Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Hutchinson Tires

Hutchinson Introduces New Gravel Racing Tires:

On Thursday news hit concerning a new gravel racing tire from Hutchinson, the French tire maker, called "Caracal Race". Caracal is a name of an African feral cat, by the way. You may also know it from open wheel auto racing circles as the name of a particular racing car chassis. 

The unique  tread of the Caracal Race was developed using Hutchinson's road racing tire technology and features only two overlapping casing layers under the tread and three in the sidewals making this tire very fast, but also not as tough as you might want for rugged, rough gravel. In fact, Hutchinson recommends this 475 gram tire (claimed weight) as only suitable for all-road and hard packed gravel tracks. There is a puncture protected version of the Caracal Race called just "Caracal" and that tire is claimed to weigh the same 475 grams for each tire. It is also a bit less expensive. The Caracal Race tire cost around $65.00 each USD. The Caracal and Caracal Race are only available in 700 X 40mm size. The "race" version being tan wall only while a black wall version is available in the Caracal version.

Comments: First of all, good luck finding these in the USA. Hutchinson essentially pulled its distribution of tires toward the end of the pandemic and has not reestablished any significant network of distribution here since. That isn't to say that you could not find these in a 'non-traditional' way, but these Hutch tires are not going to be widely available here. 

Now about that weight. The Caracal weighs the same as the race version? I doubt that is the case. If so, why bother buying the race version? This makes it seem like there is some missing information there. It may be true, but this strikes me as being odd from a marketing standpoint. 

The mere existence of a 'racing only' gravel tire seems pretty ironic to me. Maybe it is my particular perspective regarding gravel riding, but why spend well over a hundred bucks on a set of tires you are only going to use a handful of times, if they last that long. Then again, maybe you are a sponsored rider, or are chasing the money in bigger races. But for the average person? Maybe if a lot of your rides are pavement, then yeah, I could see this being your tire. Especially the puncture protected one. 

For what it is worth, I do love the Hutchinson Touareg which comes in a ton of sizes in 650B and 700c. It is amazingly air-tight when used tubeless and rolls very well on Mid-West gravel. It is puncture protected and you might be able to track down the 700 X 50mm size. That'd be cool!

Image courtesy of Wheels Manufacturing.

 Single Speed News From Wheels Manufacturing:

This is news leftover from Sea Otter, but since I love me some single speed action, I thought that this was interesting enough to put into today's FN&V. 

Wheels Manufacturing is making single speed cogs in various anodized colors now. But what is really cool is that they are coming out with a kit for Shimano Micro Spline hubs. You can see that version in the image here to the left. 

Wheels already has a kit for converting SRAM XD freehub bodies to single speed as well, so now all bikes can be single speed. Well.....okay, not Campy! Oh well....

Wheels also sells spacer kits in matching anodized colors. The new Solo cogs will also be available in Shimano Hyperglide cassette spline standard as well. Cogs vary from 16T to 23T in size. 

Is single speed making something of a resurgence? Is this all a reaction to the hyper-technology in racing bicycles costing well above 10K? I don't know but I cannot recall a time when so many companies were making anodized single speed gear for the cycling market. Can you? Let me know in the comments what you think. 

Image courtesy of Shimano.

Rebound '24 Aims To Hit The 10 Million Miles Ridden Mark:

Riders are invited again to join in with others around the world to ride gravel/non-paved tracks in the Rebound '24 event which happens world-wide June 1st. 

Shimano Gravel Alliance, in conjunction with Live Slow Ride Fast, invite you to participate in logging 25, 50, 100, or 200 miles starting at 6:00am your local time, (just like Unbound starts - or used to start, now its Pro only and staggered between men and women, and.....Never mind!)

Just make your own route and start at 6:00am, okay? Alrighty then! Shimnao wants to see the total from last year's Rebound event, which was 4,789,142, reach 10,000,000 miles this year. That's a BIG goal! 

Shimano only asks that you sign up HERE and track your mileage. Preferably doing the course you set up self-supported, (although the Pros at Unbound will have fully staffed aid at checkpoints, but......Never mind!) Anyway, check it out if you are so inclined and be a part of a global cycling event, which is kind of cool if you consider that. One thing is for sure, Rebound probably will cost you less than Unbound. Just a guess..... (sarcasm alert)

Propain Terrel CF Image courtesy of Propain Bikes.

