The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
10th year for the festival, new location
By Than Acuff
Between 200 and 250 kids ages 3-18, their families and their bikes will return to Crested Butte Thursday through Sunday, June 25-29 for the 10th annual Junior Bike Week presented by Crested Butte Devo. At its inception, the event started primarily focused on the Junior Wildflower Bike Race, a classic cross-country race, but has transformed over the years without straying from its initial philosophy.
“We want a fun-focused experience for kids to experience a festive environment balancing competitive and non-competitive events,” says event director Amy Nolan. “We don’t want to be just another bike race.”
While the same events are on track for this year, one big thing has changed, the festival location. For years Junior Bike Week has been located behind the CB Community School by the Crested Butte Bike Park, but Nolan found out in April of this year that she had to find a new home for the festival.
“Due to the massive construction projects at the school and Whetstone, the town wasn’t permitting special events in that area,” explains Nolan. “It was just going to be a mess.”
Fortunately, the town of Mt. Crested Butte, Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) and the Elevation Hotel and Spa stepped right in and Junior Bike Week headquarters will be at the Elevation Hotel and Spa at the base area of CBMR. The Red Lady lawn area will be the location for some of the fun events, downhill and short track racing will be at the resort and camping will be available for families and participants in the CBMR parking lot across from CB Sports.
“The resort and Mt. Crested Butte are rolling out the red carpet and the partnership with Elevation has been ginormous,” says Nolan. “It’s an opportunity for things to be even better and looking likely that it will be our new home.”
Other than the location change, most everything remains in place from last year with the event starting Wednesday, June 25 as the Crested Butte Conservation Corps (CBCC) will host a presentation at 2:30 p.m. at the Town Park pavilion in the town of Crested Butte (behind the Center for the Arts) with trail work at the resort base area at 3 p.m.
Things then switch gears Thursday with the official kickoff party presented by Orange Seal and Big Al’s Bicycle Heaven including mocktails provided by Horsefeather Mobile Bar and tire huck on the Red Lady lawn as well as a pump track challenge at the base area for kids under the age of eight years old at 4 p.m.
Friday is when things really start going with downhill racing supported by Oakley, Hand Up and Troy Lee Designs on the Avery trail at the resort starting at 9 a.m. The downhill race is also the first of three stages in the overall Omnium competition that also includes the short track and cross-country races. The day comes to a close with Movie Night at the Majestic Theatre complete with a raffle. Movie Night is already sold out though.
Saturday’s events remain at the base area including stage two of the Omnium, the Short Track race supported by Orange Seal, Oakley and 7iDP starting at 9 a.m. and a new event this year, a girl’s cycling celebration at the Matchstick Lounge in the Elevation at 2 p.m. with local legend and professional bike racer and coach Jenny Smith. There will be another pump track challenge for kids under the age of eight at 4 p.m. and the foot down competition at 5 p.m.
“It’ll be a good time,” says Nolan.
The showcase event of the week, the Junior Wildflower Classic cross-country race presented by Osprey Packs, mountainFlow and ESI Grips and supported by Gunnison Valley Orthopedics and the Crested Butte Land Trust, will be wrapping up the festival on Sunday. This is the final stage of the Omnium as well with points accrued from the three events to determine the overall top rider for the week. While the festival headquarters are at the base area, the Wildflower Classic remains the same starting and finishing at Rainbow Park in the town of Crested Butte and taking racers out onto the Lupine trail system starting at 8:30 a.m.
“The trails on the mountain just aren’t conducive to the younger kids,” says Nolan. “And we have such a great partnership with the Land Trust to host the race on the Lupine system.”
Thanks to the support of Shimano and Orange Seal, as well as numerous other bike industry companies, there will be prizes galore throughout the entire festival for the kids and the festival is the main fundraising event for Crested Butte Devo who is committed to getting kids on bikes.
Online registration for any and all events, as well as a schedule and race information, can be found at juniorbikeweek.com. Registration will remain open online until midnight on Tuesday, June 24. There will be no day-of race registration. And, as always, volunteers are needed. If you want to help, click the link on the festival website to sign up for a shift.
