THE SHORT VERSION

For those looking for a quick and dirty description of TIV7, it ended up becoming one of those years where riders were not too hindered by weather related issues, and this allowed our 18 finishers to get in before 2 p.m. on Sunday. While it did start out wet and the roads were messy to begin with, it wasn’t a situation where the roads were slow. There were two things that did conspire to end a few folks' day a bit early though.

 

One thing was beyond our control. A week prior to the event, our photographer, Steve Fuller drove the first third of the event. No issues. However, on race day, we found a road with a bridge out within the first ten miles or so. We rerouted around it as quickly as we could, but the riders were coming up on us very quickly. Now here is where it gets weird.

 

The last corner we needed to mark was a left, and going straight led into a very wet B-road. Riders went head long into this and got about a mile and a half up the road before figuring out they were wrong, and turned back to rejoin the route where they should be. The report was that corner was not marked. On my audio blog report, I clearly make reference to marking it (before we knew of the snafu with regard to the riders), and D.P. and I are quite sure we did mark it. However, riders on the scene swear it wasn’t marked. Did someone remove those last two markers? It would be hard to fathom since the riders were probably to that point within mere minutes of our posting them.

 

In the end, it all caused a big time loss for the field which still had 35+ miles to go to get into the checkpoint by 9:15 a.m. Maybe that wouldn’t have been that big a deal, but when the sun rose shortly afterward and the wind came up straight out of the west. This headwind combined with super steep slopes going westward into that 25mph wind made the time cutoff loom large. In fact, it bit a lot of folks again this year. 26 riders missed the checkpoint cutoff.

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THE CHANGES

At the post-race gathering at The Barn for TIV6, D.P. and I found ourselves in the company of TransIowa vets John Gorilla, Joe Meiser, Charles Parsons, and newcomer Jay Petervary. An opportunity sprung into my mind. Here we had assembled some good sounding boards. I asked them, “If you could change anything about TransIowa, what would you do? What criticisms would you level against it?” Besides a nearly universal “nothing”, we got a great suggestion from John Gorilla, who stated we needed to do something about registration. He had an idea about letting folks that had actually finished a TransIowa have first crack at the roster, and then some other discussion was had amongst the esteemed company as to how the rest should fall out. D.P. and I definitely saw some room for tweaking, and that it was time to expand the roster.

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With that info tucked under our collective belts, we set out to forget about TransIowa for a while. Gravel grinders, off-road rides, and vacations were had throughout the summer months, but by late August, the tug of TransIowa was felt again. I contacted Jeff Kerkove to see if he was still interested in doing another header and he was. I also started to check into the route maps again. By Labor Day 2010, we had a new header and TIV7 was officially set into motion.

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The months of inactivity on the TransIowa side of life were not all in vain. We were often reminded of how TransIowa was different in the culture of gravel grinding. The Dirty Kanza 200, Trans Wisconsin, and other events we participated in all reinforced our resolve to keep TransIowa the self-supported, self-navigated challenge it had been forged into being over the past six versions. We realized that on one hand, gravel grinding was more popular than ever (as evidenced by my own site, Gravel Grinder News, which uncovered a slew of here-to-fore unheard of gravel grinder and backroad events), but on the other hand, TransIowa by its very nature would only attract a certain number of participants who would actually show up. In the end, a roster expansion was agreed upon. At least 100 entrants would be allowed, up from a possible 75, and maybe more, depending upon developments.

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THE LEAD UP

In another stunning show of silliness, D.P. and I decided to run another TransIowa right away after TIV6 was truncated due to incredibly rainy, windy weather conditions that were a danger to the riders. While it seemed to be another blow to the event, once again, we were surprised to find out it was another myth builder. Folks started talking about how every even numbered year TransIowa wasn't finish-able. While I do not hold to such superstitions, I can see how they arise. It isn’t easy to have dedicated your whole winter to training and discipline only to have it all wiped out within 44 miles.

 

With about half the course left unknown to anyone but D.P. and I, and with the exceptional experience we all had with the town of Grinnell, it was a no-brainer to come back to that site and plan another course. We were going to use as much of the still-secret TIV6 course as we could. Adding to it would be easier and should allow for a quick recon before winter, if we were diligent about getting on the stick! This prompted the weekly nighttime gravel grinders D.P. and I were doing in the early summer. These were ostensibly for fun, but underneath it all, we were looking for routes for TIV7 as well. We would also do some automobile-based recon later on as well.

