FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A: Need to change your distance? Want to go for a longer route? Need a different shirt size? Simply email your need to info@bikemonkey.net. Changes and transfers must be completed by August 15. Changes may include moving to a different race distance (i.e., from French Fry to Baked Potato), transferring your registration to a lucky friend, and updating contact information.

Please see our event schedule for the most up-to-date start times. The most critical ones to pay attention to are the start times for your route on Saturday's final stage, because not all routes start together.

A: Prices are listed on the pricing page here.

A: Please read our refund policy for current details about refunds.

A: Registration will remain open until it sells out. If there are spaces available onsite, you may still register in person, but onsite registration is more expensive.

A: Check out all the course details here on our home page.

A: YES. However, you should always plan to bring the hydration, nutrition, and tools you need to succeed along your chosen route(s). Rest stops will be available on the final day of the stage race, including for all riders in the French Fry, Baked Potato, Fully Loaded, and Tater Tot categories.

Rest stops will offer shade, bicycle racks, portable restrooms, trash receptacles, water, and limited food items to support riders. All food and water distribution will be done in accordance to best practices for food and health safety standards. Volunteers and staff will be onsite at all rest stops.

The Tater Tot rest stop is located at the turnaround point at mile 8.5.

‍Rest Stop 1 (Trail Creek) - French Fry, Baked Potato, Fully Loaded

The rest stop is located at the top of the Trail Creek climb.

- French Fry riders will pass this at mile 12 and 45
- Baked Potato riders will pass this at miles 12 and 92
- Fully Loaded riders will pass at miles 12 and 106.5

Wild Horse cutoff is the first cutoff to make; all riders must be to this point (mile 35.5) by 9:15 a.m.

Rest Stop 2 (Burma Road) - Baked Potato and Fully Loaded (does not include French Fry)

All riders will pass the second rest stop at mile 46.6. This is at the bottom of the big Burma Climb, a 6-mile climb with 2500 feet of elevation gain (up to 8700 feet of elevation), so be sure you are stocked up on water and fuel.

The Copper Basin time cutoff (for Fully Loaded) is 1:00 p.m. at mile 61, just before the third rest stop.

Rest Stop 3 (Big Lost) - Baked Potato and Fully Loaded (does not include French Fry)
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Riders will hit this rest stop tat mile 62, ten miles after the summit almost all downhill to this aid station.

Rest Stop 4 (Copper Basin) - Baked Potato and Fully Loaded (does not include French Fry)

Fully Loaded will do the Copper Basin Loop and hit this aid station at Mile 81. Baked Potato will continue down East Fork Road (where you popped out at the Copper Basin cutoff) and hit this aid station at mile 65.

Rest Stop 5 (Wild Horse) - French Fry, Baked Potato, Fully Loaded
This rest stop is located on the west side of the Wild Horse Creek and 135 split. French Fry will hit this stop at miles 24 and 32. Baked Potato will hit this stop at mile 77, 24, and 76. Fully Loaded will hit this at mile 91.

The El Diablito time cutoff is 3:00 p.m. for Fully Loaded and Baked Potato only. All hand cyclists (human and OPDMD) and recumbent bikes do NOT do this route; instead, stay straight on Trail Creek Road. For Fully Loaded, this is mile 96.5. For Baked Potato, this is mile 82.

A: Please refer to our policies page for more information regarding cancellations, refunds, and transfers.

A: No. However, we purchase our insurance through USA Cycling, and because of this you must still sign a USA Cycling Waiver even though you do not need a license to participate in the event. Insuring our event with USA Cycling coverage does not require us to follow any of the racing guidelines or category rules that might otherwise govern a USA Cycling sanctioned event. To be clear, the event is not sactioned by USA Cycling, only insured by it.

A: The course is OPEN, meaning that it is your responsibility to be aware of traffic, fellow riders, and wildlife. You must obey the rules of the road and follow our Gravel SHARK ethics (see our policies page to read about them). Failure to comply will disqualify you from the event.

A: While the course is open to traffic, we do not encourage family and friends to be out on it. For the safety of all riders involved, we want to do our best to minimize the amount of traffic on the course. We also want to assure we maintain the integrity of this beautiful National Forest Land and reduce our footprint as much as possible.

