Ride the Rockies ends
 

https://ridetherockies.com/

Ride the Rockies, an organized bicycle ride in Colorado has been permanently cancelled. The 2024 ride had been cancelled due to low registration but now the organizers announced a permanent stop.

I've done the ride four times and enjoyed it for the visits to Colorado small/resort towns and riding through some scenic areas. Supported rides have their own pro/con but it was a nice change from doing self-supported touring. The earlier offshoot Pedal the Plains in eastern Colorado was also cancelled a few years ago.

Weren't the organizers trying to limit the number of participants not too long ago? Sounds like they succeeded only too well.

My trips on RTR were all earlier (1994, 2005, 2008, 2009) and at least several of these years there were lotteries due to overflow or riders.

Not quite sure what all happened these past years, but
- It was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic
- It was sold in 2021 by the Denver Post - https://www.coloradoan.com/story/spo...ts/6378331001/. Prior to the sale, my email in 2021 urged me to register because the 2021 ride was almost sold out.
- The new owners announced an interim director in 2022 and a new director in 2023.
- It was cancelled for 2024 year for low registration and cancelled for good this month.

It looks like the new owners only ran it twice (2022, 2023) before cancelling (2024, 2025+...) so it would be interesting to hear from someone who went on those rides.

The week-long Cycle Oregon event met a similar fate a few years ago after more than 30 years. (I did the 25th in 2012 and 3 other editions.) Demographics, costs, ability to find towns willing to host over 2,000 people, and getting volunteers were the main factors, from what I understand.

Also, the Michigander, a week long ride placed somewhere in lower Michigan also ended after 2023. I think it had a run of 30 or more years before the League of Michigan Bicyclists took it over only a few years ago. It used to fill up and we participated at least 4 times but the numbers just continued to decline the last few years, and for good reasons, but I won't go into that.

Question, do you think that the aging of the cyclists that used to participate in these events is the problem ? I know recently whenever I attend these type of organized rides around the country, the average rider age seems to be in the 60's. I don't see a lot of youth attending these events, of course they are more likely to be working full time and can't get away as easily but I wonder if it's something that the younger generations are not interested in ?

I almost did RtR in 1999 when I as out west and had the time. Ended up doing the Bike Tour of Colorado instead, which was a great ride. RtR was a start/finish in a different locations, which logistically was more difficult to deal with. BTC was a loop and I enjoyed that. Sorry to see that RtR is no longer. BTC only lasted a few years into the 2000’s then ended as well.

I do think changing demographics have a lot to do with it. When I did my first Cycle Oregon ("CO") in 2002, there were a lot more younger riders compared to when I did my final one in 2012. By 2012, people (on the CO forum) admittedly expected rides to the top of the harder climbs. There was also a shift toward more luxuries, like the tent and porter service, where you paid to to have a company provide and set up a tent for you and tote your bag to it from the luggage truck area. That service sold out quicker than the ride did. (In 2012, the ride sold out in under 1 hr.) The beer garden also became much more popular as the years progressed. Many more people hanging out there for long periods of time compared to 2002. In 2002, we camped two nights on cattle ranches in the middle of nowhere. One place looked one of those drought-stricken refugee camps in Africa you used to see on the news. I believe many people on later editions would have been appalled at such arrangements, despite that fact that you could almost see more stars than sky in the middle of the night. And there was an increased desire for indoor accommodations. I think that was all due to an aging population. As discussed in another thread in this forum, I think that is why you are seeing Adventure Cycling moving more and more to supported tours that offer more amenities.

I saw something similar on the Bon Ton Roulet in the Finger Lakes region of NY. The first time I did it in 2006, there was only one day of the week-long event where you didn't have to break camp, and any arrangements for indoor accommodations were left solely up to you. When I did it again in 2014, the event included two nights each at two different universities, with loop rides on the "non-move" days. The ride organizers also made arrangements for dorm rooms, which you could purchase for additional $$. I believe that formula continues today. Unfortunately, the formula limits the routing and overnight possibilities some.

