Trans Iowa Stories: The Look of Trans Iowa

 "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! NOTE- These special posts on "The Look Of Trans Iowa" will feature the images made for the event. Header art for the website, posters, t-shirts, and anything relating to number plates and other things like postcards will be covered in this part of the story.

One of the most important parts of the event over the years was our art, mostly seen as "header panels" on the "Official Trans Iowa Website". The site was first put up as a Blogger site, (free), and populated by Jeff Kerkove. Jeff was already an accomplished blogger, having been doing his own cycling based blog for over a year or so by late 2004 when the T.I. site went live. Jeff was also an accomplished graphic designer, which was what he went to college for at the University of Northern Iowa. So, he knew all the ins and outs when it came to putting up images created from different elements and how to do customized fonts, etc.

Had I been the one in charge, well, it would have been a completely different story! I had been to school for art, and I have a certain amount of talent in that area, but to do anything in the digital realm? Ha! NOT happening, and in 2004, I was totally blind to how you do anything online. (I learned a LOT very quickly though)

Jeff was doing things for the event then that literally would have cost hundreds of dollars to have done by a professional. Perhaps there was no other facet of the event that was more influential, at least initially, than the website Jeff designed. It gave the event legitimacy, because of how it was presented. Below is the first header in its digital glory, thanks to Jeff Kerkove's recently sharing this on social media for the first time in 16 years.

This set the tone for what would follow. The element of Trans Iowa being somewhat "crazy" was a bit played down but what was front and center was that this was a challenge to overcome. "Do You Have What It Takes?" I think it is really important to understand that this was the foundation for Trans Iowa, and this element, the personal challenge/overcoming bit, would be a central facet for many other gravel based events afterward. When you see folks talking about "this event will push you", or "you will find out you are capable of more than you believed", it is a nod toward the ethos that Jeff Kerkove instilled into Trans Iowa, and which I and others shepherded along until the end of the event.

It also made it clear that this was a personal challenge. Note: It doesn't say "Who will have what it takes?" It says "Do YOU?". Again- this was central to the ethos of Trans Iowa. There was a "winner", sure, but we weren't so focused on winners. We weren't focused so much on the order of finish, just that you tried to finish. I have always held that anyone who tried to do a Trans Iowa "won" over fear, the unknown, and maybe even that they won over themselves. But whatever you may think, it is clear that from the outset that Trans Iowa was a personal challenge and very different from what had occurred before it. The art, therefore, is of utmost importance here, because from "Day One", this is what was presented to the world as what we were about here.

The second version of Trans Iowa featured this header art by Jeff Kerkove.

The second header begins to show off more of Jeff's personality and brings in his take on how crazy/insane this challenge was. Of course, by this time the whole "is it a mountain bike event" thing was long gone. But you will note that there is not a drop bar bike in the header image! (From the running of T.I.v1, by the way) Jeff was a mountain biker at heart, so this whole deal with drop bars was from a place he was not (yet) willing to go.

And we had presenting sponsors. That was the first, and the last, time that ever happened with Trans Iowa. It should be noted that those sponsors were the companies behind Jeff's solo 24hr efforts. Which, by the way, were a huge influence upon Trans Iowa, which I have talked about at length here before. At any rate, this again was a very slick, professional looking website banner image that made Trans Iowa look like it was something well organized and on point- which it clearly was not! I find this rather ironic looking back. Subsequent Trans Iowa headers would take a far different approach to their messaging and there were reasons for that, which I will get into on subsequent "The Look Of Trans Iowa" posts in the future.

The next time you see one of these it will be about the T.I.v3 and v4 headers. 

Thank You: It goes without saying that I owe a tremendous debt and huge amount of gratitude to Jeff Kerkove for all the efforts he put in for Trans Iowa's website and, of course, for the event in the early years. However; this special thanks is for his posting of the original v1 artwork. I did not have this, and he graciously shared that via social media on March 28th, 2020. So, Thanks Jeff! That means a lot to me that you are taking some credit after all these years for your early influence upon the gravel scene as we know it today.

Next: A Brief History Of Numbers And Cues.