 

By the end of September, D.P. and I had found some more pieces to the puzzle in putting the route together through our gravel grinding. I also made a decision on registration, which D.P. agreed to. We would allow all 48 of them finishers first crack at the 100 open spots. Whatever was left over would be divided up between the veterans and rookies. October 1 marked the beginning of registration for the finishers.

 

I also found out at about this time that I had inadvertently picked Easter weekend as the date for TransIowa. It wasn’t until I heard from a former TransIowa rider that I knew this. Not even the Grinnell folks had told me or asked about it, and we had a block of rooms already set aside for those dates when I found out. Oh well! D.P. and I agreed to forge ahead anyway, and forge we did. Throughout the month of October, we went from 50% done to 100% done with recon. By October 31, it was all in the books! Amazing! Only fine tuning would be necessary along with a recheck in the spring.

 

The veterans were allowed to register the second week of November and we allotted 40 spots, since the finishers only took 20 off the top. In a big surprise to me, we didn’t fill out all 40 spots and the 11 leftovers went into the pool for rookie registration the following week. The vets and rookies had to answer a question and put the answer on their postcards, a new wrinkle I added. The vet question came from D.P. “What cycling event took place on Easter in 1897?” A: Paris-Roubaix. The rookies had to copy The Golden Rule from our rules on the TIV7 site. I figured this would help drill the idea of self-support, self-responsibility, and all into their collective heads. Rookies finally filled up the 51 spots available to them the day before registration cut off. The biggest rookie class signed on since TIV3. How many would show or not? In total, with the volunteers who took their free spots on the roster, and the three Industry Cup guys added in, we had 109 riders signed up. At this point, D.P. and I figured we’d still get less than 70 to show up. There was no need for a waitlist either, which meant roster attrition could set in earlier than ever before. The first drops came in late December, but we wouldn’t know for a few months if we’d be right about the final number of riders or not.

 

Sheryl Parmley and Grinnell were getting it done for us again this year. The lodging deal and the Grinnell Steakhouse were all either sewn up by mid-November or being worked on. We did have to get our start and finish lines figured out again, but we had planned on using the same as TIV6 and had gotten verbal confirmations this would be good to go at some point in our recon efforts. Still, with so much already done, it seemed rather odd that we were looking at winter with so little to take care of. Eventually, the barn thing fell through, but Sheryl came through again and scored us Lion’s Park as a finishing area. Once again, we were approved by the city council and police for the event.

 

During October, I was asked to take on the task of writing a 2500-word feature article on TIV7 by “Dirt Rag”. This was due about a week after TIV7! It was a huge opportunity, though, so I said yes. The draft was sent in along with photos by Steve Fuller. We were also graced by the presence of Jeff Fring and his wife, who filmed and interviewed riders and volunteers for a future documentary on the event.

 

The weather had been rather dry, but just a week out, the rains came and suggestions that this would be another wet, unfinishable year started to swirl. That was one concern, but the worst part was we didn’t have cue sheets lined up to check the route against. Unfortunately, D.P. was up against 16-17 hour days all late-winter and spring and barely got the stuff done on time. This caused a pinch in time to do anything about auto-routing that the program he used made, and was unbeknown to us prior to final checking. So, portions of the route we had ridden or driven were not on the end route. Further complicating matters was that our intended route was too short, so we had to add in a last-minute loop which went okay, but at the time was a stressful situation only two weeks out from the event. The final details on some things I figured would have been done weeks and months before back in October ended up becoming last minute potential landmines that were very nearly our undoing.

 

Eventually, with attrition, the roster ended up being at 76 riders for the start. That’s a new record. We also started a record number of rookies at 40, and we had a record women’s open field at 5 riders.

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THE EVENT PART I

I get everything loaded up into the "Truck With No Name". It had been spritzing moisture all morning, but as of load up time Friday it had stopped. I figured I could make it without my impromptu tarp, which I stashed behind the seat in the cab. Meanwhile, I am dealing with stress over the last minuteness of some of the TIV7 details and trying to remember everything I needed to bring before I left for Grinnell.

 

I get into the truck and what do you know? It started pouring rain. Gah! Out comes the tarp and I scurry to get it secured well enough to deal with 60mph driving. Was this going to end up like last year? Crap! It sure looked that way. If the roads were already soupy, we were in for a short weekend!

 

The plan was to scout some roads on the way down, hook up with D.P., and get the pre-race Meat-Up underway. I saw the roads and as I drove, I got more and more stoked about the event. They were actually in really decent shape. Some places were as good as it gets. D.P. finally called me and said similar things about what he had seen on the roads so far. The only bummer? I found a B-road that had been converted to a C-road and gated over the winter which meant a reroute. Luckily for us (and really lucky for us, as we will see later), I had plenty of rerouting supplies on the truck.

