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Such beautiful countryside and picturesque views! I have been looking for gravel trails 🚵‍♂like that. Wasn't sure if there was any in this area or not. Looking forward to going on segments of that ride. Thanks for taking the effort to film that incredible trip and share it out! And congrats 🥳on completing that day long trek! Amazing accomplishment! Great work all around!

It is a bumpy first part and fun.

DUDE... NICE! Did we ever snd you a patch!?!?!

Hey, just want to know does the negative air piston that is made of metal goes all the way to the inside of the stanchion tube or does it gets stuck after slightly pushing it in? I want to know whether similar to the positive piston that is made of plastic that can move freely all the way in and out of the stanchion tube does the negative piston can move freely inside or it gets stuck after getting at a certain place?

Aye I'm from RVA and I've been down Cornelius Creek! Little sad the first like 50% of it is doubletrack but it's still rad. Truth be told I went down the trail that runs perpendicular to it Apple Orchard Falls when it was still marked as a MTB trail on Trailforks. That's since been changed and I found out why halfway down it haha, it was marked wrong.

Nice video. One of my concerns is that Little Cove and Cornelius are not sanctioned mountain bike trails and don't want to draw attention to the fact that we sometimes ride them. And don't want to piss off the hiking community. I've talked to others that have tried to get permission to use those trails for bike races and have been denied. My friends and I do a lot to keep these trails open and would hate to lose access to these great trails.

Pine is my favorite trail

Let’s goooo!!!!

I liked the video a lot. I'm still not understanding why you packed it in at mile 125 though. Looked like you were absolutely rolling. Was it because you were behind schedule with your finishing time? Was it the rain? It just seems like you abruptly made the call after reaching the stop and were able to get some food in you. Either way, you're a badass for even going out there. Hopefully this year will be a different result. I'll be out there as well. 🤘

Great vid & recap! You're a great rider! It was nice meeting you, and see you in October! Scott

Great video and great route. We did the Rockstar Gravel back in July of 2023. Started in Bridgewater and made a few adjustments along the way to the Tavern. Wish I had taken video of the single track and double track on our second day... just south of route 250. It was brutal. Thanks for sharing your ride!

I was going to do the exact same thing, and this video contained everything I needed. Thanks a lot! To avoid oil on your hands and tools when removing the lowers, just rotate them upwards, and when both sides are loose, rotate downward again and the oil will drain. Great vid!

Awesome video! Thank you for giving directions/route suggestions cause pisgah trail markers are awful so knowing where to turn/go is very helpful

Guess he didn't give that tree some space 😂

200 miles IS enough of a challenge..the extreme mud needs to be weeded out..some mud..yes..extreme not necessary. Do Better

How many Gopros did you carry during the race?

Alan: your awesome, the rain and sudden temperature drop did a lot in, hope to see you there in the future, we have unfinished business.

Love those trails!!!

Great job, and thank you for recording this while you were racing/riding! If you do not mind me asking, is a road or gravel bike better for this fondo? What size tires seem to work best? Also, what's better, slicks tires w/ treads? Thanks so much, Alan!

How did your bike clearance/slick tires deal with the mud? id like your feedback, doesnt seem like you had to stop for mud clearing while walking your bike like other riders... slicks good? how much clearance did you have btwn tires and frame/fork?

feel for ya, great effort, should have re routed for sure.

If you've got no problem jumping train tracks to get an advantage then you can deal with mud. Why not make up your own reroute.

They should have done a reroute. No one would complain that there wasn't enough equipment destroying mud! "That sucked! Why would they reroute? I love destroying my bike! I like getting to water stops where the water is all gone." No one would have said any of these things.

Come back and break 12 hours!

Great effort considering the circumstances. Being from the region and having ridden this race before, I knew about the mud (and how bad the mud can be here) and carried my bike for most of the 3 miles. I only did the 100 miler, but the sacrifice for those 3 miles was worth it because my bike was in great condition afterwards. That being said, that 3 miles really taxed me and I was way behind schedule, and got low on water. When I got to the water stop there was barely any water left. The people directly behind me weren't able to get water so out of respect I only filled one bottle. Luckily there were other intermediate spots (thanks Garmin) before the first aid station that provided a little bit of water, but it was a little scary and I can only imagine arriving at the water "oasis" with no water in the heat of the day exhausted and having to think about trudging for another 20 miles. It's a tough race and you have to be prepared for the worst case scenario. I'll be back next year, but I think I'll just stick to 100 miles.

Mud was ridiculous. Trashed my bike over the decision to make it tough. Worst day on a bike ive ever had. Will never come back.

If the mud pit would have been at the last 11 miles, “sagging” 300 riders would have been a little easier and safer and some would have walked to the finish. As it was, too much lost for the investment. Just my $.02

First of all, thank you for driving so far to out to our little city in the middle of nowhere! I sincerely hope you come back next year. I know all those roads like the back of my hand. Despite having a 4x4 some i still avoid. Haha! You people are brave souls. We as a community are so happy to have you here and always welcome 😉🙂

I get it. I’m an Unbound 100 finisher. Tried the 200 miler and had asthma attack at mile 131 and Fell off my bike into a ditch. Fortunately, my meds and help from a couple of bystanders helped stabilize me while the rescue crew came for me. I don’t like A DNF but I’ve come to realize that remoteness of support is too risky. I’ve done an Ironman, many marathons, and finished on a Race Across America team but all of these at least have good access to emergency responders. I wish you success on your next attempt.

If the route was like that 1-2 days earlier then deffo a re-route needed. Acts of God can’t be catered for on the day of course, but the chap above states people travel from all over the world to race, only to have race ended so early. And waste thousands of pounds travelling and using holidays from work up etc etc. Cheers all.

can't agree more specially for the mud section, this was ridiculous...I came from France for this event and during the mud section I was so stressed by the perspective that my race was already over after a few miles because my bike was "destroyed" by the mud. I was able to "repair" and made it to the finish line (3 hours at mile 21 !).

Hanging out shivering with a bunch of dudes under a tent, eating a hot dog… 🤣

Agree they should have rerouted. The mud pit also caused a water shortage at the oasis for the 100, due to folks washing their bikes.

That mud was a rough way to start the race! Maybe I’ll see you there in the future!

The elements are enough, you don’t have to blame the Hotdogs!

You had me rolling 😂 "Big Gnarly Rock"

chime back for 2023?

Nice summary, and congrats on beating the sun! Are you riding again this year?

Glad you and the Trek held up! Congrats

What kind of syringe is needed for the fork?

Nice video- loving the extra shots of town and rest stations etc. can you post your Strava link? I’m doing it this year

Good job we raced it this weekend

Great video.

Is this race usually all on the road or are there some gravel parts? I'm wanting to participate this year but wanted to know beforehand

I meet a cody howell guy who rides for specialized out of kingsport, tn. He participates in the downhill events up at snow shoe. I might buy his old bike for 2600.00.

Good morning Alan, thank you very much for sharing your videos. What device do you have on the handlebars and what kind of mount is it? Too bad your gopro ran out of battery and we couldn't see the rest of the ride that day, how strange that you don't have an extra battery?

Thanks for this! Looks like a great group of guys. What did y’all use for navigation?

Do you find you need a GOOD chamois/pad cream? Noxema? I have been fighting with ignoring jock itch for too long and fixing it.

What bike? Your rider weight? Tires? Pressure? Rim internal width? Tire size? Lube? What would you do differently? What was a great decision? Thank you!

Great Video!💪🏻💪🏻🇺🇸