Route Descriptions (print this and carry it for reference on the ride): 1 Hwy2-EntSmt - The ride officially starts in Leavenworth, and goes up State Rte 209 (this might have another name as it leaves town?). Follow the route up to Entiat Summit Rd. 2 EntSmt-5210 - Route follows a section of last year's route along Entiat Summit Rd, to our intersection with road 2510. 3 5210-Hwy19 - Seldom used road, very remote, and a little overgrown in places. Nothing that should damage the paint though - our 1150 Monstercow with 41 liter tank made it through (in the dark!) without a single scratch. Watch for downed trees hidden by foliage. Also mind the edge - the drop is steep. Do not ride alone. 4 Hwy19-Chelan - towards Ardenvoir, and then off-pavement again on Mud Creek Rd., eventually ending in downtown Chelan. Note: There is an optional detour on this route, the start of which is marked by the waypoint "Mudalt". This should only be attempted if you got an early start, and are making good time. See route descrition below. 5 Chelan-CAMP - awesome views on a great road along the ridge above Lake Chelan. Route ends at camp. 6 Camp-Winthrop - Mellow gravel roads to soothe the hangover. Optional routes: Old Blewett pass: Can't wait to get off the slab? For those taking Hwy 97 to Leavenworth, these are short little routes to wet your appetite, and also to make sure you've got everything in order with the GPS before you're out in the sticks. They don't take much time. "Old Blew 1" follows the Old Blewett Pass Hwy with a short but sweet dirt section. For those who've ridden the Old Blewett Pass road a gazillion times, there's "Old Blew 2", which follows mostly dirt all the way to where Old Blewett Pass Rd. rejoins 97. Continue on to Leavenworth. "Early Start route": this is a separate Mapsource file, which you will need to download only if you plan on doing this optional route, which necessitates leaving on FRIDAY. For those who can, and want a longer ride, this route follows about 3/4 of last year's "Day One" before intersecting with this yearıs route. It heads up Hwy 2, getting off-road shortly after the pass, and following primarily dirt roads all the way to the start of route "3 5210-Hwy19". Don't forget to get gas in Plain - you won't see it again until Ardenvoir! For a more detailed description of this route, go to: http://www.touratech-usa.com/GSride_July19_2003descr.html . "Early Start route" follows the descriptions on through "2B PLAIN-FRCO". There is no designated camp spot on this route, but Mt. Chumstick is nice (waypoint "Chumstk", in this file), or just throw down a tent when you get tired - there's lots of spots. Once you finish the last section of "Early Start route", called "3A FRCOR-5210", it's time to activate the route "3 5210-Hwy19". Finally, if you can't leave on Friday, or aren't serious about doing this, don't bother cluttering up your GPS with these routes. "Mud Creek Alt": Beggin' for more than the mellow Mud Creek Rd.? Splitting off of from the route "Hwy19-Chelan", "Mud Creek Alt" twists and winds on some great dirt roads to eventually meet back up with the same route. It includes a slightly pucker-inducing descent or two...then again, maybe it was just that it was ridden at 1 AM. HID lights RULE!!!! To find this route, look for the waypoint "MudAlt" on "Hwy19-Chelan", and then activate the route "Mud Creek Alt". Re-activate route "Hwy19-Chelan" after completing "Mud Creek Alt". NOTE: This can add well over an hour to your ride, even if you are moving fast. If you are taking your time, did not get an early start, or feel like the route so far provided enough challenge, keep on riding "Hwy19-Chelan". You've still got 2-3 hours of RIDE TIME to reach camp. Waypoint descriptions: "START" - self-explanatory. This year's routes don't start or end in Seattle as we have folks coming from outside of Seattle. Riders with auto-routing GPS units can press "find" and "waypoints" and "route to" to let that little device tell you how to drive there on the freeway if you haven't used that feature yet. "CAMP" - this is where we we'll meet up on Saturday night. "CAMP ALT" - if there's something wrong (full of people, etc.) with the original camp spot, "CAMP ALT" is the backup. It's about 1/2 hour back the way we came. Hopefully if we need to use it, whoever gets there first will put a bike near the road so folks don't have to backtrack. "MUD ALT" - is the start of the Mud Creek alternate route. There are other miscellaneous waypoints in the file. These are route points, so don't erase them! Additional information: PLEASE RSVP!!! As always, the GPS Ride is free, put on by the folks at CycoActive/Touratech. We provide food (Lin's awesome chili) and beverages on Saturday night, and now that we have confirmation that someone is driving a truck up there, we are going to provide breakfast this year as well...so please let us know if you are coming by Tuesday 9/21 at the latest, so we can estimate how much to bring. For questions or to RSVP, please call, or email nick@touratech-usa.com Kick-off party on 9/24: For those who want to come download the routes manually, or have questions about using a GPS, GPS software, or how to follow a route, we will have a little gathering at Cyco HQ on Friday starting at 5 PM. Address of our office is 701 34th Ave (corner of 34th and Cherry) in Madrona. About this year's ride: it's a bit longer than previous years, but those extra miles are pavement miles. Still, leaving early is a good idea...or get yourself some good auxiliary lights. If don't want to put down as many miles in one day, consider staying over near Leavenworth on Friday night. A sharp mind = safe riding. Who can come: anyone with a dirt-road capable motorcycle, such as a BMW GS, V-strom, DR or KLR. Feel free to pass this email on to anyone you think might be interested About the weather: the ride will go on as scheduled unless weather gets severe (snow, torrential downpours). That being said, all the off-road is on the Eastern side of the Cascades, so even if it's raining here, it's likely to be dry over there. Camp is at 6000 feet though, so be sure to pack warm clothes. About using the Mapsource files: these are in Garmin's new .GDB format. You will need to update your Mapsource application to version 6.3 to use them. This is free download available at Garmin's website. Go to http://www.garmin.com/support/download.jsp . While you're there, you should also update your GPS receiver's firmware to make sure it can use this new format. Currently we are working on getting the route available in a format Magellans can use - keep checking the website. Having detailed maps on the screen of your GPS makes a huge difference in usability. For this type of trip, Garmin's Roads and Recreation is the dual-sporter's choice for really excellent dirt road/two-track coverage, and the maps to cover this ride use less than 1.2 MB (so yes, it will fit on a GPS3+). Unfortunately, Garmin discontinued this product earlier this year, and although we bought all they had left, they went fast. If you don't have Roads and Recreation, the only other product with the same detail is Garmin's Recreational Lakes and Fishing Hot spots. This is now split up into 3 CDs: West, Central and East, available separately, and does use a bit more memory than Roads and Rec. We have these available for purchase now, and will also at the pre-function on Friday 9/24. Don't have a GPS? Come to the kick-off party and find a riding partner with one.