One of the best parts of our job is interacting with communities and gear shops that care about their surroundings. Over the past week, we had the opportunity to hang out with some pretty rad people on trails in Boulder and Del Norte, Colorado. We organized a trash clean up with Rocky Mountain Anglers and joined for a group bike ride with Kristi Mountain Sports.
Boulder Creek Clean Up with Rocky Mountain Anglers
Rocky Mountian Anglers, or RMA, has a way of getting people outside. The line, “You fish there, do you want to help keep it clean?” was enough to get plenty of customers out on the trail with us. The team from Elevation Outdoors paired with members of the Boulder community to walk Boulder Creek and clear out a serious amount of trash. Trash pick up experts found bike tires, shopping carts and plenty of micro and macro trash along the riverside. We left from the shop, walked toward the creek, and then scattered among the trail looking far and wide for anything out of place. We returned an hour later with a bounty of out of place goods and restored them to their rightful place, the trash.
As a reward for all our efforts, we gathered back at RMA for a barbeque grill out. We gave a tour of the van and got to tour another one from a fellow van dweller/trash clean up participant. The temperature was perfect, the river was clean, and all was well with the world for at least two hours while the community came together.
Rocky Mountain Anglers hosts cleanups often. They were kind enough to let us join forces with them for this one, but if you’re interested in helping out regularly, get in touch. You can find a list of their upcoming events on their Facebook page. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to organize a cleanup event with them; they are wonderful humans and happy to help!
Group Mountain Bike Ride with Kristi Mountain Sports
We were able to join Kristi Mountain Sports, KMS, on a group bike ride in the Stone Quarry area last Monday. Del Norte, Colorado, has a plethora of incredible mountain biking trails ranging from smooth flowy beginner trails to super technical rocky boulder hopping, with all trails starting very close to the city itself. KMS held multiple group rides from Sunday through Tuesday while celebrating during their Del Norte Trails Showcase. The Del Norte Trails Showcase gets riders of all abilities together in one place to experience the trails the town has to offer.
We joined the “chill” ride for the afternoon. The Stone Quarry Area has miles upon miles of single and double track to explore. KMS lent us two full-suspension mountain bikes to explore the area with other riders. Eric, who co-owns both KMS locations (Alamosa and Del Norte) with his wife Lisa, led our excited crew over beautifully and newly built trails. If you’re in the area, make sure to stop at either KMS location and say hello. You will be met with friendly faces, copious advice, and the perfect trail suggestions to explore for your ability.
Our next meet up is the Summit for Someone fundraiser. The Elevation Outdoors family is raising money to get everyone outside. Check out our Facebook event for more information and how you can help or join!
There is one way for this tour to be a reality, our sponsors! Sending a thank you shout out to our title sponsor Nite Ize, and all of our other awesome sponsors that make this happen: Crazy Creek, National Geographic, Sea to Summit, Mountain House, Lowe Alpine, Old Town, Leki, HydraPak, UCO Gear and Wenzel.
If you like the gear that keeps us groovin’ click here to enter for a chance to win our Grand Gear Giveaway!
