'One Day' Events
 

I have several "one day" events ... events I'd like to do "one day" when I've got the time and money:

Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay http://www.kcibr.org/
-- This one goes as close to June 21st as possible, starting in Haines, Alaska

The Fireweed 400 http://www.fireweed400.com/
-- This one just finished. Has anyone here ever ridden the Fireweed 400? Can you tell me anything about the ride?

What I'd really like to do some year is to go up for the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay, then rest or tour for a bit, and then do the Fireweed 400. It would be an interesting way to see some of Alaska.

The Susitna 100 http://www.susitna100.com/
-- This one runs in Alaska in February, near Anchorage, and is the recommended ride to do before attempting the Iditabike.

The Furnace Creek 508 http://www.the508.com/
-- This one runs in California in October, but this year's ride is full. You've got to book early for it.



So ... are there any challenging long distance events you've got in mind to do "one day"? I'd love to hear about them ... maybe I'll add them to my "one day" list!! :D

#1 is a ride across America. I'd prefer the PAC Tour Elite Tour, but I'd settle for my own tour or one from the other groups out there.

2. The Tour de France route. Not much needs to be said about that.

Those are the big ones that I'm definitely going to do. #1 is 3 years away at the most. I'll start planning #2 as soon as #1 is done.

Here are some that would be fun, but I could die without doing them:

California Triple Crown, PBP, STP, a century in every state, and rides in as many different countries as possible. I tried to get hired at the airport for the free travel benefits, but that didn't work out. :mad:

I think using one of the old routes would be fun. The Tour was very much like a a series of back-to-back brevets in the begining; finding some of the old routes -- especially in the mountains, where the old goat paths have been replaced by pavement -- would be pretty special. I know there was a touring company that was putting together day trips for mountain bikers 15 or 20 years ago and including rides like the original Col de Tourmelet. Imagine riding in Fausto Coppi's wheel tracks...

Several of the rides you listed require support. I have some good friends and my family's OK, but I haven't hit them with "please drive to Alaska so you can hand me water bottles for 20 hours? Please?"

So, I did the Fireweed 200 instead. It is BEAUTY country, Machka! Unfortunately I got rained on for 100 miles, a large number of riders abandoned and I had to help rescue a rider who bonked and was going hypothermic, but even then I can't put it down. It's a real experience to ride past a glacier! The cars weren't bad, but the roads were a bit rough with all the frost-heaves and crumbling pavement in some sections. Not to say it's terrible, but you might not bring your best wheels. There's a fair bit of climbing but nothing world-class on the 200. The 400 is an out-and-back, and there is a serious mountain pass near Valdez that seems to be the downfall of many a rider. I surprised a mama moose (with mooselet) in Anchorage, that was quite a shock, but I discovered that I'm a world-class sprinter and didn't get stomped. :) About the worst thing I can say about the Fireweed is, the racers were getting on my nerves - there were hundreds of relay teams & poor passing clearances, chase vehicles blocking the bike lanes, racers too good to say hello. I hope they had fun, I'm not a hater, but the snooty kid in the middle of his 10-mile pull really doesn't have to be such a twerp.

There's the ADK 540 coming up in Sept.

http://www.adkultracycling.com/adk540/index.htm


It's gorgeous country up in the Adirondacks. This year it's based out of Lake Placid, NY. You can ride a little, or do the whole thing.

I’ve ridden some of the course for the 508, about 300 miles of it, I’m just not into the desert. If you do it let me know, a lot of my friends have done it and you’ll need a crew.

One of these days I'm going to create a ride in South Dakota that goes from Pierre to Waubay and call it Pierre-Waubay -- The Hell of the South (Dakota) :D

as mentioned above, the Seattle-to-Portland (STP) is a one day ride that's quite popular. 206 miles in one day, or 100 miles a day for the two-day option.

i'm actually doing this tomorrow!! the most i've done in a day is 120 so 206 miles will be a challenge for sure.

I'm not specifically thinking of events that can be completed in one day (that's a subject which has come up in other threads) but rather events that I would like to do one day.

For example, in addition to the events I mentioned above, one day I would like to cycle across Canada ... and then across Australia. :)

What sort of events do you dream of doing one day?

Planning on doing the Southern Tier a year from now....leave San Diego on 29 Sept. 2008 and ride to my daughter's in Jacksonville, FL.......Sept 29 will be my 62nd Bday and the 40th anniversary of my entry into Marine Corps OCS in Quantico, VA

well some day I hope to ride London-Edinburgh-London, Boston-Montreal-Boston (if someone in New England picks up Jennifer Wise's torch), the Rocky Mountain 1200 and the VanIsle 1200 if the BC Randonneurs ever get around to putting that back on.

less ambitiously, and if I still continue to live in New England, some day I'd like to ride the New England Classic, the King Tour of the Quabbin Reservoir and the Pan Mass Challenge.

then there are all of the vague bike tour itineraries, like New Zealand or trans-Canada or Japan, but that's another forum...

This is a great ride - I did it for the first time last year in 50:55. This year I'll have a crew so my goal is to shave off at least 10 hours. Unfortunately the start/finish has been moved back to Ticonderoga, so I had to change some of the ride strategy, but it's going to be a great ride again! Are you riding this year Thulsadoom?

Another ride to add to the list is the QuadZilla - 400 miles around the Finger Lakes with over 27,000 feet of butt kicking climbs. Did that this year (July 14th) in 33:25 non-drafting, so I was happy with my results.

I'm planning on doing the Rocky Mountain 1200 in July 2008. I've never been to British Columbia, but my wife tells me it's beautiful... so I thought getting around by bike should be a nice way to explore it :)

Tour of Hokkaidoo (Japan), tour of Tasmania, tour of North Sea, Cap Nord - Gibraltar