Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles social media.

  "Salsa Cycles is the Bread" of this" FN&V Sandwich!

Salsa Cycles To Offer "Party Shirts" At Mid-South:

The Mid-South event and Salsa Cycles have had a working relationship for many years with bike introductions and the Chaise Lounge appearing on course. 

This year Salsa Cycles is bringing something a bit different as well as a newly recovered in purple velvet Chaise Lounge. They are bringing 'party shirts'. 

There will be a very limited number of these available only at the vendor demo area before the Mid-South event in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Salsa is celebrating the Chaise Lounge being inducted into the "Icon" category at the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame ceremonies last year. The shirts, in two colors, will feature the now purple Chaise Lounge printed all over a Hawaiian style short-sleeved shirt. 

Salsa has no plans to offer these via distributors or dealers but they are not saying it couldn't happen either. So, the best bet is to find someone that is going to Mid-South and grease their palms liberally if you have the itch to get one of these shirts. 

I'll (hopefully) be seeing these in-person as I am to attend the festivities in a couple of weeks or so. Stay tuned for a report on this and all the goings on at Mid-South coming up here soon.

Image courtesy of Erik Mathy

A (Brief) Honeman Flyer Update:

Today is supposed to be the day that the Honeman Flyer frame and fork arrive at the illustrious Guitar Ted Productions headquarters. I have been in 'parts acquisition mode' for the entire week and I have parts coming in today as well for this.

I already have received the bottom bracket, the rear through axle, and two stainless steel water bottle cages. I am to see a pair of brake levers show up which were graciously donated to this build by a blog reader named "Charlie". (Thanks again!!!)

There will be a massive scramble tonight and tomorrow afternoon and evening to see if I can get this rig together. As of now, the first outing for the Honeman Flyer is to be a bike swap that the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective is putting on Sunday at Second State Brewery in downtown Cedar Falls, Iowa at 1:00pm till 4:00pm. So, if you are a local, you might be able to peep this frame and fork in the flesh there. Assuming all goes well. 

And that's a BIG assumption! You never know what tiddly bits I might need and don't have, or surprises about the geometry or build that I was unaware of. I will say that I am pretty sure this bike will be somewhat analogous to the Twin Six Standard Rando v2 with a couple of important variations. I'll get into the weeds about all of that later on. Stay tuned.....UPDATE: 8:35am Friday Shipment delayed until Monday. Dang it! Oh well......

Balvindar Singh at the finish of T.I.v12 Tell me this isn't "winning".

Reaction To Cycling Weekly "Spirit of Gravel" Post:

Maybe you have seen a post making the rounds on social media written by a man named Josh Ross for "Cycling Weekly". The post is getting run because, well.....to be honest it is clickbait. Which is why I won't honor the post with a link here. Search out the thing if you must. 

But clickbait usually kicks off with a controversial statement, and this one has a doozy which has stirred up the gravel folk. What do you expect from an article that starts out by saying that the "Spirit of Gravel is dead and that's for the best".

First off, most people don't know what "spirit" even means, nor do they believe in it, or that spirits may even exist. So right off the top this gets messy when we speak of the "spirit of gravel". I'll leave my thoughts on that for another time. Other than being a mechanism for gaining attention for the author's post, it has no bearing on the message Mr. Ross is proclaiming. 

The real point here is that the author thinks gravel events should have categories so more people can stand on a podium. The author states, and I'm not making this up, that" "I don't participate in gravel events because I can't win."

Yep..... Amazing. If this statement doesn't tell you that the author doesn't understand gravel events nothing else will.  Question: If the author doesn't participate in gravel events then what makes him any kind of an authority on what the events on gravel should be? I guess the author is looking out for our well-being. I mean, I guess we aren't "winning" so something must change! Gosh! I had no idea! (sarcasm alert)

 "Winning" doesn't limit itself to standing on a podium. That's such a narrow and well....ignorant way of looking at competition and gravel events. Besides, there already are gravel events that have categories and podiums for classes. Obviously this author has not done his research. Gravel Worlds anyone? And plenty more besides that event. 

And finally, if the author of that post thinks this sort of event doesn't exist, he should start one that suits him. Which is also a thing we did to get gravel going. Until this person does that, this post is pretty much just hot air. 

Salsa Cycles Goes Electric:

Sea Otter 2023 had a big, unexpected surprise from Salsa Cycles. Their booth at the expo there was festooned with banners proclaiming that "Salsa Electric" had debuted with the first model being the Confluence gravel bike. This was a hub motor design and was very strangely not reported on by any mainstream cycling outlet. 

After Sea Otter there was no mention of the electric Salsa bikes at all. It was as if they never existed. Weird. Not at all like Salsa had been marketed previously, but you had to believe that at some point that Salsa would be coming out with motorized bikes. 

That point would appear to be now. The Confluence being the first up, but mid-motored off-road, gravel, and MTB product is following soon. There will be the Tributary, a "Fargo/Cutthroat" type electrified adventure/bikepacking bike. Then you will see the Moraine and the Notch FS bikes as well. 

Comments: Obviously this was a direction Salsa had to take with most companies having electrified bikes in their line-ups in the 2020's already. The question is, how will these late-comers to market be accepted and is this the right direction for Salsa Cycles to go? 

Okay, that's a wrap for this week! I hope that you het out and ride this weekend!

Ted-terview: Guitar Ted Gets Interviewed: Part 2

 I mentioned in last week's FN&V that I had been interviewed by Haley Hunter-Smith and that it was a rather revealing interview. I have been given the green light to share the interview with you here on the blog.

This was/is a part of a research effort by the Queen's University and was an interview conducted by Haley Hunter-Smith with myself via a Zoom call. The transcript was then sent to me about one week later. 

I don't plan on sharing the entire interview, and this will be the last post- most likely- to get through. I am going to lightly edit the interview for clarity and readability. 

The research was done in an effort to find out from many different individuals what the "Spirit of Gravel" might entail, why, or if it is important to preserve, and what- if anything- can be gained from that for future race directors, gravel enthusiasts, and more. 

