Bicyclists who like the rarified air of the Rocky Mountains and enjoy the camaraderie of mass bicycle tours are in luck this summer.
Two week-long bike tours — Ride the Rockies and Bicycle Tour of Colorado — are scheduled to leave Glenwood Springs on back-to-back weeks, enabling cyclists to go from the completion of one ride to the beginning of the other.
Organizers for the Denver Post Ride the Rockies announced its route this weekend. It begins with registration in Glenwood Springs on June 13, covers 380 miles of the Rocky Mountain scenery and returns on June 19. It's the first year in its 24 year history that Ride the Rockies has been routed as a loop.
Loop
That loop makes it convenient for cyclists who won't have to figure out logistics to return to their car. It also makes it easy for participants in the Bicycle Tour of Colorado to chill out in Glenwood Springs for a couple of nights before taking off on that 513-mile bike tour.
Registration pick up for BTC is June 20. The cyclists return to Glenwood Springs on June 27.
A third mass bike ride through the Rockies, the Colorado Rocky Mountain Bike Tour, leaves later in the summer, Aug. 2, from Montrose.
Ride the Rockies – June 14-19
Sponsored by the Denver Post, the Ride the Rockies is one of the oldest mass, week-long bike rides. It celebrates its 24th year in 2009. The oldest, RAGBRAI in Iowa, is on its 37th year.
Observers say this is the first year that the ride is a loop, which solves some logistics of re-uniting the bicyclists with their cars. As the oldest, it's also the most popular; nearly 4,000 people apply for the 2,000 registrations offered every year. Those registrations are doled out by lottery.
The 2009 ride boasts three passes — McClure Pass at 8,755 feet on Day 1, Monarch Pass at 11,312 on Day 4, and Independence Pass at 12,095 feet on Day 6. The Denver Post says it's the first summit of McClure Pass and the third time over Independence.
Starting in Glenwood Springs, the 2,000 cyclists proceed to Hotchkiss, Gunnison, Salida, Leadville and Aspen before returning to Glenwood Springs.
Bicycle Tour of Colorado – June 21-27
Two days after Ride the Rockies ends in Glenwood Springs, Bicycle Tour of Colorado sets off on its 15th year.
The bike tour also rolls out to Hotchkiss on the first day. Then it heads further west to Grand Junction then heads east to Montrose. The bike tour spends two nights in Crested Butte, where cyclists can relax or take rides on their own. The tour then heads to Buena Vista before heading back to Glenwood Springs.
The major climbs include McClure Pass at 8,755 feet on Day 1, Grand Mesa at 10,839 feet on Day 2, Cerro Summit at 7,950 feet and Blue Mesa Summit at 8,704 feet on Day 4, Cottonwod Pass at 12,326 feet on Day 6, and Independence Pass at 12,095 on Day 7.
Organizers say the ride on Day 2 (Hotchkiss to Grand Junction) also includes a 5,000 foot, paved descent from the top of Grand Mesa to the Colorado River. The following day (Grand Junction to Montrose) includes an optional loop through the Colorado National Monument that features the Tour of the Moon ride highlighted in the movie “American Flyers.”
Registration
Registration for Ride the Rockies runs from Feb. 1 – 20. The cost includes camping and sag support, but no meals. Those are provided by the communities at an extra cost.
The Bicycle Tour of Colorado registration fee also includes camping and sag support. Organizers suggest paying an extra fee to get catered meals, instead of finding food in town.
For good inside information on all these Colorado bike tours check the independent website Bicycle Routes and Touring, where the author has extensive knowledge of bike routes in Colorado, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
More bike tours
If these don't suit you, I've collected an updated list of more than 100 week-long mass bicycle tours in nearly every state this summer. See the list at 2009 Across State Bicycle Tours. They include:
Bike Florida — March 29-April 4
Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) — April 6-13
Biking Across Kansas (BAK) — June 6-13
Katy Trail Ride in Missouri — June 22-26
Five Hundred Miles Across New York (FANY) — July 19-25
Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure — June 20-27
Tour de Kota (South Dakota) — June 7-12
Great Annual Bicycle Adventure Along the Wisconsin River (GRABAAWR) — June 20-27
Photo above from 1984 cross-country bicycle tour: “Up and over at Monarch Pass”
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