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GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Glenwood Springs will be the start and finish point for two bicycle tours through Colorado this summer and one of them, Ride the Rockies, will make a stop in Aspen.
The Denver Post, title sponsor of Ride the Rockies, on Sunday announced the route for the 24th annual bicycle tour, to be held June 14-19.
The 2009 Bicycle Tour of Colorado previously announced its tour, on June 21-27, will also start and end in Glenwood Springs, with stops in Hotchkiss, Grand Junction, Montrose, Crested Butte and Buena Vista. Riders will pass through Aspen en route from Buena Vista to Glenwood.
Ride the Rockies brought some 2,000 bicyclists to Aspen in June 2007 — the first time the tour had come through town since the inaugural ride in 1986.
Two summer ago, riders raved about the experience of riding the Rio Grande Trail en route from Glenwood Springs to Aspen. At that time, the trail wasn’t yet completed in the lower valley; riders hit the Rio Grande from Carbondale to Old Snowmass. They pedaled into Aspen via McLain Flats Road as the upper section of the trail, between Woody Creek and the outskirts of Aspen, is not paved. The following day, bicyclists climbed over Independence Pass, east of Aspen, and headed for Leadville.
The 12,095-foot pass is again, literally, the high point of the ride and a favorite with participants, according to tour director Chandler Smith. This time, though, riders will pedal the pass in the opposite direction.
And, with the Rio Grande now paved from Carbondale to Glenwood Springs, riders will presumably experience an even longer trail ride in the valley, as they pedal 40 miles from Aspen to Glenwood on the final leg of the tour. However, a spokesman for the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, which oversees the trail in the lower valley, said Monday the agency had not yet been contacted about use of the Rio Grande again for Ride the Rockies.
This year, Ride the Rockies will take riders 80 miles from Glenwood Springs to Hotchkiss, over 8,755-foot McClure Pass; 80 miles from Hotchkiss to Gunnison, along the north rim of the Black Canyon; 65 miles from Gunnison to Salida, over 11,312-foot Monarch Pass; 60 miles from Salida to Leadville, along the upper Arkansas River; and 55 miles from Leadville to Aspen, over Independence Pass. After a night in Aspen, the final segment of the tour will take riders from Aspen to Glenwood Springs.
The Denver Post, title sponsor of Ride the Rockies, on Sunday announced the route for the 24th annual bicycle tour, to be held June 14-19.
The 2009 Bicycle Tour of Colorado previously announced its tour, on June 21-27, will also start and end in Glenwood Springs, with stops in Hotchkiss, Grand Junction, Montrose, Crested Butte and Buena Vista. Riders will pass through Aspen en route from Buena Vista to Glenwood.
Ride the Rockies brought some 2,000 bicyclists to Aspen in June 2007 — the first time the tour had come through town since the inaugural ride in 1986.
Two summer ago, riders raved about the experience of riding the Rio Grande Trail en route from Glenwood Springs to Aspen. At that time, the trail wasn’t yet completed in the lower valley; riders hit the Rio Grande from Carbondale to Old Snowmass. They pedaled into Aspen via McLain Flats Road as the upper section of the trail, between Woody Creek and the outskirts of Aspen, is not paved. The following day, bicyclists climbed over Independence Pass, east of Aspen, and headed for Leadville.
The 12,095-foot pass is again, literally, the high point of the ride and a favorite with participants, according to tour director Chandler Smith. This time, though, riders will pedal the pass in the opposite direction.
And, with the Rio Grande now paved from Carbondale to Glenwood Springs, riders will presumably experience an even longer trail ride in the valley, as they pedal 40 miles from Aspen to Glenwood on the final leg of the tour. However, a spokesman for the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, which oversees the trail in the lower valley, said Monday the agency had not yet been contacted about use of the Rio Grande again for Ride the Rockies.
This year, Ride the Rockies will take riders 80 miles from Glenwood Springs to Hotchkiss, over 8,755-foot McClure Pass; 80 miles from Hotchkiss to Gunnison, along the north rim of the Black Canyon; 65 miles from Gunnison to Salida, over 11,312-foot Monarch Pass; 60 miles from Salida to Leadville, along the upper Arkansas River; and 55 miles from Leadville to Aspen, over Independence Pass. After a night in Aspen, the final segment of the tour will take riders from Aspen to Glenwood Springs.
