The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Racing is experiencing a renaissance
Sure, all the singletrack in Crested Butte is buried under snow right now. But that doesn’t mean it’s too early for Scott Still from the Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce to start schussing out next year’s Fat Tire Bike Week and one of its key components—the Fat Tire 40 Bike Race.
Still mailed a letter to the U. S. Forest Service on Friday, December 18, requesting that the Gunnison National Forest raise the number of participants allowed for the Fat Tire 40, a 42-mile race on some of Crested Butte’s best singletrack, to grow from 100 to 300 for 2010 and to 500 by 2012. The 2009 race reached its capacity of 100 riders and the Chamber believes there is a lot of potential for growing the event.
Both the Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte Town Councils agreed earlier this month to support the letter to the Forest Service and try to grow the race. According to Mt. Crested Butte Mayor William Buck, “It sounds pretty basic: let’s stimulate the economy.”
Crested Butte Mayor Leah Williams agreed, saying, “We like to see these types of things grow.”
Still summed up the need for the expansion in his letter: “A limit of 300 riders for the 2010 Fat Tire 40 would accommodate the appropriate Mountain States Cup classes and allow for a more cohesive and economically viable race and festival.”
“In its ‘heyday,’ FTBW used to be all about racing, so a lot of people were super stoked to see racing back in the mix,” Still said. “In my estimation, the highlight of last year’s FTBW was the 40 and the Chainless, and we are focusing our efforts on these two events for 2010 and beyond. Dave Ochs (who really made the 40 possible) and I got nothing but raves about the race. I have already fielded several calls from out of town racers asking about the date for next year.”
Ochs threw his opinion into the ring as well. “It will further brand Crested Butte by showing off the best of the best,” he said. “Many ‘Classic’ MTB [mountain bike] races actually have awful courses. Take the Leadville 100 or the Firecracker 50 for example. Massive turnout and hype around the race, and yet the terrain is hardly ‘epic.’ This is a true taste of some of the best singletrack to offer on the planet, right out the back door of Crested Butte.
“This is a 40-mile race with some of the best, most classic pieces of track put together for a stellar ride, and race to boot,” Ochs added. “One time racing it, and it will be etched into the memory books forever. You could have the worst race/ride of your life, and you still couldn’t deny the epic places you just took in. The riding that is Crested Butte will be etched into the brain.”
Crested Butte council members Roland Mason and Dan Escalante were concerned about the trails. Escalante pointed out some of the trails can still have snow on them in June, when the Fat Tire 40 is held. Mason wanted to make sure having 500 racers pound the trail for the race didn’t ruin the ride of recreational bikers later in the summer.
“We’ll post a bond and work with the Crested Butte Mountain Biking Association to keep the trails in good shape,” promised Still. “We won’t run the race on trails that could get ripped up.”
It’s in the Forest Service’s hands now, and time will tell whether more riders will be slaying the singletrack during next year’s Fat Tire 40.
