The Mid-South Report: Getting Home & Thoughts On The Events

Sunrise Monday morning

This will be the last report filed for the 2024 Mid-South event. I'll give a brief overview of our trip home then I'll hit up on some thoughts on the events overall. By the way, a special review of the Honeman Flyer will be done soon, but will not be a part of this post. 

Monday was a tough one for me. I did not feel 100% until we got about three hours from home, but it was a good trip home. We stopped in Kansas City at a home of some friends of Ben and Marty where I met Bob-not-Robert (yes- that is what he goes by), and we had some delicious KC barbecue. Then we stopped in Des Moines to drop off that new Salsa Cycles shirt to Steve Fuller. It was great to see Steve there for a hot minute.

We saw these lavender colored fields, but I do not know what it is that is growing here. 

At any rate, I made it home in one piece and I was wiped out from all the trip's activities and events. I was really happy to get back to my family and my own bed. 

Final Thoughts: So, Mid South.....what do I think........ Well, this is one really special event. That's very apparent. Bobby and Crystal, along with a bunch of help from all over, have crafted an experience that has to be felt to be understood. On one hand it reminds me of old-school gravel events where people concoct their own version of a bicycle event, throw in some good ol' hospitality, a little history, and fun, whip it all up, and you gotta very unique gravel experience. Many events have done this in many various ways. Mid-South does this on a larger scale, but they do it. Really, really well. 

Don't ask. I don't know anything.

I said that Mid South was Bobby Wintle. Obviously that is not the truth, but spiritually, yeah....I think it is true. I got to see Bobby in action at the finish line. I saw his style of leadership. I saw his pouring out of himself for the entire event. 

On Sunday Bobby took me over to his house, just he and I. It was a very kind gesture on his part, and I think it was something done to show me how much he cared about me, our relationship, and his gratitude for what I did which eventually inspired him. Bobby shared with me about his recovery from Mid-South. The inter venous vitamin injection, the massage to relieve his pain and tensions from hugging so many people. I don't know how many other event directors actually physically, mentally, and emotionally sacrifice themselves like Bobby Wintle does, but I bet most do not go this far. 

Then the event itself is really multiple events all at one time. It is a music festival, a running event, a bicycling event, and a party in various places. All in the span of about five days. I have no idea how Bobby and Crystal, and well, their entire support staff - how they live through it all. The event is a massive production and we got to see a lot of it coming down on Sunday which just reinforced the feelings I have that this is an incredible undertaking. 

The people I met were from all over. Different ideals, different cultures, different everything. I had my eyes opened. I learned a lot of things. But one thing I learned that went and cut across all those differences was that we all need each other. We need the community in gravel and elsewhere in our lives. It binds us together, but when it is good and honest, it gives us Life. 

I have to thank Erik Mathy, who, without his energetic activism and ideas, this would never have happened. I have to thank Li King for the talent and craftsmanship that went into producing the bike I rode. I wanted to thank Michael Lehmkuhl, Marty Larson, Ben Witt, and Justin Michaels for catering to me, putting up with me, and generally just for being so kind to me. I owe all these folks a lot. 

Of course, there is Bobby and Crystal Wintle, without whom Mid-South would not exist. Thank You!

 

It is kind of hard to put this one into words that suffice to describe what I experienced at Mid South. I recall several pivotal moments and intimate things which I don't think I can ever share outside that little community of people I was privileged to get to know. 

There were kindnesses, hugs, the look in a person's eyes that was somehow just different than your day-to-day interactions this time. People had joy. There was hope. Optimism. The gravel family really showed out for me this time. Maybe I just have not been sensitive to it before, but maybe it is just a Mid South thing. I cannot say. 

Sorry about all the vaguery and shadowy comments. I really was just struck  differently this time, and besides the obvious roads, bikes, event formatting stuff, which is blah, blah, blah... Mid South had what I think is very unique, rare, and makes one want to come back again. If there was a theme to this thing, it was that: Many people said that they wanted to come back again. I think that says a lot. 

I was told that the red dirt of Oklahoma will never truly be washed out of my clothes. Maybe, maybe not. I do know that red dirt will be part of my soul from now on.

That's the conclusion of the Mid South Report. Now back to the regularly scheduled blog postings.....

Mid South Report: The After-Party

Sunday morning Sunrise.

