Ep. 214 ~ Daniel "Dirty Dan" Connell, Pacific Coast FKT

Daniel Connell, aka "Dirty Dan" is fresh off setting a new FKT on the Pacific Coast route from Alaska to the Mexican border. Dan ripped down the coast on his new, yet-to-be-released Trek Domane, setting a new time to beat: 6 days, 15 hours, 53 minutes. What some people may not know is that Dan is also preparing for a Guinness Book of World Records attempt on the Pan-American Route from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina this July. He initially approached the Pacific Coast ride as part of his training for Pan-Am, but it became much more than a tune-up. For Dan, this was a stand-alone achievement and a deeply personal accomplishment. It also gave him the perfect opportunity to test the bike, setup, systems, and mindset he plans to carry into July. By the numbers, and by his own account, it was a clean run — the kind of ride that should send him into the next big challenge with a whole lot of confidence. One thing that really stands out, besides the overall time, is his daily mileage: Day 1 — 280 mi / 11,738 ft / 16h 55m Day 2 — 212 mi / 10,019 ft / 14h 27m Day 3 — 240 mi / 12,423 ft / 16h 57m Day 4 — 198 mi / 13,174 ft / 14h 6m Day 5 — 238 mi / 15,679 ft / 17h 17m Day 6 — 492 mi / 20,471 ft / 32h 24m That's remarkably consistent… until the final push, where he absolutely emptied the tank. In today's episode, we talk about that monster final effort, how the ride unfolded, what he learned from the bike and setup, and what comes next as Dirty Dan looks ahead to his Pan-American World Record attempt. EPISODE SPONSORS Old Man Mountain - Today we highlight the new OMM Manzanita Cradle. Use code OMMORDEATH at checkout for 15% off your order. If you enjoyed today's episode please consider supporting our work at Patreon.com/BikesorDeath