Outpost

Starting the ride with a flat is always good 

 Somewhere in northern Minnesota sits a very small off grid cabin. It was built by and owned by my Dad. I've spent a decent amount of time there over the years and since his passing I wanted to keep the place alive and use it as much as possible. I was at the cabin doing some maintenance in early November just before deer opener. I almost always have a my bike with me and thought it would be good to ride since I got all my work done.  It turned into a dismal beat-down type of solo ride in the shittiest of conditions, 40 miles, off and on rain with temps no more than 50deg F. It was then that I came up with a plan to do an outpost ride in the winter when it usually doesn't rain.  Due to size constraints, 4 would be the max number of participants, 3 of us went. The week before the ride I stocked the building with food in a cooler and placed water jugs in plastic bins for when they may crack open from freezing, as well as a deep cycle battery for lighting.  On Friday night after work the three of us parked about 20 miles out for the ride in on the Soo Line Trail. The trail conditions were very good in the beginning and deteriorated as we went. 

ArcFlash was feeling sick here, we thought about turning back but he is way too tough for that

Boney , feeling great 

salvation

The difficulty of the ride had the perfect effect of being relieved to reach the cabin as a point of salvation. It took a while  to get the cabin warmed up, we ate, we bullshitted, but no one wanted to go outside and have a fire. The next day just happened to be Global Fat-Bike Day, we had fat bikes and we rode them most of the day. Our ride started with us back on the Soo Line and would also include a bunch of gravel roads. Our mid way lunch stop was at Pour Louie's  in Mc Grath. The ride wasn't especially difficult but the cold and the extra effort to keep a fat bike rolling in snow has a way of wearing you down.

middle of trail is best place to park bikes 

ArcFlash ...way off 

 Once inside, the wet layers of clothes come off, the warmth of the room sets in and the last thing you want to think about is the 2-3 hours you still have to ride to get your ass back to the actual end of the ride. This can be overcome by chugging 3-4 mountain dews, maybe a red bull just to make sure, and two full entrees.... and some candy bars for the road. The massive calorie intake does help, but  the fact remains that there is only one way to get it done, get back on the bike and pedal. We arrived back at the cabin around dark and spent the evening eating and bullshitting, again no one wanted to go outside and have a fire.

The ride Sunday, back to the vehicle was much better than the ride on Friday night, conditions got better as we went and it wasn't as cold. I had a great time with Boney and ArcFlash, it was somewhat like a winter bike-pack but we didn't have to carry all of the camping gear and only the food we immediately needed. This trip had me thinking of setting up some lesser outposts like a portable ice fishing hut with a stove or some type of heated fort like the Wreck.

Sunday morning headed out

Train Station in Moose Lake

Las Vegas ????

DeathRider..................................................out 

Maah Daah Hey 2019

 I took my first trip to the Maah Daah Hey Trail back in the spring of 99'. I didn't know until last summer that was about the time it officially opened,as I glanced through memorabilia displayed at the bike shop in Medora. At that time I was naive enough to think it had been there forever.  My wife's  friend Troy told us about it and the three of us were off to ride it over memorial weekend. The three of us made another trip the following year, and on the 3rd or 4th  trip my friend Chuck and I would ride the whole thing in a day, virtually unsupported, before the MDH 100 was a thing. It's been a solid 15 years since I had been there,so going back with my BFF Vandy to bike-pack from the north end to Medora was going to be an awesome homecoming of sorts.

break time

petrified wood

typical

 The two of us set out for our three day ride on the longest day of the year, June 21st. Daylight would be on our side for our 40ish miles per day with heavy bikes on beautiful and challenging single track. For the most part the weather was good, with the exception of some mid-day bursts of rain to make things interesting. Day one was from the CCC camp at the northern end of the trail to Magpie Campground. Having to go around the closed part of Theodore Roosevelt National Park wilderness on gravel roads was a real bore, but necessary for those on bikes. Once back on the trail it was all good. A very short burst of rain came in the early afternoon and with it, wheel clogging mud. We pushed on, cleaned wheels with sticks several times and were back riding about an hour.  With the long days we arrived at camp well before dark and had time to relax, meet some other riders doing the same route and have a nice camp fire before going to sleep.

mud...this shit sticks to everything

first night

from the helm 

   Day two was much the same as day one, an incredible ride through varying degrees of topography. One minute it's rolling prairie with nary a tree in site,the next is rugged descents down crumbing cliff-like clay typical of the badlands. On comes the steep climbs with thick jungle-like vegetation and trees blocking all views accept the one just before you leading to the next open vista. This goes on for hours and never really gets old. Day two was tough, and ended with a pretty good rain storm, thankfully the last few miles into camp were on trails covered in red scoria, keeping the wheels free of mud. Rolling into Wannagan I headed straight for the rest room, the only shelter anywhere in site, to wait out the rain. It didn't last long and we were able to set up tents and eat dinner sans rain, before enjoying a nice, but chilly sunset.

just finishing Devils Pass

this part is super awesome....crossing Little Missouri river.....I going to paddle this some time  

lots of gates like this to pass through

 Day three would be finishing up in Medora. Again we would have to avoid the National Park and it's wilderness restrictions, accept this time we could continue on single track of the Buffalo Gap trail. The Maah Daah Hey actual was incredible, but for some reason the Buffalo Gap really grabbed me in a couple sections. Wide open prairie with not a sign of human disturbance accept the one ribbon of dirt you are following, a partially clouded blue sky as big as can be, with a light breeze rustling the grass is the kind of place you consciously etch into your mind to enjoy at all later dates as a bench mark for your own personal nirvana. Yeah it was that good.

