They re-routed to avoid Headwaters Road at mile 36.3 last year. They have not put Headwaters in the course for this year.
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My friend is out there and was on the course yesterday. He posted a video of tires caked in mud and unable to spin freely.
Hopefully it dries out for everyone!
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Packing up the bikes today! Flight tomorrow morning!
First timer doing unbound. Kind of a dumb question. Is it ok to pack items in the ‘crew for hire’ bags that already have water in them? I don’t see any rules against that, but I could’ve sworn I’d seen that in the past. Seems like it would be nice to have pre-mixed bottles. I suppose the risk there is that if one opens up it could get everything wet would not be great. Any aid station advice would be helpful for this noob
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I know the 3 feet crew specifically say no water in the bags. Not sure about the other crew. I would imagine it is a no, for the reason that you could get everyone else’s stuff wet/sticky/gross, but it would be a good question to ask at the expo/check in.
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there is nothing explicitly stating no liquids in the bags. The only thing close to mentioning that would be "DROP BAGS
As a courtesy to our volunteers and to your fellow participants, we ask that your drop bags follow standard carryon size and weight restrictions. " But I’m interpreting that as it’s ok. I will have a hydration pack and two bottles prefilled for each bag! I want my checkpoints to be QUICK. We’ll ask when we check in with them. https://www.unboundgravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025UNBOUNDGravelCFHGuide_5_20.pdf
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yesterday my human coach (not TR) had me doing 4x10min hard starts: 1min at 115%, 9min at 98%. So your workout isn’t that crazy other than the 5min rest. I got 8min rest. But also I’m in peak fitness for the year and love that stuff.
On the checkpoint and using drop bags/crew VS just the standard volunteer run AS’s has anyone compared the two times, when i did the race, there was rarely a line and the only thing missing that REALLY bummed me out at the volunteer run stations was NO water with drink mix which wish i would’ve just brought a NUUN with me. Coming into the stations its the very first there, you don’t have to slow down a ton and look for your crew and if you do have a drop bag the volunteers had it down to where there was no waiting. I’d bet its faster. Looking for your crew, slows you down, and unless they have full bottles waiting its the same time, plus you don’t want to sit down and be consoled by your crew you wanna be in and out. Don’t stop, it only lengthens the misery of time you are out there. Just think that if you can handle the food there (no picky dietary needs) its faster to just slam their bananas, PB&J and go. Not doing it this year (maybe never again, beat the sun was my goal and i did it, tried to get in the next year(denied) and hadn’t tried since). Good luck to all!
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Seeing a decent amount of mud pics on pros’ instagrams. Wonder if it will hang around.
Any good follows for course recon?
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Farmer’s kids should ditch the lemonade stand and instead get out the pressure washer and charge $5 to clean the drive train. 
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The unbound 2025 Facebook page has a lot of people posting ride updates.
Mind sharing any for those without a FB account? Looks to be a private group
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I’ll try when it gets closer. Conditions will change a lot between today and Friday.
this is a primary reason why I will most likely never do this race in any format. Spending 2-3 days of my personal time along with $1000+ in cost in order to line up on the start line just to do possibly do above to your bike and have a miserable day in the saddle is not something that I could stomach.
Even if this was a “free” ride, I’d still probably opt out. Like Mohoric said last year, “you guys go ahead and enjoy…”
to each their own
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I went to midsouth this year and was literally trapped with 20-30 others and several police officers in our campground because wildfires have overcome the only exit. Trapped with my wife and 2 kids.
Crazy things can happen on any trip. Leaving your house is a risk every day.
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Lutsen 99er 2024 has entered the chat.
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Kinda felt this way rolling over the finish line in 2023, well beyond my goal time. Hands raw because I was an idiot and didn’t wear gloves. Bartape unraveling because of the rain and goofy setup choices. Lower back on fire. Bike totally clapped (6 month old bike scraped and scratched like I had had it for over 5 years, BB shot, front wheel bearings wobbling, rear brake pads worn through and no longer functioning). Wahoo died with several hours left in the race, and I had to navigate by following others in the dark.
But for all of these reasons, I feel like I have unfinished business with this race.
I’m doing that one this year too 
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Yep, it’s good that there are races/events of different flavors. I’m not hoping for endless miles of mud, but I’m generally a fan of things that make a race less sterile and “normal”. If the playing field isn’t a moving target with lots of selective decision points, racing gets boring and predictable. Weather and mud challenges everyone and will reward the folks who make good equipment choices, have decent handling skills, and understand how to keep a bike working in sloppy conditions.
Part of the appeal of some of these races is that they can make for some epic experiences and memories. Maybe that’s cliche and doesn’t interest some, but I think it’s a big part of the draw. And for a little $ and time, it scratches that itch for some. We’re not talking about spending $75k to put your life on the line standing in a conga line on the top of Everest. It’s a bike race with a little mud mixed in.
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I rode Divide rd this afternoon and while it had a number of puddles, it was all rideable. Wetter than last year for sure. Seems probable it could dry out more by Saturday even with the rain tonight.
I also ventured onto a portion of the XL course around mile 70 that was not rideable for almost the entire stretch of MMR.
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Awesome intel, thanks for sharing. One of the challenges I’ve found with some of the mud sections (including divide rd) is that really wet mud can actually be better. When it’s really wet, it doesn’t stick, but can get sticky when it has less water in it. Hopefully it will be a non-sticky consistency on Saturday. I plan to make a trip up there Friday afternoon and check out that section to make a final tire decision and I’ll post it here.
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