Riding the Route
The Cottonwood 200 is a loop tour over three days (75-50-75 miles) that follows paved secondary roads. The routes will include SAG (rest) stops with bountiful food and water approximately every 10-15 miles. (The Cottonwood 200 boasts the best SAG stops in the state). There will be four SAG stops along the route on Saturday, two on Sunday, and four on Monday. All SAGs will be marked on the route maps. The route has been planned to allow you to take food and water breaks at various towns as well as at the SAG stops.
While minor repair service and emergency transport will be available, riders should make sure their bicycles are in good working order, their bodies are capable of traveling the required distances, and their gear is ready for inclement weather (the tour goes on regardless of rainy weather). This tour is NOT a race – all ability levels and speeds are welcomed and encouraged to participate. However, it is recommended that riders train as much as possible – both short training rides during the week and longer rides on the weekend. Make every effort to ride two or three days in a row, so your body knows what it feels like to ride on successive days. A good gauge of the rider’s fitness would be the ability to complete at least a 50 mile ride (and feel good afterwards) before the Cottonwood.
This is a tour of the Flint Hills of Kansas, so the terrain is a combination of flats and hills. While there are no mountains in Kansas, the Flint Hills surprise some riders with their size – most of the grades are gradual, but some are over a mile in length. Elevation Chart Adding to the challenge is the Kansas wind, which on any particular day could be a headwind or a tailwind, and could average over 30 mph. It is impossible to say what the wind will be like, but it is a good bet that on at least one day, the riders will face a headwind and on at least one day they will have a refreshing tailwind.
