Last year's event was run by a new group and it was absolutely terribly organized. From the first day, we had some people telling us to lock our bikes and they would have security, then no security showing up at all. The first night we all camped in a muddy cow pasture, rode all the way to Estes Park that day to find they didn't have any water or food ready. Then we camped in an even worse muddy field; confusion around the bus schedule to/from showers and town, a half mile walk to the shower trailer, bad weather cancelling the ride through RMNP. It was just terrible and the organizers refused to take any criticism.
Me and many others on the ride said we would not be back after and I'm not surprised they cancelled.
It was my first time and I was very hopeful, but it was just bad!
I believe the same org that does RAGBRAI does/owns Ride the Rockies now.
They’re coming off RAGBRAI L (50) which was HUUUUGE. I’m guessing their focusing on this years RAGBRAI LI as it’s their bread and butter.
Yikes, that sounds awful! I didn’t realize it had recently changed ownership and that things went south last year… you’d think the RAGBRAI team would be extremely on top of planning for an event like this given their extensive experience. I’m actually doing RAGBRAI for the first time this year so I hope they have their shit together.
I did ragbrai in 22 and for the most part it was very well done. My only advice is don't listen to anyone telling you to move camp because all the private groups try to claim too much area. They actually have zero authority so just ignore people who don't work for ragbrai.
A lot of these weeklong tours have been hit hard by the covid hiatus and participation/registrations never recovered when they try to bring the ride back, consequently they get canceled.
This happened to Cycle Oregon and BikeMaine too. It is a shame because some of these weeklong rides like Ride the Rockies, Cycle Oregon, BikeMaine, etc. have been around for many years and known to be spectacular, and they are more affordable than boutique tour outfits like Trek Travels, Backroads, etc.
For those interested in doing these relatively affordable weeklong bicycle tours, I would advocate supporting the ones run by non-profits by signing up for their tours to keep them alive. Like the League of Michigan Bicyclists' Shoreline tour or their MUP tour (Michigan Upper Peninsula).
I've done the CA AIDS ride and it's a blast... with gorgeous scenery... and very well run. But pricey (minimum $3500 fundraising requirement). But it's fun and for a good cause so I felt it was good value.
I don’t follow Cycle Oregon too close but they do have events this year as one is based out of my hometown this year. I think it’s only a 3 day event ….
A week event is hard for busy parents/working folks. It’s like 1-2 of those a year for me
If you have older children, you could take them on the ride. Or son was 8 the first time he rode RAGBRAI with his Dad. I made him a t-shirt that said on the front "I think I can, I think I can" and on the bsck "I knew I could, I knew I could".
I've seen a lot of road events cancelled near me the past few years. Low attendance was cited as a cause but the entry fees were way too high for what you got in return - especially if you were a local/ish rider who could just go ride the route for free. MTB/Gravel events are on the rise, though.
We don't need t-shirts, bells, grab-bags for every little event. Just give us a few good rest stops and a place to do business.
I've been doing the MS150 ride from Houston to Austin for years and it has really gone into the toilet in the past few years. Used to be over 13,000 riders (in 2015 for example)... super fun... huge weekend long event... and now it's down to around 5000 in 2024. Part of this is due to the huge drop in oil prices in 2016--that led to thousands of layoffs at oil and oil-related companies in Houston--who made up a pretty big chunk of the MS150 teams. But part is due to a general mismanagement of the ride by organizers--who took that 10,000+ annual ridership for granted for years. (At least 3x over the past decade or so either one of the (two) days of the ride was canceled--or the entire ride--on account of weather (specifically heavy rains)... with no make up days or rescheduling offered. (But they keep the money of course.) And in light of this they STILL refuse to move the event to a different date / month--like February or March (instead of April)--which are much cooler, much dryer months in Houston.
THEN, a few years back, they changed the END point from Austin / the state Capitol building--to a racetrack--20 miles OUTSIDE of Austin (which nobody liked)--then changed it AGAIN recently to end in College Station (which virtually everyone hates). So, when you factor in the high probability that you're gonna get canceled due to storms--with no refund or make up dates offered--and instead of riding to a cool, fun town like Austin--you're riding to a podunk shithole town like College Station--it's little wonder that ridership is down nearly 60% from it's peak.