More Gravel Bikes:

The influx of brands coming into the gravel market seems to continue unabated. New releases by current gravel brands also are keeping pace as well. The latest offerings from Ridley Bikes and Propain Bikes are prime examples. 

Ridley has a new line up in its Grifn range which is kind of an in between bike in that it isn't necessarily a gravel bike (limited tire clearances) but it is not an "endurance road bike" either. Ridley is saying it is more of an "all roads" bike. Funny how that is what I thought ALL fat tire, pavement to non-pavement bikes should be named. But here we are with "gravel". 

At any rate, Ridley added an eGravel bike in this family of bikes and also a more affordable aluminum bike as well. All have geometry which, in my opinion, isn't all that "gravel-ish" and with the limited tire clearances, these bikes have a weird place in the market. 

Now Propain, a brand mostly known for its aggressive downhill oriented MTB's, has a gravel bike in its range dubbed the Terrel CF. Many 'gravel' bikes emanating from traditionally MTB-specific brands can be wonky in the geometry department with super-slacked out head tube angles and whatnot. Not so with Propain's Terrel CF. 

This bike has a 71° head tube angle, 72.5mm of bottom bracket drop, and the only thing on the chart that jumped out at me was the long effective top tub measurements. For instance, in my size, which typically runs anywhere from 57.5cm - 58cm, the Terrel has a 59.5cm measurement. That's going to require a short stem, but Propain says that they designed the bike so the axle appears a bit forward of the handlebar while riding. This, they claim, provides more stability in sketchy terrain.  

The gravel bike category just seems to be one of the only categories with any growth. You have to wonder when the growth will slow down. I just am not seeing it yet, and at a time when the rest of the industry is contracting, this growth in the gravel category seems pretty weird. 

Pirate Cycling League Merch:

As you may know, the Pirate Cycling League is now separated from Gravel Worlds. The PCL is now getting itself settled in on its own, once again, and has now announced some merchandise to mark this occasion. 

A couple of t-shirts and a hat are on offer now, (See HERE), and the word is that much more is in the works along with some other "new ideas" which will be coming in the future. 

I picked up a t-shirt and I will give my thoughts on that when it arrives. These new items are all pre-order for now, so I'll be waiting a bit before I see this shirt in hand.

That's a wrap on this week! Get out and ride those bikes! Thank you for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Two Things

Sorted for now.

Raleigh Tamland Two Tire Update:

The other day I posted about my wheel swap on the Raleigh Tamland Two and I stated that I needed to find some suitable rubber for the frame and fork that allowed more clearance. That has happened now.

The tires I chose from the stash were a pair of Donnelly USH 700 X 40mm tires that I received from Donnelly back in 2019 to review. (Standard Disclaimer) These tires have a file-like tread and are pretty much a low/no tread design. 

I like these tires,, at least that was my feelings about them when I thought about them the other day. You might not think that a "no tread" tire would be good for gravel, but I did not have any issues with that which I can recall now. Well, now we will find out, won't we! 

They are 40's..... Yeah, I would have rather have had 45mm tires but I don't have anything right now that I can put on this bike. There was a brief moment where I thought I was going to use my 700 X 47mm Teravail Rutlands but when I measured the Cazaderos on the Raliegh at that time they measured right at 47mm, so yeah, no go on the Rutlands.

New Podcast Episode:

On Tuesday I was able to interview Don Person, which is a name you may not know. However, if I said he goes by 'shiggy', that may ring a bell with you. He has been a legend in the tire testing/knowledge area, especially for anything off-road, for decades. 

You may also be interested to know that shiggy was also responsible for bringing the flared drop bar back to life in a collaboration with On One's Brant Richards in the early 2000's. At that time Brant had reached out to shiggy for design advice which in turn resulted in the venerable Midge Bar. That handle bar was arguably the genesis of flared drop bar usage in gravel riding as well as MTB. 

If you want to hear shiggy give the timeline and history on that subject, and hear his tales of tire design, see the link HERE. The episode is a long one, so be forewarned. I think it is our longest to date at about an hour and a half.

The first portion of the podcast features some talk about a new event format coming from The Spinistry down in Texas which I think is really creative and unique in gravel. Check that out and let me know what you think of that idea. Again, you can listen to "The Guitar Ted Podcast" wherever you get your podcast feed from or hit the link HERE to listen from Spotify.

