The Radavist

Two years ago Backshop Bikes introduced one of the first gravel cycling tourism efforts in Trinidad, Colorado. The perception was that gravel had already matured to the point where as a category it would evolve towards a destination model akin to mountain biking. If it worked, then suddenly rural drive-by towns had a chance to leverage gravel bikes towards social prosperity. This is why we created the Explore Las Animas campaign in 2019, which included a website with community and route information. Unfortunately, it came down and I’ve been brainstorming on ways to get one back up since…

Last week members of the Colorado cycling industry, including retailers, government agencies, and journalists, attended the first Trinidad-Las Animas County Off-Road Cycling Symposium hosted by the City of Trinidad and Trinidad State Jr. College. It was a chance to share and learn more about the emerging southern Front Range cycling scene. Attendees heard from speakers like Troy Rarick and Paul Aieta of Over the Edge Sports in Fruita and Tony Boone of Timberline TrailCraft, and myself discussing gravel+mountain bike destination development in the region. Fueling the two days of discussion was the new Fisher Peak State Park and TSJC Trail Maintenance and Construction program. Most agreed that Trinidad’s historic setting on the tail end of the old west provides a unique platform to discuss the future of sustainable bike destination town development. A number of innovative ideas were shared around transportation, hospitality, and what a gravel+mountain bike destination could look like in SE Colorado and NE New Mexico. Many are already looking forward to continuing the conversation at next year’s symposium.