 

As I got into town, I drove by the finish line area and the road out of town. Everything looked primo! I met up with D.P. at our motel, and we headed over to the venue for the meeting along with several racers who wanted to help out. A TransIowa veteran racer, if nothing else, can tote a box with the best of 'em! Thanks one and all for your extra hands! We even had them stuffing our bags and getting things done was much easier because of their help.

 

Super-Chamberwoman, Sheryl, was awesome as usual. Always helpful and right there when we need her. In fact, she lobbied very hard for a discount on our meals at the Steakhouse. Yes, everyone's meals were subsidized. Amazing! Thanks to the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce! Thanks, Sheryl!

 

We got a check-in procedure started and riders were already standing in line to get signed on before 5 p.m. Thanks for being punctual, guys and gals! Yes, we signed on our largest field of women's open riders ever with five and the largest rookie class ever with 37 riders. In all, 76 riders showed up and started Saturday morning, also a record. TIV7 was already making history, and it hadn't even started yet!

 

The Grinnell Steakhouse turned into the Grinnell Smokehouse! So many folks were grillin', the place smoked up in a hurry. Doors were flung open in an attempt to alleviate the situation, which worked out rather well in the end. Food was consumed, conversations had, and old and new friends met. Good stuff all around. Meanwhile, the video/documentary project was being worked on by Jeff Fring. He had already sat me down for a half an hour interview and was getting more beta at the pre-race. Steve Fuller, our photography man, was clicking off a few images as well.

 

Checkpoint volunteers were on hand, and everything seemed to work quite well at the Meat-Up. Now, would the event go as well? Would the drizzle, which had finally ceased to fall, stay away?

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THE EVENT Part II

An unusual amount of activity is taking place for this time of the night. As usual, I couldn't sleep. Happens like this before every TransIowa. D.P. and I didn't even really need alarm clocks. He was the first to get up and start getting ready. I followed suit and when we emerged in the lobby, we saw all manner of bicycles, gear, and riders clacking around in their cycling shoes and kit. Did anyone sleep at all before this event?

 

We rolled on down to the start in front of Bikes to You downtown. The main topic of discussion, of course, was the weather. It was drippy, foggy, and cool. Just like last year. Nervousness was high. The forecast called for the wind to pick up and for partly cloudy skies. Nothing about rain, but you never know in Iowa. We got down to the start line at about 3:30 a.m., so I was short on time to do any audio update. I got the chance to check out a few bikes, but we had to get some details on the roll out set in place, so it was pretty much all business as the time wore on to our 4 a.m. start.

 

We had a couple of ladies help out by getting their cars to block Highway 6 as we crossed. D.P. pointed the Element in the right direction and I called the riders up behind it for a few last minute reminders. These little talks often make me feel like I'm being a bit parental with these guys and gals, but of course, I don't really want anyone to get hurt, so I suppose it's only natural that I might admonish them a bit sternly as they prepare to take off. Instead of tooting the Element's horn this time, I used the horn that I used at the pre-race. A Salsa Woodchipper served to let everyone know that we were taking off. I just sounded a call on it and off we went! TIV7 was really happening.

 

It wasn't long before the elation of the start was wiped away though. We weren't very far into the event when we found a bridge out. A reroute! We snapped into action and decided to go a mile north, then west, and a mile south to avoid the road in question. Pounding in stakes and making streamers wasn't that tough, but the riders were flying, and they were on us at the third corner we marked. Off we flew, just avoiding being swallowed by the oncoming pack. Their combined LED light output looked like a freight train light shining up the road in front of them.

 

Just then, we got a call from Steve, our photographer who was up the course. He said something weird was going on and mentioned a County Sheriff's car and some wandering soul that was being taken into custody. What the heck! Was this event doomed to disaster before we got 20 miles in? We found out later that Steve rolled up to his chosen spot on course to find a lonely soul standing in the dark in the middle of the road. As if this wasn't alarming enough, the fellow wanted his car towed out of the snow up the road. Not an unusual request two months ago, but we haven't had any snow for weeks!

 

After a few anxious moments, Steve noted a very bright pair of lights approaching him. These were attached to a Sheriff's car. They frisked the guy down and Steve mentioned that he had a lot of pills  in his pockets. Apparently, this fellow had been going up and down the road, bothering farm houses, and generally being a nuisance since midnight. With that bit of weirdness behind us and the reroutes done, D.P. and I moved on towards CP1 in Baxter, Iowa.

