Our entire den of pug-scouts from troop 666 in Milwaukee converged on Decorah, Iowa for the PWC (Pugsley World Championships). For the readers that might not know…….Decorah is a hidden gem of mountain biking located in the driftless region of Northwestern Iowa. Several of our Gnomefest cousins hail from Decorah along with Sov and some mega-skilled riders like O’Gara, Shockey and Cowboy Jeremy. Decorah is a bicycle town with an outstanding trail system, among the hills, bluffs and river banks that reminds me more of the Ozarks than Iowa. Decorah has more climbing than any place that I’ve ridden in Wisconsin.
I’ve been looking forward to this event because of all the great pictures and videos from last year and the hilarious stories that I’ve heard from Sven and Puck about it…..and on top of that….It’s run by Spinner Ryerson and Spinner knows ‘fun on bikes’! PWC is one of those events that can put a smile on almost every sort of rider’s face. From Hard core racer to an old fart, like myself, PWC delivers fun challenging fat-biking, for just about everyone.
The course this year consisted of an 18+ mile loop that started and ended at the Oaks Bar. Here’s a hint for any snow-bike race promoters out there…..Bars make very good Race HQ’s! There would be a mix of snow, ice, mud, clay, black-top, singletrack and gravel out on the course and plenty of climbing. With $1200 dollars cash on the line, PWC drew the attention of the region’s fit and fast crowd along side first time fat-bikers and everything in-between.
Sven and I split up at the start, with him going ahead on the course to get some great photos.
Eventually we all rode (and some of us drank) our way back to the finish line through the mud and the snow and the beer. When all the chips were counted the Race portion of the day came out like this:
Men’s
1st Place – Maciej Nowak – Team Polska – Pug-Scouts Den 6 Captain
2nd Place – Trevor Olson
3rd Place – Tim Norrie
4th Place – Marc Folkedahl
5th Place – Ben Shockey
Women’s
1st – Kate Shortall – Team Polska – Pug-Scouts Den 6 Admiral
2nd – Laurie – that’s right….just Laurie that got heckled by Puck & Chewy
Spinner handed out prize money (all in singles) and hatchet trophies to the winners, while the crowd enjoyed High-Life tall boys and jello shots waiting for the ‘circus’ segment of the competition or what might be the epic quest to become – ({[PWC CHAMPION!!!]})
The PWC is more than just a race. The Pugsley World Champion is crowned by a complex and silly assortment of competitions that have evolved over the years by blending fits of strength with episodes of the American Gladiators…….add fireworks to the equasion and you get……
This is where things get a little fuzzy for Uncle Gomez….
The ceremony is steeped in mystery, but I’m told there was a derby and snow pile jumping, which left just one man standing to accept this years, Pugsley World Championship Trophy…….Mr. Colin Ford! – our very own “Beaker” from Pug-Scouts, Den 6, Troop 666 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin!
So it was a Den 6 ~ Milwaukee sweep in Decorah this weekend! The PWC was the very best of crazy good times, dare I say…….it was a totally ‘stone cold groove’…..but don’t take my word for it…….join the Pug-Scouts of America………..and then mark it on your calander for next year and come a see for yourself!
Nice round up! Fun day. Please come back to play another time if your den leader allows it. Hasta Los Huevos!
Looks like a helluva lot of fun!!!! Stone cold groves, awesome!
Hey we did not heckle. It was creative encouragement. Or as Puck put it “bad cop/bad cop. I think we are teaching a class in it next semester at Luther.
My favorite part of the heckling (a.k.a “creative encouragement”) was when you two equated throwing a beer can at me with giving me a hug. All heckling aside, it was a great day!
Next year I need to show up on bigger tires,, Had fun,, look forward to the TT at the end of April
This year my goal was to finish. Next year it will be to finish with a working bike and not miss most of the festivities. See you all next year.
Somehow I left with only half of my earnings and a slight headache..
I will be back again, and again, and again. The trails are insanely epic, teeth gritting and scary at some points…thanks to the peeps who made it happen.
Be sure to post when other events you will be hosting ! The trails are a Midwest Must Visit and plan to spend the night because as Gomez said the hospitality can leave you confused and face down.
Nice work Troop 666!