However, if they would like to volunteer to help at one of our aid stations we would love for them to join us in support not just of yourself but of all our event participants. It's a super fun way to be a part of the action. Click here to learn more about volunteering.

This event takes place on primarily National Forest Land, including the Lost River Ranger District of the Salmon-Challis National Forest, Sawtooth National Recreation Area, and the Ketchum Ranger Districts of the Sawtooth National Forest, all of which are historic native land of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe. This land is also open range land, meaning grazing livestock may be on the course.

Below are some general rules and parameters from our Forest Service permit related to land use:
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- Be respectful of other NFS users, including other recreationalists and permit holders.
- Recreation events are non-exclusive, and public lands are for everyone’s enjoyment.
- Please be mindful that the Forest is still open for other visitors to recreate and that public lands are shared spaces. --- Other permit holders include grazing, mining, and logging permittees, who also operate on NFS lands.
- Please be mindful of these activities.
- For events that occur within or near grazing allotments, do not harass or stress livestock, and leave gates as you found them (i.e., keep closed gates closed).
- Respect wildlife. Do not harass and stress wildlife. Observe wildlife from a distance and do not approach or feed.
- Ensure participants practice Leave No Trace ethics and prevent resource damage.
- Take responsibility for any resource damage that occurs as a result of the event and contact the Forest Service to repair, restore, or replace any damages on NFS lands.
- Stay on designated routes and trails. Motorized vehicles must comply with Motor Vehicle Use Maps.Prevent the spread of noxious weeds by cleaning motorized vehicles and equipment prior to accessing NFS lands. Events promoting motorized use must provide participants access to weed wash stations.
- Follow all federal, state, and county laws.
- Leave NFS lands better than you found them.

A: Yes!

There are time cuts that impact the Baked Potato and Fully Baked Potato routes on Saturday's final stage.

Wildhorse Creek - 9:15 AM
If you do not reach mile 22 by 9:15 a.m. on the Baked Potato or Fully Loaded routes, you will be redirected to the French Fry route. In order to make this cut, you will need to maintain a 10 mph average speed. We estimate that the slowest 10% of the field will not make this time cut. But it is a very important one because the challenge ahead means your average speed will drop so low that you will be far off the back of our aid station support windows on course if you're not able to maintain at least this average speed within the first 22 miles of such a long day.

Copper Basin - 1:00 PM
If you do not reach mile 61 on the Fully Loaded route by 1:00 p.m., you will be redirected to the Baked Potato route. This eliminates the Copper Basin Loop, which is about 18 miles long, and 1,000 feet of climbing. This second cutoff should only affect less than 3% of the remaining riders attempting the Fully Loaded course, but it is necessary in order to keep all riders within our on-course support window.

El Diablito - 3:00 PM
If you do not reach mile 82 on the Baked Potato route or 96.5 on the Fully Loaded route by 3:00 p.m., you will not be permitted to complete the El Diablito section of those courses. This eliminates 5.5 miles and just over 600 feet of rugged elevation gain to keep all riders within our on-course support window. This should impact as much as 15% of our remaining Fully Loaded participants, but maybe only a couple of our Baked Potato participants.

A: Go as big as will fit! Just be sure to dial your tire pressure and choose a tire with decent sidewall protection. Maxxis Rambler EXOs are Rebecca's go-to.

A: Yes! Many of our participants ride on their mountain bikes. We know that not everyone can own a variety of different bike types, so if you choose to ride a mountain bike during the event, we recommend using thinner (1.8”-ish) tires without a lot of tread on it to make a noticeable decrease in resistance and therefore increase in speed.
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You can also always rent a gravel bike from Sturtevants of Sun Valley if you’re interested in seeing if this bike type is right for you! For more information, visit their website or give them a call at 208-726-4501. Please note they tend to book quickly, so make your reservations well in advance!

A: Yes! We are always looking for more volunteers to help our already incredible and dedicated team on the ground in the Sun Valley area. Check out the volunteer page here.

A: Para cyclists may ride with an assistant or shadow rider. The shadow rider’s role is to assist at aid stations with nutrition, toileting, etc. At no point shall the shadow rider be in front of the para cyclist providing a draft, nor pushing the rider from behind while on course. The shadow rider will have a guaranteed free entry with the para cyclist; please email us at info@bikemonkey.net to coordinate.