Excursions - Looking for some relaxation before or after the event?

• City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Park Trails - Many of these within 5-10 miles of the ride start.
• Boulder County Trails - Many within a 30-45 minutes' drive, including trails in the mountains and mountain foothills.
• Rocky Mountain National Park - Peaks up to 14,000 ft., Trail Ridge Road (up to 12,000 ft.) and numerous trails.
• Mt. Evans Road and Wilderness - Paved road to the 14,000 ft. summit, through a high-mountain wilderness area.

• Prairie Dog State Park - On the event route, west of Norton, Kansas!

• Day 1: 251 miles to Atwood KS (trending downhill)
• Day 2: 219 miles back to Atwood (turning around at Kensington)
• Day 3: 180 miles to Byers (roughest stretch of the ride - uphill and exposed)
• Day 4: 103 miles to the finish

As you can infer from the Services section, most restaurants, stores, and service stations tend to open early ... and close early, as you'd expect of a ranching and farming region. (On top of this, remember that you enter the Central Time Zone not far into Kansas, and so lose an hour on the clock, in terms of opening/closing times.)

If you reach a place to eat or buy supplies towards late afternoon or early evening, consider stopping there and stocking up. For example, the first recommended stage passes through St. Francis, KS, 215 miles into the day - there are plenty of stores, cafes, and restaurants to choose from. By contrast, you may be reaching the first bagdrop point, Atwood KS, at or after closing time of such establishments. Riders in the past have also started early each day, with 3-5 predawn hours of riding, stopping for a hearty breakfast between 5am-7am when rancher cafes open. We would like to EMPHASIZE that riders should think ahead and plan ahead for food and water, and overnight accomodations.

Boulder to Atwood (251 miles) - The first recommended stage is the longest, as you're fresh, the course trends downhill, and you will typically not encounter onerous headwinds - this puts you in a good position for the rest of the ride, when you are tireder, going uphill and possibly upwind, or some combination of these.

Atwood - Kensington - Atwood (219 miles) - The second section is at lower elevation (more oxygen! more humidity!), may be warmer, with more trees, and to some extent more services. If things go well, you could consider going beyond Atwood to St. Francis (45 miles further, but uphill).

Atwood - Byers (180 miles)) - This section could feel like the toughest, with elevation gain over rollers, sparser trees and services (especially between Idalia and Byers), and likely a good breeze from some direction - at this stage you may start to pick up westerly winds, whereas to the east, the winds are more northerly or southerly. If things go well and you reach Byers early, you could consider going on, but there are few motel accomodations along the route. NOTE: There are no services between Anton and Byers (50 hilly miles). In addition, the Anton store closes at 5pm. If you miss this store, that makes for 75 miles without services, from Cope to Byers.

Byers - Finish (103 miles) - With the Rocky Mountains in sight, this is a more populated area with a few more trees. It should be relatively easy to find services.

• Bagdrops 1 & 2 (mile 251 & 470): Atwood KS - IT'LL DO MOTEL Tel # 785-626-9615, Atwood KS 67730 - Look for signage pointing to the checkpoint room. - Located on the north side of US-36 midway through town (base of descent). Sleeping places provided, in some cases two riders per room (queen-sized bed), included in fee. The event has booked the entire motel.
• Bagdrop 3 (mile 650): Byers CO - LONGHORN MOTEL (Budget Host Inn) Tel # 303-822-5205, 456 N, Main St. Byers, CO 80103 - Look for signage pointing to the checkpoint room. Make your own reservations if you intend to sleep here.

• You are allowed one small duffel bag for Byers and one larger duffel bag for Atwood.
• Please label each bag with the destination (ATWOOD or BYERS) and your name. We plan to hand out labels with the destination name at the bike inspection.
• You may hand off your drop bags at the inspection/orientation or at the ride start.
• You may retrieve your drop bags from the Comfort Inn beginning Saturday afternoon, September 13.

• RTD-Denver (Regional Transportation District) Bus Service - RTD-Denver offers dependable, comfortable service, $11 fare (no charge for bikes), and stops at the Louisville-Superior Park-and-Ride near the Last Chance start/finish (it will stop on the north side of US-36; the Comfort Inn host motel is north across the parking lot, beyond the cinema) as well as Boulder, etc. This is the "AB" route. RTD info - click on "skyRide". Note: returning to the airport, the bus will stop on the south side of US-36. There is a covered pedestrian walkway, with elevator, crossing US-36.
• There are also airport van shuttles, which will drop you at your motel, in the $25 range (plus possible charge for bikes), reservations not required. Inquire in the arrival area.
• Cycling from DIA is legal, signposted, and there are broad shoulders to ride leaving the airport. It is about 40 miles cycling from DIA to Louisville/Superior.