2011 Ride of the Damned - May 15

UPDATED Friday, May 13
See sidebar for links to more event info.

14 Teams registered. We ride rain or shine. Please try to bring exacly change - $15 per rider. We will have cars to leave bags of dry clothes in for the day and coolers for perishable food for the BBQ. Registration covers 2 BBQ items and a drink. Additional items/items for guests will be available for a reasonable price. Bring change.

Solo riders please arrive close to 7:30 to be matched up with team-mates.

See you all Sunday!

Who: Audacious dirt loving bicycle riders
What: 5 person Raudax
When: Sunday May 15th, 2010, Registration @ 07:30-08:00, Departure @ 08:10
Where: Lac Leamy start and finish
Why: Adventure, camaraderie, life experience, tan lines
How much: $15 CAN/rider
Registration: Required by midnight, Monday, May 9th.*
Distance: 148k total
Route navigation: Via cue sheets (provided) - unmarked route, open roads
Elevation gain: Approximately 1500 meters
Stuff required: Helmet, properly functioning bike, 28-30c tires recommended, spare tubes, patches, pump, multi-tool.
Food required: Enough food and water for 72k before first stop. Next stop 26k later (Wakefield), then 50k to finish.
Food en-route: Snacks and water provided at 72k (Low) checkpoint, for purchase in Wakefield.
Food Apres: BBQ (carni and vegan) from 2pm with allotted portions provided for riders of food and drink, additionals for sale to riders and non-riders. Feel free to contribute food items, including desserts!
Fun Apres: Invite your spouses and kids for the BBQ!
Proceeds: Any and all proceeds will go to Bicycles for Humanity.
Draw Prizes from Steelwool (grand prize), Specialized and Norco!!!

*Registration: New this year, and only this year, is mandatory pre-registration. Pre-registered riders will be added to Tall Tree's club roster to ensure our liability is covered off. This simply means we need to provide a list of participants to the OCA, and these riders will be added to our club roster. This will not affect your affiliation in any other event, you simply specify your preferred club when you register for other events. This arrangement is necessary this year maintain the grassroots nature of the event, and should not be required next year. Team captains are asked/required to email their team rosters to matt@talltreecycles.ca by midnight, Monday, May 9th.


Teams: Yes, everybody must ride in a team. Teams differ from groups; team-mates go into the ride with their comrades' interests in mind, not just their own. This is what makes the RotD special. Teams are ideally 5 riders, but can range from 4-7 if necessary. 


Solo riders/teams shy of riders: Please get in touch asap so I can hook you up with others. Provide me with information about your ability level and expectations for pace (this applies to riders I don't know). Invite yer friends, and have your friends invite their friends. 


The Route: 11k Neutral start, 137k Official Route, approximately 1465m climbing. See sidebar for links to both maps. We will ride as a big group (or two if necessary) to the official start of the route, so if you use a GPS, you will only need the 137k route loaded.


Navigation: The route is NOT marked. Navigation is the responsibility of teams. We will provide two sets of cue sheets to each team, which are very simple to use. They will be available for download in electronic format early next week so riders can devise a method of mounting/carrying them in advance.  GPS units will likely make navigation easier still but it is good to learn how the cues work for those times without GPS, or GPS failures. Printing out maps to distribute is pointless; they would be too hard to read. If you have a decent map, bring it along.


Food and Water stops: 
#1 @ 61k (72 total): We will be providing water and bananas at the Gazebo in Low 61k (72 total) into the route. Many will want to take 3 bottles to cover this distance (budget for 1 bottle per hour, do the math). The Gazebo is checkpoint #1; everybody must sign in so all are accounted for. There is also a depanneur here, but there is no guarantee it will be open.


#2 @ 98k (109 total): Wakefield. Water at the spring and excellent food can be acquired from Pipolinka (washrooms and water on site). Amazing smoothies and tonics at La Foret in the same building.


BBQ: Hamburgers and dogs (both meat and veggie) will be on the grill. Registration fees cover a couple grilled items and a drink. We welcome dessert and snack contributions from all! We'll poll riders at registration to gauge food requirements for friends and family attending the BBQ.


The final stretch back to Lac Leamy will follow the bike/rec path from Mine road. I've done my best with the cues for this section, the distances are not be exact. Be vigilant, as there are not necessarily any signs to go by. Once crossed under HWY 5, we'll be retracing our route on the path from the neutral rollout back to the beech.


All riders will be required to sign in at the finish. Times will be recorded for complete teams.