Best Bike Race

There's just something compelling about a race whose waiver begins: "I acknowledge that this athletic event is an extreme test of a person's physical and mental limits and carries with it the potential for death, serious injury and property loss." The hill climb, scheduled this year for July 28, starts in Idaho Springs and grinds for 28 miles to the summit of Mount Evans on the highest paved road in North America, gaining 7,000 feet of elevation along the way. The fastest riders complete the trek averaging about twelve miles per hour; you'll be lucky to average eight. But the phrase "While I was doing the Mount Evans Hill Climb..." is an essential prelude to any serious local bike bragging.