Before you arrive
Travel, parking, the bike, what goes in the bag, and who you are bringing.
Getting there and parking
Fly into Memphis, drive to Jonesboro, park free for the week.
Fly into Memphis. Drive to Jonesboro. Free, secure parking is provided at Arkansas State University.
Parking is free for the whole week at either end of the route, including the Helena / Storm Creek lot for Half-Grav riders. Select the complimentary return transportation add-on so you have a seat on the Sunday bus.
From the lot, it's a flat 3.8-mile ride to The Forum on Main Street for packet pickup and the Meet Me on Main opening party.
Campus-to-Forum route on Ride with GPS →
Packet pickup
Monday, October 5, 3:00–7:00 PM, The Forum on Main Street, Jonesboro.
- When
- Monday, October 5, 3:00–7:00 PM
- Where
- The Forum, Main Street, Jonesboro
- Getting there
- Ride 3.8 flat miles from the Arkansas State University lot. Route: ridewithgps.com/routes/57356273
- Rider meetings
- 4:00 PM or 5:30 PM at The Forum. Attend one.
- Half-Grav
- Packet pickup at the Storm Creek Day-Use Area on Thursday, October 8
Bags go on the truck for the first time at the Tuesday start line, during the 6:00–7:00 AM window.
Your bike and your tires
Nothing under 38c, 42–55mm is the range, tubeless strongly recommended.
Tire choice matters more than bike choice out here. These roads get fresh rock regularly and it sits loose on top. A wider tire floats; a narrow one digs in and you fight the road all day.
What goes in the bag
How the tote-and-bag system works, and how you split your things.
Each rider brings two pieces of luggage: a 27-gallon tote not to exceed 50 lbs and a small, soft-sided duffel.
You drop both at the gear truck each morning and they are waiting at the next camp, numbered against your rider number.
Most riders use the tote for camping gear and the duffel for clothes, but it is entirely up to you how you split your things between the two.
Bag size and weight limits
A 27-gallon tote not to exceed 50 lbs plus a small, soft-sided duffel per rider.
- Tote
- One 27-gallon tote per rider, not to exceed 50 lbs
- Duffel
- One small, soft-sided duffel
That is everything the gear truck carries for you, so pack with the weight limit in mind. How you divide your gear between the tote and the duffel is up to you.
Bringing a non-rider
Meals, camp, music and the festival, without riding a mile.
Non-riders travel between venues under their own steam and take part in everything else: meals, camp, nightly music, the King Biscuit Blues Festival, and the outdoor recreation at each venue.
The non-rider driving route
A week-long driving route between the venues, on the map and on Google Maps.
Non-riders have their own driving route between the camps. The map below shows the whole week — open it in Google Maps for turn-by-turn directions, or keep this page open and follow it town to town.
