Ashford Metric Century Gravel Grinder/Mixed Terrain Ride

Pre-Register at https://www.bikereg.com/ashford-metric-century

Welcome to our all new 10th annual Ashford Metric Century (AMC) on Saturday, September 16th, 2017! We are excited to announce that 2017 will bring a great new outdoor venue and an exciting route change to a mixed terrain/gravel ride.

2 ride options:

AMC gravel grinder metric century: 65.5 miles, 4545 ft of climbing, 40% gravel
AMC gravel grinder half metric century: 33.3 miles, 2286 ft of climbing, 37% gravel

Cost: All rides are $25

Registration time:

7:30am to 8:00am for the metric century ride. All metric riders should be on the course by 8:00am

9:00am to 9:30am for the half metric century ride. All half metric riders should be on the course by 9:30am.

Details on the gravel routes: Ashford and Stafford have the most dirt roads of all the towns in CT and we have taken advantage of this fact and created a mixed terrain route with as much gravel as possible. The half metric century will explore the scenic backroads of Ashford. The full metric century route will add more fun and challenging stretches in Stafford. A gpx file will be sent out to all participants the evening before the ride so riders can upload the route to their Garmin or other gps device. We encourage everyone to upload the gpx file to your device to follow the route as this course will be a true adventure ride with arrows only at key intersections. Route sheets will be available the morning of the event or you can sign up for one of the guided rides when you pre-register.

The best bike for the gravel/mixed terrain ride will be a gravel or cross bike with a minimum of 32mm tires with some decent traction or a hardtail mountain bike. We rode most of this route last summer with 3 riders on gravel bikes, 3 on mountain bikes, and one riding a fat bike and we all finished together. To give an example from that ride, the ride was 60 miles, our average speed was 12mph, total elevation was 5,043 ft, riding time was 5 hours, total time with stops was 6.5 hours.

Projected ride times:
9mph average on the metric: 7.5 hours of riding time plus time at the rest stops
12mph average on the metric: 5.5 hours of riding time plus time at the rest stops

9mph average on the half metric: 3.5 hours of riding time plus time at the rest stops
12mph average on the half metric: 3 hours of riding time plus time at the rest stops

Participants should ride with a cell phone, extra tube, tire levers, pump, and patch kit. CPSC or US DOT approved helmets are required.

Contact email for questions: neracearth@gmail.com

Donations:
Instead of a single charity we’ve decided to support several local organizations. Fifty percent of the proceeds of the AMC ride will be donated to the charities chosen by riders during the registration process on bikereg. For those unable to participate in the cycling event but still want to donate, 100% of your donations will go directly to the organization of your choice. Below is a description of each organization:

John DeQuattro Cancer Center in Manchester, CT – If anyone has participated in our Seven Lakes ride you are familiar with this organization. Donations allocated to this fund will benefit patients of the John DeQuattro Cancer Center and will help patients purchase gas, groceries, and medication to ease the stress patients face when fighting cancer. More information about this charity can be found on the Seven Lakes website: http://www.sevenlakesride.com

Interval House East (IHE), a satellite office of Interval House Hartford is a non-profit organization based in Manchester, CT. IHE provides intervention and prevention services to families affected by domestic violence in 11 towns east of the river (Vernon, Tolland, Ellington, Hebron, Manchester, Glastonbury, East Hartford, South Windsor, Marlborough, Bolton, and Andover). Donations allocated to this fund will help families with groceries, medication, and transportation costs. For more info: http://intervalhousect.org

Our Companions Animal Sanctuary in Ashford, CT provides care, rehabilitation, training, and a safe haven for animals while they are awaiting permanent homes. For more info: http://www.ourcompanions.org/pages/sanctuary_info.htm

Directions to Ashford Memorial Park on 80 Pompey Rd in Ashford, CT:

The turn for Pompey Rd is near the intersection of routes 74 and 44 in Ashford, CT.

If you are driving West on route 44 take a left on Pompey Rd, if you go past route 74, the Wooden Spoon restaurant, or the Mobil/Dunkin Donuts you have gone too far.

If you are driving East on route 44 take a right onto Pompey Rd just after passing the Wooden Spoon restaurant on the right, or the Mobil/Dunkin Donuts on your left.

If you took exit 69 off of route 84 and are driving on route 74 at the very end of 74 take a left then a quick right onto Pompey Rd.

For all directions, once you turn onto Pompey Rd take your first left. At the stop sign go straight. Ashford Memorial Park will be on your right. Drive down the gravel road to the parking area.

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• John Sattar
  Organizer
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