Hosted by Shane DeMars!
Please make sure to read all rules for this. This is fully unsupported and you will need to be self-sufficient in order to complete this. The rules are located HERE.
No more than 74 people allowed for this event!
This is intended to be NON-COMMERCIAL, Recreational-Use Activities that are held on parts of USFS lands in compliance with USFS Special Use Rules and Regulations.
When: Saturday, September 22, 2012 – 6:00AM ride starts at 6:30.
What: Late Season, High Elevation Gravel Grinder, Self Supported, Ultra-Endurance, Hella-Epic.
Route: ~170-miles. Final route to be posted this summer
Start:We’ll meet in Woodland Park at Gold Hill Java .
Finish: Whenever you arrive back in town
Website: Visit Gravel Quest for ongoing updates.
Course Description: This is a big loop that packs a big punch.
- It doesn’t get much over 9000ft but it’s got over 12k feet of elevation gain
- It’s the longest COES gravel grinder at around 170 miles.
- It’s the latest in the season, which means only 12 hours of daylight (i.e. you get some bonus spooky night time riding)
- This route heads into some remote territory far from the madding crowd, but also pretty far from help or services at times.
- This is fully self-supported, but we will pass through at least two and probably three different places where you can resupply: Buffalo Creek (60mi), and Lake George (112mi) are the guaranteed two.
- If it gets to be too much there are several places where you can bail and make the route shorter.
Course Route: This route has three legs. The first two are solid, but the third is tentative till late spring when I get to check conditions. The course is made up of three legs.
- Leg 1: Woodland Park to Buffalo Creek. 60 miles. This is solid. It would take something pretty extreme to ruin this leg.
- Leg 2: Buffalo Creek to Lake George. ~52 miles. Good to go. I’ll pre-ride this early summer to confirm.
- Leg 3: Lake George to Woodland Park. This leg is 55-75 miles and under construction. I need to check on the status of a couple roads this summer.
A NOTE on equipment:
- Lights: Unless you’re Eddy Merckx you’re gonna need lights to finish this thing. I strongly advise bringing either extra batteries or long lasting batteries.
- The Ride: Road bike, not really. Mountain bike? Sure. CX bike? Probably. It’ll be a classic toss-up between comfort and weight. I’ll be riding a CX-ish bike with 35-40c tires.
- Weather: It’s going to vary.
- GPS: Strongly advised. The final route will be posted before the event so you can make up cue cards.
- Phones: Reception will be spotty at best. There will be places where I know you’ll have coverage, and places I’m sure you won’t. Bring it, but if you have an epic fail in one of the remote segments, plan to walk a bit.
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Really nice work here, Shane. this looks like a very good route!