 2020 as chosen by me, Guitar Ted. All decisions are final! (HA!) Not that this is a contest, but I have my opinion which may or may not align with yours. Here they are listed in order from January onward and a couple may have some commentary to go with them. Enjoy! 

An extra-long riding season which was carried over from 2019 resulted in this image from January

 

 

February: Winter eventually came. This is from the old Sergeant Road bike trail which passed under that bridge on the right. All gone now.

March: On Leap Day I took Mrs. Guitar Ted to Decorah where I interviewed Marty Larson for the RGRR podcast. The last trip out of town for quite a while!

April: Pandemic induced lock-downs and social distancing. Getting away from the madness here in the Green Belt.

May: I had a great time testing this Salsa Cycles Stormchaser single speed bike. Here seen on Petrie Road.

June: More Petrie Road with the Fargo. Testing tires for Riding Gravel.

July: Petrie Road again! This from the "Learning To Fly" post.

August: Prairie Sunflowers in a ditch on Airline Highway.

September: Sunrise on Ford Road

October: Nesbit Road near Dunkerton, Iowa.

November: This farm flies this flag near Hudson, Iowa 24-7

December: A dramatic Sunset. Image taken about a block from G-Ted Headquarters.

Notes: I suppose I could have bombarded this 'Best Of' post with an image of a gravel road twelve times, but I tried to resist that as much as I could here. I also tried to stay away from all the "Quest" images that I could. Y'all know I rode a ton of gravel this year, but there were other worthwhile things I did and great images resulted. 

I also noted that most of the year was fairly lame in terms of quality imagery. There were a couple months where it was very difficult to choose an image because there were more than a few good ones. June and October come to mind, but other months there was really only the one I chose for this 'Best Of' effort. (January and December) I guess that means I need to step up my game in 2020.

Rear View '20: In Images

 The 12 best images from the blog for 2020 as chosen by me, Guitar Ted. All decisions are final! (HA!) Not that this is a contest, but I have my opinion which may or may not align with yours. Here they are listed in order from January onward and a couple may have some commentary to go with them. Enjoy! 

An extra-long riding season which was carried over from 2019 resulted in this image from January

 

 

February: Winter eventually came. This is from the old Sergeant Road bike trail which passed under that bridge on the right. All gone now.

March: On Leap Day I took Mrs. Guitar Ted to Decorah where I interviewed Marty Larson for the RGRR podcast. The last trip out of town for quite a while!

April: Pandemic induced lock-downs and social distancing. Getting away from the madness here in the Green Belt.

May: I had a great time testing this Salsa Cycles Stormchaser single speed bike. Here seen on Petrie Road.

June: More Petrie Road with the Fargo. Testing tires for Riding Gravel.

July: Petrie Road again! This from the "Learning To Fly" post.

August: Prairie Sunflowers in a ditch on Airline Highway.

September: Sunrise on Ford Road

October: Nesbit Road near Dunkerton, Iowa.

November: This farm flies this flag near Hudson, Iowa 24-7

December: A dramatic Sunset. Image taken about a block from G-Ted Headquarters.

Notes: I suppose I could have bombarded this 'Best Of' post with an image of a gravel road twelve times, but I tried to resist that as much as I could here. I also tried to stay away from all the "Quest" images that I could. Y'all know I rode a ton of gravel this year, but there were other worthwhile things I did and great images resulted. 

I also noted that most of the year was fairly lame in terms of quality imagery. There were a couple months where it was very difficult to choose an image because there were more than a few good ones. June and October come to mind, but other months there was really only the one I chose for this 'Best Of' effort. (January and December) I guess that means I need to step up my game in 2020.

Rear View 2020; Looking Ahead

 

As the retrospective series has now ended, I will take a moment or two to try to envision my plans for the blog and for cycling into 2021. Realizing that nothing is guaranteed, (see pre-March plans vs post-March plans for....well, anyone!), I will lay out what I am thinking now for the coming months. 

Now, as I have closed up the book on "The Quest" and have that goal accomplished, I can now focus on some other goals. But first, a word or three about the blog and my plans here. .........

First of all, I don't plan on posting any less or with much different material than in 2020, but there are a couple of things I need to let you know that might shift the direction of things a bit here in the coming months. First off, I am no longer doing any event directing at all. None. Nada. I've retired from that. So that means you won't be getting recon posts or post-event posts as I would have done in years prior to this. This extends to Geezer Rides and Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitationals which I will no longer be organizing. But there will be some ride reports. More on that in a bit here. 

