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Colorado Cycling Festival: Pedal Power |
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Written by Glenn BurnSilver for NEXTnc
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Thursday, 07 June 2007 |
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 To get a real sense of the excitement for the Colorado Cycling Festival, I decided to try the Rist Canyon road ride myself.
The noncompetitive road ride corresponds with the Festival’s newly added Rist Canyon Road Race.
To make my ride even better — or worse, depending on your perspective — I took on the additional 15 miles the racers travel: up, over and across the Horsetooth dams, down to Bellvue and over Bingham Hill, and back to Hughes Stadium on Overland Trail.
The American Cycling Association Pro Cycling Race and noncompetitive ride are two parts of the larger equation that add up to a weekend of cycling events in Fort Collins. Also included are a vintage museum cruiser bike ride and a criterium race around Old Town.
“That Rist course is a super tough course. It’s not particularly long, but there is a lot of climbing and it’s tough climbing,” explained local racer Dwight Hall of the Rio Grande Restaurant cycling team.
“When you get back into the Stove Prairie area, those are technically challenging roads with lots of tight corners and more climbing,” Ainslie MacEachran, Director Sportif of Rio Grande Restaurant elite cycling team, added. “And some of those climbs are really steep.”
“There is no way you are going to fake winning that race,” Hall said.
Steep may be an understatement, though the views of the Rocky Mountains and Buckhorn Canyon are certainly worth the push.
For those who prefer a gentler ride, the 90-minute Friday night cruiser tour of Old Town will be a laid-back affair, and ends with a photo shoot at Lee’s Cyclery for historically significant bikes.
What’s that mean? “Anything that made a change within the cycling industry,” Lee’s sale manager Jason Sheffield explained. “We expect some turn-of-the-century high wheelers. Really, anything that has survived over time that was important.”
Does your bike measure up? Stop by to find out.
Sunday will be a real test for the already-tired racers when the Jimmy D. Criterium kicks off.
“That just makes it a complete weekend of racing, which is something the northern Colorado area hasn’t had in quite awhile,” MacEachran said. “It makes for two good days for racing on two good courses.”
In all, more than 75 professional racers, as well hundreds of others, are expected to race through the streets of Old Town Fort Collins. The finish sprint will be right past the final corner.
“The people who come out are more knowledgeable about bike racing,” Hall said about the Fort Collins crowds. “They know a lot about racing, and that makes it exciting.”
As for my ride? Well, I won’t say how long it took, but I will certainly leave the racing to others.
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COLORADO CYCLING FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Friday, June 8
5 p.m., Old Town Outdoor Concert with Michael Waido
5:30 p.m., Vintage Bike Tour
Saturday, June 9
7 a.m., American Cycling Association 65-mile Rist Canyon road race
7:45 a.m., Rist Canyon 50-mile recreational road ride
11 a.m.-2 p.m. , Post-ride Party, Hughes Stadium
Sunday, June 10
7 a.m., Jimmy D. Criterium, Old Town
7 a.m.-3 p.m., Colorado Cycling Expo, Old Town
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