Part 2: The Spirit Of Gravel

In this part of the interview, I get into my views on the "Spirit of Gravel" and what that means to me. 

Haley Hunter-Smith: I was going to ask this later on, but you've...we're kind of going in this direction right now. Anyway, so do you think that you are - are you able to articulate partly, or in full what you think
the spirit of gravel is? Or would, should we revisit that later?

Guitar Ted: No, I'm always ready to talk about that! First of all, I think that a lot of people get hung up by that word "spirit". You know, so much of Western culture isn't spiritual. They don't understand, I don't think, what they're even talking about, but that's a big part of the gravel scene. The spiritual nature of it. 

So people get connected to nature through being out in the in the back country, or, you know, rural areas. And it does change you to a degree, I think the more time you spend in nature, I think that's definitely a spiritual thing, and it's something that doesn't get talked a lot about, because you know, there's… You get a little bit too touchy feely about spiritual things, and some people are gonna back away from that. 

So when I hear the term "spirit of gravel", I always kind of smirk, because I wonder if people really understand what that means. Or have you been considering what that might mean? And so to me, um, all throughout my career, putting on events, the spiritual nature of what I was trying to accomplish was very important to me. I wanted people to be touched in that way, and be changed in that way, and I thought that- my hypothesis was that - If you put people in in a stressful situation where they're broken down physically and mentally, that they're more open to that kind of thing. So I found that to be true for a lot of people that participated in my events, and I think that's true for a lot of people who do gravel. 

But again, this is something that not a lot of people talk about. I think when people talk about the spirit of gravel, more often than not, they're talking about what their version of it is, and they want to protect that, you know. And so it comes down to things like, how, how are my events run technically. And how do I want to see my competition, you know, presented, or how do I want to be included? Or, you know, it comes down to things like that which I don't think… That's not necessarily this. A spiritual thing. That's more or less a cultural thing, you know. So I think that's all mixed up in this term. And my feeling is a lot of people don't really understand what they're talking about.

HHS: Okay, that's a unique perspective. I quite enjoyed that. So you you talk… you did mention that, so you, in your view gravel is a spiritual experience, and you mentioned that that is something that a lot of Western culture doesn't think about, we're not particularly spiritual. So is this… Do you have other experiences in sport? And is this spiritual aspect of it something unique to the gravel experience? Can you contrast those at all?

GT: Well, I think that if you're open to spiritual things and ideas, that if you participate in, it doesn't have to be cycling even. I mean, I'm sure people have had, you know, spiritual experiences running or rock climbing or wrestling, you know for that matter. It's, it's... or just walking. You know, out in nature. Obviously, there's spiritual houses of worship and things like that. So I think that, um, you know we don't have, you know, a hold of that idea 100% for gravel riding. It goes across all kinds of things.

 But you know, going back to my personal experience with it. I had done some self-supported cycle touring in the nineties. The thing that I always go back to is there was this particular day in the middle of South Dakota when I was dropped by my 2 companions and I couldn't see them anymore. And it was, it was probably a 100 mile day. We were crazy doing these 100 mile days, and I was very broken down mentally and physically at that point in time. I had a spiritual experience on the bike, and I thought that, uh, looking back on it, that was a very pivotal point in my life. That kind of sent my life off in a different direction because of that situation, and I thought more people should have the opportunity to experience that, than just myself. And so that was part of the motivation, for how I did my events, to kind of put people in those situations where they might come across that same experience that I did. 

But I think that, you know, I'm not unique in that sense. I think, you know, there's many people who have expressed feelings and ideas that I hear, and I read, and I'm like, “Yeah, that's, uh, that's pretty much where I came from as well. So, you know, by no means do I have a lock on what the spirit of gravel is, I think it's, it's an individual thing and unique across many different people that you know, they're gonna come to it in different ways, and express it in different ways. 

I think that's something that is there. And again, you know, being that we're, you know, more about, “If I can't touch it, it doesn't exist”, that kind of thing where Western culture is a lot like that. I think that it becomes very difficult for us to express those ideas. Where I think that comes a lot more naturally to other parts of the world. People from other parts the world go, "Well, yeah, of course, you know that's something that exists. And it's real, and we get it, you know". So I think that it's, it's very fascinating to me to see people in athletic competitions, or just riding, bike packing, you know, where you're just out there, and they come away from it with, you know, being changed in that way.  I enjoy that part of the scene.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you to Haley Hunter-Smith for that great interview and the permission to share part of that with you all here. There is a lot more, she interviewed me for an hour, but much of that is about Trans Iowa and I've beaten that horse to death here. Plus I gave some thoughts on the big-time gravel scene as well. But, I think this was the most important stuff here which I have shared. 

If there is enough interest, I may post more. For now- Thanks again for reading!

Ted-terview: Guitar Ted Gets Interviewed: Part 2

 I mentioned in last week's FN&V that I had been interviewed by Haley Hunter-Smith and that it was a rather revealing interview. I have been given the green light to share the interview with you here on the blog.

This was/is a part of a research effort by the Queen's University and was an interview conducted by Haley Hunter-Smith with myself via a Zoom call. The transcript was then sent to me about one week later. 

I don't plan on sharing the entire interview, and this will be the last post- most likely- to get through. I am going to lightly edit the interview for clarity and readability. 

The research was done in an effort to find out from many different individuals what the "Spirit of Gravel" might entail, why, or if it is important to preserve, and what- if anything- can be gained from that for future race directors, gravel enthusiasts, and more. 

Part 2: The Spirit Of Gravel

In this part of the interview, I get into my views on the "Spirit of Gravel" and what that means to me. 

Haley Hunter-Smith: I was going to ask this later on, but you've...we're kind of going in this direction right now. Anyway, so do you think that you are - are you able to articulate partly, or in full what you think
the spirit of gravel is? Or would, should we revisit that later?

Guitar Ted: No, I'm always ready to talk about that! First of all, I think that a lot of people get hung up by that word "spirit". You know, so much of Western culture isn't spiritual. They don't understand, I don't think, what they're even talking about, but that's a big part of the gravel scene. The spiritual nature of it. 

