Two Things

Getting Back To That Wheel Project:

Last Spring I received back my old Chris King hub set. I mentioned then I wanted to build these up into wheels for the Fargo Gen I. Then.....

Crickets.

Why? Well, first off I was a bit paralyzed by prices for carbon rims. I can afford them, that isn't the problem. The problem is if I believe they are what I truly need to be spending money on for that bike. 

I still believe Velocity Blunt SS rims would be just fine and do the job well. I probably will end up getting a set. But I did not back then because BRAN then came along and well, I spent a bunch of money getting ready for that. 

Then Summer came along and I got distracted, as one does, by other things. Now we're going into Fall and my mind is settling into what I need to get done before Winter comes along, besides getting the house ready. 

This wheel set build is on the radar. There is a slight chance I go in a different direction than indicated here, but the Blunt SS is the leader in the clubhouse as of now. Unless I can be persuaded otherwise....

What It Is All About:

Let's see..... Gravel Worlds is coming up. I haven't seen a lot about CORE4 this year (?), and then you have a few, smaller events which are fairly local which I've seen some buzz about. Does anyone know who is winning the UCI Gravel series events or the Gravel Earth events? 

I don't see people yakking about those things much at all, not on social media anyway. barely any coverage on the ol' innergoogles either. So.....does anyone really care about these races? 

I have seen a LOT more stuff about rides, small gravel competitions, and bike packing adventures, all non-sanctioned, by the way, than I have any of the "big-time" events. 

When is the cycling industry going to catch on to this? Will they ever? And maybe it doesn't matter. I will say that our local shops, all two of them, are still not engaging with the scene and haven't for years. This is Iowa. Gravel is literally everywhere, yet these shops seemingly are blind to it. I worked at one of them for many years and all that shop cared about was a twice yearly road time trial series that drew a small smattering of locals. 

But gravel cycling? Nah..... Whatever. 

The thing is, gravel cycling is the meat of cycling activities, not some weirdo thing going on out in the country. Well.....some of us are weirdos, yes. But you know what I am getting at here. Gravel is the meat of what is going on and you cannot, as a business, treat it like cole slaw. If you do, it is at your own risk. 

Floating An Idea

 I've had an idea bouncing around in my head for at least the better part of the past year. I've not said anything about it to anyone. There are good reasons for this, but it has been bothering me not to throw this out there, and last week's post about Jeff Kerkove kind of pushed me over the edge to share this finally. 

What do you think about having an Iowa Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame? 

I know......many will think this is a bit self-serving and even bogus coming from me. I understand this. I'm definitely not thinking about myself when I think about this idea. No, rather I am thinking about people like Jeff Kerkove when I consider the idea. 

So, as an example, I would submit Jeff because (a) He set up several early gravel group rides in the Cedar Valley in the late 2000's. Way before anyone was doing "gravel specific" group rides outside of the road biking scene. Jeff was a co-founder of Trans Iowa, the event which kicked off the Modern Era in gravel cycling and influenced tons of other events and people. Jeff has been a behind the scenes supporter of gravel riding within the context of Ergon, the company he works for, so he has influence there as well.  

Anyway, there is an example. I can also think of people like Richard "Deke" Gosen, who was putting on mountain bike events on gravel roads in Northeastern Iowa in the 1980's. Definitely an influencer on Trans Iowa. So, he'd be a candidate. Early gravel based road bike group rides out of Iowa City in the 70's, 80's, and 90's which I have heard whispered tales of may be another source of some inclusion into an Iowa based gravel hall of fame. Certainly those early sanctioned gravel crits, now called the Iowa Gravel Classic, are events to be included. 

And who can forget the Colesburg 40. The training ride cooked up on Northeast Iowa gravel for folks to get ready for the Chequamegon 40 event. 

 Of course there would be Modern Era athletes, events, and things associated with gravel to think about here as well. What I mean is anything post 2005. And not just 'popular' things, but influential things and people. 

People like Steve Fuller, Mike Johnson, and Jeremy Fry who rode many early gravel events and volunteered at many as well. Their participation in events on both sides of the ledger are definitely "hall of fame" worthy when it comes to Iowa gravel. 

I'd think about things like bicycle shops which have played a big part in the spread of gravel riding in Iowa, none more important, in my opinion, than Bikes To You in Grinnell. 

 So, what do you think? Which Iowa folks and events/things would you include that I have not mentioned? 

Where Is It Going To Live? 

Ideally there would be a physical place for this idea to be housed and which people could visit. In my opinion, that place would be Grinnell, Iowa. It was home to Trans Iowa for nine years and is fairly centrally located in Iowa along I-80. 

That is but a pipe dream now. This would have to start out as a virtual hall of fame for the time being. I could host it, but I would rather someone else did, if I am honest. That is because it would seem a conflict of interest if I were to run the organization. That's what I think anyway. 

So, there it is. My idea for an Iowa based Gravel Cycling Hall of fame. I'll just finish up these thoughts by saying a few words about what the theme of this should and should not be, if it were to happen. 

First off, historical importance and overall influence should be of paramount importance when measuring up a candidate for this hall. Yeah, I get it, your Aunt Mary rode gravel in 1957 five miles to school one way for ten years. That doesn't mean your Aunt had any influence on the gravel riding/racing scene. So stuff of this nature, while maybe notable, is not 'hall of fame' material in a larger sense. 

Neither is anyone who is currently popular in the gravel scene who hasn't been around for at least a decade plus. You need to have roots in Iowa gravel to be thought of as a 'hall of famer'. And while it may seem odd to point this out, you would actually have to have major influence on gravel riding or racing to be included. It's weird, but the "other hall of fame" for gravel has people only tangentially related to gravel riding who are on the list to be inducted every year, and that is.....well unnecessary. That's being kind, by the way. 

To put it another way, inclusion would be very discriminating. The bar would have to be set high, or being in the 'Iowa Gravel Hall of Fame' would be meaningless. And I'm not interested in being "inclusive" when it comes to what matters in terms of historical influence. If I'm in the minority here, well then this is a dumb idea and I retract it. If it makes sense, then I'm behind any effort to do this. 