Trans Iowa Stories: The Look of Trans Iowa

 "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! NOTE- These special posts on "The Look Of Trans Iowa" will feature the images made for the event. Header art for the website, posters, t-shirts, and anything relating to number plates and other things like postcards will be covered in this part of the story.

One of the most important parts of the event over the years was our art, mostly seen as "header panels" on the "Official Trans Iowa Website". The site was first put up as a Blogger site, (free), and populated by Jeff Kerkove. Jeff was already an accomplished blogger, having been doing his own cycling based blog for over a year or so by late 2004 when the T.I. site went live. Jeff was also an accomplished graphic designer, which was what he went to college for at the University of Northern Iowa. So, he knew all the ins and outs when it came to putting up images created from different elements and how to do customized fonts, etc.

Had I been the one in charge, well, it would have been a completely different story! I had been to school for art, and I have a certain amount of talent in that area, but to do anything in the digital realm? Ha! NOT happening, and in 2004, I was totally blind to how you do anything online. (I learned a LOT very quickly though)

Jeff was doing things for the event then that literally would have cost hundreds of dollars to have done by a professional. Perhaps there was no other facet of the event that was more influential, at least initially, than the website Jeff designed. It gave the event legitimacy, because of how it was presented. Below is the first header in its digital glory, thanks to Jeff Kerkove's recently sharing this on social media for the first time in 16 years.

This set the tone for what would follow. The element of Trans Iowa being somewhat "crazy" was a bit played down but what was front and center was that this was a challenge to overcome. "Do You Have What It Takes?" I think it is really important to understand that this was the foundation for Trans Iowa, and this element, the personal challenge/overcoming bit, would be a central facet for many other gravel based events afterward. When you see folks talking about "this event will push you", or "you will find out you are capable of more than you believed", it is a nod toward the ethos that Jeff Kerkove instilled into Trans Iowa, and which I and others shepherded along until the end of the event.

It also made it clear that this was a personal challenge. Note: It doesn't say "Who will have what it takes?" It says "Do YOU?". Again- this was central to the ethos of Trans Iowa. There was a "winner", sure, but we weren't so focused on winners. We weren't focused so much on the order of finish, just that you tried to finish. I have always held that anyone who tried to do a Trans Iowa "won" over fear, the unknown, and maybe even that they won over themselves. But whatever you may think, it is clear that from the outset that Trans Iowa was a personal challenge and very different from what had occurred before it. The art, therefore, is of utmost importance here, because from "Day One", this is what was presented to the world as what we were about here.

The second version of Trans Iowa featured this header art by Jeff Kerkove.

The second header begins to show off more of Jeff's personality and brings in his take on how crazy/insane this challenge was. Of course, by this time the whole "is it a mountain bike event" thing was long gone. But you will note that there is not a drop bar bike in the header image! (From the running of T.I.v1, by the way) Jeff was a mountain biker at heart, so this whole deal with drop bars was from a place he was not (yet) willing to go.

And we had presenting sponsors. That was the first, and the last, time that ever happened with Trans Iowa. It should be noted that those sponsors were the companies behind Jeff's solo 24hr efforts. Which, by the way, were a huge influence upon Trans Iowa, which I have talked about at length here before. At any rate, this again was a very slick, professional looking website banner image that made Trans Iowa look like it was something well organized and on point- which it clearly was not! I find this rather ironic looking back. Subsequent Trans Iowa headers would take a far different approach to their messaging and there were reasons for that, which I will get into on subsequent "The Look Of Trans Iowa" posts in the future.

The next time you see one of these it will be about the T.I.v3 and v4 headers. 

Thank You: It goes without saying that I owe a tremendous debt and huge amount of gratitude to Jeff Kerkove for all the efforts he put in for Trans Iowa's website and, of course, for the event in the early years. However; this special thanks is for his posting of the original v1 artwork. I did not have this, and he graciously shared that via social media on March 28th, 2020. So, Thanks Jeff! That means a lot to me that you are taking some credit after all these years for your early influence upon the gravel scene as we know it today.

