# Ride the Rockies route



## Bulldozer (Jul 31, 2003)

According to their website, the Ride the Rockies route will be announced this Sunday, February 4th. I, for one, am looking forward to the announcement. On the other hand, I'm already leaning towards the Bicycle Tour of Colorado due to it's fairly family-friendly route and lack of lottery. Who else is planning on doing either of these rides this year?


----------



## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

Bulldozer said:


> According to their website, the Ride the Rockies route will be announced this Sunday, February 4th. I, for one, am looking forward to the announcement. On the other hand, I'm already leaning towards the Bicycle Tour of Colorado due to it's fairly family-friendly route and lack of lottery. Who else is planning on doing either of these rides this year?


I'll likely do one or the other--waiting to hear what the route is for RTR before deciding.


----------



## D-Town (Aug 22, 2004)

*Btc*

I was going to wait and see the RTR route, but went ahead and signed up for the BTC. While this year's BTC will be hard pressed to match last year's (which was outstanding), it still looks like a great route, plus no lottery, loop is nice as far as logistics, etc. Still, I'll be checking the RTR when it goes up, and if it's unreal (and I can get in) maybe I'll have to do both...


----------



## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

D-Town said:


> I was going to wait and see the RTR route, but went ahead and signed up for the BTC. While this year's BTC will be hard pressed to match last year's (which was outstanding), it still looks like a great route, plus no lottery, loop is nice as far as logistics, etc. Still, I'll be checking the RTR when it goes up, and if it's unreal (and I can get in) maybe I'll have to do both...


Only complaint I have about BTC is that I think they were a bit unprepared for the amount of cyclists that showed up--they could use more food at the stations and more room at the campgrounds. Hopefully they will learn from last year.


----------



## D-Town (Aug 22, 2004)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> Only complaint I have about BTC is that I think they were a bit unprepared for the amount of cyclists that showed up--they could use more food at the stations and more room at the campgrounds. Hopefully they will learn from last year.


True, I've seen better organized rides (and certainly much worse too), but the BTC route last year was hard to beat. While I've been to most of the towns on this years BTC but have not ridden most of the roads, my impression is that this year's BTC will be very good, even if not as good as last year. The question is how will the RTR route this year compare (last year I though there was no comparison between the BTC and RTR routes).


----------



## JohnHemlock (Jul 15, 2006)

I have never done the RTR but am thinking about doing it this year. My employer is presenting sponsor so I can skip the lottery.

If anyone wants to train, drop me a PM.


----------



## Bulldozer (Jul 31, 2003)

Looks like I'll be doing the BTC. The RTR route didn't impress me enough to risk the lottery. I really like the BTC route because the middle of it visits some family-friendly places. I think my family will stage out of Frisco and hang out in the middle of the week.


----------



## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

Bulldozer said:


> Looks like I'll be doing the BTC. The RTR route didn't impress me enough to risk the lottery. I really like the BTC route because the middle of it visits some family-friendly places. I think my family will stage out of Frisco and hang out in the middle of the week.


Both are loops which is a big + in my book. Dunno...I've been doing it for so long now there aren't many passes in CO I haven't ridden over. Frisco is close to Boulder so getting there and back is easier than Steamboat--may enter the lottery and if I don't get in use BTC as a backup. Will have to discuss with the guy I've been riding with for years before I make the final decision.

//leaning towards RTR...never done Independence pass before on bike and the overnights in Glenwood spgs, Aspen and Leadville are a big plus....


----------



## Woolbury (Oct 12, 2005)

I'm also in the process of deciding which one to do. I've never done a muti day tour before, so either will be new for me. Aside from the Ind Pass day, I think I prefer the BTC route. The other factors are just as important, and the smaller group, no lottery, week later start, give the edge to the BTC. Look forward to hearing others comments on these 2 tours. Also, solo at this point, would love to hang on somebodys' wheel.


----------



## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

Woolbury said:


> I'm also in the process of deciding which one to do. I've never done a muti day tour before, so either will be new for me. Aside from the Ind Pass day, I think I prefer the BTC route. The other factors are just as important, and the smaller group, no lottery, week later start, give the edge to the BTC. Look forward to hearing others comments on these 2 tours. Also, solo at this point, would love to hang on somebodys' wheel.


I've done both and BTC was actually much bigger than usual last year--mainly due to a crappy (IMO) RTR route. The staff had problems dealing with the bigger numbers at times and the campgrounds were pretty crowded--especially in the smaller towns. Maybe they will have learned what to do this year. 

In any event, the organization and safety precautions for RTR seem far superior to the BTC. On BTC we were routinely riding on shoulderless roads with heavy traffic--routes not as clearly marked, not enough port a johns or shower facilities for the number of people there. BTC seems to be generally longer days in the saddle than RTR--plus more climbing. Make of that what you will. I also missed the lack of travelling vendors on the BTC route. There were some, but mostly you had to depend on the BTC aid stations for food during the day. On RTR they offer banannas and oranges and gatorade, but you're on your own for other food. Vendors travel the route though and food is reasonable to buy.


----------



## MerlinAma (Oct 11, 2005)

I've ridden BTC in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. All great routes.

The 2006 turnout for BTC was about 33% more riders than the prior year and apparently there were some problems. My hunch is they will improve things this year in that area.

