A bike ride through the San Juan Mountains so hard it’s called the Death Ride Challenge.
The 225-mile loop has typically climbed 16,500 feet along a route that has been ridden in one form or another since at least 1979. The fastest riders finish the course in a little more than 12 hours.
Until recently, the Death Ride was an underground, unofficial event. Now, there are two versions of the ride with options for a one-day and three-day ride, and it is operated as a charity event in support of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a nervous system disease that weakens muscles and impacts physical function.
The loop has usually started in Durango, gone up U.S. Highway 550 over Coal Bank and Molas Pass to Silverton, across Red Mountain Pass through Ouray then to Ridgway and up to Telluride, over Lizard Head Pass into Dolores, then through Mancos, Hesperus and back into Durango.
This year, event organizers have opted for alternate routes to avoid highway closures and smoky air from the 416 Fire.
The three-day ride, called the Death Ride Tour, will start in Silverton and ride to Telluride, out and back on Lizard Head Pass, to Montrose and back to Silverton, making it roughly 200 miles.
The one-day ride, known as the Death Ride Challenge, will feature an out-and-back route from Silverton to the top of Lizard Head Pass and back, which will be about 160 miles.
“It’s not the original Death Ride, but it’s like a mini-me Death Ride,” said charity event founder Barry Sopinsky.
The moniker “Death Ride” was coined after the first year’s ride, which was completed in two days, said Robert “Bicycle Bob” Gregorio, who has ridden 17 editions of the event.
“We finished the second day, and one of my colleagues at the bike shop where I worked at that time said, ‘Wow, you guys, you just rode one heck of a death ride,’” Gregorio said.
Gregorio said the early years of the ride were much more of a group effort to help each other survive the route rather than an all-out race. However, as more people heard about the ride, people wanted to show up and race for the win.
The event went through a period of declined popularity at the turn of the century. However, the cycling community rallied more participation by the mid 2000s.
In 2008, Barry Sopinsky found out about the legendary loop in a book about Colorado cycling routes. In years prior, Sopinsky had gotten back into cycling in the Denver area and participated in charity ride events.
At one of the charity rides, Sopinsky met a 7-year-old boy who inspired him. The boy, who had his leg amputated because of cancer, had received an operation where his ankle was attached to his knee to make a joint.
“It was just really touching,” Sopinsky said.” “I just got emotional about this whole thing, about raising money, especially for kids.”
In 2008, Sopinsky’s mother died, and he felt like he had to do something to keep himself busy. He set up a non-profit and ran the first “Death Ride Challenge” in 2009 in support of ALS, which his father died from in 1966.
“Really, it’s a ride for life, even though ALS is a death sentence,” Sopinsky said. “We’re trying to raise money to find a cure.”
It is a tradition on the tour to plant flags in the cemeteries in Silverton, Telluride and Durango as a memorial to Sopinsky’s parents.
Sopinsky is also inspired in his charitable work by the Jewish principle of giving back, called Tzedakah.
The tour has raised close to $300,000 in the nine years it has operated. Participants must raise $300 before the start of the event. This year, there are about 25 riders in the one-day event, and 150 in the three-day option.
Gregorio, who is a board member of the Death Ride organization, said the event does not want to attract the type of rider who wants to ride away from everybody and smash the record. If a rider can get around the loop and raise money for ALS, that’s what the event is about.
Since anybody can go out and complete the loop along the San Juan Skyway, some people set out to beat the clock.
Last year, the Death Ride route was a part of the Colorado Triple Crown series of endurance cycling events put on by the Rocky Mountain Cycling Club.
The fastest times, considered course records, were set by Caleb Carl at 12 hours, 15 minutes and Corinne Warren at 15 hours, 14 minutes.
Carl said that he felt good for most of the half-day long race and that he paced himself well. The 29-year-old rider from the Front Range is new to the sport of cycling. He was formerly a powerlifter before getting into cycling in 2016.
“What excites me is kind of you against the elements, you against the wind, you against the course – it’s kind of like an adventure,” he said.
Warren has completed the Death Ride three times. In 2017, she said she had an advantage over other riders because she does well in warm weather.
The 50-year-old ultra endurance rider from the Front Range completed her first 100-mile bike ride 14 years ago. She said that the longer the race is, the better she does.
“It suits my personality and it suits my strengths,” she said. “Definitely, my brain is stronger than my body.”
Warren will not do the official Death Ride this year, but she said she will ride the route this summer. She and Carl are both focused on a series of endurance races in California this season.
Gregorio said that some people who do not have a cycling background complete the death ride. Last year there was a man who completed the ride in a t-shirt, gym shorts and sneakers.
“To me, that’s a story that I think is important to tell, especially if it goes toward assisting in a charity effort,” Gregorio said.
The Death Ride Tour is June 9-11, and the Death Ride Challenge is June 10.
rsimonovich@durangoherald.com