Next: A Brief History Of Numbers And Cues.

Friday News And Views

Life Time Events Announces New Gravel Event:

Life Time events, the same outfit that runs Leadville, Lutzen, and the Dirty Kanza 200, announced on Tuesday that they were unvieling the "sister event" to the Dirty Kanza 200, dubbed the "Big Sugar NWA Gravel". Life Time hosted several influencers and media folks on a short pre-ride of the event which should have its inaugural running October 24th, 2020. Citing a lack of an "iconic gravel event" in Northwest Arkansas, Life Time said that they would be bringing such an event to this region. The distance was set at a very saleable 107 miles, and much is being made about the elevation gain which is said to be something around 9000ft.

Registration is not open yet, but the price for the 100 + mile event is $140.00 and the half distance is $85 bucks. Registration opens November 15th. The field limit is set at 750 riders.

The article posted to "Bicycling" about the Big Sugar NWA Gravel had something interesting about the DK200 and Life Time events intentions in the future. Apparently the limit on riders in the DK200 is going to be increased. The article states that for all DK events the rider count will increase to 3,800 individuals. 1600 will be allowed into the 200 while the field limit for the ultra-distance DKXL is set at 150 for the 2020 versions of these events.

Furthermore; it was reported in that article that Life Time events means to add at least four more gravel events under its control within "the next few years".

Comments: Once again, I have to wince at the marketing language here. When you haven't even had one "Big Sugar" yet, how can it even be said you are adding an "iconic event" to the gravel repertoire? The event's directors have pedigree, and that is maybe where the marketing should have focused, but some of the the web pages for this event and some of the press release language is a bit over the top for something that has never happened yet.

The really interesting bit, to my mind, was the price for admission, (more than a buck a mile), and that according to the language on the site, which looks very familiar to what I see on the DK200 site, a lottery process to choose riders seems imminent. Certainly, by the way I read the articles about the B.S.N.W.A.G, it feels that they expect to sell through the 750 spots quickly. Time will tell. A Fall event competes with college football, school, and many other activities that are not issues with a Summer event like the DK200.

How about that roster expansion for the DK200? Talk about having trouble getting a room, or getting around Emporia that weekend. This will really test the mettle of the area's residents. I had been told several years ago, when the DK reached its current roster limit, that there was "no way" they could ask to have more folks there during the week of the event. Life Time moves in and hey! I guess there is room to grow. No other explanation has been put forth as to how this will be accommodated........yet.

Finally, how about Life Time wanting six gravel events under their umbrella? That speaks volumes about what this genre' of cycling has become. USAC has to be steaming about missing this boat. Road cycling isn't going to ever be the same again, and Life Time's ambitious plans are a good example of this. (Ironically, on Tuesday the Tour of California was cancelled for 2020. Not that these two things are related, but.....) I've always said I really had no idea how big this sector of cycling would become, and I bet no one would have guessed it would have come to this ten years ago. More thoughts on this in another post soon. Stay tuned.....

First snow of the 2019/20 season

First Snowy Commute Of 2019/20 Season:

The snow came Tuesday and lasted till about noon when the temperatures got up high enough to melt the stuff where the Sun could get at it. Of course, we got dusted again Thursday too. Is this Winter going to kick in early and be a long, drawn out affair?

The questions stand and we won't know until Winter gets going in a solid way around here. I just know that I sure could use a little more time, a reprieve from Winter's icy grip, at least through November. There is a lot of gravel testing/review stuff I would like to put to bed before we get shut out of riding on the gravel roads till Spring.

Of course, we could get reprieves throughout the Winter months. You just never know. But you cannot count on good windows of opportunities to fall when you have the time to actually ride. Or the health. Spring, Summer, and Fall, well you can about bank on it being nice enough to ride when you can and when you are ready to.

Anyway, barring gravel travel, I have the fat bikes ready. I got a new Muckey-Nutz front "flap" style fender which should pair up well with my front Mud Shovel. I will be switching out the bottle cages for a frame bag soon too. The Blackborrow DS has been sitting idle since last Winter, but I cleaned it up before I stored it and it should be ready to roll at a moment's notice. I still have the Snow Dog as well. (The 2011 Salsa Cycles Mukluk) That bike is pretty much in reserve these days. That said, it could be pressed into service at any time I need to use it.

