The Touring Series: An Oasis In The Prairie Part 2

A Guitar Ted Productions series

Thanks for joining me again on another adventure in "The Touring Series". This tour was dubbed the "Race Against Death Tour". This tour occurred in August of 1995. The three participants, Ryan, Troy, and your's truly, left from Cedar Falls, Iowa to try and get to Winter Park, Colorado in two weeks. Here I am reproducing the tale as it was posted on the blog in 2009. I also will add new remarks and memories where appropriate at the end of each post. 

 Once again, there were no cell phones, internet, social media platforms, or digital cameras in use by we tourers in 1995. I will post images where I can, but this tour wasn't well documented in images, so there probably will be very few sprinkled throughout. A modern image will be used only where it depicts things I want to clarify, like where we were in that part of the tour via a map image, or the like.
 
The "Touring Series" will appear every Sunday until it ends. Look for past entries by scrolling back to a previous Sunday's post, or type in "Touring Series" in the search box to find more. This post is the remainder of an original post which I broke up into two parts. The first part posted last week. This post is also supplemented with new material.
 
After a brutal 79.13 miles of heat and dehydration, the "Race Against Death Tour" comes to an oasis on the prairie in the form of a convenience store....
__________________________________________________________________________

Our receipt from the campground at Interior, South Dakota

Although details on just where we were are fuzzy, a couple of things remain crystal clear about the end of the sixth day of the "Race Against Death Tour". First, we had found an honest to goodness convenience store near Interior, South Dakota, and secondly, "Sturgis" motorcycle freaks were everywhere. "Sturgis" is the name given by the common folks to the big motorcycle rally held the first week of August or so every year. It has its epicenter in Sturgis, South Dakota, thus the name. It attracts thousands of motorcyclists and they were all over the place out here. The convenience store sold gas, so this was a hotbed of activity this particular afternoon.

The convenience store was an oasis for all travelers, but especially for us three weary cyclists who were wandering around, bewildered by all the choices that weren't peanut butter sandwiches. We found some precious water and grub, spied a bench outside, and plopped our tired bodies down to consume and watch the goings on. It was so good, and so busy, that we barely took time to talk other than to say the occasional, "Did you see that?" or "Check that out!". We saw a bunch of cool Harleys and a bunch of strange characters riding them. A couple stood out for me:

First was the pair on a Harley that pulled up under the canopy for gas. They weren't all that remarkable at first: a guy driving and a gal on the back in typical Harley biker dress. Then it happened.....she got off the bike. You know how they say some folks shouldn't wear certain types of clothing? I'll just say that this was a gross violation of that piece of wisdom.

Location of Interior, SD.

Then there was the guy that had a flat tire. A big, gruff looking mechanic was repairing the tire with a plug. He finished up the job and called the motorcycle's owner over to him. "Now listen, this is a plug. It ain't gonna hold forever, but it'll git ya down the road till you can get a new tire. Whatever ya do, do not put more air in the tire. It ain't gonna hold." Well, you guessed it, we watched as the guy rolled his motorcycle over to the air hose, checked to see if the mechanic was looking, and stuck the chuck on the valve. Poof! Psssssssssssssssssss...........

Troy laughed so hard, I thought he was going to attract the guys attention and get us in trouble. Good thing Harley's are loud! Anyway, we were having so much fun, and we were so spent, that we must have sat there for two hours. Finally, we decided we had better go get our tent set up at the campground and take a shower.

The time spent at the convenience store was a good relaxing show, and the campground was just as pleasant. It was a pretty neat, clean place. We all got showered, and played hacky-sack until the sun went down. We acted as if we had never had a desperate couple of days fearing Native Americans and begging for water. It was great to be back out of the desolation and despair we had gone through the past two days. We looked forward to the next day with some eagerness. Things seemed to be looking up.
____________________________________________________________________________

This was a really fun ending to a really tough day.  I recall that gas station/convenience store was so busy that the constantly changing scenery was amazing to behold. Oddly enough, in the midst of all of this we went fairly unnoticed. You'd think we would have stuck out like a sore thumb there- cyclists among  motorcycle freaks- but we didn't and that seemed odd to me then as much as it does now.

The campground seemed almost luxurious after the few nights we had spent before this. In fact, we hadn't stayed anywhere this nice since leaving the state of Iowa. I remember thinking how great the place was, but in reality, my view was skewed by having lived like a total bum for several days, sleeping wherever we could find a spot to lay down.

That said, this night's sleep was memorable for being so restful and sweet. I didn't want to get up the next day, and I was reluctant to leave the place. Who knew what lay ahead for us? Of course, we were all upbeat and hopeful after ending the day on such a high note.........

Next: A ride to a town with an ironic name.

The Touring Series: An Oasis In The Prairie Part 2

A Guitar Ted Productions series

Thanks for joining me again on another adventure in "The Touring Series". This tour was dubbed the "Race Against Death Tour". This tour occurred in August of 1995. The three participants, Ryan, Troy, and your's truly, left from Cedar Falls, Iowa to try and get to Winter Park, Colorado in two weeks. Here I am reproducing the tale as it was posted on the blog in 2009. I also will add new remarks and memories where appropriate at the end of each post. 

 Once again, there were no cell phones, internet, social media platforms, or digital cameras in use by we tourers in 1995. I will post images where I can, but this tour wasn't well documented in images, so there probably will be very few sprinkled throughout. A modern image will be used only where it depicts things I want to clarify, like where we were in that part of the tour via a map image, or the like.
 
The "Touring Series" will appear every Sunday until it ends. Look for past entries by scrolling back to a previous Sunday's post, or type in "Touring Series" in the search box to find more. This post is the remainder of an original post which I broke up into two parts. The first part posted last week. This post is also supplemented with new material.
 
After a brutal 79.13 miles of heat and dehydration, the "Race Against Death Tour" comes to an oasis on the prairie in the form of a convenience store....
__________________________________________________________________________

Our receipt from the campground at Interior, South Dakota

Although details on just where we were are fuzzy, a couple of things remain crystal clear about the end of the sixth day of the "Race Against Death Tour". First, we had found an honest to goodness convenience store near Interior, South Dakota, and secondly, "Sturgis" motorcycle freaks were everywhere. "Sturgis" is the name given by the common folks to the big motorcycle rally held the first week of August or so every year. It has its epicenter in Sturgis, South Dakota, thus the name. It attracts thousands of motorcyclists and they were all over the place out here. The convenience store sold gas, so this was a hotbed of activity this particular afternoon.