Moving The Goalposts

Do certain 'celebrations' suck the air out of the challenge of gravel events, or does anyone care?

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

Recently the Gravel Worlds event announced a "First To Last" initiative "which celebrates every participant’s unique journey", according to a press release sent out by the organization. This follows the well known "DFL celebration", a feature of Mid-South for a few years now. 

The recognition of last place in a cycling event on gravel has a long history. The roots of the phenomenon in gravel go all the way back to the first DK200 where David Pals, once a co-director of mine for Trans Iowa, survived heat, winds, dehydration, thunderstorms, and being hit by a car a few miles from the finish, to come in last place with a big ol' smile on his face. The gathered observers were giving David props for his plucky finish and were amazed that he showed little effect from being hit by a car.

The idea of a recognition of last place in a cycling event goes back further than the DK200 though, and probably the most famous of all of these recognitions is the "lanterne rouge" in the Tour de France. The romanticism of this concept in gravel events, especially early modern-day gravel events, was fairly commonplace. 

While no specific recognition in the form of a prize for this last place rider was noted amongst the early gravel events, it was something that was seen as being a badge of respect amongst fellow riders. That last place person was seen as someone who "gutted it out" and made the grade despite being out in the elements longer than anyone else. I'm not aware of the specifics regarding the genesis of what the Mid-South does with regard to its DFL celebration, but that event has popularized the concept of celebrating last place in a very high profile way. I suspect that the Mid-South's way of doing this grew out of the old "lanterne rouge" ideas.

Scott McConnell finishing up T.I.v12 hours after the official finishing time.

The early gravel events, at least the longer ones which were all well over 100 miles in length, had event cut-of times which put slower folk outside a time limitation. At events like Trans Iowa, sometimes people would go ahead and finish the route anyway, despite being outside the 2:00pm Sunday cut-off. This sort of practice in longer events brought out a slow moving of the goalposts.

In the past, certain event directors felt compelled to ease cut-off times and extended "official finishes" to riders coming in after published time cuts. This was all being done to recognize the efforts of more than just last place on time in an event. To be fair, even the Tour de France does this for certain stages of that event when commissioners feel there are extenuating circumstances

While it seems all-good on the surface, there is a possibility that more is going on here that is not being addressed. Taking a cue from history and the Tour de France's Lanterne Rouge, we can perhaps see what might be going on in the gravel scene - or perhaps soon will be - relating to contestants purposefully gaming to be last place in an event. From the Wikipedia page on the Lanterne Rouge. 

"Often the rider who comes last is remembered while those a few places ahead are forgotten. The revenue the last rider will generate from later appearance fees can be greater than if he had finished second to last, although this was more true when riders still made much of their income from post-Tour criteriums,"

Rumors are swirling around that have caught my ear here in Iowa that this laying in wait to be last place has been happening at Mid-South. Now, that is unsubstantiated rumor only, but it is entirely plausible that it might occur. Given the hoopla and resulting momentary spotlight given to the individual that attains such a "prize", it is not to be wondered at that someone might game the system to be 'that person'. I don't doubt that in today's social media culture, where being "viral" equates to some sort of digital populist celebrity status, that any kind of attention being offered for last placing in an event is something to be coveted.

Checkpoint 1 at T.I.v12: Image by Ari Andonopoulous

 The celebrations of last place are related to the extension of cut-off times by way of intent, and since that is the case, I see both of these things being related. 

Cut off times get attention at times when event directors feel the nudge to be more lenient towards those who are pushing up against the limitations of a challenge and don't want to be denied. "Goalposts" are hard and maintaining them isn't for the weak of spirit. However; while it may seem arbitrary and cruel to some to make a black and white call on a cut off, it does maintain the integrity and worthiness of any challenge. 

Take any stick and ball sport where rules are dissected to the nth degree and consider how much those calls matter to the integrity of a game. Gravel racing is not immune to such considerations and the integrity of challenge is definitely something that is a part of that. I will reiterate that this is my opinion, and that I have a certain viewpoint that might be seen as unique in gravel racing, but when cut-off times get extended it reduces not only the effort necessary for anyone to make the cut-offs but it lowers the status of your challenge as well. 

