2014 Cycle to Saturn Roster

Guanella Pass makes its Colorado Triple Crown debut as RMCCers Cycle to Saturn 

Here's the preliminary roster for the 2014 Cycle to Saturn Double and Epic Century (updated 8/7/14):

Double Century:

1. Benoit, Diane, Morrison, CO
2. Barnes, Graham, Boulder, CO
3. Dougan, Dan, Lake Ozark, MO
4. Eckenroth, Jason, Boulder, CO
5. Franz, Ryan, Boulder, CO
6. Jackson, Jim, Camdenton, MO
7. Lowe, Mark, Arvada, CO
8. Miller, Tim, Castle Rock, CO
9. Miller, Tom, Denver, CO
10. Nelsen, Eric, Evergreen, CO
11. Philips, Steven, Boulder, CO
12. Perdue, Dave, Lake Ozark, MO
13. Rudolph, Steve, Westminster, CO
14. Rupel, Ray, Centennial CO
15. Schrock, Josh, Versailles, MO
16. Shannon, Kelly, Denver, CO
17. Schroer, Steve, Littleton, CO
18. Turner, Jason, Monument, CO
19. Warren, Corinne, Monument, CO

Epic Century:

• None

2013 Colorado Triple Crown Registration is underway!

I had the opportunity to check out the first section of the Joe Lookingbill Denver-to-Aspen Classic last Saturday, including Deer Creek Canyon and Pleasant Park Road, before a snowstorm blew into town, leaving me stranded in Evergreen, CO. (The kind ladies at Subway treated me well!!)

Registration for the 2013 Colorado Triple Crown is well underway and registrations are slowly starting to trickle in! There are a couple of things I wanted to point out:

1) If you're interested in participating in this season's Colorado Triple Crown, be sure to register early as we can only allow 50 riders (bikes) per event! Although we've never reached the registration cap on any of the events, Denver-to-Aspen always has the potential to reach its capacity as many riders plan on using this event as their "qualifying" event for the other Colorado Triple Crown events. Potential participants need to keep in mind that they can also use the RMCC Black Forest 300 km (186 mile) brevet on Saturday, May 18, 2013 (with a finishing time of less than 14 hours) to prequalify as well!! In my opinion, this event is nearly as challenging as Denver-to-Aspen (it's actually about 6 miles longer...but has 3000 less feet of climbing and obviously doesn't climb nearly as high as Independence Pass.) Plus, in my opinion, riders who have a little extra volume under their belts always seem to handle the stress of Denver-to-Aspen a bit better! So please consider this RMCC brevet as an opportunity to prequalify and "dial in" your training a bit!

2) Just like last season, I'll be posting updated Triple Crown rosters (on the right margin of this blog page) so you can keep track of who's signed up for this year's events!

3) Volunteers...We are 100% dependent of volunteer support to make these events run smoothly!!! For many years, RMCC president Charlie Henderson has graciously given up many of his weekends to support these events. Charlie will once again be providing a majority of the event for support for 2013. But we can always use more help! If you are planning on riding with personal support, and you don't mind sacrificing your support vehicle to provide support at a checkpoint, I will be extremely grateful...not to the point where I'd give up my first-born, but you get the idea!!

Safe training in the meantime as you start accumulating those early season base miles!

MVL

2014 Joe Lookingbill Denver-to-Aspen Classic Roster

Views of plush aspen groves will descending the western slopes
of Independence Pass into Aspen, CO

