Aside from your TR plan(s) and the races you’ve got scheduled, what is THE ride(s) that you just won’t miss and why?
Mine is the local Cyclist Fighting Cancer ride that happens every May. It’s a sportive with a choice of routes up to 150 miles (I do the century route) and as the name suggests, it’s a charity ride for cancer research.
I was diagnosed with cancer just over four years ago, although I had supported the ride before my diagnosis, it has become close to my heart for obvious reasons.
It’s not a race, just a chance to stop at every feed station and eat your body weight in lovely cake. It’s a great chance to chat, roll around and meet people.
So, what about you folks? Is it a cycling holiday with friends, a coffee stop Sunday with the local club? What is that ride you just have to be on?
The one race that my friends and I won’t miss is the Tear’s Fears and Beers Enduro in Ely, NV.
It is is a tiny town halfway between Reno and Salt Lake City with an incredible, genuine community that volunteers tons of hours to make the event a reality. It is really the definition of what grassroots racing should be, and for that reason, we have to support it.
They throw an awesome race with 7 stages, 5400 feet of climbing, and usually about 6 hours of riding. The volunteers are always out there serving beers at the tops of stages, making sandwiches for racers, and at one stage there was a fully built out off-road van barbequing hot dogs for the racers. And at the end, they have a huge banquet with as much beer you can drink and food you can eat.
@Larry has been out to Ely for the yearly pilgrimage for three years now, and I’ve made it the last two years. And I don’t see us missing one any time soon.
There’s a good amount of trails rideable from town, and I’ve heard great things about the Cave Lake trail network as well as some stuff in Austin, NV. Check out this little promo video below and the @visitelynevada Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/visitelynevada/
Overall, the community support from a lot of people who aren’t even cyclists themselves is what has advanced the riding in the area and increased the turnout at the Fears, Tears, and Beers enduro. I definitely won’t miss it this year.