Again, let me know in the comments if this idea is worthless, maybe okay, or is a great idea, or anything in between. I'm not saying it will ever happen. I just wanted to let this out of my head for now.

I may regret that in the future......but what the heck!

Put Some Respect On Him

From a recent social media post. 

About a quarter century ago now I started working with a young college aged student of the arts named Jeff Kerkove. He was known then as a quiet person, unassuming, and the kind of person one maybe didn't take note of. He wasn't going out of his way to get to know you and he didn't give off the kind of vibe that he wanted you to bother to get to know him. He was content to do his thing. And his thing was riding bicycles. 

He was good at it, by all accounts. His mother said he would ride for miles on gravel just to get to a good spot for fishing. Something he spent a lot of time doing as he grew up in Algona, Iowa.  

Eventually, a small bicycle shop run out of a garage in Algona caught Jeff's attention. He learned about races on mountain bikes which were occurring in nearby Minnesota, Wisconsin, and a few in in his home state of Iowa. Jeff found a small, like minded group of young men who were infatuated with riding fast off-road. It didn't take long before his talent at racing became apparent to the owner of that local shop. He did all he could to encourage Jeff in pursuing racing bicycles. Like it was going to take much persuading. Jeff took to racing bicycles immediately and was all about racing by the time he left for the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. 

Once Jeff had given longer, 24hr races a try he realized his forte was in the long haul. He vaulted up through the ranks of solo 24hr racers in the Mid-West. He forged a name for himself both within the racing community and online doing this new thing called "blogging".

Just behind Jeff was where we concocted the Trans Iowa in 2004

I came to work at a place called Europa Cycle and Ski in the middle of September of 2002, Jeff was a mechanic at the time there and I was paired with him doing the repairs for the shop. 

Now, I did not try to do anything special, or different when I started working directly across from Jeff. Just throwing out the usual small talk at first, and then we seemed to hit it off. I said something that made him laugh, and as one does, I found this encouraging. I laughed at his retorts. We found a groove. It was pleasant. Fun even. But I wouldn't have called our initial relationship extraordinary by any stretch. But apparently I was wrong about this.  

About two weeks into working there I was in on a day when Jeff wasn't working. Our boss at the time asked if he could talk to me. I was curious as to what it could be about when suddenly my boss says, "What did you do to Jeff?"

I was shocked and confused until my boss explained that when he and the office staff heard Jeff talking  and then laughing, they were amazed that anyone had gotten him unlocked like that. Apparently Jeff had worked with a few other guys in the shop and was stone cold to them. How was it that I got Jeff to open up? This was what my boss wanted to know. I shrugged my shoulders and said I did not know what it was I did. I was just n=being myself.  

Jeff Kerkove circa 2003 (Image by Paul Buchanan)

So, Jeff apparently took to me and he was never hard to get along with for myself. Our relationship grew as time went on, but it wasn't as if we hung out after work or anything. Heck, Jeff didn't have time for those things. He was training. All. The. Time. 

 

I always have said that Jeff Kerkove was the most disciplined person I have ever met. He had goals and he worked every moment toward them. 'Lazer focused' is a term which gets abused a lot in our culture, but to my mind, Jeff epitomizes this phrase. He is the picture in the dictionary next to "single minded". It paid off too. Jeff was wining 24hr events worldwide. He competed in Canada, Germany, Japan, and all across the United States when I was working with him. He had professional sponsorships with the likes of Giant, Cannondale, Cat Eye, and other cycling brands for years.  

And of course, it was Jeff who propelled myself into blogging here, and into a thing I hadn't any business doing, which was promoting and running a cycling event. It is without question that without Jeff Kerkove, I would still be "just a mechanic" from Iowa who no one would have ever heard about. I wouldn't have made a dent in what became the standard mountain bike wheel size of today. I would have never been feted as a founding father of a style of bicycle racing and riding which has taken over the world. 

What about Jeff? Well...... he never changed. He still is out there winning, doing well, and racing when and where he wants to. Jeff doesn't seem to care about the accolades nor does he need to be in the limelight. But here's the thing: Whenever you hear about gravel riding and racing, and if you think about where it came from, please remember Jeff Kerkove's name 

Please remember he had some hand in making the thing start up and without his influence and resources Trans Iowa would have died in the water. One has to wonder if gravel racing would have ever become a thing had it not gotten off the ground in 2004/2005 when it did. And it did, in large part, due to Jeff Kerkove.  

I owe a huge debt of thanks to Jeff myself. Obviously. So I am biased when it comes to putting his name out there for consideration to be recognized. However; I think it is only right to do so. I will continue to put a shine on him, to give him the respect due to him, as long as I am able when it comes to gravel cycling. 

Thanks Jeff!

An Era Of Turnover

The promoter is "retiring" from promoting.

 Things change. Time passes and people come and go. This is no news, but we tend to also be creatures who like to hold on to "traditions" and think, "yeah, this will be here again next year."

But it also probably won't be here again next year. This is the part people do not like, or consider very often. In terms of gravel events, it was something I consistently brought to mind with my old event, Trans Iowa. I think it was abundantly clear and understood by Trans Iowa fans that I wasn't going to keep doing the event forever, or for very long. 

But even I get a bit taken aback when I find events are shutting down, passing hands, or changing into something I do not recognize anymore. Such was the case when last week I received an email/press release concerning the GRVL Cycling events, Raid Rockingham, Kearsarge Classic, and  Raid Lamoille. 

The promoter, who folks call Arman, is "retiring" from promoting. He''s been at this since 2012, so pretty much on the front end of all things gravel. I became aware of his Raid Rockingham event while searching for new gravel events to add to my Gravel Grinder News calendar back in 2012. Later GRVL Cycling added the Raid Lamoille, and finally, the Kearsarge Classic. (GRVL Cycling site)  

Now the "last" Raid Rockingham is set to occur this year. Maybe someone else will take over the series? Maybe not. However it turns out, turnover in the promotions field is happening again. It is just another reminder how this niche of cycling is aging and changing with the slow turn of years. 

