tag
Most of us who attended Mid South this year are still coming down from the high from this year’s event. I know I am, and I didn’t participate in the run or ride. I came to town to help District manage the flow of builds and repairs for the weekend. For those who heard, I am the guy who lost the tip of his finger. It’s doing fine, by the way!
I had a lot of reservations about going to Mid South 2022. COVID. Money. Time. Don’t get me wrong. I wanted to go. Bobby is one of my best friends, and I love his entire crew over in Stillwater. But, still…COVID, money, time. Then I saw that something spectacular was happening.
Comparing what riders think they are going to experience vs what they do experience, as well as what they are taking away from the ride, has always been a fascination of mine. We all bring our hopes and, yes, our fears to the start line. After a nearly two-year layoff from in-person events, I wanted to see what this year’s Mid South participants brought with them to the race. What did they think was going to happen once they rolled over that start line? What were they hoping they’d take away from it all after they crossed it again to finish?
When peanut butter mud and clay wreak havoc on drivetrains, you’re gonna see a lot of single-speed bikes rolling up to the start line at events like the Mid South. I did, in fact, see a number of single speeds but I was really into Nate’s Reeb Cycles Dirt Diggler, so I shot a few photos of it while I chatted with Nate about Stillwater, District Bicycles, and yeah, the mud!
When bike events promote inclusivity and welcome all sorts of riders, not just racers, wonderful things happen. If it seems like I’m still glowing from this weekend’s Mid South, well, it’s the truth. Those few days completely recharged over two years of dreary times and meeting Keith re-centered my own struggles by putting them in perspective. In a serendipitous way – ok, I was stalking him – I happened to catch him rolling into the expo area at Mid South on his Scissortail Cycles cargo bike. There’s so much going on with this one so let’s get to it…
A lot. A little. Eb. Flow. Ping. Pong. Southwest. Midsouth.
My brain is lost in a myriad of memories from the past two weeks as my schedule jettisoned itself from over two years of stagnation to two weeks of back-to-back events and Radavist Reportage. Last weekend was the Mid South, a gravel race/ride/experience located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, hosted by District Bicycles. While people travel from all over to cut their chops on some Oklahoma red clay dirt, gravel, and mud, I am so fond of this event for the ultradian rhythms found in its hosts, attendees, and volunteers. That’s why I told Bobby from District to expect me to park and sleep in his driveway for a few nights because I was coming to get a heavy dose of rhythmic balance…
Wow! What a weekend that was. The Mid South returned this year and so I found myself in Stillwater once again, hanging out at District Bicycles, shooting the event as well as a few bike portraits. Tomorrow, we’ll be posting our über gallery but today I wanted to showcase my buddy Jared and his new Crust Bikes Evasion Lite he built up at his shop in North Carolina, Back Alley Bikes, so read on below for more!
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Wait wait wait? Don’t worry! The Mid South isn’t asking you to come to Stillwater, Oklahoma during a pandemic. We all know that bike racing during a pandemic is problematic. No, instead Bobby and the team at District Bicycles would like you to partake in a socially distanced event with a twist…
“We want you to go ride or run (or both!) outside, just like you had planned, but you don’t have to pack up and travel to Stillwater. We are partnering with several bicycle shops in cities and states where many of you live. We are working with each shop to create comparable 100-mile, 50-mile and 50K routes in that area. Ride With GPS will facilitate a challenge board, which any registered rider or runner can join. We will share the links for each challenge (100, 50, 50K) in March. If you’re registered for The Mid South and have at least a free account with Ride With GPS, you’re good to go. You must have an account with Ride With GPS to participate in the challenges.”
See more at the Mid South!
To begin, it is important to say that I am not a doctor, a data analyst, or an economist. Am I an expert regarding the growing pandemic that is becoming one of the defining events of our lives? No, I am not. I am a bike mechanic who likes to take photos. There are smarter people out there who could (or should) be writing about this, but as it is, you have me. And I find it extremely difficult—even inappropriate—to talk about this year’s Mid South without acknowledging the massive elephant in the room. For some of you, these images or just the thought of a large group gathering may be upsetting. You would be right to feel that way, and I get it. If this were any other year, it would have been a widely celebrated event, filled with love and excitement from the greater cycling community. In a lot of ways, it still was. But given that upside-down is the new normal, here we are.
The history of the Land Run is a sordid one, which you can read all about it our earlier Reportage from the 2018 event. This question comes up a lot these days: if we know better, are we supposed to do better? While local vernacular influences the discussion, the Land Run wasn’t exactly something you want to build a community upon in the modern age. There is a much larger discussion to be had about this and the Land Run founder Bobby Wintle did such a great job on the official announcement, that I’d prefer to let him explain it below.
Land Run 100 Rides: Addison’s Stripped State Single Speed
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk
Thirty-hours, nope that’s not the travel time from Quebec to Land Run 100. It is the amount of time it took Addison to hand strip his State Bicycle Single speed and leave behind some beautiful layers.
Devoid of paint, and the tensioner that caused him some issues last year, Addison is ready for a rowdy and dry time. Built with one goal in mind, going fast, Addison’s bike is built with a mix of Zipp, Quarq and SRAM road parts, this eccentric bottom bracket bike can be run as a single speed or a geared bike for any situation.
____
Follow Jarrod on Instagram. LandRun 100 on Instagram Addison on Instagram
Bobby’s Land Run 100 Moots Routt 45
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk
Bobby knows the Gravel roads around Stillwater, when given the opportunity to make his ultimate gravel bike he chose the Moots Routt 45. This isn’t just any Routt though, this one has RSL tubing something that wasn’t an option until NAHBS this year. Other details include laser etched logos, and an engraved head tube. Bobby chose to use a Chris King 40th kit on this bike, to me something about the olive and Ti is just near perfect. The bike is outfitted with some new ENVE AR rims, Moots post, Thomson stem and a tried and true Salsa Cowbell bar. A Shimano Di2 build rounded it out with a custom machined Wolf tooth ring made to fit the new 9100 cranks.
Bobby and the crew at District Bicycles sure do know how to make one nice bike.
____
Follow Jarrod on Instagram and District Bicycles on Instagram.
Jay Petervary’s Land Run 100 Salsa Cycles Warbird
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk
Jay Petervary’s Salsa Cycles Warbird was pretty dialed for Land Run this year. Those Salsa Cycles X Brooks England LTD frames are so good. Jay has been doing the whole gravel and adventure racing thing for close to 18 years now. Fresh off his win at the Iditarod Trail Invitational a few weeks prior, JayP was in town for Land Run.
You can learn a lot about what works, and what doesn’t just by looking at his bike. Aero bars, double wrapped tape, 32c tires, bombproof Industry 9 wheels, and not overpacked with water and food. The name of the game on Saturday was mud clearance. It worked out pretty well as I’m told that Jay was at the front most of the day and even finishing with a 3rd place on the hardest Land Run yet.
____
I Couldn’t Feel my Hands or Feet at the Land Run 100
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk
I still remember my first conversation (albeit a short one) with Bobby, we were in Tahoe, climbing up to Pluto I was choking on the air, my body had yet to adjust to the elevation. We talked a little bit about an event that I had been following for a few years, one that tests you physically and mentally, where you aren’t just fighting yourself but you’re fighting the course as well. I’m talking about Land Run. On that climb, I was blown away at just how stoked Bobby was that I had heard of their event. From that point on I couldn’t stop thinking about it, weeks passed and it was time to set things in motion, I knew I had to make it to Stillwater this year!
