Self-supported, long bicycle rides have some advantages over organized ones: you are free to start whenever you want and they are dirt-cheap. They also practice a concept Theodore Roosevelt loved to preach: rugged individualism. After all, in case of breakdown or navigation errors, you’re on your own.
Today I decided to get out of bed a bit early (3:45 am) and ride my bicycle all day. Quite literally (200 miles…)
What possessed me to do such a thing, you might ask. It wasn’t just a case of being unable to count sheep to fall asleep, or having too much caffeine the night before. Actually, there were three reasons: 1) every year since 1996 I have ridden a double century and still needed to do one this year to continue that streak, 2) I was eager to check out the Colorado fall colors that had been exploding out of the trees as of late, and 3) it sounded like a much better idea than, say, working. Continue reading »
This self-supported 100-mile bike ride starts at the new Stonehenge in Fort Collins, Colorado and goes out and back on Highway 14. Unimaginative, yes, but there are only a handful of stop signs and is reasonably flat for time-trialing. Continue reading »
This self-supported 100-mile bike ride starts in west Fort Collins, Colorado and then “horseshoes” up to within 10 miles of the Wyoming border before coming back down to east Fort Collins. Retrace the “horseshoe” backwards, and there’s your century. There are a few short-but-steep hills, but otherwise it is a reasonably-flat course that is terrific for time-trialing due to only a handful of stop signs, one or two traffic lights, and few cars to contend with. Continue reading »
This was my first attempt at coming up with a self-supported 100-mile bicycle ride in Northern Colorado, and admittedly it is not the best route. On some stretches there are traffic lights every couple of miles and not too wide shoulders. However, there are very few turns and the rolling course features no climbs that are particularly long and steep. It is out and back, and virtually impossible to get lost. There are places with some nice views of farms, the mountains, and lakes. Continue reading »
Can this really be winter in Northern Colorado? During the last weeks of December, the honey-colored country landscapes were bathed in golden light with temperatures exceeding 50, and sometimes even 60, degrees Fahrenheit. It was a great time, then, to go for my first long (over 50 miles) bike ride from Fort Collins (finally!) and do a little “exploring” with fellow Tri-City Tri Club member Sandi, who came to spend the holidays with her husband and kids in their vacation home in nearby Estes Park. We marveled not only at the spring-like late-December weather but also the mountain scenery replete with ponderosa pine, de-leaved aspen, mountain vistas and lung-busting 12% grades. Oh, the climbs! During a 30-mile stretch of the 57 miles we rode, we ascended a total of 4,100′, topping out on Rist Canyon Rd. at 8,100′ above sea level. In addition to the inviting scenery there was a remarkable dearth of cars (like six cars per hour), stop signs and traffic lights, allowing us to fully enjoy the sense that we were in true mountain country, a sense imparted by the fresh mountain air and winds howling through the trees. A great reminder of one of the reasons I came to Fort Collins, and a wonderful preview of the plethora of training rides in the area I have yet to do. More photos are here.
&title=Fort Collins-Boulder 100, CO "One will see many farms and the mountains during this self-supported ride. (Photo taken in October; landscape is more honey-colored in March.)")
