Required Gear

6 & 11 Hour Required Per Person

  • Bicycle. Standard mountain, gravel/cyclocross, or hybrid bike. Road bikes (traditional super skinny tires) are not allowed. There will be some beginner and intermediate singletrack mountain bike trails but the checkpoints on them are optional if you wish to skip.
  • Bike helmet
  • Flashing red tail light (fully powered)
  • mylar blanketEmergency/space/mylar blanket – full size, metallic style, $2-$3 each at Meijer, outdoor/camping store or online. Buy early, local supplies often run out.
  • Whistle. Often built into hydration pack.
  • Water-resistant jacket. We may drop this from required list depending on weather.

6 & 11 Hour Required Per Team (including solos)

  • See below for canoe options
    suunto-a-10-compass 150w
  • Mobile phone, fully charged, powered off and sealed in waterproof or double-ziplocked bag
  • Compass, must be base plate or sighting type
  • Waterproof protection for maps (zip lock bag, map case, and/or contact paper)
  • compression bandage 125w4 x 25 mg Benadryl/ diphenhydramine (epi-pen if prescribed)
  • 4 feet (approx.) of compression bandage
  • Hydration pack or water bottles, filled

6-Hour NOT Required

  • Canoe/kayak, PFD, paddles. We will provide canoes and kayaks since it’s a short paddle. One kayak for solos or one tandem kayak or canoe for 2- or 3-person teams. Two canoes for 4-person teams. First come, first served. Very little wait if any expected. We’re not able to handle your own boats for the 6-hour race (and not worth your hassle for the shorter paddle).

11-Hour Additionally Required

  • Canoe, PFD, paddles. Bring your own* or rent (rental comes with paddles & PFDs; likely 15′ aluminum Grumnan style). One rental kayak for solos, one canoe for 2-person and 3-person teams. Two rental canoes for 4-person teams. You will NOT be putting your bikes in canoes for this race.

Recommended Gear (But not Required by Race)

  • Map case
    • Waterproof SealLine or similar (often used for sea kayaking)
    • X-large ziplock baggie
    • Pocket protector (sealed)
    • Contact paper (in a waterproof casing)
  • Long-sleeved shirt
  • Synthetic, wicking t-shirt
  • First aid kit (gauze pads, band-aids, medical tape, etc.)
  • $5-10 cash for emergency purchases
  • Trail running shoes
  • Outdoor/athletic socks
  • Food (energy gel, bars, etc.)
  • Spare tires
  • Tire pump and/or CO2 cartridges
  • Chain repair tool
  • Tire levers
  • Allen key set
  • Hat
  • Sunglasses
  • Sunblock
  • Bug spray
  • Zip ties, duct tape
  • Bike shorts
  • Bike gloves
  • Bike computer (non-GPS)
  • Water filter (for longer races)
    • Great lightweight options are the Katadyn Be Free and Sawyer Micro Squeeze (both available at Bill & Paul’s in Grand Rapids). Lifestraw and Steripen are other options. Note that iodine tables generally take 1-4 hours to purify water so they are not a great option for a race.

We recommend Gazelle Sports, Bill & Paul’s Sporthaus, and West Michigan Bike & Fitness for the items above. Not every store has every product so call ahead if you aren’t sure. They sponsor many of our races so please thank them when you stop in.

Bill & Paul’s is offering a 10% discount up until the day of the race on the following with proof of registration: hydration products, trail footwear and socks, compasses/navigation tools, fitness watches (except Freestyle or Timex), headlights, nutrition, and paddlesport clothing.

Prohibited Gear

  • All navigation must be done without the help of technology/GPS. If you have a watch with GPS, GPS travel logger, Spot Tracker, etc., you can carry it for post-race analysis. A bike computer/speedometer to measure distance is the only permissible technology and only during the bike sections. See our standard AR rules here if you are not familiar.
  • Motorized anything
  • See the Rules page for additional details.