Colorado Triple Crown Updates

The Colorado High Country Double Century (Boulder to Steamboat Springs) is just around the corner (6/11/16)! Registration for the first Colorado Triple Crown event of the season closes on 6/9/16 at 10 pm! To sign up, please click here:

Colorado High Country Double Century Registration

1. Pre-ride instructions and cue sheets will be e-mailed to all pre-registered riders this weekend.
2. Please be aware of our pre-qualification recommendations for participating in this ride: 2016 pre-qualification recommendations. If you have questions about whether or not you're prequalified, please e-mail Mark Lowe: mvlowe5@yahoo.com
3. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather! 
4. Please arrange for transportation back to Boulder after the ride before registering! Please remember that the RMCC does not provide transportation back after the ride. That being said, I'll try to keep a list of riders who need a ride back after the ride. Please contact these riders if you can help out! 
• Andy Lapkass, alapkass@yahoo.com, 970-389-8210: needs ride back for himself, not his bike

2016 Boulder Fearsome Five

Brave-hearted RMCCers line up for the start of the Boulder Fearsome Five, which is perhaps
the world's most difficult century!

Twelve glutton-for-punishment members of the RMCC tackled the Boulder Fearsome Five on Saturday, May 28, 2016. The Fearsome Five, otherwise known as "Los Cinco Diablos," is perhaps the most difficult century in the world. The course features somewhere in the vicinity of 17,000 feet of climbing and 13 miles of dirt and gravel roads in 101 miles. This was the RMCC's first attempt at the Fearsome Five since the epic floods of 2013 that severely damaged large sections of James Canyon and Fourmile Canyon.  Congratulations to all of the riders who attempted this extremely challenging course and kudos to everyone who completed the entire course!

Riders had 11 hours to complete as many climbs as possible within the time limit. The five major climbs of the Fearsome Five (and the five most devilish climbs) included:

• Flagstaff Mountain (a.k.a, "the SuperFlag") (Cat 2)
• James Canyon (a.k.a., "the SuperJames") (Cat 2)
• Sunshine Canyon/Fourmile Canyon combo (HC Cat)
• Sugarloaf Road (Cat 2)
• Magnolia Road, Boulder County's steepest paved road (Cat 1)

The course also included several shorter "connector" climbs to bridge the major climbs. The connector climbs included:

• Lee Hill (Cat 2) 
• W. Lee Hill/Deer trail (Cat 3)
• Bow Mountain Rd/Linden/Wildhorse Circle (Cat 3)

Results are based on number of climbs completed, not finishing time. Congratulations to Ryan Franz, who completed the entire course in a blazing 7 hours, 58 minutes!

Complete results are posted here: 2016 Boulder Fearsome Five

Thanks to Caleb Carl and Mark Lowe who provided event support for this year's Boulder Fearsome Five.

Next up: Colorado High Country Double Century on 6/11/2016, the first Colorado Triple Crown event of 2016! Please make your travel plans now!

Chris Miner, Jason Kaminski, and David Fullagar are relieved to be finished! 

Jon Sendor is still smiling after an exhausting day on the bike.

Walter Zitz and Heidi Hartman at Eben G. Fine Park

Riders get a little taste of packed dirt near the summit of Sunshine Canyon

The spectacular Indian Peaks as viewed from the summit of Sunshine Canyon

RMCC Foothills Climbfest Update

Update 4/28/16

Due to the inclement weather forecast for Saturday, May 30, 2016, we are canceling this year's Foothills Climbfest. Mother Nature is having here way for the second straight year! It is possible we will attempt to reschedule the event for later in the summer, so please pay attention to this blog, the RMCC Meet Up site, and the RMCC main page in the weeks ahead! 

1) The RMCC Foothills Climbfest is coming up on Saturday, April 30, 2016. Keep your fingers crossed that this year's weather is better than last year's weather! 

2) To pre-register for this ride, simply acknowledge that you're going to attend the Climbfest Meet up.

