Friday, February 6, 2026

2026 Arrowhead 135 | With Proper Conditions

STRENGTH       ENDURANCE        SOLITUDE       SURVIVAL
The long trail near Fortune Bay

Back in 2024, after completing my first Arrowhead 135, I wrote:
I want to return to the Arrowhead 135 to ride it in true winter conditions, it may sound silly, but I spent years preparing for sub-zero weather and damn it ... I want to challenge myself on this course in those conditions!

Spoiler alert: 2026 delivered true winter conditions! But the real story of my 2026 Arrowhead was terrible intestinal distress that nearly derailed my race.

The Arrowhead 135 Winter Ultra
The Arrowhead 135 is a human powered winter ultra marathon taking place in the coldest part of winter in one of the coldest places in the Lower 48. The average finish rate is less than 50%, and the finish rate for new racers is much lower. The course is 135 miles across Northern Minnesota on the rugged and scenic Arrowhead State Snowmobile Trail from Frostbite Falls (actually it's International Falls) on the US-Canadian border to Fortune Bay Casino in Tower, MN. Pick a mode of transport: bicycle, ski, or foot. You have 60 hours to complete the course and must check in with the three checkpoints on course, beyond that, you will see virtually no other signs of civilization on the course. Racers are required to carry gear to survive for these extreme conditions as well as a satellite tracker to share where racers are on the course. 


The Arrowhead started with 10 entrants in 2005 and is now roughly 150 starters, featuring some of the best winter ultra-athletes in the world. Historically, it’s the coldest gosh darn race anyplace, even the Arctic, check average temps, virtually every year, luck has the Arrowhead 135 at -30 to -40C/F, and there's been plenty of frostbite to prove it. Or it snows and is a sloppy mess! Ken & Jackie Kruger organize the Arrowhead 135 with a crew of local folks dedicated to the promotion of human powered ultra-endurance events across the beautiful Arrowhead Region of Northern Minnesota. The Arrowhead Race Mission is fostering national and international amateur endurance sports such as winter-biking, skiing, and trail running.

Minneapolis Under Attack
It is difficult to share a ride report for the 2026 Arrowhead 135 without also addressing the political assault on Minneapolis, and greater Minnesota, by the US federal government. Bluntly stated, I was questioning my trip to the start line 24 hours before we left because the armed goon squad executed Alex Pretti on a frozen Nicollet Ave, in broad daylight and witnessed by everyone. It was unclear what the fallout from this brutal killing would mean to our community. And there was a part of me wanting join the massive choirs of voices rejecting this completely unjustifiable killing. I was feeling a lot of conflicting emotions. 

Talking with folks at check in, I understand some racers decided not to travel to the race because of the volatile situation in Minneapolis. This is an international event and I hate that my home feels unsafe to visitors from around the world or even other parts of the US! 

Looking back, I feel good about making the trip; in a large part, because our community did so much, so well, I'm beyond proud to call Minneapolis my lifelong home. I will make it a point to help carry the message forward in the coming weeks, allow others time to rest and recharge. Like the Arrowhead 135, this fight for our democracy is massive journey, and we all need to step up and help when able, as well as rest and find joy when needed too. If we let these fascists steal all of our joy, they have defeated us. All that said, it is nevertheless an awkward time for me to celebrate this personal achievement. 

Driving to International Falls
On Sunday morning, we made the decision to make the trip. We got the car loaded with all my gear and bike; plus a small pantry of food too ... there are lots of food options up North, but it's challenging to find options that work with Lisa's (my wife's) dietary restrictions. It also adds value to my race to have our own foods, eliminating possible issues with unknown foods on the road that can cause gut issues on the race. 

The trip was smooth and easy. One story from our drive north was the number of boom trucks and utility crews headed south on I-35. Many states across the south and southeast had just been hit with major winter storms, causing wide spread power outages. It was good to see the help headed where it was badly needed.
Most of my gear stacked up and ready to load in the car
Arriving in International Falls, we went straight to gear check at Backus Community Center. Racers must show that we have all the required gear to survive on the remote trail in the deep-cold (see the list of required gear near the bottom of the post). Once done with gear check and sign in, Lisa and I headed to our hotel to check in and unload our car. 
Backus Community Center equipment check and race check in
Funny story at the hotel, a group of a dozen people from Japan were checking in ahead of us at the hotel. I heard a conversation that they were engineers from Honda that traveled to International Falls for the local cold weather auto testing facility. I have to think they were curious about the racers showing up at the hotel with bikes and sleds.

After getting settled into our hotel room, we went back to the community center for the racers' meeting. There's always information shared to help you get ready for the big challenge the next morning, and a lot of good (& some dark) humor.
At the end of the racers' meeting, there was a raffle for racers with a ton of fun items. I have to admit I was only half listening at this point because I don't have much luck with raffles ... but I won the grand prize! One Empire Wool & Canvas Company garment, I picked their Boreal Superhoodie
We returned to our hotel for some of Lisa's homemade chicken and dumplings... YUM! I did some packing and bike prep for the morning and took a quick ride in front of the hotel to be sure everything was good to go. Then it was time to relax then try to find some sleep as my mind keep thinking of every little details I might have forgotten.
Pugsley ready for the big ride in the morning
International Falls to Gateway 36 miles - 4 hours 54 minutes
My alarm went off at 5:00 AM, but I was already awake. Lisa brought homemade overnight oats for our breakfast, a great way to fuel up for the long day ahead! At the start line, we must check in, confirming our mode (bike/foot/ski), confirm our red blinky lights are on, and our satellite tracker is on. 

