Based on Fritz's description I am for Gunnison.
Here are my questions to Fritz, you will excuse me if I have gotten some things confused I just finished reading all of the posts in the two threads. Which by the way gentlemen, if no one has any objections, I would ask Schwim to to combine these two threads so that we are all on the same page.
Questions:
1. The trails around gunnison, are there, or how many of them have license or insurance requirements? Will we have to truck the bikes to the staging area's? Not a problem for me. If you have access to a large trailer I will volunteer my truck as tow vehicle and I can carry 3 other persons comfortably in my crew cab, or 5 not so comfortably but legally and safely.
2. I did a quick search and found two likely RV parks, the third was a seniors RV park maybe Ned would want to stay there LOL! Of these two parks I'm assuming that they have enough spots to accommodate us all, with reservations well in advance of course.
3. How far are the rides that you have in mind? Most folks will have stock tanks, are there fueling points along the way?
4. Since you say that you have been guiding rides there for many years, what are the permit requirements for you, and how much can we expect to have to pay for the privilege to ride on our public land?
5. What is the degree of difficulty for the various trails? When I went to the Phoenix ride each day there as an A ride and a B ride. I think that will work out really good for those of varying skill levels and conditioning.
Suggestions:
I have been on many group rides like the rest of you and I have a few suggestions to help make FR3 the best it can be. These suggestions are not intended to offend, so please don't take any of them that way. But, like a lot of you, I have been riding for a good many years, and have had my share of drama that could have easily have been prevented with just some basic preparation.
1. You are responsible for making sure the guy behind you makes the turn onto the right trail. (I have seen this basic rule get broken so many times and it totally screws things up when you all stop and someone says where's so and so, and then the ride turns into a rescue mission. not fun)
2. Come physically prepared to ride for the number of days and the mileage ( to be determined) you are going to ride. Put some effort into getting into better shape so that you will have a really great time. If you live at 1000' and A) don't ride much, B) your daily job is not physical, your are going to have a real wake up call if we go to CO and we start out at 7000 and ride to 14,000'. You are spending some big cash just on fuel to get there, might as well make it the best it can be. Besides it's a great excuse to get into better shape.
3. Come bike prepared. Don't show up needing to wrench on your bike. Make sure to the best of your ability that your bike is ready to go for the number of days that you intend on riding. If your bike is not prepared then a lot of people are going to be waiting on you to make repairs, people that put the time in to make sure their machines were ready to go. Of course, things happen, and everyone will understand, just make a good effort. If we do go to Gunnison and those high elevations you will want to jet accordingly, contact Fritz or some other mountain goat type rider and see what they are running so your bike will not only run good, but, get decent mileage. If you need help there are plenty of folks here that can.
4. Come prepared for minor failures. IMHO everyone should have a flat tire repair kit, consisting of an extra tube, a few patches, tire irons, and a way to inflate said tube. Moose racing makes a great fender bag that holds all of this stuff. Have some of that epoxy putty on you, it is fully set in 20 minutes and will easily fix a hole in your clutch cover, and doesn't weigh much or take up too much space. Of course, have all the tools on you that you need to work on your bike on the trail. Other various items "I" think you should have in your fanny pack, extra spark plug, ty wraps, electrical tape, bailing wire, radiator hose splices and clamps, a couple of common extra nuts and bolts, spare master link, tow rope of sufficient length, extra fuel line.
5. Come prepared to survive. I always carry a space blanket, fire starter, chem light, small flashlight, small first aid kit, 50' of parachute cord, and if riding in some place like the Rocky mountains a rain proof jacket of some kind, even a large contractors trash bag will seem like heaven if you are caught out. And of course plenty of water, and a few extra power bars. I know to some this might sound like over kill, but, in my years of riding I have had to use all of this stuff at one time or another and it was a real blessing to have it, saved someones life once. When I go riding in the back country I always go prepared to stay the night if I have to. At the very worst if you get injured and are "out there", it's going to be a while before SAR can come and get you, so you better have the stuff on you to make your stay as "pleasant" as possible, and being prepared might just save your life.
One last thing, in light of the fact that there is still snow about even at this time of year, I would think that a late August or early September date would be best.
I'm looking forward to meeting many of you in person, and re connecting with some of the folks I have met before.
Dale
