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I hear about "Epic Rides" but what classifies a ride as an epic? Is it the mileage? trail features? scenery? location? a mix of these? What do you say?
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"brianW" wrote
I hear about "Epic Rides" but what classifies a ride as an epic? Is it the mileage? trail features? scenery? location? a mix of these? What do you say?
Not sure as to the exact specifics, but my take on an epic ride would be all of the above that you mentioned. Miles is always good (especially DH), trail features are always a top priority for me, & scenery is always tip top and a must. Location, not important to me, but others I would think maybe. A mix of all is always a good thing.
Me personally, I prefer as much fast DH as I can get, with a mix of lots of trail features, and scenery does make it much more enjoyable. Just my little take on it….LOL
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blood (or at least a crash that should have drawn blood) and a mechanical need to be added to the list.
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^^^^ Good source for an all around definition.
Well, one persons epic adventure may not be another ones, and one persons ideal of an epic ride may differ from one another, including IMBA’s definition of an epic ride. I think it all boils down to the riders, as one adventure may not be another ones adventure or quite meet their standards of an "Epic Ride"
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"Bonsai-CP" wrote
^^^^ Good source for an all around definition.
Well, one persons epic adventure may not be another ones, and one persons ideal of an epic ride may differ from one another, including IMBA’s definition of an epic ride. I think it all boils down to the riders, as one adventure may not be another ones adventure or quite meet their standards of an "Epic Ride"
Well said Bonsai-CP. Everyone’s idea of epic is different, very subjective. It even changes over time for the individual as you get more miles under your belt. My first year 10 miles was epic. Now, for me 20 – 25 miles of back country National Forest with wildlife and some good downhills and rock gardens fit the definition. I don’t think I will ever get the endurance level to do the 50 and 100 milers, but thats not really important to me.
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It is Epic for you if you say it is. Epic is as Epic does. 😄 Later,
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i’m kind of suprised singletracks doesn’t have reviews yet for all the IMBA EPIC trails. maybe i can help fix that when i get back from this deployment. i’m planning a road trip from valdosta ga to abq new mexico. i plan on riding an IMBA epic in alabama, missouri, two in arkansas one in tx then take a few days off in abq before i hit the four in colorado and then maybe on the return trip, if i have time, i”l hit the one in tennessee. i just hope three weeks is enough time to do it all!
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"limetownjack" wrote
i’m kind of suprised singletracks doesn’t have reviews yet for all the IMBA EPIC trails. maybe i can help fix that when i get back from this deployment. i’m planning a road trip from valdosta ga to abq new mexico. i plan on riding an IMBA epic in alabama, missouri, two in arkansas one in tx then take a few days off in abq before i hit the four in colorado and then maybe on the return trip, if i have time, i”l hit the one in tennessee. i just hope three weeks is enough time to do it all!
Singletracks actually has a few at least. I know that Alafia MTB Park & also Santos MTB Park here in FL are IMBA Epic trails, and they have lots of reviews.
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I think it’s a combination of distance, difficulty, seclusion, natural beauty, crashes, mechanicals… and fun. Lots and lots of fun!
But I agree that "epic" can be different things to different people. I know that since I’ve started riding, what I consider "epic" has definitely changed!
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part of an epic ride for me is when my bike is just an extension of me. We are one.
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"limetownjack" wrote
i’m kind of suprised singletracks doesn’t have reviews yet for all the IMBA EPIC trails.
We’ve got the vast majority. I think all but 3 or 4. The problem is, a lot of the IMBA epic "rides" aren’t just one trail but a combination of multiple trails in an area. A lot of them are listed this way on Singletracks. Several others need to be updated for name recognition. Lastly, some just need to be linked to the Singletracks IMBA Epic page. I’ll see if I can get Trek7k to update the ones I am sure about.
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"GoldenGoose" wrote
We’ve got the vast majority. I think all but 3 or 4
yeah, most of them are here on singletracks. in fact, out of the ones i looked up the only one that was missing was the fresno-sauceda loop in texas.
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"fat_billy" wrote
It is Epic for you if you say it is. Epic is as Epic does. 😄
Ditto! An epic ride is for what YOU determine it to be – I mean, if it takes you 3 hours to cover 5 miles of terrain, there’s a pretty good chance when you were sitting with a beer that night, you said "man, that was [i:3uherycp]epic[/i:3uherycp]." 😀
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For me ‘epic’ is more about the experience of the ride. It could be a short ride, or a long ride, crashes, mechanicals, or easy sailing.
An epic ride is one you’ll never forget, for whatever the reason.
Probably the most epic ride I’ve ever had was last year’s mudfest that was the Fools Gold endurance race. After 6.5hrs (which is how long it took me to complete the 50 miles in 2008) I had only made it a measley 30 miles. My bike was still working, but all around me other’s bikes were failing. Drivetrains, brakes, and suspension components were getting eaten alive. I called it quits and took a few miles of gravel road back to the car.
I ended up replacing all the brake pads, rotors, and my pedals. I got lucky. A friend of mine that also did the race, and DNF’d at the same spot I did, had a much more costly day. His RD got ripped off, the rear brake froze and had to be removed, the front pads were basically gone (piston on rotor contact), his fork had no more dampening, and the rear shock seized.
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I agree that what is an epic ride may be different from person to person, but in order to be an epic ride I think it has to be the type of ride you don’t do everyday – it has to be an extraordinary ride, one that you don’t do all too often, great scenery, challenging, one that you could tell stories about.
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