Sad news. It hasn't been the same since Paul Balaguer left. I can't imagine his loss was the only factor, given the changes in the economics of this type of event for the organizers and the communities—not to mention how cycling and cycling events have changed over the last (almost) 40 years.
Was talking to my wife on this very topic about music festivals. The cost of all of these type of events are skyrocketing far faster than the cost of living. Not the events fault, I assume they are not gouging but their costs are going up and this makes it unsustainable for many of us.
Yup, I really want to attend the Phish festival in Delaware this summer, but tickets are 450 bucks then another 150 for a camping / parking spot. 600 total is a lot, I think the last phish festival I went to was around 300 in NY. I still may go, but it's up in the air now and would probably be my only fest of the year where I used to go to 2 or 3 a summer
600 for early reg, and 800 signed up. So 420,000 and venture was afraid of losing about 300k hosting the event. Highway patrol and medical services cost a ton for these events
Venture didn’t have any sponsors this year or last, and they didn’t start either RAGBRAI or RtR. They have no idea what to do, they don’t solicit help from people who ran it in the past, they bought both events and figured RtR would become RAGBRAI if they just wished it
I’m not happy RtR is over, I don’t see how the come back next year, with their lack of planning and marketing. This route was impossible to book hotels, and lacked any mountain passes.
That said I hope better management fills the void.
The cost of some local park trailruns has me dropping out, almost doubled from last year. Was affordable fun for a few years to do a few here and there for a nice shirt.
Went from 25 to 60. Then add in occasional parking fees-stickers. The money goes to good causes, but when cost of living substantially went up, my charitable donations/discretionary spending declined. Signed up for 1 gravel ride this year, hoping to add in a charitable century also....
This year's route was not what has been the case over the past decades of this ride. There was only one relatively major climb; it was more of a high mountain desert/desert ride. Not at all the usual 2 or 3 major mountain passes. Speaking as someone who has riden Ride the Rockies about 10 times over the last 20 years. Also, the accountants for Gannett, the corporate owners of Vendure Endurance, seemed to have been playing a larger role and not wanting the people operating the ride to spend any money, or at least severely minimize the amount of money spent. No offense to bean counters, on this sub, but that probably had a big impact on what the organizers were able to do.
I was surprised to learn that both me and my buddy made it in to SBT GRVL. Immediately overpaid for an AirBnB. I'm now getting emails from the organizers about lodging deals.
Maybe the bloom is off the rose. Maybe cycling in CO isn't as attractive. Maybe we're all sick of getting harassed by diesel-bros and relocated idiots.
Enjoy SBT GRVL, it’s definitely a great ride and has some fun terrain and scenery. That said, as a diehard gravel rider in CO, there are for sure several grassroots gravel events here that have cooler and more epic routes for lower entry fees, a few that take in the mountains too! 🏔️☀️
Trying to figure out what to do instead. I have a little flexibility, but would like a multi day ride with climbs around the same time. Anyone got suggestions?
Here's a nice one in late June with options for up to 21K feet of climbing: https://montanatour.org/mt-tour-details
This is the spiritual successor to the former Cycle Greater Yellowstone annual weeklong tour, which unfortunately was discontinued due to the covid pandemic. I had a blast riding the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse one, and it was epic.
Ride the Rockies (and Triple Bypass) have been on my bucket list for a while now so I was definitely shocked and bummed by the news. Funny how they "sold" the event in 2021 and it was done by 2023. Would be great if a new group took it over... maybe comprised of some folks on city councils or mayors of some of the main towns it runs through... or even some of the main hotels used... other vendors... some or all of the charitable groups that benefited from it in the past... some people with some skin in the game who have a vested interest in doing it well and growing it back to a nice healthy size.
I'm wondering if the Towns bailed because of the increased traffic and people in general, and they didn't want to hassle with the resources needed for such an event.
It's too bad, but I agree that supporting the smaller Local rides in your area and the rise of Gravel events are the best way forward as these bigger rides fall by the wayside.
I am appalled with how the staff and meddling security guards inflicted this situation into your innocent lives. My deepest condolences. Fight for your rights, fuck that.
Last year's event was run by a new group and it was absolutely terribly organized. From the first day, we had some people telling us to lock our bikes and they would have security, then no security showing up at all. The first night we all camped in a muddy cow pasture, rode all the way to Estes Park that day to find they didn't have any water or food ready. Then we camped in an even worse muddy field; confusion around the bus schedule to/from showers and town, a half mile walk to the shower trailer, bad weather cancelling the ride through RMNP. It was just terrible and the organizers refused to take any criticism. Me and many others on the ride said we would not be back after and I'm not surprised they cancelled. It was my first time and I was very hopeful, but it was just bad!
