Out of Sight..

How many times, do you find yourself riding along and either look up and can not read the street sign or the route cue sheet that RMCC provides during the "Weekend Training Rides". You're not alone. I cannot remember the number of times someone has asked  "What does this say?" Most people do not realize that there are options out there for those sunglasses we wear. And that is prescription lenses can be added to most brands. This includes glasses for other sport activities as well.

One firm that has advertised and offered pricing discounts to RMCC members is "Sports Optical".

Brett Hunter founded this company in 1993. "We do this differently then any other LensCrafter". For the optics, we use unique, proprietary formulas to adjust for the strength of you prescription, the curvature of the lenses and dimensions of the frame used. All lenses are made by hand. Nothing like that added personal touch.

I personally have had glasses from Sports Optical. I can remember bringing them in to Brett after I accidentally sat on them. Brett actually saved them. I really thought that my glasses were not repairable; boy was I surprised!

So if you are tired of squinting, trying to read something with out your corrected glasses, it may pay to look it to adding prescription lenses to your sports glasses. You never know what you could be missing!

Happy Trails,
Rick

Will You Join Me on the F5?

One of the most intriguing rides for me on the RMCC calendar is the “Boulder Fearsome Five”, part of the RMCC Challenge Series. Those who know me will say, “No kidding—it's a crazy climbing ride. Of course you'd be interested, Mark!”

We claim that this is one of the hardest, if the not the hardest, century rides in the country—it climbs 15,000 feet in 100 miles by taking in the five hardest climbs in Boulder Country—Flagstaff, Magnolia, Sugarloaf, Fourmile, and Super Jamestown. Just to add further interest, a couple sections of dirt are even thrown in for good measure.

Okay, so this article is supposed to talk you into doing the ride, not out of it! Here is why I want to do it and why I hope you'll join me as well:

First, it's an epic challenge that doesn't involve huge amounts of mileage. Most of the big special-event type rides that the RMCC runs involve distances of at least 200 miles. Quite simply, that's not the direction I'm headed as a cyclist at this point. Doing a hard century—I'm in! For me, being able to complete an event like this one would be truly satisfying.

Second, as I live on the south side of town, these are simply not climbs I do on a routine basis. We do a lot of club rides that go up Lefthand Canyon, but the climbs on this course simply don't otherwise show up much on our calendar. I'm always on the lookout for a ride that is different, and this fits the bill.

Third—it's run at a sensible time of the year. Doing lower-elevation climbs like this day all day in July or August could get miserably hot. Riding in the cooler temperatures of early May sounds much more appetizing.

Fourth, the ride has “bailout” options. Honestly, I'm skeptical as to whether I can complete the whole course. Like many, the spring weather this year has meant that I've got fewer miles in than I had hoped. It's been a couple of years since I've done anything remotely in this ballpark. That's not an obstacle with this ride however. If I get to where I can't go anymore, simply point the bike downhill, coast back to the finish and I'm done. Nice!

Moreover, the event is structured such that everyone gets “credit” for the number of climbs they complete within the eleven-hour time limit. If my legs are finished after 3 climbs—I'll get credit for that; if I complete all 5, I'll be credited for that too. The point being that you won't be listed as “DNF” because you couldn't complete it all. The only losers are those who choose to “DNS” (did not start).

In short, for such a hard ride it's very non-intimidating!

I'm sure most of the “super-riders” in the club will be out for the ride as they were last year. I'm just a “regular rider” however. Hopefully more of you “regular” folks will join me for the fun!

If you do come out, please keep a few things in mind:

These climbs are steep. If you have a choice, use the bike with the low gears. Compact or triple cranksets and pancake-sized rear cogs were invented for rides like this.

We do have to ride Boulder Canyon for a few miles, which carries a lot of traffic. There is also a short tunnel. As such, use of a rear taillight is required.

The Fourmile Canyon/Sunshine loop does have several miles of dirt. This section is very rideable on standard road tires, but do be aware that it is there.

The club offers limited support on this ride. We'll go by our cars a couple of times which provides a good opportunity to refuel. There are plenty of stores in and around Boulder. And there'll be a support vehicle that will most likely be located at the base of the Fourmile Canyon climb. In short, you'll be able to get the services you need on the ride, but this is not a fully SAG supported event (which also means there's no ridiculous entry fee either—if you're a member, you can ride).

Hopefully I've sparked your interest and I'll see you at the start line. Looking forward to riding with you!

Wednesday Evening Rides

Hi All.....

With the time change over the weekend, a new year starts for the

"Wednesday Evening Ride".  This will be my 14th year leading this event; time flies when you're having fun. Weather permitting, we will start this week.  I am considering dividing the group into two rides.   

