eight weeks

This week: Ride The Rockies riders pedal from Telluride to Colorado Springs. And BAK riders leave the Colorado border near Johnson City and head east for Galena and the Missouri state line.

Next week: Bicycle Tour of Colorado starts a loop out of Canon City with overnight stops in Buena Vista, Crested Butte and more.

Which could only mean that in eight weeks.......the Colorado Rocky Mountain Bike Tour will kick off it's seventh running.

Rabbit Ears Pass and Cameron Pass will be new territory for CRMBT. As well as the last climb on day 3, Berthoud Pass.

When this tour started in Edwards in 2010, I took the opportunity to add another mountain pass to my climbing resume. I drove over Berthoud to Winter Park, checked into the hotel and rode back up the north side. I didn't get started until mid-afternoon, so I was lucky to not get caught in the rain. The clouds started to look kind of ominous while I was at the top, so I didn't linger.

Other than being near the end of a long day, I think this will be a fun climb. Then Rabbit Ears will offer a great descent into Steamboat Springs. And the last day's century will take riders over Cameron Pass on the way back to Loveland. This pass in a remote part of the state is sure to offer some amazing scenery.

Eight weeks.........