Sunday, June 29, 2014

Colorado Triple Crown Updates


Where did June go?!? Bring on July! And bring on the Colorado Death Ride!

  1. The Colorado Death Ride is this upcoming Saturday, July 5th in Durango! The last day to pre-register is Thursday, July 3rd! Mile-for-mile, this is the most spectacular ride on the RMCC calendar! Don't miss out on the opportunity to experience the San Juan Skyway...all in one day!
  2. I'd like to thank John Summerson for donating copies of his books, "The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike)" and "The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike) in Colorado" to this year's Colorado Death Ride. Copies of John's most-excellent books will be given away to lucky Death Ride participants. Copies of John's books can also be purchased here: The Complete Guide to Climbing by Bike. Please purchase copies of John's books, which have excellent descriptions of some of the best climbs in Colorado and other parts of the nation! These would be an excellent Christmas gift to any cyclist!
  3. I'd like RMCCers to be aware of a new double century event in the Telluride area...the Mountains to Desert/Telluride 200 miler on September 20, 2014! This event is sponsored by the Just for Kids Foundation. The Mountains to Desert/Telluride 200 miler is currently the only double century in Colorado that is not organized by the RMCC. Please support their event!! Registration is limited to 50 riders. A shorter option (133 miles) is available.
  4. Special thanks to Honey Stinger for their support of the RMCC!! Honey stinger is offering a discount to all RMCCers for 2014, which will allow RMCCers to receive a 37% discount on purchases made from their online store, including nutritional supplies and apparel. If you are a RMCC member and would like to take advantage of this offer, please e-mail me for the code: mvlowe5@comcast.net




Tuesday, June 17, 2014

2014 Joe Lookingbill Denver-to-Aspen Classic Recap: Throttled and Frozen!


Views of the first switchback of Independence Pass as a surprise summer snowstorm begins to develop over the pass. Participants who arrived at the pass by early afternoon escaped unscathed. Riders who reached the pass later in the afternoon, however, "took it on the chin" from Old Man Winter! 
The 2014 Joe Lookingbill Denver-to-Aspen Classic is in the books...much to the relief of all Denver-to-Aspen participants! For the first time in recent memory, weather conditions turned out to be far less than ideal as the Gods of Wind teamed up with Old Man Winter to create some of the most challenging weather conditions that Denver-to-Aspen participants have faced to date. RMCC veteran, Kelly Shannon, attempting to complete his 10th Denver-to-Aspen, summed things up best at the end of the ride, stating, "I've ridden this route 12 times. And these are by far the worst conditions I have ever ridden this course in!" Many Denver-to-Aspen veterans would agree with Kelly's assessment!

The weather started off rather favorable for the very early 4:00 am start as participants were greeted by pleasant temperatures (in the mid-60s) and light westerly winds. The pleasant conditions persisted as riders made the initial climbs (nearly 7,000 feet in the first 50 miles) up Deer Creek Canyon/High Grade Road and US-285 to Kenosha Pass.  After descending the western slope of Kenosha Pass into the "Kansas-esque" South Park Valley, however, the pleasant weather conditions rapidly deteriorated.  From the time participants reached the town of Jefferson, they were throttled by constant barrage of 25 mph southwesterly headwinds, gusting much higher than that at times. The demoralizing westerly winds persisted for the duration of the event, even as riders finished in Woody Creek!