I also will be cutting way back on events I attend. Well, at least that I plan on riding in. There are two I would entertain coming to now and those would be the Gent's Race, (if it happens) and Gravel Worlds. But other than those two events, I don't see myself riding where I have to pin a number on. I may be talked into a volunteering position for someone else's event, but beyond that, I am going to move my efforts heavily toward solo riding, or maybe with one or two other folks. 

Which brings me to my previous hint about ride reports. (Some of this was written about in this post) There will be, (hopefully) plenty of those. Looking at what I'd like to do I think I need to get that long-put off fat bike century done. I also would like to accomplish finishing a couple of routes I drew up over the past couple of years that I wasn't able to complete for one reason or another. Two of those being old Guitar Ted Death Ride routes. Speaking of which, that 'event' will go back to its roots as a solo adventure I do. I'm not going to paint this as anything other then a ride I'm going out on and there will be no 'big deal' made about it until I post the ride report afterward. Kind of like my "Ride To Indy" post, if you must know. 

Then I hope to be doing new routes. I have one that I've threatened to do for the past two years now that just has to get done. A "Tour of Tama County" is another one I'd like to make up and do. There are a couple places I want to revisit and make a part of a route that I did during "The Quest" as well. Speaking of that....

I don't want to commit to riding every gravel road in another county for 2021 because it would require tons of travel. Black Hawk County is one thing when I can ride right from my front door and get to most of it. Another county? Yeah.......lots of windshield time and that's a big commitment I'm not willing to make just yet. 2021 is going to (hopefully) be the year we come back out of this pandemic, and if we do, then maybe I can think more of doing something like riding every gravel road in another county. 

But doing that, riding every gravel and dirt road in any county, pretty much has to be done at the exclusion of everything else concerning riding. Really? That's not a very fun or realistic plan. I know from having done the Black Hawk County quest that it can kind of take over your life and that's not a good thing. I'd rather do quality routes in different counties myself, and that's my current plan.

So, as you can see, I should have plenty of riding reports here, which seem to be pretty popular judging from the numbers I get. I also will continue doing newsy posts when applicable, the usual "Friday News and Views", the Sunday series detailing the untold stories of Trans Iowa, and answering questions when they pop up, as usual here. The Trans Iowa stuff should end at some point later into 2021 and then I will entertain the thought of doing that series on the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational which I mentioned earlier in the month here. 

But, you just never know where Life will take you, so while I do plan on these things, if any lessons from 2020 stick, it should be that if our plans come to fruition, we should be thankful for that because they very well may take a sudden turn. 

Next: Coming up, I list the Top Ten Posts of 2020, and on December 31st I have a special post planned which sums up 2020 for me.

Rear View 2020; Looking Ahead

 

As the retrospective series has now ended, I will take a moment or two to try to envision my plans for the blog and for cycling into 2021. Realizing that nothing is guaranteed, (see pre-March plans vs post-March plans for....well, anyone!), I will lay out what I am thinking now for the coming months. 

Now, as I have closed up the book on "The Quest" and have that goal accomplished, I can now focus on some other goals. But first, a word or three about the blog and my plans here. .........

First of all, I don't plan on posting any less or with much different material than in 2020, but there are a couple of things I need to let you know that might shift the direction of things a bit here in the coming months. First off, I am no longer doing any event directing at all. None. Nada. I've retired from that. So that means you won't be getting recon posts or post-event posts as I would have done in years prior to this. This extends to Geezer Rides and Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitationals which I will no longer be organizing. But there will be some ride reports. More on that in a bit here. 

I also will be cutting way back on events I attend. Well, at least that I plan on riding in. There are two I would entertain coming to now and those would be the Gent's Race, (if it happens) and Gravel Worlds. But other than those two events, I don't see myself riding where I have to pin a number on. I may be talked into a volunteering position for someone else's event, but beyond that, I am going to move my efforts heavily toward solo riding, or maybe with one or two other folks. 

Which brings me to my previous hint about ride reports. (Some of this was written about in this post) There will be, (hopefully) plenty of those. Looking at what I'd like to do I think I need to get that long-put off fat bike century done. I also would like to accomplish finishing a couple of routes I drew up over the past couple of years that I wasn't able to complete for one reason or another. Two of those being old Guitar Ted Death Ride routes. Speaking of which, that 'event' will go back to its roots as a solo adventure I do. I'm not going to paint this as anything other then a ride I'm going out on and there will be no 'big deal' made about it until I post the ride report afterward. Kind of like my "Ride To Indy" post, if you must know. 