So, while I am not really into Winter coming soon, I am ready for it, and switching to that mode shouldn't be that big of a deal. Bring it on! Or not..........

My most popular Inktober drawing.

The Artist In Me;

Now that October is gone I have to wait another whole year for "Inktober". "What is that?", you say? Well, it is an artistic exercise where you get a prompt list. It's words- one for each day- and then you sketch an image for each word in ink, of course. Well, I was asked by my daughter in 2018 to join her in this activity. I ended up really enjoying it, and so her and I were planning on this again for this October.

We took it a step further and decided that we each would post our daily images on Facebook and on Instagram. We had an informal "comparison" of reactions to our stuff, which led to a bit of fun for the both of us. Anyway, I was having a lot of fun, especially on the day that "tread" was the word prompt. I drew the image you see here, and out of all 31 images, this one was by far the most popular based upon social media reaction.

But that wasn't all. I drew an image one day for "misfit" that someone liked so much they actually bought it from me! I was shocked by that, to be honest, and it was nice to know that someone thought that much of a little sketch I did.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting too that "tread" and "ride", two word prompts I did in a bicycling theme, were the top two reaction getters for 2019. I guess most of the folks I know, or I should say, that know who I am, are into bicycles. That's a good thing.

Okay, that's a wrap for this week. get out and ride if you can. Winter is creeping in!

Friday News And Views

Life Time Events Announces New Gravel Event:

Life Time events, the same outfit that runs Leadville, Lutzen, and the Dirty Kanza 200, announced on Tuesday that they were unvieling the "sister event" to the Dirty Kanza 200, dubbed the "Big Sugar NWA Gravel". Life Time hosted several influencers and media folks on a short pre-ride of the event which should have its inaugural running October 24th, 2020. Citing a lack of an "iconic gravel event" in Northwest Arkansas, Life Time said that they would be bringing such an event to this region. The distance was set at a very saleable 107 miles, and much is being made about the elevation gain which is said to be something around 9000ft.

Registration is not open yet, but the price for the 100 + mile event is $140.00 and the half distance is $85 bucks. Registration opens November 15th. The field limit is set at 750 riders.

The article posted to "Bicycling" about the Big Sugar NWA Gravel had something interesting about the DK200 and Life Time events intentions in the future. Apparently the limit on riders in the DK200 is going to be increased. The article states that for all DK events the rider count will increase to 3,800 individuals. 1600 will be allowed into the 200 while the field limit for the ultra-distance DKXL is set at 150 for the 2020 versions of these events.

Furthermore; it was reported in that article that Life Time events means to add at least four more gravel events under its control within "the next few years".

Comments: Once again, I have to wince at the marketing language here. When you haven't even had one "Big Sugar" yet, how can it even be said you are adding an "iconic event" to the gravel repertoire? The event's directors have pedigree, and that is maybe where the marketing should have focused, but some of the the web pages for this event and some of the press release language is a bit over the top for something that has never happened yet.

The really interesting bit, to my mind, was the price for admission, (more than a buck a mile), and that according to the language on the site, which looks very familiar to what I see on the DK200 site, a lottery process to choose riders seems imminent. Certainly, by the way I read the articles about the B.S.N.W.A.G, it feels that they expect to sell through the 750 spots quickly. Time will tell. A Fall event competes with college football, school, and many other activities that are not issues with a Summer event like the DK200.

How about that roster expansion for the DK200? Talk about having trouble getting a room, or getting around Emporia that weekend. This will really test the mettle of the area's residents. I had been told several years ago, when the DK reached its current roster limit, that there was "no way" they could ask to have more folks there during the week of the event. Life Time moves in and hey! I guess there is room to grow. No other explanation has been put forth as to how this will be accommodated........yet.

