Third Annual Ride and Tie

Pinkham Notch, NH – Teams of two people with one bike between them will line up on Saturday morning October 14 at Great Glen Trails for the third annual Ride & Tie Race. No, it’s not a tandem bike race, and only one team member is allowed on the bike at a time. But through a combined effort of running and biking, each pair will cover 15 kilometers, stopping the clock when both team members and the bike are across the finish line.

 

Ride & Tie racing first began in this country as a horseback riding-trail running combination event. The first rider would proceed down the trail a ways on horseback, stop, dismount, and tie the horse up to be found by his/her teammate who was running the trail. That rider took off running, eventually to be passed by the teammate now riding, who would eventually stop, dismount, tie up the horse, and begin a second stint of running. The two teammates would continue riding and swapping turns on the horse until the course was covered and finish line reached. Most Ride & Tie events of this type take place in western states of the U.S.

 

Great Glen’s Ride & Tie substitutes a mountain bike for the horse. Categories include male/male, female/female, co-ed teams and juniors (17 years old and under.) The course is twice around a 7.5 kilometer course, and where pairs decide to switch the bike (with some safety limits), is up to them. Each team member must switch between running and biking a minimum of four times. The course runs mainly on the smooth, hard-packed gravel carriage road-like trails at Great Glen. A few sections of narrower single-track trails are also utilized, as is the serpentine Skills Park trail.  

 

Registration for Saturday’s event opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 10 a.m. on the first floor of the Lodge.   The start is located by Great Glen’s pond, with a start time of 10:30 a.m. for all categories. An awards ceremony with refreshments will follow at the conclusion of the race.       

 

Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center is on Route 16 in Pinkham Notch, NH. It is the partner company of the historic Mt. Washington Auto Road. In addition to hosting events, Great Glen features mountain biking and guided canoe and kayak trips on the rivers and lakes of New England. Winter activities include cross country skiing, snowshoeing, snow tubing and SnowCoach tours. A two and a half story climbing wall is open in the winter and summer seasons. For more information about events and activities at Great Glen Trails call 603-466-2333 or visit www.GreatGlenTrails.com.