2014 Denver-to-Aspen Roster (updated 6/12/14):

1. Baker, Chris, Firestone, CO
2. Barnes, Graham, Boulder, CO
3. Benoit, Diane, Morrison, CO
4. Borgsmiller, Ken, Elizabeth, CO
5. Briere, Philip, Denver, CO
6. Cameron, Don, Golden, CO
7. Cannon, Tim, Telluride, CO
8. Cole, Charlie, Denver, CO
9. Eckenroth, Jason, Boulder, CO
10. Franz, Ryan, Boulder, CO
11. Gehlert, Dave, Denver, CO
12. Horwood, Josh, Loveland, CO
13. Howell, Craig, Littleton, CO
14. Hulett, Jeffrey, Golden, CO
15. Lancaster, Gary, Highlands Ranch, CO
16. Lemon, John, Golden, CO
17. Lowe, Mark, Arvada, CO
18. McDonald, Dan, Denver, CO
19. McDonald, Sargent, Wheat Ridge, CO
20. Miller, Tim, Castle Rock, CO
21. Miller, Tom, Denver, CO
22. Nelsen, Eric, Evergreen, CO
23. Nelson, David, Greenwood Village, CO
24. Pfeil, Mark, Boulder, CO
25. Ratcliff, Dave, Littleton, CO
26. Robbins, Craig, Centennial, CO
27. Rudolph, Steve, Westminster, CO
28. Rupel, Ray, Centennial, CO
29. Saville, Ian, Elizabeth, CO
30. Schroer, Steve, Littleton, CO
31. Shannon, Kelly, Denver, CO
32. Smith, Vernon, Colorado Springs, CO
33. Smolarkiewicz, Pawel, Louisville, CO
34. Torrey, Jacob, Greenwood Village, CO
35. Turek, Michael, Longmont, CO
36. Turner, Jason, Monument, CO
37. Warren, Corinne, Monument, CO
38. Van Meter, Erika, Aspen, CO
39. Zitz, Walter, Lakewood, CO

2014 Colorado Death Ride Roster

The Mt. Sneffels Range as viewed from the Dallas Divide.

The 2014 Colorado Death Ride roster (updated 7/3/14):

1. Benoit, Diane, Morrison, CO
2. Cannon, Tim, Telluride, CO
3. Fullagar, David, Boulder, CO
4. Griffith, Scott, Albuquerque, NM
5. Grimm, Paul, Mesa, AZ
6. Gustke, Rob, Manitou Springs, CO
7. Henderson, Michael, Dolores, CO
8. Howell, Craig, Littleton, CO
9. Lancaster, Gary, Highlands Ranch, CO
10. Lowe, Mark, Arvada, CO
11. Miller, Tom, Denver, CO
12. Nelsen, Eric, Evergreen, CO
13. Nelson, David, Greenwood Village, CO
14. Philips, Steven, Boulder, CO
15. Pfeil, Mark, Boulder, CO
16. Rudolph, Steve, Westminster, CO
17. Rupel, Ray, Centennial, CO
18. Schroer, Steve, Littleton, CO
19. Shannon, Kelly, Denver, CO
20. Smith, Vernon, Colorado Springs, CO
21. Turek, Michael, Longmont, CO
22. Turner, Jason, Monument, CO
23. Van Meter, Erika, Aspen, CO
24. Warren, Corinne, Monument, CO
25. Zitz, Walter, Lakewood, CO

2014 Cripple Creek Crippler Roster

With a flare for the "Old West" and steep, windy roads, the rustic mining community of Cripple Creek
is as attractive to cyclists as it is to gamblers! 

Here's a preliminary roster of riders ready to tackle the 2014 Cripple Creek Crippler (updated 7/24/14):

1. Benoit, Diane, Morrison, CO
2. Cannon, Tim, Telluride, CO
3. Coughlin, Mike, Ontario, Canada
4. Franz, Ryan, Boulder, CO
5. Griffith, Scott, Albuquerque, NM
6. Howell, Craig, Littleton, CO
7. Miller, Tim, Castle Rock, CO
8. Miller, Tom, Denver, CO
9. Nelsen, Eric, Evergreen, CO
10. Nelson, David, Greenwood Village, CO
11. Philips, Steven, Boulder, CO
12. Rudolph, Steve, Westminster, CO
13. Schroer, Steve, Littleton, CO
14. Shannon, Kelly, Denver, CO
15. Smith, Vernon, Colorado Springs, CO
16. Turek, Michael, Longmont, CO
17. Turner, Jason, Monument, CO
18. Zitz, Walter, Lakewood, CO

2014 Tim Kalisch Memorial Grand Loop Roster

Stunning views from RMNP's Trail Ridge Road

CANCELLED FOR 2014! 

