Lascauxcaveman 

A few Cino bikes that caught my eye -

Bob Freeman's wonderfully patinaed Campeur:




Somebody's Harding, an Irish shop label, built by Holdsworth?



A bright, frosty orange LeTour III - best color ever! Is that you, @Mr. Spadoni?


And my own Nishiki at rest in a hotel suite I shared with gugie and ollo_ollo. There are a few parts from fellow forumites on this build; the wheel set (Velocity Twin Hollow rims laced to 6200 hubs) I got from @rccardr and the saddle is a Norex 39 (downmarket version of the Ideale 39) gifted to me on a dusty old Peugeot from @CountryBiking

Mr. Spadoni 

The Le Tour is not mine. The one that graces my garage is Red(always capitalized) Sadly, I was unable to attend this year, but since I the weekend ended with a first grandchild, I guess things turned out pretty well.

non-fixie 

Thanks for the stories and the pics, guys. Much appreciated!

CV-6 

+1

Lascauxcaveman 

"Uh, Dave's not here, man..."


But there was a very strong young man paying homage to the Cutters of Breaking Away, on his suitably crappy-looking Bertin single speed. I think there were about a half dozen folks on single speeds (two of which were fixed gear, I think?) making the rest of us look pretty sorry and weak by comparison. But inspiring us all to press on, for sure.

mountaindave 

That is Reed’s son. I had the pleasure of working with him over the summer at Wheaton’s Cycles. He is a strong kid, he commutes ten miles to work on that thing some days. Good kid, but needs to watch the whole movie - he’s only seen a few clips. It’s a challenge raising kids properly these days!

madpogue 

Must be his metabolism......

merziac

Looks like he's well on his way to being a good C+V lad. Clips and straps, great old Bertin, lugged Nitto stem, path racer bars, hardman SS, cut down Brooks?, all good.

droppedandlost 

Pre-ride: bikes lined up on display
Post-ride: bikes tossed on the ground

Dave Kirk 

I'm finding it hard to slip back into "real life" after a few wonderful days at the Cino. The weekend started off with a Concours d'Elegance on Friday evening to show off some of the vintage bikes that would be used for the ride....and some that were pure show bikes that were brought just to show off. There were some stunning bikes to be sure and I was glad to see the work of Bruce Gordon represented in all its glory. I brought a Serotta that I built for the Coors Light Team back in 1990. It got a few sideways looks from the vintage purists but even those people smiled when the realized that the builder of this old bike was in the room.

The ride on Saturday was 57 miles (45ish were dirt/gravel) with plenty of vertical. Some of the surfaces were not in any way road bike friendly but if you rode those short sections carefully all was
fine. I used 32 mm tires but a friend used 23's and managed to not get any flats. Much of the ride was in wooded areas but after the seriously gourmet lunch by a stunning waterfall you cross over a ridge into a different drainage and the trees are gone replaced by low scrub brush and views one only sees in Montana. It was wonderful.

The Saturday ride descends to the little town of Hot Springs, MT (pop. 544). There was much story telling and tweaking of bikes and no small amount of beer being consumed. A fun way to wrap up the ride.

The dress-up dinner on Saturday was over the top. The food was to die for and the wines being passed around suited the scene and meal perfectly. Everyone looked so elegant... Handsome men and beautiful women in their fine clothing (some really cool vintage looks going on) set the tone. Very nice.

Sunday morning the word was that it could rain that afternoon so most wanted to get an early start and they got into breakfast first thing. Pancakes, bacon, organic coffee, melon, cereal....etc made it super easy to get fueled on on the best food you can imagine. One can no overstate how good all the food was.

The Sunday ride (47 miles) climbed slowly out of Hot Springs on a bit of pavement before the road turned to dirt.....a few miles of which were rutted and rough. This brings you to the lunch stop. It was a bit early for lunch for me but it was impossible to resist the cheesecake squares...I'm sure you understand. When leaving lunch you start the infamous "9 mile hill" and it's exactly what it says it is - a 9 mile long climb. I looked later and saw that you gain just under 2000' of vertical. It's the real deal. The surface was good and in the end this might have been my favorite part of that ride. I like to climb. At the top of the climb you come to a water stop where one could get water, beer or a martini. I was tempted by the beer but stuck with water but I enjoyed overhearing a conversation where two riders talked tricks on how to get a Campy Nuovo Record rear derailleur to wrap more chain...over martinis....in the woods....on road bikes....in northern Montana. An unlikely scene to be sure.