 Sunday. The event was over, yet we had one more thing to participate in. It was arguably more important to Ben, Marty, and Michael than the riding was. It was the day that these guys were to cook a special home-cooked, Mid-western themed meal for the Mid-South crew including Bobby, Crystal, and their special guests. The guys told me that they expected up to 40 people. 

The venue would be a rented home about a block or so from Bobby and Crystal's home. It was a two story home with a small back porch and a huge back yard. The full kitchen was well appointed but perhaps a tic too small for three guys trying to cook a big meal. At least Ben was outside grilling the two hams in a Weber grill. 

But before all that happened we had gone down in the morning for breakfast at a Mexican restaurant. It was a good place and we all got our fill of vittles. Then it was downtown to meet up with the weary-eyed District crew. The day was a bright, Sunny day, warm, but not hot. The wind was up and it was breezy downtown. The doors to District were flung open and a few people were wandering around. 

They were tearing down the finish line arch when we got there.

The Merman bikes are really cool and ride very nicely.

This custom mountain bike had an insanely painted Cane Creek Helm fork on it.

Check out that paint! I was told it is called "Bad Magic".

That drop out insert? Anodized with a special process.

We hung out at District for a bit. Bobby came by and his voice was blown out. He sounded like an 80 year old man with a three-pack-a-day habit. We ended up going across the street to shop a bit, then over to a local brewery for drinks. 

Shopping for the special dinner later.

My photo shoot with Erik Mathy was in the late afternoon on Sunday.

There was grocery shopping and my photo shoot with Erik Mathy, which I rode to. Ben wouldn't let me out of the Air BnB without a sandwich for lunch. So, there I was, hustling to make my 3:15-3:30pm appointment with Erik out in the country with a turkey and cheese sandwich hanging out of my mouth. It's really hard to breath, eat bread, and ride hard all at the same time, by the way!

Then the guys picked me up and we went in to town to the home that was rented out for us to cook at. Well, not me, because I only barely assisted. I pretty much was a hangar-on at this deal the rest of the night. And what a night! YouTube guitar professional Rhett Shull showed up and he and Tyler from District Cycles played some tasty guitar tunes. Bobby even jumped in for a bit of finger pickin' goodness. Lots of great people showed up, maybe a little more than two dozen in the end. 

Bobby playing guitar, (back to camera) with Tyler (obscured) and Rhett Shull.

The house party was a pretty special thing. Probably the best part of the entire weekend. Out of respect for the details that were shared in that house I will leave it at that.

Suffice it to say that good food was enjoyed by some damn fine people and we all got to know each other just a bit better. I won't be forgetting that night for a long, long time, if ever. 

Towards the end of the night I wasn't feeling so hot, so I sat by myself and just listened to the people's conversations and watched as people tried to say goodbye and leave but were still wandering around the house a half an hour later.  

That wasn't some pent-up, socially awkward Mid-Western thing either. It was a genuine feeling - I think - that people that had experienced that evening did not want it to end, but, as with all things, there was an end. 

Someone or another finally took pity on me and Justin motioned that we were headed back to the house. I was happy to get back to a bed and a bathroom, and I used it, I'll just put that out there like that. I was fine afterward, but anyway, enough detail on that!

Then all that was left was to get home to Waterloo. I'll have that bit and a final take on Mid-South next.

Mid South Report: The Race: Part 2

The view from the oasis stop

 Note: There will be no FN&V this week as I am still writing up the Mid-South experience. The FN&V will return next Friday!

Ben had promised that this oasis stop would be one of the highlights of my trip down to Mid-South,, and he was not wrong about that! The guys had a plan for roadside charcuterie and Old Fashioneds made with whiskey, bitters, and a cherry with ice! 

Ben or Justin, I cannot remember which it was, sat the whiskey bottle in plain sight and we began cheering on riders. The responses were entertaining, to say the least. 

Most would smile, nod or wave in recognition of us, and some would yelp, cheer back, or say hello. But the ones who were trying to look serious, give us no response, and all the while look as though they were jealous, were our favorites. Some folks even admitted that it looked as though we were "doing it the right way", yet they pedaled on anyway? Weird!