I've never had problems with rest areas, although bananas and a sport drink is usually all I'm looking for.

Being a week later than RTR never hurts either. In 2004 we were able to go over Trail Ridge Rd while a week earlier, RTC had to bus people to the next day's start as the weather was too bad to ride Trail Ridge Rd.

I don't think Independence Pass even opens until Memorial Day. BTC went from Aspen to Leadville in 2005 and some of the later riders were caught in rain/sleet.


----------



## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

MerlinAma said:


> I've ridden BTC in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. All great routes.
> 
> The 2006 turnout for BTC was about 33% more riders than the prior year and apparently there were some problems. My hunch is they will improve things this year in that area.
> 
> ...


To be fair though...any pass over 10k feet can have pretty much any type of weather either week. Be prepared with proper clothing to deal with bad weather.


----------



## D-Town (Aug 22, 2004)

*BTC vs. RTR*

Looking at the RTR route, some days are 80-100 miles, and then others are 30-40 miles. That may be a plus to some, but not to me. If I'm taking a week off to do a tour like this, I'd rather feel like I'm getting a decent ride in each day, but that's just my view. I think the BTC route ranges 55-75 miles a day.


----------



## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

D-Town said:


> Looking at the RTR route, some days are 80-100 miles, and then others are 30-40 miles. That may be a plus to some, but not to me. If I'm taking a week off to do a tour like this, I'd rather feel like I'm getting a decent ride in each day, but that's just my view. I think the BTC route ranges 55-75 miles a day.


Correct...the BTC route tends to be a bit more challenging mileage-wise than RTR in my experience. The real measure though isn't total mileage. A 40 mile ride with a steep 18 mile climb is a lot different than 100 miles of flat or downhill.


----------



## D-Town (Aug 22, 2004)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> Correct...the BTC route tends to be a bit more challenging mileage-wise than RTR in my experience. The real measure though isn't total mileage. A 40 mile ride with a steep 18 mile climb is a lot different than 100 miles of flat or downhill.


True, especially in the rockies, distance may not even be half the story in considering the difficulty of a particular route. And I know there are logistics involved in starting and ending in a town each day (which are even more limited in planning a loop route). Maybe I'm wrong, but in looking over the RTR route this weekend I don't recall the short days for RTR being too bad in terms of climbing, but don't hold me to that...


----------



## Woolbury (Oct 12, 2005)

The BTC has more climbing. 7 days(6 riding w layover day 4) is 418min/35500' climbing. RTR is 7 days riding(a couple pretty short), 422 mi 24200' climbing. Again, looking at route and riding, I prefer BTC. Layover day at Copper I can go fish the Eagle. I think I'm selling myself. And what about their food option? Seems pricey and I think I'd rather just go get something at each town. Is the convenience worth it?


----------



## MerlinAma (Oct 11, 2005)

Woolbury said:


> ....And what about their food option? Seems pricey and I think I'd rather just go get something at each town. Is the convenience worth it?


This gets discussed at length on the BTC forum.

I stay in motel/hotels so keep that in mind when reading my comments.

Usually we are provided a continental breakfast. For campers, the option is catered breakfast (a line will be involved) or eating in your tent based on what you picked up at the grocery store the night before. Conceivably you could go somewhere to eat but that takes time and who knows what will be open early in the morning.

Lunch is a non-event for me. I'm eating normal rest area food till the ride is over.

As soon as I finish the ride, I'll eat a meal at a local establishment. It's easy since we don't all arrive at the finish at the same time. Never had a problem finding food. 

Later in the evening I'll eat another meal at a local establishment. May be a little more crowded but since I don't have anything else to do, waiting is not a big deal.

One more thing. The motel people do not stay in the small towns like Walden or Kremmling. We get to ride the bus to Steamboat at day's end and get bussed to the start the next morning. So we aren't trying to eat at a local place in a small town. However, in the past, local organizations have had meals as fundraisers. But it's hard to plan or depend on that. 

Just some things to consider.


----------



## wannabeSWIFTer (Mar 8, 2006)

*Add a side trip to Ski Sunlight*



D-Town said:


> Looking at the RTR route, some days are 80-100 miles, and then others are 30-40 miles. That may be a plus to some, but not to me. If I'm taking a week off to do a tour like this, I'd rather feel like I'm getting a decent ride in each day, but that's just my view. I think the BTC route ranges 55-75 miles a day.


If I decide to do RTR this year, I would make the Glenwood to Aspen day
a little more interesting. Take Four Mile Rd out of Glenwood and ride
up to the Sunlight ski area. The out and back should add about 18 miles and 2500ft
to the scheduled 44 mile day.


----------



## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

Woolbury said:


> I think I'm selling myself. And what about their food option? Seems pricey and I think I'd rather just go get something at each town. Is the convenience worth it?


Hey...I like riding as much as the next guy, but it's also a vacation--no need to kill yourself each day. And there is beer to be had at night. 

As far as the food thing for BTC--IMO the food options are a huge ripoff. I always prefer to go into town and get my own food. Always cheaper and better than the catered option. People I talked to that got the catered food regretted it. Unless you have no sense of adventure and just want to eat bland food day after day forget the catered stuff.


----------

