Ride Designators


The description of every BFTCC ride will start with a “ride designator” that will allow participants to quickly judge the difficulty and whether the ride matches their abilities. The designator indicates the pace, hilliness, distance and start time.

The form of the ride designator is: PACE – DIFFICULTY – DISTANCE – STARTTIME

For example, INT-3-25-9:00a would be an intermediate ride (averaging 13-15 mph) with a difficulty of 3 (very hilly), 25 miles in length starting at 9am.

PACE: The pace represents the overall average speed of the group when traveling on flat or rolling terrain. (Often faster on downhills and slower on climbs). The PACE generally indicates the ability level expected of the riders.

  • FUN: Average speed of 10-12 mph. Frequent stops to regroup. Nobody is dropped. The ride leader will designate a “sweeper” that knows the route and will stay behind the slowest rider. Emphasis is on the fun of riding in a group. Great for beginners.
  • INT: Average speed of 13-15 mph. More advanced riders. Not for beginners. Occasional stops to regroup. Nobody is dropped unless enough riders show up to split a “faster rider” group. The ride leader will designate a “sweeper” that knows the route and will stay behind the slowest rider. Often will ride at 17-19 mph on flats.
  • FAST: Average speed of 16+ mph. Very advanced riders. Not for beginners. Few or no stops. SLOW RIDERS WILL BE DROPPED. Often will ride at 20-25 mph on flats.

DIFFICULTY: The difficulty represents the hilliness of the terrain rated on a scale of 1 to 4 where 1 is flat and 4 has long, serious climbs.

  1. Flat or may have very gentle rolls. 0-1% grades.
    Examples: Most Boulder bike paths
  2. Rolling terrain, may have longer, but still gentle climbs. 2-3% grades.
    Examples: Eldorado Canyon, Hygiene to Carter Lake (not the dam)
  3. Very hilly. May have long, medium climbs. 3-5% grades.
    Examples: Left Hand Canyon to Jamestown
  4. Long, difficult climbs. May have extremely steep sections. 6% and beyond.
    Examples: Left Hand Canyon to Ward (10% section), Lee Hill Road (5-11%), Trail Ridge Road 5-6%, Mt Evans 6-7%, Flagstaff 7-10%

DISTANCE: In miles. Two numbers separated by slash (eg 20/30) represents a ride with an optional additional leg for riders wishing to go further.