BOISE, Idaho — Four years ago, Boise Trails created a grueling challenge for hikers in bikers in the Treasure Valley foothills.
Jason Delgadillo put the wheels in motion with Boise Trails co-founder Kirk Cheney. Tragically, Jason died just a year later in a bike accident, but his legacy lives on through this popular challenge that features both mountain bikers and trail runners.
“It has surprised even us," said Cheney. "The first year we had 300, then the second year we had 600, then last year we had 1200 participants, and we are waiting to see how many we get this year."
The challenge requires people to take on 270 miles with 36,000 feet of elevation gain in a month starting on June 17. To sign up, all you need is a Strava account and to register at Boise Trails.
“It’s been really cool because people have really taken to it," said Cheney. "It’s really fulfilling, and the challenge has become a really big part of it. That’s one of the things that is fun and exciting."
Almost 500 people have already signed up, and because of how this event is organized, they were able to do it during the pandemic when other events were getting canceled.
One of those canceled events was the Boise Mountain Biking Festival, but that will return for the second time at Bogus Basin in September.
"Braydon Bringhurst is really spearheading the mountain bike festival," said Cheney. "We are excited to bring that back and we think it is just going to continue to grow Boise as a destination to go ride bikes."
The foothills saw more people in the last year than they ever have before so Ridge to Rivers implemented a pilot program to alleviate some of the congestion on the most popular trails in the foothills.
“I appreciate Ridge to Rivers trying some different trail management approaches," said Cheney. "You are not always going to make everyone happy, but I think we have it pretty good here, I think we have something for everybody and I think the pilot programs will help us figure out what works best."
The Boise Trails Challenge can also help with that by introducing people to different trails in the system, they are an outstanding resource to learn about different rides in the foothills.
Jason Delgadillo's family and friends are also working on a documentary to celebrate the life of this passionate mountain biker. Here's a link to the trailer.
