A Missed Opportunity

Gifts which arrived with registration for Trans Iowa v11

Today there is a big registration party going on at District Cycles for the Mid-South event upcoming in March of 2026. District Cycles owner, Bobby Wintle, is the mastermind behind the event, and along with his wife, Crystal, they have leveraged every opportunity to promote their business alongside this event. 

Makes sense when you stop to consider it all. Why would one want to keep things separated - the event and the business - or why would one not want to hitch their wagon, as a business, to an event which draws in warm bodies to your establishment? 

These were my questions back twelve, fifteen years ago, as I was running Trans Iowa. In fact, Jeff Kerkove and I started Trans Iowa out of the bicycle shop we worked at. All along, for fourteen years, one might have thought Europa Cycle & Ski would have wanted to take advantage of what Trans Iowa was capable of bringing to the business.

Post card registrations for Trans Iowa v11

 But oddly enough, the owner did not take advantage of anything we could have benefited the business with. I recall one Trans Iowa registration where we had a dozen people waiting to get in the door to register. That's twelve plus people you wouldn't have had inside your business at any other time, but was there any effort to make anything out of this opportunity? 

Nope. 

And this was, and still is, baffling to my mind. I look at how Bobby Wintle handles this kind of thing and I can only shake my head at all the years of lost opportunities related to Trans Iowa and the bike shop I worked at then. I think about the buzz registration at the shop caused amongst the employees. Heck, even the mailman was excited every year about Trans Iowa. You'd think this would be a clue that possibly there was a nugget of opportunity waiting there.  An opportunity to bring in local cyclists to be a part of something cool and unique, and create goodwill amongst the locals for the shop. Maybe even sell some things. 

Yeah, it doesn't matter anymore. But whenever I see something like Mid-South's registration party, and remember Trans Iowa registration typically happened in November, one of the worst times for cycling retail in Iowa, and I cannot believe all the missed opportunities. 

But what do I know? I'm just some greasy bicycle mechanic.  

Friday News And Views

Less Race - More Taste

 A Fear Of Vowels FN&V

Good Grief  Bike 'Nice Bars' In:

Well, after a four day delay when these handlebars went into the time warp, they have arrived! Tracking packages over a holiday weekend is never for the weak of mind. I will say that! 

I mentioned these handlebars a while back HERE in another FN&V. I'm preparing a post about these handlebars which will appear next week. Until that time, I have a couple of things to say about the experience of purchasing these handlebars. 

First of all, my order was processed and shipped very quickly. It wasn't Good Grief Bike's fault that the delivery took longer than expected. Again, the holiday week probably was not the best time to order anything and be expecting a timely delivery! 

Secondly, I was flattered and surprised that Chris of Good Grief hand wrote me a note telling me that he had been inspired by writings on this very blog! That was certainly very nice of him to say. On one hand, I am always so surprised by how and where my blog has touched someone out there and maybe has inspired them to something they wouldn't have otherwise done. Certainly Chris of Good Grief would have been fine without me doing what I did and do, but knowing that what I did and do makes a dent out there is kind of mind blowing. 

Secondly I am not going to let that kindness get in the way of evaluating this handlebar fairly. So, I just wanted to get that out of the way and be up-front about this. Chris of Good Grief had no idea I was going to order a handlebar from him until I did, so this wasn't a disingenuous response from him either. 

I'm excited about this handlebar for several reasons. Stay tuned for the update coming next week. I think some of you might be surprised....

First There Was SBT GRVL.....

Last week I saw a notice being posted on a few gravel pages on Facebook, (of which there are SEVERAL!), and it was an announcement of a new gravel oriented "magazine". 

It is called "GRVL MGZIN". You can check it out online HERE. 

Comments: Ah....... Vowels anyone? I mean, you bothered to use one in your name, so..... Maybe it can be chalked up to the SBT GRVL influence. Anyway. I guess its whatever these days. And what of the "magazine" part? I  could not find out if this was a physical product. It would appear it is just a digital content provider with six contributors. 

I wish these folks well. I know what this endeavor will take to make a dent and how much it "pays". Not many have made this model actually work for a career and a way to make a living. (See any number of current and past digital efforts in the cycling field) Perhaps this bunch will crack the code and be successful. But I wish they'd consider vowels as being a bit more important. 

It's Registration Season!

New Year - New Registrations! You've probably gotten hit up in your emails and social media by events angling to get you to come back again to ride or visit for the first time. "The Algorithms" demand that you pay attention and give them your money! Ha! But you know it is true! 

