Rear View '17: Part 4

The look back on the year for 2017- dubbed "Rear View", is a traditional year ending series on the blog each year here. This is the final installment- Part 4. I'll have a forward looking post to end the year on. Stay tuned.....

September started off with me contracting a really bad cold/flu thing and my riding went in the tank right along with the fitness I built up over the Summer. I was hopeful it was only a 10-12 day thing, but it stretched out to two weeks. Then I was gone on a vacation for a week, which did not include cycling at all. Then I returned and so did the cold.

I called it the "Bummer Stretch". It basically killed any thoughts of doing the Spotted Horse gravel event, so I sent a note to the race director, Sarah Cooper, and asked that I be taken off the roster. That was a big downer for me.

Trans Iowa registration went off without a hitch in October, but I still hadn't worked up a solid idea on where those people were going to be riding. Meanwhile, my route finding partner of the last several years, Jeremy Fry, decided to enter the event again. That meant I was either doing the route alone, or that I needed to find a new route finding partner.

Another downer stemming from the illness was that I was planning a century ride on my single speed but with my health, it was getting postponed. Every time an open date came up I was either too weak to go or I had other things going on. Then the weather turned and that plan got shelved until 2018. I did get out for a half century on my single speed though. I did that ride with Martin who was also on a single speed.

The "Bummer Stretch" of events took another turn when in early October I learned of Christopher Van Ooyen's passing. Better known in Lincoln cycling circles as "CVO", his death was another blow to that community that had far too much bad news already in 2017. I only knew CVO a little, but he was definitely an influence on some of my experiences on gravel in the Lincoln area.

Trans Iowa recon eventually did happen

December 1st brought more bummer news when I dropped my TG-3 camera while commuting and it smashed into the pavement at about 20mph. Dead camera resulted and I had to start thinking about purchasing a new one. Well, that's when the bummer stretch started to ease up when a good friend offered a brand new TG-5 at a great price. So, camera issue solved!

Then Trans Iowa recon actually happened. I got inspiration for the route in November, my friend Tony agreed to do recon driving with me, and an open date with perfect weather all came together. The recon was not without its reroute issues, but they are minor and I think it should all go off without a hitch now.

Of course, the usual recapping of things started happening in late November. That stretch of great weather during that month saw a ton of review test riding going on which was great. I almost squeezed in everything for 2017, but I have a few things which will carry over to early 2018 when, hopefully, the weather breaks and I can get out on gravel roads again.

So, there is a quick recapping of the year here on "Guitar Ted Productions". I want to thank all of you for reading here. It means a lot to me to hear and read the comments about how this site is a favorite, or that it is a regular stop in many morning routines. I am humbled to have gained your trust and I hope that next year I can continue to do you all right.

Rear View '17: Part 4

The look back on the year for 2017- dubbed "Rear View", is a traditional year ending series on the blog each year here. This is the final installment- Part 4. I'll have a forward looking post to end the year on. Stay tuned.....

September started off with me contracting a really bad cold/flu thing and my riding went in the tank right along with the fitness I built up over the Summer. I was hopeful it was only a 10-12 day thing, but it stretched out to two weeks. Then I was gone on a vacation for a week, which did not include cycling at all. Then I returned and so did the cold.

I called it the "Bummer Stretch". It basically killed any thoughts of doing the Spotted Horse gravel event, so I sent a note to the race director, Sarah Cooper, and asked that I be taken off the roster. That was a big downer for me.

Trans Iowa registration went off without a hitch in October, but I still hadn't worked up a solid idea on where those people were going to be riding. Meanwhile, my route finding partner of the last several years, Jeremy Fry, decided to enter the event again. That meant I was either doing the route alone, or that I needed to find a new route finding partner.

Another downer stemming from the illness was that I was planning a century ride on my single speed but with my health, it was getting postponed. Every time an open date came up I was either too weak to go or I had other things going on. Then the weather turned and that plan got shelved until 2018. I did get out for a half century on my single speed though. I did that ride with Martin who was also on a single speed.

The "Bummer Stretch" of events took another turn when in early October I learned of Christopher Van Ooyen's passing. Better known in Lincoln cycling circles as "CVO", his death was another blow to that community that had far too much bad news already in 2017. I only knew CVO a little, but he was definitely an influence on some of my experiences on gravel in the Lincoln area.

Trans Iowa recon eventually did happen

December 1st brought more bummer news when I dropped my TG-3 camera while commuting and it smashed into the pavement at about 20mph. Dead camera resulted and I had to start thinking about purchasing a new one. Well, that's when the bummer stretch started to ease up when a good friend offered a brand new TG-5 at a great price. So, camera issue solved!

Then Trans Iowa recon actually happened. I got inspiration for the route in November, my friend Tony agreed to do recon driving with me, and an open date with perfect weather all came together. The recon was not without its reroute issues, but they are minor and I think it should all go off without a hitch now.

Of course, the usual recapping of things started happening in late November. That stretch of great weather during that month saw a ton of review test riding going on which was great. I almost squeezed in everything for 2017, but I have a few things which will carry over to early 2018 when, hopefully, the weather breaks and I can get out on gravel roads again.

