Frequently Asked Questions
What's On Your Mind?
As new amenities get added each year, the cost to put on the event increases.
What started with five people in 2016 grew to nearly 300 participants in 2022, and we hope even more in 2023!
From an unsupported, just show up and ride experience in 2016 to the 2023 event that will include two aid stations, two on-course mechanics, mobile on-course support, a timing segment with monetary prizes, inclusion in the Gran Fondo National Series and Gran Fondo World Tour, traffic assistance from Colorado Springs police officers, a medical tent and more non-free logistical odds and ends, the cost to put on the event exceeds $35,000.
Thanks to the amazingly kind and generous support from sponsors, local businesses, the community and the many cyclists, friends and family who donate time, resources, energy and money, we're able to offer an incredibly affordable registration option that is much lower than the typical cycling event.
Our $40 registration is an exceptional deal. Although, it does increase $10 on June 1 and another $10 on July 10. Still a great deal!
Yes. Yoots under the age of 23 can register at the Aluminum level for $23. Email 719@719ride.com to receive a personalized discount code.
Packets can be picked up Tuesday, July 11 through Thursday, July 13 in the SCHEELS Colorado Springs bike department or at the Routes Outfitter Colorado Springs location.
Packets for registrations received after July 9 and packets not picked up at SCHEELS or Routes Outfitter will be available the morning of the event starting at 6:00 a.m. You may also select an event day packet pickup during registration.
SCHEELS Colorado Springs
1226 Interquest Pkwy
Colorado Springs, CO 80921
(719) 220-6444
- Packet pickup hours are 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Enter through the Trek entrance on the east side of the building to pick up your packet in the bike shop.
Routes Outfitter Colorado Springs
3131 W. Colorado Ave
Colorado Springs, CO 80904
(719) 358-9790
- Packet pickup hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Yes. E-bikes are welcome to elevate, celebrate and festivate with us. As with any other bicycle manifestation that participates in the event, the rules of the road should be followed, including speed limits on any descents.
E-bike riders are not eligible to win the prizes for the fastest man or woman on the timed KoM/QoM segment. However, they are eligible to win prizes associated with the other placements.
E-bike riders are also not eligible to earn points in the SUAREZ Gran Fondo National Series.
Certo! You can print cue sheets or send a GPS route file to your device from the Courses and Maps page.
Or you can get them here.
No. All the roads are open to traffic. Colorado Springs police officers will be at some intersections helping facilitate the flow of vehicles and cyclists, but you are expected to know and obey all traffic laws, including posted speed limits.
CYCLISTS PARTICIPATING IN THE 719 RIDE ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS AND SAFETY AND MUST SIGN THE USA CYCLING WAIVER OF LIABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EVENT.
The courses are always open. You may begin riding whenever you wish; however, a departure window between 6:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. is suggested.
If you wish to embrace the spirit of the ride, start at 7:19 a.m.
At this time, on-course support is only guaranteed through 2:00 p.m. This pertains to the police support, aid stations, mechanical support, medical tent, and the mobile pickup assistance for mechanicals that strand you on the course.
Access to the toilets inside Chipeta Elementary School will be available from 5:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
If you plan to complete an Epic Elevation Quest, be prepared to support yourself on the course if you will be riding before 6:30 a.m. or beyond 2:00 p.m.
Colored Route Arrows will be placed on the road asphalt beginning several hundred feet in advance of each turn. They will be present multiple times before the turn and once after the turn.
Orange Route Arrows will mark The Course That Cannot Be Defeated, the original and traditional challenge route.
Blue Route Arrows will mark the 719 Ride SE.
Yellow Route Arrows will mark the GoldiLITE 719.
The Route Arrows on the road will be complemented with Route Arrows displayed on signs affixed to stakes placed on the side of the road in advance of turns.
Along with an abundant supply of acqua naturale courtesy of a Colorado Springs Utilities water truck, you will have a felicitous selection of fine food from the aisles of Costco available to you at the mid-course aid station in Marshall Sprague Park.
Your potential warehouse delicacies will include a perfect mixture of salty and sweet items such as: granola bars, fig bars, peanut butter and jelly sammies, crispy rice treats, cookies, chips and fruit. YUM!
Enduro Bites will be fueling your FORZA needs from the start/finish aid station at Chipeta Elementary School with their fresh and simple deliciousness in both bar and liquid format.
Yes. Portable toilets are located along The Course That Cannot Be Defeated and the 719 Ride SE at:
- Mountain Shadows Park - next to Chipeta Elementary School at the start/finish
- Wilson Ranch Community Park – miles 2 and 10
- Woodmen Valley Park – mile 5
- Blodgett Peak Open Space – mile 8
These portable toilets are publicly accessible and not put in place specifically for the ride.
There will also be port-a-potties at the aid station in Marshall Sprague Park, (mile 7) and you will have access to the pint-sized restrooms inside Chipeta Elementary School between 5:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Typically, HOT. Mid-to-high 90s. But sometimes cooler. 2020 was cooler. Cooler means mid-to-high 80s.
Afternoon thunderstorms like to visit Colorado Springs on July afternoons. They usually drop by around 4:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m., but sometimes make great time and arrive as early as 1:00 p.m.
We recommend Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort, located a little over 5 miles from our start at Chipeta Elementary School, and Kinship Landing, a stellar boutique hotel in downtown Colorado Springs.
