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Ride Garfield cyclists log 6,212 miles in first month

Staff Report

In the first month of the Ride Garfield County Bike and Bus Challenge, 46 active bicycle riders logged 6,212 miles on the National Bike Challenge website.

The top three riders for May mileage are Scott Kasin and Chance Larson, both of Carbondale, and Ken Keister of Glenwood Springs. Top teams for May are Colorado Mountain College, Team Kiwanis and SGM.

“Riders can enroll in the National Bike Challenge online any time. Those riders who enroll and log their miles will help us boost our current standing in the national rankings,” said Karen Wahrmund of CLEER, organizer of the Ride Garfield County Bike and Bus Challenge. Register at https://nationalbikechallenge.org/join.



Ride Garfield County currently ranks 74th out of 90 challenges nationwide. In 2016, Ride Garfield County riders pulled together to achieve a ninth place finish in the national rankings, with 205 local riders logging 63,091 miles.

Ride Garfield County is a local campaign hosted by Garfield Clean Energy and CLEER to encourage people to ride their bikes, ride a RFTA bus or use a carpool for commuting to school or work. The 2017 goal is to involve 300 riders and log at least 100,000 miles.



The bike and bus campaign runs longer this year, through Nov. 30, to help ease traffic congestion in Glenwood Springs caused by the Grand Avenue Bridge project.

Any outdoor bicycling counts for the challenge, whether it’s for commuting or recreation, and cyclists of all ages are encouraged to participate.

The National Bike Challenge website uses Strava, a free mileage-tracking website, to automatically feed bike-riding miles to the Bike Challenge website. Riders can link a mobile device to their Strava account, or enter their miles manually in the Strava website after their rides.

The National Bike Challenge website tracks mileage totals for individuals, local teams, towns and cities, states and the whole country. Anyone living in Garfield County who registers for the National Bike Challenge will be automatically included in the Ride Garfield County campaign.

The bus-riding and carpool side uses spreadsheets available on the Garfield Clean Energy website.

To get started and to see a calendar of upcoming bicycle events, including the grand opening of the West Midland Bridge and Trail on June 15 and Colorado Bike to Work Day on June 28, visit GarfieldCleanEnergy.org and click on “Ride Garfield County.”

Sponsors of Ride Garfield County are Garfield Clean Energy, city of Glenwood Springs, CLEER, RFTA, Glenwood Springs Bicycle Advocates, Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent, Alpine Bank, Ironbridge Golf Club, Sunlight Ski & Bike Shop, Factory Outdoor, Sampson Sports, Defiant Pack and Backcountry Chiropractic.

Organizations interested in sponsoring Ride Garfield County can contact Wahrmund at CLEER, 970-704-9200.


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