So, there is a quick recapping of the year here on "Guitar Ted Productions". I want to thank all of you for reading here. It means a lot to me to hear and read the comments about how this site is a favorite, or that it is a regular stop in many morning routines. I am humbled to have gained your trust and I hope that next year I can continue to do you all right.

Rear View '17: Part 1

The look back on the year for 2017- dubbed "Rear View", is a traditional year ending series on the blog each year here. This is Part 1:

2017 started out with a Winter that was quickly failing its promise started earlier in 2016. By the New Year the snow was dismal for anything Winter related and it only got worse. By early February we were already out on the gravel roads and enjoying March-like weather.

I was fretting over a snag in the route finding for Trans Iowa which saw a complete re-writing of the opening leg that needed looking at. There were a couple of sore spots for me coming into and out of Winterset, which was a looong way away from Waterloo.

I got sick in January with a cold/flu. Again. Like about every year.....

I went to the Iowa Bicycle Expo again and it was a pretty good time. Well, except for that one vendor who shall remain nameless that pretty much did all he could do to ignore me. That was interesting.....

February dawned with a bit of a solo recon mission on the first leg of Trans Iowa v13. It went smoothly and was deemed a great success. I spent a lot of time clearing out the Lab, adding new bits to old bikes, and dreaming of making the Black Mountain Cycles rig an 11 speed one, but that last part never happened.

There was white wall tires for the Big Dummy, the resurrection of the '03 Monkey in a "green theme" and the start of the restoration of my custom Badger. News bits included the catastrophic DK200 registration, the revealing of a "gravel fork" by Fox, and the announcement of the Riding Gravel jersey and more.

Winter took an early leave in 2017

March came with the news that I was going to be back with the crew again for another Renegade Gents Race. Weather was awesome. It was no problem getting in good gravel miles and the Sun was warming things up really great. Would Spring come early? I was hard pressed to think otherwise.

Well,the weather took a turn back toward Winter about the 10th of March and right as I was able to get out and complete the Trans Iowa v13 recon. It was a huge load off my mind and just in time for the last gasp of Winter to come and sling down some wet snow on us.

That snow was on its way out a week later and I was on a mad scramble to get in some sort of fitness for the quickly approaching Gents Race. Between Trans Iowa recon and that snow, the weeks leading up to the Gents Race weren't kind to the training schedule. Of course, I was also busy behind the scenes trying to knock out cue sheets and getting the special T.I.v13 shirt order in so they could get printed up in time for the event. This also included sourcing number plates and getting those in so I could start customizing those for each rider.

March closed out with the shocking news of Mike Hall's death while participating in the Indian Pacific Wheel Race. The news took the ultra-endurance and bikepacking riding scene to a level of distress and mourning which had been unprecedented.

Coming Soon- Part 2

Rear View '17: Part 1

The look back on the year for 2017- dubbed "Rear View", is a traditional year ending series on the blog each year here. This is Part 1:

2017 started out with a Winter that was quickly failing its promise started earlier in 2016. By the New Year the snow was dismal for anything Winter related and it only got worse. By early February we were already out on the gravel roads and enjoying March-like weather.

I was fretting over a snag in the route finding for Trans Iowa which saw a complete re-writing of the opening leg that needed looking at. There were a couple of sore spots for me coming into and out of Winterset, which was a looong way away from Waterloo.

I got sick in January with a cold/flu. Again. Like about every year.....

I went to the Iowa Bicycle Expo again and it was a pretty good time. Well, except for that one vendor who shall remain nameless that pretty much did all he could do to ignore me. That was interesting.....

February dawned with a bit of a solo recon mission on the first leg of Trans Iowa v13. It went smoothly and was deemed a great success. I spent a lot of time clearing out the Lab, adding new bits to old bikes, and dreaming of making the Black Mountain Cycles rig an 11 speed one, but that last part never happened.

There was white wall tires for the Big Dummy, the resurrection of the '03 Monkey in a "green theme" and the start of the restoration of my custom Badger. News bits included the catastrophic DK200 registration, the revealing of a "gravel fork" by Fox, and the announcement of the Riding Gravel jersey and more.

Winter took an early leave in 2017

March came with the news that I was going to be back with the crew again for another Renegade Gents Race. Weather was awesome. It was no problem getting in good gravel miles and the Sun was warming things up really great. Would Spring come early? I was hard pressed to think otherwise.

Well,the weather took a turn back toward Winter about the 10th of March and right as I was able to get out and complete the Trans Iowa v13 recon. It was a huge load off my mind and just in time for the last gasp of Winter to come and sling down some wet snow on us.

That snow was on its way out a week later and I was on a mad scramble to get in some sort of fitness for the quickly approaching Gents Race. Between Trans Iowa recon and that snow, the weeks leading up to the Gents Race weren't kind to the training schedule. Of course, I was also busy behind the scenes trying to knock out cue sheets and getting the special T.I.v13 shirt order in so they could get printed up in time for the event. This also included sourcing number plates and getting those in so I could start customizing those for each rider.

March closed out with the shocking news of Mike Hall's death while participating in the Indian Pacific Wheel Race. The news took the ultra-endurance and bikepacking riding scene to a level of distress and mourning which had been unprecedented.

Coming Soon- Part 2