Finally, how about Life Time wanting six gravel events under their umbrella? That speaks volumes about what this genre' of cycling has become. USAC has to be steaming about missing this boat. Road cycling isn't going to ever be the same again, and Life Time's ambitious plans are a good example of this. (Ironically, on Tuesday the Tour of California was cancelled for 2020. Not that these two things are related, but.....) I've always said I really had no idea how big this sector of cycling would become, and I bet no one would have guessed it would have come to this ten years ago. More thoughts on this in another post soon. Stay tuned.....

First snow of the 2019/20 season

First Snowy Commute Of 2019/20 Season:

The snow came Tuesday and lasted till about noon when the temperatures got up high enough to melt the stuff where the Sun could get at it. Of course, we got dusted again Thursday too. Is this Winter going to kick in early and be a long, drawn out affair?

The questions stand and we won't know until Winter gets going in a solid way around here. I just know that I sure could use a little more time, a reprieve from Winter's icy grip, at least through November. There is a lot of gravel testing/review stuff I would like to put to bed before we get shut out of riding on the gravel roads till Spring.

Of course, we could get reprieves throughout the Winter months. You just never know. But you cannot count on good windows of opportunities to fall when you have the time to actually ride. Or the health. Spring, Summer, and Fall, well you can about bank on it being nice enough to ride when you can and when you are ready to.

Anyway, barring gravel travel, I have the fat bikes ready. I got a new Muckey-Nutz front "flap" style fender which should pair up well with my front Mud Shovel. I will be switching out the bottle cages for a frame bag soon too. The Blackborrow DS has been sitting idle since last Winter, but I cleaned it up before I stored it and it should be ready to roll at a moment's notice. I still have the Snow Dog as well. (The 2011 Salsa Cycles Mukluk) That bike is pretty much in reserve these days. That said, it could be pressed into service at any time I need to use it.

So, while I am not really into Winter coming soon, I am ready for it, and switching to that mode shouldn't be that big of a deal. Bring it on! Or not..........

My most popular Inktober drawing.

The Artist In Me;

Now that October is gone I have to wait another whole year for "Inktober". "What is that?", you say? Well, it is an artistic exercise where you get a prompt list. It's words- one for each day- and then you sketch an image for each word in ink, of course. Well, I was asked by my daughter in 2018 to join her in this activity. I ended up really enjoying it, and so her and I were planning on this again for this October.

We took it a step further and decided that we each would post our daily images on Facebook and on Instagram. We had an informal "comparison" of reactions to our stuff, which led to a bit of fun for the both of us. Anyway, I was having a lot of fun, especially on the day that "tread" was the word prompt. I drew the image you see here, and out of all 31 images, this one was by far the most popular based upon social media reaction.

But that wasn't all. I drew an image one day for "misfit" that someone liked so much they actually bought it from me! I was shocked by that, to be honest, and it was nice to know that someone thought that much of a little sketch I did.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting too that "tread" and "ride", two word prompts I did in a bicycling theme, were the top two reaction getters for 2019. I guess most of the folks I know, or I should say, that know who I am, are into bicycles. That's a good thing.

Okay, that's a wrap for this week. get out and ride if you can. Winter is creeping in!

Friday News And Views

J.Guillem Ti Gravel bike from Lindarets Design

Season Of The Ti: 

Lately it seems that there has been a gaggle of titanium gravel bikes introduced. I suspect more custom, outta this world priced rigs will be shown at NAHBS this weekend as well. But even if that doesn't happen, what I have seen introduced already is kind of unusual. Its almost as if a trend of titanium bikes has been unleashed upon the gravel cycling world.

There is the Lindarets/J.Guillem bike, the Knolly bike, Moots new Routt YBB, and Mason Cycles has something new in titanium as well. Of course we have had Twin Six's titanium Rando bike and there has been titanium gravel bikes from Lynskey and Litespeed for years. Salsa used to do titanium.

What the heck, Salsa? You should never have stopped doing titanium gravel bikes. Anyway....

