Community-driven cycling

As a registered nonprofit, the DEVO mission goes beyond supporting junior cyclists in the community. For example, co-founders Sarah Tescher and Chad Cheeney speak at local elementary schools to help promote bike programs that endorse commuting to school. Every summer, DEVO puts on its Short Track XC race series, which many pros in the community use as training, according to Tescher.

• DEVO’s biggest fund-raiser of the year, the DEVO Bike Swap, takes place this Fri., May 28, from 1-9 p.m. at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. A mere 50 cents awards access to the swap, which usually sells items previously owned by local pros such as Todd Wells, Greg Herbold, Ned Overend, Travis Brown and Shonny Vanlandingham. Twenty percent of all sales benefit DEVO.

• This Sat., May 29, at 7 p.m. DEVO will screen “Hell on Wheels,” an absorbing documentary about the Tour de France, at the Smiley Theatre. The film will be preceded by a short DEVO documentary about its spring “Top Secret Training Camp,” an annual weekend that includes three days of camping, singletrack slaying and training in New Mexico.

• This summer, DEVO will also be running a weekly short track race series, including three races at Durango Mountain Resort as part of a series celebrating the 20th anniversary of the World Cup. The races will benefit other cycling-related 501C3s in the community.

– Christine Rasmussen