Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Isabelle Boniface is on the accelerated cycling program.
Earlier this spring, the training wheels came off her pink Specialized bicycle. On Wednesday, the 5-year-old with a pink Disney Princesses helmet and a pink Disney Princesses horn, competed in her first Steamboat Springs Town Challenge race.
She was one of 12 children who raced in the popular 8-and-younger division in the Summer "Soulstice" cross country.
Boniface does most of her riding in her neighborhood, but Wednesday she sped from the Howelsen Hill Lodge to the yurt and back in one minute.
"I ride on Spring Creek a lot because it's right down the hill from me," she said.
Boniface made her debut Wednesday alongside fellow newcomer Chase High.
Sucking on his grape Popsicle, High said he wasn't scared for his first race for one reason.
"I'm good," he said, showing off his purple teeth.
The Town Challenge offers several divisions for children, keeping the race distances short and the courses simple.
Race director Gretchen Sehler said she loves seeing the youngest of Steamboat's mountain bikers out competing, hoping to create the most positive experience for each one.
The children are rewarded with Popsicles and prizes. Both help erase any bad racing memories, such as going the wrong way around a corner.
Cole Puckett, who was wearing perhaps the smallest Camelbak made, said the prizes are his favorite part about Town Challenge races, which are held every other Wednesday during the summer.
Well, that, and getting to hang out with friends Trey and Chase Seymour.
Dining on cheese pizza on animal plates, the Seymour twins said they ride their bikes "a lot," but they had to wait until this summer before racing in the Town Challenge with big brother Jett.
"I really wanted to do it when I was 4," said Trey, who is 5.
In the Seymour neighborhood, the boys participate in what is affectionately called the "Tour de Driveways," weaving in and out of the neighbors' yards.
Active parents have passed their love of cycling on, and now, they can watch their children line up with the most serious faces and pedal as fast as their spandex-clad legs can go.
Although it's obvious, while mountain bike racing is pretty serious stuff, the most important race is still to the cardboard Popsicle box.