Out in the -20°F air, there's a good amount of nervous talking between friends, both long-time and just met friends, as we wait for the fireworks to signal the start. 
Photo credit: Ben Sunne
Once Ken released the hounds, I found a nice group to work with. After a while, I was leading the group for a couple miles. With a strong headwind, I was working hard but not getting too hot. We weren't far out of International Falls when I heard "CAR BACK" (WTAF?!?!), I looked back to see the bright lights of the snowmobile trail groomer behind us. We all pulled off at a small driveway crossing to let the groomer pass us, as we got rolling again, I got into the middle of the pack of riders and started feeling too warm now that I wasn't out in the wind. Believe it or not, even when it's -20°F, you need to focus on not overheating! 
The trail groomer - photo credit: Lisa Nelson
After nearly 10 miles on the Blue Ox Trail, we take a hard left turn onto the David Dill Arrowhead Trail. At this point, our group splintered with a few riders stopping to make some changes and adjustments, while I rode through with a handful of riders. A couple of these riders were stronger than me and pulled ahead, others fell behind, and I was solo off-and-on for many miles on the way to Gateway.
The fast miles early on the Arrowhead Trail
The trail was in great condition, the tires didn't sink into the snow at all, allowing everyone to move a good pace... for reference, 8 mph is a good pace with a fully loaded fatbike on a snowmobile trail.
Frosty face selfie
I was excited to get to Gateway before noon, more than two hours quicker than my last Arrowhead. I went inside to get water refills, and dump some trash. I was in-and-out quickly, roughly 20 minutes, ahead of my goal of 30 minutes.

Gateway to Melgeorge's 34 miles - 6 hours 56 minutes
On this leg, we passed through some active logging areas, this offered a very fast trail surface with the heavy trucks packing the snow as hard as concrete! I had one logging truck pass me on the trail, when I heard the vehicle, I pulled to the far right and stopped to allow them to pass. This is also the area when the course gets hilly, adding to the challenges. You can bike up some of the hills, others required getting off and push the bike up the hill. 
I don't think this pic does justice to how steep & long this climb is
My race hit its biggest challenge in the miles after Gateway. Only a few miles out of Gateway my gut started making the most awful and uncomfortable noises. I was getting worrying signals that things were going south. I continued to push forward, there are few other options. I was fighting 'urges' and hoping against hope that I could get Melgeorge's to use the bathroom in the cabin, but that was A LOT of miles away.

I stopped with Leah Gruhn on the trail for a minute, I shared my gut issues, she gave me some Tums to see if that might help me. I let Leah know she shouldn't wait for me, and a short while later, I ended up needing to make a trip into the woods, hoping for some relief. In the most G-rated terms, I can not recommend having the runs in the woods when it's sub-zero ... there is not one single good thing to say about this experience! The first step is to find a place with some kind of privacy, this is not strictly required, but a best practice. Then you need to remove the top outer layers, remove the CamelBak, then remove a couple more layer to get to your bibs before you can get the business end of things accessible. Let us simply skip ahead to redressing process, which needs to be done quickly as you are losing tons of heat in these frigid temps, the clothes you took off were all damp with your sweat and they are now stiff as a board. Once you've got everything back on, your core temp has dropped and your fingers are starting to feel numb from the cold. It's time to get back on the bike and push hard to get your internal furnace heated up and pumping warm blood to your chilled fingers. I repeated this process two more times on the way to Melgorge's ... on the bright side, I was getting practiced and more efficient with each stop.

As I'm dealing with this most uncomfortable issue, I'm trying to think what in the hell caused it! I thought of two things while I rode on: the water from the tap at Gateway or the caffeine in my Embark Coffee Maple. Fast forward to a week after the race, I emailed with the race director and a friend that came into Gateway after me, no other reports of  gut issues from the water at Gateway. That got me to go back to the other option: caffeine. Over 400 mg of caffeine is considered overdose. I had .5 liter pouch Embark Coffee Maple. I've used this product many times over the last 4 years in the classic 3 oz pouch packages, it has never caused me an issue. The 3 oz package is 72 mg of caffeine per pouch (roughly a cup of coffee's worth), my .5 liter Gu pouch holds the equivalent of 5 to 6 of the 3 oz pouches ... that's getting close to 400 mg. I finished a whole .5 liter pouch before Gateway, plus I had a couple coffees before the start. So that's A LOT of caffeine in a little over 5 hours, and the caffeine could easily be the cause my 'issue'. Plan for future events, only buy the Salted Maple in the 1.5 liter bulk package for these .5 liter pouches, and keep to the 3 oz pouches Embark Coffee Maple, making it easier to manage how much caffeine I'm getting. I always learn new things on these events!
3oz pouch on the left & .5 liter (17 oz) refillable pouch on right 
Late in the afternoon, I was blown away to see two skiers pass me! They were skate skiing and able to climb so much faster than me pushing 80+ lbs of bike/gear up the hills. They were both packed lean and moving fast! Jump forward to Melgeorge's, I said I expected a new skier course record, but was told that both skiers dropped out after a crash before getting to the checkpoint.
FAST moving skiers
To add to my troubles, I was eating and drinking very little, I didn't trust my stomach to handle it. So as I got close to Melgeorge's, I was in a hole for both nutrition and hydration. I was ready to call my Arrowhead done at Melgeorge's, I was miserable and didn't feel it was a good plan to push on in these deep-cold conditions in a compromised state!

As I got to the cabin, I let the volunteers know my need for the bathroom, and they made sure the main floor bathroom was available for me as soon as I got my outer gear stripped down. It was nice to not deal the cold for once!

My plan was to rest for a while and see if I could recover, and happily Bill, the race medic, was in the cabin and heard my issues. He offered me an Imodium before I laid down. After an hour, with some rest and a little sleep, I got up feeling OK. My biggest priority was to see if I could drink and eat to refuel before deciding to call my race over or push forward. One of the volunteers was extra kind, giving my water bottle and CamelBak bladder a good flush before filling, just in case my issues were related to the water.
The night scene outside the Cedar cabin at Melgeorge's
While in the cabin, I drank roughly 24 oz of water, ate two grilled cheese, and had a bowl of wild rice soup. Everything went down well, and I was getting my strength back. I made the decision to push on.