Does any of that matter? Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe it is has an unconscious effect that plays into who is attracted to your event now versus previously. Or - Maybe that is intentional. Maybe it brings more people, and therefore more dollars, to an event. Maybe it is a marketing stunt. Maybe it is a conscientious effort to make more people feel seen and appreciated. 

This can all be debated, but moving the goalposts does have effects both obvious and not quite so obvious. Both good and bad. One thing is for sure, gravel racing and events are changing and evolving all the time. At the very least, we can perhaps all agree that gravel racing and cycling isn't under some rigid, universal overseer that makes up arbitrary rules for the sport. 

Well, at least not yet it isn't.

Fattening Up

Going back a year or so ago I rode the Tamland Two I have with a set of Irwin Cycling wheels. GX35's, I want to say, and while they had been great wheels up to that point, I noted an issue cropping up. The free wheel wasn't engaging correctly and I experienced a few "hiccups" in the engaging process after coasting. 

It had been extremely dusty up to that point and I thought that perhaps the grease in the free hub body was too thick due to dust intrusion which might account for my problem.

I got the bike back to my shop and re-greased the hub after cleaning it out. That seemed to have a positive effect as I did not notice any problems for several rides after that. However; on this latest ride I did, I noted the issue again, and this time it seemed worse. In fact, I thought that I may not make it back to the house. 

Well, that did it for me and those Irwin hubs. I cannot afford to get stranded out in the country by a sketchy hub that won't engage properly anymore. My plan was to swap out wheels and then do something with the Irwin carbon rims and another, new hub set, But in the meantime I wanted to get the Raleigh back up and running as soon as possible. The problem is that I've wholesale swapped over to through axle wheels, and quick release is almost a dead thing to me now. 

Fortunately I still have a few options in the house. One of them found its way onto the Raleigh, but now I have a different problem! The Raleigh was never meant for "fat" gravel tires, but they are so close to fitting that I had to give it a try.

The Tamland Two with some older Roval XC MTB wheels.

The plan entailed taking off these old Roval wheels I got from my friend in SoCal, Grannygear, and use the tires that were already mounted on them which are SOMA Cazadero 700 X 50mm tires. They looked a bit narrow on the Roval rims and so I thought maybe, just maybe, they might squeeze into the frame and fork. 

The Roval wheels are pretty much a set of DT Swiss carbon wheels seeing as how they have DT Swiss spokes and hubs and then you have the Far East manufactured carbon rim with Roval stickers slapped on there. The partially red theme works a lot better on the Raleigh than it did on the Fargo, where they were mounted previously. (More on the Fargo in a minute)

Obviously the wheels and tires went in, but that rear tire jussssst grazes the chain stay where the wheel is slightly out of true. Too little leeway to play with there, so a different set of tires will have to be mounted on the wheels. 

No daylight there!

Bummer! I was so hoping to ride fatter rubber on this bike, but hey, what do you expect? The bike was designed in 2012 and there weren't any gravel tires above 40mm - 42mm then. So, making clearance for 50's would not have even been imagined at that time. I get it. And I'll be okay. No big deal! 

Okay, so I'll have the Raleigh sorted soon with a wheel set that is reliable and won't cause me any worries in the hub department, at least. That ratchet design DT uses is pretty robust. But that wheel set came of the Gen I Fargo, and well, now what to do?

Fortunately, I still had the older wheel set I was using on the Fargo hanging in the rafters. That would only need to have the cassette swapped out to what I had been using on the Fargo and to have a tubeless sealant refresh. And this is what that will look like......

Tires so fat they wouldn't fit in the frame of the image!

The Surly Extraterrestrials on Duster rims fit here with room to spare. That's a 29" X 2.5" tire, and it slots in nicely between what I have going on with the Singular Gryphon Mk3 and the other gravel bikes I own. I just need to refresh the sealant and that one is good to go. I may end up doing a little tweaking on the stem/handlebar set up by reversing the ShockStop Stem to negative rise and lowering that stem on the steer tube by a couple of spacers. 

But otherwise this bike is set for some gravel touring duties and I intend to use it for that this year. The relaxed position, Redshift Shift ShockStop Stem, and those fat tires will make for a much more comfortable and smooth ride. Plus, it can carry a ton of water! 

Anyway, that's what I've been up to over these rainy days we've been having. I'll have an update on the tires for the Raleigh soon. Stay tuned.....

Review Redshift Sports Top Shelf Bar: Mid-Term

The new Redshift Sports Top Shelf Bar on the Tamland Two.

