#funsploration

Joe (@cobrabrames) and I went up to Vermont for the wicked hard and stupid fun IRR 5.0. Here are some snaps, more on flickr.

never had such an awesome mutual funsploration experience with so many people!

it's really happening! this Sunday starting from the Highland Forest lower lot in Fabius, NY, 7:30 am. ~40 or ~60 miles, ~4.5k or ~7.5k of climbing (i think). looks like we'll have pretty dang good weather. here's what you need to know:

human stuff:

we leave at 8 am. plan to show up no later than 7:30 am. i'm estimating that the full route will take an average cyclist (sustained average pace of ~10mph) about 6 hours, plus add time for dallying, socializing, eating, photos, and getting lost/un-lost.

there are no commercial food or beverage re-supply points on the route. there will be water at the control (mile 24.7), and your personally supplied pre-packed lunchbox or cooler will be transported to this location. once again, there are no other re-supply points. pack what you will need and have storage available on your person/bike.

as per item no. 2, pack yourself a lunch, snacks, a bunch of ultra sports goo™, or whatever you will need for the second half of the ride. it will be collected at the start, transported to the control, and returned to you at the finish.

there is a restroom in the lodge at Highland Forest and at the control; other 'nature breaks' will have to be done in nature. plan accordingly and know that burial of refuse (i believe this includes feces & toilet paper) is prohibited in New York State Forests, in which we will be spending significant time. leave no trace, basically.

ride stuff:

reiterating that the ride LEAVES AT 8 AM.

there will be a sign-in sheet. all we ask is your name, phone number and an emergency contact phone number. all record of this 'event' and any information collected will be destroyed immediately following the ride.

YOU ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY. however, like a decent human being, i (Doug) will help if i can.

there will be a 'long' 60 mile route with LOTS of climbing (more than RideWithGPS states), and a 'short' 40 mile route with a still very significant amount of climbing. cue sheets will be available for both, but the routes overlap almost the whole way to the control. if you are on the 'short' route and finish before everyone else, or are just fast, please make sure to call or SMS with your name one of the designated persons (i.e. Doug or Pilar) whose contact info will be on the cue sheet.

as with Brian H.'s mixed-terrain rides, i plan on the group sticking together as much as possible. this makes everything much simpler as opposed to having people strung out all over a big swath of rural NY. the somewhat remote location of this route and irregularity of cell phone signals within make it especially important that you let someone know (i.e. Doug) if you bail*, if you climb/ride faster than others and don't want to wait at the hill tops, please just let me (Doug) know that you will be moving along. good luck.

*convenient bail points (i.e. paved road crossings in the valleys) are marked on the cue sheets. if you bail, let someone (i.e. Doug) know and you are responsible for navigating yourself back to the start.

Pilar in her infinite grace (<3) has volunteered to sag. if you have a non-emergency event that precludes you from getting back to the start under your own power, let someone in the group (i.e. Doug) know, contact Pilar (phone number on cue sheet) and she will transport you and your bicycle back to the start. once again, THIS DOES NOT ABSOLVE YOU OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY TO LET OTHERS KNOW YOUR SITUATION. just trying to make this fun, not crazy.

the route includes a few right-of-ways over private land. they may not be marked as such, but please be respectful to both people and land at all times. stay within the boundaries of the road or trail and treat it like the esteemed privilege that it is that we can cross it. (in general, if a 'PRIVATE' or 'NO TRESPASSING' sign is facing the direction of traffic on a road, do not continue. if the sign is oriented parallel to the direction of traffic on a road, it is probably okay to continue but stay on the road. use your judgement).

bike stuff:

no road racing bikes. or rather, if you bring a road racing bike, you're gonna have a bad time.

the ideal bike will be your yolobike. it's a road-ish bike that you ride trails on. or it's a mountain bike that you ride roads on. it's the bike you are comfortable riding all day on any surface over almost any terrain. for most people, this is a cyclocross or touring bike.

my memory tells me that the pavement/dirt ratio is about 1:1. consider a true 32mm cross tires the minimum for knobbies, 38mm/1.5in tires the minimum for slicks or touring tires. obviously these are generalizations, but you would do well to heed them.

all of the above is because there a few sections, most of them downhill, of what i would call double-track mountain biking. essentially, they're severely eroded truck trails or forest roads with loose boulders, water bars, etc. imagine riding downhill in a stream bed. definitely cross-bikeable, just bring your A-game with regard to bike handling. butts back! drops not tops!

as per the food/water comments above, bring storage options. framepacks, seat bags, handlebar bags, secure panniers, backpacks, lumbar packs; whatever you will need for an 8-10 hour ride, it's a good idea to bring.

bring stuff to fix your bike, including flats. just get in the habit of doing this all the time. it will make the world a slightly better place.

post-ride:

if you get back to the start and depart before seeing Doug or Pilar, please get in touch with one/both of us to let us know you made it alright.

there will be adult beverages generously provided by Mello Velo Cycling Club sponsor Middle Ages Brewery. this should go without saying, but consume responsibly and discretely.

there might be small consolation/promotional prizes for finishers. all i know is that it will be rad and keep your beers colder longer :-)

if anyone's up for it, and it's still open, i'll probably want to get a sandwich from Anna's Country General Store in Fabius.