Todd’s Ride the Rockies Journal: Part 3
I like riding my bike. It’s a hobby I’ve been pursuing for about 10 years now, but it should be said that the amount that I like bike riding and the amount that people I know think I like riding my bike are two very different things. I am, mostly, just a casual rider. I’m the kind of guy that receives subtle condescension when he asks mechanics at the bike shop a novice question, the kind of guy that can patch a flat but wouldn’t want to try to repair a broken chain. (Not that I’m superstitious, but all the same, let’s hope that doesn’t doom me to a broken chain on Trail Ridge Road) Many people however are under the impression that I’m a really intense rider, I think the misconception stems from a month long ride I did 8 years ago.
In 2004, after I got out of college, a couple friends and I rode our bikes from Fort Collins to Boston. It was a great trip and a wonderful way to see the country. If you ever have the opportunity to take a good chunk of time off from your real world responsibilities I cannot recommend a long bike tour highly enough. You’ll see things you’d never see by car and you’ll meet a highly varied group of characters that you wouldn’t be likely to come in contact with otherwise. The trip remains one of my fondest memories and one that helped to shape my view of the country.
Fond memories not withstanding, if you had been there to see our tour from Colorado to Massachusetts you would not ever mistake me for a biking expert, the sheer amount of bad choices I made are staggering in hindsight. Additionally, it wasn’t that hard, we only had a couple really long days; we stopped frequently including a couple days when we did not ride at all. Lastly, since that trip almost a decade ago, I have not done a bike ride that took more than a day, not one. I am sure now when folks hear that yes I did a cross country trip (once I’ll remind them) and also participated in Ride the Rockies (also only once) it will only cement mistaken belief that I am “really into cycling” By the way, I ever start referring to my self as a “cyclist” in these posts please find me and beat me about the head and shoulders with my own helmet; it’s as bad a bartenders insisting on being call mixologists. Anyway, the reason I say all this by way of introduction is because I want you to know that what I say next is not the result of my peak athletic shape, bicycle acumen or anything of the kind.
So far, this ride has been easy. I know. I’m as surprised as anyone. The credit is due to the incredible Ride the Rockies team; I realize that they’ve been at this for a while, so they should know what they’re doing, but the amount of support riders have on this tour has been absolutely fantastic. Each portion of the ride has aid stations for food and water, each located perfectly in spots that are not only ideal for a break milage wise but also that offer beautiful views. There are constant patrols by support vehicles for riders with mechanical problems or who might be too weary to travel on. There are numerous medical riders; I see several everyday, if a participant has the bad luck to go down help is never far away. RTR has made the first two ride days as easy as they could possibly be. Not to mention the logistics at each host community has got to be incredibly tough to manage two sights in every town, one base camp for riders, usually a school, a festival area usually a short distance away, shuttles for riders’ bags and more. Luckily though, the very friendly, Elizabeth Norris, the RTR Community Relations manager is handling it with aplomb.
I should also stop to say that the host communities have been great, Gunnison, Hotchkiss and now Carbondale. Working with the local community groups to bring our beers to a mix of riders and area residents eager to share a pint with their guests has been great. I’ve loved pouring Pedal Push for both those intimately acquainted with our brewery and those secluded mountain folk that have never heard of Odell Brewing.
So it’s fair to say that I’m having a great time and it hasn’t been too tough yet; of course the first two days have been short-ish and Tuesday is going to be a bear. Carbondale to Leadville, about 90 miles – ALL UPHILL. So I’ll let you know how that goes… Cheers!
Todd Ewing is the Odell Brewing Company representative in Minnesota. He is cautiously optimistic that he’ll be able to finish Ride the Rockies strong, but is not taking anything for granted. Tweet at him: @OdellMN
Todd’s Ride the Rockies Journal: Part 2
It’s finally here! Ride the Rockies is upon us, and the start in Gunnison could not be better as far as I concerned. I have a soft spot in my heart for the Gunnison Valley, growing up on the western slope I spent many summer days riding the Gunnison River through Black Canyon, my folks went to college at Western State and when I was still was stationed in Colorado, Gunnison and Crested Butte were among my favorite towns in which to spend time. The low-key vibe in Gunnison is hardly rare in Colorado mountain towns, but because it’s not really a resort town (Crested Butte is a half hour up the road and you have to go just outside of town for fishing and whitewater) it has a lived in comfort that many of the more well known Colorado mountain towns tend to lack.
Since I have such an affinity for Gunny, I wanted to roll into town a little early to relax and catch up with some friends and of course enjoy a beer or two. I arrived in Gunnison Friday night, and the ordeal of getting to the start of the ride may almost equal the hill climbs. I left Minnesota very early Thursday morning, and drove straight through to Fort Collins, my traveling companion, my dog Regina was agreeable enough, but not the greatest conversationalist. Thus the thirteen and a half hour drive felt very long indeed, I would now have to judge it as my absolute limit for traveling by car. I might be able to stomach a longer haul if I was not the only driver, but for me, sitting for 12 or more hours is what the CIA might call euphemistically a, “Stress Position.” After I arrived in Colorado, I was able to catch up with some friends, including a few folks from Minnesota that were coincidentally in Fort Collins. Friday was an additional 5 hours from Fort Collins to Gunnison, once I rolled into town though, I was able to immediately forget about my intense dislike of extended windshield time. My first stop was the Gunnison Brewery, the local brewpub and one of my favorite places to enjoy a beer in town. The Gunnison Brewery also has a Minnesota connection; one of their brewing alumni is now brewing at Fitger’s Brewhouse in Duluth. As per usual the Gunnison Brewery provided a springboard for a great evening of catching up with Odell co-workers, old friends and meeting new ones, well worth the effort to arrive early.
The weather Saturday could not have been better; the 2012 Ride the Rockies kick off was exactly what you’d want it to be. The registration was easy and the party downtown was fantastic. 80 degrees, an ice-cold beer, (those with discerning taste were of course enjoying our own Pedal Push, the pilot batch beer we brewed exclusively for this year’s ride.) and 2,000 riders meeting each other swapping stories and making predictions for the week made for a great evening in the mountains. Of course the abundance of great food and music didn’t hurt much either. The only challenge was to not indulge too much, since after all, a big bike ride on Sunday was looming, I can say that I was just on the edge of imprudence, adjusting to the higher altitude is necessary for not only for climbing the passes.
So now the hard part begins, Sunday’s ride will take us from Gunnison to Hotchkiss, a great little town at the southern base of Mt Sopris. We’ll head past Blue Mesa Reservoir through the Black Canyon and then north to our destination. It’s about an 80-mile ride with a small (relatively) elevation gain. I fear that I’m not going to be quite ready, but this should be mild ride compared to what is to come over the course of the week; it will no doubt prove a good intro day for the tour. Check in this space over the week to find out how it goes. Cheers!
Todd Ewing is the Odell Brewing Company representative in Minnesota. He is extremely worried that living at low altitude and have no hills to climb during training has left him ill prepared for 6 days of climbing mountain passes. Tweet at him: @OdellMN
Todd’s Ride the Rockies Journal: Part 1
Hello and welcome to My Odell Brewing – Ride the Rockies journal. In what is likely to be several meandering, self-indulgent entries I hope to give you, dear reader, a little insight into why so many people are keen to ride 450 some odd miles up 12,000 ft mountain passes, why I chose to ride and why ridiculous things like this are a big part of Odell Brewing’s UnBottled philosophy.
RTR is a Colorado tradition dating back to 1986, when 1,500 riders took part in a ride from Grand Junction to Denver, Today the registration limit has been upped slightly to 2,000. Riders are chosen each year from a pool of 4,000-5,000 hopefuls; those not chosen by lottery to ride in one year have twice the chance to be chosen the following year. This sort of “make up” weighted lottery system must have seemed cold comfort to some not chosen to ride and in recent years another week long tour of Colorado has popped up, it starts each year in the day after RTR and from the RTR end point. Some committed cyclists will even ride both tours back to back. This I must say, seems like showing off to me, but this kind of devotion to play is not uncommon for many, and these are our people.
While as a Colorado native I’m tempted to assert that this kind of aggressive outdoor attitude is something that comes from living is such a beautiful state, one with the gorgeous weather and even better vistas, the truth is that people like this come from everywhere; indeed RTR attracts riders from every state. Hopefully we’ll hear from many of them over the course of these posts.
So there are a few thousand people that think 7 or so hours a day on a bike sounds like a fine idea, but what does that have to do with Odell Brewing Company? For that matter, what is UnBottled? At OBC we love beer, it’s our first passion. We love brewing our own takes on classic styles like 5 Barrel Pale Ale and our IPA. We also love innovation, brewing beers that don’t fit any specific style, like Footprint and Deconstruction. As much as we love beer in any context (I often enjoy a small beer with breakfast), it can’t be the only we do; so what do we do when we’re not brewing great beer? The short answer is: Play. That’s Unbottled; because not only is play awesome, it makes beer better. There are two things that playing does to make our beer love blossom even bigger. First, when you play hard you earn your malty reward. Whether it’s after a day on the river, a big bike ride, a challenging trail you just hiked, or maybe just a particularly competitive game of kickball, beer just tastes better when your rewarding yourself for a good ball kicked. Second, it’s the people we share our beers with, family, friends, co-workers; these are our jogging buddies, tennis partners, and volleyball teammates. Beer is better when shared than when drunk alone, and a 90 Shilling is much better when celebrating a softball win or a good day on the course.
Why do 5,000 people enter a lottery to get into RTR? Anyone could take a week and go ride a far as they’d like through Colorado or anywhere else for that matter. It’s not just the ride but also the camaraderie of a couple thousand other like-minded folks. Yes the ride will be tough and beautiful, but it will be each evening after the ride probably over a celebratory brew, that existing friendships will be strengthened and new friendships will be forged. It’s the shared experience the makes RTR the great event that it is. So OBC will be there, we’ll share our beers (the best way to carbo load if you ask me) including Pedal Push, our Pilot batch brewed especially for RTR. I’ll be there too, and though there’s no doubt I’ll be saddle sore and exhausted, I’ll be looking to enjoy a few beers every night with my new friends.
Are you riding this year? Do you have questions about the tour? E-mail me at [email protected] I’d love to talk with you. Follow me on twitter: @OdellMN for updates during the ride.
– Todd
Todd Ewing is the Odell Brewing Company representative in Minnesota. He is extremely worried that living at low altitude and have no hills to climb during training has left him ill prepared for 6 days of climbing mountain passes.
