My adventure into creating cue card or cue sheet holders, or mass producing them be more exact, all began with the Burleigh County Gravel Grinder. As we were prepping our gear for the ride I stumbled across something on the web that mentioned having a way to hold your cue cards was a pretty good idea. There seems to be a general consensus on three options, a alligator clip, ziplock baggie and zip ties, a commercially produced version of this set-up and a Cordura and vinyl cue sheet holder created by Banjo Brothers.
Knowing what the North and South Dakota weather can throw at you I figured I better come up with the most sturdy option out there. No way did I want be left stranded in nowhere land North Dakota watching my cue cards being carried into Minnesota on the 30 mile an hour winds. Nor did I want to take a left turn instead of right when the ink smeared from a torrential downpour. I wanted the best guarantee that I was making it back to where I started. Unfortunately, our local bike shops were out and I was told that Banjo Brother’s cases were on a slow boat from China, slow as in maybe they’d arrive in time for my race next year.
Because my hidden super-hero talent is sewing, I figured I’d just whip together a couple. And they turned out pretty sweet. So sweet that a couple friends and a local bike shop said if I made a few they’d be interested in selling them, so I figured why not! By the time the ball got rolling, I got lucky enough to get to sell them at the Gold Rush Gravel Grinder this past weekend in Spearfish, SD. Since I didn’t get to race, it was pretty cool knowing that at least some of my work was out there and hopefully it made someone’s day better.
Since it seems like there are few options for purchasing Cue Card Holders in the U.S. I decided to throw a few of mine up on my Etsy shop. I figured there have to be a few more people out there that could use them and have no desire to take up sewing. They are sized to a quarter of a standard sheet of paper (5.5 x 4.25). Product testing resulted in the creation of two different styles. One with the velcro for wrapping around the handlebars already sewn on and one with various attachment points and individual velcro wraps for alternative options.
I ride with mine on my stem with my Garmin GPS underneath my cue cards (I hate seeing how far I have left to go!) and the GPS still works fine. Other folks put the cue card holder on their top tube, or off to the side on their handlebars. And yes, they are perfect for fleches, randonees, breves and any other time you just don’t want your map getting wet, muddy or blown away! So be creative, do what works for you, and go grind some gravel! And yes, they are perfect for fleches, randonees, breves and any other time you just don’t want your map getting wet, muddy or blown away!
