Way to go everybody

Congratulations on an unbelievable ride! I'm not sure if you realize just how many people we're supporting you from the forum. I couldn't tell you the view count at the beginning of the day but from early afternoon until this morning the string had over 300-400 views!
I'd love to know if the mod's can see exact count from Saturday alone.
There were a lot of people vicariously riding along with you... Either that or me and couple other people viewed the thread over 100 times each.

Either way I sense the beginning of an annual tradition brewing, & maybe a fundraiser.

Anyway, we're ridding RRT this morning if you want to join us, you know, for something different?

Seriously, congrats

Congrats ems you are a machine girl! Awesome accomplishment...sorry about the snafu with the trail status!

Very impressive! And +1 on the fundraiser idea.

Solar wrote on 09/21/14 at 11:23am:


Yeah someone else pointed out the views to me too. It is very cool and really all the support I got was the coolest part of the whole day. It was really heartwarming to see how many people got behind this idea that initially was just a thought that popped into my head and then gathered steam from there. 

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I normally love climbing....but it's possible I might cry if I had to climb No Name right about now. 

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Thanks and no worries at all. I appreciate you updating me on the status the day before so I could plan ahead.


So a little recap of the day probably in a weird random order since that's how my mind works:

I got up at 4am and left my house at 5:30am. I met several other hardy souls at the entrance to the park and the first ride started at Francis Beatty about 6:20am as soon as the gate guy arrived to open it and let us in. Initially it was myself, Tom, Greg, Tyler, Kevin and Ethan. We saw Kevin for a little while at the start of the ride but he quickly "went on ahead" and well legend has it that he finished riding all the trails in like 4 1/2 hours or something. 

This was a day of mechanicals galore. 

I started it all off with a nice rear flat less than half way through the very first trail. Lucky for me, I had like 4 very helpful guys along for the ride that took proper care of it just like that while I stood there holding stuff. 

Next up was a broken pedal at Renni which meant one person was walking out. 

Then next up also at Renni was a...well pretty much the strangest mechanical I have ever seen. Hard to describe unless you were there to see it. Let's just say that Awesome Straps are awesome right up until they are not and then things go very badly, very quickly in epic fashion. And you might end up riding a single speed for the rest of the day.   

Then off to SWDP which was in great shape and we escaped with no mechanicals!

Then onward to the whole BYT/Park RD/ Marion Diehl compound. No mechanicals here either which was great but man that complex of trails will test your mental concentration. I once again underestimated how much effort it takes to do all of it more from a mental standpoint than anything else. We all escaped uninjured though besides one bruised rib which was minor.

Then off to Sherman for a little recovery which was sorely needed at that point. We started off great but low and behold yet another mechanical struck at the very end of the Lake Loop with a crank that was attached to a shoe but no longer attached to the bike. We tried fixing it trail side and everything seemed cool but not so. It came off again which meant yet another person was walking out. Thankfully he brought a second bike as back up so once he got back to the car he was good to go.

Then off to Lake Norman. With all the mechanicals and whatnot we were off schedule at this point. We tried boogieing as hard as we could to try to fit in all the trails there but night was falling fast. It hurt to push hard at that point, but push we did and got in as much as possible. We arrived at the Hawks/Monbo trails at 7:20pm and debated on what to do. The permanant sign said trail closes at 7:30 meaning we didn't have time to fit those two in. There was a paper sign that said trail closes at 8:30 which meant we would have had time to do them but in the end I didn't want to risk a ticket and some pissed off rangers so I made the call to cut out. We ended with 20 miles there roughly. I would have to liked to fit in all 30 but such is life when you are on an adventure. 

Now it is night and we head off to Signal Hill which I have never ridden before. About 60-70 miles into a ride...it's night...I'm riding a technical trail I have never been on before...what could go wrong right? Anyways the trail actually ends up being really fun and nothing bad happened. No crashes and no mechanicals. 

Then off to Fisher. About 1/2 mile into the trail I suddenly become aware that I have vastly underestimated my caloric needs for the day when I become very lightheaded and dizzy. Navigating fairly techy singletrack at night when tired and feeling like you are about to pass out is a little unnerving so I slow way down and 2 gels later I start feeling much better. Once we get back to the car several helpful souls offer me real food and I am soon good to go again. Amazing what some real food will do for you. We skip the very techy black sections on Fisher because it just didn't seem wise to try them at this juncture. Not that any of this was "wise" but well you know what I mean. 

Then off to our final destination North Meck! I am feeling good again, everyone is jazzed to be within sight of our goal so it's an all around good time. It's a fast flowy easier trail and it was a great way to end the day. End time was 12:40am. 

Things I learned....

Bring food. Lots of it.
There comes a point when chamois butter doesn't help. At all.
It's good to know where the trails are. If you are following people who know where the trails are and you get separated by traffic lights, other cars etc. chaos then ensues. Uturns, cars pulled off on the side of the road, honking of horns, confused looks....
It is also good for people to know which lot you are going to at the trails that have multiple parking lots.
Plan for any kind of mechanical issue you can think of. And the ones you would never think of. If you can afford to bring a bike mechanic with you that would be ideal. 

When all said and done we got in 80 miles with no major injuries and everyone smiling at the end. It was a great day.

Congrats!! Sounds like quite a ride, maybe one of these days I'll be as good as you and just a beast at riding!!! 

Thanks for the adventure Emily.  That was a great ride.  We had a strong group and I don't think I would have been able to keep going after BYT except group motivation.  We had quite a few curve balls thrown our way, but all in all we did a pretty good job.  Bike mechanicals, traffic jams, and parking logistics.  You live you learn.   For instance, next time I will make sure I properly secure my Awesome strap so the tube does not fall out, catch the chain on the way down, get pushed through the derailer spinning it 180 the wrong direction.  My own fault for which my penance are a new derailer, hanger, and the rest of the day on the SS.  Could not have done it with a better group though.  Good ride  everybody...really

Simply amazing!!!  

Bravo! Nice work guys. Was nice to live vicariously through you guys during your epic journey.