Trail Donkey 2.0: My First Ride In The Wild

[Ed. Note: Barry is a former Denverite who now is part of our east-coast Rodeo contingent.  This was an unsolicited review for which he received no compensation.  Actually, I still own him for the Burrito he bought me on our last ride.]

Like many of you, I’ve been watching the Trail Donkey evolve over the last year and have been eagerly awaiting the chance to actually ride one in person.  So when Twinkie offered me the chance to ride a near-production Trail Donkey on my last trip to Denver, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.  I expected it to be a fun bike, which it certainly was, but in many ways it exceeded my expectations.

I arrived in town early on a Tuesday and immediately drove over to Rodeo World Headquarters.  After a short tour and a visit with Rodeo Wife & Rodeo Kids, Twinkie unveiled the goods: a 54 cm Donkey 2.0, built with a simple-yet-reliable 10-speed Force Hydro kit and a smattering of colorful yet functional parts.  As a bonus I’d be the first one to try the Donkey with an alternate wheel configuration: a set of SRAM/WTB 650b wheels shod with WTB’s newest Horizon 47c slicks.  Not quite your average build, but then again the Donkey is not your average bike!

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Andrew, eh?

The surprising thing about Canadians is that many of them actually do say “eh” a lot. I’m not going to lie, it kind of makes me smile when they do.

Andrew is from Vancouver, BC and he also uses a fair number of phrases that I haven’t heard since moving to Colorado from Washington state. I think there is a mix of Canadian and Northwest Corner factors involved there…

Andrew has been visiting Colorado over the last week. He’s been Rodeo since… well, for a long time, so we saddled up and headed for the hills together looking to see and ride some of our very own stereotypes: Peaks, Buffalo Bill’s Grave, Gravel, and Red Rocks, that sketchy part of town with lots and lots of green buildings…

It’s always great when a Rodeoer visits from far off places. Watching them see our state through fresh eyes gives us an added appreciation for what we have.

I can’t wait to visit BC some day and ride Andrew’s roads.

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MFS + Rodeo SPEED team

One of the funny things about the cycling “world” is that you never know who you are going to run into and what will come of it. While out spectating at the Monarch Pass stage of Pro Cycling Challenge this year we ran into Emiliano and Daniel from Manual For Speed  doing what they do: Shooting pics and generally bemoaning the lack of good coffee available on an 11,000′ Colorado mountain pass. We got to talking and they mentioned that they wanted to put together a street painting team for the Denver stage of the race but still hadn’t nailed it all down. Street painting team? That sounded like something Rodeo would enjoy, so we volunteered and got to work planning.Continue reading

Mount Evans B-Cycle Testing

In three short days, on Saturday August 9th, a number of Rodeoers will embark on a uniquely strange adventure. We will, as an informal group of team mates and friends from around the Front Range, attempt an assault on Mount Evans aboard 3 speed city bikes.The ride has been dubbed the Mount Evans Chill Climb. The route will entail the final twelve to fourteen miles from Echo Lake Lodge to the summit of the mountain at 14,265′ (4,348 m). It is the highest paved road in America. It won’t be a race, it won’t be a time trial, it’ll just be a fun way to test ourselves and have a good time with friends. No official support will be provided, no roads will be closed. We’re just going on a ride together. Riders should keep in mind that the road is fully open to traffic and obey all traffic laws.

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