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If you’ve ever been on a mountain bike ride in Steamboat and wondered who maintains the endless miles of heavenly single-track, the answer is the hundreds of volunteers who support Routt County Riders. The Steamboat-based non-profit organization works year-round to protect the trails and thoroughfares we enjoy on two wheels and to advocate for cyclists.

That sounds a lot simpler than it is. “An organization that advocates for cyclists in Northwest Colorado becomes more political than you might imagine. Trail use is not just about the municipality, but how it relates to other land agencies like the BLM and the Forest Service. Everything is interconnected, interrelated, and interdependent,” says Laraine Martin, RCR Executive Director. “One of the coolest roles I can play is being a silver thread between all these agencies, land managers, and different types of people on bikes. My job is to boil that down and to think about how to relate to each other and bring us to a common understanding.”

Photo Credit: Elisa Maines

Steamboat is famous for its vast network of mountain bike trails that offer a wide variety of options for riders of all abilities, from gentle cross-country single track in the valley to rocky technical high alpine descents. With several well developed and established trail networks, Steamboat is also renowned for its trail interconnectedness, which allows for big-mile rides. From trail access right in town at Emerald Mountain and Buffalo Pass to Soda Mountain and the Continental Divide Trail—not to mention Steamboat Mountain Resort’s trails, with its lift access and bike park—there are virtually hundreds of miles of possibilities to explore. “It’s about a wide range of access opportunities for all different skill levels,” Martin says. “You can ride your bike to Emerald from downtown Steamboat in two minutes and be on single-track where the world drops away. The idea that you can do a 100-mile ride from trails that are in such close proximity to town is amazing. You don’t have to drive anywhere to get to it. These public lands are in our town.”

Many of these trails, which have been around since the early 90s, have become “legal, categorized, and cataloged,” thanks in part to the work RCR has done since it became an official non-profit organization in 2010. RCR is also responsible for coordinating a tremendous trail maintenance network thanks to hundreds of dedicated volunteers who turn out to literally get their hands dirty doing the hard, physical labor it takes to dig, rake, cut, and clear. “As an organization, we have the resources to fund trail maintenance. We are a very well-oiled machine. As a whole, we have a trail network that is very well taken care of, and that is a testament to the good work that’s being done,” Martin says.

Like most resort towns, Steamboat has had its fair share of growing pains in the past few years as more people discover the beauty, lifestyle and close-knit community afforded in the Yampa Valley. As a result, the need for trail expansion, maintenance, and protection is more important than ever. “I think because Steamboat is at a crossroads in terms of development, a lot of things become more controversial than you might think,” Martin says.

The organization also works closely with the Steamboat Mountain Resort, which boasts miles and miles of single-track cross-country trails in addition to the massive infrastructure being invested into the bike park and lift-accessed downhill trails by the resort. “How we interact with the resort is crucial. If we can work with a massive corporation like Alterra, who is pouring millions of dollars into a quickly growing ski resort, and maintain public access to multi-use trails and other resources, that’s one of the coolest things RCR does. I see us having a pivotal role as the resort continues its $500-million development in the next few years,” Martin says.

While volunteerism is the organization’s backbone as well as its legacy, RCR is also involved with city engagement and advocacy. “We spend a lot of time motivating our membership base and Board of Directors to interact with Parks and Rec and City Council to help facilitate things like bike safety legislation or to approve a new trail,” Martins says. RCR has also recently instituted a bike match program to collect donated bikes and match them with community members in need via other non-profit partnerships, a new program that Martin says “has taken on a life of its own.”

RCR’s advocacy for cyclists goes beyond the mountain biking sect with efforts made on behalf of road, gravel, and even e-bike sectors with programs like safety courses for motorists and education programs at schools, a network of “road rider rest stops,” and working to foster an open dialogue with the local agriculture community for the proliferation of riders on county roads, especially as gravel bikes and e-bikes bring even more riders into these areas than ever before. And while the intricacies of her job might be complicated, the bottom line is still pretty simple: life is better on two wheels, and RCR plans to keep it that way. //routtcountyriders.org

 


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