This ride was so much more fun when I knew less about it. The photos were wonderful and the website alluring. I have a cousin near Vail and she said, “Well, you could do it but you won’t have fun.” If it’s not fun, I’m out. I’ll find another ride! But congrats to those of you on this thread who rode the Triple Bypass. I bet you are so happy to have done it and maybe you are also happy it’s over. It’s fun to talk ride plans in winter, though. So keep your memories/stories coming, if you like! I’m not as hearty as our Mathias, who is out there sliding his way into work on his bike on the ice! This Michigander is only going out with her YaxTrax and winter boots and stomping around on foot. L What Justus , Bill et al have to say about adjusting to the altitude makes sense and is good to pay attention to. As well as a good training plan...even though I know you are very fit. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/travel-to-high-altitudes mentions that heavy exercise (Triple Bypass certainly qualifies) should be avoided for the first 48 hours at high altitude.
Hey Leah,
I have ridden the triple Bypass and I did ride it on a bike far closer to one of my Rivendells than one of my road bikes. Specifically a Ti Lynskey Cooper CX with steel Vicious Canti fork and 32c tires. I do not try to build light bikes as I lean into performance and comfort over weight. Ti is an upgrade for me, carbon generally less so.
I would not say suffering from start to finish but as an unacclimated flatlander, time spent above 8500ft does impact after awhile. I was fine up and down pass 1 and started to feel the elevation by the climb to Loveland during pass 2. From that point it was tough the rest of the way on flats or climbs, even if bombing the mountains on fat ties after each pass was a blast and those fat tires and my heavier bike left many road bikes in the dust each descent.
In the end, I climbed all 3 passes but had to bail at the top of Vail as we had a shuttle lined up and my tough day had me running late. All downhill form there, but no time. I bring this up as logistics is key for a ride like this and ideally you have a 2 cars to get one at the start and one at the end as the shuttle on the back side was tough after a long day (although a gret way for some added beausage, if desired).
My recommend, if you want to ease into a ride like this would be to check out the Buffalo Classic in Boulder. I think the Epic is down from 120 miles to 100 now and I assume it still goes up Boulder canyon. Not quite the Triple, but a good ride with some great views and a lot less time in what I consider the low oxygen zone above 8500ft.
Feel free to reach out of any additional questions.
-Justus Mpls, MN
>>
This is no time for biking.
Pshaw.
There's at least three of us biked to work today, and we're an hour NE of you :)
>>
Can a Riv reasonably do it?
The Riv will not be the problem.
Seriously: I have no direct experience of this ride, or any organized mountain ride of that length.
A couple cycling buddies of mine have done Ride the Rockies, but they were STRONG then.
I do know that climbing is different that rolling, and it's hard to train for climbing in mid-Michigan.
When I lived in Germany I would ride into hill country, where I had a standard route that had two long-and-hard climbs with descents in between, and I was amazed at how my body got trained to put out power quickly and then recover. It got a lot easier with time. Interval training might prepare you for it. Everyone hates intervals. There's a reason.
Some thought should go into a training regimen so you can actually enjoy the ride. Not much point doing it for any other reason.
What follows is my opinion on bike selection:
#1 is fit. Are you comfortable, can you pedal for many hours and be happy?
#2 is tires. Figure out what tires you want to ride and pick a bike that can run them.
I have more than one set of Marathons and I use them a lot.
NO WAY would I do a 200 km road ride on them; for the Bypass I'd go 32 mm Conti GPs. It does make a difference.
Marathons will ride through glass and not puncture, which is why I have them on my commuters. They do take a little extra effort, and on that day, it won't be welcome. I'd ride them on a loaded tour, certainly, but I'd pick the size carefully. I would not use them on a rando-type ride. Yikes.
Somewhere down the list is weight... but it is ON the list.
You really don't want an extra 12 lbs to lug up those ascents.
Whether the bike weighs 19 lbs or 24 lbs is pretty meaningless.
I will confess that I've dumped water out of my bottle before a 20% climb.
Might have been just symbolic.
cheers -m
On Thursday, January 2, 2025 at 3:40:16 PM UTC-5 aeroperf wrote:
I personally think you’re slightly crazy for going for this one, but, ahh, youth. It appears to be a well-run event.
Since you’ve mentioned before about taking the bike on AMTRAK to get to/from events, the California Zephyr goes from Chicago to Denver.
I haven't done this one, but I've done a few up-and-down tours. You might want to try the route on Zwift or Peloton a few times before July 12th. And put Schwalbe Marathon tires on your Riv now, to get used to their ride. Oh, and get new brake pads - two sets.
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