The convenience store was an oasis for all travelers, but especially for us three weary cyclists who were wandering around, bewildered by all the choices that weren't peanut butter sandwiches. We found some precious water and grub, spied a bench outside, and plopped our tired bodies down to consume and watch the goings on. It was so good, and so busy, that we barely took time to talk other than to say the occasional, "Did you see that?" or "Check that out!". We saw a bunch of cool Harleys and a bunch of strange characters riding them. A couple stood out for me:

First was the pair on a Harley that pulled up under the canopy for gas. They weren't all that remarkable at first: a guy driving and a gal on the back in typical Harley biker dress. Then it happened.....she got off the bike. You know how they say some folks shouldn't wear certain types of clothing? I'll just say that this was a gross violation of that piece of wisdom.

Location of Interior, SD.

Then there was the guy that had a flat tire. A big, gruff looking mechanic was repairing the tire with a plug. He finished up the job and called the motorcycle's owner over to him. "Now listen, this is a plug. It ain't gonna hold forever, but it'll git ya down the road till you can get a new tire. Whatever ya do, do not put more air in the tire. It ain't gonna hold." Well, you guessed it, we watched as the guy rolled his motorcycle over to the air hose, checked to see if the mechanic was looking, and stuck the chuck on the valve. Poof! Psssssssssssssssssss...........

Troy laughed so hard, I thought he was going to attract the guys attention and get us in trouble. Good thing Harley's are loud! Anyway, we were having so much fun, and we were so spent, that we must have sat there for two hours. Finally, we decided we had better go get our tent set up at the campground and take a shower.

The time spent at the convenience store was a good relaxing show, and the campground was just as pleasant. It was a pretty neat, clean place. We all got showered, and played hacky-sack until the sun went down. We acted as if we had never had a desperate couple of days fearing Native Americans and begging for water. It was great to be back out of the desolation and despair we had gone through the past two days. We looked forward to the next day with some eagerness. Things seemed to be looking up.
____________________________________________________________________________

This was a really fun ending to a really tough day.  I recall that gas station/convenience store was so busy that the constantly changing scenery was amazing to behold. Oddly enough, in the midst of all of this we went fairly unnoticed. You'd think we would have stuck out like a sore thumb there- cyclists among  motorcycle freaks- but we didn't and that seemed odd to me then as much as it does now.

The campground seemed almost luxurious after the few nights we had spent before this. In fact, we hadn't stayed anywhere this nice since leaving the state of Iowa. I remember thinking how great the place was, but in reality, my view was skewed by having lived like a total bum for several days, sleeping wherever we could find a spot to lay down.

That said, this night's sleep was memorable for being so restful and sweet. I didn't want to get up the next day, and I was reluctant to leave the place. Who knew what lay ahead for us? Of course, we were all upbeat and hopeful after ending the day on such a high note.........

Next: A ride to a town with an ironic name.

Minus Ten Review- 51

December 2008 was a heck of a lot snowier than now. And COLDER!

Ten years ago this week on the blog I was about to close out only my fourth year of scribing here. It was snowy outside. Really snowy. And VERY cold.

I was riding the Fargo every chance I could get back then. It was theoretically here in my hands as a test bike for "Twenty Nine Inches", but by this time I knew this bike wasn't going back to Salsa. I loved it then, and I still cannot get rid of it now. It's just too good.

Everytime I think, well, this old thing is probably outdated now, I get on it, ride it, and the love is rekindled all over again. I didn't ride it much this season, but that was due to testing for Riding Gravel. I had a carbon fiber wonder-bike here and that ate up all my "Fargo time" along with a bike that followed that one which came in for testing. Basically the entire Summer was eaten up by that, and then I got the BMC MCD, so...... No Fargo time! 

Well, anyway, the year was closing out fast and Winter had socked us in hard once more. Odd to look back on it now and think that was a "sure thing" only ten years ago. Snow, that is. We could pretty much count on it. Lately, not so much. Now the riding season has been getting extended well into December. Ten years ago if we got a week past Thanksgiving before it snowed we thought we lucked out.

The Fargo handled snow pretty well, but it wasn't a fat bike by any stretch. Then when fat bikes came around as complete, ready to ride purchases, that's when winter started to falter. Wouldn't ya know it......

Minus Ten Review- 51

December 2008 was a heck of a lot snowier than now. And COLDER!

Ten years ago this week on the blog I was about to close out only my fourth year of scribing here. It was snowy outside. Really snowy. And VERY cold.

I was riding the Fargo every chance I could get back then. It was theoretically here in my hands as a test bike for "Twenty Nine Inches", but by this time I knew this bike wasn't going back to Salsa. I loved it then, and I still cannot get rid of it now. It's just too good.

Everytime I think, well, this old thing is probably outdated now, I get on it, ride it, and the love is rekindled all over again. I didn't ride it much this season, but that was due to testing for Riding Gravel. I had a carbon fiber wonder-bike here and that ate up all my "Fargo time" along with a bike that followed that one which came in for testing. Basically the entire Summer was eaten up by that, and then I got the BMC MCD, so...... No Fargo time! 

Well, anyway, the year was closing out fast and Winter had socked us in hard once more. Odd to look back on it now and think that was a "sure thing" only ten years ago. Snow, that is. We could pretty much count on it. Lately, not so much. Now the riding season has been getting extended well into December. Ten years ago if we got a week past Thanksgiving before it snowed we thought we lucked out.

The Fargo handled snow pretty well, but it wasn't a fat bike by any stretch. Then when fat bikes came around as complete, ready to ride purchases, that's when winter started to falter. Wouldn't ya know it......

Friday News And Views

Barren trees and tons of leaves. Fat biking conditions have been unusual here.

Weather Making For Unusual Conditions:

 As you will see in tomorrows "Minus Ten Review", it used to snow here. A lot. Now in recent times that doesn't seem as likely. Winter now means sporadic snows, maybe it will be cold, and lots of brown scenery.

In fact, my latest fat bike rides have been over grounds that are muddy, soft, and increasingly messy. We had a spate of really cold weather here that did freeze the ground back in late November, but since then things have actually been thawing out. It is really weird. It also is really tough on anyone wanting some off road bicycling around here. Either it is certain trails which we want to keep off of or it is the constant sticky mud that fouls up everything. Ice was an issue, but even that has disappeared lately with several days of 50's in a row, and now upper 40's.

I have been fat biking the last couple of weekends as an alternative to my gravel road stuff. I just needed a break for a bit. That said, the rides have been not anything like what I would expect for December. I ended up doing some trail work on various bits of the Green Belt. I also cleared up my old trail, "Marky-Mark", and ended up rerouting about ten yards of it to get around a knot of dead fall and vines that had blocked a portion of that trail. So, on one hand, this weird weather has allowed for some trail maintenance.

It isn't supposed to get really cold, snowy, or anything like Winter for at least another week. Looks like it'll be a "Brown Christmas" around here.

