Dialing In The Set Up: Part 3

Getting the dashboard set up for Gravel Worlds

Monday the course cues for Gravel Worlds were released into the wild. I did what I always do- I printed them, folded them, and covered them in packing tape. This year there are a few more cues, so not as many big, long straight sections.

I set up everything on the bike as I will have it Saturday and took a short cruise to ensure nothing is going to tick me off. I'll also do a short gravel cruise today to test out the stability of everything. Gravel is like a paint shaker. If it isn't attached securely, there will be trouble!

So, here's a good example of why I love the Luxy Bar. I really get annoyed if I have to set up my light off-center. So, the way I have my Bar Yak cue sheet holder set up means the cues have to be offset to the left side of the bar. That means the Lezyne GPS mount has to go on the right side. To allow enough room for the light and the GPS to co-exist, I had to slide the mount over to the right on the bar. Now, notice that my mount for the GPS is a 31.8mm clamp mount. See how far to the right that mount clamps? Try that with a tapered center bar from any brand. Ain't-a-gunna work. The Luxy Bar, with its full 31.8mm diameter from ramp to ramp, makes this a non-issue.

The cues are such that when I get one sheet done I just flip the card over, re-clamp it, and I'm good through the next page, then I can take that page, once front and back cues have been passed, and discard it. The funny thing about the first page is I probably won't even need to use it. I'll just follow the stream of blinky lights. Last year I think I was in the middle of the second page before I figured I probably should start paying attention to the road names. It's not an issue as long as you remember to start your computer at the start line. I forgot to do this in 2017, and it made for some "interesting" calculations out on the course that day.

I had a little bit of a scare Tuesday morning on the commute to work. I had to negotiate the presence of  a couple of construction vehicles on the "island" at the interchange with Greenhill Road and University Avenue. The position of the vehicles was such that I had a strip of ground about two to three feet wide between the curb and traffic and the vehicles. As I passed by, something flipped up and severely smacked my bottom bracket and left crank arm. It was like someone hit the bike with a ball peen hammer. Immediately afterward I felt the rear tire go all squishy. I made it to work, but when I checked the pressure it was around 10psi.

Did I destroy a brand new Schwalbe G - One? I checked the tire over and found no outward visible evidence of sealant leakage. Either I burped the tire or I had an internal failure in the rim strip which healed itself. At any rate, I pumped the tire up at 9:00am to 30psi and its been good since.

Today I go shopping for nutrition and start packing. It's very nearly go time.

Dialing In The Set Up: Part 3

Getting the dashboard set up for Gravel Worlds

Monday the course cues for Gravel Worlds were released into the wild. I did what I always do- I printed them, folded them, and covered them in packing tape. This year there are a few more cues, so not as many big, long straight sections.

I set up everything on the bike as I will have it Saturday and took a short cruise to ensure nothing is going to tick me off. I'll also do a short gravel cruise today to test out the stability of everything. Gravel is like a paint shaker. If it isn't attached securely, there will be trouble!

So, here's a good example of why I love the Luxy Bar. I really get annoyed if I have to set up my light off-center. So, the way I have my Bar Yak cue sheet holder set up means the cues have to be offset to the left side of the bar. That means the Lezyne GPS mount has to go on the right side. To allow enough room for the light and the GPS to co-exist, I had to slide the mount over to the right on the bar. Now, notice that my mount for the GPS is a 31.8mm clamp mount. See how far to the right that mount clamps? Try that with a tapered center bar from any brand. Ain't-a-gunna work. The Luxy Bar, with its full 31.8mm diameter from ramp to ramp, makes this a non-issue.

The cues are such that when I get one sheet done I just flip the card over, re-clamp it, and I'm good through the next page, then I can take that page, once front and back cues have been passed, and discard it. The funny thing about the first page is I probably won't even need to use it. I'll just follow the stream of blinky lights. Last year I think I was in the middle of the second page before I figured I probably should start paying attention to the road names. It's not an issue as long as you remember to start your computer at the start line. I forgot to do this in 2017, and it made for some "interesting" calculations out on the course that day.

I had a little bit of a scare Tuesday morning on the commute to work. I had to negotiate the presence of  a couple of construction vehicles on the "island" at the interchange with Greenhill Road and University Avenue. The position of the vehicles was such that I had a strip of ground about two to three feet wide between the curb and traffic and the vehicles. As I passed by, something flipped up and severely smacked my bottom bracket and left crank arm. It was like someone hit the bike with a ball peen hammer. Immediately afterward I felt the rear tire go all squishy. I made it to work, but when I checked the pressure it was around 10psi.

Did I destroy a brand new Schwalbe G - One? I checked the tire over and found no outward visible evidence of sealant leakage. Either I burped the tire or I had an internal failure in the rim strip which healed itself. At any rate, I pumped the tire up at 9:00am to 30psi and its been good since.

Today I go shopping for nutrition and start packing. It's very nearly go time.

Ti Muk 2 Upgrade Path: Part 3

Here you can see the Salsa rear rack on the Ti Muk 2

The story on my finishing out the Ti Muk 2 is coming to a conclusion soon. It has been a while since the last update on the progress on this path, so for a refresher, click here.

Basically I was going after three things: New tubeless tires with less rolling resistance than the 45NRTH "beist" combo that I got it with was the first thing. Terrene Cake Eaters solved that problem quite nicely. The next two things were tied together and had to do with the rear tail light of the generator system the bike has.

The bike came with a Busch & Muller Secula stay mounted tail light, and honestly, I think it is a great light, but it comes in a plastic housing. I just find that to be an untenable solution for adventure biking or gravel travel since things can get pretty rough and tumble at times. Plastic housed tail light? Seems like a break waiting to happen. Added to that was the fact that a seat stay mounted light on a fat bike seems like a really bad idea when I think about mud, snow, and other trail debris that gets tossed, churned, and ground up between the rear tire and frame members of a fat bike. (At least that's been how I have observed things going. If you never run your fat bike on anything but groomed trail, please disregard this)

So, it was imperative to me that the seat stay mounted light get replaced and mounted either on the seat post, or..... as it turned out, a rear rack was an option. I decided against the seat post mounting since I may want to use a big seat pack  on this bike, and that wouldn't work well with a light that is "tethered" to a hard wired system. The rack was a better choice, and that also opens up options to use panniers, or a trunk bag/dry bag set up in the future.

So, I needed to get a rack. There were several good choices, but in the end, it was the Alternator Rack which won out. There were a few reasons for this, not least of which was the fact that it was designed for this bike. That it was one of the lighter weight choices didn't hurt matters either. So, I got that in and installed. It's been out of the way and unnoticeable when riding, so no noises, no interfering with off piste ramblings. Bonus- It has dynamo tail light mount holes at the rear. Perfect for many option out there which would work with my SON 28 hub on the Ti Muk 2.

