Monkey Knife Fight 2017

adogg

adogg

Well-Known Member
Monkey Knife Fight is coming up this Saturday, April 1st. Wondering how it compares to Hell of Hunterdon. Based on route profile, seems like a little bit shorter but with more hills. The predicted weather so far shows rain till early Saturday morning that hopefully stops completely just in time for the ride.
 
I'm in for this for first time. Would also be interested in hearing about the course from anyone who has done it before.
 
Im signed up but looks like i will not be able to go. @seanrunnette can help here. He has done it before like a boss.
From what I can tell you is it has more climbing then the HoH in less miles abd like dome kick ass looong climbs to boot.
Also this is put on by Dave Pryor who is a great guy and runs a fun great vibe event. Say hi to my man Shoogs when you see him.
 
I'm on my phone and I've got clown fingers, but, briefly, MKF differs from HoH in two major respects:
1) the timed dirt uphills are the GO bits.
Folks don't hammer like nuts in between. It's really a big social ride in between the horror. You'll end up in a large group of like - minded folks. There's a big rest stop halfway through. No one's powering stuff down to get back on the road. There has been beer here in the past. You will talk to people.
2) The timed hills are really really steep. And some of them go on for a while. Like a 1/2 mile. Dan Larino had to walk Goat Hill. That steep. If you're running 36/50 front rings, swap the 36 for a 34. If you're on a standard, I'll be at the top of the hill listening to your screams. (That's a thing, too. The fast kids hang out to make fun of us mortals. It's awesome.)
It's a great ride, and a perfect complement to HoH. Like it's dirty booger-picking little brother.

Also, because Dave Pryor is a nice man, he's provided a few alternate routes around the super-hilly bits, if your get up and go up and goes. There's a raffle that's only available to the folks who do all of 'em, though, as an added incentive.
 
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Mitch said:
Im signed up but looks like i will not be able to go. @seanrunnette can help here. He has done it before like a boss.
From what I can tell you is it has more climbing then the HoH in less miles abd like dome kick ass looong climbs to boot.
Also this is put on by Dave Pryor who is a great guy and runs a fun great vibe event. Say hi to my man Shoogs when you see him.
Click to expand...
Any way to transfer @Mitch 's ticket?
 
As I did this today...

I'd say it felt like doing HOH twice. It was really hard. Tons of people walking the hills (not I though!). I have never done any hills like that in my life and probably the hardest ride I've done that wasn't a race.

I'd consider doing it again, I liked the format. Just not sure I'm that into road riding. Two weeks in a row of road rides and my mind is broken.
 
Thought the course and aid stations were great. I got to ride with my hometown crew from Stroudsburg too which was a plus. I wasn't a 100% due to a MTB crash on Thursday but was still feeling like I would finish the ride strong. Around mile 33 my bike had different plans for me. Just after the Mountain Mary climb (great seeing you Shoogs!) I hit the descent back down to the church aid station and about 30 seconds in I have a pretty loud blowout. Definitely not a slow leak. Buddies stop a couple hundred yards down and I change the tube. I get back going and tell them I'd like to stop at church to add some air. I grab the pump and take a closer look at my tire. There next to the bead is my tube poking through the sidewall. I tell them to keep going and if I can continue I'll hop back on after they do the next loop. I attempted repair but the tire started to tear when I added air. So no way to continue ride or get back to car. Time to socialize and take in the aid station action. The super helpful Chris from the aid station hooked me up with a ride in the bike shop sponsor's sick Mercedes van. We followed the course and stopped at both of the beer stops. Excellent beer and company at both! Finally back at the car and changed for some more beers and food.
Everyone I saw was in great spirits regardless of how brutal the climb was. They'd all give the van a wave or at least a smile as we past. It's a killer event for a great cause. I'll be back again to face the Monkey again.
 
The hills were definitely tough. People had hard time finding traction when going up the nearly 20% grades on dirt roads. I rode on 50mm wide tires and had fairly low gearing, but there were few moments (like when going up Goat hill) that I nearly dismounted but held on to it and just dug deeper to ride to the top. Rest stop and beer stops were great, thank you volunteers. Usually I wouldn't drink beer during a ride as I try to hang on to whatever energy I have left, but the two beer stops along the way were awesome. This ride felt in many ways tougher than HOH, maybe due to the steep grades. Weather was chilly but otherwise very good, surprising how well all the water drained away from the dirt roads as there was hardly any standing water after the heavy rain we had on Friday. Bottom line: Fun ride, great scenery, positive attitudes and all for a good cause - I'll be back next year.
 
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