On Saturday, August 29, I joined more than 1,800 other women and a few men dressed in drag to ride Venus de Miles through Longmont and Niwot. We were launched to pumping music, treated to a scenic route and surrounded by camaraderie. The three-year-old event, which was Colorado's first, women-only ride, tripled its inaugural turnout. It wasn't hard to see why.

The Venus de Miles ride raises money for Boulder-based Greenhouse Scholars. As it was explained to us before we hit the roads, only about 11 percent of disadvantaged college entrants graduate. Our society places a great deal of emphasis on graduating students from high school and getting them into college, but then most of them are left to their own devices. Greenhouse Scholars nurtures Colorado residents throughout their higher education years, helping them get scholarships, internships and jobs with the hope they will become community leaders rather than college dropouts.

Coming from Texas, I have participated in many organized rides, large and small. Needless to say, those events didn't feature organic foods, coconut water, compost bins and banjo-playing bands at rest stops. Don't get me wrong - I love a good peanut butter sandwich when riding, but the granola with yogurt and chocolate soy milk were unique twists. The post-ride German sausage I have come to love was replaced by grilled chicken, mixed-greens salad and honey-wheat roll, leaving me feeling like I didn't destroy my workout with lunch.

I was also impressed by the turnout due to the steep entrance fee of $79-$115, depending on what date a person registered to ride. Even though the money went toward a great cause (the ride expected to raise $100,000 for Greenhouse Scholars), these are tough economic times. Trying to budget several hundred dollars per season for rides and races can quickly become a challenge. Despite the high entrance fee, there was no shortage of young and old, experienced and beginner, wings and feather boas and colorful striped socks.

The Venus de Miles ride also claims to be one of the greenest in the country, featuring carbon-emissions offsets, locally-sourced food, swag bags made of recycled materials and bamboo bike racks. Admittedly, I'm not thinking of those things when I'm hungry, sweaty and hankering for a generic Oreo cookie (you see a lot of those at Texas rides). But in retrospect, I appreciated the effort. A green cycling event makes sense for two reasons: Not only is cycling a green activity, but many of us riders drove a long way to get there, having cancelled out a lot of the "greenness" of the ride.

This ride is not to be missed next year. It was an event nonpareil, at least in my experience, with volunteers cheering you on at every turn, Hula Hoops and water guns at rest stops, heart-pumping music at the finish line and a genuine air of having a good time. With three distances ranging from 33 to 67 miles, you can either have a casual cruise through the countryside or test your climbing legs in the foothills. But take a friend. Riding alone in a cycling event - more so in a women's one, which is extraordinarily social by nature - can be a lonely trek, especially when there's no one to stand in line with you while you wait for your free massage.

Learn more about Greenhouse Scholars:
http://www.greenhousescholars.org/history.html

Learn more about the Boulder-based Venus de Miles women's bike club that was born out of the 2008 ride event:
http://fullcyclebikes.com/articles/about-the-venus-de-miles-club-pg302.h...

Katherine is a new writer at 303, new to Colorado and just landed a new gig at IMBA. She writes as a new cyclist in our community with the insight of topics that we sometimes take for granted having been in the community for so long.

The schedule has been released for the Colorado Cross Cup series. There will be 14 races in the series and 3 of them will be in January of next year. Some of the races I am not familiar with but they may be an old venue with a different name (i.e. Aspen Lodge Cyclocross, Rosalie Race to Educate). Will all these races have all the categories that the ACA normally runs (i.e. 35+/4s, SingleSpeed etc.)?

