Summer Of Smoke

Tuesday was not a great day to be outdoors

Have you seen how people now will say "I didn't have _____ on my bingo card for 2023"? (Fill in the blank with whatever surprise you want) Well, I'm filling in the blank with "wildfire smoke concerns" as my surprise for 2023. 

Canadian wildfire smoke has been an issue all month here in Iowa and other states in the Mid-West. It has gotten particularly bad of late with our Department of Natural Resources stating that outdoors activities are discouraged for the present time. 

I get it. I was outdoors for a few hours yesterday helping pick up bicycle donations for the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective and I tell ya what! I had a pretty good headache going afterward. It was bad here. You can even smell the smoke, it is that thick here. 

I sure hope that this clears out soon because we're halfway done with Summer and riding in this air is a no-go for me. I know that for several of my readers this is an issue as well. My heart goes out to all who are missing good days on the bike trying navigate this smoky air. 

Summer Of Smoke

Tuesday was not a great day to be outdoors

Have you seen how people now will say "I didn't have _____ on my bingo card for 2023"? (Fill in the blank with whatever surprise you want) Well, I'm filling in the blank with "wildfire smoke concerns" as my surprise for 2023. 

Canadian wildfire smoke has been an issue all month here in Iowa and other states in the Mid-West. It has gotten particularly bad of late with our Department of Natural Resources stating that outdoors activities are discouraged for the present time. 

I get it. I was outdoors for a few hours yesterday helping pick up bicycle donations for the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective and I tell ya what! I had a pretty good headache going afterward. It was bad here. You can even smell the smoke, it is that thick here. 

I sure hope that this clears out soon because we're halfway done with Summer and riding in this air is a no-go for me. I know that for several of my readers this is an issue as well. My heart goes out to all who are missing good days on the bike trying navigate this smoky air. 

Randomonium

 NOTE: Okay folks, if you haven't been around long enough here to know what a "Randomonium" post is, then here is the deal. I ramble, rant, and randomly moan about all things cycling in one, incohesive, bizarre post. "Randomonium", okay?

Jeff Kerkove Speaks:

Over the years since November 2004 when the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched, Jeff Kerkove has not had a lot to say about the event, its influence, or my participation in Trans Iowa for 14 years. Not that he had to say anything at all, but I always thought it was curious that he did not lay some claim to coming up with the idea that helped to spark a movement in cycling that has changed just about everything. 

After our ride together last week, Jeff broke his silence regarding Trans Iowa, his part of gravel events, and my part in the gravel scene, in a Facebook post. I'll reserve comment until after his quote:

"I am a firm believer that Mark Stevenson and myself are the catapult of the modern day gravel movement. It was all because of Trans-Iowa, which was a good bad idea hatched while wrenching on bikes one afternoon at Europa Cycle and Ski in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Without Trans-Iowa there likely never would have been Unbound Gravel as well as the first mass produced gravel bike(s) from Salsa Cycles. While I only had my hand in Trans-Iowa for around 4 years prior to taking my job with Ergon Bike, Mark kept its momentum rolling forward for over a decade - earning that much deserved Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame spot. Most of you reading this now know what “gravel” in the bike universe has become.

Today, for the first time in like 16 years, Mark and I got to pedal some gravel together in Emporia, KS at the Gravel Hall of Fame shake-out ride. All the warm-fuzzies were felt seeing what that good bad idea has become over the last 20ish years. No one ever would have imagined 5000+ people from all over the world would be coming to Kansas in June to ride gravel farm roads "

I cannot say that I disagree with him here. It is kind of weird to have finally read his opinion of things, but I am grateful that he feels that way because I've always felt Jeff had a hand in this deal. I don't like taking any credit for things as they have shaken out, but besides Jeff, I had two other people literally pointing a finger at me and telling me I was responsible for what was happening in Emporia and beyond last week. Like emphatically shaking their index finger at me and underscoring the "fact" that I was responsible, and one of those people was a bar owner in Emporia! 

Color me humbled. And THANK YOU Jeff! 

