Cattle Guards (aka Stock Gaps)

I refer to cattle guards in the rider info.  There aren't many on the route: a couple descending from the Snowy Range, and a couple descending Gore Pass.  Here's one on our Stove Prairie 200k:

You may be familiar with cattle guards.  For those who are not ... these are devices (in coordination with fences, as in the photo) to hem in cattle in Open Range areas (see sign in photo), where cattle may be on the open road.  Some are signposted, but not all.  So keep an eye out.

Riders out West routinely ride over them, but with care.  You should be at right angles to the bars, and avoid any gaps or uneven places along the width of the cattle guard.  In wet conditions, they could be slippery.

If you feel at all uncomfortable at the prospect of riding across, simply dismount and walk across.  The five-second walk will do you good.

-jle