2016 Brown County Epic Mountain Bike Festival General Information

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1 2016 Brown County Epic Mountain Bike Festival General Information Brown County Epic Registration Information *2016 Epic Rides will take place on Saturday again this year. Event camping offered Thursday - Saturday Registration Includes: Free commemorative t-shirt Epic rides of up to 100 miles with SAG support A weekend full of live music from local bands Complimentary beer tasting from Big Woods/Quaff On! Food/Drinks and Mechanical at SAG Stops Post ride BBQ catered by Big Woods Brewery A special commemorative event pint glass FREE bike and product demos both Saturday and Sunday Great raffle items and prizes Event participants are also able to purchase tickets for three nights of camping in the State Park at the event festival camping area at the north entrance pool! There are bathrooms and showers at the Pool House. REMEMBER: The Brown County Epic is a fundraising event with proceeds going to Hoosier Mountain Bike Association, the group responsible for building and maintaining the trails in Brown County. Each paid participant will be given a wristband to wear. This wristband will help us identify who has registered and allows you access to all the great items mentioned above. Your wristband will be put on at registration, please keep it on until you are finished with the event. Getting to Brown County State Park There are two entrances to the park, a north entrance and a west entrance. The best entrance for the event is the North Gate entrance located just east of Nashville on Indiana State

2 Highway 46. CAUTION: If you use the North Gate Entrance, you must go through a covered bridge, which has a clearance of only 9 feet. BE AWARE OF THE HEIGHT OF YOUR VEHICLE. If your vehicle will not clear, you will have to use the West Entrance, located west of Nashville on Highway 46. The Horseman's Camp entrance on the south side CANNOT be used to enter the park. It is for the horse camp only. REMINDER: You must pay an entrance fee to Brown County State Park. This is NOT included in your registration fee. There is a $7.00 Gate Fee for Indiana license plates and a $9.00 Gate Fee for Non-Indiana license plates. This fee admits the driver and all passengers. There is a $2.00 Gate Fee for anyone entering the park as a pedestrian or on bicycle. If you registered for camping you will get a hang-tag that will get you in and out of the park during the event. There is also a new off road cycling permit required for It is not required to get into the park, if they pull you over on intermediate/advanced trails you may be required to have one, however it is unlikely they will have anyone on the trails checking this. Start/Finish Area and Registration The Start/Finish area will be located by the swimming pool, just inside of the North Gate House. Check-in will be at the HMBA tents in front of the pool building on Friday and Saturday. No parking will be allowed in this area unless you have registered for on-site camping. If you are camping Thursday night there will be someone to check you in. The main parking area the day of the event will be in the large field, north of the main mountain bike trailhead parking, between the parking lot and the pool. Overflow parking is available at the Lower Shelter. There will be volunteers to help direct you once you are at the park. Event Shirts and Pint Glasses Participants can pick up their t-shirt at the end of the ride. If you are an HMBA member and register for the Saturday ride only, you can pick up a free pint glass at the end of the ride. ** You must attend the event to receive your free t-shirt and swag! (This allows us to better keep track of people who may still be out on the trails. We won t leave until we are sure everyone has returned safely). Trail Information The best part of the event is the ride itself! Each participant has the flexibility to ride a shorter or longer distance on the day of the event if they choose. It's not a race it's just a ride. Have fun and ride however much you want! All of the different distances use most of the same trails, and riders can select which loops/distances to ride! This makes it easier for each rider to decide how far they want to ride, and which trails they want to experience. The ride begins and ends on the IMBA Epic Brown County mountain bike trail system. Asphalt will be taken for a few miles through the state park campground to access the connector trail to Yellowwood State Forest.