With that said, I wouldn't be surprised if today's "employment situation" is also a factor. These days, vacation time here is limited compared to other developed countries. I did my first week-long, supported tour at age 31. I didn't think twice about taking a week off from my job at a large law firm. Many years later, I still participated in a two-day charity ride as a member of the firm's team. A lot of years, a few of the young associates told me they were only riding one of the two days because of work.

I think Dave Tuz got banned from CGOAB because he posted that he never rode with a helmet.
But he once had a journal called "Uphill and Against the Wind" - which is the best title ever.
Unfortunately, it seems folks don't care to ride uphill against the wind any more.

Trans America Bicycle Trail E-W, by Dave T

The youth are not interested in guided tours. The few who are, can't afford it.

Who you talking 'bout?

Ah - we had a wonderful RTR on our tandem in 2010. That climb out of Ouray was memorable. In fact, the entire tour was fantastic.

I also rode BTC four times, last one in 2013 and also enjoyed it. Smaller, centralized meals with less community involvement and loop routes.

As far as causes go - I still see a number of states type rides (e g. BRAN, BRAG, of course RAGBRII, ...) so there are examples here.

I speculate multiple reasons at play here:

1. If you actually try doing this as a money making business then it can be tough, not very frequent, logistically complex to scale, etc.
2. So if not a business you start to rely on particular individuals, volunteer groups. That can be good in developing a real spirit and continuity. However at some point people get older, move on and do other things.
3. So either the business approach or the community/foundation approach can be susceptible to disruptions and need to change/adapt. These last few years have had multiple disruptions. The pandemic perhaps the biggest but also increased interest in gravel riding or backpacking and e-bikes changes sizes of the available target markets. There is then a tension between trying to mutate to different markets vs. continuing to extend the past tradition/approach of current demographics.
4. I do think there can be a natural aging of both participants and staff/leadership but I also see it as a mix of attracting some of the same people because they like doing it again and again - and this tension of how much to experiment with new things vs. keep running the favorites.
5. I had seen an increase in the catered approach but can't completely tell which is the cause and which is the effect (e.g. are there more catered approaches because the same people are getting older - or are rides attracting more older people because there is more catered options?)

I'm not sure if the numbers still hold true but I once heard the organizers of the "Ride Illinois" week long organized ride, state that 20 years ago, the average rider age was in the low 40's, and each year since then, the average age went up basically one year every year, meaning they were basically getting the same people back year after year and after 20 years, the average riders age was now in the low 60's. And btw, that ride is also way down from what it was originally.

I rode the 2021 edition (my only one), and from my saddle, the new director was unfairly skewered (and subsequently removed) over logistical issues --remember this was still pandemic-ish, and mask mandates were (here in CO), a county-by-county, city-by-city issue in the summer of 2021. As close as a couple weeks prior to the ride we were being told to expect to wear (the very nice ride-swag) mask anytime not on the bike. By the time the ride started, mandates were mostly lifted, but logistics were still an issue --there was more than one morning where riders arrived at aid stations before the local support had porta-pottys there. And don't get me started about the shuttle issues from the hotels in Telluride to the start in Norwood. Oh and there was a heat wave too.

Anyhoo, the ride/route itself was gorgeous, in one of the perfect corners of not just our state, but the country.

I was registered for last year's ride, and my theories on why it was cancelled: 1) the marketing effort was non-existent. Seriously, it's like if you weren't already "in the know" you wouldn't know about it and more likely, 2) the route had no Rockies. Starting in Steamboat and riding west (away from the Rockies), then south to Fruita was going to be an interesting route, including a serious 100mi gravel leg and Dinosaur Natl Monument. I was looking forward to it as I haven't spent any time on two wheels in that part of the state. But for folks coming in from elsewhere? Why "Ride the Rockies" when there are no Rockies involved?

