Dmac & The Dakota Five-O : Part Duex

“Our life is apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle another can be drawn” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Part Deux

Here we go again.  I haven’t written a post-race recap in a very long time as I tend to write form a participant’s lens.  Some of that is due to my journey of getting back to good with my own health. Since my last recap I have had some bad accidents, multiple surgeries, and a 2nd cancer diagnosis.  Thank God all of that is behind me now, I’m healthy, cancer free, and enjoying feeling somewhat good again on a bike.  It is an awesome feeling I have missed.  What makes that feeling even better is having the opportunity to ride and train with DMac this summer while he was home from college. For those of you whom have followed his journey, you know that wasn’t always in the cards.  Dillon left home, after his senior year, intent on running distance for the University of Nebraska.  The pandemic threw multiple curve balls at that effort as his senior year track season was canceled and his freshman year cross country season was also squashed.  Somewhere along the line, he decided that if he was going to suffer in training and racing, he wanted to be back on the bike.  As a result, a year ago he got off the couch and back on the bike to train and race the Emerald Mountain Epic in Steamboat Springs Colorado. We did a father/son relay for fun as a way to cap off his first summer at home after his freshman year. Despite neither one of us being in our best shape, we landed on the 3rd step of the podium.  That race lit his fire for racing bikes again. We both committed to get in better shape and do it again in 2022. Meanwhile he decided to dust off his cyclocross bike and race the fall season. That effort landed him as an alternate on the USA World Championship team.

Fast forward with a year of racing and training under his belt, and we found ourselves back together racing the Dakota Five-O.  He had done this race several times.  First at the age of 12yrs old going sub 5hrs.  He then went sub 4hrs at 16yrs old.  What would 20yrs old look like on a course that was a few miles longer?  We both were excited to see. 

This year moved me, likely in ways he won’t realize until he reads this.  I suppose this is a father’s ways of ‘scrapbooking’ some of these milestone events. Being able to enter competitions with your kids, and overtime, watch them surpass you is one of the more rewarding moments a parent can have.  Whether I jump on the ice and play hockey or jump on two wheels and play in the dirt, being active and competing with them is such a gift.  Warming up, fist bumping at the start and having a first-row seat (even if just for a bit) is so much fun.  Yeah…I’ll take that over sitting in the bleachers or lawn chairs any day of the week and twice on Sunday.   Fair warning that this recap tries to capture the milestones beyond the play by play of the race.  It might have seemed like “just another race” for him.  For me, it was another circle being drawn.

Eight years ago, when DMac and I did this race, he was 12yrs old and I was his domestique.  I rode with him, paced him, grabbed feeds, and relentlessly reminded him to eat and drink.  He might even suggest obnoxiously. He crushed it and I wrote about it as a milestone in his journey on the bike. Fast forward to 2022.  We opted to sign up again to cap off the summer and kick off his 2022/23 Cyclocross season where his overall goals and training were focused. 

We love the Dakota Five-O for many reasons.  The course is challenging, the vibe is genuine, and the MTB community who attends to Race, Ride, and Tour is chill.  We decided to invite our friend Dave Wiens to come and join us, knowing he appreciates a grass roots event like the original days of the Leadville 100.  He was game and signed up to join us.  We were stoked!

The path to this year’s race began with us descending upon Spearfish at 1:30am Saturday morning. Not our typical race travel scenario, but this time we stopped en route to watch Dillon’s girlfriend, Emma Ralston, run a cross country race in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  It was a blast to watch the Husker females race in the twilight run with glow sticks marking the course.  Emma had a great race and set a new PR to set the stage for a fun weekend.  She has been to many races and supported us in feed zones.  It was a delight to line the course and cheer for her! Although I was told that cowbells, heckling, and the wearing of costumes would not be tolerated.  Oh well, cyclocross is coming!

After the race, we pushed on for another 5hrs until we landed in Spearfish.  Dave was able to get in earlier that day and was kind enough to make Dillon’s bed for him.  I know, you’re thinking, what the heck is that?  Well, sometimes I don’t pay close attention to AirBNB details.  This one said it slept 4.  It turns out it had two double beds and an L shaped college dorm room couch.  Dave sent us a pic and assured Dillon he had made it with tender loving care.  Sharing a bed with your dad loses its luster at this age, so you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.

Now before you get all judgey and ask why I didn’t give the faster rider the bed, I must inform you that we have a gentleman’s agreement.  DMac gets all the latest/fastest equipment.  I get the best bed.  Lord knows if I slept on that thing I wouldn’t be racing in the morning.  So yeah, he got the couch.  

After a restful night sleep, it was Saturday morning.  We got up a bit later due to our late arrival.  Dave had gone out early to pre-ride and avoid the heat.  (It’s almost like he’s done this bike racing thing before).  Dmac and I did our usual pre-ride heading up to Feed Zone 1 and back down to town.  All systems checked out and we both felt good headed into Sunday mornings race.  We had the joy of running into our friend Anne Savery on the pre-ride and seeing a handful of our Omaha peeps as well.  We chilled the rest of the day inside, out of the heat. The three of us made our own pre-race pasta dinner.  DMac was largely responsible for eating it while Dave and I cooked for him.  Somehow Dave was now stuck with me in catering to the yute (who happens to be a 20yr old adult now).  Be that as it may, we had a solid meal and then headed off to bed for an early start.

