High Cascades 100 update

So the Mount Bachelor loop remains the same with the Kwolh butte climb and descent. The Swampy loops remain the same but they are a little shorter than we thought so the Funner loop has been extended to go all of the way down Funner and then up Tiddlywinks instead of road 4613.
I think the course is right at 100 miles.
The Swampy loop and the Funner/Tiddlywinks loop were marked yesterday, and the Mt. Bachelor loop is being marked today. The interconnects will be marked during the week. If you are riding one of those loops during the week and feel the marking has been removed/altered or is inadequate let me know or contact promoter Mike Ripley. You can get his contact info from his website Mudslingerevents.
Weather is looking dry and warm so we will have plenty of sand and dust. Be prepared for a cool start in the A.M., I am guessing 40 at the start and in the 70's during the race.
We are real fortunate to have Mike Ripley putting on events like this, I know he has been working real hard on this one. Look for him to put out an update or two this week, and if you can't make it this year I hope you can next year.

High Cascades update

The course has undergone some revisions. We start the same and go around Mt. Bachelor but when we climb the 5 miles out from Lava Lake, instead of descending we go up to Kwolh shelter another 2 miles before descending. This climb and descent are very rough with sand and rocks galore.
The purpose was to cut off a good chunk of overly sandy double track from Edison back towards the Tunnel.
One of the results of this change is the fabulous view from Kwolh shelter.



This is going accross the top up by Kwolh.















Some sections of the descent are just a jumbled mess. I was able to clean most of it but you sure do have to scrub a lot of speed.


Full suspension would be good but I felt great on my 29er hard tail. 26 inch hard tail? I don't think so.



This photo of the road is a change to the Funner loop. We stop short of going all of the way down funner, and then take 4613 up to finish off on the last few miles of Tiddlywinks. Two reasons.
#1 We needed to shave off a few miles.
#2 Climbing Tiddlywinks at this stage in the race= no fun. 2miles climbing 4613=ok.
Making the Funner loop 8.8 miles.


On the Swampy/Swede section loop number two that was 7.5 miles has been extended to the exact same as loop number one that is 19.5 miles. With the changes we end up at 100.5 miles total, by my computer.

I expect the Bachelor loop to take me 5.5 hrs, and the Swamy loops to take 2 hrs each. Back to wanoga .5 hr, and Funner 1 hr.
So a grand total of 11hrs. That might be a pipe dream, I expect the top pro to just break under 10 hours. So maybe I'll be 12-14 if I bonk. You pretty much have to finish in 14 hrs to beat the darkness, so good luck! And see you out there!

High Cascades 100 Mt. Bachelor loop

The high Cascades 100 mile bike race takes place Sunday, August 23rd and is staged at Wanoga snow play area about 15 miles west of bend.
We leave Wanoga at 6:30 in the morning on dirt roads that can be nice and firm like this.




















There are some sandy sections, but at least we get a view, and once you get on the single track this will fade away.
















After about 7 miles we cross under the road and continue the last 2.5 miles till we get to Sunrise lodge at Mt. Bachelor.
Where we are treated to a fabulous view.





We then commence the Epic single track ride around Mt Bachelor.






There are some technical sections here and fortunately we are going downhill mostly at this point.























Later we have a nice view of Lava lake, and there will be an aid station there. Drink lots!


Leaving Lava lake we are treated to about 5 miles of grueling single track climbing...






Followed by about 5 miles of some of the funnest singletrack descending central Oregon has to offer.
To finish off this we take a 4 mile double track climb back to the tunnel under the road and double back the way we came.
All told this loop with the out and back to and from Wanoga is about 50 miles and is by far the most difficult loop of the race. If you make it this far and your feeling good you are set.

Swampy/Swede loops

This loop starts with a 2.5 mile connect road that has a very sandy steep climb for a couple hundred yards before leveling off.












Once off the double track the rest of the loop is bliss. This loop is the one of the real treats of the race. Hopefully you have not bonked by now because this stuff is fun if you are feeling it.
The first loop is 19.4 miles. We go to the aid station at Swampy snow park, and then start an awesome descent to Swede shelter that continues to skyliners.








I did not get many pictures of the fun stuff because it was too good to stop but this is a brief section of double to split up the miles of downhill single track.
After that, more downhill with great views.






We turn back at skyliners and have a few relatively flat miles following Tumalo creek before hitting the climb up south fork. It is a nice packed trail with lots of shade for climbing back to swampy. We then head up Flagline and cross Flagline tie, that is loop one.


Loop two is about 7.5 miles and starts by taking us to Swampy aid station again, but then we go straight to swampy lakes. Ther we connect with the end of loop one that takes us back.
We go down the 2.5 mile connect to head back to Wanoga.

Funner/Tiddlywinks/Storm King loop

This is about an 18 mile loop that goes down for about 7 miles, up for about 7 miles, and then a few miles of relatively flat before finishing. We leave from Wanoga parking lot and go down Funner. Funner is about 4 miles long with the first couple of miles being relatively flat and the last couple of miles being a pretty fun down hill section.




You may or may not choose to ride this.























This particular drop is a little bigger than it looks in the photo, but you can walk down it.





















After going down Funner we will continue down Storm King for a few miles. Storm king is a very easy, meandering, and fun trail. At the bottom of storm king we will turn up rd. 4110 for a few miles to the bottom of Tiddlywinks. 4110 does have a few sandy sections but for the most part is a pretty nice gradual climb with shade and relatively a firm surface. Although climbing up Tiddlywinks will not be too much fun at the end of 100 miles there are sections of this trail that are smoother than Funner was going down.
Here is an example of a nice section of Tiddlywinks.



























After the hardest climbing on Tiddlywinks we are treated to yet another nice view. Hopefully the wildflowers will remain through August.




















There are a few rocky sections before we hit rd. 4613 and head back into Wanoga on the same rd we started on.















All in all we have a 100 mile race, with about 10,000 feet of climbing, at elevation ranging from
4000-6000 feet. I would recommend a full suspension 26 inch bike with tires wider that 2 inches or a 29 inch wheel bike with tires under 2 inches wide to help with the sections that are sandy/soft dirt. You will not need a mud type tread. Dry tread tires like Bontrager Jones XR would be ideal. Whether or not it's hot, it's very likely to be very dry. I will bring my camel back and my water bottle even though there is aid. You may need more liquid than normal.
I would recommend using electrolytes during the race and starting a regimen of magnesium and potassium now.
I expect the winner to be just under 10 hrs and a lot of people being in the 12-14 hr range. We only have 14 hrs of daylight to work with so you better be ready. If you make the cut offs and finish before dark you are an excellent mountain biker and can hold your head high.
Good luck and hope to see you out there!