If Fattys and Single Speeds have strong showings for consecutive years we would consider adding categories for them.
However, the numbers would have to be significant, as in Cyclocross, before we could start paying separate age classes within the categories.
Got my Black Fly Challenge jersey. I noticed that both sleeves say
“Inlet, NY”, but the preview picture had Inlet, NY on one sleeve, and Indian Lake, NY on the other. Are they all like that, or just mine?
Huh… I am guessing the jersey was all printed in parts and when they sewed mine together, they accidentally grabbed two Inlet sleeve pieces, instead of an Inlet and an Indian Lake piece. I am wondering if I can return it and get a properly made jersey?
Water stations are at (approximately): 7mi, 11mi, 15mi, 19mi, 24mi, 28mi, 33mi – however, it’s a long race so entrants are expected to carry some water and energy supplies.
There will be food, beverages (including beer) and music near the finish line. Indian Lake Ambulance Corps is doing the food. We could not do the race without them so PLEASE spend a few bucks at their concession and help support the Indian Lake Ambulance Corps!
The Black Fly is not a technical mtb trail race but it’s long with lots of hills. Do training rides, fuel your body properly and hydrate properly before, during and after the race.
There’s no ‘official’ word yet from Inlet, Indian Lake or DEC but the Moose River Plains road is said to be in good shape. Of course rain could soften it up before the race but at this point it’s hard and dry.
Spring 2012 has been relatively dry compared to 2011, when heavy runoff and torrential rains caused extensive damage to the road. Here’s hoping for a dry, fast race!
Okay, I feel better now knowing that this was really tough conditions. I finished in 3 & change w/out getting off the bike but I was shot at the end. I know what to expect next year and hats off to all involved.
Great Race ! Conditions like that will show you what your made of. Best time ever ( that is for the results to be posted on-line). Hats off to the organizers ( Gordy + Ted ) and the DEC ( you guys got some road work to do this summer) and all the volunteers, great job under very tough conditions. See you next year !
Toughest and most rewarding Black Fly I’ve done. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, passed me on the road as I spun out the 34×16 gear on my 29er singlespeed. Things improved once we got to the dirt and the mud and real climbing started. Finished 19th overall and 4th in mtb class for my best result yet.
Great race-surprised it was all up-hill!! thanks to all that made it possible. A huge congrads to the racer who broke/lost his chain and ran the bulk of the course in order to finish ahead of the sweeper vehicle–very impressed
That guy was AWSOME and his group was one of the Super Nice people that were able to accomodate my wife and our bikes back to Indian Lake!! I probably would have stopped but he Didn’t That takes dedication!!!
Many thanks to all the volunteers and the DEC for making the race possible! This was my first year and
really had second thoughts about doing it once we got to Indian Lake. The weather and conditions were awful! What a blast! This race will surely tell you what you’re made of and push you to your limits. Looking forward to next year.
First year doing this race.We ran “cheap” walmart bikes and both completed it. I was beat, brakes were gone on bike
we missed the afternoon shuttle by 10 mins even though we prepaid and had confirmation for. Disapointed in that as there was no cell service or ride back to indian lake, LUCKILY there were 2 Nice people headed back and were able to accomodate my wife and I and our bikes.
Great experience will be back next year but will drop off vehicle at Finishline ahead of time and have nicer bikes!!!
Does anyone know how we can get the pictures the photographers were taking during the race. I would like to have them to show my wife just how crazy this race was! Are they posted to a website or do you have to order them.
I finished shortly before the 5-hour mark, but I’m not listed in the overall results… Who can I talk to about this? It’s not an impressive result time, but I’m pretty happy with it for my first ever bike race. I wanna show it off a bit.
Terrible weather, poor course conditions, and a great time! Terrific volunteers, fast results and awards, and an incredible job that everyone did to get the course in the best shape one could expect. Looking forward to a faster time next year! RT
What a great Race this year! My third time, and I’ve never seen conditions so horrible.
However, the racers all had wonderul attitudes despite the conditions – supportive of one another, and helpful. Really fun to be around!