Shifty bits be gone!

As Promised- Gears Removed From The "Orange Crush":

As many of you long term readers know, I had threatened to make my BMC "Orange Crush" rig into a single speed once I had the pink MCD up and running. Well, last weekend I took an afternoon and did the deed. No more gears!

Yes...... it took an entire afternoon to strip off components and replace them with single speed stuff. Why? Wouldn't that be a simple job? Well, you'd think so.

There is a bit more to it than meets the eye though. Both in the bits needed to convert to single speed and the finding of those bits! Having been a single speed aficionado for the better part of my cycling career, I have accumulated a lot of single-speedy stuff. I have a drawer dedicated to bits for single speed. Stuff like cog spacers, cogs, free wheels, and the elusive single speed specific chain ring bolts. I've got crank sets, and I've got chain rings. I even have spare White Industry chain rings that are specific to their crank.

Weird, huh?

Well it is weird until you need the stuff! Then you are glad you have it. But even though I have a drawer full of the bits, you still have to "spec" correctly. So, in the case of the Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross conversion, I had a set of 180mm cranks from, (I think), an old Specialized Sequoia touring bike from the early 80's. It was ginormous in size, so it had been spec'ed with these old Sakae 180mm cranks. Of course, back then everything was square taper, (check!) and took a long spindle, (also Check!), so that bottom bracket had to be tracked down, (UN-52, natch!), and then I had to find some crank bolts, and then....... Well, you get the picture. Time consuming, it was. Nuff of that, here's the pic......

There she is!

I'm running a 40T steel chain ring I got........somewhere. I cannot recall now, but the last time I used this was on a single speed 29"er ten years ago. The crank is the aforementioned Sakae unit in 180mm length. Those old components have an ano process that left a pearlescent glow that I miss. Man is that pretty! The rear cog is an 18 tooth Boone Titanium cog with the matching titanium spacers. I just recycled the chain I was using, an old 9spd SRAM unit, shortened to work with the set up.

There is one minor thing I may do yet and that is to get some standard aero brake levers, so I can get the Gevenalle mounts/levers off the bike to clean things up a bit more. That'll require new brake cables, so I may wait on that till Spring.

Donnelly's new "EMP" tires

Donnelly New "EMP" Tire, Now On Test/Review:

A week or so ago I posted about this new tire from Donnelly. It is the new "EMP", named after Emporia, Kansas, which is, as Donnelly states on the tire's hang tag, "Home of the world famous gravel roads that reach out to the sky."

No mention of Dirty Kanza? Yep..... You know why, right? Licensing agreements. Meaning that to use the name in Donnelly's marketing, they probably would have to get a license to allow that from DK Promotions. I'm assuming that this is the case, so don't take that for gospel, but I would be willing to bet that is the case here.

Anyway...... I just found that interesting. Nothing to do with the tire, per se', but it is designed with the DK 200 in mind, so it has a tough, aggressive looking tread and a puncture protection belt too. I put up an introductory post on RidingGravel.com here.  Check that out for details. I will say that for now, it looks like a good tire for packed snow, which we should have now........ Bah! Anyway, I'll likely get these on the single speeded Orange Crush soon enough and start trying them out. I figure it can't be long before fenders and aggressive tread will be necessary! And if it continues as it has been, well, I'll have "hero gravel" to ride, most likely. That isn't all bad.

 

Fyxation's new through axle fork for gravel/adventure bikes.

Fyxation Announces New Gravel/Adventure Forks:

Wednesday news came down about Fyxation's new gravel/adventure forks, dubbed the Sparta FCR and Sparta QR. The FCR variant is your typical through axled, tapered steer tubed, three boss on a side fork with full carbon construction and a pretty light weight. But it is the other fork I am thinking is pretty cool.

The "QR" model is what you think- a quick release model. A straight steer tube, QR wheel fork with carbon blades and an aluminum steer tube. Why? I saw a lot of commentary saying it should have had a through axle. Not QR. Hmm......

Well, it turns out the fork asked for already exists.  Thanks to a commenter on the Riding Gravel facebook page for pointing this out.

  Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Friday News And Views

Barren trees and tons of leaves. Fat biking conditions have been unusual here.

Weather Making For Unusual Conditions:

 As you will see in tomorrows "Minus Ten Review", it used to snow here. A lot. Now in recent times that doesn't seem as likely. Winter now means sporadic snows, maybe it will be cold, and lots of brown scenery.

In fact, my latest fat bike rides have been over grounds that are muddy, soft, and increasingly messy. We had a spate of really cold weather here that did freeze the ground back in late November, but since then things have actually been thawing out. It is really weird. It also is really tough on anyone wanting some off road bicycling around here. Either it is certain trails which we want to keep off of or it is the constant sticky mud that fouls up everything. Ice was an issue, but even that has disappeared lately with several days of 50's in a row, and now upper 40's.

I have been fat biking the last couple of weekends as an alternative to my gravel road stuff. I just needed a break for a bit. That said, the rides have been not anything like what I would expect for December. I ended up doing some trail work on various bits of the Green Belt. I also cleared up my old trail, "Marky-Mark", and ended up rerouting about ten yards of it to get around a knot of dead fall and vines that had blocked a portion of that trail. So, on one hand, this weird weather has allowed for some trail maintenance.

It isn't supposed to get really cold, snowy, or anything like Winter for at least another week. Looks like it'll be a "Brown Christmas" around here.

Shifty bits be gone!

As Promised- Gears Removed From The "Orange Crush":

As many of you long term readers know, I had threatened to make my BMC "Orange Crush" rig into a single speed once I had the pink MCD up and running. Well, last weekend I took an afternoon and did the deed. No more gears!

Yes...... it took an entire afternoon to strip off components and replace them with single speed stuff. Why? Wouldn't that be a simple job? Well, you'd think so.

There is a bit more to it than meets the eye though. Both in the bits needed to convert to single speed and the finding of those bits! Having been a single speed aficionado for the better part of my cycling career, I have accumulated a lot of single-speedy stuff. I have a drawer dedicated to bits for single speed. Stuff like cog spacers, cogs, free wheels, and the elusive single speed specific chain ring bolts. I've got crank sets, and I've got chain rings. I even have spare White Industry chain rings that are specific to their crank.

Weird, huh?

Well it is weird until you need the stuff! Then you are glad you have it. But even though I have a drawer full of the bits, you still have to "spec" correctly. So, in the case of the Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross conversion, I had a set of 180mm cranks from, (I think), an old Specialized Sequoia touring bike from the early 80's. It was ginormous in size, so it had been spec'ed with these old Sakae 180mm cranks. Of course, back then everything was square taper, (check!) and took a long spindle, (also Check!), so that bottom bracket had to be tracked down, (UN-52, natch!), and then I had to find some crank bolts, and then....... Well, you get the picture. Time consuming, it was. Nuff of that, here's the pic......

