El Dorado
August 16-22, 2014
Dual Sport Singletrack Explorers Ride by gpsKevin
Ride is over now, here are some pic of the ride
Ride review (below are the comments from the riders)
Info from the original webpage and ride plan below:
Invitation Trailer
This will be a 6 day ride to explore some of the best Singletrack in Colorado. This ride is for expert riders only. The days can be long and sections can be tough. Do not sign up for this ride if you are not up to a challenge. There are parts of the ride that will be spectacular, scenic and just plain bad. Most will find these routes as awesome, some may feel defeated and view the routes as impossible. This is a dual sport ride with a mix of singletrack and dirt roads. There is some pavement as we move through some towns.
From the Forest Service
The trails are extreme in every sense of the word.
The trails can be extremely narrow, often the width of a tire. Many of the trails have extremely steep sideslopes with rocks and stumps hidden in the bushes. Hitting one of these could result in highsiding and falling down steep hillsides. It may be difficult or impossible to retrieve the bike. Riders should be realistic about their abilities, have lightweight bikes and be in good physical condition. Wear good gear, right for the weather. Even the weather can be extreme. Read up on the trails, plan a route and be realistic.
About your Bike:
You should bring a smaller bike set up for trail riding. 530s to 200s work well, often the smaller the better. The bike should have low gearing, you will almost never want to go over 50mph. The bike should have factory jetting in order to work well at elevation. The elevation range will be between 6000 and 13000 feet. The bike should be in new or good condition as the week will be demanding on the bike. Chains and Brakes are common problems, check to see if they are near new. I recommend Trials Tires (Pirelli MT43) , but Knobbies work well also. The bike should have a fuel range of 120 miles. Prep your bike well as there is little opportunity to repair your bike during the ride.
About the weather
I choose this time of the year because the weather is mostly good. But this is the Rocky Mountains so the weather can change quickly. Rain is common, it is common to get an afternoon thunder storm. Lightning is common. It can turn cold and wet at high elevation. Carry extra clothing
About Emergency Preparedness
You will be in very remote areas where help is mostly unavailable. It is up to you and your group member to deal with any emergency. Emergencies can range from accidents to breakdowns to altitude sickness to just plain lost. I recommend that you carry rain gear, extra gloves (waterproof), and extra layers of clothing.
Put some thought into what if you had to spend the night on the trail? Do you have gear to keep yourself warm and safe?
(Lighter, Tarp, Rope, first aid supplies, etc?)
"its not really an adventure until we have started a campfire"
Is this ride right for you?
This is an explorers ride. The nature of exploring is that much is unknown, so things can go wrong. The routes are unproven and sometimes don't work due to obstacles or just plain errors. The day can turn long and test your abilities and patience. You will find yourself in the mix of many rider's opinions that know how to fix the problem. You need to be able to find the fun in that. The riding can be fun, challenging, fast, slow, scenic, and hard. It is all about the riding.
Are you right for this ride?
When something goes wrong on a ride, would your riding friends say that you are more likely to need help or more likely to give help? You should be in the more likely to offer help camp. This ride is filled with riders that are more likely to give help, so most of the time the riders never need help. Additionally there is all the normal stuff, come prepared to maintain your bike, fix your bike on the trail, repair flat tires, deal with bad weather and rain and make a joke or two.
How does the ride navigation work?
This is a self-led GPS ride; all riding is on your own. You are responsible for your own riding. You will be given a GPS map file and instructions on how to use your Garmin GPS unit. People will hook up in small groups of less than 6 riders and tend to ride together. You are not encouraged to ride alone. You are responsible for your own riding and yourself. (see my ride Navigation Video)
Cost to join this ride is $650
The money covers 7 nights hotels, the final night celebration dinner, and some snacks and drinks during the ride.
It also covers GPS files, both Tracklogs, and GPS Background Maps. I will also provide a printed daily ride plan with printed daily maps, all designed specifically for our route.
If you have a group of riders that would like to join the ride, send me an email and we can discuss how that might work.
