An upstart mountain biking development club for youth is planning a bike swap/sale in Cortez this spring.
Organizers with High Desert Devo are hosting the event to raise funds for local youth mountain bike racers to travel to racing events and for training camps. A time and place will be announced soon.
“Most of the races are on the Front Range, but we’re working on getting one in this area,” said Adam Lederer, of High Desert Devo, during a presentation to the Montezuma County commissioners.
Those who want to sell a bike are asked to donate a portion of the sales to the bike development group. Or they can donate the bike, and all the sales would go to the group.
“There is a hole in this community for recycled bikes and getting them to those that need them,” said Pete Eschellier, of High Desert Devo.
It was noted that the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office might have unclaimed bikes they could contribute to the swap. The group envisions training youths to fix up bikes as well.
The new youth bike development group also has started a high school mountain bike team called High Desert Composite, which is open to students from Montezuma-Cortez, Mancos, Dolores and Southwest Open high schools.
The team competes in the Colorado High School Cycling League and is sanctioned by the National Interscholastic Cycling Association.
High Desert Devo is planning summer mountain bike classes, from beginner to advanced. Organizers have become certified mountain bike coaches, and are experienced cyclists with racing pedigrees.
“We’re very interested in promoting the sport of mountain biking to youths,” said Eschellier said. “We have group rides with kids and their parents and plan mountain biking clinics for different age groups this summer.”
There are 900 mountain bike races per year in Colorado. The race courses are often on private land because permitting for public lands is more time-consuming. Routes are usually 5-6 miles, with freshmen doing one timed lap, and upper classmen running it three or four times.
“The youth racing circuit is everything from serious elite riders, to those that just want to go out and have fun,” Eschellier said.
For more information on the new mountain bike racing development club, go to its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/highdesertdevo/ or email at highdesertdevo@gmail.com
jmimiaga@the-journal.com