What started out as a gleam in our eye has grown into a staple on the Colorado mountain bike racing calendar. Why the 4th? Because absolutely nothing athletic was happening in our town. Sure Scott Yule, Mike Zobbe, Ellen Hollinshead, Monique Merrill, and a host of other local mountain goat legends were bagging a 14er, skiing 4th of July Bowl on Peak 10, or riding their favorite epic. But nothing organized was happening.
Where I come from there is at least a dinky little July 4th 5k Run just about everywhere; and then people get with family and friends, BBQ, and relax for the rest of the day. On July 4, 2000, while watching the parade after a morning bike ride, Mike McCormack and I looked at each other, cut our palms with a rusty chain tool, high fived each other and made a blood pact. The Firecracker 50 was born!
So…welcome to the Firecracker 50, welcome to Breckenridge, welcome to our backyard!