For the first fifteen years, this ride was organized by Jake and Julie Maas, owners of the County Cork Pub & Grill from 1981 through 2003.

Back in the early summer of 1989, Jake planned his first bike trip up to Estes Park and 28 people decided to make the journey with him. It was the first long ride for many of the group and the refreshments and hot tub waiting for them at the end of the trail was a welcome relief. Then it was dinner and dancing in town and a bracing ride back down the next morning in a driving rain. Outstanding! This was such a great ride that five or six of the group became friends and continued to bicycle together throughout that summer. They called themselves the South Howes Street Velo Club, a rag-tag crowd of as many as six riders who would usually organize their rides at the Cork on Friday night and meet early on Saturday morning, hungover or not. Early on, the rides weren’t always vigorous – a casual mosey to Wellington was often the choice of the day. But other destinations will be more familiar to current members -- such as Severance, Loveland via Masonville, Eaton, and Windsor – but the format never changed: ride about 20-30 miles, eat lunch, ride back to town for more food. What a hard-core crowd.

By popular demand, Jake scheduled another Estes Park ride that fall. The following summer people continued to get together, now meeting every Wednesday evening in the parking lot of County Cork Pub & Grill and the name of Peak-To-Pub Bicycling Club was coined for the growing group, most likely by Jake. Over the first five years the weekly ride grew to about 30 cyclists, mostly through word-of-mouth, and was also used as a “training” ride for tours of Ireland conducted by Jake and Julie’s Peak-To-Pub Bicycling Tours company. Then it happened. With a little publicity, the ride grew steadily each year until in its 15th season the weekly rider-ship averaged 75 cyclists with an all-time high of over 110 riders for one Wednesday night!

In December of 2003, Jake and Julie sold their business of 22 years and have since left the area. The Wednesday night ride lives on, however, and the participants wish to thank them for their support of the ride and their contribution to cycling in Fort Collins over the years! We wish them all the best as they transition to their new life after “The Cork.”