At 4am we woke up and threw down our pre-race breakfast prior to a 7am start.  The usual routine of waking up, eyes half open, getting in a solid breakfast, and returning to bed ensued.  While I lay back down, it starts to hit me.  I suppose to this point, I wasn’t being very mindful of the significance of this year’s Dakota Five-0.  Why would this be any more significant than other races we had done together this summer?  We had competed in the Silver Rush 50 (where he quailed for the Leadville 100 in 2023. That’ll be another milestone!), Mountain Bike Nationals and the Emerald Mountain Epic together. They all were great memories.  Big events, competitive fields, and high-altitude challenges had all been conquered this summer.  So, what made this one hit me a little different?  Perhaps it was this:

If you read part 1 of this post, you understand that Dillon had grown up watching me compete in ten Leadville 100 mountain bike races.  He watched Dave Wiens beat Lance Armstrong in that race in 2009 while watching his dad came in a LONG way behind in 13th place.  He waited in line to get his autograph after the event.  He then watched Dave take on other Tour De France pros in subsequent years.  He had watched many times, 

“The Race Across The Sky”,  a movie documentary of the Leadville 100 that Dave is the star in.  Now he was about to start the race he had first done at age 12, with someone he looks up to and has admired since he was 8yrs old.  So yeah, pretty darn cool!

As I was lying there, trying to fall back asleep, a “memory” popped up on my phone thanks to Apple.  Boy o’ boy has Dmac aged!

As I scrolled through my camera roll, I came across this pic that I had sent to our feed zone crew of Roxy Feagan, Carly Thompsen, and Anne Savery.  These ladies had offered, out of the blue, to crew for us.  This was HUGE as we were going to have to rely on stopping for neutral feeds if it wasn’t for their help.  Knowing 2 out of the 3 of us likely would be contending for podium spots, we knew how much every second would count.

So, there it was.  DMac and Dave’s previous photo together (albeit Dave was a cardboard cutout).  Then there was this one, the two of them in real life, getting ready to tow the start line together.  No cardboard cutout of Dave, no DMac desperately needing a haircut.  That day, they were headed to the start line.  Surreal?  You bet it was!

After the pic, we rolled out from the comfortable (for Dave and I) AirBnB and headed to the start.  We did a quick warm up together as we took Dave through the campground to show him the community essence of the event.  After warming up, we headed to the staging area and took our place in the start grid.  Dave and Dillon were to my left.  They were about to take off and contend the overall.  I was healthy enough to be racing and aiming for top 50.  Our feed zone crew was in place.  No matter how the race unfolded, I knew it was already a pretty special day

Perry Jewett, our race promoter, does a fantastic job of getting riders and fans excited for the start.  His energy is contagious.  As he jumped onto his ATV to lead us out, he  sounded the siren on his megaphone and we took off.  I saw Dave move over to the left side and up to the front.  Dillon didn’t hesitate to follow and jumped on his wheel.   The start is a 4-mile gravel road climb to the hole shot leading into the singletrack.  I found myself uncharacteristically smiling at this stage of the race.  I knew it was the only time I was going to see those two until the finish, but man was it was fun to see.  I don’t normally smile on 4mile hole shot climbs, but when I do, it’s because I’ve recognized another milestone is happening before my eyes.  

As we approached the hole shot, they of course pulled away.  I could see that they went into the singletrack in the top ten overall.  I knew it would be about 4hrs before I learned how it all played out.  It was time to get to work and make that as short of a time as possible.

I went into the singletrack in 23rd position.  I knew I needed to settle into my pace, my race.  This was something I told DMac a few hundred times when he was 12.  It was going to be a hot one as the forecast was for a high of 99 that day.  I knew if I went too deep too early, cramps were sure to set in.  That would make it even longer before I could finish and hear how the front of the race unfolded. I reminded my mind that my body couldn’t cash the checks it used to.  For once, my mind listened.  They say even the dumb learn through repetition.  Apparently, I had finally had enough reps.

That mental game paid off as I held off cramps until the final asphalt climb before the finish, jostling between 29th and 19th where I ultimately finished.  I crossed the line and saw Dillon and Dave standing there, both congratulating me on my finish.  I wanted so bad to know how it all turned out.  But first, Coke!

As I grabbed a Coca-Cola and collapsed against a tree in the shade, I asked: “How did it go?”  Dave put up two fingers, hesitated, smiled, and then pointed at DMac , indicating Dillon had placed 2nd overall.  I was super proud.  DMac had been training hard and this was a solid pay off.  It was also a good indicator heading into his main focus for the year, the 2022/23 Cyclocross season.  As it turns out, all three of us found the podium.  Dave finished 6th  overall and 1st in his age group.  I finished 19th overall and 5th in my age group snagging the last podium spot.

As I reflect in writing this, I see all the things that continue to make this event special to us.   For one, the Five-O family of which our Nebraska mountain bike community is a huge part of.  The grass roots nature and chill vibe are core to the event as well.  The homemade boat races in Spearfish creek.  Kids ripping around the campground on bikes, along with all the campfires and camaraderie one would expect from a pop-up village of dirt bags. 

There was an added element this year. Dillon and I talked about the significance of Anne Savery being there and offering to crew for us.  Anne’s late husband Mark was a dear friend and Dillon’s coach and mentor in cyclocross growing up.  He and Anne had been the ones to introduce us, and many in Nebraska, to this event.  We talked about how this had to be hard for Anne in her ‘year of firsts’ without Mark, in a place that was special to them both. One thing cancer teaches you, whether you survive it or not, is that every day is a gift.  I felt the gratitude of that gift in a very real and profound way that day on many levels.  We were beyond blessed to be there together. We were honored that Anne chose to spend her time handing up feeds on course for us and for many others.  In no small way, we know Mark was smiling down and hanging with the Five-O family that weekend. We could feel it. 

Eight years ago, I could have never predicted how another circle would be drawn, but there it was.  Another Dakota Five-O that “put water in my eyes” as a mountain bike legend, and a starry-eyed kid, towed the start line together to draw a circle outside of Spearfish.  I’m just glad I got a front row seat, even if it was for only 4miles!