Second and last crossing of Little Mo

   As I rolled the last miles toward the finish I was already reflecting back at how awesome the ride was. This didn't last long,  just as I took my selfie by the final trail marker, a massive rain cloud was about to pummel me. I rode the last few paved miles to town in sideways rain coming down in sheets. Once in town, I changed clothes, ate a massive buffalo burger with my BFF and headed home.

There are like 50 more miles of trail to do after this point but our shuttle had us end in Medora

           

D Rider .........................................................out

Chequamegon Dead Horse

 The Dead Horse is a trail in northern Wisconsin, taking it's name from an unfortunate event that occurred  in 1900 when a team of horses met their demise. The Chequemegon Dead Horse is a bikepacking event that took place last weekend in the same area, in which no horses lost their lives.

Found a private junkyard along the route....that's a Bidgestone MB-1 in red. 

found this boat too

 The ride is set 116 years later on gravel roads, and a portion of the Dead Horse trail. The route and event was conceived by Mr Ross and made public via facebook, with the idea of getting a bunch of like minded folks together for some camping and riding. Unfortunately the turn-out was low, with only 9 riders showing up at the OO parking lot just east of Seeley WI. The 8am start time was brisk, under 40 F, but it wasn't raining, and we had all day to get to our campsite and just enjoy the ride.

the group left to right.  O'Neil, Superwoman, TJ Hooker, and Mr Ross

water's up 

The Dead Horse proper

  ArcFlash and I rode off the front, not because we were fast, but because we just pedaled a little harder than the rest. About 20ish miles in, an arrow pointing the wrong way on the que card had us off track and added an extra 7-8 miles. Turning back and following tracks, we rejoined the group that had now dwindled to four. We decided to hang with them, and just go with the flow. Around noon we found ourselves in Clam Lake dinning at one of the two establishments in town. There we met the self proclaimed "best pizza maker, in his apartment, in all of Chicago"....35 years ago. He was a friendly gentleman that gave us the low-down on just about everything that was going on in Clam Lake, as well as hinting very heavily that one of us should buy the restaurant so he and his wife could retire to their lake cabin nearby. No one had the money for more than the half pound burger we all consumed, so we were on our way.

Water's up here as well

Almost home for the night

  The rest of the day we just knocked off the miles, arriving at our camp around 5:30 pm. The site was awesome, a secret place in the woods that Mr Ross has been frequenting since he was a kid. Big thanks to him for letting us in on this amazing spot.....your secret is safe with me. Night time was typical, but still my favorite pass-time....sitting around a fire, cooking food and sharing stories. No one made it past 10pm before calling it a day. Sunday morning everyone slept in a bit, leisurely made breakfast, and then rolled out together. Approximately 12 miles into the return trip it was time for second breakfast at Wendy and Joe's Steakhouse. From there the group elected to shorten the return trip just a bit (less than 5 miles)....one of the benefits of just riding your bike for the fun of it. Around 3pm we arrived back in the OO parking lot and went our separate ways.

I dislike photos of food,,,,but here it is anyway

     If you're looking for a little adventure outside of the CAMBA trail system, this is it. Show up next year and give it a go, or plan your own adventure in the Chequamegon National Forest. The possibilities are endless, with options for combining, gravel roads, single track, two track and if you have a packraft...the rivers.

D Rider.................out

The Heck Epic

Note; Stony River Forest rd was freakin' awesome

 The term "epic" gets thrown around a lot these days, few things come close to deserving that title. Few things, like the ride I completed on gravel roads and ATV trails in the Superior National Forest of northern Minnesota.

Mr Farrow of the (now defunct ?)   DBD  adventure society 

Two of the Three Amigos 

  The Heck Epic is a two day, 200++ mile brain child of Mr  J Kershaw, also known for the shorter, one day, 100 mile event call the Heck of the North. The Epic differs in a couple ways, first, the rider is required to carry all gear necessary for an overnight stay at the end of the initial 100+ miles, and also carry it back to the start. Second, the route,compared to the one day event, allows the rider to visit even more of the beautiful remote back roads, double track and logging roads in the S.N.F.

Don't go here if you don't arrive on something that runs on dinosaur bones

On track

   Although it's basically an out and back, from Two Harbors to Ely, both routes are different and deserve a hat's off to the organizers for laying out over 200 miles and not doing the same thing twice.
While some folks were out to truly race the Epic, I was there just to have a good time riding my bike for a long time. I was apprehensive about the event, I had not been riding much and knew it would eventually turn into a death march when my lack of fitness would catch up to my legs. The death march never really happened, my only real issue was  painful Achilles tendinitis that shows up specifically when I have not trained well enough.

Babbitt.....the town , not the bearing 

Beautiful ...ehmmmm   ELY 

camping 

   Riding long distances over many hours has it's ups and downs usually on a mental level. I was happy to ride with my bestie ArcFlash and  SalsaJon from mile 50 all the way to the finish the next day, which made the downs bearable and the ups a lot more exciting. The three of us stuck together as an informal gang, having each others back through the difficult stretches,  cue card navigation, bonking, and generally keeping boredom to a minimum through story telling.

the line up

dream car 

very cool section of the route ...familiar to me from the Gravel Conspiracy

     The first day was easy compared to the second. In hind-site, it was leisurely, and a beautiful day to ride 100 miles. The second day was that of one a cyclist dreads......windy and wet, add in some mud and not exactly warm temps and it was tough. We kept our pace roughly the same as the day before,or at least our perceived effort. Looking back we were much slower...day 1 took  6:17  ride time for 100 miles, compared to the 9:09 we spent in the saddle for 106 miles on day 2. It was truly a great experience and a well planned and executed event....Thanks: J Kershaw and all HECK crew members and volunteers.  Thanks: A.F. and SalsaJon for the companionship as well as everyone else I had the pleasure to hang out with over the weekend.

Yeah....it pretty much was