Routt County commissioners heard complaints in October 2023 about a gravel bike race that had come through the area. The conflict continues into 2024. Michael Booth, a reporter with The Colorado Sun, joined KUNC to discuss the story.
Booth told KUNC gravel racing uses a regular racing bicycle frame, but also employs knobby, slightly wider tires so that riders can traverse the backcountry around towns such as Steamboat Springs.
The race event, known as SBT GRVL, began in 2019 with about 1,500 riders traveling between 37 and 142 miles on various courses.
“It's attracted all kinds of riders — people who say that their groups have never been invited to races like this before,” Booth said. “Now they feel very welcome.”
The problem with SBT GRVL, however, was how quickly it grew.
“They had to cap it in 2022 at 3,000 riders with a lottery,” Booth said. “And people in the community who live around there — ranchers way out there, people at the 70-mile point on the course, where you're on some pretty rural roads with a lot of cows, a lot of quiet — are saying that that many riders is just too many, and that they weren't warned. They haven't been prepared.”
Complaints cover a variety of issues, including littering, traffic slowdowns, and interference with emergency and farm vehicles.
“They (ranchers and rural neighbors) want to know if there's some permitting that can be done,” booth said. “Maybe they can put some limits on it. Maybe they could cap the number of riders.”
Race organizers have held public forums about locals’ concerns around the event and continue to do so. The result is a SBT GRVL 2024 action plan that incorporates things such as better messaging and sharing of race plans with Routt County residents, new courses and start times to lessen the impact on busy roads, and more marshals to keep riders safe.
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