There she is!

I'm running a 40T steel chain ring I got........somewhere. I cannot recall now, but the last time I used this was on a single speed 29"er ten years ago. The crank is the aforementioned Sakae unit in 180mm length. Those old components have an ano process that left a pearlescent glow that I miss. Man is that pretty! The rear cog is an 18 tooth Boone Titanium cog with the matching titanium spacers. I just recycled the chain I was using, an old 9spd SRAM unit, shortened to work with the set up.

There is one minor thing I may do yet and that is to get some standard aero brake levers, so I can get the Gevenalle mounts/levers off the bike to clean things up a bit more. That'll require new brake cables, so I may wait on that till Spring.

Donnelly's new "EMP" tires

Donnelly New "EMP" Tire, Now On Test/Review:

A week or so ago I posted about this new tire from Donnelly. It is the new "EMP", named after Emporia, Kansas, which is, as Donnelly states on the tire's hang tag, "Home of the world famous gravel roads that reach out to the sky."

No mention of Dirty Kanza? Yep..... You know why, right? Licensing agreements. Meaning that to use the name in Donnelly's marketing, they probably would have to get a license to allow that from DK Promotions. I'm assuming that this is the case, so don't take that for gospel, but I would be willing to bet that is the case here.

Anyway...... I just found that interesting. Nothing to do with the tire, per se', but it is designed with the DK 200 in mind, so it has a tough, aggressive looking tread and a puncture protection belt too. I put up an introductory post on RidingGravel.com here.  Check that out for details. I will say that for now, it looks like a good tire for packed snow, which we should have now........ Bah! Anyway, I'll likely get these on the single speeded Orange Crush soon enough and start trying them out. I figure it can't be long before fenders and aggressive tread will be necessary! And if it continues as it has been, well, I'll have "hero gravel" to ride, most likely. That isn't all bad.

 

Fyxation's new through axle fork for gravel/adventure bikes.

Fyxation Announces New Gravel/Adventure Forks:

Wednesday news came down about Fyxation's new gravel/adventure forks, dubbed the Sparta FCR and Sparta QR. The FCR variant is your typical through axled, tapered steer tubed, three boss on a side fork with full carbon construction and a pretty light weight. But it is the other fork I am thinking is pretty cool.

The "QR" model is what you think- a quick release model. A straight steer tube, QR wheel fork with carbon blades and an aluminum steer tube. Why? I saw a lot of commentary saying it should have had a through axle. Not QR. Hmm......

Well, it turns out the fork asked for already exists.  Thanks to a commenter on the Riding Gravel facebook page for pointing this out.

  Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

A Gravelly Prediction

 NOTE: The following was to be a part of the traditional Friday post, "Friday News And Views", but after a vague-post on Twitter, I realized that it probably deserved its own post. So, here following is my original take meant for the "FN&V" post and after that, some more additional thoughts and views. As always......

 NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

 

Gravel racing will look a bit different than this, most likely, down the road. (Image from T.I.v6)

Rumblings. Things popping up. Different resources appearing. All these signs are pointing to something in the gravel racing world. If I may be so bold as to make a prognostication, my gut feeling is that 2018 will be the last time gravel racing, overall, will be what it has been.

Things are changing. Fast.

My feeling is that many events are going to see Pro level teams, more Pro level riders, and Pro only gravel racing in the near future. There will be a national points series started by........someone. Probably not USAC, but maybe. There will be more purse money. There will be super-high end racing bikes, (this is already a certainty), and they won't be festooned with braze ons nor will they take 650B wheels and tires. There will be team pits, as in cyclo cross, where wheels and bikes can be swapped out since team cars on gravel roads is......stupid. Most races will be between 1K and 2K in distance. (The future is metric) There will be big time endemic media saying they know all about this stuff.

Basically, the party is over. Money is coming and already is here. Marketing is coming and is already here. Gravel road riding is poised to become the style of racing in the USA. Like it or not.

That's my take. I could be partially wrong. I could be waaaay off my rocker. I don't think so though.

So, what now? I say, big deal. Let'em come. Let'em bring their idea of gravel to the party. That's what I did, why shouldn't "they" be able to as well? If all the money, marketing, and the way Pro level stuff works, puts you off, then I would say, just go ride your own ride. Put on your own "grassroots" event, whatever that means to you. That's what we did in the beginning of this, so there is no reason for that to go away.

Now, I will say some particular things I've heard have been "goofy", and I will always call that out, (Like title sponsors to old, established gravel events. Really?), but I think that is the outlier. Most of these companies, races, promoters, and media are good, smart folk. It'll be cool to see what they bring along to the gravel scene. But remember, just because they bring their flavor doesn't mean you have to reject and run away saying "Gravel has lost its soul! Grassroots gravel is dead!", because this is your scene. You make it what you need it to be and let the rest do likewise. No reason we all can't be doing our thing out there.
______________________________________________________________________

That was the end of my originally scheduled "rant" for "Friday News And Views" but since then a few things have come up. First, some of the Twitter respondents hopefully will read this.  I wanted to point out also that one answer to me on Twitter basically was the last couple of lines in this post, which was written before I got that response. It's interesting that at least two of us are on the same page! here is that Tweet:

Reply to my "vague-post" on Twitter Tuesday night.

Yes.....I am writing way ahead of schedule. I had almost all the rest of 2018's post scheduled already by Tuesday of this week, so that is how this happened. Just in case anyone was curious about the timing.

Now about the "rumblings". No, I am not going to detail it all out for you. I have been paying attention, and I note many things and how they are interconnected. I also get substantiating evidence from sources I cannot talk about now. Putting "two and two together", I have come to some conclusions and I am doing some extreme spitballing here also. Will it all come true? No- probably not. But some of it will.

Finally, I had an e-mail conversation with RidingGravel.com contributor, John Ingham the other day which had some bearing on this subject, in my opinion. He mentioned how social scientists have identified how Western culture has "shifted over the last 150 years from emphasis on work and self-control to emphasis on consumption and immediate gratification". 

So, how does this have anything to do with gravel events changing? Okay, here's how- Self-sufficiency, being responsible for yourself, cue sheet navigation, unmarked courses, long distances without any means of refreshment, and mechanical repairs being the responsibility of the rider. Let's throw in no prize money, and minimal media attention. Does this sound anything like Pro road racing? Does this sound anything like a "sanctioned" event, or anything like a USAC type deal? No?

