By Shannon Lukens.
Routt County ranchers and landowners showed up at a meeting with SBT GRVL owner and founder Amy Charity, in Oak Creek Wednesday evening. Charity said the purpose of the meeting is to hear feedback and come up with solutions.
“It’s been a good experience to really have these open dialogues with the county and get an understanding of what the concerns are. There are many things that SBT GRVL will be addressing.”
Rural landowners have been frustrated with the SBT GRVL ride because of quite a few things. Ranchers have a hard time getting into their driveways and properties because of so many riders on the county roads in front of their homes. They complain of riders and spectators being rude, blocking the roads, throwing trash, and going to the bathroom on their property.
Charity started Wednesday night’s meeting with the promise that they are hearing and listening and looking into solving the problems and the impact to the rural community on race day, which was Aug. 20, 2023.
She said the SBT GRVL started in 2019 and it has had 3,000 riders in the last two years, from ages seven to 84.
Greer Van Dyck does community relations for SBT GRVL. She said what she heard were the biggest concerns at the Routt County Commissioners meeting on Oct. 16 were safety, respect, and liability. She says they’ve made a plan around these specific areas of concern. She asked how this can be figured out together. “We definitely acknowledge the impact.”
Charity spoke about new routes. One proposal is for the long course to go into Hayden. It’s about 125 miles instead of 140 for the long course. That has not yet been approved or confirmed. “We’re going to find roads more remote that have less of an impact on people needing to get in and out.”
She said one change is that they want the riders off of Routt County Road 44 by 9:30 a.m. next year, instead of 5:30 p.m. like this year’s race. Charity said the riders will get off the busier areas earlier.
There will also no longer be bi-directional racing, meaning racers going in both directions on a road. They’ll just go one way. And there won’t be any looping.
Comments from ranchers in the room included talking about trash. One man said there is still trash from the race in the ditch by his house, near RCR 27 and 29. He was frustrated that no one came to talk to him before the race. He said it “impacted private property for a public event.”
Charity said they will be cleaning that trash up. They have a 30-plus person trash crew that cleans up the trash within 24 hours of the event. “We want to leave the roads better than when we found them.”
The large event permit from the county is issued 45 days before the event.
Charity discussed solutions that will be happening, such as earlier start times and having the race on roads less traveled. They will be hiring Colorado State Patrol to control a rolling enclosure for the front of the race on Hwy 40.
There will be more course marshals, enforcing littering and when riders to go the bathroom in yards and not the provided porta-potties.
Race organizers will also increase rider education. When a person registers, there will be boxes that they have to check that remind them of the rules, such as littering, riding on the right, going to the bathroom in the proper places. If those rules are broken, a racer can be disqualified and prevented from registering in the future.
Charity said, “It’s the right thing to do.”
Outreach with the property owners was questioned. Charity said huge orange signs are on the course two weeks prior to the race, a banner is on Lincoln Ave., and flyers were placed on mailboxes on the course. Several people in the room said they never received those flyers.
It was suggested that landowners on the course receive a direct mailer with details. Charity said they will consider that, as it is a good idea.
Routt County Sheriff Doug Scherar said he wants a phone number that people can call with problems. That was the feedback he received. People didn’t know who to call.
Charity was asked why she started the SBT GRVL race and why she continues to have it. She said, “It is literally changing lives and the face of the sport in the United States.” She said it is the most racially diverse event in cycling. Many kids are involved and their lives are impacted.
Shakeout rides were discussed. Those are the pre-rides with groups of cyclists the week before the event. Charity said they got an event permit for each one. They have 100 people up to a few hundred for a short, one-hour ride. They are going to avoid RCR 44 in the future. They have also hired the “Breakfast Club.” That’s a group that controls large rides. They have a ride leader in the front and a ride sweep in the back, with riders on the sides, to control the group.
Charity said they have a very robust safety plan with EMS ambulances and motorcycles on the course. “We hire them. They are not paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
The Routt County Fair was also a big discussion point. The race is held on the last day of the fair and many of the ranchers had a hard time, or couldn’t get to the fair at all. Getting home with their campers and trailers was equally difficult. Charity said they are looking at a course that would avoid fair traffic.
Oak Creek Police Chief Ralph Maher praised the SBT GRVL website but added that they should add a “Community Relations” tab. It should have details and information for the land owners on the route. Chief Maher also told everyone in the room how impressed he was that the owner of the race came to talk to them as he has never seen that happen. It is always a staffer who says they’ll pass it along. He praised Charity and Van Dyke for being there, listening, and promising to take action.
Charity said the SBT GRVL brings in a significant amount of money in revenue and taxes to the community.
Charity asked to sit down with a handful of Routt County landowners to have a working session to discuss options, instead of in a room full of angry ranchers. “I can go in front of a room and take a beating, but that’s the last thing I want.”
Van Dyck stressed how hard they have been working on this for the past two months, “We really, really mean it,” that we are working on solutions. She added, “We know we’ve got some work to do.”
The meeting wrapped up with Charity saying, “You brought us great ideas and we are executing them. Our team is coming up with solutions.”
She said she will increase communications, especially with Steamboat Radio News to get details out to the community sooner. She said there will be updates through their website, direct mail, more large signs, they’ll go door-to-door to ranches on the route, and they’ll get a phone number for people to call who are having problems.
Next year the race is Aug. 18. A date for 2025 hasn’t yet been set. Van Dyke said setting the date for 2025 will be a “new conversation.” The ranchers have expressed concern about the race being in the middle of hay season.
One man concluded the meeting with, “Our business runs 24/7. This is our livelihood. You can move yours. We can’t.”
Charity answered him by saying, “We have to find a way to work together.”
More from Amy Charity
Stories on previous meetings
Oct. 16, 2023 ROUTT COUNTY RURAL RESIDENTS TALK TO COMMISSIONERS ABOUT FRUSTRATIONS WITH SBT GRVL EVENT
Sept. 9, 2023 ROUTT COUNTY RANCHERS ARE ANGRY WITH SBT GRVL CYCLISTS