Mountain - Plains - '08 Copper Triangle ride, Aug. 2nd?

Any roadies, or otherwise, out there gonna hit this one up? I have never done this ride and it sounds fun and supports a good cause of course.


The Course

The Colorado Cyclist Copper Triangle course is a spectacular 78-mile loop cresting three Colorado Mountain passes - Fremont Pass (elevation 11,318’), Tennessee Pass (elevation 10,424’) and Vail Pass (elevation 10,666’). The course passes three ski areas and is littered with historic mining outposts and camp Hale, the training ground for the famous 10th Mountain Division. The total elevation gain for the course is 5,981 ft.

I'll be there. This will be my second year. It's a beautiful course too.

i've ridden the course but never the event.
actually i didt it backwards (copper > vail > leadville)
really beautiful ride. one of the best loops in colorado.

I ride that loop just about every time I'm out there. I used to do the reverse but was getting caught around Leadville by storms that made the ride up Freemont a bit dicey. Going the direction they do the ride, at least gets you the Vail bike path if weather does stir up later in the day. I usually don't start as early as they're starting the ride. It is a good cause but, read carefully. The $100 registration is for the ride and you're expected to donate to the cause separately. I would just send a $100 check to Phinney's organization and do the ride on your own. Coming up that side of Vail Pass really kicks your butt too. Still bits of paint on the road from the Coors Classic days. With Leadville, Minturn, Vail and Copper you really don't need support, though it will be fun with 2000 other cyclists on the road.

A couple of days ago I drove this route in preparation for the annual Children's Hospital Courage Classic which is this coming weekend. There is a few miles of torn up road from Leadville to the start of the climb up Tennessee Pass. They are resurfacing the road.