By Shannon Lukens.
Routt County Commissioners are having a work session at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 16. Agenda items include a discussion on Special Event permits, and the details around those permits, which starts at 10:30 a.m. Agenda
The cost of a Special Event Permit for a Large Event of more than 1,000 participants in Routt County is $200. Plus, event organizers have to pay for any additional staff time, if necessary, to post signage in advance of the event on the event route.
Here is the list of 15 Special Event Permit Holders from so far this year, in 2023. The largest was the SBT GRVL (Steamboat Gravel) Bike Race, with 3,000 participants. The Steamboat Marathon/Half Marathon/10K running race had 2,000 runners.
2023 Special Event Permit Holders
- Wild West Relay – Running Race (1,000 Participants)
- Snowmobile Poker Run – Winter Snowmobile Ride (150 Participants)
- Emerald Mountain Epic – Mountain Bike and Running Race (Large Event) (1,200 Participants)
- Steamboat Gravel – Bike Race (Large Event) (3,000 Participants)
- Steamboat Gravel Shakeout Ride – Social Ride (800 Participants)
- Steamboat Marathon/Half Marathon/10k – Running Race (Large Event) (2,000 Participants)
- Rally Rail Motorcycle Ride – Adventure Bike Ride (40 Participants)
- Moots Ranch Rally – Bike Tour (275 Participants)
- Steamboat Lake Triathlon – Triathlon (200 Participants)
- Stagecoach Gravel Triathlon – Triathlon (200 Participants)
- Tour De Steamboat – Bike Tour (950 Participants)
- Oak Creek Mountain Park Town Challenge – Bike Race (90 Participants)
- Hahn’s Peak Vertical Trail Race – Running Race (75 Participants)
- Bear’s Ears Adventure Race – Running, biking, hiking, boating, orienteering race (60 participants)
- Ride the Cog – Bike Tour (100 Participants) Girls on the Run 5k – Running Tour (450 Participants)
SBT GRVL is presenting a 2024 Community Engagement Plan that includes details on the local impact of the race, including financial, community engagement, diversity, and giving back to the community. Co-Founder Amy Charity says 3,100 cyclists competed in the SBT GRVL. 300 of them were local riders. They were from 50 states and 24 countries. Distances are 141.9 miles, 100.1 miles, 59.3 miles, and 36.5 miles.
Here are four of the 16 pages of the presentation. The link is below.
SBT GRVL 2024 Community Engagement
Another part of the presentation to Routt County Commissioners is called, “Special Events and their cumulative impacts on rural neighborhoods.” Here are four of the 14 pages. The first page of the power point says, “As rural Routt County residents, we formally request these issues become public record,” and it adds that it is specifically about the “serious safety and liability issues specific to the bicycle race on Aug. 20, 2023,” and the negative impact to the rural community. The link to the presentation is below.
Special Events and their cumulative impacts on rural neighborhoods
Routt County ranchers and landowners have expressed anger and frustration at having the SBT GRVL race ride on the rural roads through the county. SBT GRVL hosted a meeting in early September and about 30 people showed up including Larry Belton, who lives on Routt County Road 56.
“We could not haul hay. One day they told me I couldn’t go up the road to where I live and I went anyway. And you couldn’t get out on the road. And the bikers were going seven abreast and when you met them they wouldn’t get over. And it was just a whole day of bikes. And they scared our horses and our cows. And there was just too many of them.”
Story on Sept. 9, 2023 — ROUTT COUNTY RANCHERS ARE ANGRY WITH SBT GRVL CYCLISTS
Organizers of the SBT GRVL cycling event are having another listening session to hear from rural community members on how they feel about the race. It’s in the Oak Creek Town Hall Board Room, from 4-5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8. Co-founder and owner of the SBT GRVL ride, Amy Charity will be there, as will Greer Van Dyck who is the Director of Community Relations. They are hoping to have, “a kind and respectful conversation regarding your experience and our team is here to listen and engage with you. If you have rural community members or neighbors who you feel would like to join, please extend this invitation to them.” Contact Information: greer@sbtgrvl.com 970.846.0617