The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Three days of racing,five days of fun
By Than Acuff
For the eighth year in a row, Crested Butte Devo is hosting Junior Bike Week starting Wednesday, June 21 and continuing through the weekend, culminating with the Crested Butte Junior Wildflower Classic on Sunday, June 25.
It’s a five-day festival celebrating kids on bikes and includes a full slate of activities for the junior racer, the beginner junior mountain biker and their families that continues to gain ground each year with a peak last year. Yet, rather than continue to grow the event by opening it up to more people, Crested Butte Devo avoids the trappings of more is better by opting for a quality over quantity philosophy. They limited the number of participants last year and kept that limit in place this year despite events selling out well in advance and interest continuing to grow.
“We really made a shift, it’s not about numbers,” says Crested Butte Devo executive director Amy Nolan. “It’s more about the depth than the width. We have similar numbers to last year and that’s a number where we can provide a fun, safe experience.”
Furthermore, while racing is part of Junior Bike Week, it is far from the main focus of Junior Bike Week.
“This is a festival,” says Nolan. “The mission of Crested Butte Devo is to provide a fun and safe environment for young cyclists to develop skills and passion that last a lifetime.”
Things started on Wednesday, June 21, as Crested Butte Devo joined the Crested Butte Conservation Corps for some trail work. In past years their efforts were concentrated on the Town of Crested Butte Bike Park by the community school, but with the park already in good shape, Crested Butte Devo is heading into the hills to help CBCC with some trail work.
The festival then officially kicks into gear on Thursday, June 22, as families and their junior riders rolling into town will be treated to opening events, event registration, food trucks and plenty of libations from the Horsefeather Mobile Bar at the Junior Bike Week headquarters by the Crested Butte Community School. Riders in the Enduro race slated for Friday will be able to pre-ride the course in the Evolution Bike Park at Crested Butte Mountain Resort during the day, complete with discounted lift tickets for participants and families. Also on Thursday, from 5-7 p.m., Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association is hosting a “no drop” ride for adults on the trails surrounding the town.
Friday is when the racing starts for the junior shredders with the Enduro races. The first two years of the Enduro event were held on local trails but this year the Enduro will take place at Crested Butte Mountain Resort.
“We wanted a more spectator friendly event and the resort has been super supportive,” says Nolan.
The Enduro is also the first of three events in the Triple Crown Challenge for kids who want to challenge their gravity-fed, pump track and cross-country riding abilities. Last year, 122 riders did all three and when all is said and done, the Kings and Queens of Junior Bike Week will be awarded in all age categories.
The Enduro course is set for Upper Luge and Teaser and the racing is set to kick off on Friday at 10 a.m. with the awards ceremony set for 2 p.m. back at Junior Bike Week headquarters in town.
Meanwhile, there will be food and drinks throughout the day at the event headquarters, including a cookout fundraiser by the CB Devo high school bike team, and Friday’s schedule concludes with a movie night and raffle at the Majestic Theatre starting at 6 p.m.
Junior Bike Week is then centered almost entirely at headquarters with the Pump Track Challenge in the bike park, the second event of the Triple Crown, as well as a “foot down” challenge, skills clinics and more food and drinks ramping up the festival atmosphere of Junior Bike Week.
“Saturday is when it all comes together,” says Nolan. “It’s such a different vibe from the usual junior race weekends when you combine festival, fun-focused events. Saturday is all about fun.”
The attention then turns to the third and final event of the Triple Crown as junior riders will be lining up Sunday, June 25, for the Junior Wildflower Classic with neutral starts and the finish line on Peanut Lake Road and the courses utilizing the Lupine and Lower Loop trail system.
“The flowers are going to be ready just in time,” says Nolan. “It blows the doors off any junior racecourse I’ve seen. Partnerships with the Town of Crested Butte and the Crested Butte Land Trust make it all possible.”
The racing begins on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and while Junior Bike Week riders will dominate the trails and the public is asked to steer clear of these trails in the morning, Nolan assures all will be back to normal and open to the public early in the day.
“We understand we take over things, but we do move off the trails pretty darn quickly,” says Nolan. “Last year we were off by noon.”
While all events and races are already sold out, there’s still plenty of activities to take part in throughout the five-day festival as families and kids celebrate all things mountain biking and, as always, volunteers are needed to make the event another great success. For all information regarding Junior Bike Week go to juniorbikeweek.com.