So people get connected to nature through being out in the in the back country, or, you know, rural areas. And it does change you to a degree, I think the more time you spend in nature, I think that's definitely a spiritual thing, and it's something that doesn't get talked a lot about, because you know, there's… You get a little bit too touchy feely about spiritual things, and some people are gonna back away from that. 

So when I hear the term "spirit of gravel", I always kind of smirk, because I wonder if people really understand what that means. Or have you been considering what that might mean? And so to me, um, all throughout my career, putting on events, the spiritual nature of what I was trying to accomplish was very important to me. I wanted people to be touched in that way, and be changed in that way, and I thought that- my hypothesis was that - If you put people in in a stressful situation where they're broken down physically and mentally, that they're more open to that kind of thing. So I found that to be true for a lot of people that participated in my events, and I think that's true for a lot of people who do gravel. 

But again, this is something that not a lot of people talk about. I think when people talk about the spirit of gravel, more often than not, they're talking about what their version of it is, and they want to protect that, you know. And so it comes down to things like, how, how are my events run technically. And how do I want to see my competition, you know, presented, or how do I want to be included? Or, you know, it comes down to things like that which I don't think… That's not necessarily this. A spiritual thing. That's more or less a cultural thing, you know. So I think that's all mixed up in this term. And my feeling is a lot of people don't really understand what they're talking about.

HHS: Okay, that's a unique perspective. I quite enjoyed that. So you you talk… you did mention that, so you, in your view gravel is a spiritual experience, and you mentioned that that is something that a lot of Western culture doesn't think about, we're not particularly spiritual. So is this… Do you have other experiences in sport? And is this spiritual aspect of it something unique to the gravel experience? Can you contrast those at all?

GT: Well, I think that if you're open to spiritual things and ideas, that if you participate in, it doesn't have to be cycling even. I mean, I'm sure people have had, you know, spiritual experiences running or rock climbing or wrestling, you know for that matter. It's, it's... or just walking. You know, out in nature. Obviously, there's spiritual houses of worship and things like that. So I think that, um, you know we don't have, you know, a hold of that idea 100% for gravel riding. It goes across all kinds of things.

 But you know, going back to my personal experience with it. I had done some self-supported cycle touring in the nineties. The thing that I always go back to is there was this particular day in the middle of South Dakota when I was dropped by my 2 companions and I couldn't see them anymore. And it was, it was probably a 100 mile day. We were crazy doing these 100 mile days, and I was very broken down mentally and physically at that point in time. I had a spiritual experience on the bike, and I thought that, uh, looking back on it, that was a very pivotal point in my life. That kind of sent my life off in a different direction because of that situation, and I thought more people should have the opportunity to experience that, than just myself. And so that was part of the motivation, for how I did my events, to kind of put people in those situations where they might come across that same experience that I did. 

But I think that, you know, I'm not unique in that sense. I think, you know, there's many people who have expressed feelings and ideas that I hear, and I read, and I'm like, “Yeah, that's, uh, that's pretty much where I came from as well. So, you know, by no means do I have a lock on what the spirit of gravel is, I think it's, it's an individual thing and unique across many different people that you know, they're gonna come to it in different ways, and express it in different ways. 

I think that's something that is there. And again, you know, being that we're, you know, more about, “If I can't touch it, it doesn't exist”, that kind of thing where Western culture is a lot like that. I think that it becomes very difficult for us to express those ideas. Where I think that comes a lot more naturally to other parts of the world. People from other parts the world go, "Well, yeah, of course, you know that's something that exists. And it's real, and we get it, you know". So I think that it's, it's very fascinating to me to see people in athletic competitions, or just riding, bike packing, you know, where you're just out there, and they come away from it with, you know, being changed in that way.  I enjoy that part of the scene.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you to Haley Hunter-Smith for that great interview and the permission to share part of that with you all here. There is a lot more, she interviewed me for an hour, but much of that is about Trans Iowa and I've beaten that horse to death here. Plus I gave some thoughts on the big-time gravel scene as well. But, I think this was the most important stuff here which I have shared. 

If there is enough interest, I may post more. For now- Thanks again for reading!

Ted-terview: Guitar Ted Gets Interviewed; Part 1

 I mentioned in last week's FN&V that I had been interviewed by Haley Hunter-Smith and that it was a rather revealing interview. I have been given the green light to share the interview with you here on the blog.

This was/is a part of a research effort by the Queen's University and was an interview conducted by Haley Hunter-Smith with myself via a Zoom call. The transcript was then sent to me about one week later. 

I don't plan on sharing the entire interview, and this will take a couple posts- at least- to get through. I am going to lightly edit the interview for clarity and readability. 

The research was done in an effort to find out from many different individuals what the "Spirit of Gravel" might entail, why, or if it is important to preserve, and what- if anything- can be gained from that for future race directors, gravel enthusiasts, and more. 

Part One: The Beginnings Of The Modern Gravel Scene:

Haley Hunter-Smith

The first part of the interview covered my introduction to gravel cycling. 

Haley Hunter-Smith: So. To kick things off, I was just wondering if you could tell me how you came to gravel.

Guitar Ted: Okay, well, that would be through well… there’s a couple different things I could say. First of all, I grew up in Iowa and we have upwards of seventy thousand miles of gravel and dirt roads here, so it surrounds you and it’s part of your life whether you want it to be or not. 

Many of my relatives lived on gravel roads, and so growing up when I went to visit them, a lot of our play was on gravel roads and, you know, I’m very familiar with gravel roads from that stand point. So that’s one thing. And the other thing would be that I fell in love with bicycling at a young age, and you know, just exploring and going adventuring and things of that nature were part of it. 