Here is the current list from the ACA calendar:

• Oct 10th Cross the River
• Oct 17th Aspen Lodge Cross
• Oct 23rd Blue Sky Cup
• Oct 24th Boulder CX Series #3
• Oct 30th NACT - Colorado Cross
• Oct 31st Victory Circle Graphics Boulder Cup
• Nov 13th USGP
• Nov 14th USGP
• Nov 20th Rosalie Race to Educate
• Nov 21st Cyclo X
• Dec 4th and 5th 2010 Colorado CX Championships
• Jan 8th 2011 Pikes Peak SuperCross
• Jan 22nd 2011 Cyclo X
• Jan 29th 2011 Boulder CX Series

Photo credit: dennis Coughlin

Boulder native rider, Nico Toutenhoofd wins this nation's famous, 38th annual Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb in the White Mountains of New Hampshire today! Nico is no stranger to hill climbs in Colorado having taken his fair share of podium finishes in many climbs through the years. Here is a great write up in WMUR New Hampshire. For those who are unfamiliar with this race, it's course can make Lookout Mountain in Golden seem flat and Flagstaff in Boulder an appetizer, with it's on average 12% grade nearing 22% at the finish.

Velonews did a great write up as well

In this 7.6-mile all-uphill grind to the summit of the highest peak in the Northeast, Toutenhoofd rode the first two miles hidden behind more than two dozen other cyclists, then moved steadily to the front, dropping a struggling group of younger riders who were less familiar with the ultra-steep course. After occasional glances back to make sure his lead was secure, he pumped his fist as he broke the tape at the 6288-foot summit in 57 minutes 26 seconds.

His closest rival was another veteran, former U.S. National Mountain Bike Champion Tinker Juarez, of Whittier, Calif. Juarez, 49, who was encountering the Auto Road for the first time, showed that he still has the strength that took him to the Olympics in 1996. Trying to keep Toutenhoofd in sight, he pedaled side by side with Timothy Ahearn, 35, of Woodstock, Conn., then pulled away after the five-mile point to take second in 58:08 – a new record for men aged 45-49 in this race -- with Ahearn a delighted third in 58:22.

“I really wanted to win,” said Toutenhoofd, who placed second here on his first attempt, in 2008 and then was fourth last year. “Of course how well you place depends on who else shows up, but this year I was better rested. Also, this time I rode with a power-meter.” The new Mt. Washington champion explained that the meter on his bike makes it easier for him to keep his physical effort steady. “My goal was to get from the bottom to the top as fast as possible and ignore everyone else.”

Want to know Nico's training secrets?

Update
The Daily Camera just ran a story on Nico Training

Recently 303Cycling caught up with Jon Tarkington, Exective Director of the ACA, and asked him a few questions about the upcoming cyclocross season and the changes to Best Cyclocross Racer (BCR) and Best Cyclocross Team (BCT). Colorado Cross Cup Rules

[303Cycling] Why the changes to BCR / BCT and the name change to Colorado Cross Cup?
[Jon Tarkington] The ACA board has been looking for ways to encourage quality race promotion for some time. The season-long point competitions are a great way to achieve this by having promoters apply for a designation and get approval from the ACA. However, it's difficult to get the point across that the designation is worth it when it's the same look and feel of previous years' programs. So this year they decided it was time to rebrand the cyclocross points competition as the Colorado Cross Cup, focus on quality event promotion and attempt to move the season into January. Also, while acronyms are great, they are confusing to those outside of the sport and somewhat difficult to market to potential sponsors.

[303Cycling] I saw that with the new Colorado Cross Cup that no races in September will be part of the series. How will call ups be handled for the races in September?
[Jon Tarkington] Promoters can use whatever method they wish for call-ups during the pre-season. I'm sure many will use the previous year's BCR standings, some may use order of registration or perhaps the previous day's or weekend's race results. I'm guessing some may just go old-school and put a line on the course and let everyone line up behind it at will.

[303Cycling] Do you know which races will be Cross Cup races?
[Jon Tarkington] That schedule will be posted after promoters are notified of their application status. It should be available later this week or early next week.

