In response to the recent spate of letters concerning whether longboarding on Summit County recpaths is an appropriate activity, I invite all longboarders to instead come visit us over in Leadville. We have a beautifully maintained, entirely smooth surface recpath circling our lovely little town: the Mineral Belt Trail. It is an 11.6-mile long, divided-lane asphalt path that has multiple access points for shuttling riders uphill so that they may enjoy coasting downhill for miles. It is so rarely used that I dare say any conflicts you may have in Summit County with recpath users will not arise over here. We even have a longboarding race every fall on the Mineral Belt – “Blaze the Belt” – that is officially sanctioned by our county rec department.

So please come on over the hill to Leadville, spend the entire day coasting around town and on the Mineral Belt Trail, and stay for dinner. We’d love to have you.