Sunday, November 25, 2018

What's New for 2019?




Here's a sneak peak at the preliminary 2019 Colorado Triple Crown schedule: 

2019 Colorado Triple Crown Schedule

A few notes about the schedule:
  1. There are 5 events on the 2019 schedule plus 1 brevet-style event (i.e., no RMCC support). 
  2. We've designated the Cripple Creek Crippler course as the brevet-style course. The Cripple Creek Crippler course can be ridden on any day during the 2019 season and is meant to help more riders complete the series. Riders need to e-mail me in advance to let me know that they intend on riding this course for Colorado Triple Crown credit. Although the RMCC will not be providing support for this course, riders who choose to complete this course can ride with a personal support vehicle that can meet them at checkpoints along the course. The time limit for completing this course is 20 hours (total elapsed time). After completing the course, riders will need to send me GPS data (via Ride with GPS or Strava) to prove that they have successfully completed the course within the 20-hour time limit.
  3. To pique your interest, we will have one new event on the calendar for 2019: Colorado Tour de Moose. This new mixed terrain event is 205 miles long and includes 27 miles of well-maintained gravel roads. This ride starts and ends in Loveland, CO and climbs Old Fall River Road (unpaved) in Rocky Mountain National Pass, Willow Creek Pass, and Cameron Pass from the west, before making the long descent down the scenic Poudre Canyon. This event will have a rider cap of 24 participants.  
  4. As in 2018, we will also give Colorado Triple Crown credit for those riders who successfully complete the Death Ride Challenge on Sunday, June 9, 2019. This is a non-RMCC event and participants must complete the event within the official time limit for the event to receive Colorado Triple Crown credit. 
  5. Registration for this year's series will open on March 1, 2019. Registration fees will range from $20-$25 per event and will be non-transferrable and non-refundable. Please plan your schedule in advance. If we are not able to find volunteers/support vehicle drivers for an event, then that event will be free of charge. We will not charge a fee for an unsupported ride. 
  6. In the unfortunate situation of terrible weather, wildfires, other natural disasters, or road closures that makes it impossible to complete an event, that event can be ridden in brevet format (i.e, without RMCC support) on any day during 2019 for Colorado Triple Crown credit. Time limits will be lengthened by 1 hour for unsupported rides.
  7. As in previous seasons, RMCC membership ($25/year) is required to participate in the series. 
A few notes about volunteers:
  1. We need your help. All of us who have completed this series agree that these rides work best with volunteer support. It is possible to complete all of these courses without support, but to truly ride them quickly and in a semi-competitive format, it must be done with support. I'm not going to lie. Volunteering is a BIG commitment. It does involve getting up well before the crack of dawn and sometimes not finishing until well after the sun sets. But it can be a rewarding experience too. We do our best to pay for mileage and personal expenses (food, motels if necessary) for volunteers during the event.  Our goal is to make sure that volunteers are only giving up time, not money for supporting these rides.  
  2. We would like to have at least 1 volunteer per ride, but it is easier to support the rides with 2 volunteers per ride. 
  3. Volunteers can pre- or post-ride that event any time during 2019 to receive Colorado Triple Crown credit.
  4. If we do not have volunteers for an event in 2019, then it will be ridden in brevet format (i.e., without support).
  5. Please refer to the 2019 Colorado Triple Crown Schedule above to see which events still needs volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering, please e-mail:
    1. Mark Lowe (mvlowe5@comcast.net) OR 
    2. Corinne Warren (cwarren@metafloor.com).