So what if everyone thought Kevin Costner was nuts for plowing over his cornfield to build a baseball diamond—the guy was just obeying divine orders. “If you build it, they will come” has proven to be a handy instruction in the mountain biking world as well, transforming formerly down-on-their-luck places like Oakridge, OR and Fruita, CO into destinations where you can ride sweet trails and contribute to the local economy in the form of pre-ride espresso and post-ride beers.
Wyoming’s state parks might be mountain biking’s next ‘field of dreams;’ there are currently trail-building projects underway at Glendo, Keyhole, and Guernsey State Parks. And the pace at which trails are blooming in the southeastern part of the state is staggering. At Glendo, trail development began in the spring of 2010, and the park now has 45 miles of non-motorized trails with plans to add 15 more miles over the next five years. If it’s impressive that a notoriously cash-strapped state governmental agency (and one in the country’s least populous zip code) has put non-motorized trail construction at the top of its priority list, it’s also a bit bewildering. This part of the state summons images of blustery weather, towering windmills, and hundreds of head of cattle, but hordes of mountain bikers?