3) Please remember: RMCC membership is required to participate in this club event.  This is for insurance purposes. Only riders who have active RMCC memberships will have access to the RMCC-provided water support on the course. And only RMCC members will have their times recorded. RMCC membership is cheap: $25/year! To activate your membership: http://www.rmccrides.com/membershipmain.html

4) Here is the official route on RidewithGPS.com: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13242955

5) As in previous years, this year's ride will be run in pseudo-brevet format. Participants will carry event passports (available at the start of the ride) with them and these will be initialed and timed by a RMCC volunteer at check points along the course and at the finish. Participants will need to turn these passports in at the end of the ride to receive an official finishing time. 

Stay tuned for additional details. 

2016 AntiEpic Day: Event Recap

In spite of the recent heavy snowfall, AntiEpic riders experienced a nearly perfect early April day with bright blue skies, generally light winds, and easy-to-ride packed dirt and gravel roads.

The RMCC took the reigns of the 2016 AntiEpic Gravel Grinder, an event founded by ridinggravel.com founder, Ben Welnak, in 2012. Two courses were offered to this year's participants: an epic 176-mile long course with 10,000+ feet of climbing and a mini-antiepic 76-mile course with 5,800+ feet of climbing. Both courses start and end in Monument, CO (elevation 7,000 feet), traveling north through the Greenland Open Space and returning along the northern perimeter of the Black Forest. During the return route to Monument, participants are tested by a constant barrage of steep rollers. The long-course riders have the added bonus of riding 100 extra miles on the peaceful ranching roads to the northeast of the Greenland Open Space to Deer Trail before making the long journey back to Monument. In spite of its name, the AntiEpic Gravel Grinder is never short on beautiful Colorado scenery, including tranquil prairie vistas, picturesque mesas, and tantalizing dirt roads that disappear over every horizon. Throughout the day, participants also have striking views of the snow-capped Pikes Peak to the southwest. This year's event had 13 brave-hearted long course riders and 21 mini-AntiEpic riders. Congratulations to all of this year's participants! 

God made dirt. Dirt don't hurt...well, maybe a little bit! 

2016 AntiEpic Gravel Grinder event summary:

Course

• Long course: 176 miles, 10,000+ feet of climbing. Because of the recent heavy snowfall, this year's long course used the alternate course, which has an eight-mile detour around the dreaded (muddy) B-road, Co Rd 98. Time limit: 16 hours
• Short course: 76 miles, 5,800 feet of climbing. Time limit: 9 hours

Participants: 

Short Course

• 21 preregistered riders, 6 non-preregistered rides (C'mon, guys! You're killing me!)
• 21 ride starters, 1 DNF, 1 DNS,  Of the riders who started,  14 were men, 7 women (You go, girls!)
• 20 official finishers (95% finishing rate) successfully completed this mini-AntiEpic course in < 9 hours  (>8.4 m.p.h.) 
• Congratulations to Kevin Masten, who posted are speediest men's time of the day: 5 hours, 3 min (15 mph...that's pretty damn quick on this course!) 
• Congratulations to Jane Fredman, who posted the fastest woman's time of the day: 6 hours, 14 min (12.2 mph)

Long Course

• 21 preregistered riders 
• 13 ride starters, 7 finishers (54% finishing rate) successfully completed the AntiEpic long-course in < 16 hours (>11 m.p.h), 6 DNF, 2 DNS, 6 no-shows
• Paul Galliart and Trent Hovenga completed the epic AntiEpic course with the day's fastest time: (Trent insisted that Paul was actually the fastest rider of the day!) Congratulations to both of you! 
• Kami White, riding tandem with her husband, Andy, was our lone female long-course rider! (Great ride, Kami!)

Results:

Complete results are posted on the Triple Crown Blog and will be posted RMCC website soon! 

Special thanks to this year's volunteers! We can't run these events in their current timed format without your help!