Melgeorge to Embark 40 miles - 8 hours 22 minutes
I got rolling at 10:00 PM and in the first few miles out of Melgeorge's, I passed 5 racers bedded down, they was the last racers I saw on the course. 

The frigid forest in the dark was a magical place! I found myself double and triple checking shadows and other mirages in this snow covered landscape. The half moon was lovely, but after it set, I was treated to the most amazing night sky, free from all light pollution! These miles of the course have so many hills to push the bike up, then there's the sketchy dark ride down the other side.

At some point, my hydration hose froze up. If you forget or fail to blow the hose clear after a drink, the water can freeze up. I spent a few miles with sessions of sucking and blowing hard into the hose; and between sessions, I'd pack the hose deeper in my layers to get additional body heat to help melt the frozen block. My back up plan was to pour water from the CamelBak into my one insulated water bottle I had on the bike, but that would take a lot of time and be messy. Thankfully, after a few sessions, I was able to get the water flowing again! 
The half moon shrouded in the clouds
There was one more "trip into the woods", and I will keep this as 'clean' as possible... I was out of TP and forgot to get more from Melgeorge's ... so the snow was my only option. Another thing that I advise everyone to avoid! This is the point where my saddle zone started getting raw. The last miles into Embark had me standing to pedal or freewheel; and a lot of walking when the trail kicked up.

About 10 miles from Embark, I saw the first sign of human life in hours, one of the volunteers on a snowmobile checking on me. It's great to know they are on the trail watching out for us racing. But it has been said many times, this is not the comfy SAG wagon you might find on many supported rides. You will be underdressed for a snowmobile ride and the ride will be rough. You can expect to get off the trail alive, but you will not enjoy that ride and there have been stories about the rough conditions racers arrive in from this ride. The point, be prepared for these conditions and ready to solve your own problems on trail, snowmobile rescue is the last resort! 
The rescue snowmobile 
As I got close to Embark, I was considering dropping out a second time. My plan was to use the outhouse at the checkpoint, using what I could find (hand wipes, TP, ...) to clean up my raw undercarriage, then apply a lot of Chamois Butt'r and see if that would allow enough relief to ride the final 23 miles.

Embark to Fortune Bay 23 miles - 3 hours 48 minutes
I rolled into Embark before the first light of morning, around 6:20 AM. As I arrived, I talking with Brie from Embark, she had a pack of baby wipes I could use to help with my issues. It was very nice to have the Embark checkpoint to myself, not another racer to be seen. This allowed me time in the 'heated' tent ... I'd say the wood stove had the tent up to 45°F ... I pealed off many of my outer layers and had them on a rack next to the stove, along with the pack of nearly frozen baby wipes. I think I fell asleep in a chair in the tent for 20-30 minutes while wait for the wipes to thaw out.
Priority parking when you're the only one at Embark
At the same time, Lisa was on her own adventure trying to find the middle-of-nowhere checkpoint. I was happy she was making her way to find me, because I was not sure I could continue. Note for anybody looking for the Embark checkpoint: Google Maps will get you lost!

After the chills woke me from my nap, I found the wipes were no longer frozen, so I walked up to the porta-potty to see if I could get some relief.

Lisa found the checkpoint just as I was ready to take a short ride to test if I could find any comfort on the bike. I went 100 yards up the trail and back, and decided I could push on to the finish. 
The view from the last major climb on the trail
There was a road crossing just 5-6 miles up the trail from Embark, and Lisa said she'd drive to there to give me the option to drop the race there if things weren't working out. But the icy roads took Lisa into the ditch before she got to the trail crossing. Thankfully, she was completely fine, but needed a tow to get out of the ditch, the locals checked in and helped out. I was feeling good enough to figure out riding the last 15-20 miles, while Lisa waited on a rescue from the tow truck.
There's no easy way outta that
On those last few miles to the finish, I had some music going in my Shokz to both motivate myself and keep the sleepies from sneaking up on me. With my very eclectic mix on shuffle, Willie Nelson's cover of Rainbow Connection started just before I got the resort and there were some frozen tears on my checks, both the emotions of our communities' struggles, my personal struggles on this challenge, and just loving the songs message ... it just hit me in all the feels.
Lovely sunrise on Tuesday morning
I was able to gently settle onto the saddle for a few minutes at a time and avoid spending all of the final miles standing on the pedals. But in the last few miles, I couldn't comfortably sit down, there were cries of "WHAT THE ACTUAL F*CK!" when I'd try to sit on the saddle. Just to give my raw parts a break, I found it easier to walk the smallest climbs on the way into the finish ... except that last ramp to the finish line, my pride had me mash up that little climb! 

I was greeted at the finish by Lisa and a few volunteers. We got some pictures, and I got a "Welcome to the GCN Show" clip to submit. Inside the resort, we did a quick equipment check, the volunteer only really wanted to be sure I still had hand warmers; I had one pack in my frame bag, two packs in my 
CamelBak, another in my sleeping bag, and maybe a couple more squirreled away ... I had that requirement covered. Then we went to the hospitality suit, it was quiet because the racers that finished before me were hours ahead, and there wouldn't be another finisher for an hour or two.

Finish line pic! 
I was slower getting to the finish than I hoped, and we wanted to get home early enough to pick up the dogs on Tuesday afternoon, so we made a quick turn around. I was able to shower and I couldn't help crying out with the pain as the shower water ran over my raw undercarriage. And as soon as I was dressed, we packed all our stuff into the car to head home. I struggled getting into the car seat and getting comfortable ... it was a serious pain in the ass!