Update On The Top Shelf Bar:

 Note: Redshift Sports sent over their Top Shelf drop bar for test and review at no charge to Guitar Ted Productions. I am not being paid, nor bribed, for this review and I will always strive to give you my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

It has been about a month and a half now that I have been riding the Top Shelf Bar from Redshift Sports. You can see my introduction and initial impressions of this handlebar HERE. 

This update on the handlebar comes at a time where this option is in short supply. Apparently, Redshift Sports has a hit on its hands with the Top Shelf bar. I've seen replies to comments on social media threads on the Top Shelf from Redshift saying more handle bars are incoming, so while you may not be able to get one right now, these will be in stock, hopefully, very soon. 

This reaction to the Top Shelf Bar has caught me a bit by surprise, to be honest, but as I thought about that, I feel as though it has to do with Redshift Sports' design decisions and from their basing the design for the Top Shelf on the popular Kitchen Sink Bar, which was a smart thing to do. The design of the Top Shelf Bar doesn't do that much different than other riser drop bars, in terms of easing rider positioning, but it does have a very different look and functionality than its competition. 

The main difference is that the central section of a Top Shelf Bar is usable for accessories like GPS heads, lights, or even a bell, if you roll that way. The competitor's handle bars mid-sections have too many curves to be usable for most accessories, and that can present problems that the riser bar section causes even though the position for the rider may be improved. 

One more thing that I'll mention that I've seen brought up in online comments and that is to reiterate that the Top Shelf Bar has exactly the same flare, reach, and drop dimensions as the Kitchen Sink Bar. So again - If you have ridden the Kitchen Sink Bar, or thought that it might be a good option, the Top Shelf should serve you similarly. 

My continued riding on the Top Shelf Bar has only reinforced my earlier opinions on it. Of course, since I got on so well with the Kitchen Sink Bar, I would naturally be inclined to like the Top Shelf Bar as well. It only makes sense. But what about that rise? 

I think there are use cases where that riser section makes sense. Perhaps you have a bike that you have had for years, but now you aren't quite in the same physical shape you once were in and a riser bar might just breathe new life into that old bike. Or perhaps you are going to do a very long distance event and a bit of a more relaxed position would be a boon to helping you be successful in that endeavor. Bike packing situations and the Top Shelf Bar would make a lot of sense. I am probably going to get a handle bar bag in soon to help illustrate that option. 

So, yeah.....Again I am just impressed with the design, ride quality, and options that the Top Shelf Bar provides. Stay tuned for more in the near future.

Country Views: Necessary Medicine

Escape Route: Unnamed bike path

Thursday was THE day. Yes, the only day that would work. That's because the weather is taking a turn for the wet and windy for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Huh.......you'd think it was Trans Iowa weekend or something! 

And traditionally speaking, it would have been scheduled for this weekend. My, my! This would have been quite the epic edition of T.I. had I still been doing it. 

But of course, that is not happening and so it is just a note to make mentally. This time of year the thoughts about the old event are inescapable for me. There are reminders everywhere I turn concerning the event. 

And to top it all off Wally Kilburg's untimely passing only added to my mental state. I don't blame him, certainly, it was just the way it all worked out, but the timing of his death was sort of ironic in that it happened between Iowa Wind and Rock and what would have been T.I. weekend. It all just fits too well, if you ask me. 

It bothers me - all of that stuff does, and I needed to get away for a minute or two. A bicycle ride almost always cleanses the palette, so to speak, and this ride was about that, mostly. I just needed a break and a reset.

The Cedar River at Evansdale

The Cedar Valley Nature Trail

To get out of town to gravel going East takes a lot of riding. Same thing going West. The wind was pretty brisk out of the Southeast so heading into that wind first was a priority. The dirt roads Southewast of Waterloo were the target. That meant a LOT of paved bicycle trails.

A smaller planting rig which would have been considered huge when I was a child!

The farmers were well aware of this impending storm system and they were hot on the trail to get things planted so that this rain would be a benefit to them. There were tractors and whatnot crawling around all over out in the country. 

I was hot on the trail to get a ride in, and I was working against that stiff breeze the whole way out. The first dirt road was McKellar Road and I was still going into the wind! That said, it was still fun!

McKellar Road: Dirt dead ahead!

