Registration opens Sunday for the 21st annual Denver Post Ride the Rockies bicycle tour, a weeklong, 419-mile noncompetitive rally that dips into New Mexico halfway through the trek from Cortez to Cañon City, June 18-23.
Participation is limited to 2,000 cyclists, chosen by lottery. Registration forms are available online at . The registration deadline is Feb. 24.
The $290 registration fee includes baggage transportation, medical and mechanical support, aid stations and “sag” transport for injured or undertrained cyclists, a bicycle jersey, water bottle and map book. (Uncashed checks will be returned by March 24 to applicants not chosen in the lottery.)
The 2006 route brings cyclists from Cortez to Durango and Pagosa Springs, veering south to Chama, N.M., before returning via 10,022-foot Cumbres Pass and 10,230-foot La Manga Pass to Alamosa.
The trek to Chama from Pagosa Springs marks the first time the tour route has ventured past the Colorado state line.
From Alamosa, cyclists continue to Salida via 9,020-foot Poncha Pass, and conclude in Cañon City.
Despite the tour’s noncompetitive nature, tour director Paul Balaguer advises cyclists to prepare by building endurance on increasingly longer rides. Training advice is available at .
The distinctive, colorful graphics for the 2006 Ride the Rockies posters and other ephemera are the work of third-grade students at Crest View Elementary School in Boulder.
Proceeds from Ride the Rockies benefit Post-News Charities, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. All funds raised through Post-News Charities are matched at a significant percentage, and 100 percent of all dollars raised are returned to the community.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-820-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com.