Then I hope to be doing new routes. I have one that I've threatened to do for the past two years now that just has to get done. A "Tour of Tama County" is another one I'd like to make up and do. There are a couple places I want to revisit and make a part of a route that I did during "The Quest" as well. Speaking of that....

I don't want to commit to riding every gravel road in another county for 2021 because it would require tons of travel. Black Hawk County is one thing when I can ride right from my front door and get to most of it. Another county? Yeah.......lots of windshield time and that's a big commitment I'm not willing to make just yet. 2021 is going to (hopefully) be the year we come back out of this pandemic, and if we do, then maybe I can think more of doing something like riding every gravel road in another county. 

But doing that, riding every gravel and dirt road in any county, pretty much has to be done at the exclusion of everything else concerning riding. Really? That's not a very fun or realistic plan. I know from having done the Black Hawk County quest that it can kind of take over your life and that's not a good thing. I'd rather do quality routes in different counties myself, and that's my current plan.

So, as you can see, I should have plenty of riding reports here, which seem to be pretty popular judging from the numbers I get. I also will continue doing newsy posts when applicable, the usual "Friday News and Views", the Sunday series detailing the untold stories of Trans Iowa, and answering questions when they pop up, as usual here. The Trans Iowa stuff should end at some point later into 2021 and then I will entertain the thought of doing that series on the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational which I mentioned earlier in the month here. 

But, you just never know where Life will take you, so while I do plan on these things, if any lessons from 2020 stick, it should be that if our plans come to fruition, we should be thankful for that because they very well may take a sudden turn. 

Next: Coming up, I list the Top Ten Posts of 2020, and on December 31st I have a special post planned which sums up 2020 for me.

Rear View 2020: The Fourth Quarter

The Quest took up almost all my riding for the last quarter of 2020.

 Hello Readers! Once again I am doing the annual retrospective on what went down over the year of 2020. This is the last post and will cover the Fourth quarter and the previous three quarters have been posted already for a total of four, one each week of December on Thursdays. This is the fourth "Rear View" post of the series. 

October kicked off with my announcement that I was not going to continue on with cataloging gravel events anymore. The chaos induced by the pandemic caused everything to be in flux and one man trying to ride herd on 500+ events was not a tenable situation going forward. Besides, the whole situation previous to the pandemic in relation to taking care of the calendar was time consuming and did not reflect in any perceived benefits to either the site or myself. So, that's that. I kind of hated to call an end to something I started in 2008, but it wasn't a realistic expectation for me to carry it on either. 

The Fall saw my rides to complete "The Quest" ramp up considerably. The days were windy, dry, and the routes got more convoluted and weird. The need to get roads done dwindled down to a point that by December I had a minimal amount of roads to cover. Finally, on the last nice day of 2020, where the temperatures reached about 60°, I completed 'The Quest", and that was on December 10th.

On a personal level I was attending my son's final high school football games. The away games were all at the same stadium in Cedar Rapids with the exception of the final game which was at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. Attendance was strictly relegated by the schools, so it was a weird experience. The West Wahawks won a play-off game and were awarded a special banner to be hung in the school gymnasium and a trophy for the trophy case. My son was proud of his accomplishments on the field and it was kind of rewarding to be a small part of that.  

One other notable thing I did was that I volunteered for the Spotted Horse gravel race in October. This marked the first time I had driven out of town for anything other than football games since the last day of February. It also marked the first time I had personal contact with anyone outside of my family and employer since mid-March. In fact, I got three hugs. It was.......weird, wonderful, and risky. I actually felt a touch guilty about it all. Still do......

Work was another thing that dwindled down to nearly nothing by December. Since new complete bikes were as rare as hen's teeth, only repairs were keeping me working and those dried up, which wasn't a surprise. The Winter would be a sparse, low-key affair for me going forward due to this. Of course, this gave me more opportunities to finish up "The Quest". So it wasn't a total loss. 

And that's a wrap on the year. Once again, I want to extend my deepest thanks and appreciation to all those who have come here to read this blog. Either on a daily basis, occasionally, or even rarely. All of you matter and I am honored and privileged to have you all as my audience. 

As 2020 draws to a close, and after 15 years of blogging, I am still amazed that anyone even ventures to read my writings. I still am energized to write stories and convey thoughts and opinions. I hope to continue sharing my experiences in words and images for a long time into the future. But I realize the future is not guaranteed. This year has brought that thought into sharper focus more than ever. 

Next: A look at the images of the year, a Top Ten Most Read Posts article, and a look into the future of the blog and my exploits for 2020.