A monetary prize of $71.90 will be given to the Premiers of Rossmere (fastest man and fastest women), and every 71st person on the KoM/QoM leaderboard.
Your fastest time on the Rossmere KoM/QoM segment will be used to determine your placement.
E-bike riders are not eligible to win the prizes for the fastest man or woman; however, they are eligible to win the prizes associated with the other placements.
Prize winners will be notified by email a few days after the event to arrange payment by check.
No prize money or awards will be earned or given at or by the 719 Ride based on SUAREZ Gran Fondo National Series Points earned at the event.
No. Prize money will not be given based on performance times on the Woodmen Road timed segment leaderboard.
If you happen to become a Premier of Rossmere (fastest man and fastest woman) by decimating your competition on the Rossmere KoM/QoM segment, or you happen to find a resting place on that segment's leaderboard that is evenly divisible by 71 (e.g., 71, 142, 213, 284, etc.), then you will receive a check in the mail for $71.90.
Photos will be made available via a link to a Google Drive provided in an email sent to participants about a week and a half to two weeks after the event.
View photos from the 2022 719 Ride.
Tepex food truck will be returning to the 719 Ride in 2023. Chef Fernando will be serving food at the start/finish between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Register for the Carbon Fiber or Titanium packages to receive a $7.19 food credit to celebrate yourself post-pain.
Expect lots of uphill. Expect to be challenged. Expect heat and fatigue. And expect to have fun because the 719 Ride is "like gelato for the soul."
The sweet spot is 55 to 70 minutes. Some have gone faster, and many go slower. The full range tends to be 45 to 105 minutes. Later laps tend to take most people 10 to 15 minutes longer than earlier laps.
If you enjoy Zwift, you can get a sense of the effort required to complete a lap in 45, 60, 75 or 90 minutes with our custom Zwift workouts.
Favorably! The 719 Ride is as fun, rewarding and worth doing as any bicycle event in Colorado. Plus, it's incredibly affordable
The 719 Ride presents a challenge you can tailor precisely to your fitness level and desire to test or push yourself.
Whether you complete I Cinque Giri, our signature distance of 71.9 miles and five laps, extend yourself further by completing a 719 Century (seven laps), or simply set yourself a noble personal challenge of one to three laps, The Course That Cannot Be Defeated accepts you exactly where you are, while also challenging you to ascend to new heights.
"I have done the Triple Bypass, Copper Triangle, Mt. Evans Hill Climb, Elephant Rock, and Pikes Peak. 719 Ride is Number One!"
— Mark Ayers, 2020 I Cinque Giri Finisher
The Epic Climbing Score is a simple calculation for comparing the amount of climbing different cycling events have. The equation is total elevation gain divided by total event distance.
The Epic Climbing Score does not indicate one bike event is better than another, or even easier/harder. There are plenty of other factors that contribute to an event's difficulty and make an event compelling, awesome and F-U-N. But you can use it to compare the 719 Ride with other Colorado cycling events in a lighthearted manner.
Seven nineteen. Seven hundred nineteen. Seven one nine. They're all possibilities, but NO, NO, YES.
Of course, you can call it whatever you like, just don't call it late for dinner.
No. Not in the typical sense. The 719 Ride doesn't require you to raise any money to participate.
However, if you're so inclined, you could convert your mileage to dollars — ride 71.9 miles, donate $71.90 — and make a donation to Kids on Bikes or COS I Love You.
That's cool, but if it's a bit rich, there's always $7.19. In fact, when you register at the Carbon Fiber or Titanium level, we make a $7.19 contribution to one of the charities for you.
One lap of The Course That Cannot Be Defeated is just over 14 miles. We call it the Goldilocks 719. It’s a doable distance for kids, despite the intimidating marketing speak, but it is a challenge because of the amount of elevation gain.
Because one lap of The Course That Cannot Be Defeated can be difficult for kids, we are introducing two new routes in 2023, the 719 Ride SE and the GoldiLITE 719.
The 719 Ride SE is 2.2 miles shorter than The Course That Cannot Be Defeated, and it bestows less elevation gain on its suffering supplicants per lap (1,477' vs. 1,838'). Kids will love it more than candy.
The GoldiLITE 719 takes the dreaminess of the Goldilocks 719 and makes it truly just right for kids — 4.5 miles and mostly flat, less than 400' of climbing. Right on, Jimmy!
As has always been the case, ride as many laps as you want with your registration, and now, ride as many laps as you want in any combination you are moved to. Choose your own adventure. Customize your bliss. It's all good!
There isn't a minimum age required to enjoy the challenge of the 719 Ride, but the courses are challenging and demanding.
All minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian while on a course and must have their registration form and waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian.
OH YES! And thanks for asking. We would love to have you help put on the event and grow it into something Colorado Springs loves.
If you have a skill you want to apply for our good (e.g., graphic design, photography, social media, anything at all) or you want to exert yourself in service to our cyclists on the day of the event, send an email to 719@719ride.com and rejoice as all the angels in Heaven sing your praises.
What Have Past Riders Said about the 719 Ride?
100% Authentic and Grassroots Fed Testimonies
Each and every one was lovingly written by a real live genuine person who accepted the challenge to summarize the 719 Ride in five words or less..
Pedal the springs Podcast
Episode 12 of the Pedal the Springs podcast aired May 24, 2022 and answered the most pressing questions about the FESTIVAL OF NEVER-ENDING ASCENDING. Guests included the originator and imagineer of the 719 Ride along with two past participants.
