39th Mostly Annual Longmont Criterium

The 39th Longmont Criterium Bicycle Race, officially known as the Andrea Koenig/High Plains Bank Longmont State Championship Criterium returned to Longmont's Thompson Park neighborhood today.  "Crits", as they are called, have faced recent difficulties in finding places to race on the Front Range.  The long-running and well-known Twilight Criterium in Littleton ended their Saturday night race last year and yesterday's August 22 Niwot Criterium was cancelled just a few days before the event.  Both towns cited disruption to their communities as the reason.  As a result, crits often get relegated to drab and empty office parks on evenings and weekends.

Thankfully, Old Town Longmont continues to embrace this event and many riders say it is their favorite course in Colorado, among the trees, wide streets, and crowds.  You can see the neighbors having watch parties along the course and many locals bring out their lawn chairs to see the action.

After a 25 minute lightning and rain delay, the women's top riders got underway:

 

The winner in a sprint:

 Start of top Men's race:

Surprise visit by UK Global Cycling Network personality, Daniel Lloyd on the left, chatting with race announcer Dave Towle on the right:

 

That's 18-year old Gregory DeBenedetti wearing the Stars and Stripes, as this year's USA Junior Men's Criterium Champion from June in Wheeling, West Virginia.  Unfortunately, he appeared to have been in a crash today and could not finish.  

Riders are doing a constant ~30 mph on this course:

Hope this event continues to return to Longmont.

St. Vrain Greenway Fully Open Again

Over the weekend, the previously closed half-mile section of the St. Vrain Greenway, between the Isaak Walton Clubhouse and Boston Avenue, was reopened.  This completes the "Isaak Walton Reach 2" Project and you can now once again travel the length of the Greenway without detours.  

I've been critical of the slow pace of the many Greenway post-2013 flood projects but in this case, I'll congratulate the City on completing this project way ahead of schedule; the committed finishing time frame was "Fall 2026" which technically could have stretched well into December.

Here's the new section looking west from Boston:

 
You can see there is a packed crusher-fine shoulder on the southern portion of the trail.

Looking east from the Isaak Walton Clubhouse, with the St. Vrain on the right.  That is an irrigation-free seed mixture containing native vegetation that has been sprayed between the trail and river.

 

It's easy to cross town again on a bicycle.  A quick look at the apple orchard in Rogers Grove shows that there will be no apples this year due to a late frost in the spring:

 

Thompson Park Elm Tree

There are not many elm trees in Longmont but Thompson Park has a majestic one at the corner of 5th and Bross.  Notice the distinctive vase-like structure of its branches from the trunk.

 

 

1962 Architect Model of Longmont High School

From the 1962 Longmont High School (LHS) yearbook, an architect's model of the planned new LHS between Sunset Drive and Francis Avenue, looking southeast:

 

 

The new school opened in time for the Class of 1965 graduation.  You can imagine how modern and space-age this campus must have been for those coming from the old high school built in 1901.  From the overhead view today, the open-roof section in the closest building is gone, if it ever happened, although you can sort of see where it could have been. 

Front Range Passenger Rail (FRPR) Community Q&A in Longmont, April 8, 2026

A group from the Front Range Passenger Rail (FRPR) District and local city and education officials led a short presentation and Q&A session on Wednesday evening, April 8, 2026 at the Longmont Museum auditorium. It was well-attended, with 2/3 of the auditorium full.  

Community Poetry Box

Curbside Little Free Libraries are common in Longmont and you'll occasionally see a Community Food Pantry but have you seen a Poetry Box?  There's one on Carlton Place in Old Town, not too far from Central Elementary.

If you have a poem that inspires you, it appears you just  contribute it:

 

Carlson-Wallace Historical Landmark Farmstead House on the Move

The longstanding Carlson-Wallace Farmstead house in south Longmont is on the move.  I don't yet know where it is going but it's been at the corner of US-287 and Pike Road since 1910.  You may know this house as being at the southern entrance to Longmont and the northeastern corner of the Prospect neighborhood.

You can read more about the house on the City of Longmont's Historic Landmarks page and I've put a screenshot below because these links tend to disappear over time.

It does make me wonder about how a designated Historic Landmark (awarded in 1997) can be moved.  Leave a comment if you know more about this, or the where the house is going.

The farmstead parcel appears to be for sale, divided up in multiple lots if I'm reading this correctly.

Digging around on the real-estate agent's listing, this property is listed on an unknown but likely future "750 Satisfaction Circle" address:


Perhaps unrelated to the house move, two years ago, the City of Longmont Planning & Zoning approved 180 units of high-density apartments/duplexes just south of this property.  This is the last undeveloped portion of the Prospect neighborhood but nothing has happened yet:

It's clear that the southern entrance to Longmont will look a lot different in the future. I'll provide updates if I hear more, and please leave a comment if you have further information.  

Screenshot of City of Longmont Historical Landmark page for the Carlson-Wallace Farmstead House: