Your Bike Hub: Aspen

For 30 years the Independence Pass Foundation has been taking care of one of the country’s most magnificent alpine landscapes, enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.  To learn more about the restoration work that IPF and its dedicated volunteers and partners achieve on behalf of Independence Pass, as well as the ecology, recreational opportunities, and history of the Pass, please click the link below.

Bike Travel Weekend and Bike Your Park Day are fun and easy, and they help get people outside and on bikes. There’s no cost to you or your participants (unless you want to charge a fee to participants to cover your costs). The initiatives help create community connections, promote destinations, and can boost local economies. You can participate in Bike Travel Weekend and Bike Your Park Day through your own programming or you can partner with other groups.

There are two ways to be part of Bike Travel Weekend & Bike Your Park Day:

1. Plan and register a Bike Travel Weekend trip at BikeTravelWeekend.org and/or register a Bike Your Park Day ride at BikeYourParkDay.org. Registration, planning resources, and inspiration are available for free. Plus, registrants will receive stickers for their group and will be entered to win a bike and Amtrak tickets to Glacier National Park.
https://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/bike-travel-weekend/register-a-bike-overnight/

2. Promote Bike Travel Weekend and Bike Your Park Day to your customers, visitors, and friends. Visit the “Promote” pages at BikeTravelWeekend.org and BikeYourParkDay.org for sharing resources and a downloadable Toolkit with resources to help you plan your rides or just encourage others to participate.
https://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/bike-travel-weekend/promote-your-bike-overnight/

Adventure Cycling also has Bike Travel Weekend and Bike Your Park Day sponsorship opportunities to help you promote your brand or destination. Please contact me at [email protected] or (406) 532-2743 if you are interested in sponsorship or if you have any questions about Bike Travel Weekend and Bike Your Park Day. I would be happy to walk you through the planning and promotional resources and registration process. I can also send additional stickers and postcards for your audiences.

I hope to “see” you out on the roads and trails on June 5 – 7 for Bike Travel Weekend and September 29 for Bike Your Park Day. Enjoy your ride! Bike Travel Weekend, inspires thousands of people throughout the world to go on a one- or two-night bike trip to a campground, hotel or B&B on the same weekend. Registration, planning and promotional resources are free at BikeTravelWeekend.org.
https://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/bike-travel-weekend/

Denver to Aspen is regarded by many people to be the signature event of the RMCC. Since the club’s inception in 1993, club members have been riding Denver to Aspen as preparation for much harder events such as Paris-Brest-Paris and Montreal-Boston-Montreal, some of the longest, most difficult timed bike events in the world. The original Denver-to-Aspen course started in the Denver Tech Center, climbing Deer Creek Canyon until it reached US-285 near what is now Aspen Park. From Aspen Park the course turned west along US-285 toward Kenosha Pass and the dreaded, wind-laden South Park Valley, eventually reaching Buena Vista. Riders then faced the final lung-searing climb over Independence Pass before making the exhilarating descent into Aspen.

The original course was created by Joe Lookingbill, one of the founding fathers of the RMCC. Joe was the mastermind behind the Denver to Aspen Classic and was one of the event directors when Denver to Aspen was organized as a public ride during the 1990s. Because of the extreme difficulty of this event, Denver to Aspen was never wildly popular; however, this incredibly challenging event did possess a certain mystique that would attract up to 190 riders each year. It also attracted many strong riders, including former US professional racer and Giro d’Italia contestant, Michael Carter, who to this day still holds the fastest mile-per-hour average speed. In 2015, the RMCC board of directors approved a complete revision the of Joe Lookingbill-designed course, creating an entirely different Denver-to-Aspen route to bypass the increasingly dangerous US-285. The new course climbs the iconic Lookout Mountain to the west of Denver and then ventures west along the lightly trafficked frontage roads along the I-70 corridor to the base of Loveland Pass, making the course safer for participants. The final defining climb from the beautiful Twin Lakes to the summit of Independence Pass as well as the brilliant descent into Aspen is fortunately preserved for participants.

• Distance: 180 miles, a point-to-point route from Denver, CO to Woody Creek, CO
• Climbing: 16,000 feet
• 3 crossings of the Continental Divide: Loveland Pass, Fremont Pass, and Independence Pass

In 1986, 1,500 cyclists pedaled off on a 300-plus mile citizen’s tour that crossed three mountain passes and became an annual tradition called Ride The Rockies. The tour that Outside Magazine called a “celebration of fitness” now celebrates its 35th year as a beloved Colorado institution sponsored by the Denver Post Community Foundation. Ride The Rockies embraces not only cyclists but the towns, sponsors, volunteers and Colorado residents who enjoy following the annual multi-day event.

While the Tour route changes each year, the benefits and responsibilities of each host community remain the same. Benefits include publicity, positive economic impact, fundraising opportunities and a grant provided to an eligible non-profit agency in each host town by The Denver Post Community Foundation. Cyclists in 2019 spent an average of $250,000 in a 24-hour period in each town and many planned to return at a later date as tourists. Host communities provide alternative lodging, inexpensive community meals and entertainment.

Riders on past Ride The Rockies have represented all 50 states and 18 foreign countries. Ride The Rockies is a non-competitive event open to cyclists of all ages and participants are encouraged to ride at their own pace.

Proceeds from Ride The Rockies benefit The Denver Post Community Foundation. All funds raised are returned directly to Colorado nonprofits.

Join thousands of others around the world on September 26, 2020 to explore your parks and public lands by bicycle. Ride any distance on roads or trails and make a day of it: stop to enjoy a picnic, pause by a river to cool your toes, or take a break at a visitors center to learn something new. What better way to spend a fall day celebrating our public lands?

Registration is free. Everyone who registers will receive a Bike Your Park Day sticker in the mail, and will be entered to win a Co-Motion Cycles Divide bike or two Amtrak tickets to Glacier National Park.

Thank you to the 2019 participants for being part of the fourth annual Bike Your Park Day, with over 1,000 rides and more than 14,000 participants.

Share Your Bike Your Park Day Photos: Continue to share your photos with us or tag them on social media with #bikeyourpark. Check out Bike Your Park Day photos on the Bike Your Park Day Facebook page.