AntiEpic Gravel Grinder

Sponsor:  Ben Welnak

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Date:  Saturday, April 6, 2013 6:30 am  (Both the date and time are subject to change) .

Where:  Greenland Open Space parking lot start and finish.  It is located just off  I-25, 25 miles north of Colorado Springs at Exit 167.  Here is a link to the open space website:  http://www.douglas.co.us/openspace/Greenland_Open_Space_Trail.html
The open hours posted are 1 hour before sunrise and 1 hour after sunset.  However, I just got off the phone with the Douglas County park ranger and they verified that it is ok to park there during closed hours if you are not using the trail.

This is NOT normal Colorado riding.  If you are thinking that it’s climbing and descending mountains, you’d be way off.  It’s more of eastern Colorado plains meets great views of mountain peaks.  It is very rural.

I think that it will be a good location.
It is not far for many riders:
-  about 350 miles from central Kansas
-  25 miles from Colorado Springs
-  35 miles from Denver
-  about 400 miles from Albuquerque, NM
-  about 100 miles from Ft. Collins

Course:  Right now we have it set up to be 150 miles, with only 4-5 miles at most of pavement.  The course is a lot of pretty well packed gravel.  Obviously, conditions will dictate the firmness of the gravel.  It’ll be a thin mountain bike tire or fat cross tire that will do the trick.  If you are a monstercross type guy or girl, you’ll be fine.  There is one stretch that is about 4-5 miles that I’ve termed a “B” road (see picture below).  It’s basically a ranch access road that is more of a dirt doubletrack than road.  It can be muddy and will eliminate any ability for roadies to run a regular cross tire.Here is a link to the proposed route:   http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/63155786/

There are very little food/water refill points.  The first is in Elbert, which is VERY small, and only about 20 miles in.  Probably doubtful that it’s open at 7:30am on a Saturday.  The other is at the half way point.  This one is a decent gas station, so you should be good.   There are some houses along the route you could probably ask too.  Bring a lot of food and water.

You will probably not have much cell phone coverage, so prepare accordingly.

Bring lights, I’m pretty sure you’re going to need them.  I would recommend front and rear – there isn’t much traffic, but there is some and I’d like everyone to be seen and get back.  Plus, you can then use both lights as distress signals when the vultures start circling and the search and rescue comes looking.

There are no fees, no prizes, but all attempts will be made to record your finish time in comparison to others (please cooperate here!). In addition your mileage will need to be kept and reported by you as a way to make sure you followed the route as much as resonably possible. The goal is to finish this challenge and you set your own pace. A start time and route is provided here and it is up to the participant to understand the route and also have full responsibility for their navigation and well being. This is not a group ride, although some people might do this ride with friends or even other riders they meet at the start, along the route, or at the casino the night before.

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