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THE EVENT PART III

After the hiccups in the very beginning stages of the event, we went onward through the ever-brightening day. As the roads became more visible, we could discern the moisture was just enough to cause the first half inch of road surface to be soupy. From this point onward, the roads improved quickly and were not an issue for the rest of the event. What was becoming an issue was the wind. The skies were blue and the sun was bright. It was a great looking day, but as we stood in the streets of Baxter, the wind was biting and chilled us to the bone. The riders coming westward faced the full brunt of its force as they toiled up the steep hills of Jasper County.

 

At this point, D.P. and I were a bit baffled by the lateness of the first riders into the checkpoint. We thought the first group would come in between 7-7:30 a.m., but nothing happened as the time approached 8 a.m. Many of us went to a convenience store across town for some breakfast – the first food I ate all day. Eventually, our videographer showed up. Jeff told us he had witnessed a big mix-up where riders had gone up a B-road and were confused as to where to go. This was obviously a concern, as we hadn't put any B-roads in the first leg. This was obviously what slowed them down.

 

D.P. and I decided to drive the course backward to ascertain where the lead group might be at. We were hoping they would be in before the 9:15 a.m. cutoff time, and then we saw them. Just a few miles away from Baxter, where Phil Wood had retired, the riders with mud covered faces were streaming around a fast left-hander toward us. We followed them for a bit, then scooted around to forewarn the checkpoint folks they were upon them. We didn't stick around to watch, as we knew of another reroute from my drive the day before that needed to be marked. Off we went toward CP2, a long ways away!

 

The course went about 13 miles straight east from our reroute with the wind. D.P. was expecting the riders would be flying in this section. Certainly the opportunity to bag some time was awaiting those with the legs and the next set of cues. Unfortunately, many just missed making the cutoff and their day was done. 42 folks made it through to continue toward the next checkpoint which came at mile 173 into the loop. Over half of the 76 starters were still in the event. Some were snakebitten by the derailment earlier up the B-road. Others were stymied by the 25mph constant blast out of the west in combination with the hills. Some faced mechanicals that ended their day.

 

Up the road were the usual suspects. John Gorrilla led a group of about 10 that included Tim Ek, Charlie Farrow, Sean Mailen, and Dennis Grelk, amongst others. It was D.P. and my opinion that Gorrilla would push the pace until he burned off those not able to hang on, and then work with the smaller group that resulted. Who would that be? Who would be the last men in that group?

 

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THE EVENT PART IV

We had been checking out the crazy B-road on 270th in Tama County, when we left there to go onward, but we needed a stop for some munchies. I found Garwin, Iowa's convenience store a few years back when out riding recon for the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. I stopped in to see if it might make a suitable stop for that event. The lady at the counter was middle-aged and wearing a washer-worn, faded Guns 'n Roses t-shirt. I remember thinking it was sort of odd. Then, two weeks later on the GTDRI, we stopped and found the same lady with the same t-shirt on. Wow! That was fantastic!

 

Only a couple of weeks prior to TIV7 I went to check back in and the character working the counter, a big fella with a trucker cap, ripped sleeve t-shirt, and hairy arms all tatted up, made the stop amusing again. So, it was with great expectation that I walked into this place last Saturday. I was a bit let down by the low character factor, but D.P. walked out with a pack of candy cigarettes! No way! I hadn't seen those in well over 30 years.

 

The afternoon wore on. We were getting some information on some action out there. It seemed the lead four were John Gorrilla, Tim Ek, Charlie Farrow, and an unknown fella. Hmm...who could that be. It was fun to speculate on the possible identity of the person and race strategy. We knew a couple of lone chasers were behind these fellows and one was Dennis Grelk. We also knew that at least three of the five women that had started were still trying to make it back to Grinnell. We were silently rooting for them. TransIowa just hasn't seemed to work for the women and we wanted that to change. Beyond this, we were just cruising along, checking out roads.

 

The day was getting cloudy, chilly, and the wind wasn't going away. The hills were punctuated by straights of rolling countryside here and there. We crossed Highway 96, and just west of Traer we had a section I dubbed the Wolf Creek Walls. Traer went by, then a B-road, then on to Dysart. Here was another one of the features of this year's course that I was particularly fond of. It was the Old Creamery Trail, a converted rail bed that was a pretty rustic, cobbled together bike path which D.P. and I had a few wonderful night rides on. This went on for 8 miles through Garrison. There it went right on to a grassy strip lined with landscaping bushes. It looked and felt as though you might be trespassing on private land, but we weren't. That isn't how we roll at TransIowa.

