dougpals

Dang! Triple Bypass sold out in less than an hour today. Anyone know of options to get wait listed? I have one teammate...just one..that didn't get in (he was in a meeting). He was the one that talked us all into going out and doing the ride!

Any advice would we welcome.

DP

DaveSSS 

Never understood why anyone would want to ride with thousands of people (including many newbs) on a route that you could ride by yourself, anytime you want.

If you want a challenge, ride from Idaho Springs to the top of Mt. Evans and compare your time to those from your own age group.

https://www.bicyclerace.com/results.php

cedricbosch

Agreed. ^

Same with our local event, tour de tucson.

Bostic

Do they close the roads to cars at all? That's what makes the Markleeville Death Ride fun. No cars on the first four passes, only cyclists to navigate around. Even though the last pass, Carson, is open to vehicles it's still a rippin' descent where one can attain max speeds (I hit 56.5 last year).

oujeep1

Not sure you could but sure you certainly shouldn't try to do this same ride any day by yourself, part of it is on the interstate shoulder which is probably illegal, and going through vail/beaver creek without any traffic control would be hairy. And I doubt there are many(any?) newbs, depending of course on exactly what you mean by newbs. Newbs to biking, no way. Newbs to the triple bypass, also not too likely as most wouldn't know about needing to register so early. Wow, an hour. Glad I got on when I did and got in. Great even imho. And the reason to ride it- to do it faster than last time.

icyclist 

"Never understood why anyone would want to ride with thousands of people"

The shared experience, for some, magnifies the fun. There's the chance to meet new people, if only briefly, no need to carry food, mechanical support, the sheer spectacle of the event, etc.

Peterson

Before moving to Colorado, I thought the Triple was the ride. After living here, I think it's mostly for recreational/occasional riders. You can do the climbs anytime on your own.

Don't worry about not getting signed up. Wait until the week before and there will be a number listed on craigslist. A few weeks prior they will be overpriced but as time winds down people try to give them away.

Eclectus

Do you want to be "officialized"? You can "outlaw" this. It's on public roads. If you just want to ride you can. Get a friend or SO to photo you, beating a lot of official entrants. Just go up there for fun. They can't stop you from riding the route. Or show up, and ask for a number. You might get one. If you have to be officially entered to be satisfied, and don't want to take a chance, ride unofficially this year and enter early next year, if you have a need to feel officially validated, as opposed to validating yourself.

ericm979

"pirating" a ride is extremely bad form. If you want to ride the route, ride it officially or do it on another day. The organizers get a permit for a certain number of riders. That includes a number of police, whose overtime the organizers are required to pay. Pirates, even ones who don't steal from the aid stations, aren't contributing to that.

If you have your SO drive up there, then she or he will just be adding to the traffic that's in the way of the ride. That's pretty selfish. Yes, they can't keep you off the roads (unless they are closed like in the Death Ride), but you know that the ride is going on, so you're pirating it.



I've ridden the Death Ride passes during the ride and at other times, and the descents are better at other times. I'm going car speed anyhow, so I'd rather deal with them. There's a lot fewer of them and they don't pull off the road without looking when they get tired. But the ride is an Event, which makes it fun in its own way.

Shimagnolo

Many parts of the interstate *are* legal;
Just check the maps: https://www.coloradodot.info/programs...bicycling-maps

dougpals

We have spoken to the ride director and as of yesterday she didn't anticipate doing a wait list. They were shocked at how fast it sold out.

We will watch Craigslist as the ride approaches. The challenge with that in my experience is that one needs to search many cities to find something like this for sale, as registrants might live anywhere. Granted, they are likely to post it in the CO area for best results. Also, getting payment to someone from elsewhere is challenging, as they just want to get it sold to anyone - usually the closer to them the better.

Should we get a reg on Craigslist, is there a method to go to the club to change the contact info etc in case of emergency? Sure enough if you don't do this, something will happen and they will be calling the wrong people.

Just showing up and seeing if you can get in the day of the ride is tempting, but risky. Especially since one may have to wait a bit to see if they have room for you. Riding unofficially is really not an option...or a good idea for that matter.

Peterson

Doug,

Don't worry, there are a number that are sold in Denver's CL. A number of people sign-up and decide not to do it. You may not be able to get a jersey (they usually don't look good anyway). A few weeks before the triple start looking and send me a message. I can help facilitate if needed.

I'm from Iowa originally as well. I thought the triple would be great before moving to CO. There are a number of other organized rides in the area. Copper Triangle, Stonewall Century, Elephant Rock, Buffalo Classic, or you could do ride the rockies or bicycle tour of colorado.

There are a number of clubs in the area that have similar weekly rides. There isn't much of a need to do the organized rides, you can ride them with one of the clubs. If you want a big social ride, stay in Iowa and do Ragbrai.

Eclectus

Okay, I've been put in my place on outlaw pirating. Still, I would strongly object to paying "scalper" prices to people who got the tickets just to sell them and profit. It seems like OP was looking forward to doing this event, and got shafted. He (she) might want to contact the organizers, and keep in contact. If more people want to ride than was anticipated, it should be possible for the organizers to talk to the state police, pay the State of Colorado more money for protection/escort services. Maybe have a first-group, second group maybe even a Saturday ride and a Sunday ride. With the State of Colorado's budget crisis, any profitable proposition may be welcomed. Not to mention lodging providers, restaurant owners, etc. saying, "Let more out-of-staters come and spend their money here."

Those of you disappointees, contact the Evergreen Club. They still have 7 months to expand things if the demand is there. If people are willing to pony up enough dough to expand the club's coffers, they might go for it. The Triple Bypass was never meant to be exclusive.
The Biggest Ride in the World, might appeal to them. I dunno. It doesn't cost anything to flood them with emails, and see what happens.

Alternatively, some people find riding in Colorado really nice, sans the spectacle. The state has lots of beautiful riding. So OP (and others) might think about going with a few friends and creating their own ride-course. I did that around Steamboat two decades ago. Lovely. You can go to Boulder Canyon any weekend, and have a blast. Try Gunnison to Buena Vista over Cottonwood Pass, Crested Butte, Durango. Lots of awesome riding in this beautiful state. More than anyone can do. You don't have to be among throngs to enjoy some of the most fun, exhilarating, exhausting riding you've ever experienced.

For those of you who need something "official", lobby now and hard for an expansion of this year's TB. If Evergreen doesn't want to modify the plan for this year, keep in touch, find out what the plan is for next year, and register early.

oujeep1

There was a rumor at one time, obviously not yet going to happen this year, of the "Triple Double" which was having the same ride in reverse on Sunday, the day after the Triple. Registration closed for that to anyone already registered for Saturday until as many as want to register for Sunday. Likely the prospect of getting that many volunteers for two days in a row was daunting. I don't think they will expand the number of riders, originally there was no limit, the 3500 limit was imposed only after threats from the CHP to impose their own(smaller) limit. As an out of stater do i detect a bit of "snobbery" as it were from some of the locals, as if this ride were beneath them? Recreational riders, certainly lots, including me, maybe a better term would be "fitness" riders, who ride to have fun and maintain their condition. "Occasional" riders in a 120 mile 10k ft climbing ride, not so much.