Annual Bob Guthrie Memorial Ride
The Annual "Circle The Summit" Bob Guthrie Memorial Ride is an organized and supported road ride held in August to both keep alive the memory of Dr. Bob Guthrie, our founder, leader, activist and inspiration, who we lost in a tragic skiing accident in 2008, and to raise funds for bike path and other road cycling improvements in Summit County, Colorado.
The 2011 ride was held on Saturday, August 20 and was a great success. Slightly over 600 riders registered, a 20% increase from 2010!. Check out the new Circle The Summit website for more information or Sundance Images for photos.
If you weren't there you missed a great ride and day. But you can mark your calendars for next year. The 2012 ride is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, August 18th.
Brad Eckert with Summit County Open Space & Trails says "Summit County Open Space and Trails depends upon and proudly partners with the Summit Biking Club to raise private funds necessary to match public funds in the construction of the Swan Mtn Recpath. Without the efforts of the Club, the Swan Mtn Recpath would not be where it is today... Summit County looks forward to continuing to partner with the Summit Biking Club in efforts to improve and enhance the Summit County Recreational Pathway System."
All proceeds from the 2008 and 2009 rides were donated to support construction of the bike path over Swan Mountain Road. Part of the 2010 proceeds were used to install lighting in the tunnel near the top of the Vail Pass bike path.
Bob's dream of completing the loop around Lake Dillon has now been realized with the completion of the last segment - the uphill climbing lane on Swan Mountain Road from the high school at Farmer's Korner to Sapphire Point in 2011. Click here for more information on the Swan Mountain Rec Path and other projects supported by the ride proceeds.
Who Was Bob Guthrie?
Bob Guthrie, gifted skier, biker, outdoorsman, and adventurer, was a true Renaissance man and community leader. His buoyant personality and “can do” attitude motivated many to ski steeper slopes, climb higher, and bike further. Bob died tragically, February 15, 2008, doing what he loved best: skiing the trees in powder.
Bob was a passionate biker whose vision was to develop a recreational path over Swan Mountain linking the Dillon and Frisco paths around the lake. It was his inspiration and perspiration that led to the formation of the Friends of the Swan Mountain Recpath.
Reared in Iowa, a radiation oncologist, founder of the Covenant Cancer Center in Waterloo and a former flight surgeon, Bob was an Iowa age-group state champion biker. He co-coordinated the Summit Biking Group which has grown to more than 300 riders meeting each Monday beginning in June.
Bob’s enthusiasm was infectious. “Follow me,” he said. And we did.