Ben declared that we had "won the event" by doing things in fun mode, and we were packed up and gone again within an hour, maybe more. Next stop, the Salsa Chaise lounge! I was really looking forward to getting my picture made in the Chaise Lounge. 

Justin Michaels looks on as our first partaker of whiskey fumbles a bit!

This woman brought her cat in a trailer along for the 50 miler.

During the route to the lake and the Salsa Chaise Lounge I managed to get ahead of the guys again and I was feeling pretty strong once more. The day was going great so far and the Honeman Flyer was holding up well. Only thing was that the other bottle cage came loose at one point and I had to re-tighten it as well. But besides that, and a slightly slipping seat post from the really rough terrain, I was doing great. 

The Salsa stop at Lake McMurtry.

The road leading away from the single track section at Lake McMurtry.

I saw Mike Reimer and he had a Chesire cat grin on as I rode by. I got in the couch and held the bike with one hand, smiled, and that was that. I was off. By the time I cleared the couch here came Ben and the others rolling up. They got their pictures done and we then all rolled out together to the ......singletrack? 

Now, I had no idea I would be required to ride about a mile of single track on a drop barred single speed with 42mm tires, but that's what was expected. I had no time to consider the ramifications as we were heading in and it was game on.

I ended up getting separated from the guys again when I caught an inexperienced rider sitting at the apex of a steep uphill corner and I lost my momentum. That was the only time I had to put a foot down though and otherwise I cleaned the entire section without dabbing or having a pedal strike. The last thing was tricky to avoid as I have a 76mm bottom bracket drop which puts the bottom bracket in the weeds a bit and makes the bike ripe for a strike, but nope! No such thing!

I caught up with the guys at this roadside rest stop.

The final miles roll by......

I ended up catching the guys at a corner where they were sitting alongside the road in some luscious green grass. There were now only about ten miles to go, and this ride would be over. I have to say, I wasn't doing badly, even though this was my longest ride of 2024, and I hadn't been on this bike for that long before either. 

The experience was awesome. I was stoked to have ridden Oklahoma roads now and especially the Mid-South, even though I wasn't "official", (yes, Bobby is aware I did this), and I did not receive a time or record of it in their books. But no one cares about that anyway.... 

I wasn't going to do this, but Bobby was waiting for me, so.....

In fact, all along I had planned on bailing out a block or two before the official finish and coming back around on the back streets to reconnect with the guys who had paid and earned their "Bobby Hug". But remember what Bobby said to me earlier? That he was so looking forward to giving me a finish line hug? Well, I could not take away his hope in that, so I rode on in like everyone else did. 

Of course, Bobby Wintle went nuts, as he does, and gave me a very special hug. He said into my ear, "Thank you so much for teaching us how to do this." That really meant a lot to me. I'll never forget that as long as I can remember stuff. 

Then Bobby made us wait as he hugged about ten more finishers. Then he demanded we stand next to the tall bike and get our picture made with him and the Northfield Crew. Then he sped off like a whirling dervish and was gone again. 

Erik Mathy rode this King Fabrications bike belonging to Li King on the 100 mile route.

My bike right after the ride.

Then there was a looooong hang in an alley by the finish line. People came by that were new to me, but had known Ben and crew from previous Mid-South events, and I had a chance to get to know them as well. I saw a few folks that I knew that finished. Rob Evans and Kerry Moyer to name a couple. I saw Derek Henry, a Trans Iowa vet, out on course too. It was a great day on the bike and now it was time to soak it all in at the finish. 

I got to chat again with Li King, who had a sprint finish to win the non-binary category for Mid-South this year. Li actually rode my bike and was pretty impressed with how it came out after all. 

Later we went back to the Air BnB to get showered and cleaned up. A return ride to downtown was in order and we were thinking about eating and catching the DFL rider, the last person to finish, which Mid-South makes a big deal over. 

We ended up eating out at Louie's downtown and then heading back to catch some sleep. All of us were too tuckered out to stay up for the DFL, so we went back and had a nice, long sleep until Sunday morning and our last full day in Stillwater. 

Next: The After-Party

Mid South Report: The Race: Part 1

The morning of Mid South finally dawns.

We wanted to be up and moving by 6:00am, but I did not awaken until about 6:20am. Our start time for the 50 mile course was to be about 8:10am, so we had a little time to get things done, which included some breakfast. 

