Don’t forget this model

There wasn’t an Oh Sh*t moment to be found last Tuesday as the best bike racers in the world rode up the valley from Gunnison to Mt. Crested Butte. There were plenty of Wow moments, however. Wow came with passion, responsibility and pride. There were smiles and shivers and accolades as a team of dedicated local volunteers pulled off something pretty wild.
The USA Pro Cycling Challenge lasted just a few minutes in the town of Crested Butte as racers buzzed from the hill overlooking the school, up Whiterock, down Elk and toward a view of Paradise Divide and a finish line in Mt. Crested Butte. It was pointed out to me that the race hit Crested Butte about 4:20 p.m. Appropriate as they passed a green leaf painted on the street near a Colorado flag.
But after the race finished in Mt. Crested Butte there was a feeling of partnership that hasn’t always been felt up and down the valley. Hey, to not only pull off putting on a race that was complimented by the racers, the production crew, the state and national organizers, but to pull it off pro is a gold star for this wider community.
This wasn’t an event that will rock the sales tax figures for August (it won’t hurt) but this is something that was broadcast to a worldwide niche audience of people who like sport and like mountain towns. That describes us pretty well. We showed the best face possible to millions of people around the globe, and Huck and Ochs and Trujillo and everyone else who put countless hours into the event deserve a toast and some love.
On a broader theme, let’s all look at a template of success. People passionate about a sport stepped up and took on the duty, responsibility and work necessary to bring what was described after the race Tuesday evening as a world-class event. Passion and responsibility can create a good brew.
Congratulations to everyone involved. Looking at a hundred international journalists tap out stories on their laptops Tuesday evening in an Elevation Hotel ballroom and hearing about the video image of a local cowboy pacing the peloton on horseback, rest assured that the results of this event will linger a while.
While it won’t change your life tomorrow, it is a model that the greater community might want to remember as we move into the future… whatever future we can all agree on. And just about everyone I saw was having a pretty good time out there on a Tuesday afternoon in August.
Passion and responsibility paid off.
Wow.