Noodles 2 Noodles 100
Midpoint of the century ride: the Noodles restaurant in Boulder, CO.
There are many organized bicycle rides that honor specific foods. For example, there is the Giro de Vino (wine) through the vineyards of my old cycling grounds of Lodi, California; the San Francisco Tour de Ice Cream; and the Texan Tour de Donut. But as far as I know, there hasn’t been a ride specifically for one of cyclists’ favorite foods: pasta. That is, at least until my friend Scott devised his very own Noodles 2 Noodles century last year. That ride went so well that he decided to do it again this year — this time in the company of friends.
There were a total of eight of us starting at the Noodles restaurant in Fort Collins riding to the Noodles restaurant in Boulder and back. Despite having a view of the Front Range and the Rocky Mountains during almost every mile, this century ride was nearly as flat as a kitchen counter — a characteristic I appreciated considering the relatively few days I’ve perched on the bicycle saddle this year. It also featured less than a couple dozen traffic lights and more country than city.
You can read Scott’s report of how this ride went. Below is a map and photos; unfortunately, the pictures came out bluish because I shot them them with the camera’s white balance unintentionally set for fluorescent lighting.
Ride Data
- 98 miles from Noodles to Noodles to Noodles; 110 miles for me (since I biked from and to home)
- 7:15am start, 4:45pm finish -> 9.5 hours (includes 1.5 hours lunch break and other stops)
- Average speed: 16.6 mph rolling, 11.6 mph overall
Rating
(Scale of 1-5, 5 = best)
- Scenery: 4
- Support/Organization: self-supported
- Food: 5 (I loved the Noodle’s spicy spaghetti & meatballs)
- Weather: 3
- Relative Difficulty: 1
- Overall Rating: 4