Most importantly, sincere thanks and awe need to go out to the volunteers – standing in the rain with bugs everywhere, to help us all along our way. You guys are *GREAT*!!!
As it says on the FAQ’s page, “There are usually 6 water stations along the route but it’s a long race with plenty of elevation changes, so plan to carry some water and energy supplies.”
Not all bikes are created equal. In your case, those walmart bikes are a liability at best. Poorly built, poorly assembled and dangerous for this event. I hope you are lucky enough to ride nearly 30 miles of rugged dirt roads with no major catastrophes. Good luck. Stop into Pedals and Petals to see if they can give those bikes a quick once over to make sure they are up to the challenge.
finished the race with the “cheap” bikes breaks were gunked up with mud and bent a derailler due to a roadflare wire kicking up off road and getting caught but over all bikes were good and are back together and riding again!!!
A friend of mine and I are looking forward to the race next weekend but missed out on the shuttle back to Indian Lake. Is there anyone riding that will be returning to Indian Lake on Saturday afternoon and would have room for two more riders and bikes?
Hi Eric
We also missed out on the shuttle, but could coordinate something where we pick you up from Inlet in the morning and then you drive us back after the race. Or visa versa. You can e-mail me at willowwinona(at)yahoo if you’d like to coordinate something.
Hey all, I just discovered this race and am very interested. What’s up with the shuttle(s)? AM is full but afternoon isn’t? Wouldn’t one only need to take a shuttle in AM from finish to start (assuming you’re leaving car at finish). I’d be driving from CT by myself so need to understand logistics. Thanks.
Some people leave their car at the start and take the shuttle back from the finish. And some people just go to the start and look for someone to drive their car to the finish.
Hey ben…did u find a ride yet….i think my ride back to the start just dropped me…maybe we can work something out…….I plan on leaving Albany around 5:30-6:00 am……Jim H
BFC does not send registration confirmations. In fact, you are only contacted if your registration info is incomplete. However, we will check for your name the next time the registration database is open. If you’re not in there we’ll get back to you.
http://inletny.com/ http://indian-lake.com/
The race ends in Inlet this year and Screamen Eagle/Matt’s Draft House is having a band that night so the Marina Motel, the Parquet Hotel and Woods Inn are good options for anyone planning to have a few after the race.
I rode last year with a Santa Cruz Superlight with the RP23 (lockout). There were way more people there riding mtn. bikes then I expected. I also used a loose dirt/gravel tire – can’t remember what brand but if you’d like to know I’ll take a look and reply.
This will be my first year doing Black Fly, in terms of a tire I just picked up a set of Bontrager Jones 1.8″ tires for my 29er. They defiantly roll fast!
Has anybody ever attempted this on a road bike? I’m not familiar with the course, but if the single track at the end was packed enough it seems possible. Thoughts from previous racers?
I’d advise against it. If you could get some 70×28′s with a winter or CX style tread to fit in your fork, you might pull it off, but you’ll see ‘cross bikes and MTB’s for the most part. I saw someone start on a road bike a couple of years ago and thought it was pretty cool, but then they flatted. The rocks can get pretty big out there when you’re bombing down the hills. 700×32′s on a CX bike works great if you want to go fast.
This year the race goes from Indian Lake to Inlet. You can read the course description here but the quick description is: some paved road (app 8mi), mostly gravel roads (app 28mi), another 1.5mi paved road, then about 1 to 1.5mi of easy to intermediate trails to the finish. The gravel roads aren’t technical but can be quite fast and loose.
I had a blast at this race. Are there any other similar type races within reasonable driving distance from Western NY? I have done The Ramble Around Prattsburg race and that was a lot of fun. Any others?
Check out Race With the Wind, in Lowville, Tug Hill Plateau area. I did it two years ago… Not sure if they are running it in 2011. If you can travel to Massachusetts, there’s the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonee (D2R2), which isn’t technically a race–but it’s awesome!
