Can I pre-register if I am collecting pledges? Absolutely. Send in a pre-registration form and check the "collecting pledges" box and make sure to select your tshirt size, or pre-register online!!

How many pledges do I need to collect to get a free entry? There are two different scales for pledge collection awards. Family and Individual. There are three levels of pledge collection: for ease of use we call those bronze, silver and gold.
FAMILIES: If your family collects $200 in pledges we'll give y'all FREE entry with lunch, swag bag, one t-shirt* and draw prizes. If you collect $500 we'll give everyone long sleeve T-shirts* and all the regular swag bag treats and if you collect $700 we'll give y'all FREE entry and all the lunch and bags and schwag AND a very cool Paul’s themed gift!
INDIVIDUALS: $100 in pledges earns FREE entry with lunch, T-shirt*, swag bag & draw prizes. $200 and we'll upgrade you to a long sleeve T-shirt*. $500 in pledges and we'll give you FREE entry and a very cool Paul’s themed gift!

Can I pre-order a T-shirt? With your pre-registration, yes, and it's the best way to ensure that we still have one in your size by the time you get through registration. ONLY PRE-REGISTERED RIDERS ARE ABLE TO PRE-ORDER TSHIRTS. There are shirts available for retail at the event as well, and we put a bunch aside for the folks who bring in pledge dollars on event day. Long Sleeve and Short sleeves are available in many sizes.

Is a Tshirt included with registration? ONLY PRE-REGISTERED RIDERS RECEIVE FREE TSHIRTS. There are shirts available for retail at the event, and we put a bunch aside for the folks who bring in pledge dollars on event day. Long Sleeve and Short sleeves are available in many sizes.

What is included with Pre-Registration? Folks who PRE-register will receive entry into the event of their choice (100, 60, 30 or 15km) , a hot lunch, and FREE short sleeve tshirt ($5 upgrade free for a Long Sleeve) and a detailed event flyer with maps and event information. The first 200 folks through registration will also be able to buffet the swag bag table where they can fill a bag with gifts from many of our sponsors.

Hey, isn't this event on SUNDAY? This event was held on Sundays for the first decade or so: but since 2004 it has been held on SATURDAY!! Now everyone can stay over Saturday night and hang out for the fun clean-up rides on Sunday. It was a tough switch from Sunday to Saturday, with only, really, one casualty. Yup, no foolin' The Captain, many-time winner of the 60k event, showed up bright and early on SUNDAY morning in 2004 to register. D'uh!!

Where can I pick up pledge and entry forms? Most bike shops within a three hour driving radius of the Ganaraska Forest Centre should have entry forms by the end of June, 2009. You may also download a printable version of the pledge form here, or a printable version of the pre-registration form here.

And where do I mail them? Mail forms to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 466 George Street, North, Peterborough, Ontario, K9H 3R7, Fax: (705) 748-2577

And who do I make the cheque payable to? the Canadian Mental Health Association

Can I pre-register online? YES!! In conjunction with www.onlineregistration.ca we are offering on-line registration and the ability for folks to donate/pledge money to riders ON-LINE as well. Pre-registration in open.

Can I make a pledge online? YES!! Take a look at the pre-registered rider list, click on a rider's name and you will be able to use your paypal account to pledge to the rider.

When does Pre-registration for 2009 Open? June, 2009.

When does Pre-registration for 2009 CLOSE? Pre-registration deadline will be September 11, 2009.

Do I need an OCA license to compete? Nope. This is not a points race or anything like that.You will have to fill in an OCA waiver if you are not an OCA member, but no fee is required.

Do I have to be a member of an OCA-sanctioned club to ride? Nope, see above

What's with this $5 Citizen's One Day License thing? Previously everyone had to purchase a $5 One Day License. But for the last couple of years the OCA has generously waived the fee for fund raisers. If you are not a member of the OCA you will be required to fill out a waiver, but that will be all, see above.

How much is PRE-REGISTRATION and event day REGISTRATION? The Pre-registration Fee is $37 and the Fee for Registration on Event Day is $40. And remember ... Pre-registered riders get a free tshirt and folks registering on race day DO NOT GET FREE TSHIRTS. And you can ride for free if you collect enough PLEDGES.

How do I get to the Ganaraska Forest Center? Follow the maps and directions available on this site or on your registration brochure!

What are the camping facilities like? Camping is pretty primitive at the GFC. There are portapotties and picnic tables and one large covered picnic area with a nice fire pit and one hose with potable water. There are lots of spots for tenters and self-contained RVs as well as trailers. The treed area that we designate for camping is quiet and sheltered and lovely. You may not park your car IN the tent camping area. The area is almost completely covered by nice, soft grass. Feel free to drive in to unload, but then please park in the field.

Do I need to make reservations? Camping is first come first serve. The best spots go Friday afternoon.

Is camping really FREE? For our fourteenth edition of Paul's Dirty Enduro we will be offering FREE camping for Friday and Saturday nights!

Is there a fee to enter for Ganaraska Forest Centre? There is no fee to enter the Forest Centre for the event either!

Are there any stores/restaurants at the camping area? No. The GFC is 18km from the nearest town and 7km from the nearest gas station. There are no bank machines at the GFC. There is one public phone. There is no WiFi access, either.

What's on the lunch menu? The CMHA is providing a terrific hot lunch again for all the competitors. There'll be two or three salads, some chili (veggie and meat options), some rolls and some juices and water. Dessert might happen too! There'll be lots of fruit.

Are any other meals served? The CMHA is providing only lunch for all the competitors. We keep a portion of the meal hot and available for the late riders doing the 60 and the 100km events (who may still be finishing at 6:30pm). Our mandate is to make sure that everyone is fed. There is snack and enduro survival food at the checkpoints as well. (PB&J sandwiches, fruit and energy drink) but you're on your own for breakfast and dinner!

May my family join the participants lunch if I pay a fee? We do put a jar out for that situation. Our priority, of course, is making sure that we feed everyone who rides (including that last 100k rider at 6PM) so sometimes we have to declare that there are no more lunches for sale eventhough it does look like there's still lots left at 3PM. You can imagine what a challenge it is to feed everyone!

What time do the Bike Olympics start on Saturday? Olympic events will be starting by 6-ish in the afternoon after the awards ceremony. There will be a few events and it will be a stage event: meaning that you will move from event to event. Events: Bike Long Jump, Granny Gear Race, Big Ring Race, Slow Race, Bike Toss and the Derby. The Olympics are FREE and a great way for folks not necessarily into riding in the woods to participate. A great event for older folks and younger folks to be pretty evenly matched.

What time does the kid's race start on Saturday? Kid's race is at noon on Saturday. Registration will open for that, on site, at about 11AM. If you are heading out for your event and leaving your kids behind to race make sure they've signed up for the event before you go. And really, what are you doing leaving your kids at the Forest Centre all alone?

What age of kids are appropriate for the kid's race? Generally from 4 to 9 years. But if you've got enthusiastic kids outside the age group we'd love to have 'em. (And "kid at heart" doesn't count).

Who was Paul? Paul Rush was a family member and good friend of many of the volunteers. He was also a kickin' mountainbiker who knew and loved the Ganaraska Forest and all its wonderful trails. According to his pal JVK (who rode the 100k again this year) Paul and Tinney and Cushing and Hillsey and Coxey and JVK would get together in the Ganny for monster rides: always saying "today we'll ride 100k!". But they never did. Now we run the enduro in Paul's memory. We ride it for all the times that we won't ride it with him. As JVK said "I wish everyone had known Paul." This annual event is a tribute to our friend Paul, who took his own life. As a memorial we help the CMHA raise funds to be used for suicide prevention and mental health issues in the community. But mostly we get together to ride killer trails for a LONG time and to enjoy a day out together in the Woods with our cycling friends.

How much money does this event raise? In 2008 we raised over $13,000 in pledges. The money is used for CMHA programs including very important suicide prevention programs in Ontario Highschools. Proceeds from Paul's Dirty Enduro are donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association in Paul's memory. Our goal is to increase prevention and awareness about the tragedy of suicide.

Is the poison ivy really that bad? YES!! Poinson Ivy grows in the Ganaraska Forest like Ivy on pretty walls in England. It grows UP and OVER the trail in some places. We do our best to clear it out of the Feedzone areas so that you can walk around there with impunity. But if you go off the trail at any point you are (ABSOUTELY) walking into poison ivy. The oils on the leaves are what will cause you to have ugly, pussy, itchy annoying patches on your skin for WEEKS afterwards. It is not an instantaneous thing. So you won't know you've been exposed until three days later. We provide Poison Ivy Neutralizer at all the feedzones (along with buckets) and we RECOMMEND HIGHLY that you wash any exposed skin at the feedzone. A good washing will eliminate the oil before it gets beneath your skin. Once it does ... you up that poison ivy vine! There are wash buckets at the finish as well. We also recommend that you are CAREFUL with your bike and its tires, too. They will be covered in that oil when you return. Rinse the tires before putting them in the car. The best defence against poison ivy is a good offence! All of us will coat our skin with a barrier (dish detergent, baby oil) and then most of us, especially those of us who have been exposed before, will wear knee socks as well. We're not wearing them just cuz they make us look cute!

How tough is the 100km event, really? Really tough. Pro/Elite tough. Over the years winning times have been as fast as five and a half hours: but last year only twelve people finished the full 100km in under 7 hours. Some years have been tougher than others, that's for sure. And 2009 isn't going to be easy, but the focus is still FUN and FLOW and SINGLETRACK GALORE! A few minor tweaks on the 2006 course and some new, sweet bits of singletrack near the Forest Center (Blue Angel and Tree Struck by Lightning) were the only changes for the 2007 adventure. The 100km will probably take you 8 hours if you are in the fast part of the field. Almost ten hours if you are the slowest. There is over 7000 feet of climbing (and correspondingly over 7000 feet of descending!!) It can be bone-jarringly, shatteringly exhausting. If it is dry and sandy it can be such a bike handling challenge! If you can ride 160km on the road, you can probably ride the 100km off-road. If you can ride 100km on the road; consider registering for the 60km. Check out the profile of the 100k.

Who won the 100k last year? How fast were they? (You can view the full 100k results, 60k results, 30k results or 15k results at onlineregistrations.ca.Below are the top three 2008 result. 2007 results and 2006 results are available here, and even as far back as 2003 at the OCA results pages).

Are there photos available from 2008? Due to circumstances completely within our control there was no photographer onsite this year. We are holding a Photo Contest for 2008 so that we can get ahold of some of your coolest photos ... there is a 2007 photo gallery online that you can view at your leisure. If you are interested in purchasing copies of those photos in better definition you can contact the photographer. You can also check out the 2006 photo gallery, too, the year we started in the fog with severe thunderstorm warnings!

How long should it take me to ride my event? A slow-ish speed for completing each event is about 10km/hr. The fastest hover somewhere near 20km/h for the whole thing. In 2008 our longest riders finished at about 6pm. That's over 10 hours of riding. If you don't reach the last checkpoint by 5pm we'll stop you and put you in the truck for a ride home; or we'll make you ride back to the Forest Centre the shorter way.

Is there a lot of climbing? Climbing, Y E S, and lots of descending, and lots of logs and lots of sand and lots of tight twisty turns and not so much wide open spaces where you can see what is coming ahead and really open it up. All the courses are demanding and unrelenting. (Okay, the 15k is maybe a little less demanding and unrelenting).

Are there feedzones & checkpoints? Every route has Feedzones where water/food will be available. Each feedzone also has radio personnel for emergency contact. Feedzones occur just about every 20k. 100km riders pass five feedzones, 60k riders pass three, and 30 and 15k riders pass only ONE feedzone.

What if it rains? Well, it is Ontario and it is September so the odds are pretty good that it might rain. The beauty of the Ganaraska Forest is that it is actually good to ride if it has been, or IS raining. The water packs the sand down and makes the whole course roll a little faster. There aren't that many sections that can become muddy, either. There's inside space at the Forest Centre for eating lunch and doing the awards ceremonies after you ride so - don't be shy! If it rains just put on your jacket! In 2003 the event was held the day after "hurricane isabelle" went through and the course was packed and rolling fast! In 2006 it rained all night the night before and the night after. It didn't make for record breaking times, but the course was still completely rideable.

When is the course open for pre-riding? The 100km course will NOT be open for pre-riding at any point. The 15km and 30km and 60km courses are open for pre-riding from Friday mornning to Saturday morning before 8am. BE WARNED: there are no marshals out on Friday and it can be easy not to know which side you are supposed to take at turn-offs and some of the splits are not signed until the morning on Saturday. When you register you'll receive your package that will include some promo stuff and your all-important rider information sheet. The inside of that tabloid is a relatively to scale map of the course. We RECOMMEND STRONGLY that you take that map with you when pre-riding. If you would like to get a look at the course before riding the event you might come out and help mark and maintain the trails. Contact Rick for that schedule.

What if I want to ride the 60km but my child wants to ride the 15km? There is usually a group of younger folks that go out to do the 15km event with a supervising adult. Ask about who that is when you register and (with hope!) one of the volunteers will be able to point that person out to you and your young rider. There are sweeps riding bicyles on both the 30km and the 15km rides. No-one gets left out there. The difficulty is getting the kids registered after you've left on your ride! Just take junior into registration with you when you are going through the line and tell the folks at the edesk your predicament and they will register the junior one early for his event.

Are there prizes for all the different categories or is it all just draw prizes? There are trophies and trips to the prize tables for the the top three fastest men and women in each category. The categories will be changing for 2008 to include singlespeed categories, a tandem category and more divisions for women in the 60km ... but this is what we used in 2008.

For 2009 our propsed category changes look like this:

AND THEN there will be MORE prizes after that!! --draw prizes will be, well, DRAWN, until we run out of everything else!! It's a veritable prize bonanza!! Last year we gave away more than $7500 in merchandise to our fabulous riders!

What if I get lost? This is a very real concern. Every registered rider gets an information package which includes a map of the course. STAY ON THE MARKED COURSE! Your course is marked with flagging and black arrows on orange backing. Keep your eyes on those markings. There are hundreds of kilometers of trails out there. There are checkpoints and marshalls on the course. BUT IT IS STILL EASY TO GET LOST! Keep your head up and watch for the coloured flagging tape. You should see some every minute or so of riding. In case of difficulty there are bicycle sweep riders at the back of every ride. If you break down or get hurt WAIT for them and they have radio communications. They will be a fairly long time, though, since they are BEHIND the very last rider in your field. If you get lost STAY WHERE YOU ARE. Let me repeat that. If you get lost and really do not know where you are and cannot see your way back to the course STAY WHERE YOU ARE. It will be a long time, but if you stay in once place, we will find you and if you keep moving we will never find you.

What if I get hurt? Saint John Ambulance is stationed at the Forest Centre. If you return from your lap with an injury please stop by and visit them for a good wound cleaning. If you get hurt on the trail immediately sit down (find a poison ivy free zone if you can) and tell the next riders that you are hurt and they will relay that message on through the marshall system. Once the message returns to Safety Control procedures will be enacted that will get first aid to you as quickly as possible. If you encounter hurt rider while you are riding take note of any readings on your cyclecomputer, the hurt rider's number and a description of his troubles. Make sure you report all those facts to the next race personnel that you see.

How much is it to register on event day? Before the registration deadline? It will be $40 for an individual or $85 for a family/team to register on race day. No taxes. We only accept cheques and cash on event day. Or you could choose to collect pledges to earn FREE registration!

What time does the 100km start?
The 100km starts at 8AM.
The 60km starts at 11AM.
The Kids' Race starts at 12PM. (registration opens for that at 11AM)
The 15 & 30km starts at 1PM. The awards ceremony starts at 4:30PM.

When is registration open?
Registration is open on FRIDAY NIGHT, September 19, from 7 - 9PM.
Registration opens on Saturday, September 20, 2008
for 100km riders ONLY from 7AM to 8AM. Registration open
for 60km riders ONLY from 8:15Am to 11AM.
After 11:15 registration is open for all.

How can I volunteer? There are lots of different Vounteer Jobs to do. If you are interested in volunteering (and boy, do we need vounteers!) please contact me (kt misener) at the Bloomfield Bicycle Co.

What kind of volunteer jobs can I do? There are lots of different Vounteer Jobs to do: just to name a few; trail marking and maintaining in the weeks before the event, helping with registration, sorting tshirts, creating prize packs, marshaling various points on the course, manning a feedzone, driving a feedzone truck (high clearance vehicle required, and a good knowledge of the forest helps, too!) taking pictures, helping with the kids race, directing parking traffic, clean-up crew and the list goes on. If you can think of something that needs doing that is not on this list please let us know.

Can I use these hours for my High School credit? YES! We have some forms onsite to fill in to add to your community service hours for your diploma.

Who produces this event? Paul's is produced in a gestalt kind-of stream-of-consciousness method. The difficult and tedious business of licenses and insurance and permits and sanctioning and registration and tax receipts and money and accident reports and the like is handled with style and grace and very little complaining by the efficient and happy crew at the Canadian Mental Health Association in Peterborough. The trail is "designed" (planned and mapped out) by Zac Wheeler of the Peterborough Cycling Club, one of the winningest Paul's participants ever (three times #1 in the 100km event). The trails are maintained, worked on, marked, arrowed, signed, d-wacked of poison ivy and generally cleaned up after the event by the folks from the Bloomfield Bicycle Club and many dedicated volunteers. On Event day a team of experienced volunteers from the Rush Family, the North Shore Amateur Radio Club and the local cycling community (the Barlows (Doug and Joanne) Brian Hedney, Rob and Monique Cox, Sean Benvie, Peter Murk, Kevin and Gene Thompson, Sean Benvie, Adam Fleming, Steve Paul and Kalo Jackson to name just a few of the folks who come every year) show up early and take their positions for a long day of corralling riders. Joni White and her crew run the kitchen and feed the masses. kt misener (that's me) does the tshirt design, website design, brochure design and prize commandeering, as well as some volunteer coordinating on event day. We have no meetings: but we email a lot. So who produces this event? Everyone!! That all being said, we're looking forward to seeing y'all again and again in September, 2009! Any questions we didn't answer here ... please feel free to email us with more or give us a call at 613-393-1060.