in Group Rides, Bike Trips, and Events

A few of us have been talking about this for a while, wondering if it is just something to do, or an event, or what.  Since there won't be any events in the near future, Kevin M. has taken it into his own hands and done it (or at least a version of it).  Have you?  Want to try?  It's probably a decent way to avoid crowds, and some of us have extra time on our hands.  The idea is to hit as many CORP trail systems in one ride as you can.  Here's a couple options:

"Short" West Side Route:  QP > PV > BH > CP > The Farm > BP > QR > Seminole > QP = about 65 miles.  The nice thing about this route is that, in better times, the Riley Tavern is about halfway.  For the time being I guess it's self-supported.  You can start and finish anywhere on the loop, so you might have to find your own lunch spot anyway.

Full West Route:  Add Blue Mound in between the Farm and Badger Prairie.  This brings it to about 97 miles.  Camping at BM is an option, though I'm not sure it is right now, and that turns it into bike-packing, which changes the game, but still counts.

The Whole Deal:  Getting CamRock, Sheehan, and Northeast in there are beyond my math skills.  If you figure it out, let us know.

I've done QP > PV > BH > CP as an out-and-back (though, to be honest, I skipped QP the second time), and that wore me out.  Kevin recently hit 6; he can fill us in on the details if he likes.

It's not a competition (yet), just a challenge.  When things return to normal, maybe we'll make it an event.  Until then, what have you done?  What can you do? 

I have mentioned the idea of a Tour de CORP at times. I think it might be a fun event. I regularly do a shorter version of this ride ( your short ride is my can't walk the next day ride  ). I start near JMMHS, taking bike trails to BP>QR>Seminole>home. There are usually some optional detours, e.g., a short bike–allowed section of the Ice Age Trail/prairie loop, a tight trail behind Odana golf course, bike trails in the University Research Park, etc. I usually do two laps of each MTB trail system. I don't have any handle on the distance.
If CORP decides to explore this idea more formally, hoping to create an event, I would be willing to help.

With all the restaurants closed and water fountains shut off in the parks, it was a little tricky to find food & water on route. Once the weather heats up this will definitely be a 3 bottle ride if parks don't turn the water back on. I brought along some PPE on the ride to wear in case I found a place to eat and ended up stopping in a gas station in Cross Plains. I guess there's another Kwik Trip on the route between QR and Seminole, which would be a good stop towards the end if you're doing the loop CCW. The long ride will be much more pleasant with a descent lunch stop for a burger and beer once restaurants open up again!

I feel silly that I rode right by Badger Prairie and missed some trails, I thought it was just a place where people do CX practice and didn't know there was any trail out there to ride. I'll have to check it out sometime.

I started at my house on the west side and rode the loop clockwise, hitting Seminole first. All the climbing at The Farm and the hilly roads around there really took it's toll and I was seriously out of gas by the time I started the last climb at PV. Adding in Blue Mounds would be truly epic!

Decided to give the CORP Epic ride a try last Sunday. Since I just got a new gravel Niner, I decided to ride that and see how it handles off road.
Started out at my house and rode the Farm trails over to Barlow. Down to Cross Plains and did the East loop. Over to Blackhawk, I rode the Connector  to the top of the hill. Twist and Shout, Pines, and Roller Coaster before heading down Howling Wolf. Then it was Creekside over to Pleasant View. Climbed up the hill and did Mulligan before heading out on Fairway.  Rode the bike trail over towards Capital Brewery.
Took Hi Point Rd to Midtowne to Jeffy lane. That got me to the Ice Age Junction Trail. At Badger Praire I meandered around for about a good mile, but I don't know my way around. From there it was the Military ridge trail into Quary Ridge. Rode up Rewind to Northwoods, sandy Climb and down Buttoms Up. took Dizzy to the back end and headed over to Seminale and did both inner and outer loops. Hit Lakeview at QR on my way back.
From there it was Military ridge to Riley and then roads home.

As I started at the Farm, I questioned my choice of bike. The more trail I rode the more I got in to the new challenge of riding dirt differently.
I had 60 miles for the day. Breaking it down it looks like it was pretty evenly between road, mtn bike trail and bike trail. Had about 5 and a half hours riding time, stopped and rested and ate a couple times. So I did manage to get 7 CORP trails in.
Next time I will probably do the west out and back line at CP also. At Blawkhawk maybe add climbing back up Ziggy and then go down Little Switchbacks / Island. Possibly do Slice at PV.  I could really skip BP, did nothing for me.
Noticed I did not do Quary Park. Never been there, not sure best route by bike. Thought it seemed a bit out of the way, but looking at map maybe not so bad to Seminole.

Had a blast doing this. Will probably try it again in the near future. The Niner worked fine and will probably use it again next time.

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/48062918
This is my latest attempt at a CORP Epic. Todd and I did this last Friday on our gravel bikes (drop bars, rigid,40mm tires). We were able to hit 8 trails. Tried to add a little more mileage by riding more trail without riding things twice. Didn't know our way around Quary Park so not a lot there.
Breaking it down: 23 miles of mtn bike trail ; 17.2 miles bike path; and 22.5 miles road. We did 2 rest stops, the Cenex station in Middleton and the Kwik Trip in Verona. Total time was 7:31 , riding 6:16 and stopped 1:15. Was a bit surprised at the stop time. Didn't think we were off the bike that much, but I guess the short stops to decide "what next" added up.

That’s a sweet route gentlemen.

I took the day off and  gave it a go yesterday. It was a good challenge and my first time out at Cross Plains and The Farm (other than fat biking once). I rode my hardtail counterclockwise and hit QP, PV, BH, CP, The Farm, QR, and Seminole. I had to fend off bonking with a carryout calzone from AJ's in Verona.

Nice, Nick.  Bonus points for the eastside start.

Seems like there's been some interest in this route, so we've developed it into a summer challenge. Check out the CORP 100 here: https://www.facebook.com/CORP100Ride/

I attempted the short route on Father's Day. Most people seem to be gravitating toward a clockwise route, but I've always envisioned counterclockwise, so that's what I did. Major advantage is that I felt I had really earned a beer at the Riley Tavern after riding The Farm; I'm sure there's someplace in Cross Plains to reward oneself, but the lawn at Riley is hard to beat as a rest spot. I was running late for dinner so BP, QR, and Seminole got short shrift in terms of riding, I'll leave myself another hour next time. Overall a great ride and really nice to hit Cross Plains trails and the Farm for the first time this year.

Planning on doing the 100 mile loop over the forth of July weekend. Fingers crossed Blue Mounds is going to be open. Starting super early as it’s going to be a hot one!

Im thinking of a 4am start on Friday 3-Jul, leaving from my house (Cross Plains). This is assuming trails are open. Let me know if you want to meet up.

Did the loop counterclockwise last weekend. Split up the ride over 2 days since it rained Saturday AM.
Thanks to whoever left a cooler full of cold drinks at The Farm! That trail magic totally motivated me to keep rolling, especially after climbing the hill to the trailhead. And  I was down to my last water bottle.
Thanks also to those of you who've been cutting weeds!

Nice!

I put the cooler out there early on Saturday and left it out there for the weekend. Looks like a couple people needed it! Happy to help.