Sweet!  I'm in.

I'm in.

Douglas it is hard to say if tickets will be available. I'll do a posting of the number remaining as we get closer to the date. We wil cose registration on Oct 3rd in order to have the right amout of food and beverage.

We have the Large Group Camp. Limited to 12 vehicle and 50 people. THere is overflow parking available.
I'll head there this weekend and scout it out some more and post some pictures.

Would love to do this... and the knee is getting to the point where I could probably ride most of it.

Unfortunately, have to miss it though.... we have friends from AZ meeting us in Greer for the Albino Skunk music fest.

Hope you guys (and gals) have a great time!

I want to go but I have a number of newbie questions.

I ride about 30 miles a week over 4 ~1 hr rides.  I try not to ride 3 days in a row, but have and have done a few longer rides, 2-2.5 hrs at Lake Norman and Harbison.  For riding, gear, I'm more on the minimalist side and until yesterday, never bothered with wearing padded shorts.   

For this trip, I assume I should get a hydration pack (thinking of the Osprey Viper 9) and wear padded shorts.  Anything else?

Still, I'm concerned about my ability to ride a whole day Saturday and some on Sunday and possibly Friday.  I know I can stay at camp if not up for ride, but wanted to know what to expect from others first experience with such a trip.

Finally, I understand we'll be sleeping at a camp.  I don't have any gear for that but can get a sleeping bag.  Do we share tents?  Anything else I need?   

Thanks.

Good advice above but just to add, don't feel like this is 3 whole days of hard core riding. This is very social and you can ride as much or as little as you want. Friday is usually just a short ride before camping and socializing. A lot of people don't arrive till late Friday and so don't ride at all that evening. Sat is the more full day but again there will be different groups so you could can head out with whatever group is doing whatever mileage you are comfortable with. Then Sun some people might not ride at all and some might ride shorter and then head home. And some might ride another full day. So there are lots of options. There are also ways to short cut out and head back to camp if you have had enough.   

Osprey packs are great. I have the Raven 14 (it's the women's version) and it's great. But I also have two Camelbak ones that I have had for many years now and they have withstood lots of abuse so take a look at them also.

Padded shorts to me are essential and I really can't ride long at all without them. But to each his/her own. I would echo to not skimp on them. You don't have to buy top of the line but don't go cheap either. I tried the cheap ones and all of them have ended up at the Goodwill or in the trash sooner or later. Find a brand that you like. They are all different. Equally important and really for me even more important is the saddle. It took me awhile to find a saddle that I like and now it's on all my bikes. All the brands are different so you just have to go through a lot of them to find what works for you. I like Terry but they are women's specific.

Also something to think about is gloves. On longer rides your hands will get tired and gloves help with that.

You will likely need a sleeping pad. I have an extra one if you need it. Its not the greatest but it would be ok if no one offers you a better one. This is "car camping" meaning you will be very near your car so you can also just bring whatever bedding makes you happy. Headlamps are really nice to have for walking around camp after dark and getting into your tent or reading etc. I have an extra one of those also.

Otherwise just bring whatever snacks and drinks you like. Your main meals are included. Multiple people will have coolers so you can pretty much always find space somewhere to keep your stuff cold.

That's about all I can think of right now.

When I was a kid, I had a cheap dome tent that I got at a store called Dunham. It cost me like twenty bucks. Good to check out if you can handle camping. Most MTB destinations have a campground or one nearby. If you ride Pisgah or DuPont, there isn't a whole lot of cheap lodging, so camping is almost a must if you want to be on a budget. Don't forget a cheap tarp to use as a ground cloth in case of wet conditions. I got a cheap self inflated camping pad at Cabela's. Might want to check there for your camping needs. They have semi knowledgeable sales people who can guide you to what you need. If you want to go lightweight, try REI. I myself, the older I've gotten, have decided on comfort. So I have a  Coleman easy set 6 person dome tent. I also have a queen size inflatable matress. I have light weight stuff, but it doesn't see as much use as the car camping stuff. I keep the lightweight stuff for when I decide to do that long bike packing trip.......maybe I'll do a credit card tour instead🚵🚴😜

Enoch wrote on 09/05/16 at 5:08pm:

Ha, ha😱😝

Tom F wrote on 08/17/16 at 2:04pm:


Good NEWS! Since we have the Large Group Camp we have decided to open this up to other IMBA/SORBA Chapters and Members. There is even a rumor that SORBA President Tom Sauret will be there to demonstrate his riding prowess.
The Warrior Creek, Overmountain Victory Trails, The Hollar Trail, Shiners Loop, and Dark Mountain Trails have something for everyone. 
The camp ground can accomodate plenty of MTB folks. There are even benches around the large fire pit. Always a guarantee of good mostly TRUE stories.