Cino Heroica Ride Report -

[David Kirk]

Better late than never….here’s a report from this years Cino Heroica in northwest Montana.

This year I rode Cino with a few local friends (Ben and Nathan) and an old friend who I don’t get to see often enough and that’s Dave Wages of Ellis Cycles who came out from Wisconsin to join us. We made the 5 hour drive from Bozeman to Kalispell on Friday and had dinner at a gritty local BBQ place Friday night. Good food, good beer and wonderful company.

We stayed at a local hotel for the night and the bed was super soft and when I woke up my back was pretty angry. I thought I’d be fine once the ride started but carrying my heavy bag down the stairs caused a low back spasm that I’d have to ride through. Ironically I could ride OK but I couldn’t stand up straight when I got off the bike. We drove to the start of the ride and met the other 70ish riders doing the ride. Lots of cool old bikes and some new beauties too. Delicious pastries for breakfast and a quick rider’s meeting and we were on the road.

This year’s dates were later in the year than the previous times I’ve ridden Cino so it was cooler for sure. Both mornings where in the upper 40’s first thing in the morning but it warmed up to shorts and short sleeves weather pretty quickly. The area had gotten a good bit of rain in the week before Cino and that prevented riders from needing to deal with the dreaded “moon-dust” that one can see after a long dry spell. The gravel and dirt were in very good shape and the worst thing was some puddles that one could for the most part ride around on day one.

Day one starts with a few miles of paved roads which give way to dirt and climb gradually to the high point and then descend to the beautiful waterfall lunch spot. My back loosened some with use but was still not all that happy and I was perfectly happy with some time off the bike to straighten up and have some wonderful food. After lunch it’s a long descent to Alamedas Hot Springs where we would all gather and spend the night. Gourmet food was prepared for us by a local Native American catering company from the Salish tribe. The leader of the group spoke to us in Salish which was so very cool to hear. It’s a beautiful sounding language.

Sunday dawned cold and gray with a threat of rain later in the day so our group decided to leave on the early side and set a firm tempo. We rode to the lunch stop and stocked up on real food (chocolate muffins!) and then tackled 9 Mile Hill. It’s a serious climb any way you cut it but the surface was very good and it was easy to find a smooth and firm line. At the top of 9 Mile there’s a stop with food and drink and that was more than welcome. Just as we left the stop it started sprinkling and we descended to the end of the ride in a very light rain that made the dirt nice and smooth and tacky but never got us fully wet. My back was MUCH better after a night on a good bed and I climbed well and that was a nice way to cap off the weekend.

The photos give a little flavor to what the area looks like. It is remote to say the least and the views are the kind of thing one only finds in Montana. My old bike stayed together and didn’t miss a beat…and it’s the first time I’ve ridden Cino without getting a single flat so I’ll call that a win!

If you’ve ever wanted to ride in Montana the Cino is a great way to do it and helping the local Montessori school raise a few bucks is a nice bonus. The ride is hard but more than doable (one rider was 84 years old and he did day one but opted out of day two) and the organization of the whole thing is nice and tight. It’s quirky and fun and hard and delicious. I’ll be back next year for sure and I hope that my old friend Dave Wages can make the trip again.

See you next year.

dave

[saab2000]

Outstanding!

[d_douglas]

wow, that looks spectacular. that is dream terrain for cyclists...

[oliver1850]

Thanks for the report and photos. It looks like a fun event. Is the ride essentially reversed on the 2nd day?

[NHAero]

These four were the breakaway both days At least the rest of us got to see what lines they took through the muddy and washboard sections!

The ride at each end is the same, but the middle is different even though both days goes up and over Brown Meadow Pass.

[David Kirk]

Originally Posted by oliver1850

Thanks for the report and photos. It looks like a fun event. Is the ride essentially reversed on the 2nd day?

As NHAero said the rides share some road at the start/finish of each day but the middle of the rides are much different.

Day one has a long and gradual climb and day two climbs that same amount of vertical, to the same high point, but in a much shorter section of road. So while day two is shorter most will find it a harder ride than day one.

This was my 4th Cino and I'm pleased to say that I've seen a black bear on each ride...and I think they have all been on 9 mile hill. they sit at the edge of the road and lumber into the woods as they see you coming and look mildly annoyed with having to share the place with us humans on 2 days a year.