One would be a faster of the two, led by Galen Stilgebaue however, this position can also be shared with anyone who is willing. I will continue to lead off the slower and newer individuals who show up.

I have found that we have lost a few people this last year, because of the fast pace.  By dividing the riders up, hopefully this will accomplish  better riding groups. We are also going to promote safe cycling skills during these rides. This means maintaining safe speeds in multi-use areas, pointing out hazards along the way to other cyclist in the group and obeying the rules of the road (which I am guilty of at times).  Galen, will hopefully address this as well. This is still considered a social ride and I would like to think we can strive to maintain this. 

Hansen's has continued with the 15% off of orders that are non special items for RMCC members and our Wednesday group. This has been a great success.

Lets make this another great year for cycling.

Happy Trails,

Rick

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2013 Schedule

The 2013 schedule for the RMCC is now available on the website! First a few notes about the process of putting it together in general.

As a club we like to have a structured schedule setup for the whole year as opposed to making it up as we go along. Reasons for doing this are many. First, it keeps the schedule varied—not running the same basic ride three weekends in a row. Second, we want to have a reasonable progression of rides in the springtime, as opposed to doing 60 miles one week and 20 the next. Third, it ensures that rides actually happen on a regular basis—you'll always know that there will be an RMCC ride this weekend without depending upon somebody to come up with something at the last second!

Hopefully this makes riding with the club more beneficial in multiple ways: You don't get bored with doing the same ride week after week, you know if you come out you'll see some of your friends there or be able to make new friends without having to exchange fifty e-mails to get a ride worked out, and you'll be challenged as a rider in ways that you aren't when just ride on your own, which helps you get better!

Over the course of each season we collect notes on each ride (how many people showed up, problems with the route etc), and collect feedback on the schedule as a whole. Then in the fall a group of us get together and combine all of this information and work out the schedule for the following year. Because it's a big schedule, a lot stays the same from year to year, so I'll just highlight some of the key changes for 2013:

1) We are going to experiment with “flex start times” during March and April. As we all know, the weather tends to be variable in the spring—start the rides early and it's sometimes too cold; start the ride late and you waste half the day waiting for the ride to start when you could just get out early. So, for 2013, March rides will start at either 9:45 or 10:45; April rides will start at either 8:45 or 9:45. The actual start time will be posted on the website by Thursday morning for Saturday rides and Friday morning for Sunday rides. As such, you'll need to check the website each week to confirm the start time before heading out! Depending upon how this works, we'll either continue, expand, or retract this experiment in the future. Please let us know your feedback on it!

2) We've moved some of rides from more distant start locations closer to town. This means fewer rides out of Monument and Exits 255 and 243. To try and arrange things such that everyone has at least some rides starting close to their home, we've added new start locations out of Cherry Creek (one Sunday ride), central Denver (two Sunday rides), and US 36 and Wadsworth (a couple of rides). Despite this change, we really haven't eliminated any popular rides; some rides that used to be run twice during the year now just go once.

3) During the hot mid-summer months, we're doing fewer flat rides on Sundays and replacing them with rides with relatively easier climbing. This seems to line up better with people's actual riding interests.

4) Sometimes we've had too many rides happening on the same day between the regular ride schedule, the Challenge Series, and the Brevet schedule. As an experiment, we are setting aside 3 Saturdays where the special event ride is the only ride for that day. These will be for the Foothills Climbfest, and two mid-summer 200Ks. If you haven't tried any of these events before, we hope you will! If you prefer something shorter than these rides, we are pairing these Saturdays up with shorter climbing days on Sunday.

5) With cyclocross riding become more popular, we've added two mixed pavement/dirt rides in the late summer early fall. One of them will take in roads west of Boulder; we're still working out the course for the other ride.

One final note: For any number of reasons, the schedule is always subject to change. We're getting more such information e-mailed out through Constant Contact, but the best course of action to check the website each week to make sure you're up to speed on what's going on!

We hope you'll make the RMCC club rides a key part of your 2013 riding, and look forward to seeing you out on the road!

It only takes a second

You can be sailing down a canyon road and hit that pot hole that you overlooked. On a multi-use trail, just missing that runner that turned around right in front of you. Or reaching for your cell phone as you are heading down the road or path at a fast pace.

Lastly in a group ride, trying to catch up to the group and not really paying attention to whats around you. Next thing you know, your flat on the ground and the bike is either functional or in several pieces.

