March 31, 2012

Start/Finish

The Hell's Gate Hundred will start and finish at the Furnace Creek Ranch in the heart of Death Valley, CA. If you are not staying at the Furnace Creek Ranch, please DO NOT park in any of their parking lots. Instead, please park in the gravel lot to the north of the front entrance to the Ranch.

Hotel

We highly recommend the Furnace Creek Ranch. The Furnace Creek Ranch offers a special room rate to Hell's Gate Hundred riders ($165 instead of $177, plus a $9 Resort Fee). We will provide the special Booking Number to obtain that rate to all registered riders. (This will be provided in the Confirmation Email sent to all riders when they register through BikeReg.com. It is not possible to access our block of rooms without this information.) Please reference the "AdventureCORPS Hell's Gate Hundred" and the Booking Number when calling the reservations office at (760) 786-2345 from 8:00am to 4:00pm every day. Don't wait until the last minute to sign up for the event or to make your hotel reservations! (Rooms may sell out almost instantly when ride registration takes place.) Our block of rooms is only held until 30 days prior to each event, so make your reservations right away or you may not find a place to stay!

You may also consider staying in Stovepipe Wells, camping in Furnace Creek, or staying at Death Valley Junction. Perhaps treat yourself to a posh experience at the Furnace Creek Inn (just one mile up the road from the Furnace Creek Ranch)? Here are yet more hotels in the region.

If you are not staying at the Furnace Creek Ranch, please DO NOT park in any of their parking lots. Instead, please park in the gravel lot to the north of the front entrance to the Ranch. Please note there are several campgrounds in Furnace Creek and elsewhere in Death Valley.

Carpooling and Hotel Room Sharing

We encourage carpooling to and from all our events. For our century rides in Death Valley, with some 400 riders coming from across the USA (and a few foreign countries), there must be somebody who lives near you, or along the route you'll be driving, or perhaps someone just needs a ride to and from the airport in Vegas or LA if they are flying to the event. Please use this section of the AdventureCORPS blog to connect with other riders. Share the ride! Save gas! Save money! Save the earth! Maybe find a roommate, too!

Check-In

Check-In will take place on Friday evening in at the Furnace Creek Ranch from 6:30 to 8:00pm at Room 516, located on the way to back of the Ranch, in the one-story row of rooms on the right (this is the last room before you get to the two-story 600-900 buildings). (Check-In is for pre-registered riders only. We do not accept in-person registration in Death Valley.) We will also have late check-in from 600 to 630am on Saturday morning, also at Room 516. Please come prepared and please don't wait until the last minute to show up!

CORPSyoga Class Friday Afternoon

Friday afternoon at 5:00pm we'll offer a free yoga for cyclists class in Furnace Creek on the grass behind room 516. A must to improve your cycling performance on Saturday! Please bring a yoga mat, blanket, or large towel.

CORPSyoga is designed for everyone, regardless of yoga background, or lack thereof, and is designed to help athletes unwind from their drive to Death Valley or long day in the saddle, accelerate recovery for the next day's adventure, minimize the chance of injury, and rejuvenate and restore energy balance. It is primarily designed for cyclists, focusing on their tight areas (hips, shoulders and hamstrings), as well as strengthening the core with an emphasis on functional fitness. The yoga sequences will improve cycling performance and one's overall day on the bike. The class is one hour long. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to participate in a yoga class with fellow cyclists. Suitable for everyone! The class is taught by Laurie Streff, a fellow cyclist and fitness professional and exercise specialist with 20 years of experience. More Info.

Death Valley Entrance Fee

Death Valley National Park requires us to pay a $10 park entrance fee on behalf of each entrant, so we pay this on behalf of each entrant. The park depends on this type of income to support what they do there. It's a great place and much cheaper than a movie! If you want a Park Entrance Fee ticket for your car window (such as if you will tour around the National Park immediately before or after the event), stop by the Visitor's Center, tell them your name (which will be verified against the event roster) and they will give you one. (You do not need to do this if you only plan to drive in and out of the park for the ride.)

Your Entry Fee Includes

Entry Fee covers entry to the ride, the Death Valley National Park entrance fee paid on your behalf, CORPSyoga class on Friday, route sheet, excellent rider food at the checkpoints, "Subway" lunch, roving SAG support, an ambulance on patrol, and event results and images on this nifty website. Checkpoints, and their opening and closing times, will be clearly marked on the route sheet. At these checkpoints, riders can reasonably expect to find the following: water, oranges, bananas, PB&J sandwiches, pretzels, muffins, trail mix, fig bars, Clif Bars, Perpetuem, Hammer Gel, HEED, and Endurolytes, dates from the nearby China Ranch Date Farm, plus, at the finish line we will serve pizza and soda.Several support vehicles will roam the course continuously. We'll sure help you and keep you on the road if we can!

