Volunteers out to repair Palisade Plunge after rain storm gjsentinel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gjsentinel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
When Rondo Buecheler and Scott Winans opened Rapid Creek Cycles and Paddleboards in 2007 at 239 Main St. in Palisade, they did so with the intention of transforming Palisade and the eastern part of the Grand Valley into a mountain biking destination.
That idea grew into the Palisade Plunge and 14 years later, with the collaboration of businesses, organizations and the government, the complete biking trail finally opened to the public on Friday.
âItâs very emotional to see this project finished and how it evolved from this vision. It basically took the entire state of Colorado from passionate business owners, municipalities, state government and federal government,â Buecheler said. âWe knew it would be popular and we were hopeful it would be popular, but you always wonder if people will actually like it. Weâve invested thousands of dollars in the business for the Plunge.â
Standing under blue skies on the Grand Mesa with hikers and bikers traversing the trail behind them, officials marked the completion of a decade-plus effort to create a 34-mile trail from the top of the Mesa to the town of Palisade.
The Palisade Plunge is officially open.
Representatives from federal and state land management agencies, local leaders and Great Outdoors Colorado all spoke to celebrate the accomplishment and congratulate everyone who worked together in partnership to get the trail built.
âTo look around this group and see people who are representing so many different aspects of public lands and private lands ecosystems across this landscape and celebrating it in a way where people come together,â Bureau of Land Management State Director Jamie Connell said. âI know there had to have been challenges.â
Celebration officially opens Palisade Plunge Trail gjsentinel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gjsentinel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.