And then the, the thing that really kicked it off probably, was that I worked with another gentleman by the name of Jeff Kerkove in a bicycle shop in this area. We had our boss, and he’d done this stunt with three other gentlemen where they rode across Iowa on road bikes in a day. And he was very proud of that, and he let us know that repeatedly. We became very tired of the story, and after the retelling of it for the umpteenth time, Jeff looked at me and said, “Well, you know we could do something like that with mountain bikes, but we wouldn't want to do it on pavement. Do you think we could do this across Iowa off-pavement?” And I thought for a moment, and knowing, you know, what I knew about gravel roads and maps and things, I said, “Yeah, I think that's possible, I think we could do something across the State of Iowa on gravel roads. And so then he said,” Let's do it!”. And that kicked off the event called Trans Iowa, where we set up an event that went across the state on gravel roads. About 310 miles or so. 

And yeah, just through doing that event, and watching the athletes that we got to come to that first event, ride on gravel roads I was… Suddenly a switch went off, and I well, of course, why haven't I been doing this myself? And so that was when I got involved in putting on events, and participating as an individual, riding on gravel roads. You know, that was 2005, and so I 've been doing that ever since, right?

Jeff Kerkove (L) and GT at the pre-race meeting for Trans Iowa v1 in 2005

HHS: So you really were one of the very, very first, I can’t even call you an adopter… a founder!

GT: Well, uh, I 'm very quick to tell people that we weren't the first people to ride on gravel roads, or to even have an event, a competitive event, on gravel roads. These things were happening here and there, you know, and I could name several examples of that. But we were... What I would say, we were in the right place at the right time with technology, the way things were, and with a new idea of, to most people, for a bicycling event. And those two things combined, set up a lot of dominoes, set off a wave. 

It was like dropping a stone in the middle of a pond, and the influence of what we did went out into the community of cycling and caught on. So you know, I'm just very fortunate that I was in that place at that time, and you know, I like to say that was the moment "the modern gravel scene" started, and what you would know as gravel today was, that was the genesis of it. Back then in 2005.

HHS: Okay, well, thank you very much for starting this (laughs). When you think back to those early experiences, your early renditions of Trans Iowa as an event organizer, and also as a gravel participant, do you have specific emotions that you associate with those experiences?

GT: Yeah, I would say that there were two things that really struck me immediately. One was the camaraderie, and the openness to accepting people that were part of this. So to give you some context to that… I came into this as not really an athlete. I'd done some cross country mountain biking in the 90's, but I was more or less just, you know, a nearly 50 year old, bicycle mechanic that nobody knew, and I went to this event with Jeff Kerkove, who at that time- He was a very well known 24hr mountain biker, solo mountain biker, in the scene, and sponsored you know, and a lot of people knew who he was.

So he attracted all these ultra mountain bikers to our first event, and I was intimidated because I wasn't part of that scene, and nobody knew who I was. Yet, when I went there they were all like, Oh, yeah, this, you know, they're very kind to me, and very open and accepting of me, and complimentary to what we were doing. So I came away from that first event feeling very humble and very much excited, that I was you know, accepted as part of that scene. So that was probably the biggest thing to me that that impressed me at that point in time.

HHS: Okay. And are, are you still involved in gravel in any sort of capacity?

GT: Yeah, I retired from putting on events in 2019. Now I write for my own personal blog, which has been going on since 2005. Then I also am a co-owner of a site called Riding Gravel, where we review and test products for gravel cycling.

HHS: Okay. And so, from that perspective, having been a very early community member, and to what you're witnessing now, do you perceive any changes in the community?

GT: Well, it's become a lot more diverse and a lot bigger (laughs). Obviously, yeah, I, I just think I'm excited, because you know the things that I felt about the gravel scene, coming into it as an outsider, so to speak, and being accepted, I see that still happening. And that people are really pushing for that. I think of several different organizations and people that are really working hard to make sure that everybody's accepted into the gravel scene. And you know we, we talked a little bit about, before we started recording, about the spirit of gravel, and I think that's a really big part of it - That people are accepted for who they are and what they bring to the scene is okay, and that's what I'm really excited about as far as how things look today. I'm being completely blown away by how big it's got though (laughs).

_______________________________________________________________________________

Next- in Part 2 of the Ted-terview: On Saturday the interview will pick up and get into what I think about this whole "Spirit of Gravel" thing. Stay tuned....

Ted-terview: Guitar Ted Gets Interviewed; Part 1

 I mentioned in last week's FN&V that I had been interviewed by Haley Hunter-Smith and that it was a rather revealing interview. I have been given the green light to share the interview with you here on the blog.

This was/is a part of a research effort by the Queen's University and was an interview conducted by Haley Hunter-Smith with myself via a Zoom call. The transcript was then sent to me about one week later. 

I don't plan on sharing the entire interview, and this will take a couple posts- at least- to get through. I am going to lightly edit the interview for clarity and readability. 

The research was done in an effort to find out from many different individuals what the "Spirit of Gravel" might entail, why, or if it is important to preserve, and what- if anything- can be gained from that for future race directors, gravel enthusiasts, and more. 

Part One: The Beginnings Of The Modern Gravel Scene:

Haley Hunter-Smith

The first part of the interview covered my introduction to gravel cycling. 

Haley Hunter-Smith: So. To kick things off, I was just wondering if you could tell me how you came to gravel.

Guitar Ted: Okay, well, that would be through well… there’s a couple different things I could say. First of all, I grew up in Iowa and we have upwards of seventy thousand miles of gravel and dirt roads here, so it surrounds you and it’s part of your life whether you want it to be or not. 

Many of my relatives lived on gravel roads, and so growing up when I went to visit them, a lot of our play was on gravel roads and, you know, I’m very familiar with gravel roads from that stand point. So that’s one thing. And the other thing would be that I fell in love with bicycling at a young age, and you know, just exploring and going adventuring and things of that nature were part of it. 

And then the, the thing that really kicked it off probably, was that I worked with another gentleman by the name of Jeff Kerkove in a bicycle shop in this area. We had our boss, and he’d done this stunt with three other gentlemen where they rode across Iowa on road bikes in a day. And he was very proud of that, and he let us know that repeatedly. We became very tired of the story, and after the retelling of it for the umpteenth time, Jeff looked at me and said, “Well, you know we could do something like that with mountain bikes, but we wouldn't want to do it on pavement. Do you think we could do this across Iowa off-pavement?” And I thought for a moment, and knowing, you know, what I knew about gravel roads and maps and things, I said, “Yeah, I think that's possible, I think we could do something across the State of Iowa on gravel roads. And so then he said,” Let's do it!”. And that kicked off the event called Trans Iowa, where we set up an event that went across the state on gravel roads. About 310 miles or so. 