Rear View 2020: The Fourth Quarter

The Quest took up almost all my riding for the last quarter of 2020.

 Hello Readers! Once again I am doing the annual retrospective on what went down over the year of 2020. This is the last post and will cover the Fourth quarter and the previous three quarters have been posted already for a total of four, one each week of December on Thursdays. This is the fourth "Rear View" post of the series. 

October kicked off with my announcement that I was not going to continue on with cataloging gravel events anymore. The chaos induced by the pandemic caused everything to be in flux and one man trying to ride herd on 500+ events was not a tenable situation going forward. Besides, the whole situation previous to the pandemic in relation to taking care of the calendar was time consuming and did not reflect in any perceived benefits to either the site or myself. So, that's that. I kind of hated to call an end to something I started in 2008, but it wasn't a realistic expectation for me to carry it on either. 

The Fall saw my rides to complete "The Quest" ramp up considerably. The days were windy, dry, and the routes got more convoluted and weird. The need to get roads done dwindled down to a point that by December I had a minimal amount of roads to cover. Finally, on the last nice day of 2020, where the temperatures reached about 60°, I completed 'The Quest", and that was on December 10th.

On a personal level I was attending my son's final high school football games. The away games were all at the same stadium in Cedar Rapids with the exception of the final game which was at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. Attendance was strictly relegated by the schools, so it was a weird experience. The West Wahawks won a play-off game and were awarded a special banner to be hung in the school gymnasium and a trophy for the trophy case. My son was proud of his accomplishments on the field and it was kind of rewarding to be a small part of that.  

One other notable thing I did was that I volunteered for the Spotted Horse gravel race in October. This marked the first time I had driven out of town for anything other than football games since the last day of February. It also marked the first time I had personal contact with anyone outside of my family and employer since mid-March. In fact, I got three hugs. It was.......weird, wonderful, and risky. I actually felt a touch guilty about it all. Still do......

Work was another thing that dwindled down to nearly nothing by December. Since new complete bikes were as rare as hen's teeth, only repairs were keeping me working and those dried up, which wasn't a surprise. The Winter would be a sparse, low-key affair for me going forward due to this. Of course, this gave me more opportunities to finish up "The Quest". So it wasn't a total loss. 

And that's a wrap on the year. Once again, I want to extend my deepest thanks and appreciation to all those who have come here to read this blog. Either on a daily basis, occasionally, or even rarely. All of you matter and I am honored and privileged to have you all as my audience. 

As 2020 draws to a close, and after 15 years of blogging, I am still amazed that anyone even ventures to read my writings. I still am energized to write stories and convey thoughts and opinions. I hope to continue sharing my experiences in words and images for a long time into the future. But I realize the future is not guaranteed. This year has brought that thought into sharper focus more than ever. 

Next: A look at the images of the year, a Top Ten Most Read Posts article, and a look into the future of the blog and my exploits for 2020.

Rear View 2020: The Third Quarter

Gravel: It's what was on the menu for Summer 2020.

 Hello Readers! Once again I am doing the annual retrospective on what went down over the year of 2020. This post will focus on the Third Quarter of the year. The next post will cover the Fourth quarter and the previous two quarters have been posted already for a total of four, one each week of December on Thursdays.This is the third "Rear View" post of the series. 

July started off with great weather, a hushed atmosphere due to the pandemic, weird times at work with no new bikes to sell, and the expectation of a new bike to my stable- the Standard Rando v2. I was in parts acquisition mode already and had just gotten everything rounded up when the frame and fork arrived in early July. Then it was building up and test riding the thing, and by the end of the month I had determined that this bike, which I had dubbed "The Gravel Bus", was a winner. 

July also saw me kicking in the pursuit of "The Quest" into high gear. Almost every ride now was focused on bagging new roads. Roads and parts of Black Hawk County I'd never been to before. This began a shut-down of sorts where I ended up not considering any ride in the country unless it contributed somehow to me riding another section of gravel I hadn't yet ridden in the County. But I did not quite yet have that locked down 100%. I did squeeze in one more big ride not related entirely to bagging new roads. It was the "Ride To Indy" that I did in early August. That was supposed to be my solo "Guitar Ted Death Ride" and I suppose that's what it was because yes- I bonked! I wanted to ride 100 miles but ended up with something like 75 miles before I had to call Mrs. Guitar Ted in to pick my limp body up in Independence, Iowa. I suppose the pandemic times played into my failure to get to 100 miles since I was so freaked out about being inside a convenience store that I forgot to buy anything to eat. I even sat outside in Independence rather than hang out inside an air conditioned building waiting on my bail-out ride. Mental, I'll tell ya. 

