Kacey Campbell races the 2017 Cross of the North Cyclo-cross race. Photo by Paul Kumm.
I am happy to announce that the Fort Collins Parks Department is considering building a cyclo-cross course at one of our local parks. Kenny Bearden of Overland Mountain Bike Club, Bruce Henderson of Bike Fort Collins and I met with Kurt Friesen and Mike Calhoon of the Fort Collins Parks Department to discuss the idea of allowing the cyclocross community to design a permanent cyclo-cross course. The course would be complete with UCI style features right here in Fort Collins. During those meetings, we outlined what an ideal course would include such as; barriers, grass, sand pits, stairs, elevation, and run-ups. After some deliberation, they agreed to consider a pilot program at the right park where they would build the features and notify the public of the new course. They understand that there may be some push back from some other park users and there may be some resource damage.
How can you help make this happen?
1) Sign the attached statement of support. Understandably, the department heads want to make sure that the local cycling community actually wants this and it’s not just some wacko with a website pushing for it.
2) Submit your ideal cyclocross course by August 21st. The parks department is asking for us to submit our top three parks with course outlines for them to choose from.
Use your preferred mapping/drawing software to design your dream cyclocross course and email it to YGR at info@yourgroupride.com. Be sure to note where sand pits, barriers and other features should be located. Also note which park the course is at and approximately how long it is. Once we have all the submissions, we’ll narrow it down to the top 3, clean up the formatting and submit the courses to the city.
Submission example:
Statement of Support:
