5-In-1 Ride marks Ten Years
MORE PHOTOS POSTED IN THE GALLERIES SECTION
By Joe Maher
It’s funny how time flies. It seems that it was only a couple years ago that the dream of creating a ride unique to Colorado became reality in the form of the 5-in-1 ride. Can it really be ten years already?
Apparently so, because for the past ten years a group of dedicated riders have taken on the challenge of topping five mountain passes over 10,000 ft in a single day. Thus the name—the 5-in-1 Ride. Over the years the route has changed with different roads, passes and combinations being used to accomplish the goal, always finishing with a celebratory party after a long day at altitude. To mark the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the 5-in-1, the PPHOG Road Captains, who organize the ride, decided to use the original route and even the original T-Shirt design, for the ride in 2009.
The passes on the hit list: Loveland, Vail, Tennessee, Freemont and Hoosier. All reach skyward, topping 10,000 feet, and a few can be downright dangerous. Making this ride is no easy feat, so the patch for completing the ride is cherished by those who have it.
A couple hundred riders gathered in the chilly morning air on July 18, ready to head into the hills. After registering, the first bikes left at 6am on what would be a long, wonderful day of riding the Colorado high country. To make it interesting, the ride was turned into a poker run, with riders collecting cards at the summit of each pass. Riders zipped up I-25 to Monument and then 115 up to 85 to C-470, following that to I-70 for the freeway sprint to US 6, and climb up the first pass of the day, Loveland Pass. With the first card taken care of, the riders continued on US 6 along part of the Dillon Reservoir and through Dillon to get back on I-70 in order to get to the second pass—Vail Pass, where a card and stop at the rest area awaited.
From there, the ride continued west on I-70 to scenic HWY 24 and down to Tennessee Pass for the third card. The day was heating up, with no rain or any sign of inclement weather to be seen. In fact, sunburn was the biggest threat. After a stop in historic Leadville—the town itself is above 10,000 feet—it was off to Fremont Pass. Great scenery was the rule en route to the summit to draw the fourth card. From there it was down the hill, through frisco and Breckenridge and up sometime treacherous Hoosier Pass.
After a series of group photos at the summit, the ride split up. Some riders headed back to the front range to get home, go to work or whatever. Those riders turned in their poker sheets and were off…having to ride at least one more pass to get home. The truly brave returned to Breckenridge for the after ride party at Napper Tandy’s.
No one who was at the party claims to remember anything, but they all swear they had a good time. Winners were announced and awarded, and the fun and frivolity began in earnest. There allegedly raffle prizes and door prizes, and other enticements keeping the bash going until well past midnight.
While the party was good, despite the memory loss, and the ride was great, the best part of the day was that everyone made it through in one piece. PPHOG Head Road Captain said, “The fact that no one went down on a ride this long goes a long way in helping make this ride a success. It shows our planning paid off, and everyone was paying attention to what they were doing on the road. There was enough traffic and other hazards that something could have happened. But we had a real good group, and we all had fun and made it home, that’s the important thing.”
This is a ride that has tradition stamped all over it. Should you want to participate next year, keep an eye on Southwest Scooter News, as some planning for next year has already started.