I find it interesting that I finished 2nd in the Beginner 30-39 male category to a person who finished 40 minutes ahead of me. Only to be looking through the photos and see the race number of that person on the front of a cross bike? Just an interesting observation.
Steve, you are correct. Somehow Phil McCarthy got bumped from Cyclocross to Beginner. It must have happened in the results sorting process because we know Phil registered as Cyclocross.
With so many bikes crossing the line we can’t know if something is wrong unless someone tells us – that’s the reason for the protest period. For whatever reason Phil didn’t let us know during the protest period that he was in the wrong category but to his credit he also did not collect a prize for the inadvertent placement.
We are correcting the final results and hope to post them today. So the Beginner Men’s 30-39 is 1) Steve Stearns; 2) Greg Hammond; 3) Jamie Campbell. All three are welcome to stop into Pedals & Petals so Ted can arrange for the proper prizes.
Sorry I missed the error during the protest period. Unfortunately my wife picked me up right after the race and needed to be in Lake Placid to get her race packet for the Half Marathon the next day. TRUST me, I wish I had noticed since I missed out on a $50 prize. The money doesn’t matter, but if my standings in the results could be corrected, that would be great.
Great race and a huge thanks to all the volunteers! This was my first Black Fly, doubt it will be the last. I’m going to try to get a write-up on my blog over the next week or so.
We will post photos of the start here on BlackFlyChallenge.com in the next few days and more photos as they become available. Also, Inner Mountain Sports Photography was taking photos which will be available at their website.
I travel all the way from Indiana to do this race. It is one of my favorite events all year. It is very challenging, a lot of fun and exceptionally well organized – and very pretty if you take the time to look up. Thanks to everyone who makes it possible. See you again next year!
I haven’t done this race before, but I have done a trail race in the area. When the black flies are bad, they are really bad! Spray yourself with good strong bug spray and you will be fine. Don’t forget the back of your neck.
What I carry is a cheap little basic bike tool that I got at Harbor Frieght. I also carry a couple Pedro’s tire levers, a Microflate tire inflater along with a couple CO2 cartridges, and a couple spare tubes.
Water, energy and tools are standard for most racers & some even take bug dope. The route is marked for race day with directional arrows and down arrows (indicating hazards) but the course is fairly obvious. Read the Course Descriptions here: http://blackflychallenge.wordpress.com/bfc-race-info/course-map/
mailed my check some time ago… Is anyone else getting slow response to registration? is there a way to contact anyone to verify the registration was recieved?
I planned to race my 29er mountain bike in the Expert Mountain bike catagory, but someone told me I would have to enter CX being I am not a 26inch mtn bike. Is this true?
There are 5 or 6 water stations but it’s a long route so racers should have a hydrapack or water bottle(s) as well. Also, bring your own race energy supplies. There will be a food vendor at the post race venue.
Hey, there are a bunch of us coming up this year on Fat Bikes. How about a separate class for the Fatty’s??
If Fattys and Single Speeds have strong showings for consecutive years we would consider adding categories for them.
However, the numbers would have to be significant, as in Cyclocross, before we could start paying separate age classes within the categories.
How about a 9 speed 29er class?
Hmmm, Time to register? June is coming right up!
Got my Black Fly Challenge jersey. I noticed that both sleeves say
“Inlet, NY”, but the preview picture had Inlet, NY on one sleeve, and Indian Lake, NY on the other. Are they all like that, or just mine?
That’s the first we’ve heard of something like that. Every jersey we’ve seen so far has Inlet on one sleeve and Indian Lake on the other.
Huh… I am guessing the jersey was all printed in parts and when they sewed mine together, they accidentally grabbed two Inlet sleeve pieces, instead of an Inlet and an Indian Lake piece. I am wondering if I can return it and get a properly made jersey?
Contact Shift Cyclewear.
Thanks! I have emailed them.
We are happy to say that the injured racer’s family says he will be fine and appreciates you for stopping and caring!
WordPress sites are “standards compliant” but Internet Explorer is not so that may be your problem. Try using another browser.
The last report on the injured racer is that he was in stable condition and expected to recover.