Ben took it upon himself to cook all of us eggs and rice. Once we were all fed and ready, we piled into the truck which was pulling the trailer with our bicycles inside of it down to the start-finish area. 

I have not officially "raced" my bike since the 2023 Gents Race, and well.......I still haven't. Bobby Wintle has a certain number of free entries he holds back for special people/athletes. He had offered me one of these to get into the event. This is nothing unusual for me, I get offered to come to events with a comped entry all the time. The thing is, I almost never accept those invitations. 

I get that people have feelings about me and those are valid. People in charge of events sometimes want to express their feelings of thankfulness towards me via these comped entries, which I also understand. I just seem to have a problem with that when it comes to myself. I feel I would be taking away from the possibility that someone more deserving than I could get that entry. I also just don't feel "right" about it. I don't know that I deserve even more than I've already received from the gravel scene. Maybe I need to let that go...... There is also the obstacle of my Saturday work schedule at the Collective too, so even if I wanted to go partake in a free entry, I probably couldn't.

But the point is, I was not "on record" as a racer. Yes.....I rode it "bandit".  

The 100 milers take off as King Cabbage plays on the bandstand.

The Northfield crew is on their way.

Bobby had a great start set up. The band was playing, whose name is "King Cabbage", and they have a stout horn section. They played Rage Against The Machine's "Bulls On Parade". It was hair raising and fun. The band was also playing some good tunes as we left for the 50 miler. 

After leaving the noisy start-finish area, we meandered through the business district and eventually to the fringes of Stillwater. First gravel was on some rollers and on narrow, tree-lined roads. There were lots of folks around us so it was "be careful" time and I wasn't pushing the issue at this point. Just cruising along with the river of cyclists. 

It was chilly to start out, but I chose to go minimalist and only wore a long-sleeved wool jersey and bibs anyway. My toes were cold, not bad, and 100% tolerable, but my fingers were frozen. I was hoping the Sun would come out, but it never really did and overcast skies were the norm for most of the day. 

The weather! I'm telling you! Most times it is an issue for some reason or another, but the weather was 100% a non-factor at Mid South this year. No wind! None! The temperatures finally got to around 70 degrees, and I only felt hot for about an half an hour on the entire ride. I am of the belief that Mid-South will never again have such a perfect weather weekend, but I could be wrong.

Then there were probably more course-side spectators than I have seen at an event in a long while. Some especially cute young children were cheering us all on with their 'You can do it!" shouts of encouragement. They were my favorites. 

First gravel and a lot of riders

More of the initial miles of the Mid South

Things were going great so far with my Honeman Flyer. The gearing was perfect. I could climb and I could hold my own on the flats. I had the ability to sprint short distances to get around riders if necessary. I was pretty happy early on. 

There were two things that happened that morning that affected my race. One was "positive" and one was a negative. The "positive" one could be debated, but I'm saying this was good. See, Oklahoma is a legal state for marijuana products. Marty, who grabbed some "dosed" chocolate squares at the party Thursday night, handed me a half a square before we started. I did not know it was a dosed candy. I'm not mad about it either, and the thing did make me feel like I could ride like the wind, which is what I ended up doing, and I dropped the guys like a bad habit. 

I tried to rein it in, but the bike was so easy to pedal and I felt great working the hills. Anyway, the second thing, the negative thing, kind of took care of that. 

I was on my own at this point.

I was descending one of the rock-hard, cobbled up sections of the course when I heard something rattling on the bike. The seat tube mounted bottle cage was loose! I swung over to the right side of the road to address the situation. 

I had an issue with this before I left for Mid-South but I thought I had addressed it. The lower bottle cage bolt seemed to have bottomed out on something inside the seat tube and so I just put in a shorter bolt and it seemed tight, but apparently, it wasn't. I took the bottle off and put it in my jersey pocket, tightened up the bolts as good as I could get them, and then I remounted and moved on. 

Of course, by this time Ben, Michael, Marty, and Justin had all passed me by, along with probably hundreds of other people. Oh well! We were not looking to go fast, Ben had lots of stops planned, and I was sure to come across the guys at some point. Besides, I always end up riding alone at these events. So, what's new about this time? Same-ol-same-ol. 

A rider adjusting his bike along the course of the Mid-South event.

These roads are very unique.