Weather conditions continued to deteriorate as the day progressed. Bright blue skies that had greeted riders earlier in the day rapidly became obscured by a shroud of clouds which engulfed the spectacular alpine peaks surrounding Independence Pass. Temperatures also continued to plummet, paving the way for Old Man Winter to leave his wrath upon Denver-to-Aspen participants. Riders who departed from the Twin Lakes checkpoint before 2 p.m. generally escaped the wrath of Old Man Winter; however, this was not the case for participants who left Twin Lakes after 2 p.m. Riders departing Twin Lakes later in the afternoon "took in on the chin," getting caught in a freak summer snowstorm during the climb to the top of the pass. Riders initially encountered rain showers, which rapidly turned into snow as temperatures dropped to near freezing conditions. Trying to stay warm as they ascended the pass, may Denver-to-Aspen participants were forced to take shelter in support vehicles, waiting for the snowstorm to pass. Other riders decided to abandon on Independence Pass, unable to tolerate the frigid weather conditions. For participants who persevered through the treacherous conditions, there not a lot of smiling faces at the conclusion of the ride! The constant barrage of wind and the early summer snowstorm left many Denver-to-Aspen participants feeling a bit throttled and frozen. Indeed, the adverse weather conditions were demoralizing for all of this year's participants!

Congratulations to all of the participants for attempting this challenging route. And additional kudos to all 21 riders who successfully completed this year's Joe Lookingbill Denver-to-Aspen Classic!

Course:

  • 179 miles, 13,500 feet of climbing. (With corrected Garmin altimeter readings, the Denver-to-Aspen course may have over 14,000 feet of climbing!)
  • 5 categorized climbs:
    • Deer Creek Canyon/High Grade Road: Cat. 1
    • Kenosha Pass: Cat. 3
    • Red Hill Pass: Cat. 4
    • Trout Creek Pass: Cat. 4
    • Independence Pass (from Twin Lakes): HC
  • Approximately 56 miles of rollers (and punishing wind) through the South Park Valley from Kenosha Pass to Buena Vista
Participants:

  • 39 preregistered riders (our largest number of pre-registered riders ever!)
  • 35 ride starters, 2 late withdrawals, and 2 no-shows. Of the 35 riders who started, 33 were men and 2 were women.
  • 21 official finishers (60%), including 21 riders who finished in less than 15 hours to pre-qualify for the other events of the Colorado Triple Crown. 
  • 14 DNFs (40%), our largest number of DNFs ever. Weather conditions made this ride much more difficult than usual!
  • RMCC rookie, Walter Zitz (1st Denver-to-Aspen) and Mark Lowe (7th Denver-to-Aspen) completed to course with the day's fastest time of 10 hours, 25 minutes.
  • Corinne Warren was our first and only female finisher with a time of 14 hours, 48 minutes. Congratulations, Corinne! Your hard training early this spring definitely prepared you for the difficult conditions!!
Special thanks to the following individuals for providing event support for this year's ride. We could not have done this without your help!
  • RMCC president, Charlie Henderson
  • Penny Nelsen
  • Diana Shannon
  • Rick Melick (provided roving support from Buena Vista to Twin Lakes)

Brief Results: 
Note: Complete results (with splits) will be posted on the new RMCC website later this year!


Name Age City, State Total Time
Lowe, Mark 40 Arvada, CO 10:25
Zitz, Walter 28 Lakewood, CO 10:25
Nelsen, Eric 42 Evergreen, CO 10:54
Franz, Ryan 36 Boulder, CO 11:18
Rudolph, Steve 54 Westminster, CO 11:27
Miller, Tom 45 Denver, CO 11:32
Cannon, Tim 51 Telluride, CO 11:59
Baker, Chris 43 Firestone, CO  13:02
Hulett, Jeffrey 54 Golden, CO 13:02
Pfeil, Mark 46 Boulder, CO 13:03
Rupel, Ray 59 Centennial, CO 13:18
Smith, Vernon 56 Colorado Springs, CO 13:23
Howell, Craig 36 Littleton, CO 13:42
Nelson, David 60 Greenwood Village, CO 14:11
Schroer, Steve 46 Littleton, CO 14:19
Turek, Michael 47 Longmont, CO 14:42
Warren, Corinne 46 Monument, CO 14:48
Eckenroth, Jason 37 Boulder, CO 14:49
Smolarkiewicz, Pawel 39 Louisville, CO 14:49
Barnes, Graham 43 Boulder, CO  14:59
Cameron, Don 51 Golden, CO 16:55
Gehlert, Dave 50 Denver, CO DNF
Briere, Philip 48 Denver, CO DNF
Lemon, John 50 Golden, CO DNF
Miller, Tim  44 Castle Rock, CO DNF
Shannon, Kelly 53 Denver, CO DNF
Benoit, Diane 56 Morrison, CO DNF
McDonald, Dan 60 Denver, CO DNF
Turner, Jason 39 Monument, CO  DNF
Cole, Charlie 47 Denver, CO DNF
Ratcliff, Dave 42 Littleton, CO DNF
Robbins, Craig 46 Centennial, CO DNF
Torrey, Jacob 24 Greenwood Village, CO DNF
Borgsmiller, Ken 47 Elizabeth, CO DNF
Saville, Ian 50 Elizabeth, CO DNF






