The Emergence of Northern Colorado Cycling Events (NCCE):
Community-Based Promotion of Cycling Events in Fort Collins and Larimer County

Realizing that there is power in numbers, cycling event promoters across Fort Collins recently joined forces in an effort to cross-promote all cycling events in our area. The result is Northern Colorado Cycling Events (NCCE); a public coalition of members that serve to promote and support competitive bike events in the Northern Colorado region.

Competitive cycling has been a part of the cultural fabric of Fort Collins for decades. Many riders and racers have moved to Fort Collins specifically for of our bicycle-friendly culture, our marvelous terrain and our mild climate. Multiple national cycling champions have called Fort Collins home. Most recently, local professional cyclist, Meredith Miller (Team Tibco), won the 2009 Elite National Road Championship.

Today, cycling in Fort Collins is more popular than ever. Over 40 competitive cycling events occur every year in our city across all genres of the sport. Historically, it has been difficult for cycling enthusiasts to keep current on events unless they engage in all the proper social circles. To further complicate the matter, promoters often schedule events on top of one another, making riders choose between events.

Northern Colorado Cycling Events is the brainchild of local cycling promoters who were each acting individually to achieve the same goal: engage the City of Fort Collins and its Bicycle Coordinator, Dave “DK” Kemp, in discussions on how to promote competitive cycling events in the city. Tim Anderson (Fort Collins Velodrome Association), Charlie Weinbeck (Fort Collins Cycling Fest), Andy Clark (Ciclismo Racing), Rob Noble (Ciclismo Racing & Fort Collins Junior Cyclist Foundation) and Jason Trujillo (New Belgium Brewing Company & Fort Collins Junior Cyclist Foundation) can be credited as the “founding fathers” of NCCE. The group recognized the need to coordinate competitive schedules on a single calendar, cross-promote all competitive events for the entire year and share knowledge, resources and political capital in order to maximize exposure and participation in collective events.

The group first met formally in October of 2009 to start a dialog of issues, objectives, and overall mission of a group that would form a central voice for competitive cycling in Northern Colorado. From these initial conversations, the NCCE was born. The goals of NCCE include:

Long-Term Goals
1. Maintain a comprehensive calendar of competitive cycling events in Northern Colorado.
2. To be the clearinghouse of all things related to competitive cycling in Northern Colorado.
3. Share the expertise of NCCE members to those interested in event promotion.
4. Make NCCE a self-sustaining organization with refinement of goals and objectives over time.
5. Be a collective voice for competitive cycling to local organizations and government agencies.
6. Educate the cycling populous on the importance of image for the long-term survival of competitive cycling events.
7. Assist in the promotion of a nationally ranked (NRC) competitive event.

Short-term goals for 2010 (objectives)
1. Establish a calendar of competitive cycling events for 2010.
2. Event.com registration/scoring integration with YourGroupRide.com (YGR).
3. Successful advising of new events in Northern Colorado.
4. Increase awareness of NCCE by contacting local cycling community.
5. Lay foundation for NRC race.

All local cycling promoters, riders, racers and enthusiasts are invited and welcome to become involved with NCCE and its community-based promotion of cycling in our area. For more information, please visit: http://yourgroupride.com/ncce-home