New for 2013!

Approaching an elevation of 12,100 feet above sea level
on RMNP's famed Trail  Ridge Road.

Welcome to 2013!! What's new for this season?

Well...not much really! But there are a few subtleties worth pointing out:

1. Registration for the events of the 2013 Colorado Triple Crown will open 2/1/2013. Please refer to the "Registration" tab for more details. 
2. In 2013, we're including an official make-up date on the calendar (August 17, 2013) for either Denver-to-Aspen, the Cripple Creek Crippler, or the Grand Loop in case we need to postpone one of the events, whether it be dangerous weather conditions, unexpected road closures, forest fires, etc. We sincerely hope that we don't need to use this date, but we want to give every rider the best opportunity to complete the Colorado Triple Crown for 2013!
3. As in previous years, we are going to ride the Colorado Death Ride on the weekend prior to July 4th. We usually ride the Death Ride on Sunday as it is typically the day on the holiday weekend with the lightest traffic. In 2013, however, we will ride the event on Saturday. Although we might have to contend with slightly heavier traffic, riding the event on Saturday gives us the opportunity to do a make-up ride on Sunday if for whatever reason the course is unsafe to ride on Saturday. Riders need to be prepared that if conditions were not safe to ride on Saturday, we would attempt to make up the ride on Sunday (June 30th). If conditions were still unsafe on Sunday, then the event would be cancelled for 2013. Given the immense amount of travel time from the Denver area, it is not practical to include a separate make-up date for the Death Ride. 
4. The 2013 rendition of the Colorado Death Ride will start in Durango rather than Ridgway. After four seasons of starting this classic Colorado loop in Ridgway and riding it in the clockwise direction, we're going to start the event in Durango in 2013, riding it in the counterclockwise direction! The reason for this change is two-fold. First, starting the ride in Durango mixes things up a bit and definitely gives this epic loop a different (and perhaps more challenging) perspective. Second, we're hoping to attract greater participation from riders from the Durango area (Okay...no more excuses, Durango riders!) However, this switch potentially makes the Colorado Death Ride even harder as the climbs are steeper. Additionally, participants may have to contend with dreaded headwinds in the Dolores River Valley while riding in the downhill direction! More on this to come soon...
5. We're swapping weekends of the Grand Loop and Cripple Creek Crippler. There are a number of reasons for this switch. First, Buffalo Bill Days in Golden (which is celebrated the last weekend in July...the same weekend that we usually ride the Grand Loop) has made the final miles of the Grand Loop extremely unsafe for participants. Riding the Crippler during the last weekend in July will move the start/end location to our trusty Ken Caryl RTD park-n-ride location in Littleton...away from the heavy traffic in Golden. Second...there's really not another weekend in July that we can move the Grand Loop without being in competition with a major ACA/BRAC race, which is not our intention. Finally, moving the Crippler to July virtually ensures that riders will encounter sizzling temperatures along Deckers Road, further adding to the challenge of the Crippler! We're almost positive that all riders will embrace this added challenge! :)
6. Once again, the original three events of the Colorado Triple Crown Series (Joe Lookingbill Denver-to-Aspen Classic, Colorado Death Ride, and the Tim Kalisch Memorial Grand Loop) will be run as a "staged" event. The fastest cumulative time of these events will be crowned Colorado Triple Crown Champion for 2013!
7. And last, but not least...once again, to recognize our Colorado Triple Crown finishers for their accomplishments, finishers of the Colorado Triple Crown will be eligible for our most-stellar Triple Crown kit, designed with help from Alchemist Threadworks in Boulder, CO: