Joined
·
18,072 Posts
It's still 8 months away, but in the interest of getting more people informed and prepared, here's the 411.
This is, mile for mile, the most challenging time trial I've ever done. It took me three tries to finish it. The first time I had mechanical failures that forced me to quit. The second time I overestimated my ability to deal with brutal conditions, and ended up a shivering lump beside the trail. Shortly after, I bailed and hitchhiked home. The third time I finished. Barely.
In today's ultra-racing environment, where a 'hard race' requires you to complete multiple loops of the same flagged and sanitized course, The Grand Loop stands out as another animal entirely. One 360-mile loop. One chance to resupply on-course. Lots of climbing. Lots of trail. Very, very few people. No one knows where you are for the duration of the race. No cell phone service. No sag wagons. You're on your own.
If, after reading this far, you're wondering if this event is for you, it is most definitely NOT.
There aren't many people who've completed this event, mostly because it's very difficult to plan for in a self-supported mode. Until some mega-bucks promoter comes along and tries to put in aid stations, that's unlikely to change. The route is @ 360 miles, with 1 tiny store (Bedrock) on the route, and 1 small community (Nucla) a few miles off-route. In 2001 Gary Dye set the course record at 3 days, 3 hours, and 3 minutes. In 2003 I bettered that record by a scant 26 minutes. Gary has promised to return to reclaim the record this year.
The GL starts from the Tabeguache Trailhead (on the Monument Road just west of GJ), Friday, June 2nd, at 6pm. We do an untimed (all together, spinning easily) 20-mile prologue on pavement out to the Mary's Trailhead at Loma, where we regroup briefly before taking off on the 'official' start, heading west towards Moab. We then ride west on the Kokopelli Trail towards Moab.
About 120 miles from the start, we intersect the Paradox Trail, high up in the La Sals, and turn southeast onto it. We ride that trail through the LaSals, down into the Paradox Valley, and then up onto the Uncompahgre Plateau, topping out at 10,000'.
There we intersect the Tabeguache Trail, which we ride back N to GJ. Total distance on trail is 340 miles, plus the 20 miles of pavement at the start.
A wild guess at the breakdown would be:
30 miles paved (including the 20 mile prologue at the start)
50 miles singletrack
100 miles dirt/gravel road
100 miles doubletrack
80 miles "other": slickrock, sand, chip seal (maybe, maybe not), bushwhacking, or some weird combo of all the above.
The evening start happens for two reasons:
1) We'll get the "hot stinkin' desert" stretch done with before sunrise on Saturday.
2) We'll be more likely to make it to the Bedrock Store (@165 miles into the race, and the only resupply on the route) before they close for the night at 6pm.
'02 was about the worst year one could ask for, as far as the conditions. Check it out here: http://www.zipp.com/athletes/adventures/greatexpectations.shtml
The year before (when Gary set the record) is chronicled here: http://mtbike.mountainzone.com/2001/story/html/grandloop_index.html
I carry BLM and USFS maps for this race. All can be purchased locally. Anyone that's coming into town to race, I'll be happy to have copies (of the exact maps I carry) here waiting for you.
Some helpful links:
http://www.co.blm.gov/
http://www.ut.blm.gov
http://www.desertusa.com/placestogo/du_utah.html
http://www.moab-utah.com/
http://www.trails.com/explore/tcatalog_trail.asp?TrailID=MGS045-038
http://www.recreation.gov/detail.cfm?ID=(1254)
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=81503
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=moab,+ut
I dug these out last year--some may be outdated.
A few pics of the route below.
Hope that helps. Don't hesitate if you have questions.
MC
This is, mile for mile, the most challenging time trial I've ever done. It took me three tries to finish it. The first time I had mechanical failures that forced me to quit. The second time I overestimated my ability to deal with brutal conditions, and ended up a shivering lump beside the trail. Shortly after, I bailed and hitchhiked home. The third time I finished. Barely.
In today's ultra-racing environment, where a 'hard race' requires you to complete multiple loops of the same flagged and sanitized course, The Grand Loop stands out as another animal entirely. One 360-mile loop. One chance to resupply on-course. Lots of climbing. Lots of trail. Very, very few people. No one knows where you are for the duration of the race. No cell phone service. No sag wagons. You're on your own.
If, after reading this far, you're wondering if this event is for you, it is most definitely NOT.
There aren't many people who've completed this event, mostly because it's very difficult to plan for in a self-supported mode. Until some mega-bucks promoter comes along and tries to put in aid stations, that's unlikely to change. The route is @ 360 miles, with 1 tiny store (Bedrock) on the route, and 1 small community (Nucla) a few miles off-route. In 2001 Gary Dye set the course record at 3 days, 3 hours, and 3 minutes. In 2003 I bettered that record by a scant 26 minutes. Gary has promised to return to reclaim the record this year.
The GL starts from the Tabeguache Trailhead (on the Monument Road just west of GJ), Friday, June 2nd, at 6pm. We do an untimed (all together, spinning easily) 20-mile prologue on pavement out to the Mary's Trailhead at Loma, where we regroup briefly before taking off on the 'official' start, heading west towards Moab. We then ride west on the Kokopelli Trail towards Moab.
About 120 miles from the start, we intersect the Paradox Trail, high up in the La Sals, and turn southeast onto it. We ride that trail through the LaSals, down into the Paradox Valley, and then up onto the Uncompahgre Plateau, topping out at 10,000'.
There we intersect the Tabeguache Trail, which we ride back N to GJ. Total distance on trail is 340 miles, plus the 20 miles of pavement at the start.
A wild guess at the breakdown would be:
30 miles paved (including the 20 mile prologue at the start)
50 miles singletrack
100 miles dirt/gravel road
100 miles doubletrack
80 miles "other": slickrock, sand, chip seal (maybe, maybe not), bushwhacking, or some weird combo of all the above.
The evening start happens for two reasons:
1) We'll get the "hot stinkin' desert" stretch done with before sunrise on Saturday.
2) We'll be more likely to make it to the Bedrock Store (@165 miles into the race, and the only resupply on the route) before they close for the night at 6pm.
'02 was about the worst year one could ask for, as far as the conditions. Check it out here: http://www.zipp.com/athletes/adventures/greatexpectations.shtml
The year before (when Gary set the record) is chronicled here: http://mtbike.mountainzone.com/2001/story/html/grandloop_index.html
I carry BLM and USFS maps for this race. All can be purchased locally. Anyone that's coming into town to race, I'll be happy to have copies (of the exact maps I carry) here waiting for you.
Some helpful links:
http://www.co.blm.gov/
http://www.ut.blm.gov
http://www.desertusa.com/placestogo/du_utah.html
http://www.moab-utah.com/
http://www.trails.com/explore/tcatalog_trail.asp?TrailID=MGS045-038
http://www.recreation.gov/detail.cfm?ID=(1254)
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=81503
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=moab,+ut
I dug these out last year--some may be outdated.
A few pics of the route below.
Hope that helps. Don't hesitate if you have questions.
MC