To sign up for the ride please use the following form
Ride Signup
Questions email: gpsKevin@gmail.com
FYI: Who is already signed up for the ride?
See the Table below
Just for fun, here are pictures from last years ride
***********************************************************************************************************************
OK since many of you might like to study more detail about the ride, below is a ton of info about the plan and routes.
Ride Plan Maps
I put these ride maps on the web page because I know a few of you love looking at the ride detail and dreaming about the ride. At first glance these maps do not look so impressive, but they are way cool. If you click the Earth or Satellite tab and start zooming in, you can see the ride in incredible detail. I have spent a ton of hours sorting through the details of the ride for each day, so for those of you that enjoy this sort of thing, well enjoy!
Legend:
The Red lines are Motorcycle Only legal trails (Singletrack)
The Dark Cyan lines are ATV trails
The Blue lines are dirt roads
The Green lines are a mix of easy and paved routes
FAQ's
Q; What do I do if I don't have a Garmin gps?
A: Buy one, you need it. We will show you how to use it. You can get a great one for $100 bucks. ( See gpsKevin's gps recommendations).
Q: Is the riding really on my own?
A: Yes, it is own your own, but not by yourself. Everyone hooks up and rides with a friend or a new friend and rides together. I donot encourage riding alone.
Q: Do I need a street licensed bike?
A: Yes, there are areas where a licensed bike is required. You must also have a motorcycle class drivers license.
Q: Do I need insurance?
A: Yes, you must carry proof of medical insurance and liability insurance for yourself/motorcycle.
Q: Are the trails legal to ride on a motorcycle?
A: I work hard to be sure that the trails are motorcycle approved. Many of this year's trails come directly from the forest service and their new motor vehicle use maps.
For the GPS units you provided the SD card or do we need to bring a blank one?
I will be bringing and giving out SD cards for the ride, these cards will have both my custom ride maps and the TOPO maps for the area. You all are welcome to keep this card after the ride is over. I just ask that you use the card only for your personal use and don't post or give out the files that I have created.
I don't have any Maps programs. Will I need to get something for this ride?
I make it easy for the riders, you do not need to do anything other then just bring a garmin gps. I will either give you a SD Card directly or program your gps myself using my PC. Many others do bring their PC as they like to study and play with the ride on their own system. But my goal is to make GPS easy for everyone, so you need to do nothing. A lot of the other riders have become good with gps and they are alway happy to help and give advice. You will find lots of support at the ride.
Will there be places to eat dinner each night where we are staying? Your latest update says there is but wanted to make sure since we are only bringing lunch and snack supplies.
Dinner on the first and last night is provided by me, the other nights you will need to get your own. In the middle of the week at Old Cowtown the only choice will be to eat at their restaurant. Or you could bring something and make dinner yourself. Remember the other two motels are in towns with many services. Lunches are always just on the trail so you will have to bring something yourself.
How much extra gas per bike should I bring for our stay in Cow Town? Will 5 per bike be enough?
5 gallons per bike should be plenty, it is just one fill up that will be needed after ride 3 at Cowtown. Gil came up with an interesting idea the other day. He is planning on riding ride#4 on Day 3 then at the end of the ride he will get gas in Saguache before riding the last 11 mile to Cowtown. Then on Day 4 he will do Ride#3. It think some may do this swap and other will not.
When we move to South Fork area I assume we can gas up there in the morning before the ride.? Correct
For lodging are we sharing rooms or bunkhouse style? Do we need to bring sleeping bags or bedding?
At the two motels we are all in standard rooms with 2 beds per room. At Cowtown there is a mix of different types or rooms and beds. There is even one person that will be getting a cot. But all bedding is supplied. So no need to bring your own.
What does each color represent on the Maps? Looks like green is pavement.
Red is Motorcycle Only Singletrack, Cyan is ATV trails, Blue is Dirt Roads, Green is easy ways often paved or graded dirt.
Go to: New gpsKevin Website