Location: Ride Headquarters in Sherborn, MA
Ride Type: Mixed Terrain
Date & Time: Saturday, 14 September 2019. Start times vary from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. If you’re interested riding during the Day, check out the Honey 100!
Distance: 50 km and 100 km
Pricing:
Registration - Now Live on Bikereg
Self-Led and Guided Group - $80
Team - $60
Description: The Honey Moon One Hundred is fun, forests and the full moon. This is a ride developed by the bike builder Honey Bikes. The Honey Moon 100 runs through some of the great roads and trails throughout the Sherborn, Massachusetts area.
When: Saturday, September 14, 2019. Start times vary depending on the category for which you register. We start you off in the evening so you can beat the heat and ride under the full harvest moon. You’ll enjoy a pre ride barbecue with the Honey 100 riders who just returned to share stories from the road, and trails! If you want to ride during the day, check out the Honey 100!
What: We're riding the great roads and quiet trails throughout the area.
Where: Starting and ending at Ride Headquarters in Sherborn, Massachusetts.
Registration Includes
Unique Route: You'll have access to the GPS files to a route we're confident you've not ridden. Even if you ride trails a lot, we know you'll see some new sights!
Support: Ride support throughout the day. If you have a mechanical or an accident, we have a support vehicle on the route.
Food: You’ll have a barbecue pre/post ride and a food stop along the route.
Ride Navigators: If you want to ride with a group, we'll provide that along with a ride leader that will lead you through the route.
Fun and adventure! Bring a positive attitude and we promise you'll have a fun night.
Riding Categories
We offer three categories from which to choose -- something for everyone. Ride Headquarters' mixed-terrain rides require a GPS unit in order to follow the route. Cue sheets don't work for offroad riding. We also require lights as part of this ride is after sunset.
Guided Group: We've got the RHQ leaders ready to take groups of about 10 riders through the endless twists and turns of the Honey 100. You'll get to roll with and meet, new riders while not worrying about when the next turn is. New friends, guided trails, and rider support. What's better than that?
Indy: You ride solo and depart at your convenience. You're sure to see other Honey Riders out on the trails and you can join them or continue your solo ride. Your pace, your internal conversation, your freedom. That's the ride we look forward to. This category requires that you have a GPS unit; see details below.
Team: A group of 3-8 riders that you put together. At least two of your team have GPS units; see details below. You depart at any time between 4:30 and 5:30 pm. You ride at whatever pace you desire. You, your friends, whizzing through the trails with unexpected turns; what could be more fun?
Estimated Time for Pace Categories
One situation we find with mixed terrain routes is that the ride takes longer than most riders expect. It's good to plan for 1,000 turns, mechanicals, a flat or two, time for the food stop, and a moment or two to simply enjoy the trails. Here's the typical time it takes to complete each of the routes:
50 km: 3 to 4.5 hours
100 km: 6 to 9 hours
Riding Pace Categories
Determining true average pace on mixed-terrain rides is challenging. Our experience shows that people tend to think they're riding a lot faster than GPS indicates. There are a number of contributing factors to this speed-dilation:
Most riders don't track their actual time when riding in the woods so it's challenging to have a true sense of trail speed. Road speed is always a lot faster, typically about 2-3 times faster than trail riding.
Even if you tend to average 18 mph on a typical road ride, that pace on a 33-40mm knobby tire is really fast. Knobbies slow you down. Depending on tire pressure, the loss of speed is generally somewhere around 2-4 mph of road pace.
Being fast on the road doesn't mean you're fast in the woods. And, of course, the opposite is true. If you're a 23 mph road rider but not particularly skilled off-road, you might average 5 mph in the woods. That average brings you into the moderate pace group; you may feel that the moderate group pace is slow on the road but it'll be pressuring you on the trails.
Weather conditions, trail conditions, altitude changes all impact the true pace.
Ride leaders each have different strengths and weaknesses. They're also trying to navigate 1,000 turns while keeping track of ten riders; they're doing a difficult job so help them out.
Group participants all have different strengths; we move at the pace of the slowest rider - we leave no one behind in any group.
To help address all the variances, the Honey Moon 100 Ride offers two paces for the guided group rides - and two categories where you choose whatever pace you prefer. Make sure you choose the group pace that is truest for you. If you're in a group that's moving faster than your average, that will be frustrating for everyone. If you're in a group that's too slow for you, you'll be frustrated.
If you want to be pushing the pace, or you're the type to get frustrated if the pace is slower or faster than ideal, we suggest putting together a team of 3-8 with friends that you know ride at your pace. Or, register for the self-led option and ride at your ideal pace throughout the ride. You'll certainly see plenty of friendly faces out there and a support stop along the route.
Remember that the Honey Moon 100 is a fun ride first; choose the category and pace that will ensure you have the most fun.
Here is the pacing we plan to provide - weather conditions and ride navigator variances may impact the true pace slightly:
Fast: 14 mph average. About 18 mph on the road and about 10 mph in the woods.
Moderate: 11 mph average. About 16 mph on the road and about 8 mph in the woods.
The Route
We offer the 50 km route for the Honey Moon 100, If you want more distance, consider the Honey 100 during the day.