There was a little excitement to the drive home, when the car went into the ditch, snow got packed into the rims and made them unbalanced (the car bounced). We used the ice scraper to get much of the snow out and smooth out the ride.

Race Stats
I ranked 22nd of 41 bike finishers (plus 20 DNF); with an official time 28:30:00. 

From the Arrowhead 135 Facebook post:
141 racers started, 75 finished:
41 bike
32 run
1 kicksled
1 ski
The racers' hospitality room with my trophy, new cap, and the FINISHER banner! 
I have to say, it was great race conditions, everything I've planned for and dreamed about! I was out in the deep cold for nearly 24 hours. There are few weather stations on the trail, so accurate temperatures are hard to come by ... but I know our hotel showed -20°F when we left for the start line, and it was -8°F at the finish line. Based on some nearby weather stations, I'd estimate we might have gotten up to 5°F on Monday afternoon. 

I'm pleased to report that I didn't crash once! In 2024, there was no possible way to count the number of times I found my self making an unplanned snow angel.

I only lost one small item of clothing this year, my hack red "nose buff" ... I left Melgeorge's without it and that didn't cause me any issues. This is quite literal a hack, I took a full size buff and cut off roughly 6 inches, doubled-up across my nose to protect the skin from the deep cold. 

Arrowhead Recovery
All the gut issues, and some less than ideal clean-up options, left me with a very raw saddle zone. Happily, one week after the race, I'm back on the saddle with basically no pain

In 2024, I suffered a pinched nerve that caused numbness in my fingers and hand. Going into the 2026 Arrowhead, I made some adjustments, mostly focused on how I placed my hands when pushing the bike, keeping my elbows in close to my body and minimize time with the arms fully extended. This helped a lot, the numbness is less this year and nearly gone one week after the race. If I bring my bike back to the Arrowhead 135, I'm going to schedule a meeting with Paulie at GO PHYSIO to see if we can adjust my flat-bar bike fit to help my shoulder.

Additionally, recovering from a 24+ hours effort is a long process for the body, and far from a linear progression. I go from have zero energy for a day, to bouncing off the walls the next day. It's critical to listen to your body and give yourself time to rest, it can take up to 6 weeks to fully recover. In the week since finishing, I've been on my bike a couple times outdoors and a couple rides on the indoor trainer. I feel good, but never push my body too hard. I've been adding a hour of sleep every night since the race, and I feel like I could sleep longer too. I'm always hungry! There is an emotion component to this recovery time too. I'm not feeling it with this race, but in the past I've experienced post race blues after an ultra event. So it's important to look after your whole self, mind and body, after an event like the Arrowhead. 

THANK YOU!!
Lisa Nelson I say it on repeat, and I'll keep saying it, I couldn't do these crazy adventures without Lisa's loving support. She does so much to help me, even with the Arrowhead, where she can't directly support me on course, she's doing all the little things that allow me to focus on my effort. It cannot be understated that Lisa really does not like the Arctic conditions, so spending a few days in sub-zero conditions for my Arrowhead is really above and beyond!
That is Lisa under all that winter gear
Volunteers The volunteers on the Arrowhead 135 are outstanding in every possible way. I especially needed all their help at Melgeorge's and Embark to allow me to continue my race. Plus the snowmobile volunteers are so dedicated, out in the sub-zero weather, day and night, looking out for us racers. 

Race Medic Bill Brandt was a lifesaver with the Imodium, plus he shares so much advice with racers before the race, at the racers' meeting, and at the checkpoints. 

Ken & Jackie for their labor of love, allowing all of us to race this demanding, challenging, and rewarding event.

Bike:
2015 Surly Pugsley the original fatbike! This bike is mostly stock, here are my modifications: Ergo grips, Brooks C-15 Carved saddle, and Salsa Guide carbon seatpost.
45NRTH Dillinger 5 & 4 Tires I've got a Moonlander fork on my Pugsley so it can fit the 5" tire on the front and the 4" is the widest I can fit on the rear. I used the Wolftooth tire pressure calculator, and it suggested 6.7 psi rear and 4.9 psi front. I went with a little more for the start line, it's easier to dump pressure than add. But with the firm snow conditions, I never felt the need to let air out. 
45NRTH Cobrafist Pogies, raffle prize from the 2023 Tuscobia! And my pogies hack: the foam plugs that came with these pogies don't fit my set up, so I rolled up a couple old wool socks to block air from flowing in the pogies from the handlebars. Worked a treat, keeping my hands warm and comfy!
Hack pogie plug
Bike System Weight 
Prior to a final training ride, I weigh myself and bike, totaling 257 lbs; that's 165 of me and 92 lbs of bike and gear. This weight includes the bike, gear, clothing, and nearly 4 liters of hydration. Plus, I added another couple pounds of food on the bike at the start line.

Nutrition/Hydration (the best laid plans ... )
  • Embark Maple Energy, both Coffee and Salts
  • Skratch gels
  • Skratch drink mix
  • Peanut M&Ms
  • Grill cheeses and wild rice soup at Melgeorge's 
  • Jar of Peanut butter (3,000+ calories) *
Because of the gut issues, I ate very little on the trail. Frankly, I'm not totally sure how I powered the bike for that many miles on so few calories. I was 3 lbs lighter when I got on the scale Wednesday morning, and that's after I ate 3/4 of a pizza Tuesday night!

Tech:
  • Garmin inReach Mini | Satellite Tracker/Communicator*
  • Garmin Edge 1040 Solar | bike computer
  • Garmin vívoactive 6 | smartwatch
  • Shokz | bone conductive headphones
  • NiteRider Lunina 750 & 950 | bike headlighs*
  • Planet Bike Superflash Turbo (x3) | red blinky lights*
  • Black Diamond headlamp
The inReach was clipped to my CamelBak shoulder strap, keeping it in my layers to protect the battery. I had the 1040 in my pants pocket, also keeping it warmer. I found the vívoactive 6 very helpful, it allowed me to get mile split updates through my Shokz. But the vívoactive 6 battery couldn't last all race, it died shortly after Melgeorge's. I really wish the 1040 offered this function! 