Twilight, Sunrise, and Sunset

Twilight begins 6:12; Sunrise is 6:38; Sunset is 19:12; Twilight ends 19:38.

Wave Start Times

Each wave will have 50 riders and they will begin in ten minute intervals. Read carefully:

Before the first wave starts at 630am, riders should line up in TWO SINGLE-FILE lines in front of the Steak House at the Furnace Creek Ranch. There, batches of 50 riders will be checked to see that they have their timing chip from Montana Timing on the front of their helmet, then will move up to the start line corral under the FC Ranch sign. After each wave starts, another 50 riders will be checked and then will move up to the start line corral. Riders starting in a later wave don't have to be in line right at 630am. Waves will begin at 630am, 640, 650, and perhaps 700am. Choose any wave you prefer.

All eyes—Rangers, CHP, park employees, and visitors—will be watching this event. PLEASE do the right thing, everyone! Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Time Limits

The Hell's Gate Hundred is a non-competitive cycling event which begins with an organized wave start at first light of day, known as "civil twilight" according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. There is a ten hour time limit. Riders who arrive at checkpoints after the posted closing times will be will not be able to complete the full route.

Results and "Finishing Credit"

This event is specifically non-competitive and is not a race. Everybody who finishes is a winner! It’s primarily up to the participants in the events to maintain the decorum, safety, and sense of fair-play and sportsmanship that should always and in all circumstances abound in these types of events.

Please do not race; just finish within ten hours from your wave start (by 430 to 500pm, not later). Riders may not enter the ride route earlier or later than the official start times. Checkpoint opening and closing times are generally based upon an average speed range of 11 to 18 mph. Note there will be a time cut-off at Daylight Pass on the way out, in order to keep everyone on schedule, as well as at all checkpoints.

All riders have THE OPTION of being timed. All riders must fully and safely complete the century route within the ten hour time limit to be recognized as an official finisher. Full results / roster and several online digital slideshows will be posted to the website shortly after the event, noting each rider’s time, DNF, DQ, or just their name if they didn't take the necessary steps to be timed.

HOW TO BE TIMED:
1) Be sure your chip from Montana Timing is affixed to the front of your helmet. This is mandatory for all riders.
2) Get your chip checked as you enter one of the starting waves.
2) Be sure to stop and check-in with the timing staff as required along the way, at Artist's Palette and Rhyolite for the century, or at Artist's Palette and Hell's Gate for the 65-mile route.
3) At the finish line, be sure to pass through the timing area and confirm that your finishing time was collected. You will also need to confirm the distance you rode.

What to Bring

Riders must come prepared for any possible mechanical failure or contingency. At the very least, all riders should carry a spare tube, tire (yes, an actual tire), pump, patch kit, basic tools, water bottles, money, personal and medical identification, cell phone (only works in the Rhyolite area, not in Death Valley), money, credit card, and a good attitude.

Need a Local Bike Shop?

Furnace Creek Ranch now has its own bike shop, Furnace Creek Cyclery! Phone: (760) 786-3372.

Our Vegas area cycling friends tell us "The best bike shop in Vegas is 'The Bike Shop' as they’re the closest shop to the airport and only one block south of Windmill which now becomes Blue Diamond Road and is a straight shot to Pahrump and DV. They also stay open later than the other shops in town which may be helpful to out-of-towners and they have a big shop with all the goodies and spares that anyone may have forgot to pack." Here is their info and be sure to mention AdventureCORPS Death Valley Cycling if you go there!

The Bike Shop: 2570 Wigwam Parkway Henderson, Nevada 89074
(702) 897-1618 | (702) 897-6088 fax | www.bikeshop-lv.com

For bike shops in the Bay Area and San Diego which we recommend, check out our Community Page.

Hydration

Death Valley got it's name because it is a place were living things go, get dehydrated, and die. Death Valley has the driest climate on this planet. Most of the time there is practically no moisture in the air at all. This means every breath goes in dry and comes out wet. When you are sleeping in Death Valley your body processes about a pint of water an hour by breathing. This means at the end of 8 hours sleep you have consumed about 1 gallon of water. You must hydrate and replace your electrolytes even when you are not cycling. Therefore we suggest you bring a Camelbak!

