New Ride the Rockies Director Announces Major Changes for 2018 Ride

Just six weeks into her new job, the new ride director for Ride the Rockies, Deirdre Moynihan (the second new ride director in as many years) announced major changes for the 2018 tour (June 9-15). In an email sent today to previous RTR participants, Moynihan dropped a couple of big bombshells:

First, the LOTTERY IS DEAD! Ride registration will be FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE, beginning as soon as the route is announced on Saturday, February 3, at approximately 8:30 PM Mountain Time. The route will be announced live on Facebook for anyone who is unable to attend.

Second, registration FEES are going up. There will be three tiers of pricing: $525 for the first 500 registrants, $575 for the next 500, and $625 for the rest. That's a $25 increase for early registrants and $125 more than last year if you aren't in the first 1,000 people to sign up!

Third, reading between the lines, according to the email, the new director spent her first day on the job -- November 15 -- on the road planning the 2018 route. I have no idea when the previous director left or what has been going on with staff but planning a route in November for a ride in June seems like a potential problem.

That's a lot to absorb. We're being asked to sign up, on the spot, for a route that may not even be set at this point. I'm trying to keep an open mind but am thinking 2018 may be a good year to take a pass on Ride the Rockies and check out another ride.

Any suggestions? What do you think, Jonny Rocker?

Ride on,

Daren

Cycle Oregon 2017 Cancelled Due to Wildfires

Forecasts call for more hot, dry, windy weather and an increase in smoke from new and existing fires along the Cycle Oregon 2017 route.

With all the media attention focused on Houston this week I completely missed the fact that Oregon is on fire. That is until I received an email announcing the cancellation of Cycle Oregon 2017, set to begin one week from today. "Oregon is in crisis," began Cycle Oregon Executive Director Steve Schultz in the email, citing these alarmng facts:

• 44% of the acres burning nationally are in Oregon,
• 50% of the firefighters nationally are in Oregon and Washington, and
• 8 of the highest trained wildfire teams in the U.S. are in Oregon. 

According to the email, the heaviest fires are in South Central Oregon, essentially encompassing the 2017 route. At this five of the seven days are impacted by fires and smoke with air quality levels ranging from unhealthy to hazardous. As a result, Steve and his team, along with the Oregon Department of Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service, and others, were forced to cancel the ride.

I can't image the disappointment Steve and his team must be feeling. The years of planning, all the moving parts coming into place, hundreds of volunteers, food vendors, port-a-potty purveyors, etc., seemingly all for naught. But clearly they were left no choice.

I also sympathize with the riders who have been training for months, many planning to travel from around the world next week to Oregon. I am not one of them, choosing to do Ride the Rockies as my big ride this year, but I know the feeling of anticipation leading up the the big event of the year. Hard to imagine getting the news one week out. But the decision was made with everyone's safety in mind, especially the riders.

Smoke from a small fire near Glenwood Springs on RTR 2007.

I have experienced much less severe conditions on Ride the Rockies, encountering a small fire on my first RTR in 2007 and circumventing the Royal Gorge fire on the 2013 ride (making it the longest in RTR history)! 

Smoke from the Royal Gorge fire in 2013, seen from Canon City.

But neither of those situations threatened the safety of the riders. They were able to reroute us around the Royal Gorge fire. But in this case, even alternate routes are affected, according to Schultz. 

I hope the disappoint fades quickly and look forward to next year's route announcement!

Ride on...

Daren

Ride the Rockies 2017 Days 6-7: Montrose to Gunnison to Salida and the finish line!

The final two days of Ride the Rockies 2017 were a mix of easy cruising and tough climbing. The final day's climb over Monarch Pass (elev. 11,312') was the longest (and highest) of the ride, climbing nearly 3,000 feet in nine miles, but the 23 mile descent into Salida was truly all downhill and flew by. Just like that, my 10th RTR was over.

From left: me, Hankster, Jonny Rocker and Flip Flop Jenny.

Crossing the finish line is always bittersweet. The feeling of accomplishment is fulfilling. Then suddenly it sinks in. The ride is over. No more pain and suffering through long climbs. No more adrenaline rush screaming down the backside of a mountain pass at 45 mph. No more sitting at the local brewery telling tall tales of the day's ride. I will miss it all.

No more camp to set up or tear down, backpacks to carry to the truck, smelly port-a-potties or shower trucks. OK, some things I won't miss!

I met this guy on RTR a few years back and always look forward to seeing his smiling face. Somehow I managed to catch him here looking serious but you can still see the famous Hankster grin trying to some out!

Day 6: Montrose to Gunnison

The ride out of Montrose towards Cerro and Blue Mesa Summits was very typical. I have ridden this stretch of road three times and all I remember is the headwind blowing down the mountain. But my legs felt fresh from the recovery day ride from Ridgeway to Montrose and after we dropped into the Curecanti National Recreation Area we were greeted by a nice tailwind that blew us around Blue Mesa and up the Gunnison River to our destination.

At Blue Mesa Summit. From left: me, Jenny, Woody and Jonny.

Woody and I at the Bay of Chickens on Blue Mesa Reservoir -- an RTR tradition!

At an aid station. From left: Jenny, Kevin, Lea Anne, Jon, Julia, Don, Woody and me.

Enjoying some local brews at High Alpine Brewing Company. From left: Dennis, Lea Anne, Hankster, Woody and Jonny.

The Hankster at High Alpine Brewery. Best sign on the ride!

Jonny Rocker pours from the growler at the final campdown.

We met up with Team Bar2Bar members at High Alpine Brewing Company and enjoyed some artisanal pizza and local brews before heading to the school to set up camp. After cleaning up we headed back into town for dinner and ended up the night drinking buckets of PBR tall boys playing corn hole on the patio at Timbers (with a private band all to ourselves!).

Day 7: Gunnison to the Salida (and the finish line!)

The final day began with a nice, steady 1-2% grade climb up Tomichi Creek for 34 miles before beginning the climb over Monarch Pass. I did this climb on my first RTR in 2005. I remember being terrified by the elevation profile of this day. The climb is a steady, relentless 4-7% grade for nine miles. I struggled a little on the steepest parts. At 40+ pounds fully loaded, the Beef Bike is a beast!


Team Beef at the first aid station on the final day! From left: Kevin, Jonny, Dennis, Lea Anne and me.

At the summit on the final day. It's all downhill from here! From left: me, Woody, Jonny and Jenny.

This speed and elevation profile overlay tells the story of the final day's ride!

Dropping into my granny gear for tough sections I spun my way up the mountain. Reaching the summit of Monarch Pass marked the end of the climbing. Though we often say "it's downhill from here," I truly think we could have coasted without peddling the entire way. But peddling along at 30+ mph isn't hard work!

We made our final unofficial pit stop at Elevation Brewery in Poncha Springs, about 4 miles from the finish line. Grouping up there, our team coasted across the finish line. We hung around for the closing ceremony to thank the volunteers, staff and Colorado State Police for keeping us safe throughout the ride and making it possible to tour the rugged Rocky Mountains on a bicycle.

Then came the hugs and goodbyes and the end of another adventure. So now the inevitable question. What's next? Jonny Rocker and I plan to check out other weeklong rides around the country. Please leave a comment with your favorites!

With that, I will leave you with our team motto: Ride fast and take chances!

Daren

Rides the Rockies 2017 Days 4-5: Durango to Ridgeway to Montrose

We are waking up in Montrose, Colorado, after a great afternoon/evening street party. The ride yesterday -- Day 5 of Ride the Rockies 2017 and day six of riding for Team Beef/Bar2Bar -- was a short, 34-mile, mostly downhill cruise. It felt great and my legs definitely needed the opportunity to recover the epic Day 4 ride over three mountain passes covering 84 miles and more than 8,000 feet of elevation gain!

The official Team Bar2Bar stop in Montrose.

The locals were out in force at the street party in Montrose -- including my long time friend Jeri!

The Day 4 ride from Durango to Ridgeway was one of the toughest and most beautiful rides I have done in Colorado. The scenery was as breathtaking as the altitude!

Climbing three passes on one day, two over 10,000 feet and one over 11,000, took it out of me. Actually, I don't think I ever had it. Starting out in the morning it was freezing cold and I feel like my legs simply never warmed up.

45 Miles of winding roads, steep drop-offs and three passes!

The summit of Coal Bank Pass (1 of 3)

The summit of Molars Pass (2 of 3)

Overlooking Silverton, Colorado.

From whence we came!

Too many times on the climbs over Coal Bank, Molas and Red Mountain Passes I had to drop into the ultra granny gear I had the guys at YAWP Cyclery put on the Beef Bike for long, steep climbs. That made for a very long day. But I was able to slowly make my way over all three passes and enjoy the ultimate payoff, the descent down Red Mountain Pass into Ouray (you-ray), Colorado. It was so worth it!

Finally! After hours of climbing we reached the summit of Red Mountain Pass (3 of 3)

Glad we stopped at the Bear Creek Falls overlook on the descent of Red Mountain!

This is a screen grab of the video I took on the descent. I will post it when I have more bandwidth!

My assumption is this is why it is called Red Mountain Pass :)

It pays to remember to look back every once in a while on RTR! According to my friend Jeri this is Mt. Abrams.

Today's ride also features three climbs, although must less imposing nature, reaching a max altitude of 8,717 feet on Blue Mesa Summit before a long flat stretch around Blue Mesa Reservoir into Gunnison.

Hard to believe tonight will be the final night of the ride. First it feels like RTR will never get here. At times on the ride it feels like it will never end. Then suddenly it's over. But not yet! TIme to saddle up.

Ride on!

Daren

Ride the Rockies 2017 Days 2-3: Pagosa Springs to Durango and Durango Loop

Day Three of Ride the Rockies (the fourth day of riding for Team Beef/Bar2Bar) was a 38-mile roller coaster ride. The first 14 miles were the chug chug chug up the first big climb on the coaster? You know the feeling that it will never end? Yeah, it felt like that. It took two hours.

Remember the feeling of cresting that big climb? Yeah, it felt like that. For the rest of the ride we were either flying down a steep hill or cruising over hills roller coaster style. At times we had to kick it into chug chug gear but it always led to a nice downhill.

Riding with Rocker!

Sporting a USDA CHOICE temporary tattoo on my right calf!

I loved today's route. We rolled back into Durango, stopped at Steamworks to reload the growlers before heading back to out hotel. After a nice shower we headed into town to meet the rest of the team (most of whom skipped the loop day).

Day Two was also a nice ride -- 68 miles from Pagosa Springs to Durango. The wind backed off a bit from our first two days of riding and the three climbs were mild compared to Wolf Creek Pass. We booked a hotel room in Durango and have enjoyed he luxury of sleeping in a bed, showering in private and not having to wait in line to use the bathroom!

Oh yeah, and no sprinklers going off in the middle of the night! Our campground in Pagosa Springs was strafed by sprinklers on the baseball field at 2:00 a.m. Monday morning and we woke to ice crystals on our tent and frozen towels hanging from the fence, as temps dropped below freezing during the night! We had to wait for the sun come up to that the ice and dry off our tents before packing up, which made for a late start, but we survived! 

Last night's rider party was just a couple of blocks from our hotel. It was a beautiful evening of music, beer and hanging out with friends. Maybe a few too many beers judging my the way I feel this morning! No worries, though, today is an easy 84 miles with a meager 7,792 feet of elevation gain!

Ride on!

Daren

Ride the Rockies 2017 Day 1: Wolf Creek Pass (C.W. McCall Got It All Wrong)

I am writing this morning from Durango, Colorado. It's Day Three of Ride the Rockies 2017. Last we checked in Jonny Rocker and I were in Salida getting ready to ride to the start in Alamosa, an idea that sounded good on paper but, in reality, was painful.

After a short climb over Poncha Pass out of Salida we dropped into the San Luis Valley to settle in for the cruise down the valley into Alamosa. That's when we encountered The Wind. Even coming down the pass was work as we headed straight into gusty winds blowing up the valley. On the flat, straight 50-mile stretch on Hwy 17 to Alamosa we struggled to maintain 15 mph, often dropping below 10 mph during a big gust.

