The Harleys may have some competition this year. No sooner will the motorcycles rumble out of Durango than the mountain bikes will roll in. At least that’s the plan for the inaugural Durango Gay Mountain Fest, set for Sept. 10-12.

The event is brought to you by the same crew that brought the 2009 Singlespeed World Championships to Durango last fall.

“After seeing how the locals handled the crazy singlespeeders last year, I’m pretty positive they can handle this, too,” said Russell Zimmerman, owner of the Durango Cyclery, the main sponsor of the SSWC and ideaman behind Gay Mountain Fest.

While SSWC gave organizers a good lesson in throwing a really big party, Zimmerman said he’s kicked around the idea for a gay bike weekend for some time. “I’ve had a lot of really good gay friends over the years and always thought it would be cool to do something like this,” he said.

Although final plans are still being ironed out, Zimmerman said the weekend will basically consist of “riding and partying” with three levels of guided group mountain bike rides every day as well as a roller disco night and a pool party. There will also be a gay pride parade down Main Avenue – nonmotorized of course. Zimmerman hopes that mountain biking will act as the launching pad for a week full of events in years to come.

“Whether you have gay pride or just pride in your town, we want people to come out and have fun,” he said.

More details on Gay Mountain Fest will be forthcoming, most likely at www.durangogaymountainfest.com

– Missy Votel