Ride the Rockies 2014 Route Announcement Party is Tonight!

It's good to be home after a week at the Annual Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville. It's a crisp sunny winter Colorado morning, the Jayhawks play this afternoon, and the official Ride the Rockies 2014 Route Announcement party is tonight! The party runs from 6-10 at the Exdo Event Center in Denver but the big moment comes at 8 pm mountain time with the unveiling of the 2014 route. Follow me on Twitter  (@REAL_BEEFMAN) for live updates at the route is announced!

My wife had a big bone-in ribeye waiting for me when I got home from Nashville!

At last year's party they had representatives from each destination town along the 2013 route reveal their location on stage one at a time. The anticipation grew as they announced the start in Telluride, with the first two stops in Cortez, Durango and Pagosa Springs. The crowd buzzed as people speculated about a return to Chama, New Mexico, a popular stop on the 2006 ride. The actually booed when the next representative revealed they were from Alamosa (not one of my favorite stops, but climbing Wolf Creek Pass was worth it!). The mood picked back up when the final three stops were announced: Salida (a crowd favorite), Canon City, and Colorado Springs. After a fire reroute on Day 5, RTR 2013 ended up being the longest Ride the Rockies in history.

I expect there will be similar drama tonight. I will post the route here as soon as possible after the announcement.

Ride on!

Daren

What Time Does the Superbowl Start and Did Punxsutawney Phil See His Shadow?

When I woke up this morning my Twitter and Facebook news feeds were blowing up with people talking about #SuperBowl 48 or #GroundhogDay. But my first thought this morning was that today kicks off the Annual Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show (#Beefmeet)! Yep, while everyone else is contemplating how many more weeks of winter #PunxsutawneyPhil predicts and #WhosGonnaWin the big game, today begins a pilgrimage of more than 7,000 farmers and ranchers from around the country to the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

My friend Dan McCarty (@McCartyCattle) tweeted this pic of newborn calves on his Colorado ranch as he headed out to Nashville for #Beefmeet

"So what's the big deal," you ask? This is the meeting where the entire beef community gets together to talk about better ways to produce great-tasting beef that is safe, nutritious and sustainable for the future. This is where animal health experts, veterinarians, and nutritionists share the latest information on how to provide the best care for cattle, even in the midst of a winter storm.


One 3 oz. serving of lean beef provides more than 10% of 10 essential nutrients and vitamins for less than 10% of your daily calories.

We also have a pretty amazing lineup of speakers and once-in-a-lifetime entertainment events for the cattlemen and women who make the journey. Captain Richard Phillips will be there, along with Archie Manning, father of Peyton and Eli Manning. Interestingly enough, last year we had Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, the real "Blindside" parents of Michael Oher, who played (and won) in the Super Bowl that week with the Baltimore Ravens. Wonder if that bodes well for Peyton and the Broncos? (See, there is a Super Bowl connection here!)

For many, this is their vacation. It's tough to leave the farm or ranch when you care for animals. When I go on vacation I take my black lab, Casey, to Camp Bow Wow. There is no Camp COW Wow! Caring for farm animals is a huge obligation that requires 24/7/365 commitment. But that's what they love doing, which is one reason I love working for farmers and ranchers.

The main reason I look forward to this week every year is that I get to reunite with so many of my beef community friends from around the country, enjoy some great beef, shoot the bull in the bar :)


By the way, Phil saw his shadow and the game starts at 6:30 p.m. eastern. Speaking of the game, these beef and blue cheese stuffed mushrooms will impress your friends at the party!

Ride on!

Daren

Ride the Rockies 2014 Training: Adding Hill Workouts

Last week I posted an article from @BicyclingMag about "no hill" hill workouts, which reminded me that one of the areas I want to focus on this year is getting better at climbing. When I ride with strong riders like Big Troy and The Boys I seem to do fine keeping up and doing my share of pulling on the flats. But when we get to the climbs above 6% grade I drop off.

This past summer, following Ride the Rockies, I began doing some hill workouts, focusing less on accumulating miles and more on building strength and agility. It paid off late in the season on rides like the Buffalo Bicycle Classic Epic route, a 110-mile course with 6,253 ft. of elevation gain!

The Buffalo Epic starts with a grueling 25-mile, 4,000 ft. Category 1 climb from 5,429 in Boulder, Colorado to 9,403 ft. on the Peak to Peak Highway to Ward, Colorado.

I am fortunate enough to have some great hills near my house. Coachline Road is a one-mile-long climb from 6,275 ft. to around 6,525 (approx. 250 ft.) then drops 150 ft. to 6,360. This is what the elevation profile looks like going up and over 4 times for a total of 12 miles and 1,600 ft. of climbing (not sure why this says 311, that's clearly off).

I try to ride uphill at 80-85 RPMs and an effort level around 8 out of 10 on the first climb, getting out of the saddle and pushing hard for the final .2 miles. I spin around 100-110 RPMs on the downhill. On the shorter, steeper climb I ride at a lower RPM (70-75) and focus on providing steady power.

By incorporating these hill workouts in my training earlier this year I hope to improve my climbing skills before Ride the Rockies 2014 :)

Ride on!

Daren