Jeff Kerkove (Image taker unknown)

Back in 2023, I was in Emporia, Kansas for the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame ride. I ran into Jeff Kerkove there, who I hadn't seen in over a decade. He helped start Trans Iowa with me in late 2004. Back then, we didn't ever consider gravel road cycling events would ever be a "thing", much less become probably the largest segment of competitive cycling events world-wide in 2026. He asked me then if I ever dreamed this gravel cycling thing would become what it had become in 2023. Of course I didn't. Who could have dreamt this up?

The whole scene is mind-boggling now, but it also is so big it doesn't know where it came from. It just "is", and when I see older events changing, or old promoters leaving the sport, it makes me a bit sad to know most of those people and events are not going to get their flowers as they should be. One more lament for myself as I look at where I've been in this whole gravel thing. 

So, I write this post as a reminder to all that the event you "might do" someday will be gone "someday" soon, and maybe if it isn't, it might change and not be what it was. I write this to remind everyone doing an event on gravel that this time it will be like no other time before or after. Enjoy every mile you can. Register memories. Do not take it for granted you are riding in whatever event you are riding. 

Photo courtesy of Dairy Roubaix

The turnover in events and promoters is happening now, and will continue so as time goes onward. Changes are inevitable. With the sheer numbers of gravel events, it probably will be more common now than not to read about these changes. 

I guess many of us early pioneers of gravel events figured we'd have it our way for years to come. Then we got older. More new folks came in. Different viewpoints were expressed. Then it wasn't the same as it used to be, and now it is all changing over once again. Churning. Moving. 

I don't let it get to me anymore like I once did. I'm recognizing all of these changes, and I'm okay with most of it. More people are riding. It means more people are getting healthy outdoors time. It means more companies are making more things for gravel riding. It means I get to take advantage of those new things companies are making. I can ignore them as well. I don't let how events change rub me the wrong way anymore. I don't have to concern myself with any of what the UCI does, or what USAC does, or what any event does, I can just observe. 

The only thing which does give me pause, as I have said, is how many newer-to-gravel folk just do not understand gravel's past. They are unaware of the efforts of people like Arman, who started off hosting 50 folks at that first Raid Rockingham, and grew the event into a multiple event series with thousands of people served. 

Maybe the series carries on. Maybe not. But hopefully folks like Arman get their due. Hopefully some of those thousands he helped provide opportunities to ride gravel will carry on the traditions of gravel, and pass them on to newer generations. 

Maybe you can be one of those who help pass on gravel cycling to a newer generation. Maybe you can help keep the wheels of this niche of cycling going well past any part you might have in it goes. And don't forget to tell those newer riders where this all came from as you do that. 

Cheers and thank for reading Guitar Ted Productions.  

Two Things

Don't Bring Me Down: 

I received an email newsletter from an Iowa bike retailer recently and was not at all surprised to see deep discounts on leftover bicycles. I also was not at all surprised to see the labor packages being discounted for the off-season. 

I always found discounting of labor in the bicycle industry to be offensive as a mechanic. How can you devalue what a bicycle mechanic does just because it is a slower time of the year? Do auto mechanics have this done to them when times are slower? How about a plumber? I really doubt you'll find many businesses featuring skilled laborers having discounts on labor just because the business is slow for a month or three. If I am wrong, let me know in the comments. 

I do know one thing - When a business discounts something every year, consumers catch on that whatever you are discounting is not worth the original asking price, at least in their minds. Why would they think otherwise? Then think about how this discounting has been going on for labor in bike shops for decades, and maybe it makes more sense when my argument is considered. 

But there is also another issue going on simultaneously. There are mechanics, and then there are hacks. Too many times bicycle shops run through mechanics like water. Young men and women who never were trained properly, if at all, are working and learning "on the job", which doesn't work out well in the end. Obviously, discounting their labor is maybe, on the surface of it,  seemingly more palatable. But business owners shouldn't be allowing poorly trained people to touch wrenches in their shop. So, yeah..... I saw this a lot going through the years as well. 

Anyway, discounting labor in the bicycle repair trade is a bad practice all around. 

Cycling Media And Why I Keep Commenting On It:

I know several of you may grow weary of my seemingly always negative comments on mainstream cycling media. I thought after seeing another poorly researched piece on gravel cycling I might take a stab at explaining why I do this and why it is important. 

It isn't a new problem, but misguided takes and poorly researched statements concerning gravel cycling are very irritating to me. Why? because a lie, or half-truth, told often enough, becomes "truth". Take for instance the Unbound gravel event. There will have been 20 consecutive years of gravel events held out of Emporia Kansas next June when they fire the starting gun for Life Time Events Unbound Gravel.  Whether or not you feel Unbound is/was Dirty Kanza 200 or not, this string of events is remarkable, and currently highlighted by Life Time Events in its lottery registration. 

So, why would anyone writing about "top stories in gravel for 2025" be so lame as to say in a recently published piece"..... the free-wheeling domain of gravel and off-road races, which was born more than a decade ago..."? See, here is where things get murky because someone writing an article did not write clearly. Most people will read this as "gravel racing started a decade ago" and move on. But obviously, this is not true. 

Trivial? Maybe, maybe not. I was speaking with the director of a very well-known populist gravel event the other day who told me he has heard from several younger Pro racers who think gravel racing started around 2018. It is a thing, in my opinion, due to how mainstream cycling media tells the story of gravel. 

The entire populist foundation for Pro gravel, the very groups of people Gravel™ was founded upon, is largely ignored and so the story of "where this came from" is completely ignored in many cases. I'm not advocating for myself here, because I understand I am a very small part of the underpinnings of what Gravel™ is today. But unless some people stand up and point to why these young Pros can bank out on gravel today, no one will know, or have the ability to care about those stories and people. I, for one, do not feel this is right, and I am trying to do something about it, along with a few other folks. (Stay tuned on this front) 

This is why I comment on this subject so much. I'm not going to stop, because I care. If this offends you, well maybe this blog is not for you. 

Thanks for reading.  

Lost In The Transaction

The reasons we rode gravel are now ghosts of the past.

