They still have the 2025 athlete’s guide up but I found this in the rules. It seems like the only think you need is somebody to pick you up if you can’t continue. Does this sound right?
Each athlete MUST have present at the event at least one Support Crew person to come get them should they need to abandon the event.
Multiple riders may share the same support crew. Riders who do not have a personal support crew can purchase support through the Crew For Hire program during registration, or afterwards by contacting unboundgravel@ltevents.zendesk.com
You may use businesses in the checkpoint towns as your support for resupply, however, you must have someone willing to come pick you up should you choose to abandon the event.
“Pick up service - should you need to abandon the event the KC Jeep Club will take you to the nearest Checkpoint town at which point you will get shuttled back to Emporia. • You will receive a purple wristband with the Crew For Hire dispatch number on it at check-in. You must be wearing this for the Jeep crew to pick you up”
I didn’t think they were making you get a support crew this year. You didn’t have to select one at registration and the earlier email with the feed zones indicated all the food/water/mechanical support will be included.
I’m not sure if anyone is interested, but last year at Leadville I set up a whatsapp group chat for anyone interested. Not much went on, but we were able to say “Hey, I’m doing this section of the ride, anyone interested in joining”, or see if anyone wanted to meet up for food or the expo. If anyone is interested in this for Emporia, send me a PM and I’ll add you.
Yeah, there is a lot of mud on course that isn’t mud. Not just the cow patties you can dodge, but it gathers in the low areas from the rain washing everything down. I’ve ridden and raced thousands of miles on the roads surrounding emporia (including many muddy/wet days) and have not gotten sick despite being completely covered in mud at times. I’m not saying it’s not a risk, but I’m not sure there is an effective solution that is going to dramatically reduce risk.
I’ve seen those bottles with the caps and I think that’s more for peace of mind. Anything that is flying up and getting on your bottle is also likely flying up and hitting you in the face/mouth/hands. I guess the caps might help a little, but not something I choose to use.
This is great to hear. I know I’ve eaten a ton of mud over the years and it’s always been fine so Ima go uncovered at unbound LOL, hopefully it’ll be as usual. Thanks!
These seem to be mostly new courses (at least not used as much). The 200/100 is the same course to Madison then 100 goes north and 200 goes west.
Seems hard to Madison then for the 100, pretty smooth. I am tempted to only go with 2 bottles and then pick up a hydro at the first aid station to save some weight. If we get north winds, like BBS says, aero bars for the 2nd half will really pay off.
For the 200, the MMR section looks rough. Anyone not running mtn bike tires is going to regret it.
The 200 course is mostly a mash up of past years. I made some guesses when I was up there pre-riding a couple weeks ago and hit a decent number of the roads. The first selective spot of the race will be at ~10 miles when we turn onto D road. Short, but steep climb and then more climbing through around mile 21. Road D is also the first spot we will deal with sticky mud if the course is wet. That section from mile 10-21 isn’t crazy selective, but will break the massive pack into manageable groups. The stage race I did a couple weeks back included that stretch and it was a small group coming out (but a much, much smaller field to start with). Whatever group you are with at mile 21 is probably who you will roll with to the first aid station at 42. The Texaco hill climb was super chunky and loose a couple weeks ago and MTB tires were a huge advantage. But I’m sure the entire course is going to get a ton of bike/vehicle traffic between now and the race. That always mashes things down and smooths out the chunk. Vehicles can also cause huge ruts if they are driving the course when muddy. There are several sections I know of (early and late) that will be walking sections if wet. The section of D road at ~10 miles was the initial mud section in 2023 that had all the controversy when they decided not to route around it. It will be interesting to see what they do if conditions are similar. I’d like to see some mud to throw some chaos into the race, but not long stretches. The main thing I worry about is heat, that can make for a miserable day.
There are at least 2 roads west of D they could re-route to. Not sure why they just don’t use either of those in the first place (people in 2023 said those were dry). Heck, if its the same as 2023 I will just go off course.
Luckily the 100 skips Texaco. The MMR in the preview video looked like it would be swamp if it rains.
