Beef is What's for Dinner on Ride the Rockies!

I had a fun time promoting beef while on Ride the Rockies this year. I wore my Team ZIP (Zinc, Iron and Protein) jersey on four out of six days of riding and received lots of positive comments from fellow riders. I took every opportunity to talk to people about the benefits of beef protein in building and maintaining muscle mass on a long, endurance event (like a six-day, 400+ mile bike ride in the rockies!).

But the most shameless promotional opportunity came as I rode across the day three finish line in Montrose, Colorado. As I rode in I noticed a cameraman from KJCT Channel 8 (ABC) in Grand Junction. So I rode over and suggested that he should talk about the importance of nutrition on an event like RTR. To which he replied, "do you want to talk about it?" Of course, I was wearing my Beef jersey and said I'd be happy to!

So I did an interview on the spot and worked hard to get in a positive message about the power of beef protein. In the end, I was able to get one beef message into the piece. The final line of the piece is me saying, "Beef is what's for dinner on Ride the Rockies!" I'm actually quoted several times in the piece talking about the ride but they cut out some of my more substantive points about the benefits of lean beef in a healthy lifestyle (e.g., the amino acids in beef help repair muscle damaged in an intense workout).

Regardless, it's a great news feature on RTR from the perspective of a local community hosting the ride. Click on the link below to watch the segment...

Ride the Rockies Rolls into Montrose

Eat beef!

Daren

More Ride the Rockies Pics!

Ride the Rockies 2008 is over but the memories will be long lasting. It was another epic ride featuring climbs over Lizard Head Pass (elev. 10,222 ft.), Dallas Divide (elev. 8,970 ft.), Cerro (elev. 7,950 ft.), Blue Mesa (elev. 9,288 ft.), Trout Creek Pass (elev. 9,346 ft.), and Hoosier Pass (elev. 11,542 ft.). But the king daddy of them all was Cottonwood Pass (elev. 12,126 ft.).

Day Six: Here I am in Almont, CO (elev. 8,018 ft) at the beginning of the climb up Cottonwood Pass. The pass opened on June 12, just in time for Ride the Rockies.

Day Six: At Taylor Park Reservoir (elev. 9,300 ft.) on the west side of the Continental Divide on the climb up Cottonwood Pass.

Day Six: The Beef vs. Pork showdown at Aid Station 4 (elev. 10,700 ft.) on the climb up Cottonwood Pass (beef won, of course).

Day Six: STILL on the climb up Cottonwood Pass. That's snow below...lots of it.

Day Six: A little free advertising in a seven foot tall snowbank on the side of the road up Cottonwood Pass (approx. elevation 11,500 ft.)

Day Six: At the summit of Cottonwood Pass (elev. 12,126 ft.)...finally. It took me about five hours to complete the 39-mile, 4,108 ft. climb (including stops). It was cold on the summit but I hung around long enough to revel in the moment and get my picture taken with the summit sign (waiting in a long line of cyclists).

Day Seven: At the finish line in Breckenridge after the long ride across South Park from Buena Vista and over Hoosier Pass (I didn't stop long enough to take any pictures...it was too cold and windy).

So the big ride is over and I'm not anxious to climb back in the saddle to ride my bike again anytime soon. But it won't be long (Wednesday is bike to work day in Colorado and I plan to ride!). And I'm already looking forward to the announcement of the route for Ride the Rockies 2009!

Thanks to all of my friends and family who offered words of encouragement and prayed for my safety. I felt and needed both. It's good to be home safe and sound with my family today and breathing a little easier.

Daren

Done Ridin'

I just crossed the finish line of Ride the Rockies 2008. What a great ride. Tough, beautiful, painful, awesome and over. I'm glad to be done but sad that its over. .

More later. Time to say goodbye to my RTR friends.

Daren