Mash it at Crested Butte Bike Week

Keep the rubber side down, volunteers needed

by Stan Cola

 The Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce is at it again with the 38th annual Crested Butte Bike Week, Thursday through Sunday, June 21-24.

Along with Marin and Cupertino in California, Crested Butte is one of the first places in the world where people started taking their bikes off roads and into the mountains for fun. And, being Crested Butte, we came up with one of the most fun ways to get into the mountains: Crested Butte Bike Week. Filled with races, shenanigans, and more, the history of bike week is one of a mountain community bringing the best mountain bikers in the world to the home of mountain biking.

Furthermore, Crested Butte Bike Week is getting a major lift this year as the Big Mountain Enduro series event in Crested Butte was moved up in the summer to this weekend to coincide with the annual bike week festivities.

The schedule follows. For more information/details check out cbchamber.com.

Thursday

—Big Mountain Enduro Course Practice, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Shuttles leave from Town Park Vendor Village.

—Colo. Backcountry Washington Gulch Guided Ride, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Meet at Town Park Vendor Village. $40.

—Irwin Guides Skills Clinic, 4 p.m. Town Park Vendor Village. Free. One to two hours with option to go on a short ride afterwards. Call (970) 349-5430 to reserve your spot.

—Bike Movie Night: The Rider and the Wolf, 8 p.m. at the Crested Butte Library. The Rider and the Wolf is a 2015 documentary about the life and mysterious disappearance of Mountain Bike Hall of Fame cyclist Mike Rust. It’s free.

 

Friday

—Big Mountain Enduro Packet Pick-Up, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Town Park Vendor Village.

—Big Mountain Enduro Course Practice, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

—Colo. Backcountry Teocalli Ridge Guided Ride, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Meet at Town Park Vendor Village. $50.

—Chainless World Championships Registration/Bike Drop Off, 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at the Four-way Stop parking lot (behind the Crested Butte Visitors Center). $35 day-of; online registration until June 21 is only $30. You can register in person day-of from 9 a.m. to noon. You must drop off your bike by noon or you will have to take it to the top of Kebler Pass yourself. Bikes will not be allowed on the participant shuttles at 2:30 p.m.

—Obstacles Clinic with Backcountry Bike Academy, 10 a.m. to noon Four-way Stop parking lot (behind the Crested Butte Visitors Center). Price: $1 to $1,000,000—all donations tiny and gigantic are welcome and will go to CBMBA. Join BetterRide certified coach Andy Shabo and our team of instructors for a morning of dialing in your technique. From never-ever to pro-race: all ages and abilities welcome! Please sign up online.

—Discounted Evolution DH Bike Lesson,
10 a.m. Evolution Bike Shop and Park. $50 (normally $70) for a two-hour lesson (rental and lift ticket not included). Take a lift-served two-hour downhill lesson with Evolution Bike Park guides starting at 10 a.m. Discounted lift tickets are available for all Crested Butte Bike Week participants for $22 through the chamber of commerce or at the clinic check-in (must have proof of entry to a Crested Butte Bike Week event).

—Chainless World Championships Participant Shuttle, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. At the Four-way Stop parking lot (behind the Crested Butte Visitors Center). You must drop off your bike by noon—bikes will not be allowed on the participant shuttles. Registration closes at noon (or when we sell out, which happened by 11 a.m. last year). Arrive as early as possible; do not wait until the last minute. The last shuttle will be at 3:30 p.m., and if it is full, you may not make it to the top of Kebler!

—Crested Butte Devo Strider Cup and Slow Race Championships,
3 p.m. Corner parking lot at 1st and Elk Ave. Free. First, race your Strider down Elk Avenue. Then, how slow can you go!? Test your inner turtle and be the last to cross the line! Kids of all ages are encouraged to inch their way to the finish line and take home the gold. Lots of prizes, too!

—Chainless World Championships, 4:20 p.m. Participants at top of Kebler Pass; spectators at corner of 1st and Elk Avenue. The Chainless World Championships are like no other! Race your fastest townie chainless seven miles down Kebler Pass to a killer party in the heart of downtown Crested Butte. Do not forget to wear your finest costume and a helmet and remove that chain!