Bike Shops In Turmoil:

Following the retail situation for bicycle shops reveals a tale of two extremes. on the one hand, service work seems to be coming in at a higher rate than pre-pandemic days. I have heard and read about mechanic shortages, overwhelming repair schedules, and good labor sales overall. However; the overstocked conditions which are plaguing the sector of retail bicycle sales is still a big problem. 

Trek and Specialized are still trying to dump off inventory and I would not be surprised if that is not the case with most brands. Distributors are also seen doing sales yet which would indicate to me that stock levels are crazy high at places which are servicing the retail bicycle trade. 

As a side effect this situation is going to delay new product introductions, which was evident at Unbound, where a lot of people were expecting to learn about new products for gravel, but the only notable thing that occurred was a "leak" of the new 12spd Shimano GRX, which wasn't really an introduction either. 

A You Tuber I watch who is located in Florida stated that there are a lot of shops in trouble, some even to the point of going out of business due to lackluster sales and too much inventory in stock. Interesting days to be sure.

Skies full of Canadian wildfire smoke as seen in Iowa.

Unwanted Canadian Import:

There have been more than a handful of days this year that I have chosen not to ride due to wildfire smoke. Smoke that is emanating out of Canada has polluted our air. You wouldn't think that smoke from something burning over a thousand miles away would cause me to not ride, but....

This stuff burns my eyes and stinks in my nostrils. It cannot be a good thing to be breathing. heck, as I type this I can smell the smoke inside my home. 

Look Canada, I like some of your imports. Canadian bacon, hockey, maybe even Brian Adams, but this smoke thing has got to be stopped. This is ridiculous. The first no-wind day in weeks and the skies are full of your acrid smoke. Bah! It drives me crazy...

My schedule is hard enough to deal with and now this? take your smoke back, Canada! I don't like it. But seriously, this is a major issue this year, and we typically do not have to deal with wildfire smoke. Hopefully this ends soon for all concerned.

Randomonium

 NOTE: Okay folks, if you haven't been around long enough here to know what a "Randomonium" post is, then here is the deal. I ramble, rant, and randomly moan about all things cycling in one, incohesive, bizarre post. "Randomonium", okay?

Jeff Kerkove Speaks:

Over the years since November 2004 when the idea of Trans Iowa was hatched, Jeff Kerkove has not had a lot to say about the event, its influence, or my participation in Trans Iowa for 14 years. Not that he had to say anything at all, but I always thought it was curious that he did not lay some claim to coming up with the idea that helped to spark a movement in cycling that has changed just about everything. 

After our ride together last week, Jeff broke his silence regarding Trans Iowa, his part of gravel events, and my part in the gravel scene, in a Facebook post. I'll reserve comment until after his quote:

"I am a firm believer that Mark Stevenson and myself are the catapult of the modern day gravel movement. It was all because of Trans-Iowa, which was a good bad idea hatched while wrenching on bikes one afternoon at Europa Cycle and Ski in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Without Trans-Iowa there likely never would have been Unbound Gravel as well as the first mass produced gravel bike(s) from Salsa Cycles. While I only had my hand in Trans-Iowa for around 4 years prior to taking my job with Ergon Bike, Mark kept its momentum rolling forward for over a decade - earning that much deserved Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame spot. Most of you reading this now know what “gravel” in the bike universe has become.

Today, for the first time in like 16 years, Mark and I got to pedal some gravel together in Emporia, KS at the Gravel Hall of Fame shake-out ride. All the warm-fuzzies were felt seeing what that good bad idea has become over the last 20ish years. No one ever would have imagined 5000+ people from all over the world would be coming to Kansas in June to ride gravel farm roads "

I cannot say that I disagree with him here. It is kind of weird to have finally read his opinion of things, but I am grateful that he feels that way because I've always felt Jeff had a hand in this deal. I don't like taking any credit for things as they have shaken out, but besides Jeff, I had two other people literally pointing a finger at me and telling me I was responsible for what was happening in Emporia and beyond last week. Like emphatically shaking their index finger at me and underscoring the "fact" that I was responsible, and one of those people was a bar owner in Emporia! 

Color me humbled. And THANK YOU Jeff! 