• Corinne Warren: provided water support for both courses and fortified riders with home-made cookies and muffins and helped record finishing times for long-course riders. She also helped with emergency SAG support at the end of the day.
• Mark Warren: recorded finishing times for short-course riders
• Mark Lowe: official ride starter and time recorder for long-course riders. 

Photo gallery: (If participants have other photos, please forward them to me and I can post them!)

Poised to start epic AntiEpic day, long-course riders face chilly 34 degree temperatures at the crack of dawn.

Short-course riders are prepared to start their mini-AntEpic ride! 

Girls on dirt: Laura Costantini, Annie Fox, Mindi Hoffmaster, and Kimberly Nuffer use the AntiEpic short course to prepare the Dirty Kanza 200 in early June. 

Heath Holmes and Timo Haugen savor a picturesque April day!

Long-course podium: Trent Hovenga, Paul Galliart, and Blair Kin. Great rides, guys! 

Tom Miller is all smiles (well, sorta) at the conclusion of his AntiEpic day!

Harvey Kramer completes his first AntiEpic Gravel Grinder. Great ride, Harvey!

Corinne Warren provided water (and cookie and muffin) support for this year's event.
Thanks for your long day of help, Corinne! 

The Pikes Peak Brewery: a welcome sight for thirsty riders with weary legs! 

The sun sets in Monument on an epic AntiEpic day! 

Tantalizing dirt roads (Photo: Timo Haugen)

Scouting out the short course, Mark Lowe sneaks up behind Timo Haugen

2016 AntiEpic Gravel Grinder Update

In spite of last week's snowfall, we're still planning to proceed with the AntiEpic Gravel Grinder on Saturday, April 2, 2016. There is another potential for light snowfall this week prior to the event. But we're keeping our fingers crossed that Old Man Winter won't throw a monkey wrench into our plans! Obviously, if this week's snow showers turn into a major snow event, we may be forced to "pull the plug" on this year's ride. So please pay attention to this blog for last minute details!

Here are a few updates for next weekend's ride:

1) Because of last week's snow, the long course will be using the alternate route, bypassing the dreaded B-road. Please note that the alternate route adds an additional 6+ miles to the course, but will hopefully make the AntiEpic experience more enjoyable for this year's participants! All participants should be prepared for the fact that the course will likely be wet and may have a few hike-a-bike sections to avoid snow drifts along the course.

Here's the Ridewithgps.com link for the alternate route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/12046308


2) We will have water support on the course!

• For long course riders, water support will be located where the long course intersects CO Hwy 86 at mile 44 AND mile 117. If long course riders require additional support, they can either 1) ride into Deer Trail along Woodis Rd and self-support at one of two convenience stores in Deer Trail (Deer Trail 66 or Awful A's Auto...both near the intersection of 7th Ave and Cedar St) OR 2) cache additional water and supplies along the course. Personal support is NOT allowed for this ride! 
• For short course riders, water support will be located at mile 33 at the intersection of Maul Rd and County Rd 102. 

3) Temperatures will be cool but rideable. Temperatures at the start will be below freezing for long course riders, but high temperatures will reach the 50s. Please plan ahead and bring your cool weather riding gear! 

4) The official cue sheets for both courses will be mailed out later this week (hopefully by Thursday, March 31) to all riders who are officially registered. 

5) Registration: Several riders have attempted to sign up for this event on the RMCC Meet-up site without actually using the Eventzilla link. Please use the Eventzilla link when you register or you will not receive an official copy of the cue sheet when I mail these out later this week! Because we are limiting this event to pre-registered riders, official cue sheets will not be available at the start of the ride. To access this link: AntiEpic Registration

6) RMCC Membership: There are several riders who are signed up for Saturday's ride who don't have active RMCC memberships. Please remember that you must have an active RMCC membership to participate. I hate to be a stickler about this, but this is for insurance purposes and this was the only way the Colorado State Patrol would allow us to proceed with the event without going through formal permitting! Riders who choose to ride without having an active RMCC membership will not have access to our water support, will not have their times recorded, and are not officially part of this event. If you have registered for the RMCC in the past 2 weeks or plan to sign up this week, please forward me your receipt for RMCC Membership so I can make you official! The roster on the right side bar of this blog is updated so you can check to see if your name is on the roster. 

