Garfield Clean Energy and CLEER recently announced the launch of Ride Garfield County — a countywide team challenge and weeklong series of events June 19 to 26.

“Organize your biking teams this week and get signed up to participate in the Team Challenge,” said Karen Wahrmund, organizer of Ride Garfield County. “And mark your calendar for a week of bike and bus oriented activities in Rifle and across the county.”

RAMBO, the Rifle Area Mountain Biking Organization, will offer a free, guided tour of new single-track trails being developed beyond Fravert Reservoir. Trail designer Aaron Mattix will lead the tour starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 23. For details, visit http://www.GarfieldCleanEnergy.org

Grand River Health will conclude its Bike to Work Month on Wednesday, June 24, with prizes for employees who ride to work throughout June.

And the evening of Thursday, June 25, will be all about bikes in downtown Rifle. The Rifle Farmer’s Market hosts “Bike Your Market,” with a produce prize at the manager’s tent from 4-8 p.m. for all those who ride bikes to the market.

And the Mountain Rural Philanthropy Days conference moves into downtown from 4-7 p.m. that evening for a “Walking, Biking and Browsing Tour of Downtown Rifle.” Merchants will stay open and Rifle Creek Museum will host an ice cream social for locals and conference-goers.

Elsewhere in the county during the June 19-26 week, there will be a bike rodeo for kids, a family bike scavenger hunt, bike to work day, bicycle maintenance classes, a cargo bike float in the Strawberry Days Parade, and bikes to books at all the libraries.

Ride Garfield County promotes the health and environmental benefits of walking, riding bicycles and riding the bus. It’s a new event developed through the partnership of Garfield Clean Energy and the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA).

“RFTA has been a member of Garfield Clean Energy for many years because we realize that transportation is one of the largest sectors of regional energy usage,” said Jason White, a planner with RFTA and member of the Garfield Clean Energy board of directors. “Transit, bicycle and walking connections improve public health and quality of life in our communities. They also provide low-cost, clean energy options for people to reduce their environmental footprint on a daily basis. During Ride Garfield County week and throughout the summer, we are encouraging people to get out of their cars and instead walk, ride their bikes and ride the bus to go to work, shop and have fun,” he added.