We all have found ourselves in a similar situation. It's easy to overlook safe cycling skills in any of these examples. Over the years, leading off rides for RMCC, I have seen it all. Returned back to get in the vehicle, to collect a person and bike or in a few cases just the bike parts. I guess I really didn't wish to ride that day.

As we begin the season each year, it's easy to get sucked in the excitement of a group ride. Will I be able to keep up with the group? At what cost? What happens if I get dropped?

The bottom line, is that we all should take a moment and really think about where we are riding. What is the best or safest speed for that current route? Do I really know this route well enough to push my skill level to the max? WouldI I also chance to endanger another person or persons?

There will always be hazards out on the road or multi-use trails that will challenge you. As a cyclist it really is important know the rules of the road. To practice good cycling skills. That goes for riding with a group or pace line as well. Learn to ride safe and safely. Remember that if you are with a weekend club training ride or weekday evening event. You represent the club or group that you are with.

Happy Trails,
Rick

This past July I had some wonderful reminders.  I was reminded of how much I love riding first of all.  Then I was reminded of how beautiful this state is and what great riding there is here.  Most importantly I was reminded of how much fun it is to ride with friends, both old and new.

these reminders came to me during Summer Contrail, or as we now call it, A Ride with Friends.  The trip began and ended in Silverthorne.  We were allowed to leave our cars at the Comfort Inn for the week.  this seemed like a great idea because when the trip finished, thoe who wanted to could gather for a quick bite.  It also allowed for exchanging of email addresses, phone numbers and Contrail stories.

The first day we rode to Carbondale, then Ridgeway, Durango, Ignacio, South Fork, Gunnison, Buena Vista, and back to Silverthorne to round out the eight days of riding.  We climbed alot of mountain passes including Wolf Creek and Cottonwood which I had never done.

What makes a ride like this special is the people!  We had a terrific time riding riding with our "old friends"  Val and Robin, Tom Boyle, John and Bob.  We got to know Ronalee better and her husband Paul was a fabulous sag driver.  We made new friends like Jeannie and Roger, Jim, Brenda and Brad.

I think everyone enjoyed themselves and had a fine "adventure".  The riding was tough, but was rewarding.  The accomodations were great and what is more fun than riding, eating, drinking and talking in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

My favorite lodging spot was the Casino in Ignacio.  The rooms were beautiful, pool and whirlpools were quite luxurious and the faint aroma of sage coming through the ventilation system added "magic" to the atmosphere.  My favorite pass is probably North Pass because I thoroughly enjoyed the wide sweeping turns as you go screaming downhill into Gunnison.  You get that same reward as you come flying down from the former Purgatory Ski Area into Durango.

Paul, as I said before, did a wonderful job of sagging for us and taking care of our 2 little 4 legged mascots.

He managed to snag delicious homemade cookies for us to eat before we climbed some of the passes, did beer, wine and food runs without complaint.  He managed to figure out if he needed to add an extra rest stop, if the day seemed tough.  He did all of this with a smiling face and a great attitude, when some of us were tired and grumpy.

My favorite evening of the trip was a rather simple one.  Brent and I hung out with our old friends Robin and Val in their room.  We just talked for hours, ate junk food and laughed at our dogs snoring on their beds.  It was the BEST.  We all get so busy that sometimes we forget how much fun it is just to hang with friends .. or ride with friends.

I can hardly wait for next years Contrail!  the reminders of how wonderful it is to live in Colorado, how great most riders are, and why we love riding are things I never want to forget.  Why don't you come join us next year and have a ball!

Seven Wins Forever

Lance Armstrong

Couple of emotional days with the continuation of the legal things going on with the USADA.  I can understand the objectives of the ADA being to keep certain sports dope- free.  Fine objective because the opposite is what we have in the NFL, MLB, etc.  They are working on genetic tests to try and stay ahead of very sophisticated cheats, but what about the breeding programs in China?  The analytical tests used are constantly being revised and updated.  The medical establishment is not infallible.  Just take a look at the board of directors for USADA and make your own decision as to whether there is or isn't any bias.

There is no physical evidence.  Lance has been tested more than any other athlete.  And the French were after him.  Unidentified witnesses.  Sounds like heresy trials.  Can we now go back after the greatest rider, Eddie Merck?  I'll testify that he must of been a doper.

So go ahead and strip him of his medals.  I will always know who won those 7 tours.  He has been an inspiration to cancer patients the world over.  Beat Marco Pantani and Jan Ulrich many times.

As an old swimmer I just love the talented Olympians (yeah Missy).  But apart from what they do at the Olympics what next?  Why tear down our heroes?  We can't seem to embrace our heroes from the wars so what next can we aspire to?