2019 Tour de Farce

[us56456712]

Ok, I'm opening up the 2019 Tour de Farce to all comers. It will be in the spring 2019, after snow melt. That will be the 50th anniversary and the last one. No one cares but me as I started it and everyone originally involved is dispersed, shot dead in wars, scattered to the winds, lost track of or a dead veteran from life in general. It will be in the Western Unit of the Hiawatha National Forrest. 45 miles of dirt. Using the Polar Roll and the Marji as examples, for U.P. distances, count on more. All dirt or gravel, party during and to follow. Escape routs for wimps, picnic breaks and T shirts. To get a shirt you have to be the youngest, first place, king of the hill to the top of the highest point in our three county ride or sprint champ. Men and women classes All places to be determined by Monte Carlo Diffusion Methodology or who cares, (a dice roll will win a shirt, but you can have two). Last year 3 rode and 2 finished. What a bunch of whiners, "too hard, too rough, trails that weren't trails, too much sand, too many hills, I would rather ride on the road and get run over than tackle another one of your sand hills, blah blah blah". Rally, not that hard, they were not into cross country mountain biking. All wimps welcome with many places to take a paved road back to our bucolic cabin on the lake. By the way, I'm a wimp and can only do 35 miles of this. If anyone wants to ride 35 or more miles of gravel, sand, two track and single track, let me know and we will hook you up for the last Tour de Farce.

 

[rev106]

Sounds like right up my alley, alas I live in So Cal but host several beast rides myself. I get it, I do. When people start crying I turn to them and say, "Well, go home then." Done stupid hard rides, everyone quit but me and on other person on the top of a mountain on some 1950 Olmo with steel cottered cranks, nearly getting run over by a herd of deer, bonking and having to walk out of another false decent, dreaming of candy and Gatorade the whole time. Having my fork snap off in a race and I ran to the finish covered in blood with 1/2 dollar sized holes in my hands, but I won. Miscalculating a race course I thought was 12 miles and it was 23 miles in 90+ degree valley heat no less... Wish I could go.

Cycling is the crucible of truth.

Never lay down your sword.

 

[us56456712]

Sounds like right up my alley, alas I live in So Cal but host several beast rides myself. I get it, I do. When people start crying I turn to them and say, "Well, go home then." Done stupid hard rides, everyone quit but me and on other person on the top of a mountain on some 1950 Olmo with steel cottered cranks, nearly getting run over by a herd of deer, bonking and having to walk out of another false decent, dreaming of candy and Gatorade the whole time. Having my fork snap off in a race and I ran to the finish covered in blood with 1/2 dollar sized holes in my hands, but I won. Miscalculating a race course I thought was 12 miles and it was 23 miles in 90+ degree valley heat no less... Wish I could go.

Cycling is the crucible of truth.

Never lay down your sword.

I have a lot of family in SoCal, most of them are 3rd generation from me and I have never met them. I should go visit and hook up with one of your death rides. Sounds like you use old bikes. I have bunch of klunkers. I'm planning on building another one sometime this winter using a 1930s Colson frame, Schwinn blade fork with truss rods, Schwinn clamp on cant brakes, Morrow Coaster with 10 tooth skip tooth cog, and a 17 tooth skipper chainring from an old kids sidewalk bike. The Bars are cut down rusty cruiser bars. Gooseneck will either be an old steel Schwinn one or an older funky one with the jam bolt and bar clamp as one unit. Morrow's don't work well with low gears but it can't be as bad as some I have used. I would love to ride in SoCal again. My last ride there was when I spent the summer visiting my cousins in 1970. I rode through Griffith Park every day.

 

[rev106]

I have a whole event calendar ever year. www.atomiccycles.com Whole new groups of riders made their own clubs because they could not hang with our furious pedaling. It was flattering when I found out. But yeah bikes are meant to be ridden, I love a long adventure ride on a bmx cruiser where we go in the dirt, up a hill, or through a tunnel.

 

[jamesdart]

A couple of warriors. Seriously the stuff you guys do is something else.
I don’t have the time to ride daily, or weekly so These rides are most likely
Out of my league. I have a bunch of klunker type builds, I use them when I can but it’s nothing like wht you guys do.
I’d love to take part in a coaster break challenge. When I saw the dates posted I was looking at airfare and stuff. Trying to justify it.

 

[RustyGold]

I'm trying to justify the 2000 round trip miles to drive down to the CBC each weekend for four weekends! The numbers don't look too good...but, I'm still thinking about it . I told my wife about the Tour de Farce...and she said I should 'go for it'...if I thought I had a chance of actually finishing it, I might...but, to fly out there to be schooled by someone a quarter of a century my elder? Not likely .

I'll have to keep my stupidity local again this year (still recovering from a 'mountain bike' excursion at the end of September).

Jason

 

[rev106]

Cycling is something you can do late into life, I have a couple guys that do the cbc and they beat guys in their 30's, ages are 69 and 71. I great way to sneak in more pedal time is to do a 1,2,3 rule that you don't drive for an errand that is 1,2, or 3 miles away from your house, you use the bike instead. Helps keep the cobwebs off.

 

[RustyGold]

I live in a rural area...the only thing within 3 miles that isn't someone else's house is a golf course, a pot paraphernalia shop, and a couple nurseries. I don't frequent any of those establishments . I do keep a 'shop bike' at work that I use for runs to the vending machines...and occasionally the 2am wake up ride. I figure I average a couple miles a night .

 

[Bart52]

So snow melt in the U.P., around May? I usually head up during April to visit family in Michigan (Muskegon area). Sounds like this kind of fun would be worth the extra drive.

 

[us56456712]

I have a whole event calendar ever year. www.atomiccycles.com Whole new groups of riders made their own clubs because they could not hang with our furious pedaling. It was flattering when I found out. But yeah bikes are meant to be ridden, I love a long adventure ride on a bmx cruiser where we go in the dirt, up a hill, or through a tunnel.

Check out the 906 Adventure Team HAMR (Huron Mountain Adventure Ride). My friends put this on. Self supported 225 mile gravel ride. My rides are too tame for these folks, they don't bother with anything less than 100 miles of dirt. They have ridden the Rocky Mountain Crest Race from Canada to Mexico. Their really nuts, I've tried to keep up with them but it's not possible for me. One of these riders has helped me a lot, taken me on some extreme stuff and coached me on the lines to take and has ridden at my speed to help. They also put on the 113 mile and 58 mile Marji Gesic, the hardest single day mountain bike race in the USA. It's also self supported with no aid stations and no cell service for a lot of it. It's billed as 100 miles and 50 miles but they keep adding distance each year, 60% DNF. They also claim 11,000 feet of climb in it but it has 13,000 feet. They also put on the gruesome Polar Roll, a winter fat bike race that also has more miles than advertised. I got roped into trying the 2019 fifty Mile Marji Gesic with several other 73 year old guys. This part of the race only had a 40% DNF. I didn't sign up and the registration was closed. The masters class was 50+, but they made a special class for a few of us 70 to 120. They signed me up anyway, but I had to pay the $85 registration. Nice to have friends like that. I won't finish and neither will there other 70 yo riders, but they are pumped and think they can do it,, ha, ha. Probably end out being a 50 mile hike a bike from what I've been told.

 

[us56456712]

So snow melt in the U.P., around May? I usually head up during April to visit family in Michigan (Muskegon area). Sounds like this kind of fun would be worth the extra drive.

Let me know and if I'm healthy we can schedule it for your time in Michigan. It might be only the two of us, can't seem to get people interested. I ride it no matter even if I have to do it alone. It's not technically difficult. It has about 10 miles of gravel, 25 miles of two track and 12 miles of single track. It can be less or more, depending when people want to quit and take paved escape routs back. I think it only has about 3000 feet of climb, short up and downs. It is sandy in places and best ridden after snow melt or after a rain, but ridable all the time, just harder when it it dry. I use a bike with 3 inch tires but my son in law rode it last year with 2 inch tires. The ride is in the Western Unit of the Hiawatha National Forrest, 25 miles south of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and 40 miles north of Fayette State Park. No towns in between, just woods, no cell service.

 

[rev106]

Some beast rides, love to be at that level but I have other things that will keep my pedal time to around 100 miles a week.

 

[Bart52]

Let me know and if I'm healthy we can schedule it for your time in Michigan. It might be only the two of us, can't seem to get people interested. I ride it no matter even if I have to do it alone. It's not technically difficult. It has about 10 miles of gravel, 25 miles of two track and 12 miles of single track. It can be less or more, depending when people want to quit and take paved escape routs back. I think it only has about 3000 feet of climb, short up and downs. It is sandy in places and best ridden after snow melt or after a rain, but ridable all the time, just harder when it it dry. I use a bike with 3 inch tires but my son in law rode it last year with 2 inch tires. The ride is in the Western Unit of the Hiawatha National Forrest, 25 miles south of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and 40 miles north of Fayette State Park. No towns in between, just woods, no cell service.

Cool. I'll drop you a line when it gets closer, and I have more definite plans.

What are you riding with 3" tires?

 

[us56456712]

Cool. I'll drop you a line when it gets closer, and I have more definite plans.

What are you riding with 3" tires?

Home built 26+ with carbon frame, very lite.

 

[Bart52]

Home built 26+ with carbon frame, very lite.

Sounds like you're going to have to wait for me.

 

[us56456712]

Sounds like you're going to have to wait for me.

Nah, I'm 73, I need light weight, I'll slow you down. Not a problem keeping up with me.

 

[Bart52]

Nah, I'm 73, I need light weight, I'll slow you down. Not a problem keeping up with me.

So you're saying I shouldn't ride this:

 

[us56456712]

So you're saying I shouldn't ride this: View attachment 87721

That won't cut it, you need some kind of mountain bike, 1985 to present should do. Suspension is easier on the arms/hands though.

 

[Bart52]

That won't cut it, you need some kind of mountain bike, 1985 to present should do. Suspension is easier on the arms/hands though.

I have a Surly Orge that I use for off road touring; no suspension. I'll be slow, but I'll finish.

 

[us56456712]

I have a Surly Orge that I use for off road touring; no suspension. I'll be slow, but I'll finish.

That will be perfect, my bike has no suspension. The trail is pretty smooth except for a few areas of roots and even less of big gravel. You don't need suspension, it's really a gravel grinder except for the 12 miles of easy single track on Bruno's Run. Thirty years ago I rode Burno's Run with a 3 speed with 26 x 1 3/8 tires and it is easier now as all the hard hills have been contoured around and it now has areas with a lot of flow. One fairly big climb and that's it.