The Sunday ride wraps up with a long and flowing descent back into the tiny town of Kila Montana where a truck has your bags full of dress clothing and camping gear from the night before. There was a gathering at a local pub that I missed in an effort to get home before it got dark (5+ hour drive for me) and the mule deer and elk wandered onto the road.

The stories are endless but one that sticks out to me was the gentleman who took the train from northern California to Whitefish, MT where he got off and then road his bike from Whitefish to Kalispell and camped. He then did the two days of Cino rides and was going to reverse the trip to get home....and he had a prosthetic arm with a metal hook to hold the bars with on washboard gravel. Big respect.

I was honored to be asked to join the event this year and it won't be my last time there. If you want epic gravel rides, over the top food and cool people you should put this weekend on your list.

dave

Lascauxcaveman 

That guy was pretty cool, I hope we see him again next year. I spoke with him briefly Sunday AM. And I was thinking about him later as both my hands were going numb on the incessant pound-and-vibrate surfaces back to Kila. I was thinking "At least ONE guy I know on this ride has at least ONE hand that's not going numb."

gugie 

A few have asked for my ride notes...I thought the posts were good enough to capture this event...

but my "personal journey",

There are direct flights into Glacier Park International Airport (essentially Kalispell) from Portland. It's only an hour and a half flight (hint, hint PNWer's). I took an Alaska flight, they did not charge extra for my bicycle broken down into a Trico Iron Case. Which reminds me, I need to send a shipper back to @mountaindave...I called into a couple of meetings at work on Friday morning, enough so that I could get away with not putting in a vacation day. From the airport I took a taxi to the Montesorri School that mountaindave works at, I believe I was the first to arrive for registration. I was happy to meet Dave for the first time! He was kind enough to bring out a bike stand to reassemble my bike.

After awhile others arrived, we helped set up for the Concours event that evening. One by one the Cino'ers arrived. Bob Freeman is always a fixture at these events in the PNW, and brought a triplet of Sauvage Lejunes to show, two of which he rode that weekend. @northbend showed his Holland, Hobbs, Bruce Gordon and Alex Singer. I was impressed that not only did all 4 bikes fit into his Honda Fit (wheels and pedals off) but there was also room for his and my bags and the two of us to drive to Hot Springs with said bikes that today I went with my 16 year old daughter to help her purchase her first car, a Honda Fit (she's paying for it out of her part time job). @ollo_ollo, my roomie for the weekend, @Lascauxcaveman and @Choke were some of the people I've know and ridden with more than a few times and attended as well. I also met several other members of the C&V tribe, many from the CR list that I'd read about.



[i @ollo_ollo, aka Don, coolest 78 year old ride at Cino - Matt F. Pendergast wearing an early Cino jersey in the background to the left[/i]

This was my first time in Big Sky Country, and it definitely is. Everything seems more far apart from what I'm used to. I'd like to explore more of this state! Fast forward to Monday, Matt had some time to spare prior to dropping me off at the airport, so we drove to the Logan Pass in Glacier National Park. Matt told me that this was the first time he'd driven up it, 5-6 times he rode up before. A few weeks earlier @Andy_K rode up it. I now understand why it's worth getting up at o'dark hundred to beat the cars and ride to the top - it's officially now on my bucket list.

Back to Cino, I don't have much to add to what others have written about the ride. Personally, the Saturday ride highlight was split between the Bacon Lady and lunch. Food on Cino is what Eroica California wishes it was. At around 20 miles or so on the Sunday ride back to Kila I made a wrong turn and added a short steep climb to my day, but I got back on track. Nine mile hill forced me to dismount and push more than once. Looking back to Eroica, I had to do the same thing on steep gravel roads- my lower back was hurting, and the typical fix of standing and pedalling a short distance to relieve the strain didn't work - my rear tire would start to spin. I now realize I need a taller stem on my Eroica Pimp Bike that I save for these events. My handlebars and saddle are at the same height on other bikes I often ride on gravel, and I don't have the same issue climbing similar hills.

