Maah Daah Hey Unsupported

[davideo]

once again i am looking for someone to ride the maah daah hey unsupported. it can be done. it's a mind-blowing experience, more so than "out and backs" and more so than a supported ride. there must be a dude or dudette that wants to push themselves to the limit. i've alot of experience on the maah daah hey and out in the badlands in general. i'm thinking of going in june and also august or maybe september. ask questions....davideoz66@yahoo.com

[Kayakoholic]

A couple of friends and I are in the planning and discussion stage of doing this during the week of July 4th. We did it 2 years ago and are itching to go back. I'll keep you posted.

[bikeoutback]

What does ride it unsupported mean exactly? I'm guessing you start at point A and go for days till point B carrying everything with you as you go, am I correct? No experience in this but sounds like a good time, what kind of riding skills are necessary and what other gear?

[KleinCrazy]

Just an FYI,

I talked to the SD guy at the expo this weekend, and they are gonna start building from the south this year and connect up another 50-70 miles of singletrack into the southern end in Medora.

So that will make it an almost 150-200 mile Point-to-point trail when completed.

[Kayakoholic]

What does ride it unsupported mean exactly? I'm guessing you start at point A and go for days till point B carrying everything with you as you go, am I correct? No experience in this but sounds like a good time, what kind of riding skills are necessary and what other gear?

Riding unsupported means carrying PLENTY of beer and the only riding skills needed are being able to drink beer and ride at the same time. :D

[krazykatie]

A couple of friends and I are in the planning and discussion stage of doing this during the week of July 4th. We did it 2 years ago and are itching to go back. I'll keep you posted.


Heck yes! This trip is on my list for this summer!:jumpy: What weekend exactly...my class reunion is the 30th of June. :confused:

[Kayakoholic]

Heck yes! This trip is on my list for this summer!:jumpy: What weekend exactly...my class reunion is the 30th of June. :confused:

Everything is still in the planning/discussion stage. It's all a matter of my friends synching up their vacation schedules. One is an air traffic controller and the other is a pilot. One has to bid for a schedule and vacation time, the other just has to get off his lazy a$$ and request it.

If we can pull it off, it'll be the week of July 4th. You should plan on coming with us.

[ryno lite]

Just an FYI,

I talked to the SD guy at the expo this weekend, and they are gonna start building from the south this year and connect up another 50-70 miles of singletrack into the southern end in Medora.

So that will make it an almost 150-200 mile Point-to-point trail when completed.

From all accounts I've heard it will be about a 45 mile addition with a 12 mile bypass of one section fro moutain bikers. See this article:

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2007/01/11/news/local/126866.txt

I spoke with the ND tourism guy and he said construction should be this summer and next. So it should be open in 2009. I think the biker only route would be about 150-160. It will open up some beatiful areas from what I hear. It should be way cool. Glad they pushed the bypass for bikers through. It saved probably 30 miles of trail for bikers!

[krazykatie]

Everything is still in the planning/discussion stage. It's all a matter of my friends synching up their vacation schedules. One is an air traffic controller and the other is a pilot. One has to bid for a schedule and vacation time, the other just has to get off his lazy a$$ and request it.

If we can pull it off, it'll be the week of July 4th. You should plan on coming with us.


Ok, I'm in....putting it on my schedule now!! That's the perfect time to do that trip; I'm going for sure that week!:)

[Kayakoholic]

Ok, I'm in....putting it on my schedule now!! That's the perfect time to do that trip; I'm going for sure that week!:)

Rock solid. Keep a week open in August, too, for Telluride! It'll be epic.

[manual63]

Riding the Maah Daah Hey unsupported eh?

It's one of the best memories of my life. 3 days with Chris D, a friend Andy (not on the forums), and my B.O.B. trailer!

We saved the beer until the very end! It was the best tasting beer I ever had!

[davideo]

What does ride it unsupported mean exactly? I'm guessing you start at point A and go for days till point B carrying everything with you as you go, am I correct? No experience in this but sounds like a good time, what kind of riding skills are necessary and what other gear?

"unsupported" means no tent, trailer, nobody moving gear for you. it means sleeping under the stars. it means losing some weight on the ride since you can only bring a limited amount of food. it means you might get wet, but only a little maybe. it's about getting from A to B with the absolute minimal amount of food and gear. it's more than just screwing around on a bike for a few hours and having everything done for you. the rewards are huge.

[krazykatie]

once again i am looking for someone to ride the maah daah hey unsupported. it can be done. it's a mind-blowing experience, more so than "out and backs" and more so than a supported ride. there must be a dude or dudette that wants to push themselves to the limit. i've alot of experience on the maah daah hey and out in the badlands in general. i'm thinking of going in june and also august or maybe september. ask questions....