Does it sound like "grassroots" or does it sound like "corporate" style events? Think about the atmosphere amongst riders. Is there shared suffering, shared experiences, support  and encouragement between riders before, during, and after the event? Is the format I'm describing one of "all inclusiveness" or one of "every man for himself"? Is it all about a "team leader" or is it all about "self-experience through suffering and enduring"?

Is one more "work and self-control", or is what I described "consumption and immediate gratification"?

See what I mean? I think there are both types of riders out there and one is afraid the other will "ruin the scene". Again, using the words of Beanpole Matt: "Gravel will only change for you as much as you want it to."

Ride on.................

A Gravelly Prediction

 NOTE: The following was to be a part of the traditional Friday post, "Friday News And Views", but after a vague-post on Twitter, I realized that it probably deserved its own post. So, here following is my original take meant for the "FN&V" post and after that, some more additional thoughts and views. As always......

 NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

 

Gravel racing will look a bit different than this, most likely, down the road. (Image from T.I.v6)

Rumblings. Things popping up. Different resources appearing. All these signs are pointing to something in the gravel racing world. If I may be so bold as to make a prognostication, my gut feeling is that 2018 will be the last time gravel racing, overall, will be what it has been.

Things are changing. Fast.

My feeling is that many events are going to see Pro level teams, more Pro level riders, and Pro only gravel racing in the near future. There will be a national points series started by........someone. Probably not USAC, but maybe. There will be more purse money. There will be super-high end racing bikes, (this is already a certainty), and they won't be festooned with braze ons nor will they take 650B wheels and tires. There will be team pits, as in cyclo cross, where wheels and bikes can be swapped out since team cars on gravel roads is......stupid. Most races will be between 1K and 2K in distance. (The future is metric) There will be big time endemic media saying they know all about this stuff.

Basically, the party is over. Money is coming and already is here. Marketing is coming and is already here. Gravel road riding is poised to become the style of racing in the USA. Like it or not.

That's my take. I could be partially wrong. I could be waaaay off my rocker. I don't think so though.

So, what now? I say, big deal. Let'em come. Let'em bring their idea of gravel to the party. That's what I did, why shouldn't "they" be able to as well? If all the money, marketing, and the way Pro level stuff works, puts you off, then I would say, just go ride your own ride. Put on your own "grassroots" event, whatever that means to you. That's what we did in the beginning of this, so there is no reason for that to go away.

Now, I will say some particular things I've heard have been "goofy", and I will always call that out, (Like title sponsors to old, established gravel events. Really?), but I think that is the outlier. Most of these companies, races, promoters, and media are good, smart folk. It'll be cool to see what they bring along to the gravel scene. But remember, just because they bring their flavor doesn't mean you have to reject and run away saying "Gravel has lost its soul! Grassroots gravel is dead!", because this is your scene. You make it what you need it to be and let the rest do likewise. No reason we all can't be doing our thing out there.
______________________________________________________________________

That was the end of my originally scheduled "rant" for "Friday News And Views" but since then a few things have come up. First, some of the Twitter respondents hopefully will read this.  I wanted to point out also that one answer to me on Twitter basically was the last couple of lines in this post, which was written before I got that response. It's interesting that at least two of us are on the same page! here is that Tweet:

Reply to my "vague-post" on Twitter Tuesday night.

Yes.....I am writing way ahead of schedule. I had almost all the rest of 2018's post scheduled already by Tuesday of this week, so that is how this happened. Just in case anyone was curious about the timing.

Now about the "rumblings". No, I am not going to detail it all out for you. I have been paying attention, and I note many things and how they are interconnected. I also get substantiating evidence from sources I cannot talk about now. Putting "two and two together", I have come to some conclusions and I am doing some extreme spitballing here also. Will it all come true? No- probably not. But some of it will.

Finally, I had an e-mail conversation with RidingGravel.com contributor, John Ingham the other day which had some bearing on this subject, in my opinion. He mentioned how social scientists have identified how Western culture has "shifted over the last 150 years from emphasis on work and self-control to emphasis on consumption and immediate gratification". 

So, how does this have anything to do with gravel events changing? Okay, here's how- Self-sufficiency, being responsible for yourself, cue sheet navigation, unmarked courses, long distances without any means of refreshment, and mechanical repairs being the responsibility of the rider. Let's throw in no prize money, and minimal media attention. Does this sound anything like Pro road racing? Does this sound anything like a "sanctioned" event, or anything like a USAC type deal? No?

Does it sound like "grassroots" or does it sound like "corporate" style events? Think about the atmosphere amongst riders. Is there shared suffering, shared experiences, support  and encouragement between riders before, during, and after the event? Is the format I'm describing one of "all inclusiveness" or one of "every man for himself"? Is it all about a "team leader" or is it all about "self-experience through suffering and enduring"?

Is one more "work and self-control", or is what I described "consumption and immediate gratification"?

See what I mean? I think there are both types of riders out there and one is afraid the other will "ruin the scene". Again, using the words of Beanpole Matt: "Gravel will only change for you as much as you want it to."

Ride on.................

Rear View 2018: The Kansas Trip

L-R -Myself, MG, and Joe Reed, who put MG and I up for the weekend of DK.

The next big deal of 2018 was my trip to the Dirty Kanza 200/DKXL event where I was the support guy for my brother MG. Of course, before that was the support for the Almanzo 100 events which I did with my son and Ben Welnak of RidingGravel.com. That was a good weekend, but the DKXL thing was a big weekend for both MG and myself. I didn't expect I was going to have any real part in much of anything going on down there, but once again- I was wrong. 

Earlier in the year I received a cryptic e-mail from Jim Cummins asking me if I was going to be around the weekend of the DKXL/Dirty Kanza. I never knew why that was asked of me, and it was something I thought was weird, but eventually I forgot about it all. I had even run into Jim during the weekend's events leading up to the races and he never really let on that anything was up involving me.

In the meantime, my brother MG had gotten food poisoning and it appeared then that his attempt at the invitation only event was in jeopardy. The event was set up earlier in 2017, they announced it back then, but the participants were chosen under wraps by the DKXL organizers and only 34 were invited. To get that invitation then was a big, big deal, and MG was super impressed, humbled, and thrilled to be a part of this "prototype" of what is going to be the "official" DKXL this coming year.

Anyway, MG was on the floor writhing in pain the morning of the DKXL and he was slated to be at the start line by 4:00pm. Joe Reed, our host, and I were sure we were going to take MG to the hospital, but somehow MG rallied and even got a bit of food down. Then it was hoped that he would take the start, but, ya know.......We figured it was only going to be a short lived, save his honor type deal. Anyway.... In the meantime Joe, some friends of his, and I went downtown to witness the first DKXL start.

