A couple of weeks ago, a link on Facebook caught my eye. Its title: “The only metric of success that matters is the one we ignore.” In the blog post, the author—a New York City-based writer—recounts the experience of watching her brother battle cancer. Her brother’s quiet suburban life had always mystified her, but as she watched one friend after another show up for his family and bring meals or just sit by his bedside, she realized that he had something she had never found in all her years of living in the city: He had a community. By comparison, her life suddenly seemed lonely—she had many friends and flitted from one social activity to another, but lacked a true sense of support or connection. Her brother, by contrast, had committed himself to “knowing others and being known; investing in somewhere instead of trying to be everywhere.” She realizes that, “Communities are built, like Legos, one brick at a time. There’s no hack.”
The story really struck me, because I believe one of the most powerful rewards of cycling is that it builds community. There’s something about this shared experience that creates a particularly tight-knit connection among the people who love it—one that can elevate relationships beyond friendship, and toward an interest in collective wellbeing. Bikes give us a place to belong, that belonging gives us a sense of accountability to one another. And it’s a truly special feeling those handfuls of times each year when you can gather the larger bike community together in one place.
One of those times was last Wednesday, at the Colorowdies’ annual season kickoff party, the Rowdy Film Fest. Held at the historic Oriental Theatre in Denver, the Rowdy Film Fest is a fun, annual event that pulls everyone together at the start of the season (this year, right as trails were beginning to dry out after a long, snowy winter). The Colorowdies leadership team hand-picks films to get the crowd stoked for the upcoming riding season, and we raise money for our annual events, including group rides, mission trips, and trail building. Local reps from Yeti and Shimano are also there to support.
After a happy hour, the evening’s lineup opened up with the following short films:
What it Takes (Abridged), an excerpt from a longer documentary to be released summer 2019, about how Colorado’s Grand Valley built a nationally renowned riding destination. Produced by Lightbulb Media, directed by Caleb Weaver and Tim Decosta.
Racing Winter, featuring Yeti Factory Team Rider, Shawn Neer, shot near Golden, BC. By local filmmakers Craig Grant and Joey Schusler.
RJ the Ripper, an official selection for the 2018 Mountainfilm Festival about Nepalese rider Rajesh Magar, who went from riding a clunky “Frankenstein” downhill bike he built himself to racing professionally. Directed by Joey Schusler, Aidan Haley, and Ben Page.
Our feature film was the Denver premiere of Reverence: A Journey Into Fear, a documentary directed by Ambrose Weingart and produced by Ryan and Darren Berrecloth. “Reverence” explores the psychology of the world’s best mountain bike athletes, including Cam McCaul, Dan Atherton, Darren Berrecloth, Gee Atherton, James Doerfling, Matt McDuff, Rachel Atherton, and Tyler McCaul, and how they deal with fear and progression.
Before the feature film, Colorowdies president Tony Bentley and vice president Jeff Watrobka also got up to talk about our rides and Mission Trips—where we visit other riding destinations to build trail and lead rides (last year’s Mission Trips went to Crested Butte and Grand Junction)—and introduce our 2019 ambassador team.
In addition to the films, we held a raffle with prizes including a set of custom Colorowdies skis by Pennsylvania-based ski company Gilson, brakes and other parts by Shimano, apparel by Yeti Cycles, helmets by Smith, luggage by EVOC, and other goodie bags (average value was about $150 per bag). Selling raffle tickets, I was impressed by how generous this riding community is—the table was bustling throughout the social hour (it took four Rowdies to run it!), and so many people were happy to drop a 10, 20, or even more to 2019 Colorowdies events (almost all of which, by the way, are open to the public). In total, 250 riders and friends attended the Film Fest.
Personally, as a newish Colorado resident (I just moved back here in September) and one of the new members of the Rowdy ambassador team, the party was a huge indication to me of how robust the sense of connection is within the local mountain biking scene. If you missed the film festival, our weekly group rides are just getting started, we’ve got a mission trip to the Glorieta trails in Santa Fe coming up, and there are plenty more opportunities to come and be a part of this very special community.
Be sure to “Like” our Facebook page for the latest info on upcoming rides and events: https://www.facebook.com/colorowdies, or check out our Events page. We can’t wait to ride, high-five, drink beer, build trail, or all of the above with you this season.
The Colorowdies would like to thank the following brands for supporting the Rowdy Film Fest and donating prizes: Yeti Cycles, Shimano, Gilson Skis, Golden Bike Shop, Evoc, Maxxis, Enduro MTB Training, Nuun, Handup Gloves, Ergon, Fit 36, Guerrilla Gravity, Onus IV, Golden Giddyup, Treeline Coffee, Compel, Honey Stinger, Smith Optics, EVO Denver, Traction Coffee, Zoic, and Troy Lee Designs. And of course, a huge thank you, everyone, who came out and/or donated. (Photography by Timothy Gormley.)