Photos at the conclusion of the ride at the Woody Creek Tavern:
Mark Lowe and Walter Zitz at the Woody Creek Tavern, glad to have escaped the snowstorm that engulfed many
of this year's Denver-to-Aspen participants in Independence Pass.

Eric Nelsen had an excellent first "long" ride of the year! Congratulations, Eric, on completing another D2A!

In spite of being overwhelmed with parenthood duties at home,
Ryan Franz successfully completed his third Denver-to-Aspen! Great having you out there, Ryan! 
Steve Rudolph endured the tough conditions to complete his fourth Denver-to-Aspen
Celebrating his recent state criterium championship, Tom Miller finds a balance
between road racing and endurance riding. Congratulations, Tom! 
Tim Cannon drove to the Denver Front Range from Telluride
to complete his first Denver-to-Aspen. Congratulations, Tim!
In spite of the frigid conditions on Independence Pass, Jeffrey Hulett, Mark Pfeil, and Chris Baker successfully completed Denver-to-Aspen. Congratulations to all three of you! (Mark...I'm glad the monkey is off your back!)

Chilled at the end of the ride, Ray Rupel is glad to have survived the frigid conditions
on Independence Pass to complete his first D2A since 2009! 
RMCC distance veteran, Vernon Smith, arrives at the Woody Creek Tavern, completing the first stage
of the 2014 Colorado Triple Crown and his first Denver-to-Aspen in many years.
Not a stranger to adversity, Colorado Triple Crown veteran, Craig Howell, successfully negotiated the adverse weather conditions on Independence Pass to complete his third D2A. Excellent ride, Craig!
Arriving at the Woody Creek Tavern, Steve Schroer questions the sanity of endurance riding. (FYI...we all have second thoughts from time-to-time!) Congratulations on completing your second Denver-to-Aspen!
Exhausted and chilled at the finish, Mike Turek successfully completed his first Denver-to-Aspen! Great ride, Mike!
Exhausted and frozen at the end of the ride, Jason Eckenroth, Pawel Smolarkiewicz, and Corinne Warren successfully completed their first Denver-to-Aspen. Congratulations to all three of you!! 
Graham Barnes...what do you call a rider who finishes in 14:59?? A Denver-to-Aspen finisher!! Congratulations on finishing within the 15-hour time limit to prequalify for the other events of the Triple Crown!! 
Thanks to RMCC president, Charlie Henderson, Penny Nelson, and Diana Shannon (not pictured) for their fabulous support of this year's event!!

Spectacular views of the mountains as riders approach Twin Lakes. The blue skies didn't last for much longer!
CO 82 pitches up nearly 3,000 feet from Twin Lakes to the top on Independence Pass. 

Up next: the Colorado Death Ride!!!

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Denver-to-Aspen: How the heck do I get home after the ride???



With the Joe Lookingbill Denver-to-Aspen Classic a little over one week away, several riders are starting to ask, "How am I going to get home after the BIG ride?!?"