Outside, the corporation that owns BikeReg, is gonna get a piece of the pie whether you like what they do or not since it is hard to register for an event online without using BikeReg. Of course, there is a choice to use Athlinks, and then Life Time Fitness has a buck or two from that. The point is that gravel events are just like any other event these days with someone getting their fingers in the pie in a covert way that you may or may not notice. 

At least it isn't as bad as live concert ticket pricing! 

This is one of the things that 'gravel events' lost when things got monetized and pushed into big business style thinking. There was a time you sent your money directly to the organizer of the event with no middleman. I suppose there are still smaller events that do this. 

And some folks probably don't care where those extra fees are going. It is the price of doing business. And gravel is pretty big business these days!

Image courtesy of Wolf Tooth

Speculating On Future Wolf Tooth Product:

Recently Wolf Tooth Components sent out an email to its customers reviewing what they had introduced in 2024 and then teasing new products for 2025. 

Saying in the email, "We've got some big things planned in the coming months. 2025 will be a new era for Wolf Tooth.", tad then showing the image here with a big puck of aluminum stock. 

So, let's play a game of speculation. What do you think this points to? I'll take a stab and say that Wolf Tooth Components will be making their own hubs for MTB and gravel bikes in 2025. 

N.Y. Roll has talked with me quite a bit about this idea and his guess is that Onyx Racing Products is going to merge with Wolf Tooth and come under one umbrella company. I think his guess has a lot of credence. Both are Minnesota based companies and both manufacture in house. Onyx Racing Products is actually an outgrowth of the Christianson Pneumatic Conveying Systems company out of Blomkest, Minnesota, a small town West of the Twin Cities. So perhaps Christianson is spinning off Onyx to Wolf Tooth which, again, makes a lot of sense.

Or N.Y. Roll thinks it could be a merger with HED Wheels. I could see that, because HED and Wolf Tooth already work together with the bicycle side of Wolf Tooth, Otso Bikes. Whatever the case, I think Wolf Tooth is going into the hub making business. 

Can N.Y. Roll and I both be right?

We'll see. 

A New Book By John Ingham With A Forward By Guitar Ted:

Readers here may recall earlier last year seeing a long form article I was honored to present which was authored by John Ingham. 

John contributed several such articles in the past to "Riding Gravel" which have been culled and included in this new book of his. He also added the article posted here plus a previously unpublished article. 

The book is a look at how gravel and long-distance riding can change your life for the better both spiritually and physically. John Ingham is a retired professor of anthropology, a former rock climber, and has been riding gravel and gravel events recently including The DAMn. John is also in his early 80's, and is an inspiration to many. 

I was honored to have John ask me to write a forward to this book and I also can heartily recommend it as a great look from an academic, scientific, and experiential viewpoint. John gives the reader all the facts and sources for research in this book so you can verify things for yourself if you care to do this. 

I've read most of the articles and I can say that I learned a lot from John's research and knowledge. I think you might also. Here's how to look it up on Amazon where it is available as a paperback. NOTE: I have no benefit from the sales of this book. My contributions were provided gratis in support of John and as a way to thank him for his past contributions to my work.

Thanks for considering this. 
 

That's it for the first FN&V of 2025! Happy New Year! Get out and ride those bicycles!

Registration Season

This time of the year isn't all about football, Black Friday and its variants, or eating turkey leftovers. Nope! It's Registration Season! 

That means that these gravelly good times many like to have are open to your interest now. later?

maybe not so much, as these events have field limits and time limits to accept your registration, so here are a few of the events that are opened up for registration now that you may not have realized were taking names. (And your money, natch)

Flint Hills Gravel Ride /Run:

This is Bobby Thompson's event and he is a very passionate fan of the Flint hills, having grown up there, and of gravel riding. This is an event where the people behind it truly are caring and fully invested in seeing that you have a great experience. Plus, this is an alternative to what Life Time is doing down there, which isn't saying what Life Time is doing is bad, but look.... That event is gargantuan and more corporate driven.Not at all what this Flint Hills Gravel ride is like. 

Plus you can run/walk it as well! (This seems to be the novel offshoot of gravel bicycle events these days.) Anyway, you can get more information HERE and registration is open now. The event is on April 13th, 2024, by the way.

The Solstice 100:

This is a gravel race that is held out of Beatrice Nebraska on or near the solstice in June. This year it is June 22nd. 

I've been to this event when it was held at a different venue and it is another, smaller, well run event that has people behind it that are pouring out their hearts to make sure that you have a good time. 

They offer three distances: 100, 50,and a 30 mile course. Their unique offering here is a three-person relay team category, so you don't have to go it alone! Of course, there are categories for masters, fat bikes, and single speeders. 

Registration opens up for this one on December 21st, the equinox, (those clever event directors!), so you'll have to wait a bit to jump on this one. Details can be found HERE. 

Gravel Worlds:

Well, of course, you've probably already have heard that Gravel Worlds has opened up registration. The event will occur on August 22 - 25, 2024. Registration can be found HERE. 

But what you may not know is that there is also a Winter event connected with Gravel Worlds called "Winter Endurance". 

This is a bicycle event on gravel roads which will be held outside of Lincoln, Nebraska on February 17th, 2024. That could mean a fat bike would be good, or.... Maybe a gravel bike. Depends on what kind of Winter we get in the Mid-West. 

So, there are three events, well four if you count Winter Endurance, that might be good to check out for your 2024 cycling plans. These are events I am impressed with or have participated in over the years that I would recommend. 

Otherwise I have no connection to any of these events and I am not responsible for anything that they are doing, have done, or will do in the future. I have to post that disclaimer because I have had people in the past think I am an organizer of any event I post about. Which is obviously weird, but hey! It has happened.

Trans Iowa Stories: A Prank Entry And Registration Madness: Part 6

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

With this post I will conclude the mini-series regarding registration for T.I.v11.

 The registration for the 11th running of Trans Iowa was held in November of 2014. A typically cool, dry week was marked by cloudy skies and little activity on the bike trails and single track surrounding the Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa area where Europa Cycle and Ski was. In an otherwise dead time of the year, an electric, tense situation arose surrounding the final push from the "Rookies" to get their postcards in for Trans Iowa. 

The shop was where I always had post cards sent to. I also allowed that these cards could be personally dropped off, avoiding the USPS or overnight courier services. This was originally allowed as a nod to the local riders so they could be enticed to come and ride in the event. I assumed for years that no one further out than, say, Des Moines, or Cedar Rapids, Iowa would ever bother to think about driving up an entry, and even then it would likely be in conjunction with another, much more important reason to be traveling through the area. But in 2014, my understanding of this was blown right out of the water.

I knew from messages and questions that a LOT of Rookies- those riders who had no experience in any Trans Iowa- were going to try to get in. I had questions about letting pairs of people in, or groups, which I could not guarantee, and other questions about dropping off entries. But nothing could have prepared me for what I encountered on Monday, November 10th.

People lined up outside of Europa Cycle & Ski waited up to a couple hours to get their card in for T.I.v11 Rookie Registration.

I came into work through the back door, as usual, and the book keeper said that I had a line waiting outside already! I took a look and at least ten people were milling around outdoors waiting their turn to hand off a card to me. More people showed up as I got settled in, and by 9:00am quite a throng had assembled already. We let them in early. I had about 40 spots for Rookies and half were taken by the waiting throng and by some over-nighted mail. Delivery vans dropped off plants and flowers with registration cards attached, and more people were driving up to drop off cards. It was mayhem!

Shockingly, I had one fellow ride his bike from Dubuque, 90 miles away! He counted it as Trans Iowa training, and turned around and rode back. Another driver came from an hours drive South of St. Louis Missouri, nearly 400 miles away, just to drop off a card. Another guy came too late, after 30 hours on the road! 

Gifts came in that morning, like this bottle of Templeton Rye.

The registration was over in 30 minutes. The year before the Rookie Class took 4 hours to fill up. It was crazy. I had so many plants with cards that I had to go through them several times to make sure I didn't miss anything. One pair of plants, separate entries for two guys that wanted in to ride together, were messed up by the delivery company. They got one card- not two- and so I had multiple phone calls back and forth with an increasingly frustrated and angered gentleman who could not believe I wasn't the one that screwed things up for him. Ultimately neither one rode the event. 

There were other frustrations as UPS came far too late as did the USPS for well over 20 people to have had any chances. I even got "over-night" letters the following day! Several, as a matter of fact. This only served to make people question my methods and calls of unfair processes and that I should roll over and let everyone in were being made loudly on social media. 

The fun, exciting times of registration were clearly over. This was a complete nightmare. I was very concerned about many aspects of this process and felt horrible for many days afterward. Not because people did not get in, but because people showed me that they were willing to risk life and limb for a stupid, free gravel event like Trans Iowa. I mean, riding your bike at night for 90 miles just to hand me a post card?!! Driving hundreds of miles, risking accidents and wear and tear on the car- not to mention the costs in fuel- to just ride gravel in Iowa? This was too much for my sensibilities. 

Remember my saying? "Never underestimate the stupidity of Mankind"? Well, it hurts a lot more when you realize that the "stupid" was motivated by something you are doing. This is why I felt really bad. Changes were not only coming, but necessary, if I ever were to run a Trans Iowa again. It was eminently clear to me now that I had to utilize some other means to fill the Rookie class. A lottery was contemplated, and even using 'qualifying events' was a consideration. One thing was for certain, I could not accept registration via a drop-off any longer. No more 'gifts' either- that was getting way out of hand. 

In the aftermath of registration, it took several days to calm down the anger and frustrations people had. I ended up writing a post to generally answer many of the questions I was getting about it all. At the end of that post I guaranteed that due to such high demand that I was going to actually make it harder to get in a future Trans Iowa, not easier. My thinking was that in times of high demand and short supply, (spots available to riders) that the 'price' to get in has to rise. Since I wasn't charging money, the 'price' had to be in the process. This is why many Trans Iowa riders afterward said Trans Iowa was too hard to get into. The registration for the Rookie Class of T.I.v11 was the reason why.

Next: Stories about Trans Iowa v11 continue......

Trans Iowa Stories: A Prank Entry And Registration Madness: Part 6

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

With this post I will conclude the mini-series regarding registration for T.I.v11.

 The registration for the 11th running of Trans Iowa was held in November of 2014. A typically cool, dry week was marked by cloudy skies and little activity on the bike trails and single track surrounding the Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa area where Europa Cycle and Ski was. In an otherwise dead time of the year, an electric, tense situation arose surrounding the final push from the "Rookies" to get their postcards in for Trans Iowa. 

The shop was where I always had post cards sent to. I also allowed that these cards could be personally dropped off, avoiding the USPS or overnight courier services. This was originally allowed as a nod to the local riders so they could be enticed to come and ride in the event. I assumed for years that no one further out than, say, Des Moines, or Cedar Rapids, Iowa would ever bother to think about driving up an entry, and even then it would likely be in conjunction with another, much more important reason to be traveling through the area. But in 2014, my understanding of this was blown right out of the water.

I knew from messages and questions that a LOT of Rookies- those riders who had no experience in any Trans Iowa- were going to try to get in. I had questions about letting pairs of people in, or groups, which I could not guarantee, and other questions about dropping off entries. But nothing could have prepared me for what I encountered on Monday, November 10th.

People lined up outside of Europa Cycle & Ski waited up to a couple hours to get their card in for T.I.v11 Rookie Registration.

I came into work through the back door, as usual, and the book keeper said that I had a line waiting outside already! I took a look and at least ten people were milling around outdoors waiting their turn to hand off a card to me. More people showed up as I got settled in, and by 9:00am quite a throng had assembled already. We let them in early. I had about 40 spots for Rookies and half were taken by the waiting throng and by some over-nighted mail. Delivery vans dropped off plants and flowers with registration cards attached, and more people were driving up to drop off cards. It was mayhem!

Shockingly, I had one fellow ride his bike from Dubuque, 90 miles away! He counted it as Trans Iowa training, and turned around and rode back. Another driver came from an hours drive South of St. Louis Missouri, nearly 400 miles away, just to drop off a card. Another guy came too late, after 30 hours on the road! 

Gifts came in that morning, like this bottle of Templeton Rye.

The registration was over in 30 minutes. The year before the Rookie Class took 4 hours to fill up. It was crazy. I had so many plants with cards that I had to go through them several times to make sure I didn't miss anything. One pair of plants, separate entries for two guys that wanted in to ride together, were messed up by the delivery company. They got one card- not two- and so I had multiple phone calls back and forth with an increasingly frustrated and angered gentleman who could not believe I wasn't the one that screwed things up for him. Ultimately neither one rode the event. 

There were other frustrations as UPS came far too late as did the USPS for well over 20 people to have had any chances. I even got "over-night" letters the following day! Several, as a matter of fact. This only served to make people question my methods and calls of unfair processes and that I should roll over and let everyone in were being made loudly on social media. 

The fun, exciting times of registration were clearly over. This was a complete nightmare. I was very concerned about many aspects of this process and felt horrible for many days afterward. Not because people did not get in, but because people showed me that they were willing to risk life and limb for a stupid, free gravel event like Trans Iowa. I mean, riding your bike at night for 90 miles just to hand me a post card?!! Driving hundreds of miles, risking accidents and wear and tear on the car- not to mention the costs in fuel- to just ride gravel in Iowa? This was too much for my sensibilities. 

Remember my saying? "Never underestimate the stupidity of Mankind"? Well, it hurts a lot more when you realize that the "stupid" was motivated by something you are doing. This is why I felt really bad. Changes were not only coming, but necessary, if I ever were to run a Trans Iowa again. It was eminently clear to me now that I had to utilize some other means to fill the Rookie class. A lottery was contemplated, and even using 'qualifying events' was a consideration. One thing was for certain, I could not accept registration via a drop-off any longer. No more 'gifts' either- that was getting way out of hand. 

In the aftermath of registration, it took several days to calm down the anger and frustrations people had. I ended up writing a post to generally answer many of the questions I was getting about it all. At the end of that post I guaranteed that due to such high demand that I was going to actually make it harder to get in a future Trans Iowa, not easier. My thinking was that in times of high demand and short supply, (spots available to riders) that the 'price' to get in has to rise. Since I wasn't charging money, the 'price' had to be in the process. This is why many Trans Iowa riders afterward said Trans Iowa was too hard to get into. The registration for the Rookie Class of T.I.v11 was the reason why.

Next: Stories about Trans Iowa v11 continue......

Trans Iowa Stories: A Prank Entry And Registration Madness: Part 5

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

Today I continue the sub-series concerning registration, post cards, and what led to a big change in registration after T.I.v11. But first- a simple prank meant to be a poke to my side turns into a big debate about doping in cycling and how that relates to Trans Iowa. 

Late post cards for T.I.v11. Note the bottom center one as that one is today's subject.

I have a rather harsh maxim which I use to help me when navigating instructions for events, or when I am trying to manage expectations. Is it a 'dim view of humanity', just being realistic, or a bit of both? You be the judge. All I know is that it worked for running Trans Iowa. Here it is:

"Never under-estimate the stupidity of Mankind."

Actually, truth be known, this was more to manage my expectations than it was to mange anyone else's. It was a saying I used to help me not be disappointed in reactions to what I was trying to do. When it came to registration, this was always something that tested me and the saying. An example would be that no matter how much I stressed that post cards had to have legible writing, I would always get multiple cards from various entrants which I could not read. (sigh) So, having that low bar of expectations for 'humanity' kept me from losing my mind at times. 

Another issue where this came into play was with late post cards. I know that this wasn't always the fault of the sender. There were times, I am sure, where the postal system failed people, but I gave folks a week to ten day window to send cards in, so...... I figured that would be enough, yet I would sometimes get Trans Iowa post card entries up to a month after registration closed with post marks after the deadline. Yeah.....I don't know...could be a Postal thing, could be, you know.....humanity. 

Then there was one particular postcard sent in for Trans Iowa v11 which was meant to be an inside joke, a personal jab at me in regard to a conversation online about anti-doping stances some folks were espousing at that time. Ironically one of the protagonists of the prank was Jeremy Fry, my partner in recon. The card arrived and, if I am not mistaken, I posted the image on Facebook with some snarky comment about not getting the rules of registration correct and that even though the entry was from a former Pro, I wasn't letting that slide. (See, I never figured it was a prank!)

The back of the 'prank entry' with a forgery of Levi Leipheimer's name.

This seemingly innocuous prank, meant to give me a little grief and a laugh, then turned out to be a big, blown up discussion of doping in cycling, how I shouldn't even entertain such a request to enter Trans Iowa, and that these sorts of offenders of the rules of Pro Cycling should be "banned forever" from having access to any competitive events on two wheels. It got pretty heated, and I finally responded with this blog post in which I stated why I thought the notion of banning a doper from Trans Iowa was wrong thinking. 

Of course, I now have several years of perspective to my credit to view this situation with now, but that said, what I wrote in the linked post still stands today for me. Now, I do not run an event anymore, so that part doesn't apply now, but the concepts and the overall meaning of that post most certainly applies to today more than ever.  

See, we have what we now call 'cancel culture', and if you think about it, the anti-doping movement in the era of the late 00's to about 2018 was really a form of cancel culture. These offenders of some people's sensibilities were to be forever banned, or 'cancelled out' from ever being a part of 'cycling' as some would define it. It's rubbish. Nonsense. It is not helping those who made bad decisions to become better people, it is a way of making those who are 'offended' feel good about themselves, and that's what was happening with this whole Levi thing and Trans Iowa v11. 

Well, go read the post I linked. I don't think I have to say anything more about that. What I will add here is that this firestorm, which blew up during the registration period for v11, was only the beginnings of what turned out to be a very sour experience for me and some other folks concerning the events surrounding the end of the registration for Trans Iowa v11. It was a huge, unexpected energy drain, this doping stuff, and having to deal with that was another thorn in my side. But what that all led into, only days later, would make the doping thing look like nothing. 

There was a LOT of pent-up energy in the gravel scene back then. People wanting to get into all the classic events like Trans Iowa, Dirty Kanza, and the Almanzo 100. 2015 was the 'peak popularity' point for the gravel scene and it was on the cusp of becoming a huge trend in cycling. Not just from an events standpoint, but from an industry and cycling media viewpoint. I think coming into T.I.v11 we were seeing a cross-over from where this idea of riding gravel and gravel events was now not an oddball undertaking, but it was now becoming the aspiring cyclists must-do activity. Events like these classics were becoming 'bucket-list' events, events that if attended, were a 'feather in one's cap', and the ethos of the original grassroots pioneering gravel riders was overwhelmed by a new influx of riders seeking....... What? Social media notoriety? 

Definitely that was part of it. There was also the facet of gravel being 'the cool new thing', and popularity breeds contempt from original adopters of a movement or activity. So, now there was a growing animosity amongst those who thought they had a better hold on what gravel riding was all about. The "gravel has jumped the shark" mentality which is still prevalent to this day. It was against this backdrop that the registration ended for Trans Iowa v11 in a blur of chaos and anger.

Next: A Prank Entry And Registration Madness: Part 6 - The final event in the registration for Trans Iowa v11, the filling of the Rookie Class, was fraught with problems, controversies, and concerns.

Trans Iowa Stories: A Prank Entry And Registration Madness: Part 5

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

Today I continue the sub-series concerning registration, post cards, and what led to a big change in registration after T.I.v11. But first- a simple prank meant to be a poke to my side turns into a big debate about doping in cycling and how that relates to Trans Iowa. 

Late post cards for T.I.v11. Note the bottom center one as that one is today's subject.

I have a rather harsh maxim which I use to help me when navigating instructions for events, or when I am trying to manage expectations. Is it a 'dim view of humanity', just being realistic, or a bit of both? You be the judge. All I know is that it worked for running Trans Iowa. Here it is:

"Never under-estimate the stupidity of Mankind."

Actually, truth be known, this was more to manage my expectations than it was to mange anyone else's. It was a saying I used to help me not be disappointed in reactions to what I was trying to do. When it came to registration, this was always something that tested me and the saying. An example would be that no matter how much I stressed that post cards had to have legible writing, I would always get multiple cards from various entrants which I could not read. (sigh) So, having that low bar of expectations for 'humanity' kept me from losing my mind at times. 

Another issue where this came into play was with late post cards. I know that this wasn't always the fault of the sender. There were times, I am sure, where the postal system failed people, but I gave folks a week to ten day window to send cards in, so...... I figured that would be enough, yet I would sometimes get Trans Iowa post card entries up to a month after registration closed with post marks after the deadline. Yeah.....I don't know...could be a Postal thing, could be, you know.....humanity. 

Then there was one particular postcard sent in for Trans Iowa v11 which was meant to be an inside joke, a personal jab at me in regard to a conversation online about anti-doping stances some folks were espousing at that time. Ironically one of the protagonists of the prank was Jeremy Fry, my partner in recon. The card arrived and, if I am not mistaken, I posted the image on Facebook with some snarky comment about not getting the rules of registration correct and that even though the entry was from a former Pro, I wasn't letting that slide. (See, I never figured it was a prank!)

The back of the 'prank entry' with a forgery of Levi Leipheimer's name.

This seemingly innocuous prank, meant to give me a little grief and a laugh, then turned out to be a big, blown up discussion of doping in cycling, how I shouldn't even entertain such a request to enter Trans Iowa, and that these sorts of offenders of the rules of Pro Cycling should be "banned forever" from having access to any competitive events on two wheels. It got pretty heated, and I finally responded with this blog post in which I stated why I thought the notion of banning a doper from Trans Iowa was wrong thinking. 

Of course, I now have several years of perspective to my credit to view this situation with now, but that said, what I wrote in the linked post still stands today for me. Now, I do not run an event anymore, so that part doesn't apply now, but the concepts and the overall meaning of that post most certainly applies to today more than ever.  

