The 20 mile loop for Piggy's Revenge 2018.Only 11 spots left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I finalized the 20 mile loop, it follows the footsteps of the 40 for the first 13 miles after you get to the sag stop (if you ever leave it). You will turn around and retrace your steps for a short while then you will ride the south end of the Venice Arcadia Grade double track road through the flat woods and eventually back on the Orange Trail and the Red Trail to the finish. You will ride a good mix of groomed single track trails and some back country riding.

Here are links to the routes for you GPS freaks. Remember all the trails will be marked with paint and signs but having a GPS back up on you phone or device is a good idea.

link to Strava and on ridewithgps 

Eric

Riding the South Powerline

Single track is looking good!

What? More groomed trails?

Almost home.

link to Strava and on ridewithgps

The 40 mile loop preview, only 10 days to the start and 30 open spots left

After having planned the loop both digitally and in my mind, I set off today to confirm the actual route in the dirt.We have 39 miles with a good mix of  groomed single track, technical single track sections, long grassy sections through a pine forest, gravel roads and tight twisty trails that have been chewed up by the pigs.
At the start you will do a 3 mile loop designed to spread out the riders before you dive into the 10 miles of Boldlygo single track trail, then you will stop at the sag stop at mile 13.5.  What happens at the sag stop, stays at the sag stop!!!. Make sure your fluids are topped off before you head down the gravel on the Venice Arcadia grade to the Mile of Hell (which is actually pretty tame this year), then a right on North Powerline, its just been mowed so the cut grass is thick on the road. After mile 23, you will venture into the POLAR trail, a tight twisty single track that has a lot of pig activity (the revenge part). Around mile 25 you start riding onto Live long and Prosper along the very scenic Big Slough. This trail is our favorite trail, as it combines a lot of flow with some challenging sections that you might have to walk. Keep your eyes open for baby alligators, fish, the skunk-ape and lots of birds. After this section, a left turn takes you on a double track section through the pine forest. At the end of it we will have a unmanned water stop around mile 30 (we wont be there to resupply the water if it runs out) And on your return is a ride on the South Powerline back to the Orange trail and the red trail.

Keep in mind:
You will have to plan for almost 25 miles without support after you leave the sag stop at mile 13, and on the return leg at mile 35 you will have the choice of taking a small detour back to the sag or just riding  the next 4 miles to the finish line.
It will be a challenging ride that could last 5-6 hours for the slower riders  and there are no real bail out options to speak of.
Here is the link to the route:Piggy's 40 2018 on ridewithgps or  or also on Strava
Eric.

Mile 5 Boldlygo actually the Sugar on the Rim Section.

More Boldlygo

Mile 10 The Pines 

Mile 15 Venice Arcadia Grade

Mile 20 North Powerline

Pigged up Single track at POLAR

Mile 25 Live long along Big Slough

Mile 30 South Powerline

Mile 35 Go right to the sag stop or power on to the finish?

Here is the link to the route:Piggy's 40 2018

Get signed up before the 20 Th and get a T shirt.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

Get signed up before the 20th of December and we will order a T-shirt in your size. You will still be able to sign up until the 6th for the same fee (no shirt) and we are capping the participants at 300 this year. So don't delay! NO RACE DAY SIGN UPS!!!!
https://www.bikereg.com/piggys-revenge

Last weekend, I ventured out in the rain exploring the remote parts of the 60 and 40 mile loops. The course is slowly taking shape and the mowing is getting done but some areas are still wet. We have a little less than a month for things to get mowed and dried out. These are pictures are from that wet ride, you can get a feel for some of terrain you will be riding on during the 60 and 40 mile loops.

The 60 will be a mix of gravel, grass, dirt and a tiny bit of asphalt. The 60, like last year, is a combo of a 40 mile loop followed by a 20 mile loop. You will go thru the finish area after the first 40 miles. You must be there before 2:00 pm in order to continue on to the second section.  The 40 mile loop will have almost 50% single track riding and the rest will be double track with dirt, gravel and grass.
The 20 is mostly single track some double track in the mix.

I am still working on finalizing the actual courses, it is a work in progress. I will post the GPS track here as soon as I get them figured out.

Eric
 These picture offer an overview of the 60 Mile ride.

