The 2016 Old Man Winter Rally, put on by Adventure Fit and Oskar Blues in Lyons, CO was a fun time. I did the short, 50K course along with a friend. This was my first ever organized ride and I really had a good time.
The weather was great. A little brisk – hovering right around freezing, but sunny. The roads had some snow on them from snowstorms earlier in the week, but overall the entire course was very rideable. I hear that the super secret hidden singletrack on the long course was completely unrideable, but that was pretty short stretch so no big deal.
Oskar Blues did a great job on the whole event. The start/finish area had a booths set up giving out some goodies – buffs, hats, suncreen, lip balm, stickers, etc. The start line was plenty roomy with nice long runout to spread people out. I really liked that every intersection was manned and well marked. It would have taken a serious effort to get lost on this course! The halfway point was a good setup as well with refreshments and port-a-potties. This was, incidentally, where I saw many of the long course riders coming through looking fresher that I was!
The after ride setup was pretty nice, too. Everyone got a beer and a bowl of chili. Overall, a pretty good setup and I’m planning on doing it again next year. Check it out at http://oldmanwinterrally.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/oldmanwinterrally. Might even look into their summer ride, which they are kicking off this year – https://www.facebook.com/goldrushbikerally/.