2013 Start Date is August 9th

Mark your calendars for the start date for the 2nd Fitz-Barn Ride.  This year we are starting from Red Barn Bicycles in Hamilton, MT and will ride to Fitzgerald's Bicycles in Victor, ID.    Ride begins on August 9th!

Now we just need to decide what we are calling this year's ride.  What do you all think?

• Barn-Fitz
• Red- Gerald
• Or do you have a great name for the 2013 edition?  Let's hear it.

We are working on some changes to this year's route, so it will not be an exact reverse route of last year.   Stay tuned for new route information & we can't wait to ride with you again!

Trackleaders Tracking!

The Trackleaders page for Fitz-Barn became active this morning.  Big thanks to Matthew Lee for getting us set up!

Click here to follow your favorite Fitz-Barners.

Jackson/Big Hole Area Reroute

We have a change to the route because of some access issues.   North of Jackson on the original route there was a problem crossing private property from the Big Swamp Creek Road to the Foothills Road.  It involved not only crossing someone's ranch, but also, according to Jay, some bushwacking.

Fortunately we have a solution!   From Jackson, we'll head north on Hwy 278 to the Twin Lakes Road.  At Twin Lakes turn left (west) and take the 2nd right north toward the Rock Creek Road.  At Rock Creek, we'll head west again through the Highland Ranch to Gibbonsville Road.   I have created a GPX file of that section for you to download.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/123597423

Thanks to Jay and especially to Ron for figuring out this go around and speaking with the landowner to get permission to cross their property!  

Since we are crossing private property let's be extra careful about picking up all our trash, closing any cattle gates we may go through, and being friendly to any folks & animals we may encounter.

I also have cue sheets by sections for anyone who may want them.  They are in PDF files and include maps.   Please shoot me an email at sarahhamiltoncampisi@gmail.com if you would like me to send them to you electronically.

Spot Tracking/Track Leaders Available!

Jay P and Matthew Lee have been working to get Trackleaders tracking for Spot users for the Fitz-Barn!  You can sign up at the below link:

http://trackleaders.com/fitzbarn-checkout

There are two options:

1. You can rent a spot for $50 or
2. If you have your own spot, tracking is $20

Once you pay via paypal, you will get an email asking you to fill out some biographical information.  This final step will allow us to add you to the live sidebar map so all your family and friends can follow your progress.

The One Nighter

All you need is a few hours to have an adventure!

Last Thursday night I had a great night out with some Fitz-Barnriders and was reminded of how you don’t need to go for a multi-day epic to have a local Bike Packing experience.

We left the shop at 7pm and rode gorgeous gravel roads towards Tetonia while the sunset cast a golden light across at the Tetons.  In Tetonia we loaded up on last minute provisions (ie. Beer and Donuts) and turned East on a dirt road that connected us to South Leigh Creek.

Watching the Moon rise directly behind the Grand Teton was a highlight of the ride out to camp. Once at the South Leigh trailhead we laid out mats and bags, told a few stories over tall boys, and drifted off to sleep under a HUGE Moon.

The girls had to get to work early so they rolled out at 4:30am while a couple of us “slept in” until 6am to get back to Victor by 8am.  The morning Sunrise ride along Stateline Rd from Tetonia to Driggs was a great way to start the work day.  If you haven’t ridden that road, put it on your list!

I’m not sure that most local riders truly realize the gravel road riding potential around here, not to mention the one night adventures!

Here’s the ideal gear list for a one night Bike Pack:

• Any sort of Bike but the 29er hardtails handle the rough roads best while loaded down.
• A custom frame bag from Hamilton Threadworks
• A Viscacha seat bag from Revelate Designs
• Sleeping Bag (I’m using a light weight 40 degree bag right now)
• Lightweight Bivy sack (I skipped this knowing the skies were clear)
• Sleeping Pad
• Long under wear top and bottom for sleeping (nice to get the clammy chamois off)
• Hat and gloves
• Thin down jacket
• Headlamp and Bearspray
• PBR and Donuts

With some simple straps you can hang a stuff sack with all your sleeping gear from the handlebar.  Clothes and extra food can go in the seat bag.  Water, emergency fix it stuff, beer, and bear spray in the frame bag.  Of course you’ll find your own system that works way better once you give it a go.

If you don’t want to shell out the dollars for the soft bags, go with a back pack to start with.  It won’t be long before you’re hooked on the journey!

Scott Fitzgerald

GPX Files!

We've been busy compiling GPX files from JP's and Brandon scouting trips and MapMyRide files to get you the complete route.    I've broken the route down into sections of 40 to 70 miles each - mostly because I couldn't download a larger GPX file without complete technological failure.

I am going to share links to the GPX files on MapMyRide.  Once you click on the link for each section, you should be able to download the GPX file on the right side of the page under Map Info.  In order to download the file, you'll need to Log In and/or Register.  It is free to register (although they have paid memberships that allow you to print maps if you want).  I am working on cue sheets this week.

Section 1: Victor to France
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/117970959

Section 2: France to St. Anthony
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/117345427

Section 3: St. Anthony to Dubois
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/113788707

Section 4: Dubois to Montana Border
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/113791335

Section 5: Montana Border to Bloody Dick Road (yup, that's what's it's called!)
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/113792495

Section 6: Bloody Dick to Foothills Road
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/113801119

Section 6.2:  Jackson to Foothills Road Reroute
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/123597423

Section 7: Foothills to SH 472
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/113802381

Section 8: SH 472 to Skalkaho Rd
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/119509553
Please note this section was ridden by JayP and I tried to create this route from the large GPS file of his ride.  It therefore may not be exact, but Jay says the cue sheet for this section works just fine.  Unfortunately neither MapMyRide nor Google Maps have this fire road on their system.  I will get all the cue sheets up shortly.

Section 9: Skalkaho Rd to Hamilton
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/119511509
Sections 8 and 9 may not match up perfectly at their respective ending and starting points.

The Whole Thing:
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/117977141
This is the whole route except the section from SH 472 to Skalkaho Road has a straight line section (that's Section 8).

Enjoy!  We can't wait to see all you folks at the start!

More Scouting

Another scouting trip in the bag!  We are trying to get a full GPS track completed of the route with actual ride data so Brandon spent a day and a half on his moto riding the route.  He was able to get much of the route on the GPS and we will be able to download the tracks and make them available in a couple days.  

In addition, he rode some of the sections which we hadn't quite worked out the correct route, namely the section between St. Anthony and Dubois.  As a result of this second trip into the sand dunes north of St. Anthony we have figured out a simpler route (with fewer gates to open and close) to Dubois.   


Brandon said the route was incredibly beautiful and very isolated.  There are very long stretches between towns and resupply points.  While there are streams along the route, many have active cattle grazing, so be prepared either with lots of water or a water purification filter system you trust to handle streams with cows in them.   And smaller towns like Jackson, Montana have quite limited services and stores.   You'll need to plan appropriately.  

Check back in a couple of days for his GPS Tracks!  And we'll try and get an annotated map of the route with some beta on towns, their facilities and water along the route soon.