This 93.2 mile course is the pinnacle of the challenges and like a true 100 mile MTB challenge this course packs enough single track and gravel roads to bring any challenger to their knees. The Lake Hope Epic route will take you from Lake Hope State Park to Athens, OH and back via the Gravel Rouser route. You start out on a 15 mile single track loop at Lake Hope and passing the start location (a good place to refuel and hydrate) before you the you make your to Athens, OH via gravel roads. You arrive in Athens, but not to rest. At mile 37 you embark on single track again to tackle Sells Park and then work your way over to Strouds Run, but before you are done in Athens you will be challenged by the epic “Finger Rock.” If you are brave enough, get one your friends to take an instagram video of you descending Finger Rock for a route specific bonus prize. Then grab some food at Avalanche Pizza at mile 60 or begin your trek back to Lake Hope via gravel roads and pass through the King Hollow Tunnel. Finally, you have returned to Lake Hope, but you aren’t out of the woods yet! At mile 84 you will drop back into single track to finish the remaining trails you missed at the start of your adventure. You will eventually make your way back to the Lake Hope Dam and the finish. Ride this on a MTB or do what no one has done yet and complete it on a CX bike.
Ideal bike: MTB/CX
Date: August 19th, 2017
Start Time: 8 am
Start Location: Lake Hope Little Sandy MTB Trailhead – GPS: 39.319668, -82.356793
Completion time: generally 10-15 hours
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/8396704
Cue Sheet: Cue sheet, no map – we are not providing a map for this route due to how vast the area that is being covered. The detail of the map wouldn’t provide much information. We do recommend carrying a map for Lake Hope MTB trails and Sells Park and Strouds Run MTB trails though and using a turn by turn GPS.
