The 2008 edition of Trans Iowa took place on April 26th and 27th. This epic gravel grinder is an annual endurance race organized by Guitar Ted Productions, and is a non-stop, self-supported, solo competition along the gravel roads of rural Iowa.
Trans Iowa always seems to run into a lot of drama with unpredictable Iowa springtime weather, and this year was no exception:
Take T.I.V1 wind and chilly temps, amp that up a bit, throw in a mudslide, add in flooding of epic proportions, road damage that is unprecedented in my memories of living here in Iowa, and washed out, impassable roads and you will get T.I.V4 in a nutshell.
Due to an unprecedented ugly winter, topped off by torrential rainfalls over much of the course less than two days prior to the start, and howling ice-ridden winds, we were left with no choice but to cut the event short.
In the end, even with the abbreviated route (only 250 miles), just five riders were left on the road, after 55 started in Decorah. John Gorilla won the race, followed by Joe Kucharski, Charlie Farrow, Charlie Parsons, and Corey Godfrey.
Full ride report from Guitar Ted (an epic in itself): Trans Iowa V4 : It Blew Me Away!, Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Final Thoughts.
Other coverage: MTBR, EnduroSnob, Cornbread, SquidBuzz, Selma Lee Suiby, DirtBlog, Constantine Peters (pics), Scoletrain, CyclingUpdate, Flandria Velosport: part 1 and part 2
