A dirty little bike touring blog. Mostly about bikepacking and rigid single speeds. By Montana Miller
Link to all the photos: Colorado Trail Race Like all the really long races I've tried, the CTR made me feel about as good as a stick of butter that was dropped in the dirt on a hot day, then run over by a coal truck. But I'd do it again. It was a busy … Continue reading Colorado Trail Race
Also on the Dirt Rag I haven't been able to sleep- every night I wake up, thinking that I still have more miles to ride to the border. "No, Colleen already picked you up, it's over," I tell myself. Then the sun comes up and my legs are rubbery. Tour Divide was monstrously hard. I … Continue reading Tour Divide
Sunday funday front page news- weirdly juxtaposed with not so fun news. I take off my jacket- it's sunny, I'll lose the pullover too. I ride over to the edge of the trees, jump off the groomed path and into some waist deep snow to do my second pre-race bladder evacuation. Almost race time, I … Continue reading The Fat Cycle Challenge
Cinder Bloch Lochner and I finished the drive from Pittsburgh late Thursday night, then setup camp. I crawled in my tent, insisting that I was going to switch my shorts to pants so that I wouldn't get eaten by mosquitoes, and immediately fell asleep instead. Friday morning, we rode a thousand miles from the camp … Continue reading Single Speed USA
“Hey, tell me how to race my bike,” Colleen says. “Just take your time and have fun. Don't hurt yourself,” I say. I wave and ride off. Colleen is doing the shorter 17-mile course, so she’ll drive to the top of the mountain. Everybody in the 40-mile endurance race is riding to the start. About … Continue reading Cheat Mountain Ultra
There were big plans in place for Hilly Billy. They didn’t work out. I left Ohiopyle in the afternoon when I got off, loaded up my fixed Cross Check with camping stuff, and climbed up the mountain outside of town. Then I spun down the other side of the mountain and my hub blew up. … Continue reading Hilly Billy Roubaix
I'm spinning fast on a the gravel road, tucked way down. I look back. Sweet. I've got a pretty good gap on the rest of the single speed field. A few seconds later, Pat Blair passes me. We turn into the singletrack, and start up the rocky climb. Pat dabs, and I sprint around. Just … Continue reading Michaux Maximus
