Come out to join Jeff and Aaron from Singletracks at the third annual #BrutalLoop on Saturday, April 29. Once again, our home-away-from-home, Mulberry Gap, will serve as the start and finish for the event.
Registration for the ride is $45 per rider ($35 for children). For that you get: parking at Mulberry Gap, access to the bathhouse should you want to take a post-ride shower, Wi-Fi so you can ‘gram to your heart’s content, a delicious lunch, beer for those of age, AND a custom Opinel pocket knife emblazoned with the Singletracks logo! Say what?!?! Not only that, all proceeds from the event will benefit the North Georgia Mountain Bike Association, which builds and maintains trails around Ellijay.
But wait, there’s more! If you have any energy left in your legs at the end of the Brutal Loop, you are free to ride Mulberry Gap’s new jump line and pumptrack.
Register for the ride through Mulberry Gap’s website by April 19th to be sure that you get your own custom knife. Folks that register after the 19th will receive a Singletracks hat instead, which is pretty sweet, too.
Check in for the ride will begin at 9:00 AM and we’ll roll out at 10:00 AM.
The Route
We’ll start with some climbing on gravel roads. Okay, more than some… It’s roughly 13 miles from Mulberry Gap to the Mountaintown Creek trailhead. All of that is on gravel, and about 10 of the 13 miles are climbing. There are a couple obvious places to regroup and grab a snack: the Bear Creek Overlook, Potato Patch, and the Mountaintown Creek Overlook.
Once you reach the Mountaintown Creek trailhead, it’s game on. The top part of the descent is fast and flowy, with plenty of opportunities to get airborne. From there, it gets loose, steep, and wet. You’ll cross Mountaintown Creek numerous times on the way down. Many of the crossings are rideable, but there are one or two that will require walking. Your feet are going to get wet, it’s better to just accept it!
After Mountaintown Creek, you’ll connect back over to Bear Creek. Most people will climb Pinhoti 1, connect over to Pinhoti 2, and head back to Mulberry Gap for lunch. If you have the legs, bypass Pinhoti 1, and climb up to the midpoint of the Bear Creek descent for some extra credit. Descend the best part of Bear Creek and finish the route on Pinhoti 1 and 2. Doing so will add about 5.5 miles to the route and 800 ft. or so of elevation.
Here’s my GPS info from last year’s Brutal Loop, which includes the extra credit.
If the full Brutal Loop sounds like a bit more than you can handle, you can always ride the classic Bear Creek, Pinhoti 1, and Pinhoti 2 loop. That ride comes in around 20 miles and 3,000 ft. of climbing.
Things to Remember
This is an organized ride, not a race. There is no support out on trail, which means you need to carry enough food and water to get you through the day. We recommend carrying a minimum of 100 oz. with you, although if you have a way to purify water, there are plenty of opportunities to refill along the trail. In addition to hydration and nutrition, bring a tube, pump, and multi-tool, at a bare minimum. We strongly suggest bringing at least one partner with you–if you can’t find a partner before the event, consider that a chance to make some new friends at registration!
In terms of weather, we’ve had great spring temps the past two years with plenty of sunshine, but you never know. That said, we ride rain or shine.
And finally, registration is limited to 75 participants so don’t wait to sign up. We’ll see you in April!
1 Comments
Mar 15, 2017
Bear Creek, Mountaintown, Potato Patch, etc was the area I cut my teeth on in the 90's, I'd highly recommend this ride to anyone not familiar with the area