 

Just south of Norway, Iowa, where the Iowa Baseball Hall Of Fame is, we chose a gravel and B-road intersection to serve as the spot for CP2. The volunteers, Wally, George, and Joshua were all there. Wally and George had a primo Element with a tarp, iPod stereo system, movies, and a freakin' generator to run it all with! There goes my idea of having it be primitive! Ha! It was awesome though, and Wally, George, and Joshua were joined by Jim Thill, who had not made it to CP1 in time. We all had a great time telling stories, laughing, and freezing our butts off in the country for a few hours on Saturday afternoon.

 

Later on, some of the CP1 folks stopped by, and we had Jeff Fring, the videographer, show up as well. It was getting to be a bit of a problem with regard to cars! It wouldn't be long until we were off again. Nighttime wasn't far away and we wanted to stay ahead of the leaders once they got in, but the hangin' around was great while it lasted.

 

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THE EVENT PART V

We had gotten word from some folks that the leaders were stopped in Norway, Iowa, at a convenience store getting food and water. We weren't far from there and we knew it wouldn't be long before we had our first glimpse of TransIowa riders since CP1 10 hours earlier. We patiently waited as Jeff Fring set up his camera in the ditch where he would have a low angle viewpoint of the rider's arrival. Soon enough, here came two riders abreast over the small rise in the road. To my surprise, it wasn't exactly the pair I thought it might be.

Sure, John Gorrilla was there, but his companion, Sean Mailen, was somewhat of a surprise to us. We hadn't seen nor heard his name all morning. Of course, it was a matter of flying under the radar, not that he couldn't be there or that he didn't have the ability. Certainly, we knew he was a strong rider from last year's attempt at TIV6. It was also entirely possible he could have had a mechanical, like Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey did, or that he had an injury flare up like Lance Andre. Great riders entirely capable of winning TransIowa that had misfortune visit that day.

 

Seeing Sean's smiling face at CP2 was a pleasant surprise – nothing more, nothing less. John joked with us saying, "Well, I'd like to see what you think a lot of B-roads are!", in reference to my comments before TransIowa that there were only a "few B-roads" between CP1 and CP2. Well, there turned out to be more than a few, but that was due to an auto-routing error that put us off our intended course by printing off different cues. Technology. Not all that reliable yet!

 

It wasn't long before Gorrilla and Mailen were off again, and then on their heels pulled up Ek and Farrow. Unlike the smiling, relaxed pair in front of them, Ek and Farrow were graven, serious, and said little while they grabbed cues and prepared to give chase to the leaders up the road. That was the cue for D.P. and I to head out and check on the course. We discovered another bridge out, and rerouted that corner a mile north. Then onward to see S Avenue, which we knew might be a bit sketchy. We took a look at the steeply sloping downhill B-road and deemed it okay for travel, then moved on. Night was falling and soon our second stint of darkness would be upon us.

 

There wasn't much to say about the next hour or so. D.P. and I chatted in the car as we navigated the cues. Everything was falling into place until we reached Belle Plaine. Southern Benton County is very confusing to navigate. The roads, which should make sense in a grid system, are twisted out of their east/west/north/south ways by hills, rivers, and ravines. Roads meet at obtuse angles and compass points can be hard to keep straight. D.P. and I have been snookered several times riding our bicycles in this area. Even Joe Meiser, the winner of TIV5, was confused in this area. It was the place where he made his infamous 4 a.m. phone call for directions to me.

 

We got to a sign that says 11th something-or-another and we were to turn left. Now, mind you, we weren't checking mileage at all. Why? Because the signs have more influence than the mileages do, or so it seems, so we were trying to keep it as "real" as we could in terms of navigation. We get into Belle Plaine and nothing makes any sense at all! We ended up finding the street we were supposed to come in on and backtracked it out of town to the corner where we should have turned left. Well, whaddya know! It says 11th something-or-another as well! One was an avenue and one was a street trail. Wow. How goofy is that? D.P. and I marked the corner where we went wrong to show they should go straight through, then headed into town to grab a bite to eat.

 

It was nice since D.P. suggested we go in and have a sit-down dinner. It was a great way to recharge our batteries for the remainder of the night. Once we had eaten, we hit the streets of Belle Plaine and didn't get far before we hit another snag in the signing of the streets. Once again, wonky signage made our brains go awry. We had a devil of a time finding the correct street out, and when we did it had three different signs/names in the span of about six blocks. Ridiculous! We staked out some markers in hopes that the riders would see our suggestions on how to follow the cues out of town. After that, the cues made sense and we were good to go. The turns were still requiring all the mind power a sleep deprived mind could muster, though, and we would stop sometimes and have to work through things that were simple when our minds were fresh. It doesn't surprise me that riders get confused, disoriented, and second guess everything at every turn. We went through it all as well. It is part of the challenge of the event. Certainly we could tweak things out better, and I was already making plans as we drove the course to do just that.

 

At any rate, we drove on. I have to say that northern Mahaska County has the weirdest signs on the roads I've seen. Instead of being on the corners, they were about 20-50 yards down the southbound road on a pole about two stories high! I think it was because we were driving on the east/west county border, but still, that was bizarre! We ended up giving up finding the route at about 4 a.m. and went to sleep in Grinnell for a couple of hours. Then we were back at it after getting word that riders were getting lost. This was a concern, so we drove backward down the course to find everyone we knew was still going.

 

The first rider we saw was again a surprise. We were sure we'd see John Gorrilla up front, but here was Dennis Grelk! Did we miss the leaders when we stopped for gas in Montezuma? Maybe we did. We kept rolling as we wondered what was up. Then another lone rider. It was Gorrilla! Huh, maybe Dennis was winning TransIowa! We got even more excited as we came across Ek, Farrow, Krause, and trailing behind, Sean Mailen. Yes, Dennis Grelk was winning TIV7!

 

Meanwhile, we had to keep looking for riders. It wasn't long before we came across threes and fours of riders heading west under a bright, sunlit sky. These were, for the most part, all going to be finishers since they were well within striking distance of getting to Grinnell before 2 p.m. Some were even taking rests, so we stopped to chat and see how they were. As it turned out, mostly good was the report we heard.  Nothing too unusual and the riders we spoke with all seemed to be in great spirits. We still hadn't caught up with everyone, so we pressed on.

 

Still coming across a few riders, D.P. and I were anxiously looking for the last woman out on course. We heard the night before, after CP2 closed, that two of the three women riding the event from CP1 were quitting. That left Janna Vavra, who was from the Lincoln, Nebraska area. We knew that several Lincoln folks had gone through CP2 with her, so we were hoping experienced TransIowa riders were there riding her in. In fact, we had word from the riders we were running across that they had seen her or had been in the group with her in the night. Eventually we did see Janna and another Cycle Works clad rider, Scott Bigelow, coming down the road just east of North English. Cool! Then we found our remaining two riders in North English. Mission accomplished. Everyone we knew that was still riding, present and accounted for, still on the route.

 

We hadn't heard anything about a finisher by this point and we were a bit puzzled by this, since Dennis and John weren't all that far from the finish when we saw them. We put out a text to Steve Fuller to see if our photographer had any better info for us. We waited and turned the Element back towards Grinnell.

 

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THE EVENT PART VI

Steve Fuller sees Dennis Grelk cross the highway and sends us a message to the effect that he is looking strong. At this point, D.P. and I had already been informed by John Gorrilla's wife that he had suffered another flat tire, his fifth of the event. He had no tubes and was forced to take the time to patch the one he had. Obviously, John was not going to catch Dennis. We tweeted that Dennis was going to win TIV2 and the word spread like crazy. At 8:50 a.m.,Dennis Grelk motored into the final corner of TIV7, on a street named Bliss. Really!

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D.P. and I motored into the finish after Dennis had already left, but we made it back in time for Ek and Krause to come in second and third. It wasn't long after that and a very spent looking Charlie Farrow pulled in to claim 4th place. Onlookers gathered around to hear the tales of the three finishers as they peeled mud stained layers of clothing off and tried to stretch muscles unused to standing after nearly 30 hours of bicycling. Although it wasn't at all planned this way, I sort of became a co-interviewer of the finishers as Jeff Fring was filming them on their view of the event. Then most of them collapsed to the inviting green turf and shared a few quiet moments as onlookers stared at these road-worn men in silent disbelief mixed with a good amount of awe.

 

A while went by before John Gorilla pulled up over the little finishing rise and came in for a 5th place finish. While he said he was happy with his performance, and for completing an entire TransIowa (John won a shortened TIV4), he was obviously disappointed with how things played out at the end. It was generally agreed upon by his competitors that John was the strongest rider in the event, but sometimes things don't always go the way they should. Actually, I was surprised John didn't get passed by Sean Mailen, who when we had last seen him was only about 30 yards off the back of the Ek, Krause, Farrow group. We still didn't have any sight of ol' Sean.

 

A little while later though, here he came in! Sean was pretty stoked to finish TransIowa. He said it was "really tough!" Yup! I'd agree with that! I know a lot of folks at TransIowa were pretty impressed by Sean and if he comes back for more long gravel events, he'll be a marked man now. Sean spent a long time at the front of the event and only faded in the final miles, or else he may have snicked off a few higher places than he did. After Sean was interviewed, he retired to the grass as well. Then D.P. and I knew it would be a bit before the next group of guys would come rolling in.

 

We didn't think it would be almost two hours more though! When John Williams pulled in, it was pretty cool to see his kids and wife greeting him. Eric Brunt was pretty chuffed to finish, and Adam Boone did it in his first try, as did John. Another thing to note was that Adam Boone won the Industry Cup, becoming the first in that category to finish a TransIowa in the category's second year of inclusion in the event. Adam was representing Gu Energy, which was a sponsor of TIV7.

 

About a half hour later, in a surprise to D.P. and I, Mike Johnson rolled in solo. We had come across Mike riding with three others earlier in the morning and had fully expected they would stay together to finish. Mike said he felt it was time for him to push on when the others were a bit hesitant for some reason and therefore he rolled on in solo. Single speed finishers, Aaron Gammel and Ben Shockey, looked pretty good as they got off their bikes with Jonathan Weissman, who was another first-time TransIowan that finished in his first attempt. It seems that if we get a full TransIowa in, we always get first-timers that finish. Some folks don't do it after multiple tries and some take a few years. Doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to that. Just something I've noted over the years.

 

I guess we really need to point out something extraordinary here. Given the circumstances, (a blown rear derailleur and tweaked frame), most of us would pack it in and I know no one would even think twice about that decision. However, that isn't how Cornbread rolls. He went back to Grinnell, got fixed up to single speed, and hit the road in search of TransIowa riders to have an adventure with. After over 310 miles, I'd say that smile on his face tells the story. A good job of taking a bad situation and turning into something awesome. Time was running short. Who else would cross the line at TIV7?

 

Wow! Three more guys pull it off. Charles Parsons, Jeremy Fry, and first time finisher, Joe Mann, make it into the final turn. We talked with each of them briefly, but the thing on our minds was, "Would Janna Vavra become our first women's open finisher?" Time was running out. The cutoff for the event was 2 p.m., and as the minutes ticked away we were starting to wonder if it would happen. Then at about 1:43 p.m. we saw some riders. The final two finishers of TIV7, and sure enough, one of them was Janna.

It meant a lot for us to finally have a woman finish TransIowa. I am not sure exactly why we wanted to see that happen so badly. I guess there are several reasons, but no matter, congratulations to Janna. She can always say she was the first and no one can take that away from her. I asked her what she thought about TransIowa, and she replied that she didn't care to ever see a B-road again! Yeah, well maybe a wet B-road, I could agree with that one! Janna and Scott were the last two possible riders that could have finished, as all the others had pulled the plug already. Of course, getting Janna Vavra as a finisher got us off the schnide with regard to having a woman finish TransIowa. With all of that, 18 finishers was good, but still doesn’t beat the record of TIV3, which arguably had the best weather we’ve ever had for a TI. It was 2 p.m. and TIV7 was over. D.P. and I left the finish line area to go fetch my truck since he needed to get back home. I filed a final audio report and I pointed the "Truck With No Name" northward to go home and see my family. TIV7 as an event was over, but I wasn't done with TIV7. Not by a long shot. 

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THE AFTERMATH

This time there would be no finish line decisions to do another TransIowa between myself and David. We each went our separate ways after the event. It was a highly stressful time for the both of us, and having gotten through it all without major catastrophe was enough. While having 18 finishers, the first female finisher, and folks from Grinnell anxious to have us back again, would seem like more than enough to prompt an instant decision to come back again for a TIV8, but it wasn’t. At least I didn’t get that feeling afterward from David, and I was just glad it was over.

 

The truth of the matter was that I was a bit upset about how the two weeks prior to the event went down, and about the route miscues (pun intended). I had solidly made up my own mind during the event that I could do better than I had for this one. I didn’t want this to be my last effort at putting on a TransIowa. I wasn’t blaming anyone for anything. I just knew I had a better effort in me. I wanted another chance to prove that.

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The post-event situation was marked by lots of emailed appreciation/thank you notes. A couple negative commenters served to put a damper on any excitement, though, and the pre-event stress combined with that to make the following week mostly forgettable. There was a deadline to be met for the story for “Dirt Rag” and the normal post-event tidying up, which only postponed any post-race recovery. Still, the effervescent attitude of enthusiasm for the event was still seen amongst non-finishers, and even from some folks that have never been to a TransIowa. That gives me the encouragement that TransIowa is something more than what it might appear to be at first glance. Those that understand the intangibles of TransIowa are the ones that really make the event keep going, at least from my perspective.

