Final Recon

Its gonna hurt.

It is finished. Under 300 miles. I have a route put together and will have GPX, TCX, and cue sheets out to you by the end of the week via email.
Few Details: Hwy 1 is still closed and is nowhere near being completed.  I rode through trespassed the construction zone on Friday and almost got ran over by several 60 ton Terex mining dump trucks that were positively flying.  That was the most scared I have been in quite a while.  The official Hwy 1 detour would subject you to about 40 miles of narrow pavement, and I was not thrilled about that prospect either.
So I spent some time evaluating the prospects of routing on "unimproved routes" that connects Tomahwk Rd with Spruce Rd by the Kawishiwi River.  This would totally bypass all the construction and still spit you out on Hwy 1 about 8 miles south of the airport.  I rode the route, found it to be very acceptable, and then marked it with yellow fluorescent tape to aid with navigation since there are no road signs.

Another flat, but I catch this one early, and manage to nip it in the bud.

I only had 1 tire plug and thankfully it held.

140 strokes with the floor pump to get to 35 psi

I managed to get about 125 miles over the weekend, and I can say that I would not be afraid of riding a mountain bike on this course.  There is only about 10 miles that would require you to be super careful on a cross bike with 35c tires, but there is a lot of piece of mind rolling on bigger tires.  It allows you to look about and be negligent with your line choice.  If you intend to SS, please choose a conservative gear ratio (no more than 60 gear inches) and be prepared to do some walking on the last day.

My trusty steed.

Northern Culture on the Skids

Let me know if you have questions