Bags:
Clothing:
  • Podiumwear Arrowhead jacket 
  • Podiumwear lightweight vest
  • Wool base layer
  • Smartwool midlayer (x3)
  • 45NRTH Naughtvind bib knickers
  • 45NRTH Naughtvind shell pants
  • Smartwool expedition weight socks 
  • 45NRTH Wølfgar boots
  • 45NRTH Toasterfork balaclava 
  • Smartwool beanie 
  • DAMn buff
  • Old winter bandana 
  • 45NRTH Nokken gloves
  • Old snowboard helmet
  • Old Anon goggles (the Arrowhead was their last trip)
  • Patagonia puffy jacket (never left my stuff sack)
  • Old Bonfire snowboard jacket for an emergency cover (never left my stuff sack)
  • Lost of extra layers, gloves, hats, etc in my bags - but ended up staying in the same gear the whole race
Sleep System:

My sleep system, testing it in Lisa's tomato garden box
Miscellaneous:
  • Spare tubes 
  • PocketRocket 2 stove *
  • GSI Outdoors Isobutane Fuel Canister * (1x 110g in my CamelBak & 1x 230g in a fork bag)
  • Windproof matches *
  • 1 Pint cup/pot *
  • Whistle on a string *
  • Reflective safety sash *
Bring to the Next Race: 
  • Imodium and Tums! 
Required gear list racers must have the following on them at all times during the race:
  • -20°F degrees sleeping bag or colder rating
  • Insulated sleeping pad
  • Bivy sack or tent
  • Firestarter (matches or lighter)
  • Stove
  • 8 fl. oz. fuel at ALL times (either gas, alcohol or 2 canisters of propane/butane 100 g. each or 12 Esbit tablets)
  • Pot (min. volume is 1 pint)
  • 2-qt (64 fl. oz.) or just under 2 litres, insulated water container
  • Headlamp or flashlight
  • Flashing red LED lights, both on front and back of sled or bike (or on backpack if skier).
  • Everyone have at least 10 square inches of reflective material on front and back of the person for this race.
  • Two lights total are required, one on the front of the bike, sled or racer (runner or skier with backpack), one on the back of the bike, sled or racer (runner or skier with backpack). Each light must have a minimum of three flashing red LEDS.
  • Finish with one pack of hand warmers
  • Whistle on string around neck to call for help, because your mouth is too numb to yell.
  • 1-day food ALL times (3000 calories)
Photo Credit: Ben Sunne






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Sunday, August 17, 2025

The 2025 Day Across Minnesota | A Domestique's DAMn Tale


The DAMn
The DAMn is The Day Across Minnesota, a 240-mile bike race from the South Dakota border with Minnesota to the Wisconsin border, with the course on nearly all rural gravel roads. The race starts at midnight Saturday morning and you have until midnight to get to Wisconsin, that's 24 hours ... just one day! You're allowed a support crew meeting you at three checkpoints of your choosing, but they are not allowed to follow you on the course, and you're allowed to stop at any stores/businesses along the course, but you only go through three towns, including Red Wing, and Red Wing is just a mile from the finish. This race will challenge your endurance and ability to function while sleep deprived. It's a DAMn good time! 

Hatching a Plan
In the weeks following the 2024 DAMn, I told Lisa (my best friend, support driver, and loving wife) that I had only two reasons I'd ride the DAMn again: ride the Double DAMn (if it was offered again); or support my friend, John Ingham, in finally finishing the DAMn (if he was up to trying it again). 

For John's back story, he is an 84 year young adventurer that has started the DAMn every year I have: 2018, 2019, 2021 & 2024. The first two year, John was all in to finish, but had issues many rider suffer with fueling the body or staying on course or bike fit/comfort issues. I need to add that staying on the course was more challenging in the early years of the DAMn (including 2018 & 2019), riders did not get a GPS route to load on a Garmin or Wahoo, we got printed cue sheets to get us from one checkpoint to the next, reading a cue sheet in the dark while riding gravel roads is challenging. In 2018, John finished his DAMn at the checkpoint 2 at mile 120; in 2019 he just barely missed the time cut for checkpoint 3 at mile 186, also notable that 2019 has been rated the toughest year for the DAMn. In 2021 and 2024, John did not feel his health was good enough to try to finish the whole ride, he started in Gary, SD at midnight with all of us, but with the plan of riding to Morton, MN (mile 85) as his finish. 

Flash forward to December 2024; John invited me to meet to talk over coffee. As we sipped coffee, he shared about a book he'd worked on and published about his experience riding gravel: Riding Gravel in God's Country: The Experience and Science of Well-Being. But he said he had something else on his mind ... I might have been impatient and said it before him .... John wanted to test himself against the full DAMn in 2025!! 

As we talked, John expressed his concern about even making it to the start line and worried about letting folks down. I was very clear, I knew the challenge we were pursuing, and even for a young fit athlete, there are no guarantees. We would take on this challenge one step at a time, and never assume the result, because this would be a massive effort. 

In January, we started planning for a crew to support this wild adventure. John and I meet with good friends Trenton Raygor (The DAMn's creator) and Nick Kapanke (documentary film producer). We brainstormed on the riders and support crew for this effort. We came up with a list of riders to reach out to and see who was up to this DAMn challenge. At the end of the day, we gathered a crew of 4 domestiques (riders), 3 soigneur (support drivers), and a documentary film crew.
Planning meeting at Utepils [photo credit Chris Nelson]
Over the late winter and early spring, John did his training on an indoor bike trainer, weight training, outdoor rides as the weather allowed, and we gathered to do some rides as a whole crew, smaller groups, as well as John and I riding together to talk training and plans. That said, the year didn't offer the best training opportunities, we had a wet spring that quickly turn to hot summer with Canadian wild fire smoke becoming a serious and repeated issue. It was hard to find days that were great for long training rides that wouldn't over stress or cause damage to the riders.

