2023 Annual Report

Fellow Cyclists,
I hope you all enjoyed an excellent year of riding bikes in 2023. We at RCR want to thank everyone who supported us. To all the individuals, families, and sponsors who donated time, money or goods and services – we send a huge “thank you”! Your support allows us to retain an amazing staff, grow our valuable programming, and give back to our community.

RCR had another very busy year. We expanded the Street Smarts program for middle schools to include Hayden and Sleeping Giant. Our Bike Match program matched over 150 bikes to deserving riders of all ages, including 41 commuter e-bikes through a state grant program. Our awesome group of 50 dedicated Trail Ambassadors assisted and educated trail users everywhere from the bottom of Emerald to the top of Soda Mountain. The Emerald Mountain Epic race went off without a hitch, with a new Race Director stepping into her role smoothly. Adopt-a-Highway volunteers kept our section of Highway 131 looking beautiful, we again deployed several porta-johns for road and gravel riders, we had fantastic turnouts for our trail work days, and our fat bike trail grooming on Emerald rolled right along in spite of the significant amount of snow we got last winter. These programs would not be possible without your support.

In addition to our programs, we put forth a tremendous effort to advocate for cyclists. While our programs are quite visible, our advocacy efforts often go unnoticed. We at RCR want you to know that we have your back! We have representation at every public meeting that impacts cyclists. We actively engage elected officials at city, county, state, and federal levels. We engage and partner with land managers – including the USFS, BLM, CPW, and the City of Steamboat Springs. We have representation on the Colorado Mountain Bike Coalition board of directors and work with Bicycle Colorado and IMBA to improve the wider landscape for cyclists. These advocacy efforts promote awareness of cycling issues and develop relationships with individuals and organizations who can make an impact. The soon-to-come Emerald Downhill Trail is an excellent example of our recent advocacy efforts. Across the span of multiple years, RCR board and staff have ushered this project through the many-layered public process. This trail would not have happened without the efforts of RCR and The City of Steamboat Springs. We strive to build partnerships like this to improve our community for cyclists.

Cyclists in Northwest Colorado are fortunate to be able to enjoy a wide range of fantastic riding options. We have amazing mountain bike trails. We have extensive rural paved and dirt roads for road and gravel riding, the Bear River Bike Park for dirt jumpers, a BMX track at Howelsen Park, and a great commuter amenity in the Core Trail. We at RCR appreciate all the efforts put forth by our community to create such a diverse and high-quality riding experience for so many cyclists. We are working hard to protect and improve the riding experience in our region. If you like what we are doing, please support us by joining RCR as a member, volunteering with us, or contributing to our cycling community in any way you think is valuable.

Sincerely,
Craig Frithsen
Board President, RCR