Following are references and links to the annual bike tours/adventures that dot the sports calendar every summer. (If you are organizing one not on the list, email 'glen' at this website, and I will try to add it.)
This race - a combination adventure outing, scavenger hunt, and bike ride - returned to Colorado with rides in Ft Collins and Denver last year. Two-person teams got to chart their own route to visit 5 or 6 checkpoints, where they took part in such activities as riding Big Wheels thru an obstacle course. Riders used their thinking cap (or a friend sitting at a computer, whom they called on cell phone) to decipher the clues to reach a handful of landmark checkpoints. 2010 details are pending - Check out www.UrbanAssaultRace.com for details.
Give an Hour™ is sponsoring wounded warriors with ‘invisible’ injuries like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injury in Ride 2 Recovery’s Rocky Mountain Challenge. The marathon bicycle ride kicks off July 31 and runs through August 5. Cyclists can ride for a day or complete the entire route of about 330 miles. Check out www.Ride2Recovery.com for details.
July 29-Aug 1, 2010 (note the revised dates): Be the Ride – Experience the Peace! Join us along one of the 10 most scenic routes in the country and help create Peace with every mile. The Colorado Peace Ride is a 4-day, 238-mile tour along the entire San Juan Skyway loop. Think sweeping vistas, epic climbs topping 10,000 feet and sweet stretches of downhill, beginning in historic Durango, with overnight stops at the hot springs of Ouray, the fun town of Telluride and the grounds of the Sophia Peace Center in Dolores. Our fully supported ride provides services for a wide range of non-profit organizations at the Sophia Peace Center, giving support not offered anywhere else. This means that overworked and underpaid non-profit workers will receive training, develop long-term goals and become re-inspired in their missions. Only 500 people get to do this ride, so register soon! Check out www.thePeaceRide.com for details.
Join in on this prime Colorado bicycle tour of 2010 on Aug 1-7 - the Colorado Rocky Mountain Bike Tour. Riding a true mountain loop, starting and ending in Edwards Colorado, the ride will visit great Colorado towns such as Estes Park, Granby, and Golden, and will ride Trail Ridge Road and the Mt. Evans Highway. The Colorado Rocky Mountain Bicycle Tour will range take you up to 14,150 feet - 429 miles of challenging riding, beautiful scenery and loads of fun. Check out CRMBT.com for details.
Try the 5th Annual Colorado Cyclist Copper Triangle Alpine Classic scheduled for August 7, 2009 in Copper Mountain, Colorado. The famous Copper Triangle has long been considered one of Colorado’s classic alpine road rides. Graced with breathtaking scenery, gorgeous roads and three challenging climbs (Freemont Pass, Tennessee Pass and Vail Pass), the Copper Triangle exemplifies cycling in the Colorado Rockies. The Colorado Cyclist Copper Triangle Alpine Classic will offer both recreational and competitive cyclists the opportunity to participate in a challenging and meticulously supported organized ride. See www.coppertriangle.com for more info.
Have fun in Summit County - ride between 21 and 100 miles on August 14. All but the shortest ride will take you around Lake Dillon and over Swan Mountain. Lunch, commemorative t-shirt and water bottle for each entrant over age 12 (lunch only for the young'uns). Check out circlethesummit.com for details.
This ride gives you three options - 75K, 130K, or Colorado's only fully-suppported double metric century. Aid stations and sag vehicles, of course, as you ride from Boulder to Ward and/or Estes Park. Start getting in shape now - there are cutoff times to do the longest ride. Sunday, August 15. Check out safehousealliance.org for details.
On August 21, join the only century ride dedicated to fighting cancer! Details are pending. This is a fully supported ride. See komenaspen.org for more information.
On August 21, you can raise money to fight diabetes! In 2009, 2000 riders raised $750,000 - and had a great time doing it! Great food, 13 rest stops, and police to keep the route safe. See the web site for more information.
This three-year-old ride is back for more fun! On sunday Aug 22, take a century ride with three options for the finish - or take it easy with a metric century. From Keystone, it climbs Ute Pass and Fremont Pass, and choose your final destination at the last aid station. Afterwards, enjoy the Blues and Arts Festival in River Run Village. An added bonus - this ride benefits the Lance Armstrong Foundation! See bluerivercentury.com for details. It's a green event - 94% of the waste was diverted from landfills in 2009! GREAT JOB!