The Crew
We gathered an amazing crew around to support John's goal, including domestiques (riders): John Jarvis (to keep it simple, I'll refer to John Jarvis as "Jarvis" and John Ingham as "John"), Anthony Robinson, Paulie Glatt, and myself; soigneurs (support): Mary Grove (John's wife), Jacqueline Hansen (Anthony's wife); and Lisa Nelson organizing the support efforts; mechanical support: Kyle Davis, Farmstead Bike Shop, and Tonka Cycle & Ski; and documenting this journey: Nick Kapanke (Checkpoint Zero) with director of photography and producer Jon Bothun and producer Josh Ruegg. 

Gathering at the Start | Gary, SD 
We all arrived in Gary throughout the afternoon and evening before the DAMn start at midnight August 2. Nick did pre-ride interviews with the riders around the check-in area. 
My brand new Cutthroat at the Buffalo Ridge check in [photo credit Chris Nelson]
After getting checked in, getting my bike set up, and catching up with friends, I laid down on a camping pad next to our car for some rest, no real sleep, but resting. As night started to set in, it was time to change into the cycling kit. Lisa bought a collapsible changing booth that became VERY popular with other riders getting ready to start. 
A little rest before the DAMn big ride [photo credit Lisa Nelson]
Our crew agreed to meet in front of The Alabi at 11:15 pm, The Alabi is a bar on 1st Ave in Gary, a couple blocks from the start line and a place where many DAMn riders get a drink before the start (but no drinks for me, I know I can't handle even a lite beer before this major effort). 

We were a little surprised to see the reduced number of riders starting this year, Minnesota was experiencing some of the worst recorded air quality from Canadian wild fires. The race director allowed deferrals to 2026 for riders concerned with the air quality, I don't know the actual numbers that deferred, but we all thought that 1st Ave in Gary was much thinner than in years past. Happily the air quality was not as bad as it had been the day before, but there were still air quality issues on race day.
Our crew, with green lights, ready to start this DAMn ride [photo credit Mary Grove]
Early on in the planning process, John had an outstanding idea, that each rider should buy some green lights so we could find each other in the night. We each had a front and rear green light to help use get together on the dark night roads. 

The Start 
The DAMn starts with a bang! [photo credit Mary Grove]
After a few nervous minutes waiting for the start, the fireworks went off and we rolled out together. I was next to Anthony as we made the right turn onto the first gravel road just a half mile out of Gary, and we thought we had John, Jarvis, and Paulie right behind us. But Anthony and I kept looking back through the very small field of riders behind us, and not seeing any green lights. Anthony and I stopped looking back to see them roll up after a minute or two. John's electronic shifters weren't working, John and I are using the same SRAM system, so I gave him my derailleur battery, and I had a spare battery with me for my bike, so I sent the rest of the crew down the road while I got my bike sorted out. But that wasn't the right fix, we only got a little way up the road before John couldn't shift again, and we figured out that it was the battery in the shifter. I was a proud domestique because I had a CR2032 battery in my pocket toolbag. We made a quick swap of the shifter battery and John was riding into the dark night.

A secondary story, as we worked on John's shifter, Jarvis' helmet light wasn't working so I waited with him, using my helmet light to help him see as he tried new batteries. There was a lot of corrosion in the battery compartment of his helmet light and it looked like that light was not going to work any more ... even with new batteries. Jarvis has a hub dynamo powered light on his bike, so he was good, but he would've liked the extra help of a helmet light. We just put everything away and rode hard to catch back up with John and crew. 

Adding to the tech challenges, the first 6-8 miles out of Gary were extremely soft gravel roads, I call it beach sand with some gravel mixed in. We normally roll fast on these early miles out of Gary with the roads sloping gently down out of South Dakota, but we were moving slowly as we were fighting to control our bikes on the soft gravel.

Things were going well, but too slow to make our goals. We had many stops and each stop was taking time and were slowed by dealing with extra clothes in the cool of the night. John's gloves were great for keeping his hands warm while riding, but were very tight and took too long to get back on after removing them to get food or a nature break. 

We all knew that the overnight hours can be cold as we drop into the Minnesota River valley, which is colder than the surrounding towns. My Garmin reported temps as low as 52°F (2021 saw temps as low as 41°F!!). John had me carrying some extra layers and we stopped to add his down vest and an O2 rain shell. This helped, but more stops to add layers took more time away from us. 

There's a section of the river valley that I've always found challenging, mile 60 to 80. It is surprisingly punchy with rollers for miles and miles. John commented many times that it didn't make sense that we were riding up climbs when were riding next to a river that's flowing downhill. Along here, John had a calf cramp on one of these rolling climbs. I had some SaltStick electrolyte chews in my frame bag and that worked a great, he was back riding in a moment and didn't have an issue the rest of the day. 
Minnesota River Valley [photo credit Chris Nelson]
As we rolled through the last miles to Morton, Jarvis and I talked about seeing the section of road for the first time, it's always been dark every other year we'd bike this sections, and it is a stunningly beautiful road. 