I was shocked at how small this light is. The light shows red at night despite the clear lens.

So, I ended up landing on the SON "Tail Light For Rack" rear light. (NOTE- This also is available as a seat post mounted light) It mounts right to the rear plate on my Alternator Rack, and it is so tiny as to be really out of the way when it comes to the rough and tumble lifestyle I lead with my fat bikes.

The housing is anodized aluminum and despite its tiny size, it has some decent heft. Not that this matters, but my confidence is boosted when something has a solid, in-hand feel as opposed to a thin, plastic shell for a housing. I was pleased to see that it comes with a sturdy looking lead which is much nicer than the two flimsy looking wires the Bush & Muller tail light had. I will route the lead up along with the rear brake line on the frame and tuck the remaining distance along the rack so it will be out of the way and unobtrusive in case I decide to use panniers.

I got extra spade connectors and some shrink tubing along with the tail light, so all I have to do is route the thing carefully, connect the spades to the lead ends and connect it up. Hopefully it all comes together well and I have a functioning light system when I am finished. Once I get everything done I will have a final post on the lighting and tire upgrade which will detail out the performance upgrade each part brings to the Ti Muk 2. Then I'll be ready for some adventuring. (As if I haven't been doing some already, but, ya know........)

Ti Muk 2 Upgrade Path: Part 3

Here you can see the Salsa rear rack on the Ti Muk 2

The story on my finishing out the Ti Muk 2 is coming to a conclusion soon. It has been a while since the last update on the progress on this path, so for a refresher, click here.

Basically I was going after three things: New tubeless tires with less rolling resistance than the 45NRTH "beist" combo that I got it with was the first thing. Terrene Cake Eaters solved that problem quite nicely. The next two things were tied together and had to do with the rear tail light of the generator system the bike has.

The bike came with a Busch & Muller Secula stay mounted tail light, and honestly, I think it is a great light, but it comes in a plastic housing. I just find that to be an untenable solution for adventure biking or gravel travel since things can get pretty rough and tumble at times. Plastic housed tail light? Seems like a break waiting to happen. Added to that was the fact that a seat stay mounted light on a fat bike seems like a really bad idea when I think about mud, snow, and other trail debris that gets tossed, churned, and ground up between the rear tire and frame members of a fat bike. (At least that's been how I have observed things going. If you never run your fat bike on anything but groomed trail, please disregard this)

So, it was imperative to me that the seat stay mounted light get replaced and mounted either on the seat post, or..... as it turned out, a rear rack was an option. I decided against the seat post mounting since I may want to use a big seat pack  on this bike, and that wouldn't work well with a light that is "tethered" to a hard wired system. The rack was a better choice, and that also opens up options to use panniers, or a trunk bag/dry bag set up in the future.

So, I needed to get a rack. There were several good choices, but in the end, it was the Alternator Rack which won out. There were a few reasons for this, not least of which was the fact that it was designed for this bike. That it was one of the lighter weight choices didn't hurt matters either. So, I got that in and installed. It's been out of the way and unnoticeable when riding, so no noises, no interfering with off piste ramblings. Bonus- It has dynamo tail light mount holes at the rear. Perfect for many option out there which would work with my SON 28 hub on the Ti Muk 2.

I was shocked at how small this light is. The light shows red at night despite the clear lens.

So, I ended up landing on the SON "Tail Light For Rack" rear light. (NOTE- This also is available as a seat post mounted light) It mounts right to the rear plate on my Alternator Rack, and it is so tiny as to be really out of the way when it comes to the rough and tumble lifestyle I lead with my fat bikes.

The housing is anodized aluminum and despite its tiny size, it has some decent heft. Not that this matters, but my confidence is boosted when something has a solid, in-hand feel as opposed to a thin, plastic shell for a housing. I was pleased to see that it comes with a sturdy looking lead which is much nicer than the two flimsy looking wires the Bush & Muller tail light had. I will route the lead up along with the rear brake line on the frame and tuck the remaining distance along the rack so it will be out of the way and unobtrusive in case I decide to use panniers.

I got extra spade connectors and some shrink tubing along with the tail light, so all I have to do is route the thing carefully, connect the spades to the lead ends and connect it up. Hopefully it all comes together well and I have a functioning light system when I am finished. Once I get everything done I will have a final post on the lighting and tire upgrade which will detail out the performance upgrade each part brings to the Ti Muk 2. Then I'll be ready for some adventuring. (As if I haven't been doing some already, but, ya know........)

Dialing In The Set Up - Part 2

The Fargo Gen I set up so far. Nearly there!

Well, the tires came in that I wanted to try and they are now set up on the WTB Frequency Team i23 rims/American Classic hubbed wheels I've had for a long time. I do have some carbon rimmed wheels I could have used, but I didn't because, well......I didn't want to mess with swapping end caps and taking off some tires I would have been putting right back on after Gravel Worlds is over.

Anyway, I chose these tires when I learned that they cam in a 29" X 2.35" width. Why? Here's why.......

The gravel in Nebraska, especially around Lincoln, is sandy. Loose, inconsistent spots of roadway are not uncommon. Skinny tires + heavy guy = pizza cutter. Fatter tires are best from my experiences that I have had down there since 2009. Probably some of the best tires I ever used on Nebraska gravel around the Lincoln area were Bontrager XR-1's. The original ones, which were never tubeless rated. Anyway, finding tires like that since then has been hard to do.

I'd seen G-One tires before, of course, and I have ridden a 35mm version of them, which was not a good experience, so I never really paid much attention to G-One tires after that. However; while at work the other day it came up that these G-One tires came in a 2.35" width, and suddenly I was very interested. (See description of Nebraska gravel above)

Not much for tread there, but a LOT of volume and light weight should make for a great tire for Gravel Worlds.

I got the tires mounted Saturday and it wasn't easy. I probably should have put on fresh tape, but....I'm a bit of a skinflint, and the old tape looked good yet. That said, fresh tape in two layers would have made the setting up of these tires far easier. But since I did not use fresh tape, and the fit on the WTB rims was, well.....on the looser side, it became an issue of perseverance and eventually I won out. I was a bit skeptical about these holding air well because they weigh 553/556 grams and that is really light for 29" X 2.35" tires. Of course, they held air just fine into Sunday. I'll keep a close eye on these and I will be riding the bike as my commuter this week just to get things solidly set up.

Of course, the light weight should be no surprise when you consider that these have basically no tread to speak of. There are those tiny knobs, but whatever. Seriously.......do you think they do anything? I doubt they add anything to traction except that they do boost your psychological mind set into a false belief that these knobs can do something. Basically, these are reverse dimples on a golf ball sort of deal. They probably are more an aero thing than they are traction. These are "textured slicks" in reality.

Not much room left there.

