24 Hour Townie Tour Bridges of the Butte Bike Race

by Mike Hardaker on June 29, 2011 in Mountain Sports News

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Crested Butte, Colorado - I am still sort of speechless and very tired after riding in this years 24 Hour Bridges of the Butte townie bike tour fundraiser to benefit the Adaptive Sports Center. In total I put in 86 miles for 35 laps, not bad for a townie bike I borrowed the morning of the event. This years winner was Crested Butte local Tyler “The Hammer” who put in an incredible 106 laps, just four shy of the record. Are you wondering just what the heck a townie is, click here. This year 269 participants, 55 teams and 19 solo riders took part in the 24 Hour Townie Bike Tour!!

Space Camp a group of Crested Butte locals had a team of 40+ members that raised over $4,000 in funds by taking laps in completely wild costumes and bikes to match well into the early morning hours. I had the chance to take some rides behind Space Camp and each time would find myself fixated on the psychedelic colors erupting from the groups bike spokes as they rounded corners in a parade of fun and madness.

Riding for a 24 hour event takes some serious planning and a few essential items. Without the following gear there is now way I could have stayed on the bike seat as long I did. First up was Sportlegs, a nutritional dietary supplement that helps support the body’s lactate energy system. All fancy wording aside, Sportlegs stops the buildup of lactate acids in your legs helping to avoid cramps allowing you to push longer and farther. When day turned to night I was able to follow the steady steam of light erupting from my Princeton Tech Byte LED headlamp. Lights were required after dark for all riders and mine seemed to be one of the brightest in the race. With 2 settings to choose from and the ability to adjust the light up and down the Princeton Tech Byte LED headlamp truly helped me ride through the night. Last but not least was a nifty beanie from i360 featuring a built in ipod nano holder and headphone speakers. I was able to ride around listening to music, (Phish of course) without having to worry about my headphones falling out, wires getting tangled and best of all the beanie kept my head warm as the temps dropped down into the 40′s during the early morning hours of the race.

A few highlights from the the night included listening to the band Stache, perform at the Eldo from just outside the bar on the banks of the river while seating on my bike. Stache played the official Toots and the Maytals after party into the early morning hours. Another unique part of the ride happened around midnight when a little girl was passing out fresh baked cookies way past her bedtime. A local vendor also got into the swing of things passing out jello shots for riders as the sun was starting to set.

Huge thanks goes out to all the volunteers that helped us avoid being hit by oncoming traffic throughout the town, as well as everyone that helped track laps, cook food and provide logistics for the event. Without all these people donating time this event would never happen. Last but not least thank you to the town of Crested Butte and all the wild locals that took part in the 24 Hour Townie Bike Tour Bridges of the Butte, I can honestly say I don’t think this event could ever happen in another ski town, especially somewhere like Vail..

To view and purchase photos from the 24 Hour Townie Tour Bridges of Crested Butte, please visit: http://www.benkoelkerphoto.com

It feels good to be living in a “real mountain town”~ Thank you Crested Butte for an amazing event!!

Tags: 24 Hour Townie Tour, Adaptive Sports Center, Beach Cruiser, Bridges of the Butte, Colorado, Crested Butte Print article