SCHEDULE
Registration may be made on this website through through Thursday, August 9, with a fee of $25.00. Cyclists who register early, on or before Sunday, August 5, will receive a free event t-shirt. T-shirts are not offered to those who register after August 5.
Late registration on the day of tour will be available at the Quitaque City Park from 7:00 a.m. to 8:45. Ride packets may be picked up before the ride at the registration area.
The rides will all start at 9:00 AM on Saturday, August 11, 2007. A sweep of the course will be made by 5:00 PM to make sure all riders have made it back to Quitaque.
DIRECTIONS
Quitaque is located on Texas Highway 86, 45 miles east of Tulia, which is located IH 27 between Lubbock and Amarillo.
RIDES
The tour offers three fully supported routes of 28, 56, and 104 miles. Experienced riders will find challenge in the hills, while the shorter rides will provide fun for the entire family. The 56 mile route is a favorite of the Lubbock Bicycle Club and is highly recommended.
The 28 mile route goes south from Quitaque and though the town of Flomot. The terrain consists mostly of rolling hills with a total climb elevation of 833 feet. There will be one rest stop on this route.
The 56 mile ride has been a Lubbock Bicycle Club favorite for many years. The route completely encircles the Caprock Canyons State Park and offers the best scenery to be found in west Texas. It starts in Quitaque and heads west on Highway 86 where you soon encounter a 500 ft ascent to the top of the Caprock. After 17 miles of smooth sailing on relatively flat terrain, the route drops off the Caprock with some thrilling descents followed by rolling hills to a deep canyon. The steep climb out of the canyon is known in the Lubbock Bicycle Club as the “two mile hill”. It is tough. Rolling hills with some flat stretches finish the ride through Turkey and back to Quitaque. There will be three rest stops along this route. For a 56 mile ride, this route is a good workout. The total climbing elevation is 3,238 feet.
The 104 mile ride heads south out of Quitaque with 10 miles of rolling hills before a 500 ft climb up the Caprock. This is followed by 55 miles of easy pedaling on flat terrain (provided you are not fighting that mild west Texas wind). The remainder of the 104 mile ride follows the same route as the 56 mile ride with a rapid drop off the Caprock, the "two-mile hill", passage through Turkey, and on to Quitaque. Total climbing elevation on this route is 3,263 feet. There will be 6 rest stops on this route.
SAG Support and Safety
Rest stops with snacks and drinks will be located at 20-25 miles intervals along each route. Because we care about your safety, all riders must wear ANSI or Snell certified bicycle helmets and obey all traffic laws. Please choose a route within your capabilities and appropriate for the day's weather.
Although, roving SAG service will be available on all routes to provide assistance if needed, you should be prepared for your own minor repairs. Our SAG vehicles will be marked so that they can be easily identified. If you need assistance, just tap your hand on your helmet as the SAG vehicle approaches.
We cannot anticipate every road hazard or construction project you will encounter on this tour. You, the cyclist, are ultimately responsible for your own safety during your ride!! Use common sense and caution at all times.
WEATHER
The weather in Quitaque area can vary widely at this time of year. The record high for August 11 is 102º and the record low is 51º. However, the average high temperature for August 11 is 88º and the average low temperature is 64º. In other words, pleasant in the morning and warm by early afternoon.
Make a Weekend of It...
Caprock Canyons State Park
The park offers day-use and camping facilities; hiking; horseback riding; mountain biking; boating on a no-wake lake (120-surface-acres, 30 ft depth when full); fishing; lake swimming; a scenic drive; guided tours; and seasonal concessions offering horse rentals. Almost 90 miles of multi-use trails range from the very difficult in rugged terrain to trails with less than 3% grade. About 25 miles of the trails include cliffs and drop-offs, with steep climbs and descents that are recommended only for the experienced equestrian and mountain bike riders. When visiting Caprock Canyons State Park, be sure to check out the recently completed audio driving guide to the park. It's like having a tour guide on your own schedule and it's free! The audio guide is available for check-out, at the park headquarters, on tape or CD ($5 deposit).
Quitaque Canyon / Los Lingos Rails to Trails
If you plan to stay over in the area, check out this trail for mountain bikes. As described on Trails.com: “This rail trail is a fairly easy way to cover a lot of ground and see miles of stunning caprock scenery. Unlike the trails in Caprock Canyons State Park, the lack of any technical challenges out here means you can devote most of your attention to your surroundings. And you will be constantly amazed. This is the ranching country of legend, and you can practically see the cowboys leading the herd through the canyon bottoms, kicking up giant clouds of red dust along the way. The mountains of West Texas are the grandest monuments, and the Hill Country in the center of the state is home to the state’s most picturesque and pastoral settings. But the caprock area, here in the Panhandle, offers the most striking scenery in the Lone Star State. The floor of the high plains opens up to expose red rock as vivid as the best of sunsets and canyon walls as steep and striated—if not as big—as that grander canyon out in Arizona. This is canyon country, Wile E. Coyote land. You’ve just got to see it. Tread: Smooth, crushed limestone on a converted railroad bed.”