 I was in line at the Post Office the other day waiting to drop off a package to be shipped. A couple of people were ahead of me. One man. a tall, thin, athletic looking older gentleman, had on a t-shirt with a small logo on the back. I recognized it as the Life Time logo and just underneath it was the Unbound logo.

I smiled, thinking about how I was a part of what made the Unbound event what it is today. Then I started thinking about how that seminal, top-tier gravel event no longer represents what it did 20 years ago. 

Of course, I know why this is, and I just enjoyed the memories I have of what it was which motivated us back then.. Things this man ahead of me at the Post Office that morning likely does not know about, or care to know about.  And why should he? Gravel is big business now in cycling. It is a UCI recognized sport, and there is a UCI "World Champion" in gravel racing now with events spread across the entire globe. The gentleman probably thinks this is normal. It is how it is. Right? Why should he, or anyone who attends a UCI gravel event, or who reads the cycling internet sites, or attends Unbound, think otherwise.

It is dangerous for me to write about things concerning gravel riding and racing in 2025 because most folks coming across these thoughts probably have a completely different viewpoint than I do. And my viewpoint is unique in that I am looking at gravel events and modern day gravel cycling from "the beginning', so to speak. In other words, I have two decades of perspective on this sport. If you've been riding gravel for five years, or ten, your perspective is going to be quite a bit different. I understand this: Many people reading my perspectives may think I'm crazy.

I've recounted this story a few times here before, but I will risk one more retelling, since it has relevance to this subject. Many years ago, Joel Dyke, one of the co-founders of the event which became Unbound and a Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame member, emailed me after he had stepped away from the event. He was encouraging me to stick to my way of doing Trans Iowa, the gravel event I used to promote and produce. Trans Iowa was free to enter, self-supported, and ultra-distance with hard time cut-offs. We had no "podium" awards ceremonies, no prize money to 'winners', and no finish line furnishings or hoopla. The entire reason Trans Iowa existed was to be an alternative to what racing had become. An alternative to just focusing on "the Winner" and disregarding all other competitors. At Trans Iowa, if you even lined up to start, you won.

Joel knew this, and his event he started with Jim Cummings, (again - why isn't Jim in the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame?), was like Trans Iowa in the beginning, but it "grew" and changed, and well, Joel finally had had enough of that. Joel messaged me, as I said, and stated that "...when the money comes into it, it will ruin gravel."

UCI Gravel Worlds (Image courtesy of the UCI)

Ruin? Well......c'mon! I mean, look what we have now. Gravel tires, bicycles, gear, and even gravel specific bibs, for cryin' out loud! How would we have any of this without gravel cycling becoming a money-making machine? Who would invest their time doing anything for gravel cycling unless they could make a living out of it?

Well, I don't know.......ask me. I can tell you how that works. But I'm not like most people, so I understand.

But was Joel correct in his prophecy? Can we look around and see how "gravel is ruined", or is it at the pinnacle of cycling in terms of popularity? I would say it is a pretty big deal now, and thanks to gravel being big business for this. So, "ruin" in terms of the overall impacts of gravel, yeah.... This sport has put a LOT of people on bicycles, so just from this standpoint, I think the prophecy is not correct. But this is not the only way to look at what gravel has become.

There has always been something about what Joel emailed me which stuck with me though. In the context of what gravel cycling once was, and where it is now? Maybe there is something to this "prophecy" which is true.

I always felt what he meant, and in my heart, I knew something was right about what Joel, and to be honest, many others, were saying back then. Gravel cycling was done for many reasons, but there was an element of gravel cycling which was unique, had nothing to do with who crossed a line first, and was something which any person could experience, whether they were blessed with a top-tier athletic ability or not at all. 

Recently, a press release and an old public television episode helped me make sense of these feelings.

The press release came from a European cycling brand. They sent out a press release about their athlete's experiences at the 2025 Unbound event. I got eight seconds in before I stopped and sat aghast at what I had heard. I assumed this was from their male athlete in the event. His quote was this: "I don't think there is any reason to come here (Unbound) unless you have a chance to win the race".

Spoiler alert, this athlete did not win. (At least his name did not pop up in results for winners of Unbound) So......I guess he shouldn't come back again and this year was a waste? Admittedly, there could be something worthwhile about this person's experiences which came out through the video, but I couldn't get past those first eight seconds. I had heard enough. And this is why it is dangerous for me to write about this sort of thing. 

Here is another quote. This time from a person who had ultra-distance cycling experience and knew competitive cycling norms from before 2010. His name, Jeff Frings. He filmed and produced the award winning documentary, "300 Miles of Gravel", which Iowa Public Television picked up on when they ran a portion of this film and interviewed Jeff about it. 

Image courtesy of Mondraker Bicycles.

Jeff was struck by Gravel Cycling Hall of Famer, Cory, "Cornbread" Godfrey's efforts in Trans Iowa v7, the version of Trans Iowa Jeff filmed. In describing this effort, Jeff asked some questions which summed up the very reasons all of us engaged in gravel cycling events in the early days of gravel. He said, "Can I finish this? Can I push myself beyond what I thought I could do?"

Looking at gravel cycling in this way, if you simply engaged in the activity, you were "winning". It did not matter who crossed a line, as long as it was a line you didn't think was possible for you to cross. This made gravel events inclusive of everyone. All bodies, all levels of fitness and talents. It did not matter a whit what bicycle you had as long as it was what made you happy and successful in reaching goals for yourself, or going beyond those to reach points you never dreamed of before.

So, was Joel right in this view of things? I think we have lost something here in 2025. We've exchanged a personal growth aspect to attain a business growth aspect. We've left the focus on "everyone" and focused on the riders so talented we could never hope to be like them. Where does this leave us who cannot attain to such heights?

Well, maybe you have no reason to come "here" (grave cycling) anymore. This wasn't how things used to be though.

pfft! I probably should watch the end of that video.....but I probably won't. 

Aero & Gravel Cycling

The new Miche Graff Aero 48 wheel (Image courtesy of Miche)

 Five years ago I was testing an aero wheel set for Riding Gravel. It was a wheel set from FLO Cycling, a then player in the triathlon market that was trying to make a mark in the gravel cycling niche.

