Colorado-Eagle River Ride celebrates 15th year Saturday

BEAVER CREEK — Saturday’s Colorado-Eagle River Ride is the Tour de Roundabout.

Really.

Arn Menconi, John Edwards and few other cyclists did a route in 2002 that included all of Eagle County’s roundabouts to promote awareness for cycling safety. Now in its 15th year, the Colorado-River Ride, benefiting SOS Outreach, will have approximately 700 participants doing their choice of 100-, 68- and 42-mile routes, complete with support-and-gear stations, as well as the new Roadhouse Ride, a mountain-biking division.

“We rode up and down Highway 6 for safety awareness,” Edwards said. “We basically talked about other routes, and I would chat with (Menconi) about the Colorado River Road. Lo and behold, Arn put together the first ride. I don’t know how many riders there were. It was a small group. I couldn’t give you a number. That became the Colorado-Eagle River Ride.”

A century or not

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The Colorado-Eagle River Ride is a fundraiser and a ride with a rolling start from 6:30 to 8 a.m. at Beaver Creek Landing with mountain-bikers starting at 10 a.m.

As happens every year, some will take it out quickly and try to finish the 100-mile route as quickly as possible, and more power to them. But the spirit of the event remains casual for most.

“The thing with the Colorado-Eagle River Ride is that it’s a really good century (100-mile route), if you’re doing a century for the first time,” Edwards said. “It’s very doable. You also have options.”

• The 42-mile ride goes from Beaver Creek to Eagle and back along U.S. Highway 6.

• The 68-miler goes from Beaver Creek to Wolcott on U.S. Highway 6, goes north on Colorado 131 to State Bridge, then hooks over along the Colorado River through McCoy, Bond and down to Dotsero, where shuttle buses take riders back to Beaver Creek.

• In the 100-mile route, one just skips the shuttle back to Beaver Creek riding east on Highway 6 to the start/finish.

“Our goal with the event is to provide one of the highest-quality rides out there,” SOS Outreach executive director Seth Ehrlich said. “That’s from donuts at the start to vehicles to pick you up if you break down. We’ve got aid station with food and drink and ice cream sandwiches in Dotsero. When you’re finished at Beaver Creek, we’ve got food and beer. It’s just a great time.”

And registration is still available at http://www.sosoutreach.org.

For charity

All the proceeds of the Colorado Eagle-River Ride go to SOS Outreach, which serves students through outdoor sports and mentorship programs.

“One-hundred percent goes to our program established here in Eagle County 23 years ago,” Ehrilich said. “We’ve grown to serve 4,500 kids through outdoor programs. The biggest thing we provide is opportunities for long-term success with adult mentors. It’s a unique formula being successful not only in school, but personally.”

Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 970-748-2934, cfreud@vaildaily.com and @cfreud.