We’ve got some great trails and roads in store for you. Ride Headquarters will email the route on the night before the ride. The route is about 50:50 road and off-pavement in terms of distance, not time.
We're riding through every type of terrain available, in something along the following ratios. We've included the 'ideal bike' as a way of explaining that no bike is perfect - that's part of the point of an adventure ride.
Pavement: ~50%. Any road bike would be great; 23-25c tires.
Dirt roads and fire roads: ~12%. Tires in the 28-30c range will be appreciated; filetreads or knobbies might be good for some rides.
Singletrack, well-groomed: ~33%. A 40mm knobby or even a full mountain bike tire might be perfect for good singletrack.
Singletrack, primitive - "goat trails" with roots and rocks in abundance: ~5%. Most riders will be wondering why they didn't ride their mountain bike. Any section that's this challenging is worth it because it means there's something great on the other side of the sector.
Hike-a-Bike: One or two moments where you might find walking faster than riding. It is truly a moment or two during the ride. For these sectors you'll want to leave your bike at home.
The Ideal Bike
This is always a very personal choice based on your abilities, your bike stable, and the weather. We mention bike choice in the Route section of these notes above.
Tires: Most riders will be happiest on knobby 33mm to 40mm tires. Probably nothing wider than 45mm otherwise the roads are likely to feel rather slow.
Gearing: We strongly recommend a low gear of about 1:1 ratio. A 34-tooth small front ring mated with a 32-tooth large rear cog will get you up most of the hills. There is not a lot of climbing on any of the Honey 100 routes, but the climbs can be short and steep at times.
Tire Pressure: Don’t ride tires too soft; you don’t want to get a flat on this ride, and there are paved sections that will go faster with more tire pressure. For tires between 33-45mm, we tend to ride at 66-75% of the tire's rated maximum pressure.
Clipless mountain bike pedals: This ride isn't for everyone; we ride at a fair pace and aren't stopping a lot. You have to ride clipless mountain pedals and shoes; the reasons for this are many, including that clipless pedals provide you more control of your bike, help facilitate getting over obstacles such as logs and rocks, and make bike handling more surefooted.
The Honey Allroads
The Honey Allroads bike is the perfect bike for the Honey Moon 100. This bike is designed to ride on all road conditions – paved, broken, carriage trails, and even well worn single track. We call this the mixed-terrain adventure bike. Take it anywhere to do anything. Order today to have for the Honey Moon 100!
Team Rules
Must have a Group of 3-8 riders.
Email us your team name and list of team members.
Each member registers individually; include your team name.
We will assign you a starting block time; if you have a preferred start time window, email us.
Your team must have at least two GPS Units like Garmin 800s or higher or a Wahoo Element. We strongly recommend having more than two GPS units. We are not printing cue sheets for this mixed-terrain ride. You've fully charged your Garmin and you've loaded the route.
Use a GPS Device that will get you through up to 10-hours of riding time. The only way to navigate the route is with a dedicated GPS device -- like a Garmin 1000 or similar unit. A Garmin 510 or lower is not recommended. Anything from a 705 and up will be adequate -- from a routing standpoint but not necessarily from a battery life standpoint. Yes, we know you'll ride a lot faster than that, but if you have a mechanical, decide to relax at the food stop, or anything else happens, time goes by very quickly.
Bike lights — headlight and taillight — For every Team Member — that will get you through 6-hours of darkness. Easier said than done. Read recommendations on bike lights.
At least two people on your team ride with a comprehensive repair kit that's suited for all-day solo mixed-terrain riding.
Indy Ride Rules
Use a GPS Device that will get you through up to 10-hours of riding time. The only way to navigate the route is with a dedicated GPS device -- like a Garmin 1000 or similar unit. A Garmin 510 or lower is not recommended. Anything from a 705 and up will be adequate -- from a routing standpoint but not necessarily from a battery life standpoint. Yes, we know you'll ride a lot faster than that, but if you have a mechanical, decide to relax at the food stop, or anything else happens, time goes by very quickly.
Bike lights -- headlight and taillight -- that will get you through 6-hours of darkness. Easier said than done. Read recommendations on bike lights.
Honey Moon 100 Rules
Follow good trail etiquette.
Follow the rules of the road.
If a rider asks for help, help.
You represent all cyclists so be on your best behavior.
This is not a race; this is an adventure. If you're not up for having fun with us, stay home.
Bring a repair kit that includes, at a minimum, everything for fixing a flat and a multitool that can help fix most mechanicals. Here's our recommendation for a long mixed-terrain ride.
Bring a helmet, I.D., and clipless mountain bike pedals and shoes.
Fill out the Ride Headquarters Ride Waiver online.
Last Minute Information: Watch Ride Headquarter's Twitter feed for last-minute updates, weather cancellations or other changes.
Ride Headquarters Contact Information: Email RHQ or call: 413-461-RIDE (413-461-7433).
Waiver: RHQ requires a signed waiver before your first ride. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride.
Email us if you have any questions. We hope you'll join us on the Honey 100!
Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for ongoing updates. #honey100 #rideheadquarters