Please let me know if you have other questions!

Mark

mvlowe5@yahoo.com

Colorado Triple Crown Registration Update

Update: Colorado Triple Crown registration is now open! 

I'm running a bit behind with the official links for registration for the Colorado Triple Crown events. I am hoping to have the links open by Friday, March 5, 2016 at 10:00 pm. For this season, we will be using Eventzilla to manage our registrations. This should simplify the registration process. Registration fees will still be managed and payed through Paypal. Registration fees will be similar to last season ($41 to $51/event), just a tad bit higher to cover the fees charged by Eventzilla and Paypal. For riders who choose to withdraw from an event (>/= 2 weeks prior to the date of the event), they can expect a refund, but there will be a $3 cost recovery fee to cover fees charged by Paypal. Sorry about the inconvenience!

Mark

AntiEpic Gravel Grinder

RMCC made its foray into the gravel scene in 2016 by taking over the AntiEpic Gravel Grinder, carrying on a tradition started by gravel aficionado, Ben Welnak. In 2019, the AntiEpic remains on the Colorado Triple Crown ride calendar.(Photo: Ben Welnak)

Since the inaugural Dirty Kanza 200 in 2006, the popularity of "gravel grinders" has exploded in the U.S. and is the now the most rapidly growing genre in cycling. The inaugural Dirty Kanza 200 in Emporia, Kansas had only 34 participants. Fast-forward 10 years and the DK200 now attracts over 1,600 participants from all over the U.S.! In addition to Dirty Kanza, dozens of endurance gravel events have popped up throughout the country over the past decade, including the Almanzo 100, Trans Iowa (RIP!), Crushar in the Tushar, and Gravel Worlds, just to name a few. It's clear that endurance gravel riding is here to stay!

A rider travels one of many sections of washboard during the AntiEpic Gravel Grinder (Photo: Ben Welnap)

The AntiEpic Gravel Grinder was created by gravel aficionado and ridinggravel.com founder, Ben Welnak, in 2012. This event rapidly gained popularity in Colorado as many Front Range riders used it as preparation for the DK200, which is still considered the "grand daddy" of endurance gravel events. The AntiEpic gravel grinder explores some of the rural dirt and gravel roads to the east of Monument and Castle Rock. Not surprisingly, these serene prairie roads are some of Colorado's lesser traveled thoroughfares. The AntiEpic is not classic, "epic" Colorado riding.....hence the name! There are no epic high altitude climbs or jaw-dropping alpine vistas, which is what Colorado is best known for. In spite of this fact, the AntiEpic course is never short on beautiful, panoramic views of Pikes Peak and the Rocky Mountains to the west. And the AntiEpic course instills participants with a different appreciation for the beauty of riding in rural eastern Colorado.

Unfortunately for us, life's opportunities forced Ben to relocate to North Dakota early in 2015, forcing him to leave behind the AntiEpic Gravel Grinder, which is perhaps Colorado's most challenging endurance gravel cycling event and its best preparatory ride for the Dirty Kanza 200. In 2016, Ben gave the RMCC permission to carry on the tradition of the AntiEpic Gravel Grinder in its previous timed, semi-competitive format. In 2017, the AntiEpic Gravel Grinder gained double century status to join the Colorado Triple Crown. So please join us in 2020 as we continue our foray in the endurance gravel scene!

Gravel roads with open vistas certainly have an anti-epic nature to them! (Photo: Ben Welnap)

Like other RMCC Challenge Series events, the AntiEpic Gravel Grinder is a grass roots event, organized by members of the RMCC who are passionate about cycling and epic cycling adventures. These events are created for the purpose of providing life-enriching cycling experiences for our club members.  So come out and challenge yourself! I think you'll find the AntiEpic gravel experience more EPIC than its name could ever imply!