Bike Shops In Turmoil:

Following the retail situation for bicycle shops reveals a tale of two extremes. on the one hand, service work seems to be coming in at a higher rate than pre-pandemic days. I have heard and read about mechanic shortages, overwhelming repair schedules, and good labor sales overall. However; the overstocked conditions which are plaguing the sector of retail bicycle sales is still a big problem. 

Trek and Specialized are still trying to dump off inventory and I would not be surprised if that is not the case with most brands. Distributors are also seen doing sales yet which would indicate to me that stock levels are crazy high at places which are servicing the retail bicycle trade. 

As a side effect this situation is going to delay new product introductions, which was evident at Unbound, where a lot of people were expecting to learn about new products for gravel, but the only notable thing that occurred was a "leak" of the new 12spd Shimano GRX, which wasn't really an introduction either. 

A You Tuber I watch who is located in Florida stated that there are a lot of shops in trouble, some even to the point of going out of business due to lackluster sales and too much inventory in stock. Interesting days to be sure.

Skies full of Canadian wildfire smoke as seen in Iowa.

Unwanted Canadian Import:

There have been more than a handful of days this year that I have chosen not to ride due to wildfire smoke. Smoke that is emanating out of Canada has polluted our air. You wouldn't think that smoke from something burning over a thousand miles away would cause me to not ride, but....

This stuff burns my eyes and stinks in my nostrils. It cannot be a good thing to be breathing. heck, as I type this I can smell the smoke inside my home. 

Look Canada, I like some of your imports. Canadian bacon, hockey, maybe even Brian Adams, but this smoke thing has got to be stopped. This is ridiculous. The first no-wind day in weeks and the skies are full of your acrid smoke. Bah! It drives me crazy...

My schedule is hard enough to deal with and now this? take your smoke back, Canada! I don't like it. But seriously, this is a major issue this year, and we typically do not have to deal with wildfire smoke. Hopefully this ends soon for all concerned.

Friday News And Views

 Sea Otter Sold To Life Time Fitness:

A bombshell announcement was revealed Tuesday this past week when Sea Otter revealed that they had sold to Life Time Fitness. The current Sea Otter leadership and staff has been retained and Life Time has committed to growing the event even larger. 

In a letter sent via e-mail to past Sea Otter attendees, CEO of Sea Otter, Frank Yohannan states, "The growth of cycling across all categories—whether road, mountain, gravel or e-bikes—will continue to be our single-minded priority as we begin our fourth decade of making cycling history. "

Comments: Life Time continues to creep into the world of cycling and the industry with this acquisition. Now it owns an event- but more than an event- Sea Otter is an industry trade show of sorts. How Life Time addresses this facet of Sea Otter will be quite interesting. In fact, we get a little hint as to what that might mean through a quote from the "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" story on this news. Kimo Seymour, Life Time's President of Events and Media, was quoted as saying, “Sea Otter is really expanding beyond purely cycling-related types of exhibitors and issues, so we think there might be an opportunity to do something focused on outdoor versus just purely cycling,” 

I think it is safe to say that we will see more varied outdoors type media and vendors at Sea Otter in the future. Synergies with camping and hiking/running being very apparent here as Sea Otter boasts of its camping opportunities and has lots of outdoor spaces to utilize at Laguna Seca and the nearby former military installation. It also doesn't take a genius to see how that statement from Seymour dovetails right in with what "BRAIN" owner, Outside Interactive, could bring. Outside Interactive has a host of widespread media properties that could fit into this sort of expansion. In fact, "BRAIN" already publishes the Sea Otter Guide for the event. 

Is RAGBRAI Looking To Get Into Gravel?

A rumor reached Guitar Ted Productions headquarters Tuesday which may indicate that RAGBRAI is looking to expand its event offerings to include a gravel event. Obviously, RAGBRAI has flirted with gravel for the past several years, but a full-fledged, separate gravel event? It isn't as far fetched as it may seem at first glance.

Take, for instance, RAGBRAI's new director, Dieter Drake. He came from a competitive cycling and running background and was the director of the "Tour of the Battenkill", a multi-surface event that includes dirt and gravel roads. So, he is likely quite aware of the popularity of gravel events. With Iowa being basically the birthplace of the modern gravel scene, well, it would be quite the plum to have one of the premier gravel rides in the world be associated with RAGBRAI. 

