YOUR AD HERE »

Grand Junction Off-Road mountain-bike races May 29-31

Brittany Markert
bmarkert@gjfreepress.com
Jamestown Revival entertains a crowd in downtown Grand Junction during last year's Grand Junction Off-Road event. This year, Shakey Graves is the headliner for the Off-Road. It is also joining forces with the Art + Music Festival, which will host four stages of music throughout the weekend.
Brian Leddy |

GO&DO

WHAT: Grand Junction Off-Road

WHEN: Friday through Sunday, May 29-31

WHERE: Downtown Grand Junction; Lunch Loop trails

COST: Free for expo/music

INFO: http://www.epicrides.com

OFF-ROAD BY THE NUMBERS

ECONOMIC IMPACT: $885,000

SALES TAX: $67,702 total —$24,337, Grand Junction City; $25,665, State; $17,700, Mesa County

HOTEL STAY: 70 percent stay in hotels; 42 percent stayed two nights; 21 percent stayed three nights; 14 percent stayed four nights

RESTAURANT EXPENSES: $271.88 average spent on dining

Numbers provided by Epic Rides

ROAD CLOSURES

Friday, May 29 — Full Street closure 4:30-7:30 p.m.

3rd Street, between Rood and Colorado avenues

4th Street, between White and Colorado avenues

5th Street, between White Avenue and Main Street

6th Street, between White and Rood avenues

White Avenue, between 4th and 6th streets

Rood Avenue, between 5th and 6th streets

Colorado Ave., between 3rd and 4th streets

Friday 5 a.m. — Sunday 5 p.m.: Full Street Closure

Main Street, between 1st and 7th streets

3rd Street, between Rood Alley and Colorado Avenue

4th Street, between Rood Alley and Colorado Alley

5th Street, between Rood Alley and Colorado Alley

6th Street, between Rood Alley and Colorado Alley

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Grand Junction Off-Road is making the festival weekend even more epic. The mountain bike race, hosted by Epic Rides, teamed up with Downtown Grand Junction to host Art and Music Festival in downtown Grand Junction. The event is planned Friday through Sunday, May 29-31.

The Off-Road will bring more than 500 professional and amateur mountain bike racers to endure 15-, 30-, or 40-mile races in Colorado’s Grand Valley. It will bring more than 2,000 visitors to the area as well. Races begin and end in downtown Grand Junction.

According to Dave Grossman, event organizer, riders will head over to the Lunch Loop trail system. Due to location, the Off-Road is considered one of the most difficult and technical endurance races in the country.



“This event puts Grand Valley on the map, and I am looking forward to it in a bunch of ways,” Grossman said. “This year we are taking it to another level.”

A bike expo will also be held on Main Street, between Fourth and Seventh streets. The expo offers bike demos, vendors and more. Vendors attending the expo include Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association (COPMOBA), Loki, MRP, SRAM and CamelBak.



There will be a beer and wine garden, which is open to ages 21 and older. The expo, art and music festival are free to attend.

On Friday, May 29, a klunker and professional criterium will take place in downtown Grand Junction. Folks are encouraged to dress and sign up for the klunker crit. (Helmets are required.) It is free to participate, but a waiver must be filled out prior to the race.

Sara Landis, a Grand Junction resident, competed in the 30-mile race last year and hopes to race the same this year.

“This is a super fun event to be involved in,” she said. “From the klunker crit to the great music and people, it is an awesome weekend.

“It was so encouraging to have people cheering you on, both spectators and racers, the whole way.”

Shakey Graves, a one-man electronic folk band, will perform as the headlining act for the Off-Road on Saturday, May 30, from 8-10 p.m.

Attendees are asked to bring two canned goods for a donation drive to the Community Food Bank of Grand Junction.

Kids can also participate in a one- or four-mile ride on Sunday, May 31. The four-mile ride starts at 8:30 a.m. and the one-mile ride begins at 8:35 a.m. It will start in downtown Grand Junction and head to the Colorado Riverfront Trail. The ride costs $10 per child. Funds raised are donated to the Riverfront Foundation’s family and children’s initiatives.

Grossman added that more than 150 volunteers help make the event possible, from manning aide stations to registration tables.

THE CAMP

For Off-Road visitors who don’t want to stay in a hotel, more primitive options are available. “The Camp,” a special site for event participants, will host a 57-space site near Broadway and Dike Road in Grand Junction. The site is minutes away from downtown Grand Junction and Lunch Loop trails on Monument Road.

Each 20-foot-by-40-foot site costs $30 to camp per night. It is open to tents, cars, and RVs. There are no hook ups for RVs, however.

COPMOBA is handling registration as part of its “Sales for Trails” program, where a portion of all sales will be donated to the trail-focused nonprofit. Over the Edge Sports in Fruita recently gave COPMOBA $9,500 as part of the program.

“It’s a great partnership and the ‘Sales For Trails’ programs is starting to grow,” said Kristina Kittelson, COPMOBA spokeswoman.

For more information on the Off-Road, visit http://www.epicrides.com. To learn more about The Camp, visit http://www.copmoba.org or http://www.thecampgj.com.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.