I wrote an article here detailing how many negative comments were being made about aero gear for gravel, and later on in 2020 I made the bold statement that we would see "a lot more companies jumping in on aero" products in the future. 

Anyone who pays attention to gravel cycling gear now knows aero is an entrenched facet of the genre. You don't have to agree with the concepts, nor believe the benefits, but I don't think anyone can say it doesn't exist and would agree that it is here to stay. 

This was not the case five years ago when comments were being made to the effect that the aero concept was merely another invention of marketers to take your money. Or, this one: "Aero doesn't matter to me because I am slow".

I'm going to make a few feathers ruffle, perhaps, but all of the negative thoughts concerning aero - whether it is merely a rude to make money, or that it doesn't matter at slower speeds, are wrong.  Aero matters on gravel roads. Especially in the Mid-West. Probably in other places too. You know, wherever you have air to move through? There it matters.

FLO Cycling wheels on the Noble GX5 in 2020.

 Of course, there are diminishing returns, and limitations to aero exist when conditions get weird, like with heavy winds and the like, but aero is a thing for gravel and I have always believed this. So, I don't get too bent about aero this-or-that when it comes to gravel cycling. There is a place for it even for a guy like myself, who admittedly is not all that fast.

Besides, we do ride on roads, of a sort, so it only makes sense to pay attention to some aerodynamic benefits. If you can avail yourself of these benefits, why not do that? And if some of this is in components, or what you wear, like my aero helmet, then I think it deserves some consideration for all gravel cyclists.  

Early Thoughts On Gravel Growth

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

 In 2012 about this time of the year I had just put on the eighth Trans Iowa event. There were tons of other gravel events with several years of editions behind them. There were also a lot of new events hitting the internet with promises of challenge, scenery, historical context, and fun times. There were new products designated as "gravel" products by this time, which was a new thing. Gravel cycling was in the midst of changes.

Gravel was changing by 2012 - Image by Wally Kilburg

I sensed this by 2012 and wrote a post saying as much back in May of that year. It was kind of a prototypical post which pointed toward my "State of the Gravel Scene" posts I started writing in 2018.

The post I wrote in 2012 is interesting, to me at any rate, because of who commented on it. There were two regional publishers and one current Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame member in there chatting about what they thought of all the changes going on.

Of course, looking back on this thirteen year old collection of thoughts about where the gravel cycling scene was headed should tell you a few things. One: Gravel wasn't "new" then and it isn't now either. A lot more about the gravel cycling scene has passed away than anyone probably even considers today, unless you were around in the scene then. There are things people would be shocked by which we accepted as common practice back then. (Cue sheets, no chip timing, no aid stations, etc.)

But it wasn't about products aimed at gravel riders, it wasn't about event innovations, it was about what one of the commenters said, which was: "You don't have to be Joe-racer-head to really enjoy one of these events." It was also about this, which another commenter said, "The interest in off piste cycling events is growing in general (simply) because they are less mediated and more fun (focus on fun)".

I also was able to discuss this on my last two podcasts in the "Where We Came From" series and I think the general consensus is gravel cycling has become more about "joe racer-head" and it has more mediation and  less focus on fun. At least in the upper echelons of the sport.

One thing is certain, which is gravel cycling is as big world-wide as it ever has been. Is this sustainable? Ehh...... Who knows? I will say the subject has been one which has been written about a ton here on this blog for the past twenty years, and today's highlighted post is evidence of this.

Changes Which May Extend Gravel Greatness

 Yesterday I opined about the reasons which may be pointing to a decline in the popularity of gravel riding. I also stated I did not feel gravel cycling was going away. It will survive in some form or another for as long as there is gravel and bicycles. 

In this post I want to share some reasons why gravel riding might stay as popular as it is today, and maybe even grow more in popularity. These are ideas which are being used today for both recreational, adventurous, and competitive events and rides.

First of all, in terms of competitive events, I would like to spotlight the efforts of the unPAved of the Susquehanna River Valley event. One of this event's co-founders, Dave Pryor, was a guest on the most recent Guitar Ted Podcast, (listen to Episode #70 here)

Borrowing from enduro stage type events, and from ideas forged out of dealing with the COVID - 19 pandemic in 2020, Dave and his team came up with several features which not only have made the event more enjoyable, according to its participants, but safer as well. I encourage you to listen to the entire podcast, but here is a bullet point list of some of these ideas:

• Segment Timing: This allows competitors to ride casually in non-timed sections and then race hard in the timed sections. This allows competitors on the fast end to ride with their friends who may not be so fast, and of course, you can come up with other ways this makes sense as well. Secondly, non-timed sections can be placed at difficult road intersections, dangerous downhill bits, or near the end to prevent fast paced craziness in an urban setting. Other examples could also be utilized here as well. 
• Start Time Window: This idea allows a rider to decide when they want to start. For instance, the start time window could be 6:00am - 9:00am. Forgot your gloves, or nutrition? You've got time to go back and get it.  Pros can start later because it will take less time for them to do the course. And then they get to rub shoulders with other riders. (Now, this may not always be desirable, but see the first point, and I think it works. )
•  Course Length Choice: Feeling like a hero at the checkpoint but you signed up for the short course? Or - Maybe you are just off on this day and a hundy doesn't sound very fun, but 50? Yeah, that'd work! This rule allows a rider to switch courses at a prescribed point. The idea of allowing a person to finish in whatever way they choose opens up more chances for rider satisfaction. 

Now, you may say, "But that isn't how the big races are done.", and you are correct in saying this. The thing is, many gravel promoters decided their events should mimic a "certain other pattern" set before. However; while this may work for certain instances and for a certain, very small segment of talented athletes, these sorts of events which many promoters try to mimic with their gravel productions are one of  the very reasons gravel racing started. Gravel racing originally was in direct defiance of that ultra-competitive style of event and a rejection of all the rules and hoopla which those events represented. Over time though, it seems event promoters were wooed by the way big time Pro road style events did things.

Noted gravel cycling fun hog, Dave Pryor cracking an IC Lite.

