Tags: colorado road trip, colorado road trip 2011, colorado road trip 2011 live-updates, dave bloom, greg freeman, ian walker, kevin carey, luke bender, mykel fatali
This weekend marks the 12th annual end-of-the-summer festivity with Colorado’s biggest blading meet. The Colorado Road Trip was started with intent on leading a small crew across various parks throughout Colorado. At the beginning, where just seven individuals made it out, this event has quickly grown to what this year expects to bring nearly one hundred bladers to the Rocky Mountain State from all over. This is the time of year that the usual desolate skateparks of the Colorado highlands, typically littered with a small handful of skateboarders, a biker or two, a few children tooling around on a scooter, and in rarity a roller, get transformed into a celebration in a way that brings rollerblading just a little bit closer to the wild west. The days are spent shredding two or more skateparks while in between the road tripping frequents various stops along the Colorado River for bridge jumping and car surfing. The nights are filled with stories of their own as rollers become frontiersmen, gathering around camp fires in the desert sharing experiences, camaraderie, and of course some fine beverages.
Write-up by Dave Bloom
Photography by The Colorado Road Trippers
Edit filmed by Mykel Fatali, Luke Bender, Greg Freeman, Ian Walker and Kevin Carey, edited by Mykel Fatali
In taking a look back Luke Bender recalls a few notable experiences that so very easily flow from his most memorable times. “There are too many experiences from the past years to remember a lot of what happened on any particular road trip. A couple things I do remember: On the 2nd or 3rd trip when two passengers in my car decided to open the car topper while driving down I70 going 75mph. The moment they released the latches the topper flew open and filled up with air causing all the contents to go flying onto the highway with a train of fellow trippers riding behind. The shots of them skating back to the car with the random camping gear are priceless. Another great experience was one year camping on the second night. We were in the plateaus of Grand Junction and we were noticeably intoxicated and decided it would be a great idea to surf the upper section of my car topper down all of the plateaus. It got a little out of control due to all the cacti and random debris from locals blowing up TV's, cars, and other things.”
For Colorado Road Trippers, the greatest experience every year is seeing old friends who you haven’t seen in years, meeting lots of great new friends, living off the land for a long weekend, and of course doing what we all love, blading, together with those who share that same passion. This truly is an event not to be missed!
Stay tuned as Be-Mag joins the road trip and gives daily updates on all of the shredding and shenanigans as it spreads across the Rockies. You may not be able to there in person, but you can still live vicariously through those who chose to live without beds and make the might Colorado River their shower for the next four days in the wild west!
-Dave Bloom
Colorado Road Trip 2011 Schedule:
Day 1: Friday, August 12
Silverthorne Skatepark – Meet at 10:00am
Q4U BBQ in Frisco for lunch
Edwards Skatepark
Glenwood Skatepark
Camping outside of Sun Mountain Valley Ski Resort
Day 2: Saturday, August 13
Carbondale Skatepark
Bridge jump into Colorado River
Rifle Skatepark
Palisades Skatepark
Camping in the desert outside of Grand Junction
Day 3: Sunday, August 14
Breakfast and swimming in Grand Junction
Montrose Skatepark
Ridgeway Skatepark
Camping in Telluride
Day 4: Monday, August 15
Telluride Skatepark
End of the Trip
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