Dirty Chain Podcast: A Cycling Podcast

Sheldon's back!

OG co-host of the Dirty Chain rejoins the podcast to talk North Country Trail, Lord of the Springs, reminisce about the 26er Autumn Mixer, and rant a little about current cycling gear trends.

Cycling photographer and videographer, Avery Stumm, joins the podcast to talk about his progression from Michigan BMX kid to full blown professional photographer shooting at events like the Olympics, his extremely successful partnership with pro cyclist, Alexey Vermeulen, and his recent attempt at the Tour Divide.

The Crusher 2024 - one man's journey to complete 200 plus miles of "enhanced" gravel out of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Scott Richard returns to the podcast to talk about his experience of The Crusher and finishing the third neccessary race for acceptance into the 906 Triple Crown - Hall of Pain.

Photo: Rob Meendering

Michigan Coast to Coast! 200+ miles spanning across Michigan's lower peninsula, starting at Lake Huron and ending at Lake Michigan. Nick Stanko, Coast to Coast veteran, joins the podcast to talk about this year's monsoon-like conditions versus previous years, the Lumberjack/Coast to Coast double (LumberCoast), and why Trevor might finally need to accept aero bars into his cycling life.

Photo: Rob Meendering

Lumberjack 100 - the iconic 100 mile mountain bike race through the Manistee National Forest. Tristan Smith once again joins the pod to take us through his first attempt and finish.

Trevor, Mitch DeYoung, and Dustin Derrick, sit down and reflect on their Cow Pie EX experience - the 236 mile adventure ride out of Ionia Michigan.

Ozark Gravel Doom - the 400 mile bikepacking race out of Arkansas' Ozark National Forest. Ed Rogers joins the podcast to talk about his Doom experience in both 2023 and 2024 where he placed an impressive 2nd and 4th place respectively.

The Mid South 2024 - an event that never disappoints! 3T/Q+M rider Connor Kamm and now podcast regular Connor Grant join Trevor to share all about the incredible experience that is The Mid South. Welcome to gravel season!

Polar Roll 2024 - Ben Alter joins the podcast to share about his experience taking on BOTH the Polar Roll Mass Start and the Polar Roll Ultra (the unofficial Polar Roll Double).

The Michigan Gravel Race series has been a staple in the community for seven years now, so it was definitely big news late last year when series founders, Matt and Jenny Acker, announced they would be stepping aside - not ending the series, but rather passing the baton to Joe Cantwell and Jon Looman, race directors of the Cow Pie Classic and Raymond Passchier, race director of the Dirty 30. With the change in leadership, I wanted to get a chance to talk with Joe and Jon and Raymond to hear what they had in store for MGRS 2024 - what’s new, what’s staying the same. But mostly I wanted to give you, the listener, a chance to get to know these guys better, hear their story and how each of them are passionate about cycling and supporting the many opportunities and the thriving gravel community throughout the state.

Registration opens January 20th - visit www.michigangravelraceseries.com