2012 Ride of the Damned

Design: Greg Cosgrove

This year's Ride of the Damned will fall on Sunday, May 13th, and is shaping up to be the best yet. Apologies for conflicting with Mother's Day, it couldn't be helped. I hope everyone finds a way to make it work. Once again, this is a not-for-profit event, and all proceeds will go to the Ottawa chapter of Bicycles for Humanity. 


REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. 


There will be no on-site registration.


Registration covers your food at the Low checkpoint, BBQ meal after the ride, and qualifies you for draw prizes. Additional tickets can be purchased on the site for guests, but we can only ensure there will be enough food for guests if you pre-purchase meal tickets in advance. Prizes will be drawn at the BBQ. BBQ tickets cover a grilled item, a drink and misc. salads and things. It looks like 15 teams will roll, our biggest field yet!

We've got over 20 riders registered for the Strava Dirt Monster Challenge! Strava is a free app that lets you track your rides and compare them to others. We're challenging riders to compete for Strava prizes based on the segments of the RotD route we create. The segment selections are complete, all unpaved, for a cumulative time competition. Riders who have registered for the Challenge will use their iPhone, Android phone, Garmin, or any other GPS device to record their ride, then upload it to Strava Sunday night. Results will be posted on Monday. Each male and female winner will be awarded a one-year Premium Strava membership and a Strava cell phone/stuff 'jersey bin'. The Strava sectors are as follows:


1) Chamonix @ 20.0k 
2) Newcommon @ 47.5k

3) Paughan @ 59.3k

4) Cross Loop @ right after the covered bridge

All these climbs are short, the longest being 0.5km. 

The 130k route covers paved and dirt roads north of Gatineau, passing through Cantley, Montes Cascades, Low, Wakefield, and Old Chelsea.

The 130k route begins and ends at
Lac Leamy. Check-in runs from 07:30-08:00. Departure will be at 08:15.

We have about 20 riders taking on a shorter route, running from Wakefield. The start point will be Ski Vorlage. While only 66k, this route captures all the most challenging sections of the longer route, so don't get the impression the ride will be easy. Riders will all have to be self-sufficient and prepared to deal with flats, etc, like all the regular route riders. Check-in will run from 08:30 - 08:50, departure at 09:00. This ought to set up riders to arrive at the Low checkpoint right around the same time as the first long-route team. Riders will work from the regular route cue sheets, so a bit of math on the fly will be required. 


All riders must check in at the Low checkpoint. 


I'm pleased to welcome Pipolinka Bakery, in Wakefield, as an official sponsor of this year's Ride. All registered riders have to do is mention the event on Sunday, and they will each receive a complimentary cookie (including vegan options)! That'll go nicely with a coffee! The folks at the bakery will have a tonne of other great food options covering most dietary requirements, so take your time and enjoy!

Due to the generous support of a slew of sponsors, we'll once again be able to hand out a bunch of great prizes on Sunday. Brooks England, Norco, Cycles Lambert, Outdoor Gear Canada/Giro, and Shimano are all kicking in product for us to give away. Upon returning to Lac Leamy, each rider will draw for a prize; instant gratification! 

Please feel free to refer back to posts from pervious years and our flickr site (on the right link bar) to get a sense of the background etc. 


Here's Kris Westwood's video of the 2011 edition of the RotD; 135k in 3:25