Corinne reports: Seven starters and six finishers braved inclement weather for the inaugural Vail-Glenwood-Vail (VGV) 200k, and were rewarded with a wonderful route and a nearly dry day. It was chilly but never really cold, as temperatures after the start hovered around 50F. While the aspens up at higher altitudes had pretty much turned, the cottonwoods and shrubbery that line the Colorado river proved to be at their peak. The trip through Glenwood Canyon was a gorgeous highlight at a perfect time of year. Upon reaching Glenwood Springs, riders stopped only briefly for a quick bite, as no one wanted to take chances with the promise of rain in the forecast. The trip back through the canyon was even faster than the first go, riding audax style and assisted by a light tailwind. A brief sprinkling in Eagle was the only precipitation of the day, and the last leg of the route proved the day to be inspiring, as promised. Congratulations to Marc Rundle, for completing his first brevet and his longest ride ever.

Thanks to Corinne Warren for suggesting using this route and leading the brevet!

 

Hanging Lake   John Mangin and Marc Rundle

Fall leaves on Glenwood Canyon Trail

9 starters and 7 finishers rode the Poudre Canyon 400k! Riders enjoyed a nice sunny day, with temps grazing 90°. We welcomed Richard Wolf from Seattle, and there was a fair amount of camaraderie in the course of the day.

Thanks to Paul Foley for leading this one!

-jle
 

Dawn around Platteville

Mountain festival sign at base of Stove Prairie Rd.

Sunset with Longs and Meeker south of Milliken

7 starters and 7 finishers rode the inaugural pre-autumnal 600k! This and the 400k the next week were suggested for folks who might need one or the other to finish their Super Randonneur series for the year, or get in a longer brevet to up their PBP pre-registration status for 2019. But in fact, a number of riders seemed to turn out just to ride a long brevet in nice weather!

We were especially pleased to be joined by veteran randos Greg and Stacy Kline, from Newport Beach, CA. They've posted a gallery of great photos from this brevet, from which some below are taken.

Thanks to Kieran Johnson for suggesting these late-season 400k and 600k, and leading this one!

-jle

Glade Road on the way to Masonville

Stacy and Greg at Vern's in LaPorte

Nate, Dustin, and Oksana in Rustic

A relaxed moment at Sandy's

A sunny day in Poudre Canyon

14 starters and 13 finishers rode the pre-autumnal Stove Prairie 200k on a splendid day. As we headed up Poudre Canyon, we got to see a number of the Poudre Canyon 600k riders descending.

It was a Coulee Challenge 1200k reunion of sorts for some of the RMCC contingent, including Don Ward, Mike Turek, JLE, and John Mangin, who rode the event in August.

We got a special treat at Vern's, as Lois Springsteen, RUSA #8, happened by while supporting her husband Bill Bryant on a ride. Lois and Bill were visiting from Santa Cruz.

-jle
 

A good turnout at the ride start near Mead including RMCC prez Mark Michel (L).

Lois Springsteen, RUSA #8, at Vern's

Coulee Challenge finishers Don Ward, Mike Turek, and John Mangin

17 starters and 17 finishers rode the mainly dry RUSA 20th Anniversary 200k! There were a few gusty showers towards Masonville, but a favorable contrast to the rain-soaked Black Forest 200k we rode for the 10th Anniversary in 2008.

RUSA was founded on August 17, 1998, at the end of the Boston Montreal Boston 1200k. Finishers of this 200k earned a commemorative RUSA 20th Anniversary medal.

Thanks to Catherine Shenk for stepping in at the last minute to print up materials and lead this ride, as scheduled leader Mike Turek was delayed getting back from the Coulee Challenge.

-jle
 

At the start in Louisville - a nice turnout!  - C. Shenk photo	RUSA 20th Anniversary Medal   RUSA 10th Anniversary Medal
Scott, Paul, Vernon, Steve, Will deRosset, Catherine, JLE A pause at the Cidery in Erie to celebrate!

7 starters and 6 finishers rode a breezy Peak-to-Peak 300k, riders staying reasonably together the entire ride.

We welcomed visitor Scott Teich from Watertown, Mass. Scott joined us in the middle of a round trip bike ride from Eastern Mass to Jackson Hole!

-jle
 

Mateo Ramos, Scott Teich, Paul Foley, and Dustin Harding at the finish

Scott at the start

15 riders experienced the inaugural Haute Randonnée Six-Pack. This Six-Pack was six point-to-point 200 km or longer brevets, roughly tracing the course of Foon Feldman's 1200km event route.

Organizer Catherine Shenk refined and verified all the routes, including a pre-ride on motorcycle, researched lodging, and led the gaggle of 15 randonneurs.

You can find more details on the Haute Randonnée Six-Pack main page.

Huge thanks to Catherine for proposing, organizing and leading, and to Jim Howell for trading off bagdrop duties and supporting the riders!

-jle

 

Photos courtesy of Steve Zavestoski. More here.