These are the most voluminous tires I have had on the Fargo in many a year. I mentioned that I tried 2.8" 27.5 tires on this bike once, but other than that, I have used mostly 2.0-2.1 tires. These G - Ones seem to be the "real deal", and they measure out at just a shade over 59mm at less than 30psi.

Speaking of psi- I think I'll be able to run something in the 20's, but this week I will be experimenting with dialing that in. I first ran the front and rear, on the initial test ride, at 30psi. That was obviously too harsh. However, I did note straight away that these tires roll like crazy. And, of course, why wouldn't they? They better roll like crazy since they have no tread to slow them down to speak of.

In other news on my set up, I have added my Bar Yak cue sheet holder, my Lezyne GPS computer, and a Topeak saddle bag with two tubes, repair kit, and an extra bottle of sealant. The final bits will be nutrition and stashing that on the bike in my Bike Bag Dude Garage top tube bag. I'll also have a Bike Bag Dude Chaff Bag which I may use for a bottle or I may use it to store food as well. Water will be dealt with by using the six bottle cage mounts on the bike. Re-supply on water is available on route at about ten-ish miles after a 40 mile opening stretch. There is also about a 9 mile stretch to the finish after the last opportunity.

So far, so good.

Dialing In The Set Up - Part 2

The Fargo Gen I set up so far. Nearly there!

Well, the tires came in that I wanted to try and they are now set up on the WTB Frequency Team i23 rims/American Classic hubbed wheels I've had for a long time. I do have some carbon rimmed wheels I could have used, but I didn't because, well......I didn't want to mess with swapping end caps and taking off some tires I would have been putting right back on after Gravel Worlds is over.

Anyway, I chose these tires when I learned that they cam in a 29" X 2.35" width. Why? Here's why.......

The gravel in Nebraska, especially around Lincoln, is sandy. Loose, inconsistent spots of roadway are not uncommon. Skinny tires + heavy guy = pizza cutter. Fatter tires are best from my experiences that I have had down there since 2009. Probably some of the best tires I ever used on Nebraska gravel around the Lincoln area were Bontrager XR-1's. The original ones, which were never tubeless rated. Anyway, finding tires like that since then has been hard to do.

I'd seen G-One tires before, of course, and I have ridden a 35mm version of them, which was not a good experience, so I never really paid much attention to G-One tires after that. However; while at work the other day it came up that these G-One tires came in a 2.35" width, and suddenly I was very interested. (See description of Nebraska gravel above)

Not much for tread there, but a LOT of volume and light weight should make for a great tire for Gravel Worlds.

I got the tires mounted Saturday and it wasn't easy. I probably should have put on fresh tape, but....I'm a bit of a skinflint, and the old tape looked good yet. That said, fresh tape in two layers would have made the setting up of these tires far easier. But since I did not use fresh tape, and the fit on the WTB rims was, well.....on the looser side, it became an issue of perseverance and eventually I won out. I was a bit skeptical about these holding air well because they weigh 553/556 grams and that is really light for 29" X 2.35" tires. Of course, they held air just fine into Sunday. I'll keep a close eye on these and I will be riding the bike as my commuter this week just to get things solidly set up.

Of course, the light weight should be no surprise when you consider that these have basically no tread to speak of. There are those tiny knobs, but whatever. Seriously.......do you think they do anything? I doubt they add anything to traction except that they do boost your psychological mind set into a false belief that these knobs can do something. Basically, these are reverse dimples on a golf ball sort of deal. They probably are more an aero thing than they are traction. These are "textured slicks" in reality.

Not much room left there.

These are the most voluminous tires I have had on the Fargo in many a year. I mentioned that I tried 2.8" 27.5 tires on this bike once, but other than that, I have used mostly 2.0-2.1 tires. These G - Ones seem to be the "real deal", and they measure out at just a shade over 59mm at less than 30psi.

Speaking of psi- I think I'll be able to run something in the 20's, but this week I will be experimenting with dialing that in. I first ran the front and rear, on the initial test ride, at 30psi. That was obviously too harsh. However, I did note straight away that these tires roll like crazy. And, of course, why wouldn't they? They better roll like crazy since they have no tread to slow them down to speak of.

In other news on my set up, I have added my Bar Yak cue sheet holder, my Lezyne GPS computer, and a Topeak saddle bag with two tubes, repair kit, and an extra bottle of sealant. The final bits will be nutrition and stashing that on the bike in my Bike Bag Dude Garage top tube bag. I'll also have a Bike Bag Dude Chaff Bag which I may use for a bottle or I may use it to store food as well. Water will be dealt with by using the six bottle cage mounts on the bike. Re-supply on water is available on route at about ten-ish miles after a 40 mile opening stretch. There is also about a 9 mile stretch to the finish after the last opportunity.

So far, so good.

Trans Iowa Stories: News On The Series

The logo developed by Jeff Kerkove for the event in 2004

The other day in my "Friday News And Views" post, I had a bit on Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Kutilek, USMC and it gave me a bit of an idea.

Now, I had said my stories would be more about people involved in Trans Iowa, but that thought was based upon my personal recollections, not so much from an interview, or video format of a rider, like the one from Friday. I thought that story was really compelling, and that led me to think about something.

My idea would maybe be a bit far ranging, maybe hard to pull off, but I have to try this. I just think it will add a lot to the tales of Trans Iowa. So, here's my thoughts: Why not send questionnaires, ask for interviews, do a podcast, and even maybe get a video, and post those occasionally where they make sense to. So, as an example, the story about Matthew Kutilek would make more sense while I was telling stories about v12, or v14, both of which he was involved in.

So, that's it, really, other than what I would call those, which would be "The Story Behind The Rider". These wouldn't be guaranteed on a regular basis, and it depends upon who wants to talk, and who doesn't want to. In the meantime, if this sounds like a great idea, sorta okay, or dumber than a box of rocks, let me know, please? And while you are at it, is there anyone you want to know more about?

Thanks for reading!

Trans Iowa Stories: News On The Series

The logo developed by Jeff Kerkove for the event in 2004

The other day in my "Friday News And Views" post, I had a bit on Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Kutilek, USMC and it gave me a bit of an idea.

Now, I had said my stories would be more about people involved in Trans Iowa, but that thought was based upon my personal recollections, not so much from an interview, or video format of a rider, like the one from Friday. I thought that story was really compelling, and that led me to think about something.

My idea would maybe be a bit far ranging, maybe hard to pull off, but I have to try this. I just think it will add a lot to the tales of Trans Iowa. So, here's my thoughts: Why not send questionnaires, ask for interviews, do a podcast, and even maybe get a video, and post those occasionally where they make sense to. So, as an example, the story about Matthew Kutilek would make more sense while I was telling stories about v12, or v14, both of which he was involved in.