And yeah, just through doing that event, and watching the athletes that we got to come to that first event, ride on gravel roads I was… Suddenly a switch went off, and I well, of course, why haven't I been doing this myself? And so that was when I got involved in putting on events, and participating as an individual, riding on gravel roads. You know, that was 2005, and so I 've been doing that ever since, right?

Jeff Kerkove (L) and GT at the pre-race meeting for Trans Iowa v1 in 2005

HHS: So you really were one of the very, very first, I can’t even call you an adopter… a founder!

GT: Well, uh, I 'm very quick to tell people that we weren't the first people to ride on gravel roads, or to even have an event, a competitive event, on gravel roads. These things were happening here and there, you know, and I could name several examples of that. But we were... What I would say, we were in the right place at the right time with technology, the way things were, and with a new idea of, to most people, for a bicycling event. And those two things combined, set up a lot of dominoes, set off a wave. 

It was like dropping a stone in the middle of a pond, and the influence of what we did went out into the community of cycling and caught on. So you know, I'm just very fortunate that I was in that place at that time, and you know, I like to say that was the moment "the modern gravel scene" started, and what you would know as gravel today was, that was the genesis of it. Back then in 2005.

HHS: Okay, well, thank you very much for starting this (laughs). When you think back to those early experiences, your early renditions of Trans Iowa as an event organizer, and also as a gravel participant, do you have specific emotions that you associate with those experiences?

GT: Yeah, I would say that there were two things that really struck me immediately. One was the camaraderie, and the openness to accepting people that were part of this. So to give you some context to that… I came into this as not really an athlete. I'd done some cross country mountain biking in the 90's, but I was more or less just, you know, a nearly 50 year old, bicycle mechanic that nobody knew, and I went to this event with Jeff Kerkove, who at that time- He was a very well known 24hr mountain biker, solo mountain biker, in the scene, and sponsored you know, and a lot of people knew who he was.

So he attracted all these ultra mountain bikers to our first event, and I was intimidated because I wasn't part of that scene, and nobody knew who I was. Yet, when I went there they were all like, Oh, yeah, this, you know, they're very kind to me, and very open and accepting of me, and complimentary to what we were doing. So I came away from that first event feeling very humble and very much excited, that I was you know, accepted as part of that scene. So that was probably the biggest thing to me that that impressed me at that point in time.

HHS: Okay. And are, are you still involved in gravel in any sort of capacity?

GT: Yeah, I retired from putting on events in 2019. Now I write for my own personal blog, which has been going on since 2005. Then I also am a co-owner of a site called Riding Gravel, where we review and test products for gravel cycling.

HHS: Okay. And so, from that perspective, having been a very early community member, and to what you're witnessing now, do you perceive any changes in the community?

GT: Well, it's become a lot more diverse and a lot bigger (laughs). Obviously, yeah, I, I just think I'm excited, because you know the things that I felt about the gravel scene, coming into it as an outsider, so to speak, and being accepted, I see that still happening. And that people are really pushing for that. I think of several different organizations and people that are really working hard to make sure that everybody's accepted into the gravel scene. And you know we, we talked a little bit about, before we started recording, about the spirit of gravel, and I think that's a really big part of it - That people are accepted for who they are and what they bring to the scene is okay, and that's what I'm really excited about as far as how things look today. I'm being completely blown away by how big it's got though (laughs).

_______________________________________________________________________________

Next- in Part 2 of the Ted-terview: On Saturday the interview will pick up and get into what I think about this whole "Spirit of Gravel" thing. Stay tuned....

Two Things For Today

I suppose I could have called this one a "Randomonium" post, but really this is just about two things that popped up Thursday in my social media observations. One is about the new Specialized Diverge STR and the other is an article about the so-called "Spirit of Gravel". Okay, so let's go.....

A close look at the workings. (Image courtesy of "Cyclist UK")

Thing 1- The Specialized Diverge STR:

Specialized calls this technology their "Suspend The Rider" technology. Aptly named because it doesn't do what most everyone thinks of when you say "dual suspension". Yet almost every single outlet reporting on this bike used that term. 

That's the state of reporting circa 2022. Give people the wrong idea, because it is just easier to do that instead of tell them what they are really looking at. 

Essentially this is a "motor mount" idea. Damping the vibrations of the road from the "motor" (the rider in this case) and the motions of the motor/rider from the chassis. The wheels will still do what they do on a rigid bike, so this is not "a dual suspension" bike, despite what you might be reading out there. 

It's not a bad idea, this Diverge bike, but it does come at a price. Nearly 8K for the cheapest one, it is 200 grams heavier than the outgoing version, (not that big of a deal), and it is far more complex with a lot of places for things to go wrong in the future. You could just get a Redshift Sports ShockStop Seat post, save a bunch of money, add about the same amount of weight, and put it on any gravel bike. 

Once again- you can solve a problem elegantly and simply, or you can do it with an overly complex, expensive solution that is wholly proprietary. Your choice. The idea, at its core, is a sound one. How this Specialized solution was implemented is a bit goofy, in my opinion. 

Image by Jason Boucher from Trans Iowa v9

Thing 2 - The Spirit of Gravel:

I was tagged on a post on Twitter by Andrew Vontz who authored this article on a site called "Why This Is Interesting" on Thursday. It is a post that looks at the culture of gravel and how the corporate monetization, competitive elements, and social media narratives surrounding the gravel scene today are at odds with the origins of the scene and why it has grown at all in the first place. 

You've been around here enough, most likely, that you already know what I think about all of that. If you take the time to read Mr. Vontz's article, I think you'll see that he does a fair job of laying out today's gravel landscape and why it is that things are in upheaval on social media concerning gravel events and what not. He brought up some interesting questions as well. 

