Elkhorn Valley Cycling

The Elkhorn Valley Cycling Club fielded its largest team ever at the Dakota Five-O in Spearfish, South Dakota on September 4. This was the eleventh annual running of the Five-O mountain bike race which starts and finishes in the town of Spearfish. The race includes miles of long rocky climbs, technical descents, water crossings, and over 7000 feet of climbing.

The event has grown considerably over the years and for 2011 entries were capped at 600, all of which were taken by mid-April. On raceday, riders were split into two groups – those who would finish in under six hours in one group and everyone else in the second. The frist group rolled out at 7:15AM with the second group at 7:30. Conditions were near perfect with clear skies and temperatures in the mid 40′s.

In just under four hours, riders started rolling back into Spearfish Park. The first EVCC rider in was Todd Wixon with a time of 4:51:48, putting him in 47/177 in his age group and 87th overall. Glen Houts was next in at 5:10:10. Jerry Karloff finished at 5:43:3838 with Jerry Hoff next at 5:49:53, finishing up the sub-six hour finishers.

Todd Wixon on the trail. Patty Wixon photo

The remaining EVCC finishers all completed the course in under seven hours: Todd Jochum 6:23:08, Brandon Mullins 6:46:41, and Jon Downey 6:51:53. Three EVCC riders did not finish – Buddy Houts crashed after a front wheel failure sent him over the bars on a difficult downhill section, Cole Skiba crashed when his front tire rolled off the rim and injured his shoulder, and Rob Skiba went down injuring his leg and bruising some ribs causing him to end his day.

Full results are here 

With a few exceptions, this brings the mountain bike season for Elkhorn Valley Cycling to a close. EVCC is proud of its riders and their accomplishments, whether they were top finishes, improvements over previous years, or tackling new challenges. Thank you for making it a banner year!