Since the 1970s, when locals started retrofitting old Schwinn paperboy bikes with multiple gears, Crested Butte has helped write the history of mountain biking and is now home to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. Today, some of the sport’s most thrilling chapters are still unfolding in the Gunnison-Crested Butte Valley, with both classic and cutting-edge events and backcountry trails straight out of mountain and road biker fantasies.In fact, the readers of Bike magazine named Crested Butte the Best Destination in an article about the “33 Best Rides in North America” that appeared in the March 2009 issue. Crested Butte’s Teocalli Ridge received the Best Climb nod, Deadman’s Gulch landed the Best Tight ‘N Twisty accolade, and the infamous 401 Trail received an honorable mention for Trail of the Year.
Also, riding Crested Butte was the number one item on Mountain Bike Action’s “100 Things Every Mountain Biker Needs to Do” list in the magazine’s March 2009 issue.
Lots more - including informaiton on a ton of rides - after the jump.
Biking is fully engrained in the experience of visiting and living in Gunnison-Crested Butte. Townie bikes are common forms of transportation, even in winter, and many people just park their cars as it’s easy to ride a two-wheeler to epic trails, museums, concerts, shops, restaurants and nightlife. In fact, two of the state’s biggest summer rides will be passing through, with Ride the Rockies overnighting in Gunnison on June 15, and Bicycle Tour of Colorado spending two nights and a day off in Crested Butte on June 24 and 25.
Pitch in to help local riders with trail work days organized by the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association, www.cbmba.org, and Gunnison Trails, www.gunnisontrails.com, and maybe they’ll show you a favorite ride or two. To view trail reports and sign up for email trail report newsletters, visit www.coloradomountainbiking.info.
2009 biking events
April 30 Gunnison Growler Mountain Bike Series, Gunnison
May 7, 14 Gunnison Growler Mountain Bike Series, Gunnison
May 24 Original Growler Mountain Bike Race, Gunnison
May, June & August Gunnison Growler Mountain Bike Series, Gunnison & Crested Butte
June 6 National Trails Day – Trail Work Day with Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association, Crested Butte Area
June 15 – 16 Ride the Rockies Overnight Stay in Gunnison
June 20 – 21 9th Annual Wildflower Rush Mountain States Cup Race, Mt. Crested Butte
June 24 – 26 Bicycle Tour of Colorado, Overnight Stays & Day Off in Crested Butte
June 24 – 28 29th Annual Fat Tire Bike Week, Crested Butte
June 27 – 28 Bridges of the Butte (24-hour townie tour), Crested Butte
June 27 Loco-Motive Adventure Race, Gunnison
July 16, 23, 30, Aug. 6, 13 PowerAde Pinnacle Summer Race Series, Mt. Crested Butte
Aug. 15 – 16 7th Annual 24 Hours in the Sage, Gunnison
Aug. 22 Gunnison Growler Mountain Bike Series, Crested Butte or Gunnison (TBA)
Sept. 12 – 13 33rd Annual Pearl Pass Mountain Bike Tour, Crested Butte
Sept. 17, Oct. 8 & 29 Gunnison Growler Mountain Bike Series
GUNNISON GROWLER MOUNTAIN BIKE Series, Gunnison, April - October
The fourth annual Gunnison Growler Mountain Bike Series will take place on select Thursday evenings this spring, summer and fall (April 30; May 7 and 14; Sept. 17; Oct. 8 and 29) at Hartman Rocks Multi-Use Recreation Area in Gunnison. A race also is tentatively being planned for Aug. 22 on the 401 trail in Crested Butte; if permits are not secured, it will be held at Hartman Rocks. This classic mountain bike race/fun ride series is for all ages and abilities with men’s and women’s divisions in four categories: single-speed open, beginner, sport and expert. The races begin at 5:45 p.m., with registration starting on-site at 4 p.m. The cost is $15 per race. Proceeds benefit Gunnison Trails. For more information, visit www.gunnisontrails.com or call Brian Riepe at (970) 641-1804.
Original growler, Gunnison, May 24
Kick off the mountain biking race season on Memorial Day weekend in Gunnison. Dave Wiens, the local racer who made big headlines last year by beating Lance Armstrong in the Leadville 100 and has plenty of other impressive victories to his name, is one of the organizers of this second annual mountain bike race so you know it has to be good. Register for the full race, which includes two 32-mile laps at Hartman Rocks Multi-Use Recreational Area or the Half Growler to cover one lap. Each lap will climb around 4,000 vertical feet, so participants must be proficient single track riders and in good shape. The race starts at 7 a.m. and will be followed by food and fun for participants. All proceeds benefit Gunnison Trails. To register, go to www.GunnisonTrails/events/growler. The cost is $45 with a cap of 200 riders.
For people looking to really challenge their minds and bodies over the weekend, take part in the Sage Burner Trail Race, a 25K and 50K running race at Hartman Rocks on May 23, organized by Western State College at Hartman Rocks. Find out more at www.western.edu/sageburner.
9th Annual Wildflower Rush, Mt. Crested Butte, June 20 – 21
Come discover what real Crested Butte single track is all about at the 9th Annual Wildflower Rush, the fourth stop on this year’s Mountain States Cup (MSC) regional mountain bike racing series.
Held at Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Mt. Crested Butte, the event begins with a Cross Country race on June 20, featuring a 10-mile course on the Butte’s legendary web of winding single track, climbing 1,800 feet per lap. A free Shimano Kids Race also will be held on Saturday. On June 21, the Crested Butte Downhill and new Super-D will give racers plenty of challenges. For more information and registration, visitwww.racemsc.com.
29th Annual Fat Tire Bike Week, Crested Butte, June 24 – 28
Voted Best Festival in Bike magazine’s third annual reader poll, Fat Tire Bike Week not only celebrates Crested Butte as one of the birthplaces of mountain biking, it is the world’s oldest mountain bike festival. This year, FTBW coincides with a Bicycle Tour of Colorado visit and Bridges of the Butte, bringing road, mountain and town biking face to face in a town that embraces them all.
During FTBW festivities, local riders lead beginner, intermediate and advanced tours on Crested Butte area’s trails, and there is plenty of time to socialize at the daily expo with demo bike test rides, live music, and a beer garden and food court. The gutsy and entertaining Chainless Race down Kebler Pass is an annual favorite, and the new Fat Tire 40 mountain bike race will cover 40 miles of classic Crested Butte single track. Other highlights include a historic townie tour, cycling celebrity party, Project Rwanda benefit concert, and townie bike facelift parade. For information, contact the Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce at (800) 545-4505 or visit www.ftbw.com.
Bridges of the Butte, Crested Butte, June 27 - 28
This 24-hour townie bike tour takes riders on many of the bridges in downtown Crested Butte and runs from 3 p.m. on June 27 to 3 p.m. on June 28. Enter as an individual and cruise all 24 hours or enter as a team. There is no limit to team size, and costumes are encouraged but not required. This unique event benefits the Adaptive Sports Center. Registration costs $24 per participant with pre-registration preferred. Register online at www.adaptivesports.org. For information, call (970) 349-5075, ext. 107.
Loco-Motive Adventure Race, Gunnison, June 27
Team Salmon – Crested Butte has traveled the world on the adventure racing circuit and is helping the Gunnison River Festival come up with a dandy mix of kayaking the Gunnison River, running 11K and biking 25k at Hartman Rocks Multi-Use Recreational Area, and ringing the bell to finish at Gunnison Whitewater Park. The festival runs from June 26 – 28. For more information about the Loco-Motive Adventure Race, which starts at 9 a.m., visit www.gunnisonriverfestival or call (970) 596-7094.
PowerAde Pinnacle Race Series, Mt. Crested Butte, July 16, 23, 30, Aug. 6, 13
This recreational racing series created in 1998 by Crested Butte Mountain Resort is geared toward fun and competition for beginner to expert riders split up into 12 racing categories. The races consist of varying lengths and difficulty on Mt. Crested Butte’s network of trails and single-track and take place on five Thursday evenings in July and August at 5:45 p.m. At the ski area base, a free Shimano Youth Series for kids is offered at the same time. Food, beer and prizes follow every race. For more information (970) 349-2221 or visit www.skicb as summer nears.
7th ANNUAL 24 HOURS IN THE SAGE, Gunnison, August 15 – 16
Gunnison’s Hartman Rocks Multi-Use Recreation Area is the backdrop for a 24-hour relay bike race where individual entrants and teams ride a 13-mile loop continuously from noon Saturday, Aug. 15 to noon Sunday, Aug. 16. The person/team in each category with the most laps wins. A 12-hour race that starts at midnight and finishes at noon also is offered. Additional highlights for the weekend include live entertainment, the World Townie Championships (with entrants riding single-speed bikes with mandatory fenders and either horns or fuzzy seat covers) and more. The event typically attracts approximately 200 racers, with proceeds benefiting community projects in Gunnison. To register or for more information, contact (303) 507-1148 or visit www.24hoursinthesage.com.
33rd ANNUAL PEARL PASS MOUNTAIN BIKE TOUR, Crested Butte to Aspen, Sept. 12 – 13
The 33rd annual Pearl Pass Mountain Bike Tour, the oldest mountain bike event in the world, runs from Crested Butte to Aspen via Pearl Pass on Sept. 12 – 13. In 1976, the first group of 15 or 20 cyclists from the Butte rode one-speed town bikes over the 12,705-foot Pearl Pass to Aspen in response to a group of Aspenites riding their motorcycles over Pearl Pass and parking them in front of the old Grubstake Saloon (now the Brick Oven) in Crested Butte. The Crested Butte rowdies pulled up in downtown Aspen in front of the historic Hotel Jerome upon arrival. By the early 1980s, the expert ride had grown and become a weeklong event known as Fat Tire Bike Week. Today, Fat Tire Bike Week is held in June and the Pearl Pass Mountain Bike Tour is in September to honor the origins of mountain biking in Crested Butte. For information, call (970) 349-6817 or visit www.mtnbikehalloffame.com.
