The Soul-Crushing Winds with All The Leg-Wrecking Climbs!
The race organizers keeps the traditions of classic gravel alive, for example, you register for the race by sending a post card with your info. It's free to ride (but donations are really needed to support this event and allow it to continue). There is no prizes or podium, timing is simple hand-captured times. The route is navigated by cue sheets (AKA tulips), there is not published GPS route; and the race organizer tells you every year that the course will be different [SPOILER ALERT: they changed the route this year] This a self-support event, there is no support vehicle; so, if you have a mechanical, you need to fix it, and if you get tired ... well, you need to figure it out!
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| The cue sheet with the route changes near the bottom |
Ragnarök is always challenging, it's so early in the season and non-stop climbing & descending, plus some gnarly MMR (Minimal Maintenance Roads).
With a 7:30 start time, it's an early alarm at 5:00am and on the road before 6:00. For a little fun, I was a few miles from home, running a little late, and I realized I was wearing my glasses; totally forgot to put in my contacts.
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| The sawtooth profile of course |
The route starts just south of Red Wing at Mississippi National Golf Links. The start area is simple, a parking lot, a reg table, and a few outhouses.
Temps at the start were just above freezing, and never got much above 40℉ all day long. The course starts with a short neutral section for the first half mile of pavement, as we climb a punchy 370 ft hill right out of the parking lot. Get used to these climbs, 'cause the just keep coming. In the first 14 miles, you've climbed 1,400 ft. These first few descents were rough for me, we had light misty rains and my glasses were fogging over to the point I couldn't see a damned thing.
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| Start line selfie with the much smaller crowd of riders |
After those opening climbs, you get rewarded with a steep MMR (Minimal Maintenance Road) climb, depending on the conditions, this one can make many riders walk.
The roads settle down for a while to more tame rollers before you get to Zumbro Falls at mile 36 for the first check point. You must check in and get a fresh set of cue sheets for the route to the second check point. Zumbro Falls offers a C-store if you need any supplies. I'm typically in great shape at this point and make a fast turn around in Zumbro Falls.
After Zumbro Falls, riders are rewarded with some lovely miles along the Zumbro River. Along here, I saw a large number of turkey vultures riding the winds on the river bluffs, I told them that I'm not dead yet! \
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| Even on a grey day, the Zumbro River valley is lovely |
Around mile 60, you get a few miles in a lovely nature refuge along the river. Depending on when the snow melted and how well the roads dried out, this can be soft and peanut butter conditions. My first year riding Ragnarök, I thought I had a flat in this section, my tires were just sinking into the soft roads. 2026 wasn't too bad, but lots of puddles and mud to avoid as best you can.
After climbing out of the river valley, there was 12 miles up in the fields with no shelter from the winds. It was either crosswinds or block headwinds ... those headwinds could bring you to a grinding halt. I was on a slight rise, riding into the wind, and I found myself in my easiest climbing gear ... SERIOUSLY?!?
Around mile 78, you get a long descent into Lake City. Here you go right past a gas stations, and I typically want to stop here to get some additional water/Coke/drink, but this year I was well stocked and went right past.
Shortly after the gas station is the second checkpoint. The volunteer made sure I knew that there was a change to the course, don't follow an old route on your GPS device (I was). He said that this change removed a climb in the final miles, and I was so happy to hear this!
Not far out of Lake City, you get another steep MMR, climbing 450 ft up from the Mississippi River ... and it always hurts this deep into the ride! This was the climb that got me walking, I found myself on a bad line and near the top, is was super soft mud with deep ruts, there was no easy way to recover, so a little walking was the safe choice.
Not far out of Lake City, you get another steep MMR, climbing 450 ft up from the Mississippi River ... and it always hurts this deep into the ride! This was the climb that got me walking, I found myself on a bad line and near the top, is was super soft mud with deep ruts, there was no easy way to recover, so a little walking was the safe choice.
Right after you complete this climb, you come to CR 5, the classic route takes a left, and you immediately go back down. The issue, the 2026 route took a right at CR 5. I misunderstood my cue sheets and took the left turn. When I got to the bottom of the decent, I found Kristian looking lost. I said that I thought we needed to go another couple miles to find the turn, but I was totally wrong. After too many miles, we stopped, looked at our phones to see that we were headed back to Lake City ... F*CK! Back up the CR 5 hill, and a few more miles back to find the correct course.
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| That grey line on the top right, that was my bonus miles |
The final 10 miles repeat these 350 ft climbs a few more times, just to hurt your legs a little more. After cresting the last climb, I got hit with this brutal crosswind and got "sandblasted" with ice pellets, that HURT! Then, you are rewarded with the final descent back to the parking lot at the golf course. I don't think I've every rolled into this finish feeling anything other than totally drained, 2026 was no exception!
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| The finish line selfie and FINALLY some blue skies! |
With my choose-your-own-adventure route, I finished with 108.7 miles and 8,300 ft of climbing. I added 6.25 miles, 480 ft of climbing, and 37 minutes with my missed turn. But even with that error, I got me my highest ranked finish at Ragnarök, 32nd place of 67 riders that started (including 21 DNF); and my official time was 9:16.
I rode my new-last-year Cutthroat, it was great all day.
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| My custom-built Salsa Cutthroat |
I ran my 2.1 GravelKing tires at 24 psi rear and 22 psi front. In retrospect, I really need to focus on lower tire pressures, I use the Wolf Tooth pressure calculator, and I'm sure they are giving optimal pressures for fast riders and maximizing rolling efficiency. I'm not that fast, in fact I'm faster with better grip, which would be slower for the fastest/strongest riders. But I'm not super confident in my bike-handling and use the brakes too much, especially on descents, when I'm not feeling comfortable with the footing.
In a rare treat, GoPro's Quik app created a decent edit, link to YouTube with footage from my ride.
In a rare treat, GoPro's Quik app created a decent edit, link to YouTube with footage from my ride.
NERD ALERT!
Comparing my stats over the last 3 years:
Footnote: my Pugsley uses single-sided Garmin Rally XC100 power meter pedals, versus the Cutthroat on Quarq dual-sided power meter. It's also worth noting that I was 50/50 balance this year, despite typically being 53/47 (left/right), meaning that power and work numbers could be over reported in 2025 and 2024 since I haven't bother to update the single-sided power balance with my normal left dominate power ... the calculations simply double the left power numbers.
That work number for 2026 is massive for me, since I started riding with power in 2021, I've only had a larger effort on The 2024 DAMn; plus two Zwift rides, a failed and a completed vEveresting. Those events were MUCH longer efforts, like 2.5 to 8 hours longer! Oh, and my 5th highest work, last year's Ragnarök.