So, that's it, really, other than what I would call those, which would be "The Story Behind The Rider". These wouldn't be guaranteed on a regular basis, and it depends upon who wants to talk, and who doesn't want to. In the meantime, if this sounds like a great idea, sorta okay, or dumber than a box of rocks, let me know, please? And while you are at it, is there anyone you want to know more about?

Thanks for reading!

Trans Iowa Stories: Tales Of v2 Part 1

On a solo recon of the T.I.v2 course west of Hawarden

 "Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject by going back to earlier Sunday posts on this blog. Thanks and enjoy!

Trans Iowa v2. The mere mention of this event evokes shudders and images of suffering and pain which are vivid even a decade plus after the event. (So I am told by those who were in the event) This was the Trans Iowa which set up this event as one having legendary status. But before we get to the muddy details of that weekend, we need to go back to the very beginnings of Trans Iowa.

Remember when I posted about meeting Richard "Deke" Gosen at the beginning and his question to us? That question was,"What if no one finishes? Are you prepared for that?". But there were others that day which I did not write about, and haven't for years. Mr. Gosen had another question dealing with our policies concerning weather and the running of Trans Iowa. He asked us if we were willing to run this challenge despite weather by saying, "What if it rains? Snows, or hails?"

We affirmed him that weather wasn't going to stop this deal, and he was pleased with our resolve to not shrink to the wills of those who wouldn't want to ride in inclement weather. With that thought firmly affixed into Trans Iowa's DNA, we forged ahead. The "true test" of our resolve did not come until T.I.v2 though.

Of course, we needed to have the event in order ahead of the date. Jeff had started negotiating with Ergon by the Winter of '05/'06. So, with Jeff's busy schedule, the recon, route finding, and much of being the "face" of the event on the Endurance thread on MTBR.com became my responsibility. Jeff still handled the sponsors and house finding for participants. He also facilitated the online registration for T.I.v2, which as far as I can find was $30.00, a ten dollar increase over the 2005 entry fee.

A Level B road near Britt, Iowa that was to be in Trans Iowa v2. No one got this far though.

Recon was a tedious task. I could only manage to get about 1/3rd of it done at a crack due to the distances involved in just getting up to the course. We had decided to run a completely different course this time to keep the navigation factor in the event. More detailed course notes were kept during recon, which made the going slow, to facilitate this. I did all the initial recon solo and Jeff came along for a "drive through" of the course in February of 2006.

At the behest of Mike Curiak, I included many more of the Level B Maintenance roads into the course. In fact, on the western end, I had 14 or 15 miles, sometimes two and three miles at a crack. Eastern Iowa had few, if any, Level B roads, so I figured on packing in as many as possible in the front half of T.I.v2. This became a big mistake, as we shall learn later. The T.I.v2 course actually only had about 4 miles of dirt road in it after the Algona checkpoint!

There was some banter about a "return bus" from Decorah before v1, but this talk amped way up afterward for v2. People were asking Jeff and I to charter a bus, or get an old school bus rounded up to haul riders and gear back across the state. Neither Jeff or I were into any of this talk. First of all, it would cost us a LOT of money, and we were "shop rats" on a basic pay schedule with ZERO benefits. We already were spending far too much on this as it was, and making entry fees higher to recover any costs was not where we wanted to go with Trans Iowa. Secondly, neither one of us had a CDL to drive a bus anyway. In the end, one of the T.I. pioneers, Ward Budweg, arranged for something, but it turned out not to be necessary. This was also a factor in forcing us to adopt a loop course format.

Finally, all along we were getting other "suggestions" on how we were supposed to run this event. Most were suggestions which were things that would make the event easier. Of course, Jeff and I rejected all of those suggestions out of hand. We had to make the "maybe this event isn't for you" statement several times, and then it kind of dawned on me back then what we had and what people thought we were doing. They were two different things.

What we were presenting was something maybe a bit new. A challenge more than a "race" proper. It wasn't about age groups, men, women, or who won anything as much as it was about seeing what you could do. What was possible? How far could you push yourself, and your equipment, and how well could you make critical decisions along the way. This wasn't about anything else other than each person's own goals and possibilities. That said, it was also about being very careful about whether one should take this big step.

This was also about my own journey as a person who could figure out an event, how to run it, and how to set it up. Jeff helped a ton with this in the very beginning, but as T.I.v2 drew closer, it was evident that it may not last. Trans Iowa may only be a two event deal. I just couldn't see running it without Jeff at that point. I relied on Jeff so much that I didn't see that I could run the event without him, although I think at the time Jeff was cunningly setting me up for just such a thing.

We were coming back from a Frostbike trip when we crossed the Minnesota/Iowa border. The sign welcoming us to Iowa was there and Jeff said, "Maybe someday it will say, 'The Home of Trans Iowa'". I laughed, but that moment stuck with me. I was feeling Jeff was leaving to go somewhere else in life, yet he was saying Trans Iowa might last until it became famous? I couldn't figure it out, even then. But while the state line sign never did say that, the event would go on to become a much bigger deal than I ever dreamed.

Next: Tales Of v2 Part 2

Trans Iowa Stories: Tales Of v2 Part 1

On a solo recon of the T.I.v2 course west of Hawarden

 "Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject by going back to earlier Sunday posts on this blog. Thanks and enjoy!

Trans Iowa v2. The mere mention of this event evokes shudders and images of suffering and pain which are vivid even a decade plus after the event. (So I am told by those who were in the event) This was the Trans Iowa which set up this event as one having legendary status. But before we get to the muddy details of that weekend, we need to go back to the very beginnings of Trans Iowa.

Remember when I posted about meeting Richard "Deke" Gosen at the beginning and his question to us? That question was,"What if no one finishes? Are you prepared for that?". But there were others that day which I did not write about, and haven't for years. Mr. Gosen had another question dealing with our policies concerning weather and the running of Trans Iowa. He asked us if we were willing to run this challenge despite weather by saying, "What if it rains? Snows, or hails?"

We affirmed him that weather wasn't going to stop this deal, and he was pleased with our resolve to not shrink to the wills of those who wouldn't want to ride in inclement weather. With that thought firmly affixed into Trans Iowa's DNA, we forged ahead. The "true test" of our resolve did not come until T.I.v2 though.

Of course, we needed to have the event in order ahead of the date. Jeff had started negotiating with Ergon by the Winter of '05/'06. So, with Jeff's busy schedule, the recon, route finding, and much of being the "face" of the event on the Endurance thread on MTBR.com became my responsibility. Jeff still handled the sponsors and house finding for participants. He also facilitated the online registration for T.I.v2, which as far as I can find was $30.00, a ten dollar increase over the 2005 entry fee.

A Level B road near Britt, Iowa that was to be in Trans Iowa v2. No one got this far though.

