Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who can do the Honey Badger Rides? Anyone can do a Honey Badger Ride. They are a non-competitive group ride designed to allow folks to check out some of the amazing roads and scenery we have in Southern Oregon and Northern California.
2. Do I have to pay to do a Honey Badger Ride? Nope. All Honey Badger Rides are free.
3. What type of bike is best for a Honey badger Ride? This where I’m supposed to say, “Honey Badger don’t care!” The truth is any type of modern gravel type bike will work fine. Something with around a 40c tire is pretty much the sweet spot.All the rides have been done on road bikes with bigger tires but it’s definitely not recommended. There’s always a mountain bike or two on most rides and they do fine as well, they’re just a little slower on the fast bits. The gearing on the road bikes tends to be too tall and the mountain bikes run out of gears on the top end.
4. How fit do I need to be to do a Honey Badger Ride? How hard are they? While some of the routes are more challenging than others, all the Honey Badger routes are doable for a moderately fit person. Also, they aren’t races so you’re free to take your time and pace yourself. Most routes have multiple length options to help tailor them to your fitness level. None of the Honey Badger routes will ever be considered an epic test of your fitness or confused for a ride that you’ll have to spend all year training for.
5. Are there aid stations or support for the Honey Badger Rides? Nope. See above for how much your “entry fee” is (Nothing, Nada, Zip, Zilch!) You are responsible for packing your own water and food. Most of the routes are drivable by a vehicle with a bit of clearance and sturdy tires, so if you need to be picked up due to something like a mechanical, that can usually be arranged. There’s also often points on the routes where you can cut the ride short and head back to the start/finish.
6. Do I have to do the exact route listed? Nope. Feel free to cut a ride short, make a short cut, leapfrog ahead of the group, or tack on some extra miles if you want to. I do recommend downloading all the routes for your ride of choice so if you want to adapt your ride on the fly, you’ll know how to navigate your changes.
7. How do I download the routes to my device? I build the routes on RideWithGPS and they let anyone download them to your device. All the links to the routes are here on the website and here if you want to go directly to RideWithGPS. From a computer, follow the link to the route and choose the “link to the RideWithGPS page. Once the route has been loaded onto your “More” button at the top left of your screen. It’s a drop down menu and from there you can choose to “Export As File” if you use another mapping platform like Strava. If you use RideWithGPS (I recommend it, they’re awesome) the you can choose the “Copy To My Routes” from the drop down menu. If you’re on a phone, click the three little dots icon in the upper right of the screen and you’ll get the option to “Export GPX” and then you can upload it to your mapping program of choice. If you’re a RideWithGPS user or want to use the app on the phone, then you can either choose the “Save” button at the bottom of the screen or just hit the “Navigate” button right next to it. All the routes are available here.
8. What if I can’t make a scheduled ride? Feel free to ride any of these routes on your own schedule. I ride them when my schedule fits throughout the year. I encourage anyone who wants to ride them to do so, either on their own or with a group of friends whenever you want to. All the routes are here.
9. Why are all the scheduled rides on Sunday? That’s the best day for my personal and work schedule so I just had to fit the published ride schedule with what fits best for me so I can make my own group rides. There is a scheduled ride for Saturday, May 4th that will start and finish at Flywheel Bicycles in Talent, OR.
10. Can I help with the Honey Badger rides? Absolutely. Most of the routes are already scouted and cleared, but occasionally I will drive the routes and cut downed trees and make certain the roads that the maps say are there are actually there. I usually drive them first to see if they are open and to make certain that if a person needs help during the ride, they can be rescued. If you want to come along, reach out to me and let me know. Also. if I’m looking for some extra hands to make light work I’ll update the blog a week or so before hand.
11. Can I chip in to help out with the costs of these rides? 100%. While I don’t charge anything for the rides, there are some costs associated with compiling the routes and putting the rides on. Website hosting, RideWithGPS premium membership for mapping, campground reservations, ride schedule flyers, gas for the route scouting, fuel and bar oil for the chainsaws for route clearing, and the occasional dinner for my wife so she doesn’t mind me spending so much time in the woods all add up. If you want to chip in a buck or two, please feel free to visit my BuyMeACoffee page. Thanks!