Dickie Scramble Weekend

Last weekend we headed down to Elgin, MN for the Dickie Scramble.  We did the ride last year and we thought that we would give it a go again this year.  The ride also gave us a good excuse to get out and use or camper that we got last fall.

So Friday after work we loaded up and headed out.  This was our first trip with the camper so I was not sure how everything would go.  The trip down was good with no issues, we were all set up and had dinner going by 8.

Saturday morning was a bit cool but, the sun was out and the wind was not too bad, it was a great day for the ride.  We parked the truck and headed over to sign in.  It was looking like there would be about 100 on the ride, not a bad turn out, I think that they were expecting more like 150.  After signing in and getting the last few things dialed in we all gathered on the street for the start at 9:30.

After a little talk from Drew we were off.  The start was to be a "rollout" at a 15 MPH pace, but I looked down a couple of times and there were pushing 20 MPH.  Most of the road were in great condition, the dirt was dry and fast.  The Dickie has some good climbs on it, I think that there were 4 rated climbs on the course.

At mile 41 Drew had set up a check point.  I think that this idea of a potluck at the check point is great. There was some great food!

Kyleen met us at the check point, it was nice to see her as Troy, Larry, Curt and I fueled up.  After we refueled we were back on the bikes.  There was a big slow climb that our cold legs were not really ready for, we all make it but it was a hard climb.

It doesn't look so steep, but it was long!

At about mile 50 we noticed that on Drew's Strava he had listed a segment called "technical descent on gravel bike" and "Where's my MTB".  I was not sure what to expect.  The descent was great, very rocky and steep.  At the end of the descent there was a water crossing with a bridge.  The climb out of the valley was tough, long and steep.  I did not want to burn out my legs so we walked it.

The rest of the ride was pretty normal.  We ended with 81.8 miles and 4,017 feet of climbing, Troy, Larry and I finished in 7:10 total time.  Just a bit faster than last year.  We had a quick beer at JJ Tailgator's and headed back the campers for some grilling.  Thanks Drew for the great free ride!

Sunday we woke up to thunder and rain.  I was happy to be in a camper, before this we only had tents.  We made some breakfast and started to pack up.  I have been around RVs most of my life but this is my first rig so everything is new to me again.  We are very happy with the rig so far and we are looking forward to Almanzo when we can use it again.

All loaded up and ready to head home.

Troy and Kerry also bought a trailer this last fall, here Troy is learning the best part of RVing, dumping the sewer!