At our lunch stop in Hooper, Colorado. Sandwiches at a gas station!

Team Beef does not chicken out when faced with adversity!

We made the best of a bad situation, stopping at a little roadside general store and café in Willow Spring for a piece of homemade cherry pie and bough buns, meat and cheese at the gas station in Hooper. By the time we arrived in Alamosa for the start of the next day -- a 92-mile ride across the valley and over Wolf Creek Pass -- we were wiped out and wondering if we had made a big mistake.

Rejuvenating at San Luis Valley Brewing Co.

Relaxing back at camp.

Woody rolled in from the bar just in time for sunset!

After a few beers and some good food (I had the steak quesadilla -- yum!) at San Luis Valley Brewing Co. things were looking up. A number of fellow riders came up to us and asked about Team Beef. Turns out all of the buses (and many cars) transporting riders to the start passed us along our route. Team Beef got a lot of free publicity (making it worth our while in my book!). 

Jonny Rocker leads the way out of Alamosa.

Woody heads up the pass, Hawaiian shirt flapping in the wind.

 On the official first day of riding (Sunday) we headed northwest toward Monte Vista on Hwy 50 across the San Luis Valley. The wind cooperated for the first 40-miles but turned against us at Del Norte and intensified at South Fork as we headed up Wolf Creek Pass.

Beginning a tough climb like Wolf Creek Pass at mile 50 is tough on the legs. Climbing into a headwind is a mental challenge. There were times I thought about chucking the beef bike in the south fork of the Rio Grande River and giving up. The devil on my shoulder can be very convincing!

Team Beef/Bar2Bar at the Summit of Wolf Creek Pass (way up on the Great Divide).

But Team Beef/Bar2Bar does not quit (Death Before SAG!). As we headed up the pass I queued up C.W. McCall's famous ditty about Wolf Creek Pass on my iPhone (Bluetoothed to my Ivation bike speaker). As I listened to the song I began to question whether McCall had ever driven this stretch of road before he wrote it.

Watch this video then come back for the rest of the story!

McCall says he and Earl were "hauling chickens on a flat bed outta Wiggins" and had "spent all night on the uphill side of 37 miles of hell called Wolf Creek Pass (which is way up on the Great Divide)." First of all, Wiggins, Colorado, is northeast of Denver, 300 mile away. I'm also not sure why it took them all night to drive 37 miles, but I'll let that slide because he got the "37 miles of hell" part right!

But here is where it gets sketchy. As McCall describes careening down the western side of the pass towards Pagoda Springs with no brakes, he mentions counting phone poles as they whizzed by. Problem is there are no phone poles on this stretch of road. He then describes hitting a tunnel that "took that top row of chickens off slicker than scum off a Louisiana swamp." Problem is there is no tunnel on the western side of the pass!

But the biggest issue I have with McCall's narrative is that he and Earl were unable to stop the truck before ending up crashing into the feed store in downtown Pagosa Springs. The reality is you cannot coast from the summit to downtown Pagosa. Even though we often say "it's all downhill from here" when we sit atop the big climb of the day, the fact is it rarely is. I counted at least for hills we had to climb after the descent that would have easily stopped their truck.

So, yes, this is what I think about when climbing and descending mountain passes. Anything to take my mind off the pain! Ride the Rockies is an endurance event. There is a lot of pain to endure. As Jonny Rocker and I suit up for Day Three there is much moaning and groaning. But today is a short 38-mile loop back to Durango so no packing up our gear today and we should have plenty of time to recover for tomorrow's epic ride over three passes!

Ride on!

Daren

Team Bar2Bar (or is it Beef?) Rides Again!

In one week Jonny Rocker and I will head to Salida, Colorado, for the start of Ride the Rockies 2017. Although the ride officially starts in Alamosa and ends in Salida, we are meeting up with our teammates in Salida on Friday and will ride 80 miles to Alamosa on Saturday. That way when we roll into Salida on the following Sunday, roughly 520 miles later, we will be back at the start!