First of all, let me say that I was not contacted about this piece and I was not aware of it until it had been published. Had I been made aware of some of the statements Mr. Vontz had made in the opening paragraph concerning Trans Iowa, I could have easily corrected those minor mistakes in his story there. (Or he could have looked at this written historical record. It's as if I try to hide this stuff, ya know?.) 

Anyway.... I guess I should just shut up and feel blessed that I got noticed at all. 

Now, on to his questions....

"Is it in The Spirit of Gravel to use aerobars: handlebar extensions usually reserved for races where drafting is forbidden, and riders can’t be in packs? "

Answer: If the event director allows them, and you disagree, maybe that event is not for you. Additionally, if the event director does not allow their use, and you disagree, maybe that event is not for you. This is a dumb question and waaaay too easy to figure out. Why is this even a debate? 

 "Is it in The Spirit of Gravel for pro athletes to bring teammates and work in a coordinated fashion to shelter a leader and provide them a better shot at winning, as is common practice in road racing? Or should it be every person for themselves as it was in the early days of the sport?"

Answer: Basically, the same as above. If it is allowed, live with it. Otherwise, don't show up to partake in what you think is "unfair". Riders always want things to be different. Their airing of issues on social media makes it seem that some sort of grievance is valid and has to be addressed or riders are being.....I don't know.... Oppressed? Whatever! The problem is that event directors have no backbone because they fear loss of revenue, poor opinions of their events, and of being "cancelled" or otherwise castigated on social media as having a strong opinion. I'd weight the "loss of revenue" thing much more heavily here. 

 "What happens if a rider in the pro women’s race drafts teammates in the race who are men?" (Or a friend, or a husband, or a guy that is cute....you get the idea.)

Answer: Drafting? Who cares? If you can- do it. The real issue here is "winning sponsorships, endorsements, or prize money". Basically, a monetary/support benefit of some sort is at stake. What? You don't think people (racers) would take any advantage to gain a monetary or supportive benefit via winning a "prestigious" or "prize-rich" event? Do actions that are within event rules that allow creative means to gain advantages mean that there is a problem? Yes- The problem is that the people (racers) who didn't figure it out are now feeling "oppressed". Solution: Don't ever go back to that event, or lobby the event director to tighten up the rules. Just don't muddy up the waters with open-airing of complaints if there was no actual rule-breaking involved. 

Additionally, if event directors are not taking this "creative interpretation of rules by riders" thing seriously, then they are failing their position as event directors. One of an event directors number one missions is to figure out how they could cheat at their own event and when they find a way, change the rules, or make a change where needed before the event takes place. Finally, rules decisions must be implemented (DQ's, time penalties, etc.) while the event is happening. Otherwise, you were doing a bad job. Enforce your rules or don't have them.  

There was another question, basically asking the same thing, regarding the "gravel beef" thing concerning hydration packs versus water bottles and not stopping at an aid station...... You get the idea. 

Look, I appreciate the article, but it has nothing at all to do with some nefarious spirit of crushed rock. It has everything to do with the monetization of gravel culture, rider-driven narratives, and weak event directors who are allowing those riders to control the narratives and events. What did ol' Joel Dyke, co-originator of the event now called "Unbound" tell me? "When the money comes in, that will ruin it....", or something to that effect. What a prophet he was! 

Y'all know if you were there in the beginnings that the gravel scene was competitive, racy, and had an edginess to it, but the early event directors and the early participants weren't going to put up with nonsense from riders who thought the events should be run differently. But - ya know - when it means the difference between getting sponsored or not, or in getting that nice boost of prize money or not, or that bump in social media numbers or not, those ol' event directors better let this "Spirit of Gravel" thing go, 'cause this is serious racing now!  

Whatever...... 

Two Things For Today

I suppose I could have called this one a "Randomonium" post, but really this is just about two things that popped up Thursday in my social media observations. One is about the new Specialized Diverge STR and the other is an article about the so-called "Spirit of Gravel". Okay, so let's go.....

A close look at the workings. (Image courtesy of "Cyclist UK")

Thing 1- The Specialized Diverge STR:

Specialized calls this technology their "Suspend The Rider" technology. Aptly named because it doesn't do what most everyone thinks of when you say "dual suspension". Yet almost every single outlet reporting on this bike used that term. 

That's the state of reporting circa 2022. Give people the wrong idea, because it is just easier to do that instead of tell them what they are really looking at. 

Essentially this is a "motor mount" idea. Damping the vibrations of the road from the "motor" (the rider in this case) and the motions of the motor/rider from the chassis. The wheels will still do what they do on a rigid bike, so this is not "a dual suspension" bike, despite what you might be reading out there. 

It's not a bad idea, this Diverge bike, but it does come at a price. Nearly 8K for the cheapest one, it is 200 grams heavier than the outgoing version, (not that big of a deal), and it is far more complex with a lot of places for things to go wrong in the future. You could just get a Redshift Sports ShockStop Seat post, save a bunch of money, add about the same amount of weight, and put it on any gravel bike. 

Once again- you can solve a problem elegantly and simply, or you can do it with an overly complex, expensive solution that is wholly proprietary. Your choice. The idea, at its core, is a sound one. How this Specialized solution was implemented is a bit goofy, in my opinion. 

Image by Jason Boucher from Trans Iowa v9

Thing 2 - The Spirit of Gravel:

I was tagged on a post on Twitter by Andrew Vontz who authored this article on a site called "Why This Is Interesting" on Thursday. It is a post that looks at the culture of gravel and how the corporate monetization, competitive elements, and social media narratives surrounding the gravel scene today are at odds with the origins of the scene and why it has grown at all in the first place. 

You've been around here enough, most likely, that you already know what I think about all of that. If you take the time to read Mr. Vontz's article, I think you'll see that he does a fair job of laying out today's gravel landscape and why it is that things are in upheaval on social media concerning gravel events and what not. He brought up some interesting questions as well. 

First of all, let me say that I was not contacted about this piece and I was not aware of it until it had been published. Had I been made aware of some of the statements Mr. Vontz had made in the opening paragraph concerning Trans Iowa, I could have easily corrected those minor mistakes in his story there. (Or he could have looked at this written historical record. It's as if I try to hide this stuff, ya know?.) 