See, we have what we now call 'cancel culture', and if you think about it, the anti-doping movement in the era of the late 00's to about 2018 was really a form of cancel culture. These offenders of some people's sensibilities were to be forever banned, or 'cancelled out' from ever being a part of 'cycling' as some would define it. It's rubbish. Nonsense. It is not helping those who made bad decisions to become better people, it is a way of making those who are 'offended' feel good about themselves, and that's what was happening with this whole Levi thing and Trans Iowa v11. 

Well, go read the post I linked. I don't think I have to say anything more about that. What I will add here is that this firestorm, which blew up during the registration period for v11, was only the beginnings of what turned out to be a very sour experience for me and some other folks concerning the events surrounding the end of the registration for Trans Iowa v11. It was a huge, unexpected energy drain, this doping stuff, and having to deal with that was another thorn in my side. But what that all led into, only days later, would make the doping thing look like nothing. 

There was a LOT of pent-up energy in the gravel scene back then. People wanting to get into all the classic events like Trans Iowa, Dirty Kanza, and the Almanzo 100. 2015 was the 'peak popularity' point for the gravel scene and it was on the cusp of becoming a huge trend in cycling. Not just from an events standpoint, but from an industry and cycling media viewpoint. I think coming into T.I.v11 we were seeing a cross-over from where this idea of riding gravel and gravel events was now not an oddball undertaking, but it was now becoming the aspiring cyclists must-do activity. Events like these classics were becoming 'bucket-list' events, events that if attended, were a 'feather in one's cap', and the ethos of the original grassroots pioneering gravel riders was overwhelmed by a new influx of riders seeking....... What? Social media notoriety? 

Definitely that was part of it. There was also the facet of gravel being 'the cool new thing', and popularity breeds contempt from original adopters of a movement or activity. So, now there was a growing animosity amongst those who thought they had a better hold on what gravel riding was all about. The "gravel has jumped the shark" mentality which is still prevalent to this day. It was against this backdrop that the registration ended for Trans Iowa v11 in a blur of chaos and anger.

Next: A Prank Entry And Registration Madness: Part 6 - The final event in the registration for Trans Iowa v11, the filling of the Rookie Class, was fraught with problems, controversies, and concerns.

Trans Iowa Stories: A Prank Entry And Registration Madness: Part 4

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

This entry will show off some of the Trans Iowa post card entries I saved over the years. There are a LOT more than I am showing off here, but in order to keep this post somewhat less long than the "Iliad" , I have shaved down what I am showing here to about a dozen. I tried to show off cards by thematic means. Cards that are representative of what most cards I ever got were like. So, with no special order, here they are.....

Many cards had a theme of suffering and death. Now.....why would THAT be? (Card from B. Lichter for v10)

Ben Oney sent this macabre entry for v11. He was from Northfield MN, so.....

I got a ton of homemade cards with captions and everything. This is a compilation of the TDF 'devil', my face, and a scene from T.I.v2 from Craig Irving.

Level B roads played heavily into the subject matter for a lot of homemade cards I got. This one from Don Daly.

A rookie decides life isn't worth more than getting into Trans Iowa v8. This from A.W. Dutton.

The humor and references here make this a classic. From Maciej Nowak for T.I.v8.

This card sent in by Charles Showalter for T.I.v8 gives you a hint as to why the first artwork for v8's site was taken down due to a cease and desist letter I received.

Speaking of site headers- John Mathias made this collage of site headers for his v10 entry.

Trans Iowa was perhaps one of the most 'Lo-Fi' events around, and many sent cards reflecting that.

Jennifer Barr went the other way with this ultra-creative effort for T.I.v11

I got "cards" that weren't really cards, and therefore those never made it as an entry. None more elaborate than this solid wood plaque with engraved acrylic overlay. In fact, I got two for two different people!

Some folks, like Jim Phillips, who sent in many creative cards, made their entries look like court orders and the like.

This is - if not the #1 favorite- it is one of my favorite cards. A five layer card sent in three phases from Emily Broderson.

Okay, so that was not easy! So many great cards had to be edited out or this post would have gone epic length. I have had a lot of people ask about a showing of cards or a book of them, but after so many years I had to whittle down what I kept to a small box that I have here. Some are not anything fantastic to look at but have meaning for me. So, trust me- you don't want to see all of what I kept either. 

Next: The story of the prank card that sparked a huge debate about doping riders and Trans Iowa. 

Trans Iowa Stories: A Prank Entry And Registration Madness: Part 4

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

This entry will show off some of the Trans Iowa post card entries I saved over the years. There are a LOT more than I am showing off here, but in order to keep this post somewhat less long than the "Iliad" , I have shaved down what I am showing here to about a dozen. I tried to show off cards by thematic means. Cards that are representative of what most cards I ever got were like. So, with no special order, here they are.....