In true Team Bar2Bar tradition, The Hankster had T-Shirts made with the official team bars in each of the overnight destinations and the official team motto, "drinkers with a cycling problem."

So, you may have noticed that various times I will talk about riding with Team Beef and Team Bar2Bar and maybe even Team DFL. So which is it? Well, it's complicated!

After a one-year hiatus, Team Bar2Bar returns to RTR for the Reunion Tour 2017!

On my first RTR in 2005 I registered as a team of two with my friend David from Kansas City who had recently moved to Colorado (I still lived in KC at the time). On the evening of Day Zero (the day everyone arrives and registers) we met two amazing women who called themselves Team DFL

"What does DFL stand for," I asked innocently. 

"Dead 'Something' Last," was their reply. 

I met Patty (left) and Kris (right) on my first RTR in 2005.

I got the point. DFL is the moniker given to the last rider on the route. Imagine 2,000 cyclists trekking around the Colorado Rockies and the significant logistical challenge of keeping track of them all. The organizers and volunteers can't pack up an aid station until the last rider comes through. Imagine being that rider. Kris took pride in it!

Team DFL President Kris with Team Bar2Bar legacies Lora and Robert "Woody" Woodworth.

Don't get me wrong, Kris is a strong rider. She is also one of the most social people I have ever met. She can (and will) talk to anybody who will listen. Kris and Patty would set up temporary tattoo parlors at every aid station, apply Team DFL tattoos, and make friends with the other riders. The end result is they were often among the final riders on the route -- occasionally dead something last. We became fast (slow) friends. I rode with them for several years after that as an official member of Team DFL. 

Kris applies a Team DFL on the Mayor of Chama, NM, on RTR 2006 (the only time Ride the Rockies has left the state of Colorado).

Sometime during that first RTR Kris and Patty introduced me to a group of riders that call themselves Team Bar2Bar. The name is derived from their habit of riding directly to a bar (the first on one the left, unless it's on the right) in the overnight destination town. We became fast (drinking) friends.

Team DFL and Bar2Bar reunion at the start of RTR 2006 in Cortez, CO.

Seriously, though, these guys had the plan. Ride straight into town and to a bar. While everyone else rides straight to the campsite (typically a school) and sweats in the midday sun they were sitting (usually a local brewpub or dive bar) eating and drinking -- refueling for the next day. I have been a member of Team Bar2Bar ever since, whether I registered as part of the team or not.

The official T-shirt is a Team Bar2Bar tradition.

So where does Team Beef come in? Just prior to my second RTR in 2006 I interviewed for a position at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association in Denver. I have always loved beef, grew up visiting my grandparents in Colorado, and was hooked on riding over 12,000 foot mountain passes after my first RTR. This was my chance to combine all three. They offered me the job and I took a week to think it over -- while riding on RTR 2006. I made my decision about halfway through the first day.

The first official Team Beef was just me and my friend Shawn.

After joining NCBA we came up with the idea for Team Beef when several of my colleagues signed up for a 10K run in Denver, sponsored by Arby's. At the end of the run Arby's employees were handing out coupons for a free meal. I eagerly took one anticipating an Arby's roast beef sandwich. The coupon was for a grilled chicken sandwich. "What the something?" I asked. "We figured runners would want something healthy," was their reply. Wrong answer.

I have been promoting beef on Ride the Rockies since 2007!

Thus the impetus for Team Beef -- now numbering thousands of beef-loving athletes around the country demonstrating that beef is powerful fuel for physical activity and an essential part of a healthy, active lifestyle. 

From left: The Hankster, Woody and I rode as Team Beef one day on RTR 2013.

Team Beef registered an official team for the first (and only) time in 2014 but, just like Team Bar2Bar, many people consider themselves part of Team Beef and sport Team Beef jerseys on the ride. This year is no different. Seven of us registered as Team Bar2Bar but on any given day 10 of us could be wearing Team Beef jerseys. Either way we will be enjoying plenty of beef and beer. That's just the way we roll.

Ride on...

Daren