So, a few words about Oklahoma roads around Stillwater. I'd never ridden there before and I was excited to see what the fuss was about with Mid-South and the course. I'd heard and read plenty over the years and so this was a real treat to finally do this thing. 

I guess I'd call the terrain a mix between Iowa and what I'd find at Gravel Worlds. Lots of punchy, shorter climbs but not just a few longer hauls with gentler grades as you might ride around Lincoln. The dirt was gritty and in places, blown out like powder. A red powder that was being whipped up by our bicycles and making strange rouge-like deposits on cheeks, noses, and arms and legs. 

There was some crushed rock, which seemed to be white, like Iowa's and only used for certain things like repairs or bridge approaches. This stuff was 100% familiar to me and I took to it like a fish in water. There were sections of grayer gravel which was sometimes pushed into the road's center lane, or would be humped up in between the classic three-tire clearings on your typical crushed rock roads. 

Not a lot of that is unusual, but what is different is how hard and rough the dirt road beds are. The descents are many, fast, and combined with the roughness of the roads, you'd better have everything battened down tight or it will vibrate loose! 

The "conga line" waiting to cross about five yards of wet mud.

I finally reached the checkpoint at about 28 miles into the event.

I rode alone through to the checkpoint where I hoped to find the guys I had been separated from. The racers had spread out a bit more as I was coming toward the checkpoint, but keeping track of where to go was easy. Just follow the leaders! 

The course featured lots of shorter climbs and descents which suited the single speed. I was still trucking along fine, but something was lost after the first time that I stopped and I no longer felt quite so invincible. 

At the checkpoint I ran across Rob Evans from Nebraska and some Cycle Works riders. They invited me over for some snacks.  I left to use the porta-potties and I realized that Ben and Marty were trying to find me. They were on the roadside where I eventually saw them. I told them what had separarted me from them and Ben offered some split washers he had which would secure the cage better. That worked out so I could carry the water bottle as intended. With that done, we readied to go again. 

The courses for the 100 and the 50 split off here. 100 milers went straight, 50 milers towards camera.

Even though we started together, I was off the back and seemed to be slipping back from the Northfield group. Then I made a wrong turn, or rather, no turn instead of turning, where I ended up having a half mile round trip correction. 

The course had a lot less riders on it since the 100 mile folks peeled off, and with no directions, I was left to see if I could either read the trail or watch other cyclists. That's the price you pay for riding bandit! 

I did get back on course and I eventually found the guys resting around a corner. Then we were off again, only now I found myself off the front again, and not being able to ride slowly enough to let them catch back on. 

We reached the point where in 2023 Ben and crew had a ditch-side oasis stop.

Ben had been talking up this stop he had done the year before where they had whiskey, snacks, and shade to share with riders. He wanted to do something similar again for 2024. Once we found the spot we planned on at least staying for an hour, maybe more. 

Next; The Race Part 2.

Mid South Report: The Expo

The Honeman Flyer on Oklahoma gravel

 Friday was the day for the Expo, but not before we all went down to meet Bobby Wintle and whomever else was with him for breakfast at a restaurant named "Hatch" in Stillwater.

Somehow we all peeled ourselves out of our beds at the Air BnB to make it down to Hatch by a little after six o'clock in the morning. When we got there I think we were almost the first folks in the building to eat. There was that one guy sitting at the breakfast bar with a bowl of cereal in front of him who had a thousand yard stare going on. Yeah....been there done that, Buddy! But besides that guy, Bobby was nowhere to be found. 

But I did not expect him either. If there is one take away from these reports, please make it that Bobby Wintle IS Mid South and his fingerprints are all over the event. He and his wife Crystal host more than 3.000 riders, put on a music festival, an expo, and help facilitate a few parties over the course of the week. That's a lot of work, and while Bobby has several volunteers, his soul and spirit infuse Mid South with life and - in my opinion - without Bobby Wintle there is no Mid South. 

So, I figured Bobby probably had other, more important things on his mind, or he was torn away by some pressing need or another. Not to be wondered at with such a complex event with so many moving parts to it. 

My plate at Hatch on Friday.

Of course, breakfast was wonderful. The crew agreed with me that it was one of the best meals we'd all had recently and that Hatch was an experience not to be missed. The place was really cool inside, (it used to be a NAPA auto store from decades back), and the brick interior with its tall, many-paned windows were lending a bit of an industrial feel but the rest of the interior is bright and modern. 

