Avita Water Black Bear FAQ’s (Frequently Asked
Questions)
WHO
IS RUNNING THE EVENT?
The event is conducted by the “Grayling Rotary Club” who works on
fund-raisers for local as well as global charitable programs. The club has funded everything from
scholarships to part of the construction of non-motorized trails.
Internationally, Rotary is working on the eradication of Polio from the planet. Every penny raised will go to charitable causes.
MAPS?
Absolute best is “Northern Highlands of Michigan”
by Universal Map Enterprises, P.O.
Box 15, Williamston,
MI 48895,
and Phone 1-800-829-6277. Course map is
on our web site.
IS THIS A RACE OR A TOUR? It’s a tour. You can ride it fast or ride it slow. If you want to take your time - then you can
do that. If you want to ride it fast we
will record your time and provide
results by age category, sex and a few bicycle types.
IS THERE
FOOD? We have five food and water
stations with snacks and water.
WHAT ABOUT
THIS LEMANS START STUFF? This event
is shadowing the historic 61-year-old Weyerheauser International AuSable Canoe Marathon
that starts their competitors on Saturday night, with a four-city block run to
the river with their canoes. Most of the racers we spoke with found it best to
leave their shoes on the pedals. When you run to your bike, the canoe racers
will have been paddling through the entire 11 hours of the previous night.
HOW DOES THE
SHUTTLE FROM OSCODA TO GRAYLING WORK? We again will use buses. Our trailer and bus program will make the
return ride comfortable for you and safe for your bike. It is our goal to have you scored out
quickly, so you can be on your way safely home at a reasonable hour. Please take note, Oscoda and Grayling are equal in drive times
to many southern state locations, it might be advisable to bring someone to
shuttle your vehicle to Oscoda so you don’t have to take the 2 hour drive back
to Grayling and then drive south.
HOW GOOD ARE
THE RIDING SURFACES? Most are very
good, but a few areas require that you mind your wheels. Overall the surfaces are very good.
WHAT IS THE
MCKINLEY CLASS? We love
McKinley. You may want to live there
someday. You and a partner can split the
100 miles by having someone waiting in McKinley, at the 56 mile mark, to ride
the last 44 miles and have your vehicle ready for you. If you ride this class, please remember that
you should not stay in McKinley forever, -- go home -- or go to Oscoda and pick your partner
up. Don’t even ask about the secret
McKinley Loop.
IMPORTANT – IMPORTANT- IMPORTANT –YOUR ATTENTION
PLEASE
We need your assistance in allowing fans and feeders to get
down stream. Canoe teams depend on feeder
crews to hopscotch ahead with food and liquids that are needed when paddling a
14-18 hour event. Frequent re-supply is
critical later in the event as that fatigue manifests itself and feeders also
serve as a safety check for the well being of the paddlers. In 2003 one of the paddlers was medevaced off
the river and hospitalized for several days.
The safety net for this team was their feeders and we as fellow
travelers in the corridor need to ensure they can pass our event in a timely
manner. No feeding of riders from moving vehicles will be allowed. This holds up traffic and is not fair to all
riders and created a safety hazard past years for oncoming traffic. We have
five feeding stations along the route.
If you require feeding other than what you can carry, your feeders must
re-supply you from stationary locations. Your feeders can hopscotch ahead the
same as the feeders for paddlers. Use
places that lend themselves to easy hand-off (hills). State law says riding can be no more than two
abreast. No one cares about this if
traffic is not being held up. Please let
traffic pass in a timely manner. That
traffic contains feeders for paddies and riders alike. Lets take care of each other. Thank you for
your attention to this important matter.
Note Rule 1 on rule page.