"It's a trap", as the noted Star Wars general said, which is easily fallen into. However; as Mr. Pryor said in the podcast, "Not all gravel events have to be the same" and he is not only right, but he takes his own medicine. And it works.

But this is not all Mr. Pryor and his accomplices are doing to set a course for gravelly goodness. They are trying to promote gravel riding as a lifestyle.

Getting people to be jazzed about riding gravel in Pennsylvania is what is next on the menu. This includes events promotions, but it is also going to be more than this. Highlighting cool places to ride, cool places to visit, and the businesses and people which will help tie all this together will hopefully begin to put Pennsylvania's gravel roads on people's radar as a destination for vacations, adventures, and maybe even a place they'd want to call home.

These are the sort of ideas which go beyond creating a "bucket list" event to come and ride once, or a few times in one's life. That is all fine, of course, but there are only so many people who will be attracted to doing those types of events. Maybe you just want to have an adventure, or historical, cultural, and geographical highlights are what gets your interests up. What unpavedpennsylvania.com hopes to accomplish is being the information hub to guiding riders to come to Pennsylvania to ride for all the reasons stated above.

It is my opinion that efforts like this are what will extend gravel cycling's popularity and also could make gravel cycling something non-cyclists might want to help foster due to its potential economic and social benefits. Benefits that last beyond a weekend's impact from an event.

I think it is obvious where this could go in terms of impact. Other states should take note. I know Kansas has something similar, but not an all-encompassing effort such as this one I am highlighting today.

If gravel cycling going to keep riding at the high level it finds itself at now, it has to do so based upon more than a few "bucket list events" and competitiveness in general. This does not mean what is going on in Pennsylvania in regard to events and more is comprehensive and the exact template other states or regions should use. It is a fine example of what could be done though, and in my opinion, thinking like this just might save gravel cycling in the long run. 

Note: I'd like to thank and credit Dave Pryor for the images and information used in this post.

Gravel Cycling Faces A Dusty Descent

I've written about gravel cycling now going on 20 years, and I have paid close attention to its growth, development, and eventual rise to prominence. One thing I've said, amongst many things, is gravel will eventually fade as a popular way to pedal. Everything has an end. Gravel cycling's hot run as a trend is not immune to this fact.

Now, it will never go away completely, but it will not be as big as it is now in the future. Maybe even in the very near future.

I have noted on social media some chatter regarding soft turn-outs for some 2025 gravel events. I have seen one event cancel due to a lack of interest. And I have also noted a different sentiment arising in the gravel cycling ranks which may point to a larger issue going on in the segment.

N.Y. Roll and I had quite a text message chat the other day concerning this very subject. He is of the mind that gravel cycling has reached a point where it is essentially road cycling in all but the surface used. Anything that was part of the early gravel scene has been swallowed up by tech, attitude, and professional cycling's demands.

I, on the other hand, feel this has something to do with how people are reacting to the current political climate, economic situations, and the over-saturated gravel market. It has become exhausting emotionally for many to the point which some are saying they would rather just ride locally for fun.

And, of course, it is entirely possible that it could be elements of both our positions, or that neither of us are right! I still think there is something to it when you see one promoter saying registration numbers are off by around 50% this year compared to 2022. Something is definitely going on, and promoters are starting to see the downtrend.

Another sign pointing to a fading away of gravel cycling's peak days are the negative reports coming out of Far East bicycle factories where double digit declines and multi-million dollar losses are becoming commonplace news early in 2025. Brands are ordering less bicycles, inventories remain at high levels, and customers on the retail side are reticent to part with cash during these uncertain times. The prices for staple items are rising as well, which usually results in a retraction of funds put towards recreational activities by consumers. (Events, purchases of new bicycles and gear) All this negatively affects cycling in general, and gravel riding in particular is not escaping the effects of this. 

Maybe it is just a dip, and when things settle down, we will see a resurgence of gravel cycling's popularity. While this is possible, I don't quite see it this way, not unless some changes are made. Several factors are in play, one being the trend for younger people to not be out cycling at the levels we were used to seeing years ago. As gravel cyclists "age out", the new, young gravel cyclists are not filling in the void left, as much as we'd hope. I think this, at any rate, is partially why things are in decline, as far as participation numbers go. 

I said it a few years back - we were at "peak gravel", and I feel we are just past that peak now. We'll see where things go from here. Tomorrow I will have a post up which will point to an example of how the future for gravel cycling could be different, both in terms of events, and in other ways.

Twenty Years Of Gravel Grinding

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

 Checking out some of this blog's archives has reminded me of a few things. One of those being that - although I originally was known for being a 29"er nutcase - my tenure in gravel cycling started almost simultaneously along with this blog and was featured often here. 

Obviously, to anyone who has been paying attention here, that has to do with Trans Iowa. The ultra-distance gravel event which got its start about twenty years ago this week! Back in November of 2004 Jeff Kerkove and I decided to put on a cross-state bicycle race on gravel roads. Thus my fascination with gravel cycling began, and even though I and a lot of other folks had been riding bicycles on gravel roads previously, this marked a beginning. 

That beginning was the movement for having competition and fellowship while riding bicycles on crushed rock roads. It was, in no uncertain terms, the beginning of the modern era in what we now have abbreviated to "Gravel". 

The first header for Trans Iowa posted in 2004.

The idea Jeff and I had immediately sparked a movement. We were pelted with questions via Jeff's blog comments section, email, and personally via face-to-face communications and by phone calls. Keep in mind that what we know today as "social media" did not exist in late 2004/early 2005. 

For an idea of what this movement was like from my perspective, here is a snippet of a blog post I put up late in 2006 here:

"When you lead a sheltered existence like I have, only being aware of the local scene, you think you and yer buddies are the only ones insane enough to actually ride gravel roads. I mean, like really.......who else does this crap? Well, I get involved in Trans Iowa, and I find out that alot of folks like it. They like it so much, they actually copy the idea, and have their own events."

 I went on then to mention that I had heard of the DK200, (which I participated in during 2006) and rumors concerning a Nebraska gravel grinder, (not the GLGA or Gravel Worlds, by the way), and a gravel ultra-distance thing which was starting in Canada.

