Spoketober, the first-annual celebration of Durango biking, features a $7,000 sweepstakes for a weeklong trip to benefit from the metropolis’s bike-related actions.
Durango’s tourism group will supply a month’s value of occasions this October celebrating town’s biking neighborhood.
The primary-annual “Spoketober” consists of social rides, a movie fest, and meet-and-greets main as much as a Halloween parade. It’s billed as a celebration of Durango’s “tight-knit and passionate” neighborhood of cyclists.
Along with the apparent promotional alternative, the occasions spotlight the work of locals. Due to many years of “dedication and sweat fairness” from residents, Durango has turn into a prime biking vacation spot, Go to Durango mentioned in a information launch.
“We hope to create a enjoyable month of programming for locals and guests alike, all amid a time when Durango is flourishing with unimaginable fall colours,” mentioned Rachel Brown, government director of Go to Durango.
Together with a number of group rides, Spoketober will embrace a bicycle recycle and up-cycle clinic and a “neighborhood cruise” with the Adaptive Sports activities Affiliation. Count on to fulfill professional riders like Ned Overend, Todd Wells, Payson McElveen, Howard Grotts, and Ellen Campbell in October.
From Sept. 7 to Oct. 30, the occasion additionally provides a sweepstakes with a weeklong trip in Durango because the prize. The $7,000 bundle features a 3-night lodge keep and a 3-day guided tour of singletrack trails. It additionally comes with a “bike store purchasing spree,” in addition to bike leases and a visit to Durango Scorching Springs.
Durango’s Rising Biking Group
Like many small Colorado cities, Durango has grown quickly lately. For native residents, that progress provides a combined bag.
Whereas town has turn into more and more unaffordable, many residents nonetheless see Durango’s enchantment. That features its 300 miles of singletrack trails and quite a few Olympic athletes in residence.
“How do you protect what’s greatest about Durango and nonetheless have a vibrant tourism enterprise and never lose your cultural identification?” Jasper Welch, a Durango metropolis councilman, advised The Durango Herald earlier this yr.
“Durango is a really particular place for cyclists due to the paths we now have and our biking neighborhood,” mentioned Rotem Ishay, director of Workforce Durango Section 28, a neighborhood improvement race staff. “Our in depth path system welcomes riders of all ranges, newcomers to professionals.”
For town’s tourism officers, community-focused festivals like Spoketober are a very good place to start out.