Seen off Weiden Road.

I went South on Weiden Road's dirt section, past Washburn, Iowa's grass airfield, and then a bit East on blacktop to turn out of the wind, finally. The road was Golinvaux Road, which isn't long, but it has got to be the coolest named road in Black Hawk County. 

Weiden Road's dirt section.

Gollinvaux Road. Cool name - short road.

The tail wind push was awesome. The condition of the gravel was as well. However; there wasn't a lot more gravel to enjoy. Soon it would be back to the bike paths and back home. I tried to enjoy the scene while I could and soak it in. 

It isn't as though I hate pavement. It is just that most of my life has been along, on, or near gravel roads. Ever since I was a kid staying in the Summer on relative's farms, seeing my first serious girlfriend who lived on gravel, or ever since I rediscovered gravel riding in the early 2000's, I have seemed to have an affinity for the country and Iowa gravel. I enjoy the solitude, the closeness to nature, and even the wind and hills. 

Now I am old enough that my friends I made because of gravel are starting to die and disappear. That's sad, but at least I had the opportunity to have been touched by their lives and especially because it was due to gravel riding. I hope I have touched others lives as well.

 I thought about that a bit on this ride, and I came to the conclusion that it was all good. Things come, stay for a while if you are lucky, and like a puff of crushed limestone dust, it all blows away in a second. But that road you are on doesn't stop. Not yet......

So, I keep riding. It\s the medicine I need. It's where I need to be to strengthen my spirit.

It Has Been Ten Years Already?! Part 3

Just what an event director doesn't want to see.

So, just one more tale from a decade ago. Gosh! A whole ten years has flown by since this dramatic night I and a bunch of goofy gravel riders survived. I have to say, I would not recommend doing what any of us did to anyone out there. 

That said, this was what I would call one of those life-memories that you treasure because it was so dumb and dangerous. Some would call it "adventure". Some would call it downright negligence. 

The image here to the left pretty much is the mark where everything went upside down and is probably where a lot of people would have said, "Welp! This looks like a good place to call it all off!", but I wasn't one of those people. 

Neither were the 40-ish people still riding in the event. As evidenced by the images I saw later. Some I'll post here for the first time ever below. Let's just say that we probably weren't being very sane or safe at all, but again, I doubt any of us would trade the experience for anything. It is that way with events like this. 

Well, I suppose there are a few who don't know about that night of Trans Iowa v10. For a taste of this crazy night you can go back and read my initial report filed on that particular night just afterward HERE. 

For images, see below....

A previously unpublished image by Steve Fuller. That's current Iowa Wind and Rock director, Sarah Cooper to the left.

Another previously unpublished image by John Mathias

The storm we rode out together in the middle of the night of April 26th-27th was a pretty bad one. Lightning, high East winds, rain, and night time conditions all conspired to drive the riders to seek shelter wherever they could find it. I heard of several barns being commandeered. Obviously this abandoned home, above, was one such refuge. I also heard about a couple of guys getting into a corn crib to ride out the worst of it. 

By about 2:00am or maybe 2:30am the storm had subsided and the riders all started making their way again against a brutal wind South and East to Grinnell Iowa and an old red barn outside of town a few miles. Fortunately there was no loss of life, no injuries, and no harm done to property or possessions. I seriously doubt any of the landowners of those barns and homes knew of the passing of these strangers in the night. To them, they were perhaps just ghosts. Spirits bourne upon a howling wind and lightning only to be seen if they had dared to go out in the weather. 

No, they probably never knew anything about that passage of the Trans Iowa riders in the night. But yes - that doesn't make it "right" either. I understand the dichotomy of what it is the letter of the law says and what the letter of the Spirit is. If you ask me, I think the more important things were followed that evening. 

I wouldn't have wished for an evening like that to happen at my event ever. But am I glad it happened? Yeah...... Yes, I am glad it happened. Those things those people and myself along with the volunteers experienced? Those are treasured memories that can never be replicated, and I am pretty sure each man and woman that participated in those events that weekend knew that deep inside. 

Were the evening's events stupid, dangerous, and unnecessary? Probably...... Yes. That's the paradox of it all. That evening probably should not have gone down like it did. Maybe the event should have been truncated. Everyone sent home, safe, warm in a motel room and cursing the weather that took away their chances to finish a Trans Iowa again. 

But that ain't how it happened.