Just moments before I was called out by Jim Cummins, (shown here in the blue shirt)

Wow! There were far more people at this historic beginning than anyone figured on. Some estimates put the crowd at 800 people, and these folks were squeezed in anywhere they could find a spot to stand. Somehow or another, I managed to get a front row spot to send off MG and perhaps get a few good images of this history making start. Jim started his soliloquy, and pretty soon I understood he was veering into Trans Iowa territory with his remarks.

"Okay, here he goes!", I thought, and sure enough, my name came up. But then he asked if I was there, and I waved my hand. "Okay. Now let's get on with the show....", I thought, hoping that was all there was to it. But no..... Jim called me to his side! I was floored. I never thought I'd get any recognition for Trans Iowa, or for being an influence on the DKXL. I figured nothing would, or should be said, but he mentioned TI, and myself, and that would have been enough. But with this action of Jim's, by his making time to have me spotlighted, well I was supremely humbled. I'm sure folks thought, "Who the heck is this guy?", because, well, let's face it- Trans Iowa is a tiny spec on the scene. And it was over and out by this point as well.

Anyway, what an honor! I was, and still am, floored by Jim's remarks and by his effort to make time to publicly call me out at that moment. He certainly didn't have to do anything of the sort. So, Thank You Jim! 

He made it! MG gets a finish line hug from Jim Cummins after he completed the DKXL

 Then later on MG just kept amazing me at every turn. He eventually pulled out a finish on a day where many of his fellow competitors failed. It was amazing, and I was so happy for him. That really topped off the weekend and we both had something big happen to us where we never expected it to.

My only regret is that I was able to record a killer podcast episode with MG in two parts that, for whatever reason, never saw the light of day. Oh well! I wish that would have worked out, but as it was, we had a stellar weekend. Oh, and by the way, thank you one more time to our host, Joe Reed. You are awesome, man!

Anyway, that was a huge weekend and a big trip for me. Had Trans Iowa not ended this year that trip would be at the top of the heap for cool stuff that happened here on the blog and in my life in 2018. But I am not finished yet! Oh no! There are at least a few more big events to talk about in the looking back on 2018. Stay tuned......

 

Rear View 2018: The Kansas Trip

L-R -Myself, MG, and Joe Reed, who put MG and I up for the weekend of DK.

The next big deal of 2018 was my trip to the Dirty Kanza 200/DKXL event where I was the support guy for my brother MG. Of course, before that was the support for the Almanzo 100 events which I did with my son and Ben Welnak of RidingGravel.com. That was a good weekend, but the DKXL thing was a big weekend for both MG and myself. I didn't expect I was going to have any real part in much of anything going on down there, but once again- I was wrong. 

Earlier in the year I received a cryptic e-mail from Jim Cummins asking me if I was going to be around the weekend of the DKXL/Dirty Kanza. I never knew why that was asked of me, and it was something I thought was weird, but eventually I forgot about it all. I had even run into Jim during the weekend's events leading up to the races and he never really let on that anything was up involving me.

In the meantime, my brother MG had gotten food poisoning and it appeared then that his attempt at the invitation only event was in jeopardy. The event was set up earlier in 2017, they announced it back then, but the participants were chosen under wraps by the DKXL organizers and only 34 were invited. To get that invitation then was a big, big deal, and MG was super impressed, humbled, and thrilled to be a part of this "prototype" of what is going to be the "official" DKXL this coming year.

Anyway, MG was on the floor writhing in pain the morning of the DKXL and he was slated to be at the start line by 4:00pm. Joe Reed, our host, and I were sure we were going to take MG to the hospital, but somehow MG rallied and even got a bit of food down. Then it was hoped that he would take the start, but, ya know.......We figured it was only going to be a short lived, save his honor type deal. Anyway.... In the meantime Joe, some friends of his, and I went downtown to witness the first DKXL start.

Just moments before I was called out by Jim Cummins, (shown here in the blue shirt)

Wow! There were far more people at this historic beginning than anyone figured on. Some estimates put the crowd at 800 people, and these folks were squeezed in anywhere they could find a spot to stand. Somehow or another, I managed to get a front row spot to send off MG and perhaps get a few good images of this history making start. Jim started his soliloquy, and pretty soon I understood he was veering into Trans Iowa territory with his remarks.

"Okay, here he goes!", I thought, and sure enough, my name came up. But then he asked if I was there, and I waved my hand. "Okay. Now let's get on with the show....", I thought, hoping that was all there was to it. But no..... Jim called me to his side! I was floored. I never thought I'd get any recognition for Trans Iowa, or for being an influence on the DKXL. I figured nothing would, or should be said, but he mentioned TI, and myself, and that would have been enough. But with this action of Jim's, by his making time to have me spotlighted, well I was supremely humbled. I'm sure folks thought, "Who the heck is this guy?", because, well, let's face it- Trans Iowa is a tiny spec on the scene. And it was over and out by this point as well.

Anyway, what an honor! I was, and still am, floored by Jim's remarks and by his effort to make time to publicly call me out at that moment. He certainly didn't have to do anything of the sort. So, Thank You Jim! 

He made it! MG gets a finish line hug from Jim Cummins after he completed the DKXL

 Then later on MG just kept amazing me at every turn. He eventually pulled out a finish on a day where many of his fellow competitors failed. It was amazing, and I was so happy for him. That really topped off the weekend and we both had something big happen to us where we never expected it to.

My only regret is that I was able to record a killer podcast episode with MG in two parts that, for whatever reason, never saw the light of day. Oh well! I wish that would have worked out, but as it was, we had a stellar weekend. Oh, and by the way, thank you one more time to our host, Joe Reed. You are awesome, man!

Anyway, that was a huge weekend and a big trip for me. Had Trans Iowa not ended this year that trip would be at the top of the heap for cool stuff that happened here on the blog and in my life in 2018. But I am not finished yet! Oh no! There are at least a few more big events to talk about in the looking back on 2018. Stay tuned......

 

Rear View 2018: Trans Iowa

Well, that was the last time that will ever happen......

Continuing on with my look back over this year, I would say that it wouldn't be overstating the issue if I said that the last Trans Iowa was the number one story for me for the year. In fact, it was the biggest deal in my life spanning back to 2017, when I was pretty sure I was going to make T.I.v14 the last Trans Iowa ever.

Of course, I couldn't talk about that then, and I had only confided the fact to three trusted people. There is a whole story that goes with that, but I will wait on the telling of it for the upcoming Trans Iowa series of tales coming starting in 2019.

I fretted and fretted over just how to break the news to the riders, but in the end, I posted it via this very blog to run at the moment the last Trans Iowa was officially over, which was Sunday, April 29th at 2:00pm. The news quickly spread and in terms of this blog, I think it is the "official" comment leader, which probably isn't a big surprise to anyone.