Many cards had a theme of suffering and death. Now.....why would THAT be? (Card from B. Lichter for v10)

Ben Oney sent this macabre entry for v11. He was from Northfield MN, so.....

I got a ton of homemade cards with captions and everything. This is a compilation of the TDF 'devil', my face, and a scene from T.I.v2 from Craig Irving.

Level B roads played heavily into the subject matter for a lot of homemade cards I got. This one from Don Daly.

A rookie decides life isn't worth more than getting into Trans Iowa v8. This from A.W. Dutton.

The humor and references here make this a classic. From Maciej Nowak for T.I.v8.

This card sent in by Charles Showalter for T.I.v8 gives you a hint as to why the first artwork for v8's site was taken down due to a cease and desist letter I received.

Speaking of site headers- John Mathias made this collage of site headers for his v10 entry.

Trans Iowa was perhaps one of the most 'Lo-Fi' events around, and many sent cards reflecting that.

Jennifer Barr went the other way with this ultra-creative effort for T.I.v11

I got "cards" that weren't really cards, and therefore those never made it as an entry. None more elaborate than this solid wood plaque with engraved acrylic overlay. In fact, I got two for two different people!

Some folks, like Jim Phillips, who sent in many creative cards, made their entries look like court orders and the like.

This is - if not the #1 favorite- it is one of my favorite cards. A five layer card sent in three phases from Emily Broderson.

Okay, so that was not easy! So many great cards had to be edited out or this post would have gone epic length. I have had a lot of people ask about a showing of cards or a book of them, but after so many years I had to whittle down what I kept to a small box that I have here. Some are not anything fantastic to look at but have meaning for me. So, trust me- you don't want to see all of what I kept either. 

Next: The story of the prank card that sparked a huge debate about doping riders and Trans Iowa. 

Trans Iowa Stories: A Prank Entry And Registration Madness: Part 3

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

This entry in the series will feature some of the unusual gifts I was given via the registration process. Some items were meant as "sponsorship" for the ride, but were really a gift to me/Trans Iowa from individuals who wanted to give back somehow. I have also included those but actual sponsorship efforts will be covered separately. There were gifts from volunteers as well, and those will also be covered separately. Otherwise there will be commentary as necessary. The next post after this in the series will show off some of the treasured post cards I have kept over the years, so stay tuned for that next. 

Before things got complicated: An 'edible' post card for T.I.v5 (Info redacted to protect the innocent)

 

T.I.v9 and 10 riders, Pete Jaros and Bill Pontious gifted me this jersey after v10. This is especially poignant since Bill died shortly after I received this.

Don Daly, a Trans Iowa rider for several years, gifted the banner here for T.I.v11

Flowers were a popular item which I would receive during registrations.

Trans Iowa stickers from Kevin Wilson which were gifted for T.I.v6, but were used until the last T.I.

Probably the second T.I. inspired t-shirt was this design for T.I.v5 from rider Rusty Kay. It is from the header designed by Jeff Kerkove for the T.I. site that year.

Cigars and a cigar cutter gifted via registration by Lance Andre. I never did smoke these because I kept saving them 'for a special occasion'!

Kind of a weird one here, but these were tasty!

An example of a "flower registration" from v6

Another odd one: Petrified shark's teeth from v6's registration.

Don Daly strikes again. This was the gift he sent for T.I.12 along with hats for the volunteers.

Not pictured: A case of Northland oil from Warren Wiebe for a T.I.v6 entry, which really threw me for a loop since I thought it was for the shop owner! I received several fifths of whiskey and craft beer selections during registration over the years. I also received several small and not-so-small gifts of money to help with the gas and time put into the event.Some were outright sponsors, some were volunteers, and that will get covered later. However; some were anonymous or wanted to remain so, and I will continue to respect their wishes in the matter. Just know that there were several folks who gave cash and gift cards to help out with the event over the years. I appreciate all of you! Then there were various other gifts which slip my mind right now......

Oh! A couple more I found here.....

With the crazy T.I.v11 registration we got the most flowers and plants ever.

 

A gas gift card and two Red Bull energy drinks which came with a T.I.v6 registration

A gift from Jeremy Fry back when he rode in Trans Iowa. This was for v6.

Okay, well, you get the idea! Trans Iowa folks were generous and never failed to humble me with their gift ideas over the years. I was supremely privileged to have been on the receiving end of all of this attention and gift giving. It's something I'll never forget. I mean, how could I? 

Next: Some post cards I have kept over the years....