Anyway.... I guess I should just shut up and feel blessed that I got noticed at all. 

Now, on to his questions....

"Is it in The Spirit of Gravel to use aerobars: handlebar extensions usually reserved for races where drafting is forbidden, and riders can’t be in packs? "

Answer: If the event director allows them, and you disagree, maybe that event is not for you. Additionally, if the event director does not allow their use, and you disagree, maybe that event is not for you. This is a dumb question and waaaay too easy to figure out. Why is this even a debate? 

 "Is it in The Spirit of Gravel for pro athletes to bring teammates and work in a coordinated fashion to shelter a leader and provide them a better shot at winning, as is common practice in road racing? Or should it be every person for themselves as it was in the early days of the sport?"

Answer: Basically, the same as above. If it is allowed, live with it. Otherwise, don't show up to partake in what you think is "unfair". Riders always want things to be different. Their airing of issues on social media makes it seem that some sort of grievance is valid and has to be addressed or riders are being.....I don't know.... Oppressed? Whatever! The problem is that event directors have no backbone because they fear loss of revenue, poor opinions of their events, and of being "cancelled" or otherwise castigated on social media as having a strong opinion. I'd weight the "loss of revenue" thing much more heavily here. 

 "What happens if a rider in the pro women’s race drafts teammates in the race who are men?" (Or a friend, or a husband, or a guy that is cute....you get the idea.)

Answer: Drafting? Who cares? If you can- do it. The real issue here is "winning sponsorships, endorsements, or prize money". Basically, a monetary/support benefit of some sort is at stake. What? You don't think people (racers) would take any advantage to gain a monetary or supportive benefit via winning a "prestigious" or "prize-rich" event? Do actions that are within event rules that allow creative means to gain advantages mean that there is a problem? Yes- The problem is that the people (racers) who didn't figure it out are now feeling "oppressed". Solution: Don't ever go back to that event, or lobby the event director to tighten up the rules. Just don't muddy up the waters with open-airing of complaints if there was no actual rule-breaking involved. 

Additionally, if event directors are not taking this "creative interpretation of rules by riders" thing seriously, then they are failing their position as event directors. One of an event directors number one missions is to figure out how they could cheat at their own event and when they find a way, change the rules, or make a change where needed before the event takes place. Finally, rules decisions must be implemented (DQ's, time penalties, etc.) while the event is happening. Otherwise, you were doing a bad job. Enforce your rules or don't have them.  

There was another question, basically asking the same thing, regarding the "gravel beef" thing concerning hydration packs versus water bottles and not stopping at an aid station...... You get the idea. 

Look, I appreciate the article, but it has nothing at all to do with some nefarious spirit of crushed rock. It has everything to do with the monetization of gravel culture, rider-driven narratives, and weak event directors who are allowing those riders to control the narratives and events. What did ol' Joel Dyke, co-originator of the event now called "Unbound" tell me? "When the money comes in, that will ruin it....", or something to that effect. What a prophet he was! 

Y'all know if you were there in the beginnings that the gravel scene was competitive, racy, and had an edginess to it, but the early event directors and the early participants weren't going to put up with nonsense from riders who thought the events should be run differently. But - ya know - when it means the difference between getting sponsored or not, or in getting that nice boost of prize money or not, or that bump in social media numbers or not, those ol' event directors better let this "Spirit of Gravel" thing go, 'cause this is serious racing now!  

Whatever...... 

Petty Bickering Stains Gravel Event's Good Works

Moo! You Ruined My Race!

Another gravel race, another gravel related rant. They said this would happen back in the day......

And if you don't want to read about what I think concerning some complaints coming from sponsored, Pro level racers, then you should turn this off and go for a ride right now. This is your cue. (Have a great one, by the way!)

For the rest of you out there with your steaming cuppa whatever in your mitts, read on....

One of the great things that has come of the gravel scene since I've been around is social awareness and efforts to change "How Things Have Always Been Done". These efforts are plain to see these days within the organizations of several events, most notably the Mid-South, SBT GRVL, and Gravel Worlds, but certainly, those are not the only events pushing major changes that reflect social causes and issues to the forefront. Their efforts are to be commended, and are celebrated in some news articles here and there. Awareness and actual discussion and changes are occurring due to these events and riders who are taking up those issues are making differences. It's pretty obvious to see if you pay even a little attention. 

This isn't "new", but our efforts in the gravel scene weren't always so overt and noticeable. For instance, as far as I am aware, gravel race prizing has ALWAYS been equally shared across genders. Men and women got the same rewards. This was never really questioned, and much to our discredit- to be honest- it is something we did not trumpet loudly enough back then. But of course, if you take things in context of the day, we were really not caring if anyone else noticed! And that's another great thing about the early gravel scene- We didn't care about getting published, getting "likes", or satisfying sponsors with "engagement". We were 100% focused on the participant's experience. To the credit of the gravel scene, still to this day, I feel that great gravel events make an effort to do just this. 

The thing is, the gravel scene has always been subtly "political" and an agent of social change. We went out of our way to eschew the trappings of traditional road racing, and we certainly did not want to see any "attitudes" which were seen as a turn-off to participation in events. We took the stance also that "Prizing" and "Money" weren't what the riders should be vying for, but that personal growth, overcoming challenge, and becoming accepted into the community of gravel riders were the "rewards" for participating in events. The idea that "one" winner dominated over the rest of the "field" and that "second place was the first loser" were not acceptable to many of the early modern day gravel pioneers. 

Now, in 2022, we have Pro level, sponsored riders with "beefs" to air because early practices of the gravel racing scene are being bastardized to the benefit of certain, clever Pro sponsored riders. This is not in the vein of "Pro racing etiquette", and as such, a few racers are grousing and airing their complaints on social media. This has already manifested itself as "#gravelbeef" as a hashtag. 