(and while I was researching the towns, I did come across a local forum with more than a couple posts from locals not wanting the impacts of a couple thousand cyclists et al passing through. Shrug)

Then there were the Colorado towns that never wanted the ride --Aspen, I'm looking at you.

So I'm sad it's cancelled. But the next few years are filled with other things that eat all my vacation time, so I wouldn't be participating anyway.

Organizing these events is a thankless task in many ways, and more so for those who volunteer. I’ve no idea where these volunteers came from, the BtC 1999 was a fund raiser, so possibly that’s why they had many. I recall day 2 of the ‘99 ride, Ouray to Durango, raining and cold. It was 36 degrees and raining at the rest stop on Engineer Pass and the volunteers manning the rest stop were not prepared for that weather and were freezing. As well, conditions got bad and the CO State Police closed and cancelled that days ride on top of Molas Pass, trapping something like 1200 riders in Silverton. I was one of maybe 300 ahead of the closure and got thru to Durango. The ride organizers then had to round up all the rental trucks that moved luggage to go pick up 1200 bikes in Silverton, plus school buses to get 1200 people, I spent the day unloading truckloads of bikes. Then day 4 to Creede was a cluster**** as the organizers had not been informed that the scheduled camping location, which was a county facility on the south of town, was closed for renovation that summer. The people of Creede then decided that everbody’s yards would be the campsite, so a thousand people camped in every house in town. It was an amazing experience. I was sad the BtC ended up going out of business, they ran a good event.

I'm the Board secretary of the club which puts on RAMROD, Ride Around Mt. Rainier in One Day, about 154 miles and 9000'. I forget the exact year it started, but also about 30 years ago. It's non-profit of course. We always have many more folks who'd like to ride than we have slots, being limited to 800 riders by the Park. We always have more than that who'd like to ride, so we have a lottery and a wait list for those who don't get in.

We have riders of all reasonable ages, 20-80 y.o., probably heaviest in the 30-40 range. The last couple years we have been getting more women than participated in the past, a good sign. We offer a series of free training rides to get folks in condition for it. We seldom have to sag riders off the course. Our volunteer Board is currently working on getting younger with decent success. We could use a few more folks on the Board, in the 30-60 range, so if you're local and interested, message me.

Our club depends on about 200 volunteers to put the ride on. If you volunteer, you get a bypass for the lottery, so that's how we get volunteers, who still have to pay the entry fee, probably about $180 for next year. The Club tries to break even on the ride, and it's a somewhat famous lovely ride. I've ridden it many times. https://www.redmondcycling.club

I think one-days are a different animal. Events like D2R2 in MA is still going strong. It’s when you have to put on a week-long event that you run into staffing and other problems.

That's too bad. RTR had been on my list of rides to do in retirement. The annual North Dakota CANDISC/CaNDak ride is going the same way. I've been under the average age of riders ever since my first ride in '95, which was 34 that year. The ride peaked at 500 riders for 2-3 years. Last year it was down to 62 but rebounded a bit to around 90 this year.

The current "owners" took over and renamed it CaNDak in '18. They are wrestling coaches and had little idea of what they were doing. They haven't improved a whole lot, including absolutely no marketing of it. So they're just relying that we'll keep showing up. Last year they didn't even bother sending out an email until mid-June for the early August ride. "We only have 16 registered for the ride and we can't hold it unless there are at least 45!" That plea did work, and this year they did actually send out an email in January.

I did CANDISC way back in ‘06 or ‘’07. I really liked that event. I called it “The Little Ride That Could”. How else could you hear an authentic polka band, visit the birthplace of Lawrence Welk and see Wally, the world’s largest walleye, all in one week. And one night we had authentic Germans from Russia food prepared by locals. And talk about low traffic roads. Even the 8 miles we had to do on I-94 heading east from Steele were no problem. The first rest stop on the first day was in the basement of a church. The “Church Ladies” had baked all sorts of goodies and made real lemonade.

