Required Per Person

• Bicycle. Standard mountain, gravel/cyclocross, or hybrid bike. Tires should generally be at least 30c width, ideally 40c or 2″ to handle dirt trails. 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; required during day also – greatly increases visibility with drivers)
• 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.
• Water-resistant jacket. Anything that keeps the water off you and keeps you from getting hypothermic is acceptable. We may drop this from the 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 (must have a straight edge so you can line up where you are with where you’re going)
• Waterproof protection for maps (zip lock bag, map case, page protector, 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

10-Hour Additionally Required

• Canoe, PFD, paddles. Bring your own* or rent (rental comes with paddles & PFDs). One rental kayak for solos, one canoe or tandem kayak 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.

5-hour canoe/kayak, PFD, and paddles will be provided for you since it’s a short paddle and we don’t have to have a dedicated watercraft for every team. First come, first served. Very little wait if any expected. One kayak for solos or one tandem kayak or canoe for 2- or 3-person teams. We will try to have extra cushions for the 3rd person sitting in the middle. Two rental canoes for 4-person teams. You may bring your own canoe(s) or kayak(s) in any combination for your team. For the Ludington race, you will stage them before the race near the start/finish and return them to the same place.

Other Gear That May Be Helpful (But not Required by Race)

• Water filter (for longer races)
  • Great lightweight option is the Sawyer Micro Squeeze (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 tubes
• 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 and 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.