Norm on the rocks

After an 18 month hiatus from a full racing calendar, I’m getting ready for another big year in 2020 - but this time from Wisconsin.

The 100K Encierro Velo wound predominantly through cattle & horse ranches, with occasional rock outcroppings on the edges of a wash or the crest of a hill and mountains in the western distance. A great start to my 2018 racing season.

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We're moving to Colorado. And I'm fired up about it.

But it is hard leaving the scene here in Minneapolis. The cycling community and infrastructure here are absolutely incredible. And it was in Mpls where I really got hooked.

This last week was kind of a bummer for me. I got news from both the Dirty Kanza and Leadville that my name wasn't drawn to participate in the 2018 versions of either event. I have to say, I am feeling kind of pissed off about it.

It took my three bikes to get through the PowderHorn 24 this year. Still it was a great event.

Going into this race I just wanted a buckle - period. I figured I wouldn't have much of a chance at 9 hours, but I wanted to be darn sure I came home with a buckle.

Instead we got rain. And the Maah Daah Hey is just flat out not ridable when wet. The dirt turns to extra-clingy peanut butter and gums up every moving part of your bike. Tires become 15 pound immovable mud-donuts and derailleurs get ripped from their hangers.

Flat, no wind, totally blue-bird sky and 101 miles. The last event in our inaugural quest for a dirty millennium.

The trail is absolutely amazing, totally exceeding all of my expectations. 100 miles of relentless single-track winding through the badlands of North Dakota. Riding the entire trail in one day was nuts, so much harder than I anticipated. We covered about 105 miles with nearly 11K feet of ascending and 11K feet of descending trail.

La Sal Hut to Moab | 36.0 miles | 8,055 ft to 4,000 ft

We left early on day 7 to be sure we'd have the energy and the time for a full ride on the Enchilada. 

Prologue - Ride to the falls in Telluride

After a 20 hour plus drive from Minneapolis & Milwaukee to Telluride we finally arrived in town sometime early afternoon. We made a few compulsory stops at the local watering holes, had dinner somewhere and decided to stretch our legs a bit with a ride up to the falls at the end of the canyon.