Required Per Person

• Bicycle. Standard own-powered mountain, gravel/cyclocross, or hybrid bike. Road bikes (traditional skinny tires) are not allowed. We can help with bike rentals.
• Bike helmet
• Flashing red tail light (fully powered)
• Emergency/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.
• Face mask. If another team needs help and for anything inside, if required.
• Water-resistant jacket. We may drop this from required list depending on weather.

Required Per Team (including solos)

• See below for canoe options
  
• 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)
• 2 sharpies & 1 ballpoint pen for indicating checkpoint code on passport (extras in case you lose)
• 4 x 25 mg Benadryl/ diphenhydramine (epi-pen if prescribed)
• 4 feet (approx.) of compression bandage
• Hydration pack or water bottles, filled

7-Hour Additionally Required

• Canoe/kayak, PFD, paddles. Bring your own or rent (rental comes with paddles & PFDs). One rental kayak for solos or canoe for 2- or 3-person teams. Two rental canoes for 4-person teams. 7-hour racers will NOT put your bikes in the canoes so you may use (your own) kayaks if you wish.
• Rental canoes are 16-17′ fiberglass Old Town Discoveries. 80-85 lbs.

12-Hour Additionally Required

• Canoe, PFD, paddles. Bring your own* or rent (rental comes with paddles & PFDs; 15′ aluminum Grumnan style). One rental canoe for solos and two-person teams. Two rental canoes for 3-4 person teams.2020 Cannonsburg 12-hour racers WILL put your bikes in the canoes. See photos below which show how it can be done without removing back wheel, but removal will give you more room. Practice wheel removals before race! Solos and 3rd teammates will use their own canoe; solos should flip canoe around and put your bike(s) in front like this or kneel in middle. 3rd person can load the 3 bikes in front and middle. You can try tying bike to your own kayak(s) but not recommended. If you bring your own boat, be aware that the river can get low and rocks must be dodged at times. We will share conditions as race approaches.
• Straps/bungee cords for tying bikes to canoes (consider bringing a few rags or socks to keep bikes from rubbing against each other). Most of the river is shallow but better to be safe.

Recommended Gear (But not Required by Race)

• 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.
• 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)

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.