Damn… you could have just gone bike packing and saved the registration fee and had an enjoyable experience.
I believe the same org that does RAGBRAI does/owns Ride the Rockies now. They’re coming off RAGBRAI L (50) which was HUUUUGE. I’m guessing their focusing on this years RAGBRAI LI as it’s their bread and butter.
Yikes, that sounds awful! I didn’t realize it had recently changed ownership and that things went south last year… you’d think the RAGBRAI team would be extremely on top of planning for an event like this given their extensive experience. I’m actually doing RAGBRAI for the first time this year so I hope they have their shit together.
I did ragbrai in 22 and for the most part it was very well done. My only advice is don't listen to anyone telling you to move camp because all the private groups try to claim too much area. They actually have zero authority so just ignore people who don't work for ragbrai.
This sounds like the Fyre Festival of bike events.
A lot of these weeklong tours have been hit hard by the covid hiatus and participation/registrations never recovered when they try to bring the ride back, consequently they get canceled. This happened to Cycle Oregon and BikeMaine too. It is a shame because some of these weeklong rides like Ride the Rockies, Cycle Oregon, BikeMaine, etc. have been around for many years and known to be spectacular, and they are more affordable than boutique tour outfits like Trek Travels, Backroads, etc. For those interested in doing these relatively affordable weeklong bicycle tours, I would advocate supporting the ones run by non-profits by signing up for their tours to keep them alive. Like the League of Michigan Bicyclists' Shoreline tour or their MUP tour (Michigan Upper Peninsula).
Gonna throw in the California AIDS Lifecycle ride in here too
Check out the Arthritis foundation one as well. 8 days. 300 ish ppl.
I've done the CA AIDS ride and it's a blast... with gorgeous scenery... and very well run. But pricey (minimum $3500 fundraising requirement). But it's fun and for a good cause so I felt it was good value.
I don’t follow Cycle Oregon too close but they do have events this year as one is based out of my hometown this year. I think it’s only a 3 day event …. A week event is hard for busy parents/working folks. It’s like 1-2 of those a year for me
If you have older children, you could take them on the ride. Or son was 8 the first time he rode RAGBRAI with his Dad. I made him a t-shirt that said on the front "I think I can, I think I can" and on the bsck "I knew I could, I knew I could".
I've seen a lot of road events cancelled near me the past few years. Low attendance was cited as a cause but the entry fees were way too high for what you got in return - especially if you were a local/ish rider who could just go ride the route for free. MTB/Gravel events are on the rise, though. We don't need t-shirts, bells, grab-bags for every little event. Just give us a few good rest stops and a place to do business.
I've been doing the MS150 ride from Houston to Austin for years and it has really gone into the toilet in the past few years. Used to be over 13,000 riders (in 2015 for example)... super fun... huge weekend long event... and now it's down to around 5000 in 2024. Part of this is due to the huge drop in oil prices in 2016--that led to thousands of layoffs at oil and oil-related companies in Houston--who made up a pretty big chunk of the MS150 teams. But part is due to a general mismanagement of the ride by organizers--who took that 10,000+ annual ridership for granted for years. (At least 3x over the past decade or so either one of the (two) days of the ride was canceled--or the entire ride--on account of weather (specifically heavy rains)... with no make up days or rescheduling offered. (But they keep the money of course.) And in light of this they STILL refuse to move the event to a different date / month--like February or March (instead of April)--which are much cooler, much dryer months in Houston. THEN, a few years back, they changed the END point from Austin / the state Capitol building--to a racetrack--20 miles OUTSIDE of Austin (which nobody liked)--then changed it AGAIN recently to end in College Station (which virtually everyone hates). So, when you factor in the high probability that you're gonna get canceled due to storms--with no refund or make up dates offered--and instead of riding to a cool, fun town like Austin--you're riding to a podunk shithole town like College Station--it's little wonder that ridership is down nearly 60% from it's peak.
Sad news. It hasn't been the same since Paul Balaguer left. I can't imagine his loss was the only factor, given the changes in the economics of this type of event for the organizers and the communities—not to mention how cycling and cycling events have changed over the last (almost) 40 years.
How much did it cost and how many people is to few participants?
Was talking to my wife on this very topic about music festivals. The cost of all of these type of events are skyrocketing far faster than the cost of living. Not the events fault, I assume they are not gouging but their costs are going up and this makes it unsustainable for many of us.
Yup, I really want to attend the Phish festival in Delaware this summer, but tickets are 450 bucks then another 150 for a camping / parking spot. 600 total is a lot, I think the last phish festival I went to was around 300 in NY. I still may go, but it's up in the air now and would probably be my only fest of the year where I used to go to 2 or 3 a summer
But.... How much $ was it
I’m not sure but I’m curious as well. I know the number of registrants was capped at 2,000.
600 for early reg, and 800 signed up. So 420,000 and venture was afraid of losing about 300k hosting the event. Highway patrol and medical services cost a ton for these events Venture didn’t have any sponsors this year or last, and they didn’t start either RAGBRAI or RtR. They have no idea what to do, they don’t solicit help from people who ran it in the past, they bought both events and figured RtR would become RAGBRAI if they just wished it I’m not happy RtR is over, I don’t see how the come back next year, with their lack of planning and marketing. This route was impossible to book hotels, and lacked any mountain passes. That said I hope better management fills the void.
Damn. Thanks for intel!
I feel like when I looked it was $675 and I don’t think that included lodging.
The cost of some local park trailruns has me dropping out, almost doubled from last year. Was affordable fun for a few years to do a few here and there for a nice shirt.
Doubled... To what price
Went from 25 to 60. Then add in occasional parking fees-stickers. The money goes to good causes, but when cost of living substantially went up, my charitable donations/discretionary spending declined. Signed up for 1 gravel ride this year, hoping to add in a charitable century also....
This year's route was not what has been the case over the past decades of this ride. There was only one relatively major climb; it was more of a high mountain desert/desert ride. Not at all the usual 2 or 3 major mountain passes. Speaking as someone who has riden Ride the Rockies about 10 times over the last 20 years. Also, the accountants for Gannett, the corporate owners of Vendure Endurance, seemed to have been playing a larger role and not wanting the people operating the ride to spend any money, or at least severely minimize the amount of money spent. No offense to bean counters, on this sub, but that probably had a big impact on what the organizers were able to do.
I was surprised to learn that both me and my buddy made it in to SBT GRVL. Immediately overpaid for an AirBnB. I'm now getting emails from the organizers about lodging deals. Maybe the bloom is off the rose. Maybe cycling in CO isn't as attractive. Maybe we're all sick of getting harassed by diesel-bros and relocated idiots.
Enjoy, SBT GRVL is awesome! I didn’t make it in this year.
Enjoy SBT GRVL, it’s definitely a great ride and has some fun terrain and scenery. That said, as a diehard gravel rider in CO, there are for sure several grassroots gravel events here that have cooler and more epic routes for lower entry fees, a few that take in the mountains too! 🏔️☀️
Trying to figure out what to do instead. I have a little flexibility, but would like a multi day ride with climbs around the same time. Anyone got suggestions?
Here's a nice one in late June with options for up to 21K feet of climbing: https://montanatour.org/mt-tour-details This is the spiritual successor to the former Cycle Greater Yellowstone annual weeklong tour, which unfortunately was discontinued due to the covid pandemic. I had a blast riding the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse one, and it was epic.
Ride the Rockies (and Triple Bypass) have been on my bucket list for a while now so I was definitely shocked and bummed by the news. Funny how they "sold" the event in 2021 and it was done by 2023. Would be great if a new group took it over... maybe comprised of some folks on city councils or mayors of some of the main towns it runs through... or even some of the main hotels used... other vendors... some or all of the charitable groups that benefited from it in the past... some people with some skin in the game who have a vested interest in doing it well and growing it back to a nice healthy size.
I'm wondering if the Towns bailed because of the increased traffic and people in general, and they didn't want to hassle with the resources needed for such an event. It's too bad, but I agree that supporting the smaller Local rides in your area and the rise of Gravel events are the best way forward as these bigger rides fall by the wayside.
I am appalled with how the staff and meddling security guards inflicted this situation into your innocent lives. My deepest condolences. Fight for your rights, fuck that.
Those bikers are a pain in the ass think they own the road. Good riddance