For more information about the original AntiEpic Gravel Grinder, please check out ridinggravel.com: AntiEpic 160

Chris Case is the managing editor for Velo News. Check out his experience with the 2013 AntiEpic Gravel Grinder: A Case for Suffering: When Epic Isn't Enough

Please check out our video slide show from the 2017 event: 2017 AntiEpic Gravel Grinder and
2018 AntiEpic Gravel Grinder

The dreaded, extremely challenging B-road, Co Rd 98, with areas of snow and mud (Photo: Ben Welnap)

2020 AntiEpic Gravel Grinder

Date: Saturday, April 25, 2020

It's April..and it's Colorado! So please expect sunshine, rain, snow, wind, cold, and mud! Please bring the appropriate riding gear, a good attitude, and a smile!

Course: AntiEpic Long Course: 206 miles. 11,000 feet

• Course Notes:

• The AntiEpic Gravel Grinder starts and ends in Monument, Colorado, traveling northeast along undulating country roads through the town of Elbert en route to Deer Trail just off of I-70. The course then makes the challenging return to Monument via a different route, gaining a majority of its 11,000 feet of climbing en route back to Monument.
• The 2020 Long Course is essentially the same course used during the AntiEpic from 2012 - 2016 (168 miles + an extra 32+ miles out-and-back through Castlewood Canyon State Park). The course no longer includes the nasty B-Road, County Road 98, due to permanent closure of this road to traffic. 
• As in previous years, the course will be unmarked. Riders are responsible for navigating the course using either the official cue sheet (which will be e-mailed to pre-registered riders during the week prior to the event) OR the Garmin file, which can be downloaded from the links above.

Start/End location: Pikes Peak Brewery, 1756 Lake Woodmoor Drive, Monument, CO 80132

Start time:

• Tortoises: Start: 4:00 AM. Hares: Start: 5:00 AM.

Format: 

This event is a timed, minimally supported, single-day tour on dirt and gravel roads. Results will be posted in order of finishing time. Riders must successfully complete the course that they have signed up in the time limit listed below to be listed as an official finisher. Riders who deviate from their selected course will not receive an official finishing time. There are no prizes or awards for top finishers...only the bragging rights and the life-enriching experience of completing an AntiEpic day on the bike! 

Time limit:

• AntiEpic Long Course: 21 hours

Registration: https://www.rockymountaincyclingclub.com/copy-of-triple-crown-registration-a

Notes about registration:

1. This event will have a $25 cost-recovery fee.
2. RMCC membership is required to participate. RMCC membership is $25/year fee and gives members access to other club events, including the challenging Colorado Triple Crown Series and the Colorado Brevet Series. For more information: RMCC membership.
3. Pre-registration is required to participate in this event. Pre-registration closes on 4/23/20.

Bike selection:

You can ride whatever bike you would like: gravel-specific, mountain, or road. But please choose wisely! Some of these roads are extremely difficult to navigate on a road bike!

Support: 

1. The 2020 version of the AntiEpic Gravel Grinder will be unsupported! Participants need to be prepared to ride up to 75 miles without support. However, if someone is desperately interested in volunteering for this event, however, I will not turn it down. 
2. Outside support is not allowed. Riders who have personal support will be disqualified. 
3. Riders may cache water and other supplies along the course prior to the start of the ride.

Post-ride festivities:
Please join your friends at the Pikes Peak Brewery for some lunch or dinner after the ride. Riders will be trickling in all afternoon and evening after 4 pm. 

Questions? Please contact event coordinator, Mark Lowe, e-mail: mvlowe5@comcast.net

Riders en route to Deer Trail (Photo: Ben Welnap)

AntiEpic scenery makes for an EPIC day on the bike! (Photo: Ben Welnap)