Over the Edge Sports of Fruita, Colo. was again invited to Caliente and held a meet and greet at the mountain bike skills park on Nov. 27.
Despite the cooler temperatures, a group of about 20 showed up, mostly young people who use the track on a regular basis and most bringing their bikes with them.
Troy Rarick, owner of Over the Edge Sports, unloaded one of his bikes from his truck and took a few laps around the track before unloading a second bike and offering the bikes to some of the youngsters that were there. He talked to the kids about starting a mountain bike club and trail riding, garnering excitement and fist bumps from the group.
Earlier that day at the depot there was a county tourism promotion and marketing meeting. In attendance were Bud Sanders, Troy Sanders (Knotty Pine), Teva Avery (Shady Motel), Kristal Roman (Rocky Road Adventures), and Tom Brown (Pioche Town Board).
Holly Gatzke started the meeting by discussing public lands and the importance of capitalizing on that resource to bring businesses into the community. She noted that one of the best ways to do that is through outdoor recreation, including the mountain bike trails that are currently being built.
Radick commented that those who travel to use these trails will be 30-50-year-old adults that have jobs and ride $10,000 mountain bikes. Those people will be good community partners.
Those who will visit the town by way of the trails will enable locals to start a new business, bike shops, along with tours that will enhance the area. It’s important, Radick noted, that the town work together to share information with other communities so they can take part and send more people to explore Pioche.