When are you thinking of doing this? And how long are you out there for? I slept under the stars last year in the badlands but that was only for one night. I did a 10 day backpacking trip to the badlands i slept under a tarp and with very minimal food. I think i could handle it.....:confused:

[jitterjepp]

"unsupported" means no tent, trailer, nobody moving gear for you. it means sleeping under the stars. it means losing some weight on the ride since you can only bring a limited amount of food. it means you might get wet, but only a little maybe. it's about getting from A to B with the absolute minimal amount of food and gear. it's more than just screwing around on a bike for a few hours and having everything done for you. the rewards are huge.
I slept next to the water pump on the cement platform.

[mn_ultra_guy]

I have done the White Rim trail in Moab in a day a few times which is quite the epic journey and thing this trail would be fun to try and do in a day. Any thoughts? I would be interested in doing this unsupported also.
Devin

[jitterjepp]

I have done the White Rim trail in Moab in a day a few times which is quite the epic journey and thing this trail would be fun to try and do in a day. Any thoughts? I would be interested in doing this unsupported also.
Devin
I carried about 375 oz. of water on the White Rim because I was alone, wasn't totally sure on what to expect and I knew I couldn't get any water. It was tough carrying all that water because I had it in a pack. My shoulders were in serious pain. By the time I got to the climb up to the parking lot I couldn't even have it on my shoulders empty. I tried wraping it around the handle bars. I even carried the thing in my teeth for about a mile before the climb. The Maah Daah Hey has water pumps along the way. I ran out once and it was over 100 degrees so I was pretty thirsty. I filtered algee cow troft water through my shirt and dropped in some iodine tabs. Having to tote water wasn't an issue but I think it was tougher because of all the climbs even when considering having to carry all the water on the White Rim Road.. White Rim only had three big climbs they are about every few miles on the Maah Daah Hey.
There wasn't much of a temperature difference in either place but on the Maah Daah Hey you can step off the trail and get some shade under a tree. There arent ANY trees on the White Rim but then again all the trees I went under on the Maah Daah Hey were giant swarm of mosquito hideouts.

The Maah Daah Hey is definately tougher but for the commited factor White Rim takes the prize. If you had trouble on the White Rim like having a water bag pop you would be in a world of trouble.

[Kayakoholic]

When are you thinking of doing this? And how long are you out there for? I slept under the stars last year in the badlands but that was only for one night. I did a 10 day backpacking trip to the badlands i slept under a tarp and with very minimal food. I think i could handle it.....:confused:

You could handle it. When I did it, it was for 4 days. The scenery is beautiful; all rolling buttes and grasslands, a few wicked climbs, but nothing you haven't done before. I'll bring my pictures to Indianhead and you can see.

The food thing wasn't an issue for me. We lived off Power bars, M&Ms, and beef jerky. It's definately a vacation where you won't have to go on a diet when you get back.

My friends and I are still shooting for the week of July 4th, and you're still welcome to come with us.

[Trevize1138]

"unsupported" means no tent, trailer, nobody moving gear for you. it means sleeping under the stars. it means losing some weight on the ride since you can only bring a limited amount of food. it means you might get wet, but only a little maybe. it's about getting from A to B with the absolute minimal amount of food and gear. it's more than just screwing around on a bike for a few hours and having everything done for you. the rewards are huge.

Hmm ... no tent or BOB trailer? Wow, that is unsupported! I don't much see the point in that, though. If you pack well and light you can take a BOB trailer, tent and ample food and it doesn't really hamper you on the trip. Going with "minimal food" doesn't really seem too wise, either. I once did an out-and-back on the Buffalo Gap loop (38 miles) on just the water in my Camelbak and that last 10 miles I was licking the salt on my upper lip because it tasted so good. I also felt waaay weak and walked the last mile. Not a good sign :).

[soupboy]

Saw it done it 13 hours by a wiry Scotsman on a 1x1. A few standard deviations from "normal".

Going mid to late summer is a bit masochistic, no? Heck, when I was last out there it was 105d in late September - nobody was visibly sweating...just caked in salt.

Good luck and have fun.

once again i am looking for someone to ride the maah daah hey unsupported. it can be done. it's a mind-blowing experience, more so than "out and backs" and more so than a supported ride. there must be a dude or dudette that wants to push themselves to the limit. i've alot of experience on the maah daah hey and out in the badlands in general. i'm thinking of going in june and also august or maybe september. ask questions....davideoz66@yahoo.com

[pc0]

Is this still happening? it sounds like Quite a trip something to consider,But maybe a liittle more than I want to get into I need a cold one each night you can solve that by rolling them up in the middle of your thermorest but that only would cover me for the first night,a little trick I invented on mile marker 1500 some where on the great divide.

[fajitaburrito]

Is anyone still planning on doing this ride? I would like to do an unsupported, multi-day ride, but can't find anyone else willing.

[Specialeded]

Old thread I know...Saw it done it 13 hours by a wiry Scotsman on a 1x1. A few standard deviations from "normal".

Fitzgerald?