Mulmur gravel epic

Karen has kindly offered to host us at her property, Swallowdale, a beautiful setting in Mulmur. That means we can do a gravel ride on some of the best dirt roads in Ontario. If you haven't ridden up there it is amazing.  

Each of these three rides across the summer will be somewhat "epic", and this one will be no exception. At about 150km this will be a challenging, long, day. Particularly given the hilly terrain in the second half.

The day will start with a flatter opening loop, which we can all complete as a group - very Sans Chaine. On that loop we will have a quick coffee stop, before making our way back to Swallowdale for our lunch stop. Then, heading out onto the second half of the ride we will get into some hillier terrain. Another coffee stop on this loop will keep us fuelled up. 

The second loop will end up being more challenging than the first, with plenty of elevation to turn the screw on our legs. Hopefully we will have done a good job as a group managing that first half! While this isn't a race, I do expect that our group will start to come apart a bit here. We will each need to have the GPS file on our head units. 

As with all the rides we will be supported by Stage 21. The Stage 21 van contains a fully equipped coffee bar. That means:

• pre-ride coffee and pastries
• fully supported lunch with choices of sandwiches or quiche - and more pastries and coffee
• mid-ride coffee breaks
• a mini workshop at our disposal, along with spare tubes and a floor pump
• we can also put a small day bag in the van

The Stage 21 van will be mobile and provide us not only coffee but also technical support out on the road if needed. 

I wouldn't be the Funwrecker if I didn't say - we will try and keep the rest stops to a minimum and shortish, so that we don't end up adding too much stopping time to the ride and use up all the daylight.

All these rides will be limited in size, with 13 spots available. A link to a waiver will be sent out closer to the event.

The expectation in planning this ride is that come June Covid will have receded once again. That being said, the plan will be that we wear masks and maintain physical distancing at the rest stops.