gugie 

John Howard? Yeah, that's a hard man.

gugie 

Bring the fenders, leave the cannolli. No, that's not right...

The reason to go fenderless is so you and your bike get dirty. Getting dirty isn't a requirement, but, as @northbend would probably say, it's very Cino. But then he thinks that flying down a steep, gravel hill with wood rims and cork brakes shoes is Cino, so take that with a grain of salt.

droppedandlost 

Is there a widow's group? Thinking about a longer trip visiting Glacier NP with the wife, but she'd be alone for most of the weekend.

Roger M

I rode Cino in 2013. I brought my wife and kids with me(they were gracious enough to let me do it). They spent Saturday and Sunday in the park, and had a grand time. They road the park bus on Saturday, and really enjoyed it.

Not sure if I will bring them all next time..

mountaindave 

As with all things, COVID is impacting the park. The shuttle system will be a ticketed system for mitigation reasons. More info here.

Also, we’ve been “discovered” and GNP has been getting hammered in recent years, regularly setting records for visitation (over a million people per month!). Long story short, this year driving your own vehicle over Going to the Sun Road will be a ticketed system from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Tickets are $2, good for a week, and most can be purchased 60 days in advance through recreation.gov here (you’ll need to make a free account). They will old back some tickets that can be purchased online 48 hrs before they are valid. More info here.

This is one of the reasons I was so bummed that avalanche danger closed the sun road at the loop last week. It was stunning weather and the whole family was ready to ride... only to be stopped 1/3 of the way up. It may be the last time we’re able to get up there during the day until after Memorial Day. Unless we get there before 6:00 AM (moonlight ride!). However, traffic has been bumper to bumper with parking filled and something has to be done. We’ll see how this new system shakes out. I hope the poor people manning the gates get hazard pay...

That being said, there are plenty other areas of the park and the Flathead Valley to visit. To be honest, the east side is my favorite and both Two Medicine and Many Glacier are spectacular places to visit - neither require using the sun road. It’s just farther to go from Kalispell.

mountaindave 

There were just over 2 million visitors that year. Only three years later there were over 3 million visitors and it has stayed that way ever since. COVID knocked it down last year, obviously. But only fires in the park (and all of MT) and closing the Sun Road brought us just below 3 million in 2018 - the year Cino took a break. The smoke was so bad nobody rode Cino even unofficially. That was a bad summer for cycling.

majmt 

There are a few of us in Bozeman that would like to make the ride this year. Could probably use the same bikes we rode in TOSRV back in the day.

mountaindave 

If “back in the day” was pre-1987, then you’re in! Or if the bikes meet the KOF standards.

northbend 

To clarify what kind of bikes are allowed from the official "Cinorider" website: The Bike You Ride

majmt 

I never thought that I’d remember the 80s as “the good old days” but pre-1987 as well as the other criteria are easy pre-reqs. One question since clipless pedals would “maybe” be DQ’d. I put these hybrid spd pedals on most of our old bikes, would I need to put the old toeclip pedals back on?

Road Fan

Director Dave, where will it be?

jdawginsc 

Wish I was closer. It would be fun to meet the people behind the avatars and bikes...

For the uninformed, where did the term "Cino" come from and where does the ride take place?

Road Fan

Zorro, describe your bike! I could think about taking my 46/30 11/32 Terraferma on 584/38c (or my Woodrup or my Rudge ... So many bikes so little time) - seeing your classic international there is encouraging. Question is, do I want to ditch the finders?

Choke 

The Cino route goes from Kila, MT to Hot Springs, MT where the group spends the night and then back to Kila. The first day is a bit longer than the second and it's about 110 miles total. The route is mostly gravel and dirt, maybe 15% is paved.

iab

I'm sure someone knows better than me, but this is my take. Originally it was called Cino Heroica. The originator did borrow a bit from the Eroica from the Italians. I believe Cino is short for cappuccino. But I don't remember the significance in that.

In 2015, Eroica California asked the organizers of Cino Heroica to drop the Heroica. I'm not an IP attorney, but I don't think they had to but were magnanimous in shortening the name to Cino . Some folks were not as magnanimous.

Cino 74 by iabisdb, on Flickr

jdawginsc 

Sounds like a ride on God's country roads!

jdawginsc 

Haha on Calvin making his voice heard...

I was thinking it was Cino Cinelli or something...maybe after I retire that might be trip worth taking.

rccardr 

Original organizer stopped on his bike at a local coffee shop on the way to work each day. Bought a cappucino. Got the name Cino Rider.
Hence Cino Heroica.

Such is legend.

USAZorro

It's a very eclectic set-up, very little of which I can take credit for, as this is the way it came to me when sloar was kind enough to pass it along to me.

It's actually got 18 speeds. 52-44-32 up front on a TA crankset, and a Sun Tour 14-15-16-18-21-24 freewheel on the rear. The derailleurs are Shimano 600's (obviously a long cage in the rear). Sun Tour bar cons handle the shifting. The brake levers are Dia Compe's and the calipers are Universal side-pulls.

I unlaced a set of fixie wheels I picked up that had Velo Orange PBP rims with virtually no brake wear, and laced them to a nice set of Sun Tour Superbe hubs, and went with 35mm Pasela Pro-Tite tires anticipating rides on gravel.

The seat post is a Sakae Ringyo, the stem is a 90mm Nitto, and the bars are Nitto Olympiade. Of course the saddle is a Brooks. Honestly, the only modifications I've made are the wheels, the bottle cage and the saddle. The gearing gives me a nice range, and the bike goes as fast as any that I own - with the possible exception of the Bob Jackson.

It's not looking good for me making Cino, as finding employment is taking a bit longer than I had hoped. Hoping it's happening again in 2022 and that I will be able to fit the trip into schedule and budget.

mountaindave 

The story about the cappuccino is true, but then it became more. If you haven’t been to the website, check out “What is Cino?”

And the doctor is correct: Kila to Hot Springs. Two places you’d miss if you blinked while driving, but also two places time seems to have forgotten, especially Hot Springs.

The only logical thing to do is just ride.

gugie 

Most of my Cino knowledge comes from @northbend, who has been quietly pimping this ride for years. He told me that Hot Springs is a little town in the middle of nowhere that is populated by hippies, Native Amerricans, and retirees, often all three combined. In describing the Symes Hot Springs Hotel and Mineral Baths, he pointed his thumb and forefinger a few millimeters apart and told me that "it's this close to being too skanky", so of course I reserved a room. The "veteran" move is to get a room in Hot Springs for the weekend, drive to the start in Kila Saturday morning, leave your car there (plenty of parking available), ride the first day to Hot Springs where you have a bed waiting for you, ride back to Kila on day 2, drive your car and bike back to Hot Springs Sunday late afternoon/evening.

At least that's how Matt taught me how to do it, so that's pretty much your BKM.

droppedandlost 

Even google street view doesn't go there.

Sir_Name 

The east coast needs a ride like this. Sure — the next thought is to make it happen...if only it were so easy. I’ve done the D2R2, F2G2, etc. Something eroic and vintage without the pretense would be fantastic.

nlerner

Certainly it could be done on the published D2R2 or Kearsage Klassic routes. @pastorbobnlnh used to be quite close to the start of the latter in New London though he seems to spend lots of time in warmer climates these days.

gugie 

Just checked, there are direct flights from LaGuardia to Kalispell...just sayin'...and lots from both SEA and PDX...