Recon was a tedious task. I could only manage to get about 1/3rd of it done at a crack due to the distances involved in just getting up to the course. We had decided to run a completely different course this time to keep the navigation factor in the event. More detailed course notes were kept during recon, which made the going slow, to facilitate this. I did all the initial recon solo and Jeff came along for a "drive through" of the course in February of 2006.

At the behest of Mike Curiak, I included many more of the Level B Maintenance roads into the course. In fact, on the western end, I had 14 or 15 miles, sometimes two and three miles at a crack. Eastern Iowa had few, if any, Level B roads, so I figured on packing in as many as possible in the front half of T.I.v2. This became a big mistake, as we shall learn later. The T.I.v2 course actually only had about 4 miles of dirt road in it after the Algona checkpoint!

There was some banter about a "return bus" from Decorah before v1, but this talk amped way up afterward for v2. People were asking Jeff and I to charter a bus, or get an old school bus rounded up to haul riders and gear back across the state. Neither Jeff or I were into any of this talk. First of all, it would cost us a LOT of money, and we were "shop rats" on a basic pay schedule with ZERO benefits. We already were spending far too much on this as it was, and making entry fees higher to recover any costs was not where we wanted to go with Trans Iowa. Secondly, neither one of us had a CDL to drive a bus anyway. In the end, one of the T.I. pioneers, Ward Budweg, arranged for something, but it turned out not to be necessary. This was also a factor in forcing us to adopt a loop course format.

Finally, all along we were getting other "suggestions" on how we were supposed to run this event. Most were suggestions which were things that would make the event easier. Of course, Jeff and I rejected all of those suggestions out of hand. We had to make the "maybe this event isn't for you" statement several times, and then it kind of dawned on me back then what we had and what people thought we were doing. They were two different things.

What we were presenting was something maybe a bit new. A challenge more than a "race" proper. It wasn't about age groups, men, women, or who won anything as much as it was about seeing what you could do. What was possible? How far could you push yourself, and your equipment, and how well could you make critical decisions along the way. This wasn't about anything else other than each person's own goals and possibilities. That said, it was also about being very careful about whether one should take this big step.

This was also about my own journey as a person who could figure out an event, how to run it, and how to set it up. Jeff helped a ton with this in the very beginning, but as T.I.v2 drew closer, it was evident that it may not last. Trans Iowa may only be a two event deal. I just couldn't see running it without Jeff at that point. I relied on Jeff so much that I didn't see that I could run the event without him, although I think at the time Jeff was cunningly setting me up for just such a thing.

We were coming back from a Frostbike trip when we crossed the Minnesota/Iowa border. The sign welcoming us to Iowa was there and Jeff said, "Maybe someday it will say, 'The Home of Trans Iowa'". I laughed, but that moment stuck with me. I was feeling Jeff was leaving to go somewhere else in life, yet he was saying Trans Iowa might last until it became famous? I couldn't figure it out, even then. But while the state line sign never did say that, the event would go on to become a much bigger deal than I ever dreamed.

Next: Tales Of v2 Part 2

Minus Ten Review 2009-32

Image by Jacob Stevenson, aged 6yrs at the time.

Ten years ago on the blog I was talking about 29"er stuff, as usual. It seemed that for the upcoming 2010 season, a lot of carbon fiber framed 29"ers were being talked about. That pretty much solidified the wheel size as one that wasn't going away anytime soon.

It also bears mentioning that this was happening alongside 26" FS development in the 5" travel arena. These bikes were the focus of most MTB-entrenched brands yet at that time. Also, keep in mind that up until this point, the much ballyhooed 27.5" wheel size was largely missing in action. It had been introduced in 2007, but made barely a dent in the scene.

What we did not know, in the general public view, was that most companies were plotting the demise of 26" wheeled FS rigs and about to unleash the 27.5" "enduro bike" on the scene. When that happened, the brakes got slammed on 29"er R&D, and marketing dollars went toward the smaller sized wheels instead. Of course, that has since swapped positions in recent times.

The other thing I was mentioning was also a sea change, but a local one. At this time, the "South Side" of Camp Ingawanis became the preferred, or to be more correct, our only choice for trails not sullied by horses and destroyed by equestrian events. The Camp proper would still be the best terrain for trails, but as long as the Boy Scouts have it, that future is murky at best. But at any rate, it was in late 2009 when things got refocused on the South Side and much more trail development occurred there after this date. The North side?

Sadly, it fell out of favor due to the horse issues and hasn't been a thing in a decade.

Minus Ten Review 2009-32

Image by Jacob Stevenson, aged 6yrs at the time.

Ten years ago on the blog I was talking about 29"er stuff, as usual. It seemed that for the upcoming 2010 season, a lot of carbon fiber framed 29"ers were being talked about. That pretty much solidified the wheel size as one that wasn't going away anytime soon.

It also bears mentioning that this was happening alongside 26" FS development in the 5" travel arena. These bikes were the focus of most MTB-entrenched brands yet at that time. Also, keep in mind that up until this point, the much ballyhooed 27.5" wheel size was largely missing in action. It had been introduced in 2007, but made barely a dent in the scene.

What we did not know, in the general public view, was that most companies were plotting the demise of 26" wheeled FS rigs and about to unleash the 27.5" "enduro bike" on the scene. When that happened, the brakes got slammed on 29"er R&D, and marketing dollars went toward the smaller sized wheels instead. Of course, that has since swapped positions in recent times.

The other thing I was mentioning was also a sea change, but a local one. At this time, the "South Side" of Camp Ingawanis became the preferred, or to be more correct, our only choice for trails not sullied by horses and destroyed by equestrian events. The Camp proper would still be the best terrain for trails, but as long as the Boy Scouts have it, that future is murky at best. But at any rate, it was in late 2009 when things got refocused on the South Side and much more trail development occurred there after this date. The North side?

Sadly, it fell out of favor due to the horse issues and hasn't been a thing in a decade.

Friday News And Views

Diamondback and a couple of other brands were sold off recently for a dollar.

I'd Buy That For A Dollar:

The bicycle business is in a tumultuous state of flux. The latest evidence being the sale of Diamonback, Redline, and Izip brands by their former owner, Accell Group N.V., to investment company Regent LP., who happen to have recently purchased Mavic.

You can read the dry details of this story here on "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News". The reported sale price for the three brands was one U.S. dollar.

The Raleigh brand, which Accell calls one of their "global cycling brands" will be distributed in the U.S. market with Regent LP on a two year agreement. The Raleigh, Diamondback, and Redline brands were sold in a separate sale in the Canadian market to Canadian Tire, according to the "BRAIN" report.

