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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Events planners from the Front Range are reviving the name if not the race with its inaugural “Tour of the Moon: Hell of the West Cycling Classic” over Colorado National Monument, Oct. 6.
Between 1980 and 1988, a stage of the Coors International Bicycle Classic race was held in Colorado National Monument — a ride coined “tour of the moon” because of the outstanding and unusual monument scenery.
“We've hosted cycling tours for over 25 years,” CNM acting superintendent Michelle Wheatley said. “Each year we issue one or two special-use permits for bike tours.”
Past rides over the monument have included Grand Junction Community Hospital's Tour of the Valley, Denver Post's Ride the Rockies Colorado Bicycle Tour, and Bicycle Tour of Colorado.
Approval of the new tour follows an earlier NPS decision to deny a permit requested by the Grand Junction Local Organizing Committee to route a stage of the USA Pro Challenge professional bike race through the monument. Revisions of NPS management policies since the 1980s Coors Classic race preclude allowing commercial sporting events considered detrimental to park natural resources and its normal operations.
“Unlike races, cycling tours are non-competitive and open to cyclists of all ages and skills,” Wheatley said.
Tours also generally do not require road closures, low-flying aircraft, or large numbers of spectators, she said.
The new Tour of the Moon is not a race, but a tour which will raise money for two nonprofit organizations.
A website with information regarding February registration should be up and running by Feb. 1, said Scot Harris of Rocky Mountain Events, who is promoting the bike tour along with Mike Heaston of Event Marketing.
There are two different routes from which to choose: The “classic” Tour of the Moon is a 41-mile course that starts in downtown Grand Junction at Two Rivers Convention Center, enters the east entrance of the monument, exits through the west entrance and then returns to the convention center.
The other, 62-mile extended course includes an additional 21 miles through Fruita's farmland area. It will also begin and end at Two Rivers in Grand Junction.
Participants are limited to 2,000 riders, Heaston said.
Heaston has organized many bike tours throughout Colorado, including the Grand Valley's “Tour of the Vineyards” for 19 years, and the Fruita Fat Tire Festival for the past 17 years.
Three aid/rest stations will be set up along the course for Tour of the Moon. The tour ends with a post-ride party including music, lunch, prize drawings and a cycling expo that continues throughout the afternoon. Participants will also receive a jersey.
Cost is $110, of which $10 will be split between two nonprofit organizations, the Riverfront Commission and Bicycle Colorado, an advocacy group for Colorado cyclists.
Heaston said he expects 80 percent of participants to come from out of town.
Bicycling events such as Tour of the Vineyards typically draw a large number of cyclists from the Front Range, he said.
Between 1980 and 1988, a stage of the Coors International Bicycle Classic race was held in Colorado National Monument — a ride coined “tour of the moon” because of the outstanding and unusual monument scenery.
“We've hosted cycling tours for over 25 years,” CNM acting superintendent Michelle Wheatley said. “Each year we issue one or two special-use permits for bike tours.”
Past rides over the monument have included Grand Junction Community Hospital's Tour of the Valley, Denver Post's Ride the Rockies Colorado Bicycle Tour, and Bicycle Tour of Colorado.
Approval of the new tour follows an earlier NPS decision to deny a permit requested by the Grand Junction Local Organizing Committee to route a stage of the USA Pro Challenge professional bike race through the monument. Revisions of NPS management policies since the 1980s Coors Classic race preclude allowing commercial sporting events considered detrimental to park natural resources and its normal operations.
“Unlike races, cycling tours are non-competitive and open to cyclists of all ages and skills,” Wheatley said.
Tours also generally do not require road closures, low-flying aircraft, or large numbers of spectators, she said.
The new Tour of the Moon is not a race, but a tour which will raise money for two nonprofit organizations.
A website with information regarding February registration should be up and running by Feb. 1, said Scot Harris of Rocky Mountain Events, who is promoting the bike tour along with Mike Heaston of Event Marketing.
There are two different routes from which to choose: The “classic” Tour of the Moon is a 41-mile course that starts in downtown Grand Junction at Two Rivers Convention Center, enters the east entrance of the monument, exits through the west entrance and then returns to the convention center.
The other, 62-mile extended course includes an additional 21 miles through Fruita's farmland area. It will also begin and end at Two Rivers in Grand Junction.
Participants are limited to 2,000 riders, Heaston said.
Heaston has organized many bike tours throughout Colorado, including the Grand Valley's “Tour of the Vineyards” for 19 years, and the Fruita Fat Tire Festival for the past 17 years.
Three aid/rest stations will be set up along the course for Tour of the Moon. The tour ends with a post-ride party including music, lunch, prize drawings and a cycling expo that continues throughout the afternoon. Participants will also receive a jersey.
Cost is $110, of which $10 will be split between two nonprofit organizations, the Riverfront Commission and Bicycle Colorado, an advocacy group for Colorado cyclists.
Heaston said he expects 80 percent of participants to come from out of town.
Bicycling events such as Tour of the Vineyards typically draw a large number of cyclists from the Front Range, he said.