Morton | Mile 85
We got to our first checkpoint with our support crews in Morton at 8:30 ... we just completed what should be the fastest section of the route and we barely made it at a pace we needed to hold all day.
Mary & Jacqueline at our Morton checkpoint [photo credit Lisa Nelson]
Lisa and Mary got rooms at the motel in Morton to allow riders access to a bathroom without a line (the gas station can be a nightmare of riders waiting for the single-stall bathrooms). We agreed on the way into Gary that John and Jarvis would be our first priority to get back on the road ASAP. Jarvis is an experienced self-supported rider and would not need much help from the support team. While John went up to use the plumbing, I checked his tire pressure, they were way low... comically, that may have helped him with control on those soft roads overnight. After 15-20 minutes, John and Jarvis rolled out. I took care of myself quickly, inhaling a couple sliders, dropping off electronics that needed charging, empty trash, and grabbing fresh food & drinks to carry with me on the bike. 

I rolled out quickly while Anthony was getting himself ready to go. Just as I caught up with Paulie in Morton, a few blocks from the checkpoint, Lisa called me to say John left his hydration pack, he only had two bottles on his bike, and that's not enough for 65 miles to Henderson. I let Paulie know as I made a quick U-turn in Morton and sprinted past an understandably confused Anthony working his way to catch up with us. I rode straight up to Mary at the checkpoint, put John's hydration pack on my chest (since I was wearing my hydration pack on my back). I sprinted back through Morton, passing Anthony to let him know what was happening. I caught up with John and Paulie along a lovely section of the route in the Minnesota River Valley. 

As we rolled the last miles of course in the Minnesota River Valley, I let John know that this domestique had one personal goal on this ride, to crush it up the MMR (Minimal Maintenance Road) climb at mile 94, John said that he expected that ... HA! And for being less than young or fast, I'm very happy with what I did on my new Cutthroat - I took 42 seconds off my personal best back in 2018! I moved up to 17th of 909 athletes on the Strava leaderboard, I'm still 25 seconds slower than the KOM, Chase Wark, but I knew I'd never compete with the young beast. 
Our crew, plus Kristine Benjamin at mile 120 [photo credit Lisa Nelson]
I hoped that we could get up on the flat roads after mile 95 on our way to Henderson and get into a strong pace line and hold a good average speed to gain some time. But the roads continued to be very soft and we had cross headwinds out of the southeast adding to the challenges. It was becoming clear that we couldn't hold a pace to get to Hager City by midnight. We talked about finishing the ride even if we couldn't make the time cutoff. But it wasn't too much further up the road that John decided to call it a day when we got to Henderson. We saw Nick and his film crew at mile 128, we all stopped so John could share his decision. 

The rest of us, the four domestique, talked about riding through to Hager City after getting John to Henderson. But over the miles to Henderson, each of us started making the decision to finish our ride in Henderson too. Only one rider continued, John Jarvis ... he's ridden every single DAMn, getting from Gary to Hager City every time, and wanted to keep his record alive. He rode away from us around mile 140 and finished in Hager City with only seconds before the midnight time cut!! (see details below)
John sharing with Nick that he would finish in Henderson [photo credit Chris Nelson]
Our last miles into Henderson were slow, when we stopped at a wonderful farmer's aid station around mile 138. Rich posted on a Facebook group that he'd be there with all kinds of drinks, snacks, supplies ... and a port-a-pot! We pulled in and enjoyed his treats, hospitality, and company. It was a lovely day-brightener to our crew at this late stage in our ride to enjoy this welcoming stop.  
Rich Hahn's neutral aid station [photo credit Rich Hahn]
I was joyfully honored to have our crew of four remaining riders greeted at our Henderson checkpoint/finish by a crowd of support crews, friends, and our film crew ...  they were cheering and had the cowbells ringing and blowhorn sirens going off, it honestly felt like the finish line greeting!  

I could not be more proud of John Ingham for dreaming of finishing the DAMn at 84 and I am honored beyond words that he came to me back in December to share his goal. We both knew from that very first conversation that there were no guarantees, even getting to the start line was going to be a challenge. It is no small feat for anyone to ride 150 miles ... on gravel roads, including rough MMR ... through the dark of night ... in the middle of nowhere. The folks we ride with can skew our view of how impressive that ride is to the vast majority of people. I know we had loftier goals, but we need to keep in mind how challenging that goal really was.

I hope John enjoys more adventure rides and challenge himself with efforts that most folks half his age would shy away from. He is a passionate and motivated adventurer ... an inspiration to all!

Thank you! 
Lisa did SO MUCH for the entire team before, during, and after this effort. Here is just a partial list, 'cause her loving work deserves an entire blog by itself:
  • Food & hydration prep for the riders
  • Tracking our progress
  • Communications with me the entire ride
  • Directing the support crew
  • Planning, planning, more planning, and did I mention planning! 
  • Driving long miles on dark rural highways
  • Resting in a nasty motel to help our team have priority access to toilets ... and nursing bedbug bites from that nasty motel
  • Bright and supportive, even as things are clearly not going to plan
Lisa's hug after a DAMn long day [photo credit: Natalie Aldrich]
Mary Thank you so much for being John Ingham’s great life partner, cheerleader, soigneur, and the person that is the keeper of secrets to his day-to-day habits, wellbeing, and general life. No one could ever fill those shoes beside you Mary. You are his number one life advocate on the trail. Much love and thanks to you for being tireless on this journey called The Day Across Minnesota. Cheers! [writing credit to Lisa]
Jaqueline Thank you for your support and care for Anthony, it was critical to have an additional support driver; your experience and expertise was greatly appreciated by everyone! 
Kyle Thank you for offering to be our mechanical support at Henderson that turned into greeting us for our finish. Thanks for taking the time to drive down and waiting for us to arrive. 
Tonka Cycle & Ski Thank you for supporting many of our crew, including getting my Cutthroat built up in time for me to have some training miles before the DAMn; getting John's bike ready, and setting Nick up an e-bike to get some film clips with us on bike. 
Farmsted Bike Shop Thank you for offering to supporting us in Northfield, despite our crew not making it to Northfield. 