Trans Iowa v1 image courtesy of Joe Partridge

"Now I'm finding out about all kinds of gravel rides. Rides in Nebraska, rides in Colorado, rides in North East Iowa, training rides, fun rides, and all sorts of gravel grinding goofiness. I guess you could say we all have rocks in our heads. Whatever it is, I like it. I like gravel rides and somehow knowing that a bunch of other folks partake also is kinda.......well, I don't know........ I guess I have some like minded brothers and sisters out there, and I find that to be a good thing."

So, yeah....this blog got going partly on the momentum of gravel cycling, but mostly on the then new trend for twenty nine inch wheels. Gravel cycling has always been here though, and it still is 20 years on down the road. 

Part of this blog's influence is in gravel. My writings run deep within that influence to ride gravel roads. Out of this blog grew a gravel cycling specific site, a podcast, influences on bicycle design, tire design, and events, of course. Who can tell how many people were turned on to gravel cycling via this blog? In light of all of that, I think pointing out that Trans Iowa was the line of demarcation from whence this 'gravel" thing got started is a fair thing to do. 

And celebrating that fact after twenty years is a worthwhile thing to do, even if I am the only one doing it. You see, no other entity will bother with writing this history up, or even bother to recognize its existence. If I don't remind you, who will? Maybe you could say the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame, if you were to run across that entity.

That may seem a bit off-putting to some, but I am not going to allow the story to go untold, or be modified for someone else's gain elsewhere. Yes, I am proud of what I have accomplished and was a part of in the beginnings of gravel cycling in the modern era. 

Guilty as charged.

Made The Switch

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

At the end of 2014 I announced that I had made a switch. I was no longer involved with day-to-day operations of the "Twentynine Inches" website. This marked a finish line I had set for myself several years prior to that day when I announced this at the end of 2014. 

The switch was made and I focused on the gravel things after that point. Was  there any future in gravel cycling? Was this a move I made because I had some premonition that gravel cycling was about to become the biggest thing since mountain biking back in the late 80's/early 90's? 

No.

I had no idea where gravel was going in terms of what it has become these days. Frankly, I didn't really care at that point. We had "made it", as far as I was concerned already. We had real tires, we had bicycles designed to ride on gravel, and that, really, was all I was expecting this to be. A small niche cycling segment like fat bikes, maybe bigger, but not by much. 

The last page posted for Twentynine Inches in 2017

I think many people have forgotten my involvement with 29"ers. Honestly, if you are under 30 years old, you may not have ever known I was involved with 29"ers at all. Some say I was an influence in that scene. I say "maybe". I mean, I guess back in 2005/2006 I was one of the earliest bloggers on that subject, and it got me started in the cycling industry as a reviewer and writer. 

Before that I was pretty much nobody. A mechanic in a shop, like thousands of other human beings. 

But writing about 29"ers here made a dent, and enough of one that companies were ghosting my blog for trends and chit-chat on big wheels. Web folk were starting to poke around my blog and a couple asked me to start writing for them, including "Twentynine Inches". Then things took off from there.

I was published in "Dirt Rag" for an article or two, one on 29"ers, one on gravel riding/racing around about 2011

So again, if I didn't totally understand where gravel cycling was headed, and didn't have big-time media credentials to lean on, why would I have quit on the 29"er thing? Well, there were a LOT of reasons for that decision. But for the focus of this post, it was because, much like gravel bikes are the commonplace drop bar bike for everyday road riders now, 29"ers had become the de facto mountain bike. A MTB was a 29"er by default. Big deal! So, there was no real passion or reason to push into writing news and reviews on 29"er stuff for "Twentynine Inches" when all the cycling companies wanted to have the heavy-hitters in media do the reviewing and get the invites to press camps, and all of that sort of thing. This weighed heavily on those who remained at the site until after about two years beyond my departure, "Twentynine Inches" ceased operations here in the USA. 

As for myself, I just wanted to write about gravel cycling mostly, and the blog here really showed that focus. The site, "Gravel Grinder News" came out of this blog in late 2008, and by 2014 I was already doing reviews and write-ups on gravel stuff anyway. And in one sense, I kind of went from the frying pan into the fire as I merged "Gravel Grinder News" with "Riding Gravel" and started pretty much running that site. So, in a sense I just made a swap from one trend that had run its course to another that was gaining momentum daily. 

And now I am not doing anything with "Riding Gravel" either, so is the gravel thing no big deal anymore? Why did I leave the gravel site? That's for another time....

More soon.

Changes In The Wind

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

The year 2013 was a pivotal year for this blog in terms of my direction in focus on cycling. This was a time that was about the turning of the page in mountain biking. The "wheel wars" between 26', 27.5", and 29" were about to swing hard toward 29"ers as being the de facto wheel size for MTB. 27.5" had made a big push, but would finally be supplanted by 29"ers in a few years hence. 26 inch was effectively dead by this point, and who would have ever guessed that would have happened even five years prior? 

This all had the effect of making 29"ers mainstream and therefore, not a niche segment relegated to weirdos blogging on the Internet anymore. Now "professional" coverage of the wheel size was dominant, and that meant that what I had been doing for a decade already was now outdated. Once I had been promised a paycheck for doing my 29"er stuff, but in 2013? Heck, our site could hardly scare up decent review stuff anymore and money? Ha! What money?

In 2013 my focus had shifted to gravel cycling. Image from T.I.v10 recon.

The minor addition of a calendar of known gravel events to this blog in 2008 led to a full-fledged blog covering gravel called "Gravel Grinder News". The gravel based content and my involvement in the 29"er scene coexisted for several years but ultimately proved to be too much. All of this combined with Trans Iowa coming fully under my purview as a promoter in late 2011 forced changes. 

I didn't execute my plan for leaving the 29"er site until the last month of 2014, but I started to lay the groundwork for getting out in 2013. That year I also started up "Gravel Grinder News" as its own website with the help of "Grannygear", my friend in SoCal. Another gravel oriented site, "Riding Gravel", popped up about the same time, and that would end up becoming where I went online, but that's another story. 

