'kay, I'm bumping this as I'm thinking about doing the "baker's metric" (74 mi) or the "challenger (56 mi) and this here Southwest sub forum has been mighty quiet lately.

ULCER is now the weekend before Desperado, and I think it would be good for me to do one of the shorter rides. I seem to have developed this...disdain for giant organized rides, though (OK, mostly rider behavior). Anyone know how many riders it attracts?

Interestingly, they have a no iPods/MP3 "rule" for the ride, posted in big, bold letters on the BBTC website. Nothing about private SAGs, though.