I'm already looking forward to next year.

dave

[Spaghetti Legs]

Thanks for the post Dave. I rode last year (in July) finally after a couple of years of work and other annoying real life things blocking my efforts. It is a challenge for us east coasters to get to Kalispell for a long weekend. I really, really wanted to go this year as there were some friends going I haven’t seen in a while and hey, it’s Cino, but it wasn’t in the cards. I was even kinda hoping someone would reach out and say “Hey Hugh, I’ll bring a bike for ya, just come on out” but it didn’t happen. Anyway, even more disappointed I didn’t go after reading the ride reports and hearing Dave Wages was there as one day, Ikm gonna get a custom frame and it’s gonna be a Kirk or an Ellis.

Anyway, last year was godawful brutal hot and the moon dust and the ping pong ball gravel on just about any other organized ride would have left a brutal “never going there again” aftertaste but it was still great fun and I would ride it again even knowing conditions would be the same.

[-holiday76]

Nice write-up David!

I don't believe we crossed paths but I was on the ride as well (completed both days though I ripped a sidewall on one of those "water holes" and had to get gifted a new tire to make that happen).

My first Cino and my first time in Montana - I'm an east coaster.

It was pretty awesome to say the least! Likely not my last Cino.

[David Kirk]

I'm sorry we didn't get to talk.

I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the ride and hope you'll do it again and that we can have a ride and beer together.

Your first photo is the one that gets me...that type of stark beauty simply does it for me. I'm lucky to have similar views right out my door but that doesn't take anything away from the feel if being at Cino. It's a special place and I feel at home there.

dave

Originally Posted by -holiday76

Nice write-up David!

I don't believe we crossed paths but I was on the ride as well (completed both days though I ripped a sidewall on one of those "water holes" and had to get gifted a new tire to make that happen).

My first Cino and my first time in Montana - I'm an east coaster.

It was pretty awesome to say the least! Likely not my last Cino.

[jamesdak]

Great photo's and info. I will be retired next year so no reason not to finally come up and do it. So looking forward to it.

Thanks for the share guys!

[oliver1850]

Originally Posted by -holiday76

Nice write-up David!

I don't believe we crossed paths but I was on the ride as well (completed both days though I ripped a sidewall on one of those "water holes" and had to get gifted a new tire to make that happen).

My first Cino and my first time in Montana - I'm an east coaster.

It was pretty awesome to say the least! Likely not my last Cino.

Just getting that first photo must have made the trip worthwhile. Good to see that at least a couple of members from the east made the trip.

I haven't been to MT in 43 years. Somehow my grandfather managed to get to WY or MT most every fall for years to hunt, driving vehicles ranging from a Model T to a 1950 Dodge pickup. Must have taken a lot more effort and commitment in those days. Thinking about it makes me feel like a slacker.

[Jdm]

Lovely photos! Thank you for sharing.

Are folks riding gravel on 23mm tires? That's hardcore.

[Mark Davison]

Some folks were riding vintage bikes with narrow tires, but that was unusual. I would say most of the vintage style road bikes were sporting 32mm tires.

There were a couple of us on randonneur style bikes with 42mm tires, which is decidedly unheroic on the one hand, but in some ways more historically accurate for using derailleur equipped bicycles on extensive rough unpaved surfaces (i.e. the French “cyclo-sportif” bikes that were used in the Concours des Machines.) I think organized underbiking in professional sports (riding narrow tired racing bikes on unpaved surfaces) was just another manifestation of Henri Desgrange’s desire to create a spectacle of suffering when he organized the Tour de France.

This year at Cino any non-electric bike was welcome, so we had people on traditional mountain bikes, and modern gravel bikes, even some with carbon fiber frames and one with electronic shifting. The modern features did not appear to provide any fantastic advantage.

There was a couple doggedly soldiering along on a Schwinn Paramount road tandem with 32mm tires. They get my personal award for sheer athletic heroism.

[Spaghetti Legs]

Originally Posted by Jdm

Lovely photos! Thank you for sharing.

Are folks riding gravel on 23mm tires? That's hardcore.

Last year I used 28 mm Grand Bois Cerfs; great tires! There was one guy last year (in a Cutters T shirt) who had finally called it quits on the lunch stop day 2 after numerous flats. He wandered over and asked me what tires I had, was thinking about changing up tires for next year. He was on 25 mm Vittoria Corsas.

[tv_vt]

Thanks for posting, Dave. Looks like a very fun, unique ride in a beautiful area.

Is there a date yet for the 2025 running? And are the 'rules' posted somewhere regarding bikes and gear that's acceptable? I noticed Dave (the other one) had clipless pedals, so maybe this is not Eroica level vintage rules. Thanks.
Edit: reading this thread backwards a bit and I see Mark D mentioning the basics concerning bikes, which sounds easy enough to work with.