The story I heard was that RAGBRAI was poking around last week looking at possibly taking over a current event. Scuttlebutt has it that certain folk well known to Iowa gravellers are principals in this story. I have heard details, but I am not at liberty to discuss them due to the situation as I understand it now. 

Suffice it to say that this has my attention and I will be keeping an eye on any further developments. But it would not surprise me at all to see this happen. At what level it starts at, and to what level it grows to is all purely speculation now, but looking at who is involved, I would guess bigger rather than smaller.
 

Wildfire Smoke Causes Events To Cancel:

We've seen the effects of the Western wildfires here in the Mid-West before, but this year it has been particularly intense. However; we've had it easy compared to some other places.

Take for instance Montana, where much of the Pacific Northwest fire smoke arcs up into. I even heard Wednesday of this week that a gravel event had to cancel its 2021 date due to the effects of the smoke in the air. Another social media contact that lives up that way also confirmed that almost everything has been postponed or cancelled due to wildfire smoke issues. 

Fall forecasts are saying that relief from the ripe conditions for wildfires is not coming this year. The word is that this wildfire season will probably end up in the top five ever recorded here in the U.S.A. This makes me wonder how many more events might get cancelled or postponed. Gee, if it isn't COVID it is wildfires. This decade is not starting out on a very good note, that's for sure!

Update On "Tool Roll Wars": 

Last Wednesday I introduced the "Tool Roll Wars" that I am engaging in. Three tool rolls that are being contrasted and compared for use in gravel riding. In the comments I heard from Josh of SILCA. He made it known that the current Asymmetrico Tool Roll isn't really up to gravelly standards and that a version of the Asymmetrico made especially for gravel travel is on the horizon. So, good news-bad news.  

Meanwhile the other two tool rolls are quite up to the task and holding up well so far. I'll have a lot more to say on all this later, but there is one side note that I found when ordering from SILCA, (yes- I paid retail for the Asymmetrico), and that was that the experience of purchasing that product through SILCA's website was outstanding. 

I got confirmation of my purchase and a thank you email immediately. Then, every step of the order was accounted for from packing up at SILCA to my mailbox. The order went through several stages and I was able to keep track without going through to a shipping website only to find that "your package is in transit" and nothing more. No- SILCA has details and you get them. I appreciated the entire process and the very timely delivery of the SILCA Asymmetrico to my door. I wager you'd be hard pressed to find a better online retail experience in the cycling realm than SILCA's. 

Contrast that to my dismal experience with ordering direct from Hayes and there is no comparison. In fact, Hayes never did respond to my complaints after a week waiting past the original delivery date of the handlebars I ordered from them. Anyway...... Sidetracked down a rabbit hole again! I just thought that the experience I had buying that SILCA tool roll was so exceptional that I needed to make a note of that.

More on "Tool Roll Wars" soon.......

Thanks for reading as always and have a great weekend!

Friday News And Views

 Sea Otter Sold To Life Time Fitness:

A bombshell announcement was revealed Tuesday this past week when Sea Otter revealed that they had sold to Life Time Fitness. The current Sea Otter leadership and staff has been retained and Life Time has committed to growing the event even larger. 

In a letter sent via e-mail to past Sea Otter attendees, CEO of Sea Otter, Frank Yohannan states, "The growth of cycling across all categories—whether road, mountain, gravel or e-bikes—will continue to be our single-minded priority as we begin our fourth decade of making cycling history. "

Comments: Life Time continues to creep into the world of cycling and the industry with this acquisition. Now it owns an event- but more than an event- Sea Otter is an industry trade show of sorts. How Life Time addresses this facet of Sea Otter will be quite interesting. In fact, we get a little hint as to what that might mean through a quote from the "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" story on this news. Kimo Seymour, Life Time's President of Events and Media, was quoted as saying, “Sea Otter is really expanding beyond purely cycling-related types of exhibitors and issues, so we think there might be an opportunity to do something focused on outdoor versus just purely cycling,” 

I think it is safe to say that we will see more varied outdoors type media and vendors at Sea Otter in the future. Synergies with camping and hiking/running being very apparent here as Sea Otter boasts of its camping opportunities and has lots of outdoor spaces to utilize at Laguna Seca and the nearby former military installation. It also doesn't take a genius to see how that statement from Seymour dovetails right in with what "BRAIN" owner, Outside Interactive, could bring. Outside Interactive has a host of widespread media properties that could fit into this sort of expansion. In fact, "BRAIN" already publishes the Sea Otter Guide for the event. 

