A new Colorado State Patrol safety policy that caps the number of riders in bicycling events on highways is threatening at least two popular rides.
The 6,800-rider Elephant Rock Ride and the Evergreen- to-Avon Triple Bypass, which drew 3,500, will be significantly altered under a directive that caps events at 2,500 pedalers.
“This directive is devastating to the Colorado cycling community,” said Scot Harris, the founder and director of the annual Elephant Rock Ride, which has attracted at least 2,500 riders for 17 of its 18 years with only one rider injury in its history involving a car. “If this directive sticks, the Elephant Rock will likely go away. Colorado is such a hotbed for cycling.
“This ruling would make us one of the least-friendly cycling states in the country.”
The only hope for the Triple Bypass and Elephant Rock is a grassroots campaign, spurred this week by bicycle groups, to sway the State Patrol to reconsider the policy.
That’s not going to happen, said State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Jeff Goodwin.
“The decision is set in stone, and there is no backing off of this: 2,500 is our limit,” said Goodwin, noting the cap was determined after several meetings with community leaders, state legislators and administrators with the Colorado Department of Transportation. “We have come out and said, ‘Enough is enough.’ We want to have a span of control. They (bicyclists) want their numbers to be as big as they could possibly get, but they don’t understand some of the issues. Our decision was about safety, and it came down to numbers.”
Goodwin said longer races such as the Triple Bypass (approximately 120 miles) and Elephant Rock (approximately 100 miles) could avoid the State Patrol cap if they remained inside the boundaries of one town or county and did not require the multijurisdictional assistance of the State Patrol.
Bicycling supporters decry their absence from the decision- making process, an omission they say is particularly painful considering their unwavering appreciation for the troopers who protect them during races.
The bicyclists said they first heard of the directive several weeks ago when a sentence on the 2,500-rider cap was inserted into event applications required for State Patrol approval of events.
The Denver-based group Bicycle Colorado asked the State Patrol to delay the change and launched a public campaign this week when State Patrol Chief Mark Trostel rejected a delay.
In two days, the 5,000-member group’s campaign gathered 3,000 signatures asking the State Patrol to change its decision.
“This is a poor policy decision that has sweeping impacts,” said Bicycle Colorado executive director Dan Grunig. “To discourage people from coming and participating in these great events is really counter to what Colorado stands for.”
Biking in Colorado is big business. A study of bicycle tourism by the Colorado Department of Transportation in 2000 revealed that 700,000 biking tourists spend as much as $193 million and employ 2,488 full-time employees every year. The CDOT survey of 6,000 Colorado residents showed 69 percent of Colorado homes with bikes and Colorado pedalers spending $200 million on bikes and gear and another $48 million on biking trips.
Several events are close to the State Patrol’s cap on riders, which could have the unintended consequence of curtailing charitable donations generated by nonprofit rides. The three- day Courage Classic draws more than 2,000 riders and last year raised $1.4 million for Children’s Hospital. Ride the Rockies is limited to 2,000 riders.
The Elephant Rock Ride last year gave $90,000 to charities in Douglas County. The Triple Bypass raised $90,000 for local charities along its route.
“We could potentially put the ride on at 2,500, but what is threatened is the amount and extent of our charitable donations,” said Bruce Epstein, president of the Team Evergreen bike club, which hosts Triple Bypass.
Last year, Colorado’s Great- West MS150 Bike Tour attracted 2,500 riders and raised more than $2 million to fight multiple sclerosis.
“We definitely wanted to maintain those levels moving forward, and this decision will make it very difficult for us to do that,” said Christy Strauser, director of development for the Colorado MS150 ride. “This has huge implications for our ability to raise money.”
Staff writer Jason Blevins can be reached at 303-820-1374 or jblevins@denverpost.com.