2013 - My last trip I made to Interbike.

2013 was a beginning and an ending. This blog catapulted me into the realms of cycling reporters and to the industry. 29"ers were the reason why that happened as well. But now that was all fading away, and I was attracted to gravel cycling all along. I had been a fixture of the scene as the director of Trans Iowa since 2005. Gravel was where my heart was really at in those days. 

So, whatever was going to happen with gravel did not matter to me. I was going to follow my heart and get back to things I cared deeply about in terms of cycling. The rest of the world of cycling could go on its merry way, deriding gravel cycling, as they were wont to do often. I cared nothing about that, and I wasn't deterred in my passions for turning this blog's focus toward gravel cycling. I was going to do what I was going to do. 

Of course, we all know now where that took me. But in 2013 that wasn't a thought. I was tired of beating down doors and having promises made with no regard to following up on them. I was done with the traditional cycling media's focus on upper echelon racers and racing gear. I saw gravel as the every-person's cycling scene. But yeah.....

Now gravel has become "that" thing as well. This is why we cannot have nice things.

More soon.....

Published In Japan

My article appeared in this issue of Bicycle Club recently

In early June I met an editor of the Japanese publication, "Bicycle Club" and two of his friends in Emporia, Kansas. The editor's name is Taiki Sakamoto. He wanted to ask me some questions and take some imagery of myself for an article he was going to produce for "Bicycle Club" around his experiences doing the Unbound 200. In my case, he wanted to know more about me and my role in the early formation of the gravel scene and what I thought about gravel "culture", past, present, and future. 

Sakamoto-San asked me to write a four page article detailing my take on those subjects. He told me that he wanted to show his audience that gravel cycling was more than competition. Sakamoto-San promised that he would send me a copy of the magazine the article appeared in when it published. That has happened and I now have the magazine (actually, he sent me three magazines!), and I thought that it would make for a good story here, as far as how this all went down. 

First of all, the entirety of what I wrote to Sakamoto-San can be seen in my post from early July HERE. While not all of that was used, a majority of it was, and I am forever grateful and honored that Sakamoto-San and his magazine crew found it worthy of putting in front of their Japanese audience.

Sakamoto-San and Guitar Ted Image taken by Otaki-San

I've told this story before here, but it bears upon this experience, so I will risk a brief retelling here. Once during a Frostbike weekend at QBP where I was shadowing Jason Boucher, then of Salsa Cycles, I was found watching Jason clearing up his cubicle space. Jason was telling me that he had to meet with some of Salsa Cycles' Japanese distributors. He expressed his admiration for them, but couched that with his dismay concerning how long it took to wait for the Japanese folks to take imagery. "Mark, they take pictures of everything!", he told me as he stuck smaller objects and papers in drawers that he did not want seen in public. 

I pressed into that a little bit and Jason explained that, for whatever reasons, (and I am going off decade+ memories here) the Japanese find that your objects and surroundings speak to who you are as a person, so they want to capture as much of this as possible. If I got that wrong, please somebody correct me in the comments, but that was my memory of the moment. 

So, when Sakamoto-San and his two friends showed up on the streets of Emporia looking for me, I noted that all three had massive, expensive digital cameras and some serious looking glass attached to them. I was quickly reminded of what Jason had said and I was ready for lots of picture taking. 

The article as it appears in "Bicycle Club" issue #457.

I was not wrong about my expectations. I was asked to move to a few different spots, pose, and several images were clicked off in each instance. I was shown the raw images in the camera, and the way Sakamoto-San flipped through the screen images and options was like watching a gamer play. It was amazingly fast! Anyway, I was impressed that I warranted such attention from he and his mates.

Image taken by Otaki-San

Sakamoto-San even wanted to have images taken showing he and I in mock conversation. While Sakamoto-San is not fluent in English, he had enough of a command of it that I could make out his meanings. I think he was afraid the conversation between us would be impossible, so he suggested through his friend, who did interpreting for us, that we should stage the conversation. 

I had other ideas, and pressed into conversation with Sakamoto-San anyway, and we ended up having genuine discourse, which was pleasant. You can see in the image there where Sakamoto-San is describing something to me and this was at the point where we were engaging each other and having a genuine conversation. I really enjoyed meeting him and his friends also. 

Of course, I went home, wrote what I wrote (linked above) and sent it off with no expectations of anything. However; last week a package showed up in the mail from Japan. It was three copies of issue #457 of "Bicycle Club". I was immediately struck by a few things I'll share here. This may be a well known thing to some of you dear readers, but for me, this was a learning experience. 

I cut out and saved the stamp.

First thing I noted was how the magazine was formatted. The binding was on the right side as you look at the front cover. So, in our Western way of doing things, this appears backward. The next thing you might note is the Japanese language, in this case, is written in columns. The format is called tategaki. The reader reads down the first column which is furthest to the right then when they reach the bottom they continue at the top of the next column to the left. 

Curiously the image captions seem to be written in the yokogaki format and this would mean the characters are read left to right, as in English. I could be wrong about this, so if anyone reading is knowledgeable on Japanese magazine style, please correct me in the comments.

My piece in the magazine was edited somewhat, but Sakamoto-San sent me his translation beforehand to approve, so I knew what would be going into the article. On the whole, it represents the article I wrote well enough and it seems to have connected with the audience from what Sakamoto-San has shared with me. He tells me via Messenger, "It was truly an honor to talk to you. Since the magazine was released, I have received the following comments: "I'm so glad you were able to cover such a valuable story about the early days of gravel!" "How did you meet Mark?" It was all made possible thanks to Mark's help! Thank you so much!"

So, I guess it was a successful effort. I was gifted the opportunity to speak to an audience which I would not have had the chance to speak to without Sakamoto-San's invitation. For this I am very grateful. I am curious, of course, about how this article was interpreted by their audience and if it makes an impact on riding in Japan. Perhaps I'll never know, but I see it as an honor to have had the stage to speak from, thanks to Sakamoto-San. Plus I was able to get to know Sakamoto-San a little bit, which was great. Through the whole process of this article and meeting he was extremely kind and gracious. The experience was really good. 

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions