We think that our inaugural event last year was a big success. We hit a couple of glitches, which we scrambled to fix, but participants had a great time, and almost everything went according to plan. We have some changes in place to make it even better on May 15th addressing a couple of issues that arose last year and adding some new stuff that we think you’ll enjoy. We’ll post specifics here on what we’re doing to make the ride, and the event around it, even better.
Perhaps the best test was what participants said about it, so we thought we’d share a few quotes from an after-event survey as well as a couple that people said to us personally:
I have been riding bikes seriously for 25+ years across many different disciplines, locations and settings. The Farmer’s Daughter goes down as one of my top 5 most memorable experiences on a bike.
Overall I had an amazing time. I’ll be back, with more friends next time! Thank you for putting it on!
I really enjoyed the event. It was a super challenging course, but non-competitive, which was great for early season.
Course design was stellar, one of the best rides of my life.
What a great GG. A big Thank You for all who made it possible. I won’t miss the next one.
We loved this ride. We’re going to make it an annual event, so please keep it just the way it is…or if you must make adjustments, better. Thanks!
I thought it was a GREAT ride. Damn it beat me up but I still enjoyed the experience. Thanks!!
[Farmer’s Daughter] made the Black Fly Challenge seem like a walk in the park!
While i went into this ride knowing it was the hardest thing I have ever done. I made it to mile 50 which was my goal at least if i couldn’t do the full 65…. The course was gorgeous, the support was great, and the climbs were killer in more then one way. It was definitely a ride to remember. (NB: There were opt-out routes back to the start at miles 28 and 50, and will be again this year. )
My personal favorites came from two friends and riding buddies after they finished the course:
Instant classic, Jon!, and
This will quickly become an annual “must do” event in the Northeast!
There were lots of “See you next year!” quotes, too. We hope everyone who said so can make it back this year, we’re looking forward to seeing all of you, and making new friends who share our passion for rides like this one.
Please register soon! Even though we have increased capacity to 400 for this year, we expect it to fill, and will not have an overflow waiting list. Thanks!
What kind of tires are recommended ?
It depends on what kind of bike you’re riding, and road/trail conditions, also on what your objectives are. If you’re riding a cyclocross bike and conditions are moderately dry, you can get away with a file tread. If your objective is to be speedy, and you’re either confident of your riding abilities over sometimes slightly technical trails (or if you’re willing to hop off occasionally and walk), file treads again. Otherwise, I’d recommend an all-conditions type of tire such as Michelin Mud 2 for a cyclocross bike. That tire is one of the most popular for cyclocross racing; it’s reasonably fast on most surfaces, but isn’t going to be as fast as a file tread on the dirt road sections that constitute most of the ride. On a hardtail mountain bike, I’d say either file tread or the next step up. Nothing too knobby, you don’t need it and it will slow you down a lot on the roads. I hope that’s helpful.