Lights

THIS RIDE TALES PLACE ENTIRELY DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS, thus bicycle lighting should not be necessary. A taillight is always a good idea, though. All riders riding in hours of darkness must have a legal front and rear lighting system and have reflective gear on their body and/or bicycle facing in all four directions.

Personal SAG Vehicles

Not allowed! Death Valley is a beautiful, generally traffic-free place to ride, so why spoil it with more cars? The definition of a personal SAG is any non-staff motor vehicle that is providing any type of aid, assistance, or motivation to any rider. No RAAM crews in training, personal cheering squads, photographers, video crews, or the like, please! If your family or friends want to be there, we'll be happy to put them to work at a checkpoint!

Special Park Service Regulations

The National Park Service requires that we ride single file at all times. We must also ride as far to the right hand side of the lane as is safely possible. Always use front and rear lights while cycling at night. Do not turn them off! Remember, your behavior on the road dictates whether or not we get to host this event again. Take this seriously. We do!

Volunteers

We always need help at our events! We can only put these events on with the help of loyal, trustworthy, motivated individuals running the checkpoints along the way. To provide a little incentive, we offer one free entry into the next edition of this event if you volunteer. It's a simple formula: "work one, ride one free!" So please contact us to let us know when and where you'd like to help. Likewise, if you have a Free Ride Credit you'd like to use, email us BEFORE or during the standard entry time frame for the event to reserve your spot on the roster.

Important Registration Details and Policies

1. All entrants are required to sign the Accident Waiver at check-in (before beginning the event). The waiver may not be modified in any manner.
2. All riders must pay the event entry fee, except those with a Volunteer's Free Ride Credit.
3. Entry fees are non-transferable. (No rider exchanges.)
4. Entry fees are non-refundable. (No roll-over credits, either.)
5. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.
6. Photo ID is required to check-in for the event.
7. The minimum age for participants and volunteers is 11. Riders under 18 must have their Accident Waiver signed by a parent or guardian who attends the event.
8. Participants may not tow trailers or "trail-a-bikes."
9. These events ALWAYS sell out way in advance! There is no registration at the event. You may not ride unless you have pre-registered and therefore your name is on the event roster.
10. There will be no mailing via postal service of any info, results, or entry confirmation before or after the event, however BikeReg.com will email you confirmation of your entry when you complete the application process through their website. Keep that email on file as proof of your registration. We will keep you up-to-date via our email newsletter, but only if you choose to sign up for it.
11. We ride rain or shine.

Rules for Riding in Death Valley

1. All riders must be friendly and must always display a good attitude before, during, and after the event. Whining and/or a sense of entitlement will not be tolerated.
2. All riders must carry and/or wear the official event ID provided at check-in. Riders without ID will be refused support and will be listed as DNF in the results. "Bandit riders" will be banned from future events.
3. All riders must carry proper personal identification and personal emergency contact phone number at all times while cycling. We recommend the fine products from www.RoadID.com.
4. All riders must wear a properly fitted and fastened helmet while cycling.
5. All riders must obey all laws and all relevant aspects of the California Motor Vehicle Code and National Park Service regulations. Riders who break laws and/or ride unsafely will be disqualified from the event and lose California Triple Crown credit; they will also be banned from entering future events.
6. All riders must follow the basic rules for safe cycling, including, but not limited to: Ride to the right, single file at all times. Stop at all stop signs and red signals. Protect and warn one another about road hazards and traffic. Don't overlap wheels. Practice safe paceline and group riding etiquette. Be courteous to and cognizant of motorists and other park visitors.
7. All riders must carry and use legal bicycle lights and reflective gear when cycling at night. Riders on the course, or crossing the finish line, at night without adequate front and rear lights will be DQ'd and banned from future events.
8. All riders must begin in the wave start as directed. Riders may not enter the course before or after the official wave starts.
9. Riders who arrive at checkpoints after the posted closing times will not be able to complete the full route, and will be turned around.
10. All riders, including those who DNF, must check in at the finish line.
11. Personal Support Vehicles, whether they are actively "supporting" a rider or not, are not allowed anywhere on the course, except for the start / finish area.
12. For your safety and the safety of other riders and road users, headphones, in either or both ears, are not allowed at any time while cycling.

Directions to Death Valley