Category — Colorado, beyond Summit

When you ride slow, you're never too tired to goof around. Even if you're summiting Loveland Pass during Colorado's Triple Bypass.

For the second year in a row I went online at exactly noon on exactly the right date to secure entry for myself, my husband and my dad in the Triple Bypass. Put on by Team Evergreen, this 120-mile supported, organized road bike ride summits three well-known mountain passes in one day.

This year, it was rumored that the 3500 entries sold out in 35 minutes. So if you call riding 12,000+ vertical feet over 120 miles on your bike fun, then I guess you could call us lucky for getting in on the party.

As always, the volunteers and staff were amazing. This year, we got a full-zip jersey, which sounds minor but is a huge deal for any woman committed to wearing bib shorts. I am one of those women. The post-ride grub (and grub-slinging staff) was excellent, and I’ve probably never been so excited to eat chicken in my life. [Read more →]

I thought folks might be interested in river reports via RSS rather than Twitter. But, not for the first time, I was definitely wrong. So, for regularly updated river reports on the rivers in and around Summit County, Colorado, follow me on Twitter or check the Twitter sidebar right here at ColoradoSummitLife.com.

Daily River Flow Report for Summit County, Colorado and nearby rivers: Friday,  June 18 [Read more →]

Daily River Flow Report for Summit County, Colorado and nearby rivers: Thursday June 17 [Read more →]

Daily River Flow Report for Summit County, Colorado: Wednesday, June 16 [Read more →]

Daily River Flow Report for Summit County, Colorado: Tuesday, June 15 [Read more →]

Daily River Flow Report for Summit County, Colorado: Monday, June 14 [Read more →]

Eric , far right, tackled the modified Le Mans start and rode our team's first lap at 24 Hours of eRock.

I suppose I could find a few people to blame. First, my husband Eric for introducing me to the 24-hour bike race format when we began dating. (He and a friend put on the 24-hour mountain bike race 24 Hours in the Sage.) Second, a family I met at 24 Hours in the Sage. Sometimes everyone races, sometimes parents support the daughter for a solo effort and sometimes they go for a father/daughter duo. After meeting the bunch I thought, “My dad and I like to ride bikes; maybe we should do a 24 hour race … “

With 24 Hours of eRock's 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. schedule, there's still plenty of riding to do after the night laps.

Whoever’s fault it is for giving me the idea that I could be part of a 24 hour mountain bike race … I thank them.  Because it was a blast.

Let’ face it. I’ve heard from many that 24 Hours of eRock isn’t really mountain biking, that it’s boring, it’s all dirt roads and so on. Sure, that could be true for seasoned mountain bikers.

But for me, a beginner, 24 Hours of eRock was an excellent introduction to riding at night and a good realization that if I ever do want to tackle a solo effort in a more technical environment (which I do), I really need more technical skills and more confidence in the skills I already possess. [Read more →]