At some point north of Duluth on Minnesota Highway 61 the mileage signs start to track the distance to the Canadian border. I think the last one I saw said 32 miles.

Welcome to the Lutsen69er.

Julie and I registered for this race sometime in the winter figuring we’d give it a shot and see what it was all about. The mix of tarmac, gravel, snowmobile trails and a little singletrack looked interesting enough and the distance looked reasonable as well (we opted not to do the full Lutsen99er).

With no expectations on race day, other than to have fun and ride together, we set out from the start line on seven miles of paved roads that included a long paved climb reminiscent of the final climb on the Blue Mounds Classic RR course.

That was the last pavement we saw for the day as the course traversed numerous gravel roads and trails in northeastern Minnesota. As one point, around mile 20, the gravel roads took on a surreal appearance as the amount of dust in the air limited visibility to maybe 100 yards. My gloves, bike and kit were covered in a fine layer of tan dirt.

Then the rain came.

All that accumulated dust on my gear turned to mud and the roads turned a reddish brown. Our kit was about to get even dirtier and Julie wasn’t going to be happy about having to clean up that mess.

About 15 miles later the rain stopped and the gravel again turned to dust.

By the time we crossed 50-miles the bikes were a shade of gray matching the soils of northern Minnesota and we’d settled into a small group of riders that, while yo-yoing off the front and back, were essentially sticking together.

There was time for small talk and conversations as the pace remained brisk. The social aspect of the race is what stands out most to me. We’ve done a lot of racing over the years and it was really nice to enjoy a race with people we didn’t know. No tactics, no worries about positions, no worries about series points. Just a fun shared experience with other people on bikes.

Aid stations were plentiful and volunteers offered up food, drink and energy gels. Knowing those people were out there made the day that much more relaxing and enjoyable – no need to worry about cramming food in your pockets or running out of water.

The course takes its last swipe at riders with a steady, sometimes steep, gravel climb to the finish line. Keep a steady cadence, make good line choices and enjoy the spectators cheering you on in the final, slow, yards because the race is just about over.

If I’d known there were free meat sticks at the finish line I’d probably have ridden that hill a little faster.

Julie finished two seconds in front of me. That was good for third overall in women while I ended up 47th in men and 10th in my age group. The race – and the results — were a great way to end a fantastic vacation.

We milled about afterwards chatting with folks we ridden with, and others we didn’t know. I made sure to take advantage of a free beer from Minneapolis-based Fulton Beer before making our return trip to the Twin Cities through a line of severe thunderstorms.

By 9 p.m. that evening Julie was scrubbing dirt out of our uniforms.

And later that night, as usual, they came out of the washer clean and ready for another adventure..

— By Nathan Phelps