Howdy.
The Dirt Journal is the online refuge and (so-far) inconsistent journal of me, Jason Brummels. Anything shared here is my own writing, thoughts, opinions, and creativity, not those of the non-profit I serve, or of any partners, supporters, colleagues, or collaborators.
So...who am I? The Short(er) Version
A father, husband, mountain biker, cyclist, and sometimes racer; an adventurer, traveler, dog lover. I enjoy good coffee, good food, and craft beer (unless it's dry January). I work to be a fair-minded, level-headed, creative thinker with a genuine, kind, and caring personality.
Work
I dropped out of engineering school in 2001 after learning that working full-time, having a passion for cars, motorcycles, and bicycles, and finishing engineering school were an impossible combination. Working almost entirely as an entrepreneur since leaving college in my early 20s, I have created, operated, and consulted for numerous organizations and businesses across technology, marketing, retail, manufacturing, and hospitality - supporting teams into the hundreds and budgets and revenues well into the tens of millions.
I served on the Board of Directors for Trails Have Our Respect from 2015-2021, and was humbled to take on the challenge of building trails and community across the Central Midwest as THOR's first employee and Executive Director in January of 2022.
THOR is a non-profit organization that develops, builds, and maintains trails in Nebraska, Western Iowa, and Southern South Dakota. THOR is primarily focused on growing the trail and outdoor community through neighborhood-accessible trails and diverse programs that support all riders, including underserved people, communities, and women. We're also working toward creating a handful of destination-worthy mountain bike trail systems across the region.
Over the past few years, THOR has helped guide investment of over $6M in new trails and trail systems, bringing the total to nearly 125 miles in our region. You can learn more about our current work projects by visiting thortrails.org.
I am grateful for the successes along my professional journey, and over time, increasingly grateful for the patience and teaching of challenges and failures. I am fortunate to have experienced the joy of many wins and the education of some painful losses.
Overall, I am most thankful for the many amazing, talented, and generous people I have been able to work with, especially those who took a chance on my visions or projects, and those whom I let down.
Somewhere in my 40s, I stopped feeling like an imposter and started feeling more and more humbly confident in my most genuine self, my experience and instincts, and my ambition to dismantle the status quo and cultivate open and honest relationships.
My life, work, and art continue to become more intentional, more fulfilling, and more rewarding.
Not Work
Outside of my work life, I am focused on my family, friends, riding and racing mountain bikes, digging when I can break free from my desk duties, and finding a few moments to care for my house and gardens.
I am blessed with a lovely wife, Sarah, and two amazing daughters. My wife is my favorite travel and adventure partner. Sarah is professionally successful and active in the community. We ride mountain bikes together regularly and love going out to dinner, for a drive, or for coffee.
Partners, Friends, and Supporters
The list below does not include all of the amazing people and partners that help make my professional and personal adventures possible, but please consider these great brands when you shop:
A little more backstory...if you're into that sorta thing.
I grew up in northeast Nebraska with an early start on the family farm near Ewing, then split between small towns, and like many, broken homes, and ultimately, a little time in group homes and the governmental youth systems in place in the 1990s.
After graduating from high school and starting college at 17, I was lucky to find people, particularly the family that included my future wife, who offered me genuine caring and a sense of connection and helped me heal the emotional injuries of my youth.
I don't tend to share much about my childhood as I don't seek sympathy or attention for it, but I am working to be more comfortable sharing at least some of this part of my journey, as I believe it has helped frame so much of how I see the world:
I seek to genuinely care for those who are uncared for and often unseen. I work to create and connect opportunities for those with few. I aim to strategically influence and change systems of repression, limitation, and cultural, social, and financial separation and repression.
Bicycles have always been part of my life. Growing up in northeast Nebraska, we rode gravel roads, two-lane blacktop highways, and any dirt pile, curb, or makeshift jump we could concoct from concrete blocks, plywood, and any other materials we could hijack from the garage and neighborhood.
During the mid-1990s until around 1998/9, I was focused large in the cycling and mountain bike community since the early 2000s, and
If you're looking for the next great place to ride, check out trailforks.com.