Saw a truck with flashing red lights and an ambulence pass me in the opposite direction in the last part of the race. Was someone injured in the race?
One racer went down hard, suffered a concussion and was transported to Glens Falls Hospital.
Any word on their condition? I hope they are okay!
We would love to know if the racer is okay, we stopped and sat with him until the EMTs came and have been thinking of him since.
Heard the course is a lot dryer this year–choice on tires? stay with knobby or go smooth??
Anyone have any recommendations on what tire pressure to run on a cyclocross bike?
At approx what miles will the water stops be located?
Water stations are at (approximately): 7mi, 11mi, 15mi, 19mi, 24mi, 28mi, 33mi – however, it’s a long race so entrants are expected to carry some water and energy supplies.
Do us drivers get to partake in the after race BBQ?
“DON’T FORGET – this is a Destination Race! -Bring someone to drive your vehicle to the post race party in Indian Lake!!!”
There will be food, beverages (including beer) and music near the finish line. Indian Lake Ambulance Corps is doing the food. We could not do the race without them so PLEASE spend a few bucks at their concession and help support the Indian Lake Ambulance Corps!
Facebook friend Melissa Stoddard Vaughn posted: “My husband and I will be newbies this year. Any advice?”
The Black Fly is not a technical mtb trail race but it’s long with lots of hills. Do training rides, fuel your body properly and hydrate properly before, during and after the race.
I’m on the same boat, wonder about the trail in general.
Can someone describe how the trail is like and how much time an average rider will do it?
When the race goes from Inlet to Indian Lake there are no trails involved. Read the course description(s) here.
How are the course conditions looking this year? Last year was my first and it was 3 1/4+ hours of muddy hell! Loved it so much I’m coming back!
There’s no ‘official’ word yet from Inlet, Indian Lake or DEC but the Moose River Plains road is said to be in good shape. Of course rain could soften it up before the race but at this point it’s hard and dry.
Spring 2012 has been relatively dry compared to 2011, when heavy runoff and torrential rains caused extensive damage to the road. Here’s hoping for a dry, fast race!
BFC 2012 REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
Murdock……I’m comin’ for you! See y’all in 2012…
Okay, I feel better now knowing that this was really tough conditions. I finished in 3 & change w/out getting off the bike but I was shot at the end. I know what to expect next year and hats off to all involved.
Great Race ! Conditions like that will show you what your made of. Best time ever ( that is for the results to be posted on-line). Hats off to the organizers ( Gordy + Ted ) and the DEC ( you guys got some road work to do this summer) and all the volunteers, great job under very tough conditions. See you next year !
Toughest and most rewarding Black Fly I’ve done. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, passed me on the road as I spun out the 34×16 gear on my 29er singlespeed. Things improved once we got to the dirt and the mud and real climbing started. Finished 19th overall and 4th in mtb class for my best result yet.
Great race-surprised it was all up-hill!! thanks to all that made it possible. A huge congrads to the racer who broke/lost his chain and ran the bulk of the course in order to finish ahead of the sweeper vehicle–very impressed
That guy was AWSOME and his group was one of the Super Nice people that were able to accomodate my wife and our bikes back to Indian Lake!! I probably would have stopped but he Didn’t That takes dedication!!!
josh-it was us who gave you the ride–pleasure to me you–hope to see you at the race again next year
has anyone heard from the rider that went to GF hospital?
Broken collar bone, broken ribs, punctured lung, but should be ok.
Phil, was he an Ommegangster?
Brother in law of an Ommegangster.
Many thanks to all the volunteers and the DEC for making the race possible! This was my first year and
really had second thoughts about doing it once we got to Indian Lake. The weather and conditions were awful! What a blast! This race will surely tell you what you’re made of and push you to your limits. Looking forward to next year.
First year doing this race.We ran “cheap” walmart bikes and both completed it. I was beat, brakes were gone on bike
we missed the afternoon shuttle by 10 mins even though we prepaid and had confirmation for. Disapointed in that as there was no cell service or ride back to indian lake, LUCKILY there were 2 Nice people headed back and were able to accomodate my wife and I and our bikes.
