Rough Riders: Any Bike, Anywhere: Rough Riders Rally Reconnaissance #2

Rough Riders Rally: July 23-25 2010

AdventureCORPS, Inc. an athlete-run firm producing and promoting ultra-endurance and extreme sports events, lifestyle, and media, is pleased to announce the inaugural Rough Riders Rally, a multi-surface cycling festival based in Marin County on July 23-25, 2010 which celebrates the "Any Bike, Anywhere" ethos.

The Rough Riders Rally will include a Friday afternoon ride, followed by a pizza party catered by Stefano's Solar-Powered Pizza and hosted at Tam Bikes in Mill Valley. Saturday will be the big day: a six hour ride in spectacular terrain, with each rider and their bike being photographed with a scenic backdrop along the route. Later that afternoon the bikes will be assembled for a bike show. (To enter a bike in the show, it must have been ridden on the full route, including the photograph. No "for looking only; not for riding" bikes may be shown.) There will also be a Rough Riding Photography Competition for which Rally participants may submit images in advance; the images will be shown during the Rally weekend. At the Saturday night Rough Riders Annual Shindig, all the bikes will be on display, awards will be given for various bike AND photo categories, and a tasty dinner will be catered by Punjabi Burrito. It will be a fantastic, fun evening of story-swapping and camaraderie. Sunday morning, Rally participants will ride Railroad Grade to the summit of Mt. Tam, then return to Mill Valley for a social hour or two at The Depot Café, before departing town.

The Rough Riders Rally will be based in Mill Valley, CA in Marin County, the birthplace of mountain biking. Marin County offers truly superb cycling, with fantastic views of the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz, the Marin Headlands, Mt. Tamalpais ("Mt. Tam"), Tiburon, Mill Valley, the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, and dramatic, rugged Northern California coastline. Marin County is cycling paradise, a region unparalleled for its beauty, diversity of scenery and riding surfaces, and its cycling-friendly trail signage and local population! It promises to be a very fun weekend in an absolutely spectacular cycling paradise.

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Monday, November 9, 2009

Rough Riders Rally Reconnaissance #2

On Monday, November 9, 2009 I spent five hours riding the main route for the July 23-25, 2010 Rough Riders Rally with my good friend Ed Levinson. Here are some photos from that adventure today.

Above: That's Mt. Diablo in distance, east across the Bay. I rode there yesterday.

Above: Ascending Green Gulch Trail, with Mt. Tam in the background.

Above: Descending Miwok Trail to Rodeo Beach, Ed met a friendly coyote.

Above: Ed above Rodeo Beach and its WWII era buildings. Bike: 1993 Bridgestone MB-1.

Above: Yours Truly above Rodeo Beach, en route to Battery Townsley. Bike: 1984 Holdsworth (my 1984 SF-LA record bike) with 32mm Ritchey 'cross tyres and 38/28 not-very-low gear.

Above two pix: Dropping down to Rodeo Beach from Battery Townsley.

Parting shot: Ed and Chris, friends since 1987.

The Rough Riders Rally is our new annual mixed-surface (road / trail/ etc) cycling festival based in Marin County which celebrates the "Any Bike, Anywhere" ethos. There will be a Friday afternoon ride, followed by a BBQ with a noted speaker hosted at Tam Bikes in Mill Valley. Saturday will be the big day: a five to six hour ride in spectacular terrain, with each rider and their bike being photographed with a scenic backdrop along the route. Later that afternoon the bikes will be assembled for a bike show. (To enter a bike in the show, it must have been ridden on the full route, including the photograph. No "for looking only; not for riding" bikes may be shown.) A very notable Rough Riding personality will speak, awards will be given for various categories, and dinner will be included. It will be a fantastic evening. Sunday morning we'll ride Railroad Grade to the summit of Mt. Tam, then return to Mill Valley for a social hour or two at The Depot, before we depart town. It promises to be a very fun weekend in an absolutely spectacular cycling paradise. Mark your calendar! (Mountain bikes are welcome, too!)

Click here for a preview slideshow (from the first Rough Riders Rally route recon) and a very rough route sheet of the Saturday route for the 2010 Rough Riders Rally. The route is approximately 45 miles with approximately 5000' of elevation gain and features single track, double track, fire road, gravel road, abandoned paved road, and newly paved road. Some consider this "mountain bike territory," but this route is 99% rideable by an accomplished Rough Rider on a road bike with 32mm cyclocross tyres (or on a cyclocross bike), and perhaps 90-95% rideable on a road bike with 28mm road tyres.

Special thanks to my long-time friend and local guide, Ed Levinson, a Furnace Creek 508 veteran who owned and operated a bike shop in Mill Valley for over ten years. (Our host shop for the Rally will be Mt. Tam Bikes at 357 Miller Avenue, as pictured in the slideshow.

This region offers truly superb cycling, with fantastic views of the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz, the Marin Headlands, Mt. Tamalpais ("Mt. Tam"), Tiburon, Mill Valley, the Bay Bridge, a bit of the Golden Gate Bridge, and dramatic, rugged Northern California coastline. Honestly, this is cycling paradise, a region unparalleled for its beauty, diversity of scenery and riding surfaces, and its cycling-friendly trail signage and local population!