The Domestiques 
Each rider contribution to our effort in unique and important ways! 
Paulie Glatt brought the ability to pace John. I struggled to find the right pace when I got to the front, but Paulie was steady and an outstandingly great domestique leading John. Also, I want to recognize Paulie for digging in the spurs when the crew got too comfortable chatting and not focused on turning the pedals.
Anthony Robinson brings a straight up good vibes. His LFG no-matter-what attitude is a treat. He make it easy to keep pedaling with entertaining stories and positive attitude. 
John Jarvis is a joy to ride with. He is a talented self-supported rider with an eye on the pace and great conversations that made the miles fly by.
Chris Nelson [thanks to John Jarvis for sharing this with me after the ride] Leadership is tough and exhausting. You did a great job keeping everyone motivated and moving forward with a positive attitude. That is a tough job.
We worked together in ALL THE BEST WAYS! I could not be more proud to have been a part of this team!
Left to right: Anthony, Paulie, John, and Chris (not included, Jarvis on his way to Hager City) [photo credit Nick Kapanke]
John Jarvis' Legendary DAMn Finish! 
I have to copy and paste the Facebook post from John Jarvis' DAMn finish:
At 3:30 p.m., at mile-140, the reality of the mathematical impossibility of finishing was impossible to ignore. The project fell apart and the team released me from my commitment.

With 100 miles to go and 8.5 hours to ride it, I wasn’t sure that I could make it before the time cutoff, but I figured that there was some valor in trying. At least I could ride the distance even if not in the required time. I have completed the previous six DAMns and I didn’t want this one to ruin my perfect record.

I dropped onto the aerobars, gritted my teeth, and steeled myself for the next hours of pain as I rode off.

Along the way, The Bone Saw Cycling Collective filled my water bottles somewhere along the course, and the Farmstead Bike Shop tent gave me some Oreos for fuel and Gatorade and pickle juice to stave off the leg cramps.

The beer party crowd on Whiterock Trail gave me a big mental boost as I came charging past wild-eyed, like I was being chased by Bigfoot. As the last rider on the course, they had been following along on TrackLeaders and shouted my name with encouragement. A few (solber?) folks hopped in a pickup truck and escorted me up the big climb and shouted encouragement as I struggled up on dead legs.

My mind played tricks on me as the deep fatigue set in. My tired mind somehow remembered the course distance was 247 miles (instead of the actual 242.7). My quick mental math had me arriving 3, or so, minutes after midnight. …but my bike computer told me that I was at 10.1 avg mph, which was just at the required speed. I was still sharp enough to know that something was not matching.

It was just as I started over the Mississippi bridge at 11:57 that I realized that I had a shot at a legal finish. I started shouting to myself “Come on legs” to urge myself onward. I must have sounded like a crazy person to anyone listening.

My computer was reading 11:59 for the longest time as I raced toward the left-hand turn into the finish chute. I glanced down just as I crossed the line and it was still 11:59, and by the time that I pushed the stop button, it had clicked over to 12:00. Whew! That might be the closest “Lantern Rouge” finish in history 
John Jarvis at the finish line [photo credit John Jarvis' Facebook]
Documentary in the works
I know Nick will share the best film telling the story of this epic effort, I'm so excited to see what he does with our ride and conversations. It was unique to be the focus of his filming attention, I'm not used to being in front of a camera. I'll post a link additional information here as the film information comes available, and you can watch Checkpoint Zero Film too. 

Results
I tried to get into the numbers, but as big of a bike-stats-nerd as I am ... chapeau to Chris Matthews for doing it much better than I could ever do it! 2025 was middle of the pack for difficulty based on the number of riders finishing, and sadly, for our goal we needed one of the "easier" years, like 2024 or 2020. John and I both said early on that we might have missed our perfect year with mild temps and strong westerly winds in 2024. 
Chris Matthews graph of median finish times over the years, with attrition listed below the year
My Bike - The Cutthroat
This was the first true gravel test for my new Cutthroat, and it was a rockstar! As the miles rolled past, I gained more confidence, finding that the Berd wheels on 29x2.1 GravelKing SK tires are as confident on the loose stuff as the 4" tires on my Pugsley! Link to Cutthroat build 

My Tech:
Garmin 1040 Solar: I set it to battery-save mode at before driving out to Gary, and it had battery life for all day and them some. But I was fighting with my Garmin all ride, I'm a big fan of turn-by-turn directions when riding a route, and this year I had something completely unique happen, instead of hearing "turn right on 260th Ave", I was hearing periodic and random "DOT!" After dawn, tried to figure it out only to see there was a note about not having a map for this region ... WTAF?!? The next day, as I cleaned and charged my devices, I looked to find that a Garmin update in the days before the race had removed my US maps ... another WTAF?!? It was annoying hearing "DOT!" randomly over 16+ hours, but I could see the route on my Garmin and never missed a turn. Note to self (I know this but somehow forget it too): do not accept any Garmin updates in the days before a race! 
NiteRider Headlights (x2): my new Lumina Micro 900 didn't last as along as I'd hoped, it died around 4:00AM, and I switched to the older 750 that held up through the rest of the ride on low setting. 
Varia Radar (x2): I have a first generation RTL500 and I got a newer RTL515. I started with the new RTL515 without the light on, using the green light to be see and save the Varia battery to keep an eye out for vehicles coming up behind me. At Morton, I swapped out the RTL515 for the old RTL500.  
GoPro: I used my Hero 11 with one-minute time limit to record clips for Nick's film and maybe a YouTube edit 
Shokz: These are a great headset for hearing music and/or turn-by-turn directions without covering your ears, plus I used them a ton to communicate with Lisa throughout our ride. They are bone conductive, meaning you can hear things around you while still hearing your route information. 
knog Binder: this was my helmet light, I didn't use it a ton, but it was good to have one more 
headlight option with me.

See you further on up the road
[photo credit Lisa Nelson]




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