Group Ride: The Dahlonega Dirty Thirty, June 22nd

Imagine: 30 miles of the best dirt that the mountains of North Georgia have to offer. But instead of guessing which trails to take, back tracking down trails you’ve already ridden, and having to ride a lot of gravel roads to connect the sweet segments of singletrack, we’ve done all of the hard route-finding for you.

The Dirty Thirty route is one local’s way (*cough* my way *cough*) of riding the most singletrack with the least amount of gravel roads in the legendary Bull / Jake Mountain Trail System, with absolutely no backtracking.

On June 22nd, a group of riders will be gathering at 7:45am to ride this special route. To add to the festivities, once we complete the ride and return to the vehicles, Northstar Bicycles of Dahlonega and Dawsonville will be on hand grilling up hotdogs to satisfy our hunger. And if you want to join us in cracking a few cold ones to quench our thirst after riding in the Georgia heat, be sure to BYOB.

Please note: this is not an official event; it’s a totally unofficial group ride. As a result, do what mountain bikers do and take responsibility for yourself. The only things that will be provided will be computer-printed maps of the intended route (with a few shorter options penciled in) and probably some hot dogs at the end. For everything else, be self-sufficient. BYOB, bring your own water, bring your own food, and bring your own tools and spares.

There won’t be a rider sign in or check out, so if you get lost on the course, crash, and get injured or die, nobody will know about it. I recommend grabbing a friend and doing the buddy system. Bull Mountain is known to have a bite to it, as many people who have been med-evaced out of these trails can attest. So please, if you come out, be ready to ride smart and ride safe, and respect the power of the mountains.

For an elevation profile of the course, check out my Strava from a preride of the course this past weekend:

Don’t worry, I’ll be creating a more user-friendly map for the event.

Finally, for full event details, check out the official Facebook event listing. If you plan on coming, please RSVP so we know how many maps to print and hot dogs to grill!

If you’re willing to accept the challenge, we’d love to see you on the 22nd!

Culture

The Starting 5: Getting Back to Mountain Biking, Together

Community

Comprehensive List of Global Fat Bike Day Events: December 6, 2014

Community

Cheers to You, Group Ride Navigator

Community

Cheers to You, Group Ride Navigator