Bobby did eventually show up and he said hello, introduced us to his parents, and then was about his day. So, that was a bit of a surprise and it was really great to see him again. Bobby said he was going to go nuts when I finished the event and give me "the greatest hug". A "Bobby Hug" is part of the reason a lot of people want to finish this event, and Bobby will hug all 3000-plus if they all finish. 

Ben, Michael, and Marty then went to set up the pop-up tent for their booth at Mid South's expo area, a two block bit of the street that bisected the street which was used for the start/finish line. The event started and finished in front of District Cycles.  I went with Justin to find where Ben and Michael had parked the truck with the small, aluminum covered trailer they pulled down with that contained the tent, bicycles, and supplies, so we could see if some of Justin's keys were in the back. 

We did not have clear directions as to the location of the trailer, only that it was near a brewery, and yes - there is more than one of those in Stillwater. So, Justin and I got in a nice walk before we eventually found the trailer and he found his misplaced keys. This would be a recurring theme with Justin for the entire weekend. He and misplaced keys, that is. 

A look at the East end of the expo area.

The Grassroots Gravel Event is in Pueblo, Colorado. I'll have more on them later

It was a colder, blustery morning. The wind gusts were giving some of the vendors a fit, but Ben, Michael, and Marty's set up was fairly sheltered. I ended up cruising the expo and then I sat around, taking spot duty for the guys in case they had to eat, use the restroom, etc. 

I met a lot of great folks from all over the USA. While on my cruise of the expo I ran into Jason Boucher, Jason Strohbehn of Gravel Worlds, and a few other people I know. I was happy to reconnect with these people after so long. 

Ben Witt (L) and Michael Lehmkuhl of the Heywood ride. Marty Larsen took the picture.

GT (R) with Rob Evans from Lincoln, NE. (Image by Rob Evans)

Eventually the Sun came out and it reached 70° with lowered winds. The afternoon was actually quite pleasant. I stuck around at the expo, took a break to eat at a food truck located down there, and then I just enjoyed the people that came by to share stories and bicycles. 

This Mosaic titanium bike was pretty far-out with its sponged color scheme.

The Mid South holds running events on Friday along with a slate of musical acts on the main stage.

While the event's expo is cool, there is also a main stage where musical acts performed all day Friday and into Friday evening. The Mid South also has running events, and those were contested on Friday as well. 

This frame is cast aluminum and is all one-piece. made by Heavy Bikes.

The aluminum is cast with pressure into a sand foundry mold

The Heavy Bikes gravel rig came by the booth, and while I don't like to do anything like those "awards" some media folk hand out, this was maybe the best bicycle at the expo. At least it was in the top three. Ben's tall bike was arguably in that conversation as well. Anyway...

The Heavy Bikes process is really interesting. The aluminum is left with a lot of the textures and "warts" from casting which gives the bicycle a very industrial, purposeful look, in my opinion. You might think it is ugly, but since casting metal is something I was around for ten years as a jeweler, I find this fascinating. Oh! And the bike wasn't all that heavy either. Quite surprising. 

Marty Larsen helps pack up the booth after the expo. Ben's bicycle sits to the left here.

We went back to our Air BnB for supper.

After a full day of meeting people and talking it was time to get the booth torn down and put away. Ben had let probably a dozen different people ride his tall bike, which was a frame and fork he bought from Adam Sklar, a frame builder. This tall bike was something that Adam was experimenting with, and is not officially a "Sklar" bike, but that is who built the frame/fork. 

The bike was garnering a huge amount of interest and Ben's friend and photographer, Jared Bunk, was asked to take images of it after the expo out at the Air BnB we were staying in. 

(L-R) Justin Michaels, Michael Lehmkuhl, and Ben look on as Jared Bunk prepares to ride the tall bike.

Ben Witt taking an image of Jared on the tall bike.

After the photo session we all went in and had a supper of pan fried chicken breasts and some side dishes. Jared spoke with us about his Summer plans which prompted Ben to pitch Jared on coming to the Heywood ride to take images. I think Ben convinced Jared to come in the end.

Jared then left and it was off to bed as we had another early day ahead with the actual ride.