The second-annual West End Gravel Rush bicycle race happens this weekend, Sept. 16, and starts in Nucla Town Park. An off-road bicycling event, it utilizes a network of dirt roads in western Montrose County.
The Gravel Rush has two course options available for riders, a 50-mile ride and also a 73-mile ride. Participants will leave Nucla Town Park at 9 a.m. and ride through Second and then Third Park, heading into Uravan. The event finishes back in Nucla Town Park.
“We do basically all of Long Park to Coke Ovens and a short stint of Naturita,” said organizer Tim Tait.
There are 160 riders this year, up 60 percent from last year. Eight individuals from the West End are participating. Many locals are also volunteering for the event, manning different stations and intersections.
Tait said locally there seems to be more interest in bicycling, and there are more resources, too, with the establishment of Paradox Cycle and also the new Naturita Bicycle Company. He added not everyone seems to be mountain biking. Some people are enjoying bikes for commuting or just running errands.
With the work Brock Benson is doing with apprenticeships and supporting local youth through bike programming, Tait said young people are bound to take interest. He said a young person who went through a youth bicycle development program in Durango, Sepp Kuss, is leading prestigious bicycling events globally. He won’t be surprised if West End kids go on to do big things too, considering the resources available.
For Saturday’s event, Walk-In Coffee will be serving complimentary coffee to anyone — not just event participants — that morning. Tait said he’s grateful for owner Laura Sherman’s support, as well as other business owners, for the Gravel Rush. He wants to work with different businesses for the event, and there will be an economic benefit from riders who will end the day hungry, thirsty and needing a place to sleep.
The night before, on Sept. 15, there is a “block party” scheduled at Flying Bear Pizzeria (inside Naturita Bicycle Company). That celebration also includes Paradox Cycle, located across the street.
The Gravel Rush is competitive to a degree — but not as serious as other bicycling events in the region. Tait said there will be a wide range of riders. Some will ride the course very hard; others will take more time and enjoy the day with friends.
Tait said he acknowledges the West End Sheriff’s Posse and local EMS for playing a key support role the day of Gravel Rush, going “above and beyond” to help. In what can be challenging terrain, he said the event can’t happen without them. Riders had the option to make donations to the sheriff’s posse and EMS when they entered, and the event did raise $1,200 for those organizations.
He asks all in local communities to take care on Saturday as riders navigate roads. He said Gravel Rush participants will be focused on being safe and abiding by traffic laws, but he requests patience from motorists.
A single-day event, the Gravel Rush will be complete by evening. That’s because the fastest riders will be finishing the 50-mile portion in about three hours. The 73-mile riders will be done in roughly 5 and one half hours. Tait expects people to begin rolling back into Nucla in the 2 to 4 p.m. timeframe.
At the finish line, Benson is set to play music in the town park, and everyone is welcome to come out and see the riders complete the Gravel Rush. Tait said all are invited, the event is not exclusive, and he did rent the park pavilion, too.
