Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational: News And Cues

The Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational  is set to go for Saturday July 14th, 2012, which is a little over a week from today. Here are the bullet points for the event...

• This is a free event which anyone that wants to ride, can ride.
• This will be 90% gravel roads, is self supported, and is a no drop ride. 
• This ride will be just shy of 120 miles in length. It will be very difficult!
• The ride starts at 6am in front of Bikes To You in downtown Grinnell, Iowa. 
• I figure it will take 12-14 hours depending upon stops and the group that shows up. 
• I am staying overnight in Grinnell at the Comfort Inn and Suites so I can hang out in town afterword. You are free to join in, or not. 

Okay, here are some more important fine details. First off- you will need cue sheets and they can be found on the GTDRI site. Just click on "2012 Guitar Ted Death Ride Cues" in the upper right side bar on the site and that should take you to the cues, which you can then print off on your own. Note: I will not be bringing extra cue sheets!

You may notice that I have broken down the ride into four segments. The first segment will take us a little over 30 miles in to a convenience store stop in Brooklyn, Iowa. There is a Casey's General Store there that I hope will have some suitable grub. (Note- I am not reconning this route at all. It will be more of an adventure that way.)

The next segment is slightly shorter and will bring us back to the south side of Grinnell where there is another convenience store just off I-80. This comes at about the halfway point of the GTDRI course, so if you just are not feeling it, or only want to experience a bit of the route, this will make for a great bail out point.

If you are still all in, then the next segment will be the most brutal of the entire ride. Big, steep hills will come without respite for most of the next 40 plus miles until we reach our final convenience store stop in Gilman, Iowa. This part of the course takes in some of T.I.V7's and some of T.I.V8's most soul crushing hills. I suspect there will be some stops in between just to cool off and to bring the group back together again.

Even though the final run in to Grinnell will only be about 15 miles or so, that stop in Gilman will be necessary to give us the fuel for that final push back to the start over some gently rolling hills.

Then I am going to be real hungry. Good thing Grinnell has some awesome eats right down town that should provide a good time. If anyone wants to hang out, eat, drink some beers, and remember the day's activities, I would really enjoy the company. If not- I understand. At any rate, I plan on sticking around, so give that some thought.

Since this is a free ride, and anyone that thinks they have what it takes is welcome to come and try it, I have no solid commitments to gauge attendance by. Last year we had a dirty dozen or so, and who knows who might show up this time around.

It'll be fun, and I will be riding regardless. The course will have several B Level Maintenance roads- most I have never been on, or laid eyes on. In fact, there are whole chunks of the course I have never ridden on, nor driven on before.

So- that said, if you do come, there may be snafus, re-routes, and hike-a-bikes that I can not foresee. If that bugs you, and you want a "sano" experience, don't come. Seriously.

If; however, you like adventures, riding your bicycle, and sharing experiences with like minded individuals, then this is right up your alley. I don't have any idea how the day will go, but it should be fun and produce a good story or three.

Hope to see some of you in a little over a week's time.....