Everyone asks me now, "So, how does it feel to have that behind you now?" Honestly, I haven't got a good answer. Sometimes I feel a bit "on the outside" when it comes to the big events of the day, but that's about all. Otherwise, I just don't really have any good answers now.

All I know is that the last Trans Iowa, which ended only less than 8 months ago, seems like it ended in the last century. It just seems like it was a lifetime ago. And maybe that's me feeling a part of my life over and done with now. For better or worse, that's kind of how I am and how I've approached things all my life. Once something is over, it's over. And I don't handle everything that way, but yeah..... Trans Iowa is over. I'm moving on, and I have been moving on. That said, it was a big, big deal until it was over!

Rear View 2018: Trans Iowa

Well, that was the last time that will ever happen......

Continuing on with my look back over this year, I would say that it wouldn't be overstating the issue if I said that the last Trans Iowa was the number one story for me for the year. In fact, it was the biggest deal in my life spanning back to 2017, when I was pretty sure I was going to make T.I.v14 the last Trans Iowa ever.

Of course, I couldn't talk about that then, and I had only confided the fact to three trusted people. There is a whole story that goes with that, but I will wait on the telling of it for the upcoming Trans Iowa series of tales coming starting in 2019.

I fretted and fretted over just how to break the news to the riders, but in the end, I posted it via this very blog to run at the moment the last Trans Iowa was officially over, which was Sunday, April 29th at 2:00pm. The news quickly spread and in terms of this blog, I think it is the "official" comment leader, which probably isn't a big surprise to anyone.

Everyone asks me now, "So, how does it feel to have that behind you now?" Honestly, I haven't got a good answer. Sometimes I feel a bit "on the outside" when it comes to the big events of the day, but that's about all. Otherwise, I just don't really have any good answers now.

All I know is that the last Trans Iowa, which ended only less than 8 months ago, seems like it ended in the last century. It just seems like it was a lifetime ago. And maybe that's me feeling a part of my life over and done with now. For better or worse, that's kind of how I am and how I've approached things all my life. Once something is over, it's over. And I don't handle everything that way, but yeah..... Trans Iowa is over. I'm moving on, and I have been moving on. That said, it was a big, big deal until it was over!

Bikes Of 2018: Surly 1 X 1

The 1999 Surly 1x1 as seen in March

The Surly 1X1 wasn't featured in too many "adventures" that I had on bicycles in 2018, but I did ride it a lot. This year every ride was in fixed gear mode too. Because of this I was able to raise my game in terms of skill and comfort with being on a fixie like this.

That doesn't mean I learned any new tricks, I cannot skid, and I don't ride backward or anything like that. Let's be real here! I am not talking about anything spectacular. I just did a lot of back pressure pedaling instead of using the brakes and my curb hopping skill level went up a few notches.

The small-ish gearing made me spin like a mad man, and that was beneficial to how I rode my other bikes. The back pressure pedaling is also pretty amazing. You can really work your hips and legs in your muscles you don't normally use for cycling doing that. But I wasn't bombing the down hills, like I can when coasting, because I never take my feet off the pedals on this bike.

A few changes happened to the ol' 1X1 this year. I switched pedals to the Fixaytion Mesa MP Subzero pedals. A MUCH better pedaling platform than I had been using. I also swapped out saddles, going through an Ergon and finally landing on a good old brooks B-17 Special. I often used a saddle bag and later, a top tube bag, on the 1X1. I'll likely keep those items rolling on the bike.

Future changes in store are that I need to replace the worn bits on the drive train, a new bottom bracket is needed, and I need to clean out the old sealant in the tires and re-up with new stuff. But other than those wear items and regular maintenance, I expect the Surly to keep on truckin' right into 2019.

Bikes Of 2018: Surly 1 X 1

The 1999 Surly 1x1 as seen in March

The Surly 1X1 wasn't featured in too many "adventures" that I had on bicycles in 2018, but I did ride it a lot. This year every ride was in fixed gear mode too. Because of this I was able to raise my game in terms of skill and comfort with being on a fixie like this.

That doesn't mean I learned any new tricks, I cannot skid, and I don't ride backward or anything like that. Let's be real here! I am not talking about anything spectacular. I just did a lot of back pressure pedaling instead of using the brakes and my curb hopping skill level went up a few notches.

The small-ish gearing made me spin like a mad man, and that was beneficial to how I rode my other bikes. The back pressure pedaling is also pretty amazing. You can really work your hips and legs in your muscles you don't normally use for cycling doing that. But I wasn't bombing the down hills, like I can when coasting, because I never take my feet off the pedals on this bike.

A few changes happened to the ol' 1X1 this year. I switched pedals to the Fixaytion Mesa MP Subzero pedals. A MUCH better pedaling platform than I had been using. I also swapped out saddles, going through an Ergon and finally landing on a good old brooks B-17 Special. I often used a saddle bag and later, a top tube bag, on the 1X1. I'll likely keep those items rolling on the bike.

Future changes in store are that I need to replace the worn bits on the drive train, a new bottom bracket is needed, and I need to clean out the old sealant in the tires and re-up with new stuff. But other than those wear items and regular maintenance, I expect the Surly to keep on truckin' right into 2019.

End Of The Year Questions: The Feedback Report

Friday I asked for feedback on a few ideas I had concerning "The Future" of the blog and a few ideas I had. Today I wanted to address that feedback in a post. I could have answered in the comments, but as you all know, I don't like doing that when the answers are more general, or about the blog, because then not many people will see those answers.

Okay, so with that let me dive into some thoughts I have after reading all of your comments. And before I get to that.......

Thank You!

I read every comment here and I appreciate all of you taking the time to make those comments. The readers here are why I have kept going for all these years now. It is very encouraging to hear from each of you when you take time and effort to comment.

• Miscellaneous Topics; I got a few comments I wanted to address here that were singular in nature and comments, quite frankly, I wasn't expecting. I wish I had the experiences, resources, and contacts to cover some of these important concepts that some of you brought up. The thing is, I don't want to cover anything as a topic unless I feel I can do it justice. Secondly, I also want to keep a focus on this blog. Getting broader in theme isn't conducive to my keeping that focus. However; when I get people involved, particularly with my other site, RidingGravel.com, I can use their expertise and contributions there. So, it isn't out of the realm of possibilities that some of these subjects that were proposed would be covered. They would probably not be covered by myself, and probably not here on this blog. A good example is John Ingham, who has contributed some fine work on the aging cyclist, health, and nutrition. (Plug his name in the search field on Riding Gravel and you'll find his articles.) I will keep those subjects in mind and if the opportunity arises to get a contribution to RidingGravel.com that covers those ideas, I will link those articles back here. 
• T-Shirts: I received some positive comments and at least one negative one concerning the t-shirt idea. I did not see any mandate to go ahead with that idea though. I may do something, but I may not since the idea wasn't enthusiastically received, in my view. But that said, don't be surprised someday if you see something here for sale. I've got some resources to do some art projects and t-shirts could be a part of that, but not necessarily t-shirts either. Stay tuned.......
• Trans Iowa Series: It was pretty clear that readers want to see this happen. I also want to do it. So, you can expect that to happen. Here's my thoughts. A rough sketch idea of what you can expect to see coming.......