Great experience will be back next year but will drop off vehicle at Finishline ahead of time and have nicer bikes!!!
Does anyone know how we can get the pictures the photographers were taking during the race. I would like to have them to show my wife just how crazy this race was! Are they posted to a website or do you have to order them.
Thanks!
The photos should be posted soon on the Inner Mountain Photo website.
Awesome, thank you!
I finished shortly before the 5-hour mark, but I’m not listed in the overall results… Who can I talk to about this? It’s not an impressive result time, but I’m pretty happy with it for my first ever bike race. I wanna show it off a bit.
Are you sure your timing chip was still on your helmet? I saw a few on the course.
Yeah, it’s still on my helmet right now.
First timer. Had a great time soggy weather and all, the hill and the flies were a true challenge. See you next year. Great job.
Terrible weather, poor course conditions, and a great time! Terrific volunteers, fast results and awards, and an incredible job that everyone did to get the course in the best shape one could expect. Looking forward to a faster time next year! RT
What a great Race this year! My third time, and I’ve never seen conditions so horrible.
However, the racers all had wonderul attitudes despite the conditions – supportive of one another, and helpful. Really fun to be around!
Most importantly, sincere thanks and awe need to go out to the volunteers – standing in the rain with bugs everywhere, to help us all along our way. You guys are *GREAT*!!!
-kl
First year doing the Blackfly. I know that there are a bunch of water stops, but is there anything else at these, or are we on our own for nutrition ?
As it says on the FAQ’s page, “There are usually 6 water stations along the route but it’s a long race with plenty of elevation changes, so plan to carry some water and energy supplies.”
These are the bike my wife and I are riding. Are these going to work ok?
my wifes is a schwinn avenue http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schwinn-Avenue-700cc-Ladies-Hybrid-Bike/15711188
mine is this http://www.walmart.com/ip/Genesis-26-Men-s-V2100-Dual-Suspension-Bicycle/14089739 thanks for help here!!
Not all bikes are created equal. In your case, those walmart bikes are a liability at best. Poorly built, poorly assembled and dangerous for this event. I hope you are lucky enough to ride nearly 30 miles of rugged dirt roads with no major catastrophes. Good luck. Stop into Pedals and Petals to see if they can give those bikes a quick once over to make sure they are up to the challenge.
finished the race with the “cheap” bikes breaks were gunked up with mud and bent a derailler due to a roadflare wire kicking up off road and getting caught but over all bikes were good and are back together and riding again!!!
Good Evening Everyone!
A friend of mine and I are looking forward to the race next weekend but missed out on the shuttle back to Indian Lake. Is there anyone riding that will be returning to Indian Lake on Saturday afternoon and would have room for two more riders and bikes?
Thanks for the help!
Eric Heck
Hi Eric
We also missed out on the shuttle, but could coordinate something where we pick you up from Inlet in the morning and then you drive us back after the race. Or visa versa. You can e-mail me at willowwinona(at)yahoo if you’d like to coordinate something.
Hey all, I just discovered this race and am very interested. What’s up with the shuttle(s)? AM is full but afternoon isn’t? Wouldn’t one only need to take a shuttle in AM from finish to start (assuming you’re leaving car at finish). I’d be driving from CT by myself so need to understand logistics. Thanks.
Some people leave their car at the start and take the shuttle back from the finish. And some people just go to the start and look for someone to drive their car to the finish.
Hey ben…did u find a ride yet….i think my ride back to the start just dropped me…maybe we can work something out…….I plan on leaving Albany around 5:30-6:00 am……Jim H
I have not recieved confiramation of my registration yet, where can i inquire about this.
BFC does not send registration confirmations. In fact, you are only contacted if your registration info is incomplete. However, we will check for your name the next time the registration database is open. If you’re not in there we’ll get back to you.
were can i get a list of places to stay
http://inletny.com/
http://indian-lake.com/
The race ends in Inlet this year and Screamen Eagle/Matt’s Draft House is having a band that night so the Marina Motel, the Parquet Hotel and Woods Inn are good options for anyone planning to have a few after the race.