60 Early gravel

60 Faster gravel section

60 The gate to the mile of HELL

60 Grassy section, note the deer!

60 A little single track 

60 Gravel & grassy straightaway

60: Second loop grass

60: Second loop shady section

40 Nice trail along Big Slough

 

Gravel and dirt road conditions.

The conditions at the Carlton Reserve keep getting better and better! The county mowers are doing their thing and mowing the network of old roads on the property. There are over 80 miles of old ranch roads crisscrossing the 38 square miles of the available land. Every year, we ride all of them and select the best combination for the 60 mile loop of Piggy's Revenge.

This year the conditions seem favorable to include a few new sections that we have not been able to use for last few Piggy years. Expect to ride multiple surfaces from a well maintained gravel road to long abandoned sections where we will mow a narrow path. Expect rough challenging sections with patches of pig damage, some really smooth fast sections, grassy fields and maybe a short section of asphalt.

The best bike for the 60 mile loop would be a monster cross rig, great for the fast smoother sections or a 29'r to get you through the rough stuff but would be slower elsewhere. The truth is, no matter what rig you run nothing beats a big motor. So we will continue exploring and evaluating until we finalize the route in December.

The 20 and 40 mile options are going to be mostly single track with some gravel connectors; the best ride for those is definitely a Mountain Bike and for the purist, a rigid single speed would be a option too. We don't have any hills here but we make it up with a lot of twists and turns.

The Sag Stop: "Tom's Oasis" will be back this year. The usual shenanigan's will be going on and new for this year, help from the Real Bikes Venice Special Assistance Crew (RBVSAC).

GET SIGNED UP TODAY and get a Piggy's Revenge T-Shirt in your size. After the 20th of December no t-shirt, but you will be able to sign up until 6:00 pm the night before the event. We have a field limit of 300 this year and no day of event registration.

A nice straight and fast section.

Freshly mowed section there is a good hard line but it's hidden by the cut grass.

The south Power line trail looking west.

Maintained gravel road.

We love windy and dry days!!

The trails are drying up fast and we get to ride further into the Carlton Tract on a daily basis. As the waters recede, we get to ride old familiar spots that have been inaccessible for months. 

We are slowly planning the 20, 40 and 60 mile routes and as usual, we will select the best combination possible. SCORR added several new miles of single track this last spring. We have 7 more miles in the planning stages, they probably won’t get built in time for this years event but we will let you know when they are completed so you can come check out the new trails. 

The loop will be challenging as usual, the beer will be free and the sausages are hot off the grill. Sign up today and get your guaranteed T-shirt, no day-of registrations and the field size limit is at 300 this year. 

Always striving to make our event better and better each year.

Piggy's less than 100 days away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hurricane Irma left her mark!

The trails are in dire need of some cleaning up with several sections that are inaccessible due to seasonal flooding. Overall we are still on schedule for another great Piggy's Revenge.
Several trail work days are planned and we need our SCORR members to come help out.

Depending on our progress, we might be adding 5 brand new miles of single track to the inventory.
The 60 mile loop will be similar to last year but yet undetermined. As of today, we have not ridden some of the section since late spring. The 20 and 40 might be modified if we get the new trail built by January 7th.

The weather is the only factor we can't control. The trails will be fun and the distances will challenge you. This event will be a great way to kickoff 2018.

Sign up early and get you T-Shirt. No day of registration this year but registration will be open till 5 pm Saturday the 6th. register here
Beer and Brats at the finish line as usual.

It's on !!! ,January 7th 2018 is the date.

Get your red pen out and put a big red X on January 7th 2018.
Piggy's Revenge is going to happen that morning at 800 am.
What will the weather do this year?
Will we be under water, half frozen or will the conditions be perfect?
You never know what January will be like.
New this year is a 7 new miles section of single track we are working on. If all goes right 5 more mile will be added to the existing trail network this fall .If you want to help with the new trails ,look for the posted trail building days on the FB page.
NO DAY OF REGISTRATION , but you can register online until 5:00 pm on Saturday night.
You must sign up before December 19th to get a T-Shirt after that same fee ($40) but no T-Shirt.
We are limiting the field at 300 riders this year.
Eric