The Dead Dog has disappeared and reappeared on a few occasions. Changes have been made to the courses and touches of "history" have been added now and then - sometimes interesting, sometimes accurate and sometimes both. Dan Birkholz was a local cycling legend of the 1970's who became a development coach for the United States Cycling Federation (USCF) before his tragic and sudden death in a plane crash. After Dan died in that horrible plane crash in Colorado Springs, it was natural for the promoters of the event to honor one of the best riders by holding, first a stage and then the entire race, in his honor. Photo of Charles Pelkey "While Danny's talent came to the forefront in the late 70s, he really achieved legend status in the 80s due in no small part to the bike trip he took to Mexico on his fancy pants Trek 720, which was stolen on the beach on the Baja, along with all of his gear. He then bought a Hercules single-speed tank and rode it all the way back to Laramie in street clothes and a pair of huaraches on his feet. That's the way to become a legend, now isn't it?"
The Dead Dog has disappeared and reappeared on a few occasions. Changes have been made to the courses and touches of "history" have been added now and then - sometimes interesting, sometimes accurate and sometimes both. Dan Birkholz was a local cycling legend of the 1970's who became a development coach for the United States Cycling Federation (USCF) before his tragic and sudden death in a plane crash. After Dan died in that horrible plane crash in Colorado Springs, it was natural for the promoters of the event to honor one of the best riders by holding, first a stage and then the entire race, in his honor. Photo of Charles Pelkey "While Danny's talent came to the forefront in the late 70s, he really achieved legend status in the 80s due in no small part to the bike trip he took to Mexico on his fancy pants Trek 720, which was stolen on the beach on the Baja, along with all of his gear. He then bought a Hercules single-speed tank and rode it all the way back to Laramie in street clothes and a pair of huaraches on his feet. That's the way to become a legend, now isn't it?"