3 As riders return to Brown County State park they can take a direct route back (similar to the way out) or add miles by riding most of the Brown County State Park trails. The longer distance riders will have an opportunity to ride all the trails in the park. In the event of inclement weather, alternate routes or additional road will be used to prevent damage to the trails and ensure the safety of participants. You can also download to access maps on your phone. Please remember that mountain bikers must yield to horseback riders and hikers. Always follow the IMBA Rules of the Trail. SAG Stations and SAG Bags There will be 3 SAG stations; Hesitation Point, Crooked Creek, and Nebo Ridge Trail Head. You can use the bag you received at registration as your SAG bag or any bag that you have. Each rider will be allowed to fill one bag with items you may need. We will have duct tape and sharpies to label each bag. Please keep in mind that bags will NOT be refrigerated, so no perishable items. You may include sports drinks, sports bars, snacks, spare tubes, lube for your chain, lights. While we will do our best to bring the remaining contents of the bags back to the Start/Finish at the end of the day's events, we cannot guarantee the return of items in the bags. Please try to use what you have put in the bags, and we recommend that you do not include any valuable parts or tools. Bags will only be dropped off at Crooked Creek SAG stop, you must access your bag by 3:00 pm, after that we cannot guarantee it will be at the SAG stop. What you should take with you while riding While there will be SAG stops with food, water, sports drinks and some mechanical support, each rider should be well prepared to deal with the physical and mechanical problems that may arise between stops. Each rider will be STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to always have the following items before leaving the Start or any of the SAG stops: Course maps 100 ounces of water 2 inner tubes Hand pump or at least two CO2 cartridges and an inflation device Tire levers Patch kit Chain tool Full set of metric Allen wrenches Standard and Phillips screwdrivers Compass Chain lube Standard and Phillips screwdrivers Spare derailleur hanger for your make and model of bike Food or energy supplements

4 Small first aid kit Emergency light source (LED lamps are tiny, lightweight and long lasting) Identification (Drivers license, state ID, etc.) Starting the Ride The ride will start in front of Registration at the Pool House at 8:00 am, faster riders that wish to ride the longer routes should start at this time. We will be sending riders out at 8:00, 8:30, and 9:00. The ride begins with a short stretch of pavement. This will help a bit with crowding and traffic as the ride begins. Please be patience throughout the ride. If you need to pass someone, please ask if you may pass, and pass cautiously and carefully, only when given the OK. The groups will quickly spread out and people will naturally sort themselves out as the ride progresses. Pre-ride Safety Talk We will do a safety talk 10 minutes before each start time. We will cover trail condition, what to do in case you are injured or have mechanical problems, weather conditions, and a reminder of when SAG stations will be shutting down. REMINDER: All participants MUST check in at the start/finish area when you complete the ride! On the day of the event, local sunset time is 7:15 p.m. We require all participants arrive back at the Start/Finish at Brown County State Park NO LATER than 7:00 p.m. To help ensure all participants make it back before dark, riders will not be permitted to pass through SAG stops after certain cutoffs. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE ALLOWED. Riders are encouraged to bring an emergency light source with them in case of a mechanical problem or injury near the end of the ride Course Marking The course will be well marked with signs, yellow caution tape, and orange marking paint. Turns, intersections and confusing areas will be well marked. Please keep in mind that there may be long sections of trail that will have few or no markings. Maps are available online at please scroll all the way down the Event Notes to see the map files. Riders are expected to study the map and familiarize themselves with the course. The course and course markings will be reviewed prior to the start. Cell Phone Coverage

5 Cell phones work in many parts of the park but are not a reliable tool for navigation or communication. However, most of the route does have cell phone 911 emergency service, so it is a good idea to take your phone with you in case of an emergency. Epic Festival Information There is no age limit for this event. All children under the age of eighteen must be riding with a parent or guardian. A youth participant ticket is available for those 15 and under who are participating in the event. Cost is $50 and includes camping, event t-shirt and BBQ after the ride. Pine Loop will have one-way traffic on Saturday and Sunday and riders can even continue on to the North Tower Connector Trail and North Tower Loop, both beginner level trails. The mountain bike trails are open to the public during this event. Weekend Product Demo There will be bike and product demos on Friday 12-5, Saturday 12-5, and Sunday 11-4, at the main mountain bike parking lot near the North Gate Entrance. This is open to the public but priority will be given to event participants. Not all the demos will be present all 3 days, but all will be present at least 2 days, check with the demo trucks on their schedule Demo participants include: Trek, Specialized, Giant, Scott, Salsa, Ibis, Marin, Rocky Mountain, Matthews Bike Shop, ITW Tire Repair, and Simply Fitness. Thank you again for participating in the 2015 Brown County Epic MTB Festival, your support will help HMBA continue to build new trails and maintain the current trails!