I don't know much about RtR, but I have a few guesses. Most of the early state rides were promoted and organized by local/state newspapers to increase readership. Not too many local newspapers, if any, still organize the rides. Gannett, publically-traded the national newspaper company, has bought and cancelled various rides. Since Gannett is a publically-traded company, they are beholdened to stockholders who always want profits increased. If RtR and others do not produce a sufficient profit, it WILL get cancelled or sold unfortunately.

Once that happens, a private group or person buys the ride and they too want to make a profit, thus raising the rates to register dramatically. For instance, FreeWheel is Oklahoma's ride. Way back in 1979, it was like $10 to cover the cost of the mailings and such. The local newspaper, Tulsa World, organized and sponsored the ride. As a youngster I helped plan it and rode it. The ride was the "old-style", i.e. a 7-day cross state ride where your luggage was carried for you but you were responsible for setting up your tent, tearing it down, etc. While you were fully expected to ride the entire way, a SAG wagon was available at the end of the day. Showers were usually at a local high school and/or local swimming pool but one time it was a garden hose. The ride grew to a max of about 2500-3000. Now, it is a 5-day ride, and it costs $225 and is limited to 300 I think. There is the ever present optional "set your tent up service" service which adds hundreds and takes the best spots. My point is it has gotten a lot more expensive to cover the costs since it is not sponsored. Therefore, people are not going to go as much.

Finally, a lot of these rides have become more of a party vs an adventure. It is not cool enough for the younger and too much party for the older.

^^This^^

I think it echoes some of the things I experienced as CO changed. That ride was started by a Welsh writer for an OR newspaper to promote tourism after continued deforestation was no longer sustainable. I believe a private company took it over late in its life.

I suspect one reason the Bon Ton Roulet has been able to keep going is because it’s out on by a YMCA branch, making it pretty easy to get volunteers. And there is no pressure to maximize profit.

There were as well 2 east coast multi-day tours, Bike Virginia or something, same in Maine, "Bicycle Tour of Maine", also a week long ride. Virginia did a system similar to Bon Ton Roulet where you camped at the same location for a few days and did loops from one location, then moved to a different camping location, did a few days of loops. I'm told it worked very well. Maine did a move every day tour, your gear went on a truck, they had SAG support, but looped around Maine to finish at the start. I think these 2 tours were victims of the pandemic and did not start back up after that.

I have done 8 various "cross state" state rides during my 45+ years of touring. Most did a one-way, new town every night format.

My favorites did a figure 8 (Ohio's GOBA is one) where they stayed 1 night in each town except for nights 3 & 4. This allowed a lot of options for riders. If you could do the entire trip due to time, you had a choice a two 3-day rides, two 4-day rides, or the full 7-day ride. The 4th day had optional half and full centuries. What I liked about it is that you met new faces most days; two, had a lot more family (adults with their kids) oriented; and three the miles were quite reasonable, something like 50 max with even a day in the high 30s I think.

My least favored was the grueling rideathon of Nebraska's with their long days and mandatory full century days (hardest cross state ride by far for me), It had something like 502 miles or some absurd amount. Almost EVERYONE (not joking) would start getting up at 4am. Not fun when trying to sleep and all you heard is Zip zip ziiiiip zip zip; poles clanking, people yelling to their buddies. Not even the *&^%$ birds were up. I was almost always the last one out of camp at 6am and I was only leaving then because that was when the luggage truck was leaving. Miserable cold ride.

Part of the Ride the Rockies (and other event type rides) problem in Colorado is that the State Patrol requires a certain number of troopers per participants. I can’t recall what the number is and am too lazy to look it up, but the troopers have to be off-duty and are paid at the overtime rate. It’s a large drag on the finances of any bicycle event and has killed many events here in Colorado.

I’ve never participated in the Ride the Rockies. Never wanted to. My biggest problem with the ride is that it had too much “de France” and not enough “tour”. It seemed like too much of a race to the showers for my tastes. I’m also not a fan of having someone set my agenda. Going from point A to point B shouldn’t be the goal. What happens between point A and point B is the important bit.