Obviously, all that nonsense is getting amplified by social media which is, ironically, very divisive and doesn't promote community. Meanwhile, all the "good" socially conscientious activity and progress gets overshadowed by that crap. (Or since it is #gravelbeef, maybe "B.S." is better as a descriptor here) 

On the one hand, it is sad and I shake my head. On the other hand I think, "What did we expect?" When the game changes, and it becomes about the economic status of individuals- whether or not that they can maintain their station as "sponsored Pro riders", well then the results we have witnessed should be obvious. 

I wrote about how I think Pro Level Road Racing On Gravel" should be separated out from "gravel races" and that the two things are inherently incompatible with each other. This is true because at its heart, Pro level racing and events are structured completely differently than the gravel races which have spawned this explosion of popularity now. They are socially and politically completely different animals. At the heart of Pro level racing is a focus on selfishness, personal gain measured by prizing and sponsorship, and growth is measured by power meters. The gravel scene was never about any of that. Where we were saying, "You will discover you can do more than you ever thought you could!", this Pro gravel thing seems to be about elevating individuals and corporate windfalls instead. 

What gravel events did before was different. Gravel was about "Everybody". It meant that EVERYONE was capable of reaching that "prize' and equity and acceptance was central to building a "gravel family" which was stronger because of its inclusion and diversity than the old ways of doing events were. 

And again- to be crystal clear- those efforts to be inclusive still are out there. They matter, but they are overshadowed by this Pro level racer mentality and social construct that should be summarily rejected by events and done away with. But, it won't be because of  the way the way the industry has structured its sponsorship of events, the athletes, and how corporate America has latched on to the gravel scene as a way to pad their coffers with millions of dollars in event receipts. 

In other words, it's like Joel Dyke, co-founder of the DK200 told me years ago,"When the money comes in, it'll ruin everything."

I don't think it has to be that way, but that's up to all the rest of you out there to decide. 

Petty Bickering Stains Gravel Event's Good Works

Moo! You Ruined My Race!

Another gravel race, another gravel related rant. They said this would happen back in the day......

And if you don't want to read about what I think concerning some complaints coming from sponsored, Pro level racers, then you should turn this off and go for a ride right now. This is your cue. (Have a great one, by the way!)

For the rest of you out there with your steaming cuppa whatever in your mitts, read on....

One of the great things that has come of the gravel scene since I've been around is social awareness and efforts to change "How Things Have Always Been Done". These efforts are plain to see these days within the organizations of several events, most notably the Mid-South, SBT GRVL, and Gravel Worlds, but certainly, those are not the only events pushing major changes that reflect social causes and issues to the forefront. Their efforts are to be commended, and are celebrated in some news articles here and there. Awareness and actual discussion and changes are occurring due to these events and riders who are taking up those issues are making differences. It's pretty obvious to see if you pay even a little attention. 

This isn't "new", but our efforts in the gravel scene weren't always so overt and noticeable. For instance, as far as I am aware, gravel race prizing has ALWAYS been equally shared across genders. Men and women got the same rewards. This was never really questioned, and much to our discredit- to be honest- it is something we did not trumpet loudly enough back then. But of course, if you take things in context of the day, we were really not caring if anyone else noticed! And that's another great thing about the early gravel scene- We didn't care about getting published, getting "likes", or satisfying sponsors with "engagement". We were 100% focused on the participant's experience. To the credit of the gravel scene, still to this day, I feel that great gravel events make an effort to do just this. 

The thing is, the gravel scene has always been subtly "political" and an agent of social change. We went out of our way to eschew the trappings of traditional road racing, and we certainly did not want to see any "attitudes" which were seen as a turn-off to participation in events. We took the stance also that "Prizing" and "Money" weren't what the riders should be vying for, but that personal growth, overcoming challenge, and becoming accepted into the community of gravel riders were the "rewards" for participating in events. The idea that "one" winner dominated over the rest of the "field" and that "second place was the first loser" were not acceptable to many of the early modern day gravel pioneers. 

Now, in 2022, we have Pro level, sponsored riders with "beefs" to air because early practices of the gravel racing scene are being bastardized to the benefit of certain, clever Pro sponsored riders. This is not in the vein of "Pro racing etiquette", and as such, a few racers are grousing and airing their complaints on social media. This has already manifested itself as "#gravelbeef" as a hashtag. 

Obviously, all that nonsense is getting amplified by social media which is, ironically, very divisive and doesn't promote community. Meanwhile, all the "good" socially conscientious activity and progress gets overshadowed by that crap. (Or since it is #gravelbeef, maybe "B.S." is better as a descriptor here) 

On the one hand, it is sad and I shake my head. On the other hand I think, "What did we expect?" When the game changes, and it becomes about the economic status of individuals- whether or not that they can maintain their station as "sponsored Pro riders", well then the results we have witnessed should be obvious. 

I wrote about how I think Pro Level Road Racing On Gravel" should be separated out from "gravel races" and that the two things are inherently incompatible with each other. This is true because at its heart, Pro level racing and events are structured completely differently than the gravel races which have spawned this explosion of popularity now. They are socially and politically completely different animals. At the heart of Pro level racing is a focus on selfishness, personal gain measured by prizing and sponsorship, and growth is measured by power meters. The gravel scene was never about any of that. Where we were saying, "You will discover you can do more than you ever thought you could!", this Pro gravel thing seems to be about elevating individuals and corporate windfalls instead. 

What gravel events did before was different. Gravel was about "Everybody". It meant that EVERYONE was capable of reaching that "prize' and equity and acceptance was central to building a "gravel family" which was stronger because of its inclusion and diversity than the old ways of doing events were. 

And again- to be crystal clear- those efforts to be inclusive still are out there. They matter, but they are overshadowed by this Pro level racer mentality and social construct that should be summarily rejected by events and done away with. But, it won't be because of  the way the way the industry has structured its sponsorship of events, the athletes, and how corporate America has latched on to the gravel scene as a way to pad their coffers with millions of dollars in event receipts. 

In other words, it's like Joel Dyke, co-founder of the DK200 told me years ago,"When the money comes in, it'll ruin everything."

I don't think it has to be that way, but that's up to all the rest of you out there to decide.