I am planning on attending with a full suspension ride because thats what I have!
I can lock it out tho… would that be recommended? I plan to find a nice rolling tire to use… and recommendations?
I rode last year with a Santa Cruz Superlight with the RP23 (lockout). There were way more people there riding mtn. bikes then I expected. I also used a loose dirt/gravel tire – can’t remember what brand but if you’d like to know I’ll take a look and reply.
This will be my first year doing Black Fly, in terms of a tire I just picked up a set of Bontrager Jones 1.8″ tires for my 29er. They defiantly roll fast!
Has anybody ever attempted this on a road bike? I’m not familiar with the course, but if the single track at the end was packed enough it seems possible. Thoughts from previous racers?
I’d advise against it. If you could get some 70×28′s with a winter or CX style tread to fit in your fork, you might pull it off, but you’ll see ‘cross bikes and MTB’s for the most part. I saw someone start on a road bike a couple of years ago and thought it was pretty cool, but then they flatted. The rocks can get pretty big out there when you’re bombing down the hills. 700×32′s on a CX bike works great if you want to go fast.
how technical is the route? is it fire roads or technical single track?
This year the race goes from Indian Lake to Inlet. You can read the course description here but the quick description is: some paved road (app 8mi), mostly gravel roads (app 28mi), another 1.5mi paved road, then about 1 to 1.5mi of easy to intermediate trails to the finish. The gravel roads aren’t technical but can be quite fast and loose.
Time to put Saturday June 11 on your calendar! The 16th running of the BFC starts in Indian Lake and finishes at Inlet’s Fern Park.
I got my race report written if anyone wants to read it here.
I had a blast at this race. Are there any other similar type races within reasonable driving distance from Western NY? I have done The Ramble Around Prattsburg race and that was a lot of fun. Any others?
Check out Race With the Wind, in Lowville, Tug Hill Plateau area. I did it two years ago… Not sure if they are running it in 2011. If you can travel to Massachusetts, there’s the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonee (D2R2), which isn’t technically a race–but it’s awesome!
I find it interesting that I finished 2nd in the Beginner 30-39 male category to a person who finished 40 minutes ahead of me. Only to be looking through the photos and see the race number of that person on the front of a cross bike? Just an interesting observation.
Yeah, that does sort look like a cyclocross bike doesn’t it.
He said he entered CX. His blog: http://mudbloodandbelgianbeer.blogspot.com/2010/06/black-fly-race-recap.html
Steve, you are correct. Somehow Phil McCarthy got bumped from Cyclocross to Beginner. It must have happened in the results sorting process because we know Phil registered as Cyclocross.
With so many bikes crossing the line we can’t know if something is wrong unless someone tells us – that’s the reason for the protest period. For whatever reason Phil didn’t let us know during the protest period that he was in the wrong category but to his credit he also did not collect a prize for the inadvertent placement.
We are correcting the final results and hope to post them today. So the Beginner Men’s 30-39 is 1) Steve Stearns; 2) Greg Hammond; 3) Jamie Campbell. All three are welcome to stop into Pedals & Petals so Ted can arrange for the proper prizes.
Sorry I missed the error during the protest period. Unfortunately my wife picked me up right after the race and needed to be in Lake Placid to get her race packet for the Half Marathon the next day. TRUST me, I wish I had noticed since I missed out on a $50 prize. The money doesn’t matter, but if my standings in the results could be corrected, that would be great.
Actually Phil, I think Beginner 1st place is a $75 merchandise prize! Cyclocross 3rd place is $50. Thanks for the post and the great race reports.
In case anyone is interested, I’ve done a bit-too-wordy write-up of my own, twisted, one-wheeled Black Fly 2010 experience. http://home.roadrunner.com/~rduhan/BlackFly2010/
Great race and a huge thanks to all the volunteers! This was my first Black Fly, doubt it will be the last. I’m going to try to get a write-up on my blog over the next week or so.
Does anybody know what caused the one DQ?