Catherine Shenk supporting riders on Trail Ridge (past Rock Cut)   Trail Ridge safety advisory   Steve at Tennessee Pass   Great panorama - probably descending from Fremont Pass to Leadville.

4 starters and 4 finishers rode the inaugural Indy 200. This new course is an out-and-back from Buena Vista over Independence Pass to Aspen.

Riders were concerned about smoke from the Lake Christine wildfire near El Jebel and Basalt, but the winds were blowing the other way. They also got to have lunch in Aspen with our friend and fellow rider Erika Van Meter, who at that point had been evacuated from the fire.

Thanks to Mike Moerk for submitting the route and leading the brevet!

-jle
 

Mike Turek, Don Ward, Corinne Warren, and Mike Moerk

 

Corinne Warren and Erika van Meter - lunch in Aspen

Don Ward and Mike Moerk on Independence Pass

14 starters and 13 finishers rode the St. Vrain Canyon 400k, 600k, and 1000k brevets. (The 600k also formed the end of Brevet Week.) The first day was summery and dry. The second was brooding and cooler, with a swath of hail in the afternoon south of Kersey. The third day (for 1000k riders) was brilliantly sunny and clear!

Thanks to Foon Feldman for leading these brevets, and wrapping up Brevet Week!

-jle
 

Sunset on Day 1 - Kieran Jones photo   Hail between Kersey and Hudson on Day 2 - Don Ward photo   Above Devil's Gulch outside Estes Park on Day 3 - jle photo

9 starters and 9 finishers rode the first three Brevet Week events. See above for the 600k on 6/23.

This was a kind of "prototype" Brevet Week, proposed and led by Foon Feldman. The idea of a Brevet Week is to offer (and have riders hopefully finish) all four Super Randonneur distances in one week. This would get such riders qualified for Paris-Brest-Paris (or the Gold Rush Randonnée, Last Chance, etc.) in one go.

- jle

Foon Feldman on the Coulee Challenge 1200 - Deb Ford photo

15 starters and 13 finishers rode the classic Lefthand Canyon 400k and 600k brevets.

- jle

Foon Feldman on the postponed Poudre Canyon 600k on 5/27 encounters Catherine Shenk pre-riding the Lefthand Canyon 600k

5 starters and 4 finishers rode the Cripple Creek 300k. This is an iconic ride out of Colorado Springs, and many thanks to Vernon Smith for designing it and leading it once again! The times are a bit longer than a typical 300k, but it's not just to stop and enjoy the scenery. There's a huge volume of climbing involved.

Many thanks, also, to the riders for taking on this challenge!

-jle
 

Some pics from my Cripple Creek ride on a similar glorious day ...   Pikes Peak from US-24 at dawn

Burro parade in Cripple Creek

Pikes Peak from hilly Hwy. 67 heading back to Woodland Park

27 starters and 25 finishers rode the Poudre Canyon 300k, 400k, and 600k brevets. Wintry, snowy weather was forecast for the original date, May 19, so we postponed these brevets a week, by which time the high grazed 90° under bright sun. This was a great turnout and fine finishing rate!

Poudre Canyon was scenic as usual, and the plains and foothills were unusually green from lots of recent rain (and snow). So now 25 riders have their early-bird 400k or 600k, or 300k, in the bag.

-jle

Heading up Rd. 23 at Dawn - Brett Cook photo

Climbing Poudre Canyon - Brett Cook photo

The "Party Group" starting on the Kersey Kick loop! Mike Turek, Michelle Grainger, Tim Foon Feldman, Steve Le Goff, Pascal Ledru

28 starters and 25 finishers rode the Black Forest 300k brevet. The route was midway between soggy weather up north, and bright sun with wind in Pueblo. So not brilliant weather, but pretty much ok.

Paul reports, "Although it was foggy and wet through the Ken Caryl and Deer Creek Canyon sections to begin the day, the Palmer Divide and Black Forest areas were dry and even gave us some sunshine. We had favorable winds through the route to Elbert, mild head winds back to the Black Forest, and a nasty headwind back to Larkspur and especially headed north to the finish.

"Unfortunately, we also had heavy traffic along CO105 back to Sedalia in addition to the head wind. Fortunately, I was part of an Audax group of seven (Vernon, Kieren, Mike T, Pascal, Foon, and John M) that worked together well to weather the storm, traffic, cramps, trains, and general fatigue, from the Black Forest to the finish in Littleton.

"No course records for finishing time, but perhaps course records for camaraderie and fun (given the lack of snow and cold from previous editions)."

A big thanks to Paul Foley for leading the BF 300k! (Photos below courtesy of Paul!)

-jle
 

Great turnout - resplendant in lights and reflective gear!

Flying up Spruce Mountain Road!

Flying down Perry Park Road!

The "Party Group" at the finish! Cheery Vernon Smith, Mike Turek, Kieran Johnson, L. John Mangin, Paul Foley, Foon Feldman