 

TIV7 has to be seen as another one of the odd year successes that riders have turned into a legend, despite my misgivings to such thoughts. It was "that" year, was it not? The proverbial year TransIowa would enjoy the decent weather that would allow for a finish, as the legend goes about this event. Eighteen: a decent amount of finishers and good stuff happening from the get-go within the field. There was drama and the event wasn't decided until very near the end of 330 or so miles. Everyone was accounted for, and by many accounts I have read, the event was well-received. That isn't to say there weren't dissenting opinions. There were (are), but you know, most folks just have no idea how it almost all came unraveled. I won't go into that here.

 

It also has to be seen as a record breaking and historical TransIowa. More starters than ever before, the largest rookie class ever, the largest field of women ever to start, and a female finisher of the event for the first time. Unofficially, it also is the longest TransIowa ever completed. Rider stats seem to point to a confirmation of this. There was drama on the course and challenges unforeseen for many. Ultimately, even with some snafus in regard to the road closure and a few cue sheet oddities, it was a finishable event and from that standpoint, a success on the part of the organizers. From an organizational standpoint, we made advances but there is always room for improvement. The conclusion from the organizational side was that TIV7 was a very stressful but qualified as a success. From the rider feedback we got, it was a hit once again.

 

What was a concern was the pre-event issues that put extra stress on us as organizers. This led to some of the difficulties with regard to cue sheets. Some got resolved with no effect to the riders, but some were not caught and unfortunately caused some frayed nerves out there. With regard to this, it is a difficult task for us as the organizers to overcome since there are only two of us. However, it was something that if another TransIowa is run, will be addressed and can be overcome.

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Just know that this TransIowa was as stressful as TIV3 was, and from my perspective, the event is considered one of the most difficult things I have gone through in a long time. To have it go as well as it did is great, but I am not celebrating. I'm just glad it is over. Ultimately, this event for me is about the people. On one hand, it is great to see everyone gathered together to ride bicycles. On the other hand, it seems as though the time is way too short. I don't get to chat with everyone and some not at all. Putting on this event is a huge undertaking. It saps a lot of time, energy, and funds from things that maybe I ought to be giving those things to instead. I cannot speak for D.P., but as for myself, that becomes the point of contention at this time of the year. TransIowa isn't a free event and the few people that are paying for it are paying dearly. Maybe in a few months the assessment will look better. I am purposefully avoiding the accountant at this point because I am tired and emotionally drained.

 

Thank you: First, to my co-director, D.P., who had to fit whatever he could for TransIowa into a very tiny space at great sacrifice to him and his family. The prayer flags were awesome. Thanks! To Grinnell, Iowa: the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce, Sheryl Parmely of the Chamber, Bikes to You, Craig Cooper, the Grinnell Steakhouse and staff, and anyone in Grinnell that put some effort out on TransIowa's behalf. No community has ever rolled out the red carpet for TransIowa like you have! To TIV7's volunteers: Once again, people came together to spend a day or more of their hard earned free time to facilitate an event they would get no recompense for. Amazing. Humbling. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. To TransIowa's sponsors: You enhanced the event by your support. Thank you so much: Twin Six, Gu Energy, Clif Bar, Hiawatha Cyclery, and Banjo Brothers. Special mention for Europa Cycle and Ski who paid the fuel bill for the event weekend. Media: Special shout out to Steve Fuller, the official event photographer, and to Jeff Fring, for coming and filming the event. I thank you for seeing something worthwhile in TransIowa that made your creative juices flow. Things you thought were worthwhile to share with the world. And of course, to the riders of TIV7: It wouldn't be anything without every one of you coming to ride on these gravel and dirt roads in Iowa. Even if you only made it a few miles, you have my deepest respect. If you got part way, got lost, had an adventure, or for whatever reason, you didn't get to Grinnell again, I hope you found something out there worth holding on to. I am humbled by your efforts. If you were one of the 18 that finished, my hats off to you. What an accomplishment. Amazing! Happy trails y'all. Have a great rest of 2011 and thanks for coming to TIV7.

 

And that's that. TIV7 is over and done with for me. For now I need to recover, rejuvenate, and ride. I need to ride over that hill to an unknown horizon in the sun. Will I come back to be involved in another TransIowa? Who knows...