Several years ago the Diamondback brand wasn't making a killing, but it did have a separate identity and served as the mountain biking brand alongside of Raleigh, which basically stayed out of any "serious" mountain biking product. It was typically sold to dealers as a package- Raleigh and Diamondback, which made a bit more sense. Redline, for its part, mostly a BMX brand, was handled by distributor Seattle Bicycle Supply (SBS). Redline did a decent business in BMX, cyclo cross, and urban bikes back then.

When Accell stepped in, they scooped up all of these brands, homogenized Diamondback, Raleigh, and Redline, much in the same way General Motors did with their sub-brands, and basically made them so similar, one to another, that only the paint jobs and decals were different. Accell then sold Diamondback as a department store/big box retailer brand, primarily through Dick's Sporting Goods, and further muddied the waters. When both Diamondback and Raleigh circumvented their local bike shop dealers further by selling direct on-line, the North American market support from those dealers fizzled into thin air. Oh, and SBS? Accell shuttered that distribution company years ago. Again, alienating their local bike shop customers.

So, when Accell looked at North American markets for their brands recently, they saw a deficit. (duh) This precipitated the sale, and of course, after so many years of torpedoing their base customers in the US, it is no wonder the brands were sold for a measly buck. By the way, Accell is the number one distributor of HPC's (e-bikes) in Europe. So, that should give you an idea of their main focus. European stock markets and financial people were pleased that Accell, as the industry news source "Bike Europe" so succinctly put it, "....has been able to get rid of its troublesome subsidiary that showed rapidly growing losses."

It will be interesting to see what Regent LP does with Diamondback and Redline. Recent news stories suggest that they are keen on reviving Mavic as a leader in component sales and having a bicycle brand to market along side of that maybe is what they were after. One thing is for sure- times are a changin'. 

Ashton Lambie, (doubled over) speaking to MG at the Solstice 100, which Ashton won.

Gravel Grinder Wins Gold (Again)

This has been kind of a story that has shaken the traditional road racing segment. That story surrounding Ashton Lambie, a native Nebraskan and accomplished gravel racer, who set the World Record in the individual pursuit at the Pan-American Games last year, and just won a gold medal this past August 4th at this year's Pan-American Games in Peru. 

Stories pop up in mainstream cycling media from time to time with story lines about his rural upbringing and music background, which is interesting. I don't know, he seems like a nice enough guy to me. Extraordinarily talented, yes, but very down to Earth. It's pretty cool to see someone from a gravel racing/riding background break the mold set by traditionalists in road and track racing with World records and podiums on his way to the 2020 Olympics.

Check out what the local paper said about his story here.

I'll be interested to see where Mr Lambie goes from here. It'd be pretty cool to see him bring home some medals from Tokyo.

Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Kutilek in Trans Iowa v14 Image by Jon Duke

The Story Behind The Rider:

Have you ever met someone for the first time and felt that there was something special about them? Something about that person that commands your respect, even though you have just met? Well, I have had that happen. In fact, with regard to Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Kutilek USMC, I knew just from reading his name on the post card he sent in for Trans Iowa v12 that there was "something about this guy" that required my respect to be shown.

I could have just listed him as "Matthew Kutilek" on the roster, but I added his name like this: "Maj. Matthew Kutilek, USMC" (his rank at that time) and even when I called him up at the Pre-Race Meat-Up, I believe that is the name I called him up with. Was I being a smart-ass? Fair question, because, well, if you know me, I do have that gene in my make-up. But not this time, I just "knew" that's how I needed to respect him.

Well, as it turned out, Matthew finished that first attempt at Trans Iowa in 2016. At the finish line, I shook Matthew's hand and congratulated him. He responded with a breathless "Thank you, Sir! That was the most difficult thing I have done, Sir!" I was a bit taken aback by his military-type respect in his response, and I seriously doubted it was "the most difficult thing" he'd done. I thought I was correct in that assumption directly, and when his story came out later about his wounding in Afghanistan, and the radical surgical technique that saved his right leg, I was sure T.I.v12 wasn't even close to the toughest thing he'd ever done.

Then just the other day, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Kutilek sent me a link to this video. If you dare to watch, you will learn that my respect for this man is not misplaced. I am honored to have met this man, and to have had him in my event not once, but twice. You can scroll "The Roster" and see his entry that reads: "Maj. Matthew Kutilek USMC V12, V14"

Perhaps it is high time I edited that.

 That's a wrap for this week, folks! have a great weekend and go ride some bicycles!

Friday News And Views

Diamondback and a couple of other brands were sold off recently for a dollar.

I'd Buy That For A Dollar:

The bicycle business is in a tumultuous state of flux. The latest evidence being the sale of Diamonback, Redline, and Izip brands by their former owner, Accell Group N.V., to investment company Regent LP., who happen to have recently purchased Mavic.

You can read the dry details of this story here on "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News". The reported sale price for the three brands was one U.S. dollar.

The Raleigh brand, which Accell calls one of their "global cycling brands" will be distributed in the U.S. market with Regent LP on a two year agreement. The Raleigh, Diamondback, and Redline brands were sold in a separate sale in the Canadian market to Canadian Tire, according to the "BRAIN" report.

Several years ago the Diamondback brand wasn't making a killing, but it did have a separate identity and served as the mountain biking brand alongside of Raleigh, which basically stayed out of any "serious" mountain biking product. It was typically sold to dealers as a package- Raleigh and Diamondback, which made a bit more sense. Redline, for its part, mostly a BMX brand, was handled by distributor Seattle Bicycle Supply (SBS). Redline did a decent business in BMX, cyclo cross, and urban bikes back then.

When Accell stepped in, they scooped up all of these brands, homogenized Diamondback, Raleigh, and Redline, much in the same way General Motors did with their sub-brands, and basically made them so similar, one to another, that only the paint jobs and decals were different. Accell then sold Diamondback as a department store/big box retailer brand, primarily through Dick's Sporting Goods, and further muddied the waters. When both Diamondback and Raleigh circumvented their local bike shop dealers further by selling direct on-line, the North American market support from those dealers fizzled into thin air. Oh, and SBS? Accell shuttered that distribution company years ago. Again, alienating their local bike shop customers.

So, when Accell looked at North American markets for their brands recently, they saw a deficit. (duh) This precipitated the sale, and of course, after so many years of torpedoing their base customers in the US, it is no wonder the brands were sold for a measly buck. By the way, Accell is the number one distributor of HPC's (e-bikes) in Europe. So, that should give you an idea of their main focus. European stock markets and financial people were pleased that Accell, as the industry news source "Bike Europe" so succinctly put it, "....has been able to get rid of its troublesome subsidiary that showed rapidly growing losses."

It will be interesting to see what Regent LP does with Diamondback and Redline. Recent news stories suggest that they are keen on reviving Mavic as a leader in component sales and having a bicycle brand to market along side of that maybe is what they were after. One thing is for sure- times are a changin'. 

Ashton Lambie, (doubled over) speaking to MG at the Solstice 100, which Ashton won.

