Gravel Century, Sunday, October 14, 2012

A forecast for potentially severe weather has canceled the North O! Rock Road Jackrabbit Hundy 100 mile gravel race that was scheduled for Saturday, October 13, 2012.

However, the weather for Sunday is looking splendid!  If you still want to ride, come out Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 8:00 am for a casual, non-competitive 100 mile ride through some of the beautiful hilly and rocky roads in Washington and Burt Counties.  The start and end point is at Bennington Lake near 168th and Pawnee Road [ map ].

Note that this ride isn't organized by or connected with the fine folks who have organized this annual race event in the past.  We'd simply be using their cue sheets and riding the same course.

There's no need to register or RSVP.  Just show up.  However, it's fun to know who's coming, so feel free to discuss in the comment space below. You may email scottredd@yahoo.com for more information.

Also, note these very important details:

• Nobody is in charge or leading the ride
• You are 100% responsible for you
• Have a bail-out plan
• There are no aid stations or vehicles
• There are little or no opportunities for food and water along the way, so bring what you need
• These are public roads, open to any and all traffic. Ride lawfully, as you would anywhere else
• The course is not marked, so bring cue sheets, GPS, compass, or whatever you need to find your way
• You can race if you want, but nobody is looking.  Use Strava if you want a virtual race along this course.

Course: 

The course is 105 miles and consists mostly of gravel roads.  The course has a few miles of Minimum Maintenance Roads which may be muddy after Saturday's rain.  Many of the roads are in a grid system, so it's pretty easy to modify your ride to avoid mud, or cut the ride short if you desire.

• GPS: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1794275
• Printable map
• Cue sheets:

The GPS route is not guaranteed to be accurate, but it's what I am using.  You can download the GPX or TCX file from the RideWithGPS web site and load it into your Garmin, cycling smartphone app, or whatever.  The cue cards and map are from the official Jackrabbit route last year.

Parking:

You may park on the north side of Bennington Lake in designated areas.  Note that this area is private property with some public use granted, so please respect  the area accordingly.  There are no restroom facilities, and there are no trash cans, so pack-in/pack-out.

Special Thanks:


Thanks to Dave Tyler for organizing this race in years past.  We hope to be able to ride the real race with you next year.