The thing not discussed in much detail yet, the thing I can add to is the motley Symes Hot Springs Hotel. Matt and Bob talked me into staying there. When I arrived, Matt held his thumb and forefinger a quarter inch apart and said "it's this close to being too skanky" - and it is. A combination of lower economic scale hipsters and old people were constantly walking in and out of the hotel to the hot spring pools from the time the gates opened till they closed. The co-joining rooms I rented for myself and ollo_ollo were separted by a toilet and sink. ollo_ollo[/MENTION]'s room had a bath tube in it. By in it I mean right next to his bed, with only a privacy screen. One shower was available downstairs for communal use. The water from the shower was the same as in the mineral springs - slightly sulpherous - but I got used to it. Skanky and cheap, the bicyclists dream.

So my commute, daily was between Kila and Hot Springs, like so:

Friday: Kalispell to Hot Springs (~70 miles) with Matt, who btw nearly ran out of gas when he was betting on the only gas station being open at the outskirts of Kila (population 392). The pumps were on, the convenience store lights were off, but the credit card payment kept saying "see attendant". After trying all 4 pumps, a woman walked out of the convenience store, we came up with $8 cash, and Matt's Honda Fit received about 3 gallons of gas, enough to get us back to Kalispell the next day (40mph ftw!)



Soon the suffering will begin.


Saturday it was an early rise to get back to Kalispell for breakfast (too early for the Hotel), then to Kila for the ride start at 8:30ish start time. Bacon, lunch, and 60 miles or so of gravel later were were back in Hot Springs. I had a king size bed in my room, @Lascauxcaveman needed a place to crash, so...


me and Matt rehydrating after day 1

Sunday we were up and at 'em early, and had a great Cino supported breakfast, then started off on the way back. Another great lunch, martinis at the top of the last climb, then back downhill - I flatted, Matt had a front and rear flat, then I had another flat, all within 1000 yards. @Choke was johnny on the spot for all of them ready with neutral support, then raced ahead to get the martini bar set up...

Matt's Honda Fit (aka the TARDIS) was in Kila, ready for the return back to Hot Springs.

Monday ollo_ollo was kind enough to take my bike back to Oregon. Matt said he had all week to get to Wisconsin for the Coppi ride, and was gracious enough to drive me up to Logan Pass - I'm sure it was to guarantee I'd be back for that ride someday soon.

Folks, this is an A+ bucket list ride to do. Being so far away from where almost all of us live makes it even more so. Imagine all your riding buddies coming up with a bit of a whack idea to go to the middle of Montana and get someone to cater gourmet lunches, stopping overnight in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere populated by hippies, retirees, and Native Americans with the choice of staying in a tent in a grassy yard, or staying at a hotel that would make a weird and wonderful Indy movie if only a creative filmaker stayed there for the summer, videoing everything with a few GoPros, and someone says, hey, what if someone were mixing martinis at the top of the last hill, and everyone said, yeah, that's a great idea!

Yeah, that's Cino, a ride where about every hour or so @Choke drives by holding a beer out the window, asking "want one?"

Finally @mountaindave totally rocks!

Wildwood 

Was this young man previously riding a small motorcycle as SAG assistance in a prior Cino???
He looks familiar.

Lascauxcaveman 

Nope. That particular young man was on the same little motorbike this year, performing the same essential service. I borrowed a flat screwdriver from him not once but twice; to tighten my left barcon and BOTH my brake lever bodies at various points on day one.

mountaindave 

No, but he drove SAG on Chilly con Cheeno this winter! (That’s a whole ‘nuther level of crazy!)

mountaindave 

I’m humbled by all the kind words. I truly just followed the very detailed directions from Reed - he deserves the credit for starting the ride and together with his crew for making it what it has now become. I’m happy to carry the torch that someone else lit. And our school greatly appreciates everyone’s support!

I’m also happy to help make the Sun Road happen for people - just let me know. I didn’t get to meet up with Andy, but we got to PM a lot about options and he came up with a great plan with his partner. The road I s pretty much done for the season, but will be back sometime in May.