First off, I don't think many of you quite understand that the "Touring Series" and this forthcoming Trans Iowa based series are inextricably linked. So, when the "Touring Series" ends, there will be a transitional post, maybe two or three, that bring you from August, 1995 to November, 2004 when Trans Iowa was born.

Expect these posts on Sundays. It was clear that this day seems to work for most of you.

The theme and tone of this series was indicated by your requests that I leave out the "technical" stuff which many of you said was not of interest to you at all. The "back story" was of interest. One of you said, quite rightly, that I have already covered a LOT of ground on Trans Iowa. (Just search "Ten Years Of Tales" on this blog, and you'll see what I mean.) So, not only did you want to read this series, you pretty much had a good idea of what you wanted too.

The "technical stuff" comments were curious to me. First of all, I am not sure what that means to you readers, exactly, and second of all, I don't think this would be interesting for me to dive into either. I don't want to pick on anyone here in particular, but I think one of you pretty much nailed what I feel this should be when you said to tell it," .......... how you would tell it if you were 95 years old and your great grandson came to visit and asked ole Gramps what it was like." 

Essentially, how I am writing "The Touring Series" is what you can expect here. I envision stuff that draws from stories I brought up in the "Ten Years of Tales" posts, of which there are 46 posts! Those will be embellished with my thoughts and feelings on those stories with additional information never before shared.

The only question I have yet to decide is how I want to approach the telling. Chronologically would make sense, but in some ways the themes within this story span years, and that would make for a somewhat disjointed tale. I'm thinking along the lines of characters like Ira Ryan, or how the media became a part of Trans Iowa, and other tales.

It might be more fun to attack this as tales about certain aspects of Trans Iowa, and really, if I was a 95 year old guy, that's how you'd get this story. It would be memories about recon, riders, Level B Roads, etc. You know, like "I remember these guys called Team Polska that came to a few Trans Iowas....."

So, I have to figure that part out yet. But here again- please comment if you have any suggestions. 

And thank you so much for reading here! 

End Of The Year Questions: The Feedback Report

Friday I asked for feedback on a few ideas I had concerning "The Future" of the blog and a few ideas I had. Today I wanted to address that feedback in a post. I could have answered in the comments, but as you all know, I don't like doing that when the answers are more general, or about the blog, because then not many people will see those answers.

Okay, so with that let me dive into some thoughts I have after reading all of your comments. And before I get to that.......

Thank You!

I read every comment here and I appreciate all of you taking the time to make those comments. The readers here are why I have kept going for all these years now. It is very encouraging to hear from each of you when you take time and effort to comment.

• Miscellaneous Topics; I got a few comments I wanted to address here that were singular in nature and comments, quite frankly, I wasn't expecting. I wish I had the experiences, resources, and contacts to cover some of these important concepts that some of you brought up. The thing is, I don't want to cover anything as a topic unless I feel I can do it justice. Secondly, I also want to keep a focus on this blog. Getting broader in theme isn't conducive to my keeping that focus. However; when I get people involved, particularly with my other site, RidingGravel.com, I can use their expertise and contributions there. So, it isn't out of the realm of possibilities that some of these subjects that were proposed would be covered. They would probably not be covered by myself, and probably not here on this blog. A good example is John Ingham, who has contributed some fine work on the aging cyclist, health, and nutrition. (Plug his name in the search field on Riding Gravel and you'll find his articles.) I will keep those subjects in mind and if the opportunity arises to get a contribution to RidingGravel.com that covers those ideas, I will link those articles back here. 
• T-Shirts: I received some positive comments and at least one negative one concerning the t-shirt idea. I did not see any mandate to go ahead with that idea though. I may do something, but I may not since the idea wasn't enthusiastically received, in my view. But that said, don't be surprised someday if you see something here for sale. I've got some resources to do some art projects and t-shirts could be a part of that, but not necessarily t-shirts either. Stay tuned.......
• Trans Iowa Series: It was pretty clear that readers want to see this happen. I also want to do it. So, you can expect that to happen. Here's my thoughts. A rough sketch idea of what you can expect to see coming.......

First off, I don't think many of you quite understand that the "Touring Series" and this forthcoming Trans Iowa based series are inextricably linked. So, when the "Touring Series" ends, there will be a transitional post, maybe two or three, that bring you from August, 1995 to November, 2004 when Trans Iowa was born.

Expect these posts on Sundays. It was clear that this day seems to work for most of you.

The theme and tone of this series was indicated by your requests that I leave out the "technical" stuff which many of you said was not of interest to you at all. The "back story" was of interest. One of you said, quite rightly, that I have already covered a LOT of ground on Trans Iowa. (Just search "Ten Years Of Tales" on this blog, and you'll see what I mean.) So, not only did you want to read this series, you pretty much had a good idea of what you wanted too.

The "technical stuff" comments were curious to me. First of all, I am not sure what that means to you readers, exactly, and second of all, I don't think this would be interesting for me to dive into either. I don't want to pick on anyone here in particular, but I think one of you pretty much nailed what I feel this should be when you said to tell it," .......... how you would tell it if you were 95 years old and your great grandson came to visit and asked ole Gramps what it was like." 

Essentially, how I am writing "The Touring Series" is what you can expect here. I envision stuff that draws from stories I brought up in the "Ten Years of Tales" posts, of which there are 46 posts! Those will be embellished with my thoughts and feelings on those stories with additional information never before shared.

The only question I have yet to decide is how I want to approach the telling. Chronologically would make sense, but in some ways the themes within this story span years, and that would make for a somewhat disjointed tale. I'm thinking along the lines of characters like Ira Ryan, or how the media became a part of Trans Iowa, and other tales.

It might be more fun to attack this as tales about certain aspects of Trans Iowa, and really, if I was a 95 year old guy, that's how you'd get this story. It would be memories about recon, riders, Level B Roads, etc. You know, like "I remember these guys called Team Polska that came to a few Trans Iowas....."

So, I have to figure that part out yet. But here again- please comment if you have any suggestions. 

And thank you so much for reading here!