My bike-it list

Posted by Andrew Hartsock October 2, 2009 at 8:31 a.m.

I loathe the phrase “Bucket List,” primarily because it conjures images of that awful, awful movie of the same name with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.

But it hasn’t kept me from forming a bucket list of bike rides I’d like to complete before I kick the bucket.

I’ll call it my bike-it list.

Fortunately, I knocked out two of them this year — the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, the 50-mile ride over two 10,000-foot mountain passes between Durango and Silverton, Colo., and the Moonlight Ramble, the seven-mile midnight bike ride in St. Louis.

Another is the Hotter’n Hell 100, a 100-mile ride in the heat of the summer in Wichita Falls, Texas, which I completed a couple of years ago.

But there still are plenty on my life list.

Some are there because of the epic challenge. Some just sound like fun. Others are what I consider “classics,” like the Hotter’n Hell 100, which drew more than 10,000 riders the year I did it.

While there are some rides I’d like to be able to say I completed — like the awesome La Ruta De Los Conquistadores, the brutal mountain-bike race in Costa Rica — uh, no, ain’t gonna happen.

And though I also someday would like to ride some of the classic climbs of the Tour de France — like, say, up Mont Ventoux or Alpe d’Huez — or ride the cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix ride or complete another ride I just heard about, the Iron Curtain Trail, I have enough American rides on my list that I’ll save the European ones for my next life.

Here are a few of the rides I’d like to do before heading off to the big bike lane in the sky:

Mt. Washington (N.H.) Hill Climb, the “toughest hill climb in the world,” features an average grade of 12 percent over its 7.6 miles, with extended sections of 18 percent and the last 50 yards at 22 percent. I’ve watched YouTube videos of this ride and I’m awed by how steep it is, even on video.

Mount Evans (Colo.), along the highest auto road in the United States — at 14,240 feet. Another short but brutal ride up the bumps, the road already is closed to auto traffic for the year due to the unpredictable nature of, well, nature at elevation, though hikers and bikers still can try to get up it.

The Leadville (Colo.) 100 is another brutal mountain-bike ride at elevation. Riders climb around 14,000 feet over its 100 miles; only about 65 percent of the riders who start actually finish it under the 12-hour limit.

I really want to do RAGBRAI, even though it’s nothing like any of the aforementioned altitude rides. The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa — yes, Iowa — is a seven-day ride across the state and is billed as the largest and longest bicycle touring event in the world. And though the distance of just under 500 miles might seem challenging, I think the bigger challenge is keeping up with the, uh, socializing that goes on during RAGBRAI. I’d need to train awfully hard on my bike to complete Leadville; I’d have to work awfully hard on a bar stool to prepare for RAGBRAI’s party on wheels. But I’m willing to put in the time.

Bike Across Kansas is RAGBRAI Lite. This annual ride across the great Sunflower State covers around 450 miles over eight days. Even though it sounds like BAK is RAGBRAI minus the beer, it still sounds like a good time.

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sandrat (anonymous) says…

What about the Flint Hills Death Ride? Is it still a viable event? I've did it twice about 10 years ago and it was a hoot... a brutal hoot, but a hoot non-the-less.

On my bike-it list is to do some touring... I've got an old Bridgestone mountain bike that is slowly being converted over from a beer commuter into a legitimate long-distance ride.
October 2, 2009 at 10:19 a.m.
nobody1793 (anonymous) says…

Or "Cycle to the Sun", a 36 mile, 10,000 foot climb from sea level straight up Mt. Haleakala on Maui.
October 2, 2009 at 12:49 p.m.
Stebbins (anonymous) says…

The Flint Hills Death Ride is still out there: http://blog.flinthillsdeathride.com/2...
Haven't done it myself, but considering it.
October 2, 2009 at 1:12 p.m.
parrothead8 (anonymous) says…

I did Ragbrai in 2003, and Andrew is right. It's not the most challenging ride, but it is definitely the most fun! I'm a mountain biker at heart, so road biking isn't usually my thing, but the hospitality shown by local Iowans as I passed through their towns made Ragbrai the best experience I've ever had on a bike.
October 2, 2009 at 1:25 p.m.
parrothead8 (anonymous) says…

The California Death Ride is a good one, for all you death-addicts out there:

http://www.deathride.com/
October 2, 2009 at 1:28 p.m.
merrill (anonymous) says…

A suggestion.

Do a honeymoon on bikes. Yes we did use a mix of public transportation,a sail boat and thumbing it. But those bikes were our primary mode of transportation. Camping gear and all. Tulsa to California was our honeymoon. Then we caught a ride from San Diego to Baltimore. Then did a train from Baltimore to KCMO. Sooner or later we got back to Tulsa.

Yo there were many nice folks along the way. Bikes were constantly by our sides.
October 2, 2009 at 4:40 p.m.
iridebikesalot (anonymous) says…

flint hills death ride ...!!!!
October 2, 2009 at 11:22 p.m.