The Event:
I was convinced that Ride the Rockies is a bucket list item which has to be done by any avid cyclist. This year’s southern route was also expected to be one of the better routes making this an exceptional year to do the ride. I had concerns about doing so many big rides back to back. I’ve done plenty of big rides before, but always with rest before & after. This turned out to not be a problem.
The 32nd Ride the Rockies Tour showcased the communities of Alamosa, Pagosa Springs, Durango, Ridgway (supported by Ouray), Montrose, Gunnison, and Salida. Beginning in Alamosa, the ‘Gateway to Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes’, the ride traversed through some of the same mountain passes made famous by the historic Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. From Alamosa, cyclists covered 447 miles and ascend over 32,000′ vertical feet, all the way to the “Heart of the Rockies” in Salida. Keeping to tradition, the course features some of Colorado’s most scenic and breathtaking views. Highlights of the route include: Wolf Creek Pass, Pagosa Hot Springs, Yellowjacket Pass, the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Hesperus Hill, Coal Bank Pass, Molas Pass, Red Mountain Pass, Ouray Hot Springs, Cerro Summit, Blue Mesa Reservoir, and Monarch Pass. Cyclists were treated to some of Colorado’s finest communities that have hosted the Tour in the past, and the introduction of a new host town, Ridgway.
Ride The Rockies is an event of The Denver Post Community Foundation. The Denver Post Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, serves to improve and enrich the lives of those in our community by raising and distributing funds to metro-area and Colorado nonprofit agencies serving the areas of arts, youth, education and human services.
The Ride The Rockies, Denver Post Community Foundation Grant Program provides a $5,000 grant to a deserving nonprofit in each Ride The Rockies host community. The Grant Program funds nonprofit organizations that provide services for low-income children and youth through community programs that support recreation and/or youth education.
The Van Accommodations:
This was our longest extended stay in the van with 7 nights. Sue drove support, meeting me in each destination town along the tour. The bed is great, better than most hotels and way better than sleeping on the ground. We had plenty of room for all the stuff we needed as well as all the stuff we brought and didn’t need.
We added a portable camping table, which turned out to be very useful. Things we still need to improve upon include:
- fixed storage – we’re still rooting around in plastic tubs way too often.
- sliders for the bike mounts – with 4 bikes in place, access to the rear storage cubbies is blocked. Sliders will allow for easier access to the storage.
- ventilation – on hot nights, the fan located toward the front of the van did not move cooler air to the rear. For the short term, an air deflector will work. Longer term, we’ll add a small vented window.
This is also the first time Sue did any significant driving of the van. She drove about 800 miles over the week which included mountain passes and dirt roads.
The rides:
Day 1 Alamosa to Pagosa Springs – 93 miles, 3849 feet elevation gain, 5:57 riding time
Strava ride
Relive video
Pics on Instagram
The first 25 miles were very pleasant, followed by terrible headwinds for the last 70 miles and crumbling roads for the last 20. Irregular wind gusts when riding down the Wolf Creek Pass were brutal, requiring speeds (at least for me) under 30 mph for stability.
The food at the rest stops was not so tuned to bike rider’s nutrition. The RTR does not provide much at the aid stations. They depend on vendors to sell food. Generally, the RTR food choices were along the lines of a single fruit & junk carbs like animal crackers or potato chips. However, one aid station had hot baked potatoes with butter, sour cream & other toppings, that was really nice.
The scenery was pretty nice for most of the ride from Alamosa until about 10 miles past the Wolf Creek Summit. Unfortunately, several great photo ops passed by before I could get my camera out. The final 20 miles headed into Pagosa Springs was uninteresting and the road surface was terrible.
I was happy to be finished with this first leg of the tour. This is also when I learned that there is no fanfare, or even finish line at the end of each stage.
Day 2 Pagosa Springs to Durango – 67 miles, 3891 feet elevation gain, 3:53 riding time
Strava ride
Relive video
Pics on Instagram
The conditions were much better for day 2. The headwinds held off until the last 10 miles, which was much more pleasant. I only stopped at 1 of the 4 rest stops to get water since I brought my own nutrition. The climbs on this route were all much milder than the elevation profile made them out to be. This was good being the second good sized ride in a row and I could still feel day 1 in my legs.
Day 3 Durango to Durango – 39 miles, 2533 feet elevation gain, 2:29 riding time
Strava ride
Relive video
Pics on Instagram 1
This was a pleasant, relatively easy loop ride with some scenic views of the area mountains and Lake Nighthorse.
Sue took this time to explore the Ned Overend Trails in Durango on her MTB.
Day 4 Durango to Ridgway – 83.5 miles, 7674 feet elevation gain, 6:33 riding time
Strava ride
Relive video
Pics on Instagram 1
Pics on Instagram 2
This was the biggest ride of the week including 3 big climbs. I messed up my nutrition by not eating anything for the first 2.5 hours and paid for it by bonking for the next hour and a half or so and then ended up finishing fairly strong after eating several Gu gels and a Clif bar. Conditions were great with headwinds only for the last 10 miles. This is probably the most scenic ride I’ve ever done.
While Sue was waiting for me to finish my ride, she did an MTB ride on the Ridgway Area Trails system. She found this to be a really nice trail system that is worth checking out if you are in the area.
Day 5 Ridgway to Montrose – 49.7 miles, 2382 feet elevation gain, 2:40 riding time
Strava ride
Relive video
Pics on Instagram
This was mostly downhill from Ridgway to Montrose with the “Challenge” up Government Springs. Conditions were calm and temps nice. I paired up with Mark for most of this ride which helped the ride go quickly. I had also ridden with Mark for a little while on day 1.
While Sue was waiting for me to finish my ride, she did a road ride on the roads surrounding Montrose up to Olathe for some ice cream and then back around to Montrose. These were very nice car-free roads all around the town.
Day 6 Montrose to Gunnison – 65.4 miles, 4892 feet elevation gain, 4:26 riding time
Strava ride
Relive video
Pics on Instagram
Strong headwinds for the 1st 14 miles to the first peak, then calm or tailwinds for the rest of the ride. Great views of Mesa reservoir, no views of the Black Canyon. I got into a pace line with Leonard & Gilbert, who are 21 year veterans of RTR, for a good chunk of the middle of the ride until they hung out at the last aid station. I rode mostly solo for the final leg.
Day 7 Gunnison to Salida – 65.8 miles, 3934 feet elevation gain, 3:50 riding time
Started with a great pace line with Jonathan & Jordan. We left Jonathan at the base of the climb so he could eat a breakfast. Jordan dropped me after a couple miles into the climb and I did the rest of the ride mostly solo. The descent was crazy fast, 23 miles downhill with a 20+ MPH tailwind. This was a great way to finish the tour. I’ve never had that much descent combined with a tail wind.
In conclusion, I’m not sure I would do it again since our self-supported rides are pretty fantastic already. We generally avoid the ‘junk’ miles and only ride the good parts making the rides more enjoyable, this limit us to loop or out & back routes for our self-supported rides. So the point to point route was a nice change of pace.
Now we’re off to Montana & Canada for a few weeks to get in some more riding.