The Essential Epic Group Ride

The Epic Group Ride can start many ways. Keep in mind that you must keep your options open and be able to jump on the band wagon when ever the opportunity presents its self. While the Acacia crushing fest isn't where you might expect to find an invite for a mountain epic, this weekend it presented Care Bear and I with the a chance to ride a Colorado Classic, The Monarch Crest. 

The Epic Group Ride has some serious requirements:

1. You must have a mix of people, ie, racers, old guys, the token junior, bike industry folk and a foreigner. 

2. An early start complete with a mix of 7-11 and Donut Mill fuel

3. Classic Variable weather in Colorado

4. Mechanical Problems, preferably early in the ride. 

5. Post Ride meal plan that includes Pizza, Burgers or Burritos 

Our ride included all of these. Which elevated into epic fun status. Some of the highlights include a German SRM employee, Magura Disc brakes dying at the very top of ride(that means 5000 feet of elevation drop with little to no stopping power for that token junior), solid down poor on the Rainbow Trail section making the trails amazingly tacky and pizza in a little Salida Brewery 

Please go out and find your own epic group ride and don't watch to much of the Olympics

Ride

Mitch Hoke