Come me join us crazies next year!

Cheers,
Mountaindave AKA “That Cino Dude”

ollo_ollo

Mark sums it up well. The hotel was a much larger version of my grandmother's big farm town home in the late 1940's. Near the depot, where steam engines stopped to take on water. In those pre-motel days, she would rent bedrooms to travelers. Her single bathroom was down the hall.

The ride was epic, glad I signed up. I was worried as I read warnings about how difficult the ride was. I had just serviced & put new shocks/brakes on my wagon, so for my August 79th BD, I took a few days to recon the ride, esp. 9 mile hill. Stayed in a B&B in WhiteFish, oldest home in town, just like grandma's but without all her nice furniture.

The ride looked hard, but possible, so I came a few weeks later & tried. Suffered some on Saturday but was doing OK until my front brake failed going down a steep & rutted hill. There was mechanical help to get me going again but I steadily lost ground to most of the pack, although I passed the couple on a tandem every time they flatted or had a mechanical. A mile or two later they would come zooming past at high speed, only to reappear a few miles later on the roadside working to get going again.

Day 1 ended with a feast and the "Red Lantern" prize, which included a slow moving vehicle emblem for my saddle that will be useful in farm country where I live.

Sunday morning went well, but I too began having back pain right before the lunch stop. Took some Tylenol, had a great lunch and hit the road again.

Myself and another rider arrived at the fork where @gugie made his wrong turn and we spotted a tiny arrow pointing the other way, we hollered to him but he was out of earshot up the hill. We followed him, thinking he knew the way and the arrow must be from Saturday. Part way up the hill, we saw there was only gugie's track in the dirt. So went back to the fork and found a 2nd confirming arrow.

On the horizon, we saw a group of approaching riders. I waited, while the other guy rode uphill to try & catch gugie. After a bit, he came back. He reached the top as gugie finished taking pictures and rode away. Gave chase, but Mark was too fast for him to catch. We waited about 10 minutes more and the group arrived. They were local riders who confirmed the left fork was correct.

9 mile hill went on & on, steeper and steeper. My back pain got worse and worse. Ahead, short of the summit, I saw a woman stopped to catch her breath, rest was needed, so I joined her. As we were ready to go again, a support truck arrived to ask how we were doing. Me: "I think I'd like a ride" They carried another rider and bike but plenty of room for me. That crew cab Ford had more room in the back seat than my Mercedes! I was able to stretch out, rest my back, & drink the rest of my water.

The other passenger tracking us on his phone, confirmed my total for Saturday and Sunday was several miles more than riding my age, so good enough.

It's a great ride, with incredible scenery. I'm going to train harder for next year, make some mods to my PX10 or maybe re-work another bike. So, like Arnold, "I'll be back"
Don edit: here's a pic of gugie's Grand Sport & my PX10 "Resting quietly in my shop, having done their duty"

merziac

Great report, glad you survived and hope you get sorted for next year. Tx!

Sir_Name 

This looks like a fantastic ride. Thanks for all of the pics and write ups, it’d be fun to get out to. Maybe time to look for a hard shell case on CL...!

mountaindave 

Woah... not all of that guy's wheel is there. Maybe it was just a dream after all!

Lascauxcaveman 

Yes, but at least he was able to finish that day's ride. I don't think this fellow was quite so lucky. Hs anyone seen a trace of him since? There was some trans-dimensional weirdness going on at that particular corner. Perhaps a time/space warp? Ride the Cino at our own risK!

mountaindave 

Oh there’s definitely a time warp surrounding Hot Springs! You must have been standing right at the boundary.

jamesdak 

Great read and pics. Thanks to all for sharing. I missed my annual pilgrimage to northern MT and seeing the pics helped ease the pain some.

Spaghetti Legs 

@gugie you’re still trying to make that turn to Takilahk (sp?) Lake aren’t you?

Thanks for the reports gents. I’d heard campfire stories of the golf ball size gravel and level of “hard man-ness” need for this ride but knowing there is bacon and martinis AND sketchy motels, it’s on my list.

gugie 

My wife was fine making that turn. Of course we did it in a car...




Golf ball size gravel? I guess there was some stuff that small...