Is RAGBRAI Looking To Get Into Gravel?

A rumor reached Guitar Ted Productions headquarters Tuesday which may indicate that RAGBRAI is looking to expand its event offerings to include a gravel event. Obviously, RAGBRAI has flirted with gravel for the past several years, but a full-fledged, separate gravel event? It isn't as far fetched as it may seem at first glance.

Take, for instance, RAGBRAI's new director, Dieter Drake. He came from a competitive cycling and running background and was the director of the "Tour of the Battenkill", a multi-surface event that includes dirt and gravel roads. So, he is likely quite aware of the popularity of gravel events. With Iowa being basically the birthplace of the modern gravel scene, well, it would be quite the plum to have one of the premier gravel rides in the world be associated with RAGBRAI. 

The story I heard was that RAGBRAI was poking around last week looking at possibly taking over a current event. Scuttlebutt has it that certain folk well known to Iowa gravellers are principals in this story. I have heard details, but I am not at liberty to discuss them due to the situation as I understand it now. 

Suffice it to say that this has my attention and I will be keeping an eye on any further developments. But it would not surprise me at all to see this happen. At what level it starts at, and to what level it grows to is all purely speculation now, but looking at who is involved, I would guess bigger rather than smaller.
 

Wildfire Smoke Causes Events To Cancel:

We've seen the effects of the Western wildfires here in the Mid-West before, but this year it has been particularly intense. However; we've had it easy compared to some other places.

Take for instance Montana, where much of the Pacific Northwest fire smoke arcs up into. I even heard Wednesday of this week that a gravel event had to cancel its 2021 date due to the effects of the smoke in the air. Another social media contact that lives up that way also confirmed that almost everything has been postponed or cancelled due to wildfire smoke issues. 

Fall forecasts are saying that relief from the ripe conditions for wildfires is not coming this year. The word is that this wildfire season will probably end up in the top five ever recorded here in the U.S.A. This makes me wonder how many more events might get cancelled or postponed. Gee, if it isn't COVID it is wildfires. This decade is not starting out on a very good note, that's for sure!

Update On "Tool Roll Wars": 

Last Wednesday I introduced the "Tool Roll Wars" that I am engaging in. Three tool rolls that are being contrasted and compared for use in gravel riding. In the comments I heard from Josh of SILCA. He made it known that the current Asymmetrico Tool Roll isn't really up to gravelly standards and that a version of the Asymmetrico made especially for gravel travel is on the horizon. So, good news-bad news.  

Meanwhile the other two tool rolls are quite up to the task and holding up well so far. I'll have a lot more to say on all this later, but there is one side note that I found when ordering from SILCA, (yes- I paid retail for the Asymmetrico), and that was that the experience of purchasing that product through SILCA's website was outstanding. 

I got confirmation of my purchase and a thank you email immediately. Then, every step of the order was accounted for from packing up at SILCA to my mailbox. The order went through several stages and I was able to keep track without going through to a shipping website only to find that "your package is in transit" and nothing more. No- SILCA has details and you get them. I appreciated the entire process and the very timely delivery of the SILCA Asymmetrico to my door. I wager you'd be hard pressed to find a better online retail experience in the cycling realm than SILCA's. 

Contrast that to my dismal experience with ordering direct from Hayes and there is no comparison. In fact, Hayes never did respond to my complaints after a week waiting past the original delivery date of the handlebars I ordered from them. Anyway...... Sidetracked down a rabbit hole again! I just thought that the experience I had buying that SILCA tool roll was so exceptional that I needed to make a note of that.

More on "Tool Roll Wars" soon.......

Thanks for reading as always and have a great weekend!