Friday, January 27, 2012

Colorado Permanents - What's New!

A couple of new Colorado permanents you might like:

Vail-Glenwood-Vail (VGV) - A new 200k from Catherine Shenk: "A year-round ride from Vail to Glenwood Springs and, if you have time, you can visit the hot springs for a soak before returning. Note there is typically a tail wind on the return." 


 Rabbit Mountain Romp - A new 108km Permanent Populaire offering "A foothills-skirting jaunt punctuated with short climbs, visiting Eldorado Springs and Rabbit Mountain."  This is actually the first part of the Carter Lake Cakewalk, so conceivably you could start together with folks riding the latter.

Rabbit Mtn. Romp does not include Rabbit Ears Pass
(photo from Colorado High Country 1200):

Looking Back

32 riders rode 195 perm rides last year, including some never-before-ridden ones.  An active year!

Which perms get ridden the most, and which are more "selectively" ridden?  Here are the stats for 2011. 

Click to view larger image.

Few surprises here. Lyons-Berthoud, in third place, is a 103km permanent populaire, by the way. The others are 200km or longer.

Here are stats since the first Colorado permanent.

Click to view larger image.

The most-ridden ones generally offer terrain which is more conducive to letting riders stay together, and are more season-proof.

 The least-ridden ones are by no means inferior routes.  Rather, they're often the most challenging (and most season-constrained).    To see a tally next to the Manhatten Express (considerable dirt road mileage), Aspirations Attaining Aspen (a mountainous 600k), Fun Frolic to Fraser (dirt over Rollins Pass), the Squaw Pass Scramble (Omigod Road), the Mt. Evans Grimpeur (Mt. Evans summit ... and Omigod Road), and Rocky Mountain High (Grand Junction to Denver over the mountains) is a testament to hardy riders! 

Thanks to Will deRosset, Beth and Brent Myers, and Catherine Shenk for these extra-credit treats!

♣ ♣ ♣

As we ramp up our brevet planning, remember the perms!  They are great for:
  • riding alone
  • riding congenially with a few friends
  • going off on new adventures between scheduled events
  • keeping up fitness ... and toughness ... in the off-season before the brevets.
John Klever and Leslie Sutton at Eldorado Canyon
on the Carter Lake Cakewalk

    -jle

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