Things are FINALLY starting to feel normal again, events are happening, people are moving and shaking, at least moving, and all is looking up. What could go wrong? Oh yeah, it’s that time of year again, wildfire season. Unfortunately Winthrop knows this season all too well. This particular one has affected the Gran Fondo Winthop course and has the area closed down until next year when the Forest Service can assess the condition of things. RIP 2021 GFW… a moment of silence please… Ok, now that we’ve got the bad news out of the way, how about some good news. As soon as we got the GFW news we began frantically working to come up with an alternative. Behold! I give you Gran Fondo Soap Lake! Grande: 125 miles/6700′ Medio: 62 miles/2800′. You may be thinking, “Jake, are you out of your mind, 120 miles!?!?” To which I say “dude, chillax, your were just going to ride 90+ miles with 11,000’+ of elevation, this is half climbing, you got this!” (lets not get hung up on the math). If you like to ride your bike to places that are out of the way, and not many people see, this ride is for you. You will be waaay out there, and see some pretty cool, desolate country. We hope to open registration early Sept, stay tuned for more info.
Jake
Great alternative? I like it! What are the areas where you would add support (water, snack, and/or portapoties) in the different routes?
Sorry for the slow reply Roberto – aid at 40.9, 85.1 on grande, and 21.1, 42ish of medio.
Thank you!
Jake, I truly don’t know what keeps you and the rest of the VC crew motivated to put on these events in the face of all these obstacles, but THANK YOU! Can’t wait for Soap Lake!
Well, people like you Noah, that want/appreciate these events. That’s what keeps us going.
Jake,
For those of us who can’t do Soap Lake, will we get our Winthrop entry moved to next year???
Ride with GPS shows only 6 miles of gravel, I drove it yesterday, there is a LOT more than 6 miles of gravel…..A LOT!!