One racer was disqualified for not wearing a helmet.
I am surprised the guy that went left of the cones at the finish and sprinted past a bunch of other racers wasn’t DQ’ed
Two people went outside the cones at the finish line. One turned around and went back over the finish line, the other received a DNF.
Great race, and HUGE THANK YOU to all the hardy volunteers!
Steve (the unicyclist)
Does anyone know if photos of the race are available? I saw quite a few photographers on the course.
We will post photos of the start here on BlackFlyChallenge.com in the next few days and more photos as they become available. Also, Inner Mountain Sports Photography was taking photos which will be available at their website.
I travel all the way from Indiana to do this race. It is one of my favorite events all year. It is very challenging, a lot of fun and exceptionally well organized – and very pretty if you take the time to look up. Thanks to everyone who makes it possible. See you again next year!
..the weather forecast doesn’t look great (“storms likely finishing by 11 am”).
Will the race be delayed if the weather is poor at the start time? If thunderstorms come in during the race will it be stopped?
… and perhaps most appropriately, how bad is the mud going to be after most of a week of rain. I recall it being pretty sandy out through there.
The BFC has always started on time – even in the pouring rain. Read the Race Course Report for more info.
first timer wondering if there is any singletrack or if it’s all logging/mountain roads. trying to decide what tires to use. Thanks
When the race goes from Inlet to Indian Lake, as it does this year, there is no singletrack – check out the Course Descriptions.
Okay, joking aside, exactly how bad are the bugs? I’m a wimp when it comes to getting eaten alive.
I haven’t done this race before, but I have done a trail race in the area. When the black flies are bad, they are really bad! Spray yourself with good strong bug spray and you will be fine. Don’t forget the back of your neck.
What time is good to be in Indian Lake if you are racing and where to you get your #’s.
Don’t reply, found answer.
I am a 1st timer for this event, beginner MT biker. I have everyone I think I need, except tool kit. Any recommendations on tool kit?
What I carry is a cheap little basic bike tool that I got at Harbor Frieght. I also carry a couple Pedro’s tire levers, a Microflate tire inflater along with a couple CO2 cartridges, and a couple spare tubes.
Is there an option for day-of-race registration?
BFC 2010 race day registration is 8a.m. – 10a.m. at Inlet Town Hall.
How well is the route marked? And is there anything special to carry besides the usual – food, water, tools?
Water, energy and tools are standard for most racers & some even take bug dope. The route is marked for race day with directional arrows and down arrows (indicating hazards) but the course is fairly obvious. Read the Course Descriptions here: http://blackflychallenge.wordpress.com/bfc-race-info/course-map/
Are there any rules against using an mp3 player? I didn’t see anything.
MP3 players should not be used during the race.
mailed my check some time ago… Is anyone else getting slow response to registration? is there a way to contact anyone to verify the registration was recieved?
Registrations are simply added to the database. We don’t send confirmations. If your check was cashed then you’re registered.
I am camping at Limekiln-can I leave my car overnight at Indian Lake-plan to ride the course backwards the day before?
Check out http://indian-lake.com/ and contact the Indian Lake Events & Activities office for parking.
I planned to race my 29er mountain bike in the Expert Mountain bike catagory, but someone told me I would have to enter CX being I am not a 26inch mtn bike. Is this true?
Cyclocross category includes only cyclocross bikes. Hybrids and 29ers are still in the mtb category.
http://blackflychallenge.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/black-fly-2010-race-categories/
I read in the newspaper today that the road will be closed this year due to budget restrictions. How will this impact the running of the event??
DEC approved the Black Fly TRP (permit) before the current budget issues surfaced and has stated that the Black Fly will be allowed to happen.
Are there any support/water/food stations on the Black Fly route?
There are 5 or 6 water stations but it’s a long route so racers should have a hydrapack or water bottle(s) as well. Also, bring your own race energy supplies. There will be a food vendor at the post race venue.
Is there a single speed category for 2010?
No, single speeds would be in the mtb category.
Welcome to the new Black Fly website.