As per the first two iterations this year’s Skull will take place on Father’s Day Weekend, in the window between the last of the snow finally melting off at higher elevations and the heart of forest fire season that follows soon after and requires the attention of the staff and equipment that the BLM, USFS, and Harney County generously provide to support the event.
Registration is open and the smart money is on those who start planning now, with help of cue sheets, an annotated map, and both .KMZ and .GPX route files already available for download. Scouting trips to preview the route can be done any time of year though it is recommended to keep an eye on the weather for adventures in the winter months. Check in with the BLM, Forest Service, or the County Chamber of Commerce for tips on current conditions.
For those intending to tackle the 120 route who aren’t supremely confident in their legs, heart, and grit — consider yourselves officially on notice. You’re probably going to need all two dozen weeks from now until then to train, especially if you hope to have any chance of crossing the line with the first wave of finishers.
As has been the case each of the past two years the 2019 event has seen a few tweaks and changes over the one previous, a bit of tinkering that comes as a perk of the Skull organizers commitment to incorporating rider feedback and volunteer insights accumulated each year. These small changes fine tune what is by any measure of bike race promotion a large scale logistical endeavor, and the end goal is a benchmark backcountry gravel event.
By the numbers the routes aren’t terribly different from 2018. The 120 course is a smidgen longer at 127 miles total, but drops about 350ft of cumulative elevation. Sure, that is only a 3.5% decrease, but on a challenge of such scale your body will surely appreciate it. 😃 Lest that information serve as impetus to back off your training and down another doughnut, an additional 15% of terrain has gone from pavement to gravel or dirt. A change doesn’t mean easier! 😉 There is one less cattle guard on the long route but there are 3 water crossing to make up for it.
Not to put too fine of a point on it, we will repeat: The Skull 120 is no cake walk. There are support staff on the course at all times, with BLM rangers, USFS officers, and Harney County officials including Search & Rescue teams from the Sheriff’s Office, and safety is of course everyone’s top priority. To ensure that the fun stays fun! But don’t let that security blanket fool you — there are a million ways to ruin your day if unprepared in terms of equipment or resolve.
The Skull 120 is not 80% pavement. There is no air conditioned sag wagon if you run out of CO2 cartridges. There are no convenience stores or other comfortable bail out spots anywhere near any section of the course. There is no Interstate Highway or any other infrastructure nearby that might leak a cell phone signal in your direction.
Make sure you and your bike are up for the challenge. Carry a pump. Start out tubeless or with puncture protection and carry spare tubes, and a patch kit too. Carry enough water and consume enough calories to stay alert — riders have been known to wander off course on one of the many cattle trails that zig zag the countryside and skip over an aid station.
For a single day bike race the Skull 120 is just plain hard, but that makes it all the better that it is also nowhere near impossible. Everything is 100% rideable, and it is also challenging for the entire duration. It really is kind of perfect that way!
Did we mention that the mid-June race date affords some certainty that the higher elevation passes will be clear of snow for the year? Don’t let that contort in your mind to think that fair weather is assured, because it surely isn’t. In 2018 a high desert storm rolled overhead in the late afternoon, blowing winds and dropping snow, sleet, and hail on racers in the vicinity of the route’s highest point near the USFS lookout on top of Snow Mountain.
