This year’s SBT GRVL event went “smoother” than in years past, but Routt County Sheriff Doug Scherar told county commissioners Tuesday he remains concerned over the general safety of the race and its large participant pool.

The nationally renowned gravel event this year took place Aug. 15-18 and involved over 100 miles of rural county roads and state highways. It also saw the largest participation in SBT GRVL’s five-year history with 3,000 registered riders.

The sheriff praised race organizers for adjusting the event and working to respond to community concerns. As part of the county’s permitting process, SBT GRVL agreed to drop nine of 11 so-called “shake-out rides” initially planned for days ahead of their main Sunday race.

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Organizers also increased engagement with riders to tamp down on problem behavior among cyclists. To register to race, for example, each participant signed an “oath” committing them to follow the rules of the road and conduct themselves respectfully by not littering and using portable toilets, among other things.

The communication improvements also saw Scherar taking the time to address riders ahead of the event. And while he said he thought most of the riders in the gravel event responded to his messaging and followed the rules of the road — a small segment did not.

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“The biggest thing I want to point out is … the majority of your riders are not your problem riders,” said Scherar. “Your problem riders are these competitive riders, half of which probably didn’t even attend the rider brief that I spoke at and spoke to being respectful and good ambassadors of SBT GRVL and abiding by the rules of the road. Those are the ones we have problems with.”

The sheriff’s remarks came Tuesday during a public hearing held by county commissioners to review the race’s permitting process that included a presentation from SBT GRVL co-founder and professional cyclist Amy Charity.

Charity thanked the county and Scherar along with other partners for their help revamping the event and pointed to major operational changes that helped the race run smoothly. She said future changes would involve eliminating all of the “shake-out” rides and moving the event to June.

Along with enhanced messaging to riders, course route changes and added portable toilets, Charity said another major improvement this year came with the implementation of a command center to facilitate communication between organizers, county officials and the public.

“That command center was absolutely needed and was also an outlet for our community to call in and let us know if there were riders that were misbehaving in any way,” she said.

The incident log compiled by the race organizers included 25 reported incidents ranging from a property owner reporting trash cans and portable toilets placed on his land “with no one talking to him” to residents reporting discarded energy gel packaging.

One report noted a “gentleman going to the bathroom right on the side of the road.” Another came from a pedestrian who said a group of cyclists came within “an arm’s reach” of them.

Most concerned traffic disruptions and cyclists riding outside of the “two-abreast” limit.

Scherar was on patrol the day of the event and noted he had personally witnessed “a small handful of instances” where three or four riders were taking up “half the road,” sometimes around blind corners.

Following the event, he said he reviewed photos taken during the event on County Road 46 showing, “hundreds and hundreds of riders taking up the entire road and not giving a damn what rules I tell them or what rule you tell them.”

“I don’t know how we mitigate that. I have gone over and over in my mind on how we can make that safer and I don’t have any answers other than having a full rolling closure like we have had for the (USA) Pro Challenge and that is not feasible for the sheriff’s office,” he said.

“The bottom line is it’s too big, in my opinion,” the sheriff said. “And I don’t know how we mitigate that. I have gone over and over in my mind on how we can make that safer and I don’t have any answers other than having a full rolling closure … and that is definitely not feasible for the sheriff’s office.”

Not all of the incidents reported during the gravel race involved unruly bikers. On Aug. 18, cyclists reported two incidents involving drivers allegedly harassing them.

“Angry neighbor was driving around in large black F-150 pushing riders off course, speeding, honking,” reads one incident report. “Received call from volunteer that is reporting that a man in a UTV is attempting to run riders off the road,” reads the other.

The incidents both occurred at the intersection of Routt County Road 44 and County Road 46 and deputies responded to the reports but could not make contact with either the driver, according to Scherar.

In addition to the perceived physical threat from the vehicles, Charity said vandalism to event signs reached an all-time high this year. Some Routt County residents also placed lawn signs on their properties advertising their distaste for the event and contributed to a sense of unease among participants.

“It’s troubling to me to read in news reports and to hear about vehicles and UTVs harassing riders. Let’s just be honest, this isn’t solely something that occurs with gravel, my husband’s co-worker was just run off the road,” said Commissioner Sonja Macys.

“We have seen all different kinds of frustrations with cyclists, this is the minority, just as egregious riders tend to be the minority, not the majority. That being said, it is pretty serious if someone is actually intentionally harassing anybody,” she added.

Public remarks delivered at the commissioner’s Tuesday meeting reflected the mixed feelings expressed by Scherar and others over the impact of the race.

Some, like Moots Cycles owner Brett Whittington, expressed their strong support for the race and the benefits brought to the community and the cycling community. Race organizers said the event’s 2024 participation amounted to $5 million spent by riders locally in addition to over $200,000 spent by SBT GRVL and $24,600 donated to local nonprofits.

Others, primarily those representing the rural and ranching community, said they remained opposed to the gravel event and echoed Scherar’s concern about its size — not necessarily because of their issues with cyclists, but because of the race aspect of the event.

“For me, that is the issue … it’s turning our gravel roads that we all enjoy into this wild event that is just fast and furious. It is not about enjoying our landscapes for a certain subset,” said Christy Belton.

While commissioners made no formal decisions at the event review meeting, they said they were encouraged by the mostly respectful civil discourse regarding the matter. Recognizing the positive financial impact of SBT GRVL, they also signaled some caution over future permitting for the event.

“Changes take place, and we really are in a transition from traditional economic activities that we have had to where we are in fact more dependent on the tourist trade, local businesses, jobs, etc.,” said Commissioner Tim Corrigan. “I do think we have to consider the economic benefits that this kind of an event brings.”

Macys, who opposed allowing up to 3,000 participants when the event permit was approved earlier this year, lauded race organizers for steps taken to improve communication but said she was concerned about some of the attitudes expressed toward all cyclists, not just those participating in the gravel race.

She also said she remained concerned about how the event burdens law enforcement and emergency medical crews who deal with an added call burden during the race on top of their normal response volume.

“Spoiler alert, just like last time, I will not be willing to sign off on 3,000 people,” Macys said.