This may have been the best Summer I have ever experienced for gravel riding. So many days like this!

 August continued on with incredibly awesome weather and more rides for "The Quest". The end of the month saw my son return to school, and football practice. I was admittedly a bit apprehensive about all of that, and my fears turned out to be true when my son contracted COVID-19 in early September. His symptoms were nearly non-existent, and we all avoided getting it, and thankfully he recovered quickly. While we avoided getting infected then, it was a tense time around the home. Football games cut into my weekend gravel activities a bit up through the end of the month and beyond, but seeing my son play was a great source of pride and joy. 

In other bike related news for me, I sold off my Trek Sawyer and it went to a good home where it is getting ridden on single track, like it should be. not sitting in my collection collecting dust like it had been. I also passed on the mechanic owned and legacy bike from my past job to Andy, where I work now, as it fit him a lot better than it fit me. And in a way, that was right, because Andy had worked at the old shop as well. I am happy to see that he has been riding it regularly since he got it. I also got my old On One Inbred up and going again, which has been fun. 

The bike industry woes of short supply on parts and complete bikes cut into what would have been a very good year for me as a mechanic. I was doing okay, but it was obvious by September that it would be a sparse, long, and frugal Winter. Not unlike what I had as a situation going into Winter the previous year. At least I knew what to expect there.

Next: The Fourth Quarter and the end of the 2020 Rear View series.

Rear View 2020: The Third Quarter

Gravel: It's what was on the menu for Summer 2020.

 Hello Readers! Once again I am doing the annual retrospective on what went down over the year of 2020. This post will focus on the Third Quarter of the year. The next post will cover the Fourth quarter and the previous two quarters have been posted already for a total of four, one each week of December on Thursdays.This is the third "Rear View" post of the series. 

July started off with great weather, a hushed atmosphere due to the pandemic, weird times at work with no new bikes to sell, and the expectation of a new bike to my stable- the Standard Rando v2. I was in parts acquisition mode already and had just gotten everything rounded up when the frame and fork arrived in early July. Then it was building up and test riding the thing, and by the end of the month I had determined that this bike, which I had dubbed "The Gravel Bus", was a winner. 

July also saw me kicking in the pursuit of "The Quest" into high gear. Almost every ride now was focused on bagging new roads. Roads and parts of Black Hawk County I'd never been to before. This began a shut-down of sorts where I ended up not considering any ride in the country unless it contributed somehow to me riding another section of gravel I hadn't yet ridden in the County. But I did not quite yet have that locked down 100%. I did squeeze in one more big ride not related entirely to bagging new roads. It was the "Ride To Indy" that I did in early August. That was supposed to be my solo "Guitar Ted Death Ride" and I suppose that's what it was because yes- I bonked! I wanted to ride 100 miles but ended up with something like 75 miles before I had to call Mrs. Guitar Ted in to pick my limp body up in Independence, Iowa. I suppose the pandemic times played into my failure to get to 100 miles since I was so freaked out about being inside a convenience store that I forgot to buy anything to eat. I even sat outside in Independence rather than hang out inside an air conditioned building waiting on my bail-out ride. Mental, I'll tell ya. 

This may have been the best Summer I have ever experienced for gravel riding. So many days like this!

 August continued on with incredibly awesome weather and more rides for "The Quest". The end of the month saw my son return to school, and football practice. I was admittedly a bit apprehensive about all of that, and my fears turned out to be true when my son contracted COVID-19 in early September. His symptoms were nearly non-existent, and we all avoided getting it, and thankfully he recovered quickly. While we avoided getting infected then, it was a tense time around the home. Football games cut into my weekend gravel activities a bit up through the end of the month and beyond, but seeing my son play was a great source of pride and joy. 

In other bike related news for me, I sold off my Trek Sawyer and it went to a good home where it is getting ridden on single track, like it should be. not sitting in my collection collecting dust like it had been. I also passed on the mechanic owned and legacy bike from my past job to Andy, where I work now, as it fit him a lot better than it fit me. And in a way, that was right, because Andy had worked at the old shop as well. I am happy to see that he has been riding it regularly since he got it. I also got my old On One Inbred up and going again, which has been fun. 

The bike industry woes of short supply on parts and complete bikes cut into what would have been a very good year for me as a mechanic. I was doing okay, but it was obvious by September that it would be a sparse, long, and frugal Winter. Not unlike what I had as a situation going into Winter the previous year. At least I knew what to expect there.

Next: The Fourth Quarter and the end of the 2020 Rear View series.