So what is going on here? Why titanium gravel bikes and why now? I think there are two good answers to that question, and those answers are tied to one another. First, if it isn't obvious by now, the all road/gravel category is one of the only bright spots in cycling. It seems people are still out there finding out about these gravel events and the bikes suited for them. So, if you were to get into making money on bicycles, gravel/all road is the lowest hanging fruit on the tree now. That's because the only other sectors doing anything in cycling are motor assisted bicycles and dual suspension devices. Both of those require a lot higher investment, they both require a high level of technical acumen to pull off correctly, and both have a really stiff competition in the marketplace.

The other thing is that there are a ton of aluminum and "milk jug" (carbon fiber) gravel bikes, but up until recently, there were few titanium ones. That void is about to be filled. Obviously. But that said, if you wanted to make a gravel/all-road rig, a titanium one makes you stand out from the crowd. So, I guess that makes sense as far as why titanium gravel bikes are coming out of the woodwork lately. Not that I mind. It's the material, besides steel, that makes the most sense, in my opinion, for gravel travel.

C.O.G. 100 Update:

Well, it is two weeks out from the inaugural C.O.G. 100 Iowa Single Speed Gravel Championships. Things are quickly coming together for this event.

I have the hats, posters are printed, and I just got the cue sheets printed and they are in hand as of this writing. I will need to collate and bag them, find 98 number plates, gather odds and ends, and other than that, we're ready.

N.Y. Roll and I will be at the Peace Tree Grinnell tap  room Friday from 6:00pm till 10:00pm. If you decide to show up, we can get your waivers signed and give you the swag early. Keep in mind that inspection and cue sheet hand out starts at 7:00am in Miller Park.

A few folks have wondered how the course will shape up. Of course, I cannot answer that with any surety, because who knows what will happen between now and then. That said, I feel we will be okay. Long range forecast look mostly dry, warm, and windy. All good things for making the gravel good to ride on. So, I don't expect the Level B mile section to be rideable, but.......you never know. 

My daughters ink painting/drawing hanging in Veridian Credit Union

 Allow Me To Brag A Second:

Many of you know I have two children. My daughter, Izabel, has taken to art, much like her father, and has pursued it to the point that she will be going to college next Fall and will be looking to get into graphic arts. Anyway, she was asked to submit a work for a special showing of 45 works of art from across all the high schools in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area.

Her submission made the cut of 45 selections and will be hung now at the Waterloo Veridian Credit Union's main office on Ansborough Avenue for a year. We are pretty pumped about this, and I am one proud papa.

So, if you are coming to the C.O.G. 100, one of the things each rider will get is a poster of the art I came up with for the event, tweaked out by my daughter, and signed and numbered by both of us. I am excited to see everyone get one of these posters and I am especially excited about my daughter's future in the arts. I hope that those that get the poster will appreciate them.

So, that's a wrap for this week. I hope that you all get out for a ride.

Friday News And Views

J.Guillem Ti Gravel bike from Lindarets Design

Season Of The Ti: 

Lately it seems that there has been a gaggle of titanium gravel bikes introduced. I suspect more custom, outta this world priced rigs will be shown at NAHBS this weekend as well. But even if that doesn't happen, what I have seen introduced already is kind of unusual. Its almost as if a trend of titanium bikes has been unleashed upon the gravel cycling world.

There is the Lindarets/J.Guillem bike, the Knolly bike, Moots new Routt YBB, and Mason Cycles has something new in titanium as well. Of course we have had Twin Six's titanium Rando bike and there has been titanium gravel bikes from Lynskey and Litespeed for years. Salsa used to do titanium.

What the heck, Salsa? You should never have stopped doing titanium gravel bikes. Anyway....

So what is going on here? Why titanium gravel bikes and why now? I think there are two good answers to that question, and those answers are tied to one another. First, if it isn't obvious by now, the all road/gravel category is one of the only bright spots in cycling. It seems people are still out there finding out about these gravel events and the bikes suited for them. So, if you were to get into making money on bicycles, gravel/all road is the lowest hanging fruit on the tree now. That's because the only other sectors doing anything in cycling are motor assisted bicycles and dual suspension devices. Both of those require a lot higher investment, they both require a high level of technical acumen to pull off correctly, and both have a really stiff competition in the marketplace.

