TRANSIOWA FAq

Acronyms: 

TIV#: TransIowa Version #

CP#: Checkpoint #

GTDRI: Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational

DQ: Disqualification

DNF: Did Not Finish

DNS: Did Not Start

B-road: Level B Maintenance road, likely an umaintenanced dirt "road", also known as Minimum Maintenance Roads (MMRs)

D.P.: David Pals, co-director for many years

MG: Matt Gersib

​

Do the riders sleep during the event? 

Short answer: no. Long answer: essentially, they do not have the time to sleep because of the time limits imposed on the riders to make the various checkpoints set up on course. There have been reports of riders taking long breaks and napping though.

​

How much time do they get to finish the event? 

Short answer: 34 hours. Long answer: the time limit of 34 hours is tempered by the fact that riders must get to two checkpoints in a certain allotment of time. That is typically based on covering ten miles of the course every hour. That doesn't mean “10 miles per hour” as in moving speed, we’re talking covering ten miles on the course every hour, including stopped time for eating, mechanicals, navigating, and whatever riders stop for. It’s harder than it sounds. A lot harder.

​

Is is all on gravel? 

Short answer: At least 90%+ is on gravel. Long answer: the original idea was to see if we could set up an event using entirely gravel roads across the state. While this is possible, it isn’t reasonable while allowing competitors access to convenience stores or other resupply options, which means some pavement is involved. Still, the event is run with as little pavement as we can possibly get by with. There are also Level B Maintenance roads (B-roads) which are not paved, but aren't necessarily gravel either.

​

What is a Level B Maintenance road?

Short answer: a dirt road. Long answer: called different names in different areas in this country, the roads in question are usually devoid of gravel, and generally consist of graded dirt, most often without a ditch on either side. That isn’t always the case, and these roads can be almost indistinguishable from an ordinary gravel road, to almost unrecognizable as a road. Most often, wet weather renders these “roads” impassable in any way other than by foot.

​

How long is it?!

Yes, TransIowa was the monster of gravel road events. Obviously, the length was dictated by the original intentions to ride across Iowa on gravel from west to east, which is nominally 310-330 miles, depending on where you cross. When the event went to a loop format, the distance was retained to reflect what it would take to ride across the state in a limited amount of time.

​

What kind of bikes do they ride? 

I’ve seen everything from beater Motobecanes with PowerTap wheels to stripped down fixed gear bikes. The typical rider uses a cyclocross bike that accepts bigger (35-45mm) tires, or you’ll see a smattering of 29-inch mountain bikes. I’ve seen bagged touring bikes, 26-inch full suspension bikes, and many even attempt TransIowa on single speed bikes every year. There are usually a few odd ball bikes.

​

Where do the riders come from? 

We’ve had riders from about every state in the US and some from Canada. We even had two guys come and ride TIV9 from the U.K. and in TIV10 we had two guys from Germany, two guys from Canada, and one fellow from the U.K. Most come from the midwest though.

​

How many participants ride every year? 

It has varied from just under 50 to a record 106 who took the start for TIV10.

​

I thought the field limit was 100 (now 120). Why don't you get more riders? 

Originally it was 50, then 75, then we let in as many as wanted in, and finally settled on 100. Then I allowed 120 in for the 2013 version of TransIowa. The number of folks who actually come and toe the line for a triple century+ ride are few and far between. With the field limit filled every year it becomes a game of attrition, which eventually whittles the field down to whatever number starts in a particular year. I do not allow transfers, and for a time there was a waiting list, but these things cause more headaches than they're worth. We’ll likely never have a field of 120. The record is 106 starters set in 2014 for TIV10.

​

Why don't you charge an entry fee? 

Short answer: TransIowa does not take any entry fee since it doesn't provide any service to the riders. Long answer: insurance rates for two-day events are astronomical, and I don’t like expensive entry fees. I put on TransIowa because I have fun doing it. When it ceases to be any fun, I’ll quit. Riders come for the challenge the route and timing present. If they can't deal with self-reliance, self-support, and responsibility for themselves, they shouldn't ride TransIowa. It’s a different philosophy from most events. I can’t put a price tag on it. The only people making any money from TransIowa are the motels and convenience stores on the route. I lose money putting it on. A lot of money.

 

How many finishers are there? 

Short answer: about 10 on average. Long answer: Well, this can get a little complicated. TransIowa had a year with “no finishers”, a year with 24 finishers, a year with 36 finishers (the current record), a couple of truncated events where a few folks were still in it at the end, (TIV4 and TIV6), and a couple full-course finishes with numbers in the upper teens, (TIV7 and TIV8). It is totally weather dependent. Bad weather can totally shut the event down (TIV2 and TIV6) and can affect the roads in such a negative way that the event has to be truncated, (TIV4). If the weather is reasonable, I suspect we’d see ten to twenty people finish on average in any given year, but you just never know!

​

Why is the event called TransIowa when it doesn’t traverse the state? 

Short answer: because it did traverse the state when we started. Long answer: the whole idea stemmed from an event that traversed the state, and we intentionally wanted to have the challenge for that distance, or a shorter 130-mile gravel grinder may have happened instead had the cross-state idea not taken hold. Rider input was for the cross-state idea over anything else. After seeing what the guys at Dirty Kanza had done forming a gigantic loop, I decided to make things easier on everyone by adopting the big ass loop idea (named by Jeff Kerkove), and making it our own in TIV3. Interestingly, the event was being called Race Across Iowa and Epic Across Iowa very early on by Jeff, so had he not gone with TransIowa, we may have been using RAI or EAI now.

​

Are they crazy?

Short answer: yes. Long answer: Is it really crazy to find out what you can do beyond the normal? Is it normal to be complacent and safe? I guess I would say that the TransIowa riders I know are really normal people doing extraordinary things with their lives. You would probably never guess most of the folks in this event are “endurance nutters” by their typical, everyday activities, but you would be amazed at what they can accomplish in a weekend on Iowa gravel roads.

​

Are the old routes published/available to download? 

Short answer: no. Long answer: The philosophy I have on TransIowa is somewhat like poker in the way that you have to “pay” to see the winning hand. In the same way, if you actually toe the line for a TransIowa, I see that as earning the cues sheets to the first checkpoint. If you successfully ride to that checkpoint under the time limit, you earn the right to see the next part of the route, and then if you get to the last checkpoint on time, you get the right to see the rest of the route. TransIowa is for the event riders. If you want to “get the route” or “see the route”, I will not be publishing the exact cues. If anyone that has finished a TransIowa wants to share, well, that’s up to them.

​

Are these guys getting ready for RAGBRAI? 

I won’t even address this question, but we get it all the time here in Iowa.​