Western Spirit Cycling

Yeah, so it may be the middle of winter still and Independence Pass may have just gotten another 24″ of snow, but I’ve got a brand new $8,000 15lb Specialized road bike just waiting to be broken in!

While all of the above is true, the reason I’m writing about road biking in February is because the season is almost upon us. Really. Last week I rode twice. In shorts. Ok, so two days later it was snowing, but we’ve definitely turned the corner here in Moab and you can feel the sun rays becoming a little more intense as the weeks go by. This weekend is Poison Spider & Yeti Bike’s annual Spring Thaw event -which is the 1st kickoff event for the local cycling community. Organized rides, parties and more await the eager riders who give up powder skiing this time of year for some early season miles. Next up is our Skinny Tire Fest in less than a month and after that, it’s game on. Onto the professional scene we’ve got the annual Tour of Califonia starting up this weekend as well. Some of the best professional road teams in the world will converge for what’s promising to be one of the best stage races we’ve seen stateside - possibly ever. With Lance making his comeback with team Astana, and the best of team CSC coming over to compete, there’s sure to be some quality action.

Which brings me back to riding road bikes up high passes in the Rocky Mountains. Is there anything better in the whole USA? Tough question, but I know that come July, one of the funnest things you can do is be on one of our Rocky Mountain Loop road tours in the heart of Colorado’s Elk Mountains. The route was handpicked by yours truly after living in Crested Butte for eight years. It’s combines some of the most challenging climbs with some of the most beautiful scenic byways the whole state has to offer. We stay in an eclectic mix of lodging that’s comfortable and affordable but not overly pampered. The riding is first on the agenda with the wine, cheese & shopping coming in behind. Doing it in July (during Le Tour) is extra fun because every morning before riding, or every evening after riding you can tune into the Versus network for a little extra “motivation” from the guys over in France. Watching Lance do battle with the best of the rest makes you go just a little harder when you’re on your own little vision quest later that afternoon.

This year Western Spirit has one date July 13th-17th with space still available and I’m pretty sure it’s the same week the Tour de France stages go right through the Alps. There’s other dates available as well, so check with our office, but if you want a solid challenge with 4,000-7,000′ of climbing/day over 50-90 miles, then check out ourwebsite for a detailed itinerary.