Women: You can change a flat tire. You can fix a toilet. And you can make one mean margarita. Created for women by women, Venus de Miles is Colorado’s first women’s-only bike ride. We invite you to ride on Sunday August 29, in the spirit of challenge and in the spirit of charity in support of Greenhouse Scholars, an organization providing mentorship and scholarship support to high-performing, under-resourced students. We invite you to become a part of this Colorado first and only—because you’re a woman, and because you can. Check out their page for details.
This ride is a fundraiser for the Alliance Against Domestic Abuse in Salida, Colorado. It is NOT a road-bike ride: the 20-mile course along the Monarch Crest section of the Continental Divide Trail includes 12 miles of single-track at over 11,000 feet. Participants are asked to collect pledges of $75 or more; the rider collecting the most pledges over $300 will win a super-stylish cruiser bike! You'll get baked goods and hot beverages to start, a shuttle to the trail head, a BBQ, goody bag, and more. Check out CrestCrank.org for more information. for details.
The inaugural Jam the Damz will roll out for this first time in the Denver area, Saturday September 25. The ride aims to raise funds for three Colorado adaptive recreation programs: Craig Hospital, Adaptive Adventures, and U.S. Handcycling. Cyclists of all ages, experience levels and abilities are invited to register as a ride-participant, volunteer, or fundraiser, through the event website: http://www.jamthedamz.org. The route will include traverses over both the Bear Creek and Chatfield reservoir dams, and will be a truly integrated event that includes two-wheeled cyclists, and “para cyclists” who ride handcycles or other adaptive bikes.
No, not a ride - just what they tout as "the world's largest consumer bicycle and sports expo." Reserve Saturday, Oct 23 to check out the bargains. Four years ago, I bought panniers for only $15! See www.veloswap.com/expo/ for details.
Learn bike handling skills including braking, fast cornering, descending, climbing,
bumping and riding safely in a pack. Speakers and Instructors include:
Register at getsomewomensracing.com.
The informal kickoff ride of the Colorado summer cycling season! This year's ride - the 23rd annual - happens on June 6, offering a variety of routes, depending on how far you want to go. New this year - you MUST register online. Get ready, get set, get out and join 7,000 fellow cyclists! For those truly outrageous among you, form a team and enter the Go-Fast 24 Hours of ERock on June 4-5! See elephantrockride.com for details.
Come out this Father's Day for a family fun ride of 22 miles, a metric century, or go whole hog with a regular century! All rides start and end at Invesco Field. Use this one to get in shape for the big rides coming up later in the year! See DenverCenturyRide.com for details.
Why not go for a ride while helping your neighbors that suffer from MS150? This 25th anniversary ride - Colorado's oldest nonprofit ride - attracts 3,000 cyclists, and will try to raise $3 million! Again, the route runs Westminster-to-Fort Collins and back, on June 26-27. Check out the MS150 ride page for details.
Will you prove you have what it takes to cross THREE passes (Squaw, 11,140'; Loveland, 11,990'; Vail, 10,560') on one 120-mile gut-busting day? Then start thinking about next year - Registration for the July 10 ride sold out in less than one hour. Check back early to register for 2011 at Team Evergreen page.
Most cities around the globe host their edition of the WNBR early in June, though - Boulder and Denver often lag by a few weeks. No details yet on 2010 events - sign up for email notification at the World Naked Bike Ride page.
The annual KAISER PERMANENTE MOONLIGHT CLASSIC late night city bike tour benefits Seniors Inc. Thi ride is nearly 20 years old! The streets of the 10-mile route will be closed to automobiles - you can run it more than once if you'd like! Come out on Saturday night, July 17 for the ride - or the costume contest! Register on-line at moonlight-classic.com or to see more details.
The Sunrise has all the challenge you'd expect from a century ride out of Boulder, CO.Plains cruising, canyon carving &high-alpine rollers with views for miles.With 75 & 100 mile options there’s something for every skill level,from amateur to Boulder uber-athlete.And just when you feel you can't climb anymore, its 30 miles downhill to the finish.Event includes 8 aid stations, full course support, post-event meal, music, beer garden &sponsor arena.July 24th, 2010 Check Bikerpelli.cpom for details.