Ride Guide- August 2021

The newsletter below will contain details needed leading up to the 2021 Tour des Trees. We are grateful to you for joining us.

Donate Now

Upcoming reminders:

Tour des Trees time is almost here! We hope you are all excited for our trip to Colorado or, for you virtual participants, your at-home activities. As we approach TdT week, here are a couple of things to remember.

Reminder for riders:

Make your travel arrangements! - See our Participant Resources page for details and look up the Ride Itinerary for details on where we will be and when. It is being constantly updated with new stop locations and timelines.

Check-in for the ride will be from Noon to 4pm on August 28 at the Hyatt Place Hotel, followed by orientation and dinner.

Tour Stops:

Community outreach has always been an important part of the ride and even though there are still a few limitations regarding gathering in groups in certain areas, we are still committed to showing the public the good that the tree industry does.

We will have five main outreach sessions during this year’s ride that we will need rider volunteers to help with. Take a look at these, plan ahead, and let us know which events you’d like to help with. We would like to finalize these volunteer lists the evening beforehand, if you are undecided at this time.

Sunday: Beaver mitigation project in Commerce City (5-10 volunteers needed)

Sunday: Tree planting in Golden (4-6 volunteers needed)

Tuesday: Tree planting at Colorado State University in Fort Collins (4-6 volunteers needed)

Wednesday: Prof. Pricklethorn presentation at Loveland Public Library (3-4 volunteers needed)

Thursday: Tree planting in Denver (4-6 volunteers needed)

Virtual Participants:

You will be receiving an email from us sometime towards the end of next week with details and links for our activities for the week. You can see the activity list and times HERE. In addition to those scheduled activities, we'll be emailing out some videos during the week so you can keep up with what is going on.

There will also be additional prizes given out for fundraising during the week, so be sure to spread the word to your donors.

A Note From The Tour Director:

I flew out to Colorado this past Monday morning to work through the remaining logistics for the Tour and to examine the route for any final edits. It has been almost two years since I had seen these roads and I was quickly reminded of just how beautiful the Front Range is.

Below are a few of the observations/experiences that stuck out during this trip:

Route Notes:

It was my intention to cycle the three big climbs and all of the bike trails included in the route design. Unfortunately my travel delays in getting to Denver didn’t allow me to climb Day 1’s Golden Gate Canyon, But after driving it, I am encouraged to note that although this is the longest of our 3 big climbs, the Golden Gate Canyon climb is really a series of climbs with a couple of nice breaks along the way. After the climb and lunch in Nederland, our descent to Boulder is spectacular and will be a highlight. I encourage you to not rush through it so you can enjoy the natural beauty of this canyon.
At 45 miles, Day 2 is rather short, but you begin climbing almost immediately out of Boulder. We begin our ascent to the second of the three Big climbs of this Tour, Left Hand Canyon, by first warming up on the Lee Rd. and Old Stage climbs. We’ll climb over 4,300 ft in the first 24 miles of the day. Left Hand Canyon is 14.5 miles long but really the first 12.5 are relatively tame averaging a little under 5%, but the final 2 miles are bit less friendly, with a few steep pitches just when you are getting tired from climbing for the past 1.5+ hrs.
Day 3 is primarily down hill from a high point of 9,150 ft to Fort Collins, which is over 4,000 ft below Estes Park. There are a few long descents on our way to Fort Collins. The two most notable are, the 7+ miles from our hotel to the center of Estes Park and the 13+ mile Devils Gulch descent, where you will need to be very cautious, since it is quite steep and sinuous.
Day 4, is our longest stage of the Tour and includes the final of the Big Three Climbs, Rist Canyon. Rist Canyon is 11 miles long and climbs approximately 2,900 ft. It is similar to Lefthand Canyon, in that the first 9 miles are very manageable but the last couple include pitches in excess of 10%. Once you crest the top of Rist you will rapidly make your way to Masonville through a series of steep descents.
The final day is mostly a series of Bike Trails and byways from Boulder to Aurora, including the US 36 Bikeway, one of the greatest pieces of cycling infrastructure I have ever ridden, followed by the Rocky Mountain Greenway Trail, Little Dry Creek Trail and Sand Creek Greenway.
I am working through all of the final route edits and will publish the RidewithGPS files later this week. Please keep in mind that the course will not be marked this year, so you (or someone in your riding pack) will need to be capable of self navigating. While it will be a bit confusing when we are traversing the bike trail network out of and back into Aurora and when we exit Boulder to return to Aurora, for the most part the navigation is quite simple.

General Observations

Since the last time I’ve traveled the world has changed dramatically and patience will be a critical component of maintaining your sanity. Every segment of the travel and hospitality industry is stressed and significantly understaffed, keep this in mind when things inevitably go awry during your travels, at our hotels, at our restaurants…serenity now!
As I have mentioned before, the Colorado sun can be intense and the air dry. Be prepared to protect your skin from the sun’s intensity, and hydrate early and often.
When I was out there last week, there were air quality alerts each day due to the fires out west. While it interrupted the typically beautiful mountain views and clear blue skies Colorado is renowned for, it shouldn’t be an impediment to anyone who doesn’t suffer from significant respiratory ailments. Here is a great site for monitoring the air quality - https://www.airnow.gov
In general the days aren’t particularly long, but Day’s 1, 2 & 4 include some significant climbs, so the best strategy for a successful and enjoyable Tour is to focus on managing your pace and staying out of the red zone. Take your time, the series of canyons we will climb and descend are too beautiful to rush or suffer through.

One final note, none of this would have been possible without the generous and selfless assistance of Thom Kraak. His willingness to drive out to meet me, serve as my driver while I cycled the climbs and trails, and offer me counsel for the many edits that were necessary to the route and logistics were invaluable!

I look forward to seeing all of you in CO Very Soon!

Paul Wood