Details On The 2012 Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational

Hey it's Saturday! I figured this would be a good time to put down some details on my Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational for 2012.

First and foremost- it has to be made clear that this is open to anyone that wants to do a long ride on gravel in one day of at least 100 miles or more. There is no fee. No required registration, no racing, and you don't need a special invite to come. Just show up with your bike ready to grind some gravel.

I've had folks from Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Michigan drive over to come and join in this event. Several local Iowans have done it. It doesn't matter where you are from, this is always a good time, whether it's just a few of us, or many.

The ride is self-supported, so be prepared to carry your water, food, and tools/maintenance items. There is no sag, no back up, and everyone needs to make their own arrangements for bail-out, or lodging before/afterword.

Okay, so that is all out of the way- here are some specifics on this year's ride for you all to chew on.

The host city this year will be Grinnell, Iowa. I figured it might be fun for those riders that wondered about Trans Iowa to see the terrain around this city. That and there are some happening places to hang out in downtown Grinnell if folks want to hang out Saturday evening after the ride.

Time: The GTDRI will be held on Saturday, July 14th and will start pretty dang early this year. I'm thinking before the sun rises folks, because I am scheduling 120 miles of gravelly goodness and it is going to be very hilly! I'll post a final start time later, but last time we did close to this mileage on this sort of course we didn't get done until right at sunset, and I want to avoid that if at all possible this year.

That said- bring yer lights! You'll need them at the least in the morning.

Course: Like I said- it will be very hilly. The terrain in and around Grinnell is punctuated by several steep hills and zero flat terrain. I don't think it will be as brutal as the 2009-2010 versions of the GTDRI which was in Northeastern Iowa and featured a 118 mile course with 10,000 feet of climbing, but it'll be close!

We will stop for grub at about 35 miles at a well stocked convenience store. There will also be another convenience store stop at about 65 miles at the southern end of Grinnell, where you can bail out if you need to. Beyond that, there are no services where I have the route going.  We'll eventually end up back in Grinnell proper.

The course cues will be posted to the GTDRI site shortly before the event. Make sure you copy and print them before you come! That said- this is a no drop ride.

Conditions:Expect it to be hot, humid, and that you'll need plenty of water, electrolytes, and sufficient food/grub that can be stomached in such conditions. The roads should be in great shape. The chances that we will get rained on, (judging by year's past), are about 20% or so, but barring super-stormy weather, I am going on this ride.

Lodging: Grinnell has several excellent motels along HWY 146 near Interstate 80. I will be staying in the Comfort Inn and Suites myself on Friday and Saturday evening.

For more keep track of the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational site. I'll be posting tidbits there as we get closer to the date. Questions? Please post them in the comment section for this post here.