Ride the rockies

Anyone going this year? This is going to be my first bike tour.

Do RTR veterans have comments to share about the ride itself?

 

>Anyone going this year? This is going to be my first bike tour.

Nope, I applied this year and didn't get in.

>Do RTR veterans have comments to share about the ride itself?

I normally do most of my bicycle touring solo, but this is a fun ride. I rode in 1994 and wrote the
following report: http://www.mvermeulen.com/bicycle.rtr

What I particularly enjoyed was the larger "event" aspect of 2000+ riders coming into these small
towns in Colorado. A lot may have changed in nine years, but I also found it to be fairly well
organized.

--mev, Mike Vermeulen

 

In article <[email protected]>, Gopi Sundaram <[email protected]> writes:

>Anyone going this year? This is going to be my first bike tour.
>
>Do RTR veterans have comments to share about the ride itself?

I've not done it but I live at the foot of the Rockies. Be prepared for any kind of weather,
including snow.

Tom Gibb <[email protected]

 

I did it two years in a row - 1998, 1999.

There are a few pics on my web page

http://members.aol.com/dnvrfox/fambicy.htm

at the bottom of the page (scroll down quite a bit)

Anything in particular you wanted to know?

http://members.aol.com/foxcondorsrvtns (Colorado rental condo)

http://members.aol.com/dnvrfox (Family Web Page)

 

Gopi Sundaram wrote:

> Anyone going this year? This is going to be my first bike tour.
>
> Do RTR veterans have comments to share about the ride itself?

It's great. Be sure to get up at like 3AM every day so you are out on the road by 4AM. Bring lots of
aluminum cookware to make breakfast because it's light and makes a nice bonging noise so that when
you go off to the porta-potties when you get up you can find your campsite by the bonging noise.
Bring a tent with lots of guy wires and flys and stuff so that you have to wear really bright
headlamps to take it down in the dark and then be sure to look around at other tents around you a
lot, shining the lamp into them to make sure the people are still asleep and not being disturbed.
Once you're packed and out on the road, you have plenty of time, so form a paceline with some people
you don't know and ride really hard to the first aid station. When you get there, lounge around for
1-2 hours until it's time to ride like a bat out of hell in your pace line to the next aid station.
Again, rest up because it's going to be another long haul of 20-30 miles to the third station. Be
sure to wear one of those head wrap bandana things like Marco Pantani so people know you're a badass
cyclist (they will anyway because you're in like this super fast paceline when you're not lounging
in your badass headwrap at the rest stop but sice you want to attend to every detail use the badass
head wrap). Since you left so early, you'll have plenty of time to both lounge at the rest area and
ride in a pace line past those pokier riders. You'll probably climb a pass or two so you'll want to
ride way over to the left in the lane because you will be passing those slower "recreational"
cyclists like they are standing still. If need be, pass on the right and never ever let anyone know
you are on their wheel or passing them, whichever side you choose to use. If you spot someone on
your wheel, blow your nose at them. Once you get to the destination, be sure to make fun of the
slower riders as you stand in the shower line (wear your badass head wrap of course). It's good
clean fun and it motivates those slowpokes to do better the next day. If you're a woman, make at
least one obligatory joke per day about how the difference in shower line length at RtR is the only
time it pays to be a woman. Guys will make derogatory comments about your breasts/butt, but they
would have done that anyway so go wild. Guys will get back at you by pissing on the seat in the
porta-potties but it's all in jest. Be sure also to try and party with Team Bad Boy because they are
so intensely cool with their sinks on bicycles and crap and ride along Jeep Grand Cherokee towing
the trailer with the rest of their gear.

Oh, never ever use sunscreen. Sunburns are good for you and since everyone will be lobster red by
the end of the second hour on the first day, you won't want to stand out in the crowd. And remember,
it's only polite to hit on the chick on the red metal flake finish Klein Quantum when your
significant other isn't within audible range or line of sight.

-Bill Asher

 

>It's great. Be sure to get up at like 3AM every day so you are out on the road by 4AM. Bring lots
>of aluminum cookware to make breakfast because it's light and makes a nice bonging noise

I see you had a good time!!

http://members.aol.com/foxcondorsrvtns (Colorado rental condo)

http://members.aol.com/dnvrfox (Family Web Page)