—Crested Butte Devo High School Race Team. $10 for U18; $15. At the Majestic Theater The featured movie is Filmed by Bike and there will be a super awesome drawing with all proceeds benefitting our high school race program. Movie will start at approximately 5:45 p.m.

—Big Mountain Enduro Racers Meeting, 7:30 p.m. Town Park Vendor Village.

 

Saturday

—Fat Tire 40 Check-In/Packet Pick-Up, 7 a.m. Town Park Vendor Village.

—Big Mountain Enduro, Shuttles at 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.

—Fat Tire 40 Racer Meeting, 7:30 a.m. Town Park Vendor Village.

—Fat Tire 40 Race, 8 a.m. race start, Town Park Vendor Village. $75. Registration closes at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 22. The Fat Tire 40 is a serious mountain bike race. Forty miles, and it’s almost all on singletrack. It’s the signature event of Bike Week. The $75 fee includes the race, food and beer. We have men’s and women’s categories, both with Amateur/Pro Categories. $3,000 cash purse split between Men and Women’s Pro Categories! Group Divisions: u-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50+.

—Colo. Backcountry Cement Creek Guided Ride, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Meet at Town Park Vendor Village. $50.

—Crested Butte Devo Skills Clinic, 10 a.m., Crested Butte Community School, $20., These will be held at CBCS parking lot, and we’ll also have clinics for you parents with IMBA-certified instructor Phil Ott, who is absolutely amazing! No matter how old you are, there’s always something to learn.

—Adaptive Sports Center Bridges of the Butte, 12 p.m. Saturday to 12 p.m. Sunday, in Town Park Vendor Village. Each summer, we come together for 24 hours with one purpose: to raise money to empower people with disabilities and their families to experience the life-changing facts of our program. The 300 riders raise funds for the ASC by completing laps through Crested Butte to earn pledges. All ages are encouraged to participate and riders can participate as individuals or as a team. Contact Emily Girdwood, emily@adaptivesports.org, (970) 349-5075.

—Bikes and Brews with Irwin Guides, 12:30 p.m. Town Park Vendor Village. $65. Guided ride of the Dyke Trail; first beer at the brewery is on us after the ride! Call (970) 349-5430 today to reserve your spot!

—PBJ Expo at Crested Butte Bike Park, 2 to 4 p.m. Crested Butte Bike Park (behind CBCS). Free. The Pumps, Jumps and Bumps Expo will be at the Crested Butte Bike Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in conjunction with the town of Crested Butte.

—Fat Tire 40 Awards, 2:30 p.m. Town Park Vendor Village. Free. Join us to crown the Fat Tire 40 2018 winners!

—Jr. Wildflower Classic Pizza, Ice Cream and Racer Meeting, 5 p.m. Totem Pole Park. Price included in registration; $10 suggested donation for all others. Pizza and Ice Cream Party followed by the pre-race meeting for the Crested Butte Junior Wildflower Classic at Totem Pole Park (located on Maroon Avenue across from the fire station) with Brick Oven pizza, Big B’s drinks and Third Bowl Ice Cream—racers and fans welcome!

 

Sunday

—Big Mountain Enduro. Shuttles at 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.

—Colo. Backcountry Flag/Bear/Doctor Guided Ride, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Meet at Town Park Vendor Village. $75.

—3rd Annual Crested Butte Junior Wildflower Classic, 9 a.m. Tommy V Field. $30 to $45. Awards at 12 p.m.

—Cornering Clinic with Backcountry Bike Academy, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Four-way Stop parking lot. $1 to $1,000,000—all donations tiny and gigantic are welcome and will go to CBMBA! Join BetterRide certified coach Andy Shabo and our team of instructors for a clinic specifically designed to help you experience the pure euphoria of railing corners. From never-ever to pro-race: all ages and abilities welcome! Please sign up online so we know how many people to expect.

—Adaptive Sports Center Bridges of the Butte Awards Party, 12 p.m. Town Park Vendor Village. Included in registration (participants and volunteers only).

—Big Mountain Enduro Awards Party, 5 p.m. Town Park Vendor Village. Free and open to the public.