The other thing is that there are a ton of aluminum and "milk jug" (carbon fiber) gravel bikes, but up until recently, there were few titanium ones. That void is about to be filled. Obviously. But that said, if you wanted to make a gravel/all-road rig, a titanium one makes you stand out from the crowd. So, I guess that makes sense as far as why titanium gravel bikes are coming out of the woodwork lately. Not that I mind. It's the material, besides steel, that makes the most sense, in my opinion, for gravel travel.

C.O.G. 100 Update:

Well, it is two weeks out from the inaugural C.O.G. 100 Iowa Single Speed Gravel Championships. Things are quickly coming together for this event.

I have the hats, posters are printed, and I just got the cue sheets printed and they are in hand as of this writing. I will need to collate and bag them, find 98 number plates, gather odds and ends, and other than that, we're ready.

N.Y. Roll and I will be at the Peace Tree Grinnell tap  room Friday from 6:00pm till 10:00pm. If you decide to show up, we can get your waivers signed and give you the swag early. Keep in mind that inspection and cue sheet hand out starts at 7:00am in Miller Park.

A few folks have wondered how the course will shape up. Of course, I cannot answer that with any surety, because who knows what will happen between now and then. That said, I feel we will be okay. Long range forecast look mostly dry, warm, and windy. All good things for making the gravel good to ride on. So, I don't expect the Level B mile section to be rideable, but.......you never know. 

My daughters ink painting/drawing hanging in Veridian Credit Union

 Allow Me To Brag A Second:

Many of you know I have two children. My daughter, Izabel, has taken to art, much like her father, and has pursued it to the point that she will be going to college next Fall and will be looking to get into graphic arts. Anyway, she was asked to submit a work for a special showing of 45 works of art from across all the high schools in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area.

Her submission made the cut of 45 selections and will be hung now at the Waterloo Veridian Credit Union's main office on Ansborough Avenue for a year. We are pretty pumped about this, and I am one proud papa.

So, if you are coming to the C.O.G. 100, one of the things each rider will get is a poster of the art I came up with for the event, tweaked out by my daughter, and signed and numbered by both of us. I am excited to see everyone get one of these posters and I am especially excited about my daughter's future in the arts. I hope that those that get the poster will appreciate them.

So, that's a wrap for this week. I hope that you all get out for a ride.

You May Not Know, But......

So, you may not know this about me, but I have been drawing stuff since....... Shoot, I can't remember when. All my life, most likely. I have drawn up some of the Trans Iowa headers, I have done some t-shirt designs for Trans Iowa, and I have done a lot of stuff throughout my life which was used commercially, or used for design work to be enjoyed personally by various folks. Anyway, this October was designated "Inktober" by an artist and my daughter, Izabel, challenged me to draw a sketch of something from a list of prompts everyday this month.

The ideas for each day were predetermined somehow and a list was generated for each day of the month with a one word prompt. Examples are "Poisonous", "Chicken", and "Exhausted". I have been having fun with this and thought I'd share a few of my favorites, so far, here with the blog readers. So, with no further fanfare, here are some of my favorite "Inktober" posts so far....

"Drooling"

"Chicken"

"Precious"

 

 

"Exhausted"

 

"Spell"

You May Not Know, But......

So, you may not know this about me, but I have been drawing stuff since....... Shoot, I can't remember when. All my life, most likely. I have drawn up some of the Trans Iowa headers, I have done some t-shirt designs for Trans Iowa, and I have done a lot of stuff throughout my life which was used commercially, or used for design work to be enjoyed personally by various folks. Anyway, this October was designated "Inktober" by an artist and my daughter, Izabel, challenged me to draw a sketch of something from a list of prompts everyday this month.

The ideas for each day were predetermined somehow and a list was generated for each day of the month with a one word prompt. Examples are "Poisonous", "Chicken", and "Exhausted". I have been having fun with this and thought I'd share a few of my favorites, so far, here with the blog readers. So, with no further fanfare, here are some of my favorite "Inktober" posts so far....

"Drooling"

"Chicken"

"Precious"

 

 

"Exhausted"

 

"Spell"