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This year I plan to ride the Tour of the Moon for the 4th year. For those who remember the Coors International Bicycle Classic from the 80's, this was one of the race's best known stages. The location was also featured in the bike movie "American Flyers". These days it's no longer a race, but still an amazing cycling event.
The terrain has to be seen to be believed: the best section of the route features a 23mi road which connects two points which lie a mere 7mi apart by air. There's some ~2k feet of ascent involved, too. Think steep grades and hairpin turns. Lots of hairpin turns. There are also several tunnels hewn right through the rock. It's pretty to drive, amazing to ride. The scenery really is out of this world. For those who have seen "American Flyers", the relevant scenes were shot on location. It really does look like that, though the cinematography couldn't do justice to the actual views. I am not often moved to stop in the middle of a screaming descent in order to take pics or just enjoy a given view. On this ride I've done it more than once, including here:
That would be the Colorado National Monument's historic Rim Rock Drive. Because the ride goes through the Park, the number of participants is capped by the Park Service at ~2200 riders. The event usually sells out quickly. Lights are required due to the tunnels. The ride offers 41 and 64mi options.
Make no mistake, this is a bucket list quality ride. I say that as a 3 time, self-paid participant. I have no connection to the organizers and have not received or been promised any kind of remuneration or discounts for gushing about it like this.
In any event, I recently signed up and thought there might be someone from here who would like to ride it, too.
The event takes place in Grand Junction, CO which is located about 5.5hrs by car from the greater Denver area. Grand Junction has a regional air port, but I understand a lot of participants fly into Denver and make their way to GJ from there.
There are lots of options: car rental, of course. There's also a commuter bus service which allows bicycles and offers onboard wi-fi. Train buffs will be happy to know that Amtrak offers daily service from Denver to GJ via the California Zephyr line. I understand that bike service is offered on this line, but have not used it myself.
The town of Grand Junction offers the usual array of hotels and Air BnB places, but be advised that it's not that large a town, and the event usually fills the local hotels and campgrounds to capacity. It pays to make reservations early. The town itself is pretty small and easily bikeable. On my 2nd year riding the event, I parked my car on arriving at my hotel and didn't bother driving again until it was time to leave town. There are lots of bike lanes, a few MUPs, and plenty of low traffic side streets. Sweet little college town.
If anyone is interested, please feel free to hit me up either here or via PM. I am happy to share information and discuss travel options for those who aren't local. I may be able to spot someone a ride or arrange for a van in the event enough are interested.
There's a lot to see in the area and while this ride is all about pavement, both GJ and the nearby town of Fruita offer huge networks of MTB trails. From Fruita, one can catch the Kokopelli Trail, a bikepacking route which runs 158mi to Moab, UT.
Moab is a bit over 1.5hrs from GJ and offers access to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Also near countless acres of public land and some truly outstanding State Parks. Whether you like singletrack or pavement, there are many epic places to ride.
As for the Tour itself, I learned to ride my bike in curves in order to ride the first year. The descent is steep, fast, and tight. The hairpins go all the way down to some marked '10mph'. There are not always guard rails. Some riders from more flat states choose to catch a SAG to the bottom. I was fortunate in that I had some great local roads to train on. Not everyone does, and the descent demands some skill. My non-cyclist brother learned to ride curves for the event and has now done the descent 2x without problems. Just coasting, it's necessary to use one's brakes to stay within the 25mph speed limit.
Note the carved up rock immediately to the right of the road on the upper left. The road was literally carved into and occasionally through the cliffs. No other way to build it. Riding it is...delicious.
Note the barely visible guard rail on the upper right. Same road. Gnarly awesome switchbacks. Nice smooth pavement, too. For the most part.
So, how about it? Anyone game to Tour the Moon this year?
The terrain has to be seen to be believed: the best section of the route features a 23mi road which connects two points which lie a mere 7mi apart by air. There's some ~2k feet of ascent involved, too. Think steep grades and hairpin turns. Lots of hairpin turns. There are also several tunnels hewn right through the rock. It's pretty to drive, amazing to ride. The scenery really is out of this world. For those who have seen "American Flyers", the relevant scenes were shot on location. It really does look like that, though the cinematography couldn't do justice to the actual views. I am not often moved to stop in the middle of a screaming descent in order to take pics or just enjoy a given view. On this ride I've done it more than once, including here:
That would be the Colorado National Monument's historic Rim Rock Drive. Because the ride goes through the Park, the number of participants is capped by the Park Service at ~2200 riders. The event usually sells out quickly. Lights are required due to the tunnels. The ride offers 41 and 64mi options.
Make no mistake, this is a bucket list quality ride. I say that as a 3 time, self-paid participant. I have no connection to the organizers and have not received or been promised any kind of remuneration or discounts for gushing about it like this.
In any event, I recently signed up and thought there might be someone from here who would like to ride it, too.
The event takes place in Grand Junction, CO which is located about 5.5hrs by car from the greater Denver area. Grand Junction has a regional air port, but I understand a lot of participants fly into Denver and make their way to GJ from there.
There are lots of options: car rental, of course. There's also a commuter bus service which allows bicycles and offers onboard wi-fi. Train buffs will be happy to know that Amtrak offers daily service from Denver to GJ via the California Zephyr line. I understand that bike service is offered on this line, but have not used it myself.
The town of Grand Junction offers the usual array of hotels and Air BnB places, but be advised that it's not that large a town, and the event usually fills the local hotels and campgrounds to capacity. It pays to make reservations early. The town itself is pretty small and easily bikeable. On my 2nd year riding the event, I parked my car on arriving at my hotel and didn't bother driving again until it was time to leave town. There are lots of bike lanes, a few MUPs, and plenty of low traffic side streets. Sweet little college town.
If anyone is interested, please feel free to hit me up either here or via PM. I am happy to share information and discuss travel options for those who aren't local. I may be able to spot someone a ride or arrange for a van in the event enough are interested.
There's a lot to see in the area and while this ride is all about pavement, both GJ and the nearby town of Fruita offer huge networks of MTB trails. From Fruita, one can catch the Kokopelli Trail, a bikepacking route which runs 158mi to Moab, UT.
Moab is a bit over 1.5hrs from GJ and offers access to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Also near countless acres of public land and some truly outstanding State Parks. Whether you like singletrack or pavement, there are many epic places to ride.
As for the Tour itself, I learned to ride my bike in curves in order to ride the first year. The descent is steep, fast, and tight. The hairpins go all the way down to some marked '10mph'. There are not always guard rails. Some riders from more flat states choose to catch a SAG to the bottom. I was fortunate in that I had some great local roads to train on. Not everyone does, and the descent demands some skill. My non-cyclist brother learned to ride curves for the event and has now done the descent 2x without problems. Just coasting, it's necessary to use one's brakes to stay within the 25mph speed limit.
So, how about it? Anyone game to Tour the Moon this year?