Not in 2021 (Maybe 2022)

Post #30: I was going to be posting that the Simply Single was a go. Yup, I was going to pick up where The COG 100 Iowa Single Speed Championship left off. I was going to re-tool it so I can manage the entire event myself. I am scaling back. Course length was going to be 65-68 Miles. The field was going to be 50 people max. The entry fee was going to be FREE. I was going to make it a postcard only event. There was going to be no podium. The event would have one field of Single Speeders. No Gender, No Age, No politics, No fuss, and finally No Mussing about in this event. As I watch other events push segregation and isolation I wanted to go the other direction. I can do that, because I wanted to put on a spirited ride for the Single Speeders on gravel. I am not into particpation awards, but what I am into is people accomplishing things that boost their spirits and confidence. The less talented riders are often the better rider. Bear with me on this. A talented rider can rely on that talent to finish or take a KOM down. The less talented person needs to refine their skills and focus on form and other things to make their improvements. They are also more apt to stop and help a fellow out. So this event I wanted to run a mass start out of Reinbeck, Iowa, in early December. But my current work scenario has derailed me into long days and no oppurtunity to coordinate and push the event information out. With that said, I may recock and reload to go in late March of 2022. If March goes by, rest assured we will go hard and loud in December 2022. Scope of the event was to run it out of a town park and have a fire pit raging and do a beer share as well. I want to promote post ride activities vs who was the fastest person that day. What I watched at the COG 100 was people stoked to go 100 miles on a single speed rig. So those rules will of course carry over. I know this is not a race per say, but we will time it and provide a hug or some other physical touch. NO FUCKING FIST BUMPS OR ELBOWS. God I hate those with a passion. I understood the fist bump while I was in the Army. It was done differently and generally in tight quarters and it was done subtly. It was a faster and easier version of a pat on the ass. You clear a room fast and hard in a Live Fire, and as you walk out with your rifle across your chest, a guy pulled up his fist to chest high as you walked by and you bumped. What the heck I have seen over the years, has bewildered me. Just shake my hand at this point. I will not address elbows, no one wants that rant. So back to the event, small town, free, your entry fee is bring a few beverages that are single serving to share. If you bring Truly, make sure everyone knows it was you ;) Single Speed only bikes. No zip tying your shifter. Lets simplfy this, one chain ring and one cassette gear. If you run a tensioner jockey wheel, that is fine. You want to run a flip flop hub, go for it, again this is not a race, so take your time. There will be no cut off, but after 6hrs, I will assume you bailed and will stop worrying about you. I will most likely drive the course looking for folks after five hours to see how they are doing. THe event will have two water stops (it is the same location). There will be a short lollipop section, so beware we will have 1 mile of bi directional traffic. I will modify rule #1 for this event. Rule #1 Go Ahead be a dick, let's see how that goes. Rule #2 Single Speed (Or modified into 1 x 1 configuation, yes people took all Cogs off put one and put spacers on ran that with a rear D). Rule #3 Bring a beverage to share, Rule #4 you need to be 21 or older. Rule #5 Self Support as much as possible, have a bail out plan. So that is what it looks like, if this turns into a race over the next few years, that is cool. For now I need to build it and run a beta test before going there. Cheers and Godspeed