The Reset Brevet

Do it all yourself, under your own power.

Riders must carry all their own gear (i.e. no domestiques, unless you are part of a team). 

No outside support is permitted (no support from friends along the way, no support vehicles of any kind meeting you along the way). 

Riders should follow 100% of the course. If you leave the course, you should return to the course where you left it, under your own steam.

Riders must carry a tracker (SPOT, InReach, InReach Mini, Zoleo, Bivy Stick, Somewear and YB (Yellow Brick) all work), and register it with Maprogress for tracking. It is recommended that riders carry a personal locator beacon, and agree to cover the cost of rescue in the event they need to be evacuated.

Between midday one day and midday of the next, every rider must spend at one block of at least four hours not traveling. That is, the maximum time any rider may spend traveling along the course will be 20 hours (between each noon-to-noon period)

Riders must not complete the course in less than 2 days (remember – not a race!). Riders must finish in under 6 days.

You must contact MAProgress in the event that you are unable to or decide not to complete the course, and withdraw youself from the brevet (you can do this via your tracking page or directly with Maprogress) – this is for your safety and so you don’t trigger a rescue!

If you wild-camp/bivi, bury your poop, leave no trash, camp away from water sources, do not disturb wildlife, take nothing but pictures.

No camping on station easements.

When on public roads, follow the NZ Road Code. Beware the sleep monster if you are going hard, roads and sleep deprivation don’t mix well.

Hopefully this one doesn’t require an explanation…

There is no fee to ride The Reset brevet. The route is all on public land and roads.

The only cost to riders is the tracking fee for Maprogress (obligatory), renting a tracker if you don’t have your own, and a hut pass if you plan on hitting any of the DOC huts.

Yes! If you decide to ride as a team (no more than two riders), you can share a tracking device, and also other gear such as camping gear, stove, tools. If riding as a team, you must ride the whole route together (this is as much a safety issue as anything, as you will be tracked as one dot).

Yes! Dot watching is addictive and adds so much to an event – you friends and family can see how you’re going and even send you messages of support via the tracking page. It is also important for safety reasons (your tracking device is also your SOS device in the worst case).

We will be tracking The Reset on Maprogress, a highly evolved mapping system that makes following the brevet fun and informative for everyone.

You must carry a tracking device that works with Maprogress. Luckliy there are lots of options: SPOT, InReach, InReach Mini, Zoleo, Bivy Stick, Somewear and YB (Yellow Brick) will all work. Most common is the SPOT tracker.

Make sure the folks back home know how the tracking works. No one associated with the brevet will be organising anything on your behalf, and we take no responsibility for doing so. All decisions you make as to whether and how to proceed (or not) are yours, and yours alone. Your tracker is your safety device (and PLB if you decide to carry one) and the contact you have listed on Maprogress is the go-to in the event of an incident. Make sure that those following you understand this.

There is no obligatory gear list. In the spirit of ‘self-supported’ – spares for your bike, clothing for the weather, food, etc. are basics, and you also need to carry as much as you would need to keep you alive if things turn bad (i.e. caught out in bad weather, or if you get injured). You must carry a SPOT Tracker, Garmin Inreach, or PLB with you.

The best bike for this route is a mountain bike. Rigid, front suspension, or XC full suspension would all work, and a 29er rolls along nice and quick. Gravel bikes? Well depending on the rider, but you would still want big tyres. And it almost certainly will be less enjoyable.

With a defined time window comes the perils of some uncertainty of weather. We’ll likely all be travelling through this route in somewhere between 2 and 6 days, which gives some time for the weather gods to jerk us around, if they like… Central in summer tends to be settled, dry and hot hot hot. But hey, El Niño! So there’s always the possibility of knock-me-down winds, rain, and even snow and hail. So, be prepared for any of these curve balls, and pack accordingly. There’s not much shelter (if any) on the tops, so sometimes it’as better to sit it out for a few hours before heading to higher parts of the route. Remember, not a race, so if you feel happier hunkering down in comfort until it blows through, then give yourself a pass 😉 Most severe weather around here has passed through in 24-48 hours.

If there is something biblical in the forecast we may advise some detours, and provide GPX files accordingly.

This is not a race per se, but in the interests of the inevitable competition there are some rules (see above). By entering the The Reset you are accepting all aspects of the challenge and sole responsibility for your own safety. The course designer bears and accepts no responsibility for anything that happens to you during your ride. Do your own research of the route, and plan your gear, bike and approach accordingly.