Rules for NMES
1) All riders must be friendly and must always display a good attitude before, during, and after the event. Please, no whining, no complaining, and any other B.S. 
2) All riders are entirely responsible for themselves at all times during the event. The routes are suggested here and people will be expected to follow the entire route on their own, without assistence from others. Self sufficiency is a must. There will NOT be any rally points, and navigation through the route is entirely up to the invidividual! Bring your own maps and do not expect others to wait for you.
3) Caches and other food/water resupplies are up to the individual if felt necessary to help them complete the route. Generally, however all of these routes have water sources available – though filtration devices will be needed. Food resupplies are scarce on all routes – so riders must plan to carry all of the nutritional supplies. Self-sufficiency is a must on these events – this cannot be stated enough here.
4) All riders should bring along money, a GPS, water filtration unit, cell phone, etc. You never know if/when you will need these items.
5)All riders must carry proper identification and personal emergency contact phone number at all times while cycling. We recommend the fine products from www.RoadID.com.
6) All riders must wear a properly fitted and fastened helmet at all times while cycling. No exceptions!!!
7) All riders are responsible for knowing and obeying all laws.
8) All riders must follow the basic rules for safe cycling: When on the road – Ride to the right, single file. Stop at all stop signs and red signals. Protect and warn one another about road hazards and traffic. Don’t overlap wheels. Practice safe paceline and group riding etiquette. When on trails follow IMBA’s Trail Rules.
9) All riders must carry and use legal bicycle lights when cycling at hours of darkness. All of the NMES events therefore will require some sort of lighting
10) All must begin riding at the designated start times available for the event. Finish area will generally be some local brewery or eating establishment.
11) Drafting is allowed only if the riders agree to it. Do NOT draft anyone’s wheel who you have not asked permission from. This is not only rude, but also unsafe.
12) Since the events are grassroots, and event officials will be non-existent the participants are asked to keep track of their own time via a watch and cycle computer to verify mileage. No prizes will be given for order of finsh, and most likely no tally of finishing order will even be kept. Honesty is a must and for 99.9% of the participants this will not be a problem. If you feel the need to cheat, or exaggerate your finishing time, you will be ignored. Morons, idiots, and self proclaimed hot shots will be met with laughter, ridicule and bagged on for years to come. Boast to your buddy, but not to someone that doesn’t know you or even care what you have to say.
Believe us – we know these routes – and the vast majority of the participants know each other, therefore it will be pretty easy to determine if you are lying. This is friendly group and these venues provide a competitive outlet at a very reasonable price – free! We claim to have the highest return on investment for any event in New Mexico! If you understand these rules and can handle yourself in the back country, then the NMES will not be a problem for you. If you question your ability to complete such an event, we suggest you pre-ride the course and use that as your determination (that only YOU can make) for participating.
