Our club puts on the Foxy Fall. I rode the metric last year, and yes, it's a good idea to bring water and gels/food. The worse part of the ride for me was leaving the check-in place. Cars going in every direction, bikes in every direction, traffic, pedestrians. It was nuts. Getting out of town, it thinned out after a couple of miles, and it was spread out after that. It was a great ride, lots of food, SAG visible, and friendly riders.