Unfortunately, the RMCC does not have the resources to provide  transportation back to Denver. Here are a few options:
  1. Encourage your family or friends to meet you in Aspen! You can spend the weekend exploring the Aspen area with them. They can help transport you and your bike back home afterward.
  2. Consider spending the night in Aspen or Glenwood Springs and then ride back the next day. I know this sounds a bit insane, but consider this excellent training for the Colorado Death Ride, which is only 4 weeks away! 
  3. A group of riders who does not have transportation back to Denver could arrange to rent a large SUV or van to transport their bikes and gear back to Denver.
Please do not wait until the last minute to sort this out. And please do not assume that there will be another rider at the finish line who can transport you back to Denver!

I have started a list below of riders who are unable to find transportation from Aspen back to Denver. If you would like your name added to the list, please e-mail me ASAP! Also, if you can help these riders out, please contact them!
  1. Mike Turek. Returning to Denver on Sunday, 6/15/14. Has room for another rider and bike. E-mail: michael.turek@yahoo.com. Phone: 303-682-8826
  2. Chris Baker. Interested in getting a ride back to Littleton on Saturday after the ride. E-mail: clbaker.cb@gmail.com. Phone: 720-375-5494
  3. David Nelson, Interested in getting a ride back to Littleton on Saturday or sunday. E-mail: DLNDEN@comcast.net. Phone: 720-529-3379
  4. Walter Zitz, Had a last minute cancellation of his ride back to Denver and is looking for transportation back to Littleton Saturday after the ride. Also willing to caravan to Aspen on Friday to leave a car to provide transportation back to Littleton for himself and another rider after Saturday's ride. E-mail: walter.zitz@gmail.com. Phone: 845-625-7277

Monday, June 2, 2014

2014 Colorado Triple Crown Updates

Independence Pass...the highest elevation achieved
during the Joe Lookingbill Denver-to-Aspen Classic

Geez! It's already June! Here are some long overdue updates regarding this year's Colorado Triple Crown:

  1. Grand Loop Cancelled.  We've unfortunately had to cancel this year's Tim Kalisch Memorial Grand Loop due to the closure of US-36 to cyclists from Lyons to Estes Park for the remainder of 2014. Closure of US-36 was considered necessary by CDOT to accommodate ongoing repairs to the highway, which was severely damaged in last September's EPIC floods. We're hopeful the Grand Loop will be back on the calendar for 2015.
  2. Cycle to Saturn moved to August 9, 2014.  To fill the void created by the cancellation of the Grand Loop, we've moved Cycle to Saturn Double (and Epic) Century up to August 9, 2014. These changes are reflected on the RMCC main page and Colorado Triple Crown Blog.
  3. Joe Lookingbill Denver-to-Aspen Classic is less than 2 weeks away! We already have 31 pre-registered cyclists for this event! Please remember that this event caps at 50 pre-registered riders! Pre-registration closes Thursday, June 12, 2014. We'll be sending out an e-mail this upcoming weekend to all pre-registered riders with detailed pre-ride instructions, so be on the lookout for these! Also, if you think you've pre-registered for this event and you don't see your name on the roster (Triple Crown Blog), then you're not pre-registered. Please contact me immediately to help you sort this out!
  4. The Colorado Death Ride is just around the corner (July 5, 2014)! Please make your hotel arrangements now as July 4th weekend will most likely be extremely busy in the Durango area and hotels will fill up quickly! (Best Western, Durango, CO, US 160)
  5. Volunteers. We're always looking for additional support to help make these rides run smoothly. If you volunteer a family member to help provide support for one of the Triple Crown events, we'll refund your $40 entry fee for that event. If you personally give up an entire day to provide support for one of the Triple Crown events, we'll reimburse you for your entry fees for the entire Triple Crown series for 2014...hopefully a little incentive to volunteer. Please keep in mind that we also reimburse for mileage. 
  6. Colorado Triple Crown Stage Race. With the cancellation of the Grand Loop, this year's stage race will include Denver-to-Aspen, the Colorado Death Ride, and Cripple Creek Crippler. The fastest cumulative time of these three events wins the series for 2014. 

Please let me know if you have additional questions!

Mark
e-mail: mvlowe5@comcast.net


Are you prepared for the challenges of South Park...a little touch of Kansas
in the mountains of Colorado!