Gravel Grinder Wins Gold (Again)

This has been kind of a story that has shaken the traditional road racing segment. That story surrounding Ashton Lambie, a native Nebraskan and accomplished gravel racer, who set the World Record in the individual pursuit at the Pan-American Games last year, and just won a gold medal this past August 4th at this year's Pan-American Games in Peru. 

Stories pop up in mainstream cycling media from time to time with story lines about his rural upbringing and music background, which is interesting. I don't know, he seems like a nice enough guy to me. Extraordinarily talented, yes, but very down to Earth. It's pretty cool to see someone from a gravel racing/riding background break the mold set by traditionalists in road and track racing with World records and podiums on his way to the 2020 Olympics.

Check out what the local paper said about his story here.

I'll be interested to see where Mr Lambie goes from here. It'd be pretty cool to see him bring home some medals from Tokyo.

Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Kutilek in Trans Iowa v14 Image by Jon Duke

The Story Behind The Rider:

Have you ever met someone for the first time and felt that there was something special about them? Something about that person that commands your respect, even though you have just met? Well, I have had that happen. In fact, with regard to Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Kutilek USMC, I knew just from reading his name on the post card he sent in for Trans Iowa v12 that there was "something about this guy" that required my respect to be shown.

I could have just listed him as "Matthew Kutilek" on the roster, but I added his name like this: "Maj. Matthew Kutilek, USMC" (his rank at that time) and even when I called him up at the Pre-Race Meat-Up, I believe that is the name I called him up with. Was I being a smart-ass? Fair question, because, well, if you know me, I do have that gene in my make-up. But not this time, I just "knew" that's how I needed to respect him.

Well, as it turned out, Matthew finished that first attempt at Trans Iowa in 2016. At the finish line, I shook Matthew's hand and congratulated him. He responded with a breathless "Thank you, Sir! That was the most difficult thing I have done, Sir!" I was a bit taken aback by his military-type respect in his response, and I seriously doubted it was "the most difficult thing" he'd done. I thought I was correct in that assumption directly, and when his story came out later about his wounding in Afghanistan, and the radical surgical technique that saved his right leg, I was sure T.I.v12 wasn't even close to the toughest thing he'd ever done.

Then just the other day, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Kutilek sent me a link to this video. If you dare to watch, you will learn that my respect for this man is not misplaced. I am honored to have met this man, and to have had him in my event not once, but twice. You can scroll "The Roster" and see his entry that reads: "Maj. Matthew Kutilek USMC V12, V14"

Perhaps it is high time I edited that.

 That's a wrap for this week, folks! have a great weekend and go ride some bicycles!

Dialing In The Set Up

The Fargo Gen I on the old Shirey Way.

Yesterday I spent some time setting up the Fargo Gen I for Gravel Worlds. I added a sixth bottle cage, took off the Revelate Tangle bag, and set the bike up with an alternate set of wheels I have sitting around. The wheels I want to use will be set up with the new Schwalbe G-One tires I have coming in which should be here tomorrow.

That said, this wheel and tire combo is one I would not mind using. The wheels are generic Formula hubbed, Weinmann rimmed affairs that came stock on my Tamland Two. They are not "bad" wheels at all, but they are not tubeless either, or at least I never saw anything that said they were rated for tubeless usage. So, I have them set up with some old, out of production 29" X 2.1" tires that I have always thought should have been marketed as gravel tires, but were ten years too early to market for that.

That tire would be the Vulpine, an XC racing tire that never really caught on with the MTB crowd. I got a pair to test for the old site I ran, "Twenty Nine Inches", back in 2008, or somewhere around then. Anyway, I recognized right away that this tread pattern was/is a great pattern for gravel road use. By the time the Vulpine had arrived on the scene as a 29" tire, I had the Fargo, and I put these very tires on the bike back then. Suspicions about the tire's performance traits on gravel were confirmed, and as I moved on to other tires for the Fargo, these Vulpines went on my custom Pofahl drop bar single speed. In fact, I set them up tubeless. (They are not tubeless rated), and then after a long while I pulled them off and these tires sat dormant for several years.

As an aside, (as if I weren't going down a rabbit hole already), I kept bugging WTB to make these again and make them for gravel bikes. My contact back then was Will Ritchie, and I pretty much wore him out on this subject. Ironically, just before Will left WTB, they found a single, NOS, Vulpine in their storage facility, (shed), and Will had it sent to me. Nice guy, that Will. (Thanks again, in case you happen to see this.)

If I told you this was the latest in gravel tread design, you'd probably believe it. It is over a decade old!

I think these Vulpines would survive another Gravel Worlds, so if the Schwalbe experiment looks sketchy, I will default back to these tires. Yeah.....I'll probably replace one of those old Vulpines if that needs to happen and put it on the rear. But we will see.

I rode the Fargo loaded down with all the water bottles filled and decided I needed to tweak on the Ragley Luxy bar a bit. Lately my hands have been sensitive, so I have moved a couple of my bars of late. Just a touch more downward angle to the extensions seems to do the trick. Then I also discovered that the "jerry can" bag I have on the top tube by the seat post bothers me when I pedal. My shorts juuuust graze the bag and it drives me up the wall. Like something is tickling me between my thighs and it ain't good. So, I am taking that bag off and since it holds repair stuff, I may dig out my Topeak aerobag and stick that behind/under the saddle. That should solve that issue.

I also think I will get some new brake pads installed. I don't know when the last time it was I put pads in those calipers. Maybe never? Brakes are good, so I better take care of that. I also need to put a new battery in the CatEye Velo 9 and re-calibrate it with whatever tires I end up going with. The CatEye is deadly accurate when you use your own roll-out number in the set up. Plus, I don't have to remember to turn it on, and it gives me exactly only the info I want. Mileage and time. I also need to install my Bar Yak cue sheet holder. Otherwise I think the bike is good to go

I've got one brand new one if I need it.

So, we will get those minor things attended to and wait to see what those Schwalbe tires can do. If I am not fully impressed I won't go with them. The Vulpines, or a set of tubeless 2.1" Nanoraptors I have, would be the go-to back up tires. That will all be decided upon this weekend and then I'l have a few days to make sure I am 100% dialed then Friday next week I will be on the road to Lincoln, Nebraska.

Dialing In The Set Up

The Fargo Gen I on the old Shirey Way.

Yesterday I spent some time setting up the Fargo Gen I for Gravel Worlds. I added a sixth bottle cage, took off the Revelate Tangle bag, and set the bike up with an alternate set of wheels I have sitting around. The wheels I want to use will be set up with the new Schwalbe G-One tires I have coming in which should be here tomorrow.

