Chandi Raffle & Ride Series
THE RAFFLE
Win a $5,000 Chandi frame!
What's the Giveaway?
Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Chandi Bicycles, we have TWO frames to give away, with the winners getting to choose both the type and size of the frames. Each frame is valued at $4500-$5000! For more information about the frames Chandi has to offer, please click here.
How do I Buy a Ticket?
You can purchase a ticket by using the form below.
How will I be Notified?
Winners will be announced on our @tennesseegravel Instagram feed and on this page. We will also email the winners directly so we can start building their new Chandi frames!
How Much are the Tickets?
Tickets are priced at a sliding scale with the price per ticket decreasing with the more tickets you buy:
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1 for $10
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5 for $30
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10 for $50
When is the Drawing?
We will have separate drawings for each frame. The first drawing will be take place on October 7th after we wrap up this year's Cycle Sequatchie event, and the second drawing will take place on April 28th after we wrap up next year's RELIANCE event. (If your don't win at the first drawing in October, your raffle entries will automatically be carried over to the second drawing in April.)
THE RIDES
Join us on a no-drop group ride!
What's the Schedule?
We've designed the series to get progressively harder with each ride. So if you join us for every ride, you will be able to build your fitness throughout the series.
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JULY 11th: Ocoee 18
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AUGUST 8th: Hiwassee 24
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SEPT 5th: Tellico 25
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OCT 10th: Ocoee 24
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NOV 7th: Tellico 37 (or 33)
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DEC 12th: Hiwassee 31
Details for each upcoming ride will be posted below. If the weather is too rough to ride, we will post notice of the cancellation or postponement in the "Details for the Next Ride" section below.
How Much does it Cost?
The rides are FREE, but we encourage you to support our work by buying raffle tickets for the two Chandi frames we have on offer, which is something you should do anyway since it puts you in the running for one of two $5,000 titanium frames custom built to your size!
Will there be SAG?
We will NOT have vehicle support on the rides, but we will have some on-bike support on most of the rides thanks to our friends at REM Cycles!
What Should I Bring?
Please come prepared and bring the following items at a minimum:
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Plenty of water
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Food for the ride
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Spare tube
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Tire levers
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Pump or CO2 cartridges
Also, if you ride tubeless tires, make sure you have fresh sealant.
Do I Need to Register?
There is no registration for the rides, but before we start each ride we will ask you to sign a waiver acknowledging the risk involved in riding a bike and promising not to sue us if you crash!
Are the Rides No-Drop?
The rides are no-drop, which means you won't be left on your own, but be be advised that there are no easy rides in the Cherokee National Forest. Even the shortest rides have a significant amount of climbing, and there will be chunky sections on every ride. While you don't need to be a pro to do these rides, you should have some gravel cycling experience and you should be prepared to do a significant amount of climbing and descending, some of which may be steep and technical.
Are e-Bikes Allowed?
E-bikes are welcome on the rides, and they will certainly make the climbing easier, but you will still need to know how to handle the bike on potentially steep and rocky descents.
DETAILS for the NEXT RIDE:
DATE: Saturday, November 7th
DISTANCE: 33 or 37 miles (optional extra climb)
CLIMBING: 4300 feet
START TIME: 10:00 a.m. (this is when we will start rolling)
PARKING: Oosterneck Overlook pullout
ROUTE: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41517067
This will be our hardest ride yet, and is not recommended for those just getting into gravel cycling. The ride features challenging climbs with steep grades, and it also has some tricky descents that are rutted out and super steep. While it's not terribly long, the ride should be considered intermediate to advanced.
We should also note that the difference between the 33-mile option and the 37-mile option is a 2-mile out & back climb to Waucheesi Bald, which has a nice view but is super hard. If you choose to skip the Waucheesi climb you'll reduce the overall elevation gain by around 800 feet.
The other challenging part of this ride is parking. We will start the ride at the Oosterneck pullout, which is about 5 miles from downtown Tellico Plains on the Cherohala Skyway. The pullout has very limited parking, so please consider parking at the pullout prior to Oosterneck, which is about a mile and a half before you get to Oosterneck. There is also plenty of parking at the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center in downtown Tellico Plains, which opens at 9:00 and has nice restrooms. (The pullouts do not have bathrooms.) Parking at the visitor center adds around 5 easy miles each way to the ride.
As with our previous ride in the Tellico region, we highly recommend stopping at Tellico Grains Bakery for pre-ride breakfast or post-ride recovery!