2024 Hell of the North Texas

5/1 Update (course/event details are being adjusted on the fly so registered riders should keep an eye on their emails): When the weather gives you lemons...

We're actually pretty excited about this one. Because things are so wet and sloppy around Paris we are changing up the plan for Saturday's Hell of the North Texas. Our looped routes will now utilize the NETT (North East Texas Trail) segments between Roxton and Clarksville. Everything is still staging from the Eifel Tower in Paris so this is an excellent opportunity for everyone who is NETT curious to check out these segments. These sections of the NETT handle weather exceptionally well and mostly rail bed gravel but there are several miles of pavement as well.

There are stores along the way and we will be providing water tables as well. Snacks and drinks will be waiting on everyone at the end as well. This is the first of our 3 events in the May Gravel Series getting everyone ready for this year's gravel bucket list. All 3 are free for Club Spinistry members so it is a great time to join.

Week 1 of the Gravel Unwound Texas Warmup Series
Week 2 is 5/11 in Pontotoc, TX
Week 3 5/25 in Gainesville, TX
Timing is for training reference and future race qualification/classification purposes.

Huge thanks to the City of Paris and the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce! FREE for Club Spinistry members. Please note that these routes are primarily gravel. Ignore the Ride With GPS surface data. It is highly inaccurate.

Featured event is for a 175ish mile point to point option from Paris to DFW WITH TEAM SUPPORT ALLOWED. 50 mile Paris loop and then take off to DFW. 100+ mile option will also be point to point with the Paris loop but it won't make it all the way to DFW. Paris only 100K loop and possibly a 50K as well if there is any interest.

Staging from the Love Civic Center in Paris. All loops will start and end there. Point to point races will be in a stage format that will allow front of the pack riders to regroup  to start each stage.

Point to point Format
Stage 1: 50 Mile Paris loop. Same loop for 175 and 100+ mile point to point.
Stage 2: Starts 30 minutes after leader completes Stage 1. 53ish miles to Dodd City, TX. This is the end for 100+ mile point to point
Stage 3. Starts 30 minutes after leader (either distance) completes Stage 2. 70+ miles to Mckinney/Erwin Park, TX. This is the end of the 175ish mile point to point.

Winner for each distance will be determined by total time (including stage breaks) to complete the full distance. There will also be recognition for individual stage winners. Participants who finish a stage after the 30 minute regrouping period will just roll through to the next stage end.

Team support is allowed at Paris, Roxton, Dodd City, Bailey, Trenton and Westminster within the city limits of each town. We will supply a list of suggested meetup spots closer to event date. Team support is NOT allowed to follow the racing/riding route. Team support is expected to follow high speed/paved roads to the approved meetup points. If a rider meets up with team support outside of the approved points the rider forfeits any official time. Team support does NOT allow for bike changes, wheel changes or switching tires. 

We will have a Group Location/Tracking page available for all participants. Tracking requires a (free) active account with our friends at Spotwalla. The account is free but there is a nominal fee (pennies per tracking day) for the actual tracking. Riders can use free phone apps and/or satellite trackers for tracking purposes. Live tracking is highly encouraged but not required.

All Paris Loop routes will be fully marked and we will provide GPS navigation files/capability to all registered riders. The 100+ mile and 175ish mile point to point routes will be self navigated when they deviate from Paris loop. Water tables will be provided for all loop routes. Neutral water, drinks and snacks will  also be available in Paris and Dodd City. Bonfire, cold drinks and Spinistry Chow will be available at Erwin Park. Apart from course markings and water tables these routes are considered self supported. Riders must make their own transportation arrangements if unable to complete the routes for any reason. There will NOT be SAG support. Please call 911 in case of emergency.

All riders are expected to adhere to the Texas Transportation Code. All routes utilize public roads/property for their entirety. Please be aware of and courteous to all road/park/trail users. This is NOT a race. Recorded times are meant for individual reference/use for training purposes. We do ask that riders make us aware of any course deviations so that other participants might have proper and accurate times for evaluation purposes.

IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT info for racers at Spinistry events!!!

Thanks to our friend Dylan Johnson doing the math it is now a REQUIREMENT that all competitors properly mount their number plates or be subject to a time penalty.

Proper mounting is on the bar or cables, facing forward with the numbers clearly visible. No wrapping on the head tube, no sticking in a pocket or bag, no mounting sideways on frame or fork.

Time penalty for an improperly mounted number plate is the greater of 5 minutes per 100 miles (5 minute minimum for shorter distances) or however long it takes us to chase down and identify a racer with an incorrectly mounted number.

We will continue to allow comfort/aero/gravel bars for all racers since that is an aero benefit available to all that more than offsets the number plate penalty.

Entry fee covers a trial membership to Club Spinistry for those who are not current members. Fee can be applied towards a full membership within 7 days of the completion of this event.