That said, this wheel and tire combo is one I would not mind using. The wheels are generic Formula hubbed, Weinmann rimmed affairs that came stock on my Tamland Two. They are not "bad" wheels at all, but they are not tubeless either, or at least I never saw anything that said they were rated for tubeless usage. So, I have them set up with some old, out of production 29" X 2.1" tires that I have always thought should have been marketed as gravel tires, but were ten years too early to market for that.

That tire would be the Vulpine, an XC racing tire that never really caught on with the MTB crowd. I got a pair to test for the old site I ran, "Twenty Nine Inches", back in 2008, or somewhere around then. Anyway, I recognized right away that this tread pattern was/is a great pattern for gravel road use. By the time the Vulpine had arrived on the scene as a 29" tire, I had the Fargo, and I put these very tires on the bike back then. Suspicions about the tire's performance traits on gravel were confirmed, and as I moved on to other tires for the Fargo, these Vulpines went on my custom Pofahl drop bar single speed. In fact, I set them up tubeless. (They are not tubeless rated), and then after a long while I pulled them off and these tires sat dormant for several years.

As an aside, (as if I weren't going down a rabbit hole already), I kept bugging WTB to make these again and make them for gravel bikes. My contact back then was Will Ritchie, and I pretty much wore him out on this subject. Ironically, just before Will left WTB, they found a single, NOS, Vulpine in their storage facility, (shed), and Will had it sent to me. Nice guy, that Will. (Thanks again, in case you happen to see this.)

If I told you this was the latest in gravel tread design, you'd probably believe it. It is over a decade old!

I think these Vulpines would survive another Gravel Worlds, so if the Schwalbe experiment looks sketchy, I will default back to these tires. Yeah.....I'll probably replace one of those old Vulpines if that needs to happen and put it on the rear. But we will see.

I rode the Fargo loaded down with all the water bottles filled and decided I needed to tweak on the Ragley Luxy bar a bit. Lately my hands have been sensitive, so I have moved a couple of my bars of late. Just a touch more downward angle to the extensions seems to do the trick. Then I also discovered that the "jerry can" bag I have on the top tube by the seat post bothers me when I pedal. My shorts juuuust graze the bag and it drives me up the wall. Like something is tickling me between my thighs and it ain't good. So, I am taking that bag off and since it holds repair stuff, I may dig out my Topeak aerobag and stick that behind/under the saddle. That should solve that issue.

I also think I will get some new brake pads installed. I don't know when the last time it was I put pads in those calipers. Maybe never? Brakes are good, so I better take care of that. I also need to put a new battery in the CatEye Velo 9 and re-calibrate it with whatever tires I end up going with. The CatEye is deadly accurate when you use your own roll-out number in the set up. Plus, I don't have to remember to turn it on, and it gives me exactly only the info I want. Mileage and time. I also need to install my Bar Yak cue sheet holder. Otherwise I think the bike is good to go

I've got one brand new one if I need it.

So, we will get those minor things attended to and wait to see what those Schwalbe tires can do. If I am not fully impressed I won't go with them. The Vulpines, or a set of tubeless 2.1" Nanoraptors I have, would be the go-to back up tires. That will all be decided upon this weekend and then I'l have a few days to make sure I am 100% dialed then Friday next week I will be on the road to Lincoln, Nebraska.

Iowa Wind And Rock #2

Well, I don't have to tell y'all that Trans Iowa isn't happening anymore. But there is an event sorta like it, and it announced its race dates yesterday. Iowa Wind and Rock will happen April 18th-19th, 2020. Registration will open on November 11th, 2019. Keep tabs on things at their site, if you are interested, and don't ask me nuthin' 'cause I won't, and don't know.

I just thought I'd throw this information out there, because IW&R is the evolution from T.I., run by former racers of T.I., and volunteers of past T.I.'s. They have taken a lot of ideas from Trans Iowa and implemented them into their way of doing it. I like that they have done it their way and have kept something like this alive and available to anyone nutty enough to try it. So, I wanted to help spread the news. Otherwise, I have no idea about anything involving the event upcoming.

Trans Iowa traditionally used to announce the next date in August. I remember letting that announcement slide into September a couple of times, but my thought always was that an event of this magnitude, something that required a lot of preparation, needed to have a bit of "warning" as far as letting folks get that block of the year set aside for training and the event. Months of preparations went into Trans Iowa attempts, and if things went pear-shaped, well, that was always such a bummer for those in the event. All that time washed away within a few hours sometimes. (T.I.v2, v6, v11, v13)

Anyway, I think IW&R sees the same thing I saw in that regard and have announced their date now. Like I said, I don't keep tabs on much of what they do, but I have spoken a couple of times with one of their RD's and it's kind of interesting to hear the "revelations" their team experiences now that they are on the promotional/production side of an event like what I used to put on. It's like when a son or daughter has a kid and comes back and says, "Now I know why you used to get so frustrated when......" Ha! You can talk all you want about things, but until you have experienced them, well.....you just don't know. 

Anyway, nuff said. Go check out IW&R if you ever thought Trans Iowa was something you wanted to try. There isn't anything else out there quite like it.

Iowa Wind And Rock #2

Well, I don't have to tell y'all that Trans Iowa isn't happening anymore. But there is an event sorta like it, and it announced its race dates yesterday. Iowa Wind and Rock will happen April 18th-19th, 2020. Registration will open on November 11th, 2019. Keep tabs on things at their site, if you are interested, and don't ask me nuthin' 'cause I won't, and don't know.

I just thought I'd throw this information out there, because IW&R is the evolution from T.I., run by former racers of T.I., and volunteers of past T.I.'s. They have taken a lot of ideas from Trans Iowa and implemented them into their way of doing it. I like that they have done it their way and have kept something like this alive and available to anyone nutty enough to try it. So, I wanted to help spread the news. Otherwise, I have no idea about anything involving the event upcoming.

Trans Iowa traditionally used to announce the next date in August. I remember letting that announcement slide into September a couple of times, but my thought always was that an event of this magnitude, something that required a lot of preparation, needed to have a bit of "warning" as far as letting folks get that block of the year set aside for training and the event. Months of preparations went into Trans Iowa attempts, and if things went pear-shaped, well, that was always such a bummer for those in the event. All that time washed away within a few hours sometimes. (T.I.v2, v6, v11, v13)

Anyway, I think IW&R sees the same thing I saw in that regard and have announced their date now. Like I said, I don't keep tabs on much of what they do, but I have spoken a couple of times with one of their RD's and it's kind of interesting to hear the "revelations" their team experiences now that they are on the promotional/production side of an event like what I used to put on. It's like when a son or daughter has a kid and comes back and says, "Now I know why you used to get so frustrated when......" Ha! You can talk all you want about things, but until you have experienced them, well.....you just don't know. 

Anyway, nuff said. Go check out IW&R if you ever thought Trans Iowa was something you wanted to try. There isn't anything else out there quite like it.