I have some history with the Dakota Five-O and the Badlands.

Maah Dah Hey trail Badlands North Dakota some time in the late 2000s

This coming Labor Day weekend I will be riding the Dakota Five-O after not having raced in the event in about 15 years. I have ridden my mountain bike in many different places and nothing is like riding on the western side of either North Dakota or South Dakota. In the south there is the Centennial Trail and in the North there is the Maah Daah Hey. In 2003 I rode from the Northern portion of the Maah Daah Hey all the way down to Medora, ND which was about 125 miles. I had 3 friends and we did it unsupported over 3 days. We were bike packing before it was cool!

When I was racing in the Dakota Five-O back in the mid to late 2000s I used my singlespeed On One Inbred. 26 inch wheels were the norm back then and singlespeeding was quite popular too! I am excited to go back many years later and try it out on a fully geared bike with modern geometry.

As for fitness, I have been making sure to do some longer rides with a decent amount of climbing as of late. The Dakota Five-O, like the rest of the Badlands, is not joke! There is a lot of climbing and descending only to have to do a bunch more climbing. The climbs are long, the descents are rewarding, and the trails can be very technical.

Right now I am planning on riding my Surly Sorceress. The bike is just so good! I ride it more than I ride my full suspension trail bike. I have my Sorceress set up with a 27.5 rear wheel and that makes it feel extremely agile and fun! I figured that if I am going to ride a 50 mile 6000 plus feet of climbing suffer fest, I might as well do it on a bike I absolutely love to ride.

After the event I will make sure to post about it here with some photos. I am also likely to do a video on my YouTube Channel too. We will see how it all goes. Hopefully you have been getting out and enjoying your time on the bike too!