[303Cycling] I really like the idea of a few races in January. How many races are planned for January and will they be part of the Cross Cup?
[Jon Tarkington] The Board would like to see at least 2 Cross Cup races in January, perhaps up to four if promoters are willing to have events that month. One of the goals of the Cross Cup is to drive participation into January ahead of the 2011-12 cross season when Nationals will likely be in January, hopefully here in Boulder and Master Worlds in Louisville, Kentucky.

[303Cycling] I see in the ACA calendar that the cyclocross state championships is scheduled for two days. What's the thinking behind this?
[Jon Tarkington] The Promoter asked for both days in an effort to spread out the racing when the daylight is short. If all goes as planned there will be time to pre-ride the course between races without interfering with racers on the course. With many racers eligible to ride more than one event this could give riders a chance to race one championship race on Saturday and a different one on Sunday.

Results

List of All Entrants

Photos and Videos

• 303Photo (Over 1100+ pictures sorted by bib Number)
• Peter Wayne
• SingleTrack.com
• Rob O'Dea

303Cycling busted out the down coats and winter hats to head up to Leadville for the chilly start of the 2010 Race Across the Sky. With 1,568 signed up for the challenge, the charge up 6th Avenue was a sight to see. The film crew helicopters overhead and Levi Leiphemier and Jermey Horgan-Kobelski (JHK) leading the racers out, it made it all the more exciting.

While weather was not going to be a factor this year, the talk in the crowd was all about the altitude. Crews for racers from the Springs to Connecticut were concerned about how long before the mountain conditions would affect their riders. At least one member of the 303Cycling crew felt the 5,000 ft difference on the way to coffee and our next stop "The Powerline"!

This section of the race is equally famous for it's decent an hour into the race as it is for it's ascent hours later and the final significant climb. It was not only amazing to see the likes of JHK, who lead the decent, Todd Wells, Leipheimer, Dave Weins, and Jeremiah Bishop, but to see the crowd that lined the course. There were cheers and cowbells for these racers for at least the last mile and a half of this section. It was a great place for photos with nearly every racer excited and/or relieved about making it down!

Unfortunately one racer went down before The Powerline and as noted in the past, some parts of this course can be remote. We heard later in the crowd that four racers sacrificed their possibility of finishing in the 12 hour cut off to wait for the helicopter that finally lifted out the injured racer.

The next spot we caught the race was at Pipeline. This section follows the steepest climb of the course and is completely on the road. We didn't want to miss seeing a Tour de France podium finisher, even on an MTB, in his element. Leipheimer and JHK were working together to increase their lead over Wells and were on target to beat Lance Armstrong's 2009 course record.

At this point in the race, there was about a ten minute gap between the two leaders and the rest of the top 5. We headed to the finish, to get our spot for what would prove to be a record breaking day for both the Men and Women. Again, the crowds were remarkable, even without cycling's most famous participant. Spectators started lining up a good hour before anyone crossed the line. With 45 minutes to go, if you weren't on the rail, you were out of luck.

Levi Leipheimer came across the line in 6:16:37, beating the 2009 record by over 10 minutes. Exciting to say, Boulder's own JHK, coming in second at 6:25:21also beat the record by 2 minutes. The top five Men was rounded out by Todd Wells in third, Dave Weins in fourth, and Jeremiah Bishop a very close fifth.

The Women's record was also broken yesterday with Rebecca Rusch finishing in 7:47:35 beating the record set in 1997 by over 10 minutes. The top five Women were rounded out by Amanda Carey at 8:12:54 in second, Anne Gonzales in third, Nathasha Hernday in fourth and Lisa Isom in fifth.

Other notables for the day, one of 303Cycling's crew got to inspect Levi's bike. And there was a lot of talk amongst the top racers about front vs full suspension and 26er vs 29er. The winner used full suspension and 26er. He said that although some of his MTB rider competition didn't consider the course technical enough for full, he was more comfortable with it.

From it's inaugural run in 1994 to the race we saw yesterday, the course has only changed modestly. The level of competition however continues to rise. We look forward to watching the Leadville Trail 100 long into the future.

Here is a video from Outside All Day