Alton told me he got his first wheeled conveyance – a red pedal tractor – at Collins Schwinn on Colfax, which is one of the most efficient Denver cred business cards I’ve ever been handed. He also hit me with bike terminology I don’t know, but if you Google two things out of this interview make it (a) Major Taylor and (b) Schwinn Krate stick shift.

Cherry Platte Thing: I think I know the answer to this, but what’s your main way of interacting with these trails? Is it on your bike?

Alton Dillard: Yes, it’s on my bike. I know you’re focusing on [Cherry Creek and South Platte], but due to occasional congestion I will also do gravel out through the south part of the metro, pick up the High Line off of Eisenhower Park.

CPT: Do you have a favorite spot or segment along the trails?

AD: I am pretty partial to Cherry Creek, then South Platte going south, and Mary Carter Greenway. I’m able to know where all my mile posts are. I actually live like 500 yards off the High Line. I pick it up north of Florida hill and then I take it through town, downtown and then hit Confluence Park to take a load off real quick and head south. The way the trails are laid out, you always know where you are, and so I know from my place, the confluence and back is a 30-miler, from my place to Riverpoint is closer to a 40, going to Hudson Gardens and back is closer to a 50. And I’m also a bit of a nature boy so the fact they have all those water features and waterfalls and birds and rocks, that’s my jam.

CPT: Me too, I love experiencing the changing seasons on the trail, with different birds or things along the way.

AD: Everything from the instant protein known as gnats or grasshoppers season when the trails get crunchy or every season in between.

I’ll go south around the backside of the Cherry Creek Country Club – not to be confused with the one on First – and they’ve got bridges back there with little waterfalls and stuff under them. Plus another reason that i’m a big high line fan is through my neighborhood, it’s got a gravel shoulder. And riding over to my folks’ place in Hampden Heights I can still get a 10-mile gravel round trip in.

CPT: I remember seeing a photo of you with the club in front of the Major Taylor mural when it went up. A bunch of new murals will be going up on the trail in September between 6th and Downing. If you could commission a mural of your own choosing along there, what would you want to see?

AD: You know what I would like to see, if I could commission one, I would actually love to see something that shows all the types of wheeled conveyances that go all the way back to my youth.

My first anything with wheels came from Collins Schwinn on Colfax. It was a red pedal tractor. Then I graduated from that eventually to the old banana-seat specials. And my cycling shop that I use, Adventure Cycling on the east side of the Cherry Creek Reservoir, you can see things like the orange Schwinn Krate with the stick shift in the middle of it. It evolved from there, and then I had a Trek mountain bike, and it’s so funny … everyone’s like, ‘How’d you get into road cycling?’ and I’m like ‘Male ego, I got tired of getting passed.’

That’s what I’m envisioning. One wall that’s showing everything from Striders up to Pinarello Dogmas and everything in between.

CPT: What should people know about the Major Taylor Cycling Club?

AD: He was the first Black world cycling champion in 1899. Major is a nickname, not a military rank, but he would wear a miniature military uniform when he was a young rider and performing. I always think it’s fascinating that he participated in the velodrome race back when Madison Square Garden was a velodrome and it was a multi-day velodrome race. He was ahead of his time when it came to nutrition and overall wellness, to be able to compete with that level of stamina.

There are chapters all over the country. We have a strong core of about six to eight but we have all kinds of associates and affiliates. We have ridden with a group of Ethiopian brothers that you may see riding around town, but also groups like Black Girls Do Bike. But we also ride for visibility, we’re totally multi-ethnic. We just want people to know about Major Taylor but also make sure that people are just getting out and turning the pedals. One of the reasons I’m so visible, we do custom kits with Primal every year. And so lots of times, especially when we are, not in the urban core of Denver, people will come up and ask questions, or tell their own Major Taylor stories.

CPT: What soundtrack or other media pairs great with September on the trails?

AD: From a cadence standpoint and as someone who went to Denver East – where members of Earth, Wind and Fire went – you’ve gotta have “September.” But at that time of year as the air starts to get crisp and you take not as deep a breath as you want to, “Tour de France” by Kraftwerk is a perfect cadence song. [imitates breathing sounds on the song]

CPT: Of all the changes on the trail over the years, is there anything that stands out the most to you?

AD: I have to admit, and shoutout to my Councilmember Amanda Sawyer for my almost weekly inquiries for the underpass that goes under Parker and Mississippi. And also because riding through to get over to the gravel, I would have the same discussions with former Councilmember Kendra Black before the underpass went in under Colorado and Hampden. (Ed. note: Both on the High Line Canal Trail!)

CPT: Do you have any cycling stories from your days with Denver Elections?

AD: Where the building was located, we always participated in Bike to Work Day. I enjoyed what I called the cycling diversity. I’m there in our group picture with my handmade French racer and there’ll be another guy with his commuter or somebody else with their beach cruiser and we would gather up for a staff picture in front of the 24-hour ballot box every Bike to Work Day.

I do have one other one – since I’m retired I’m gonna tell it. Back in the previous administration, one of my former colleagues who had concerns about snow being plowed into the bike lane there on 14th between Bannock and Cherokee, took some pictures and posted it to his personal social media account on his own time. But it did get us 86’ed from the citywide communications meetings for a few months.

The Cherry Creek trail is about to get a bunch more murals via Wall Fest, an all-day simultaneous mural project on Sun., Sept. 14. Trails Planning Manager Adam Lind told me that Denver Parks and Rec is working with artists to each put up their own 75-foot mural. If DPR gets 16 artists – that’s what they advertised for last month – the project will triple the number of murals added along the path this year alone. Lind says that as Denver Arts & Venues has been more focused on permanent, physical installations lately, DPR has been responsible for more murals in the last few years (with sponsorship funding, which I note because the city budget has been in the news lately). Denver Parks and Recreation

There’s a target zone for these murals – the Cherry Creek trail between 6th and Downing – and I noted that there had been a relatively new mural that didn’t last long right in that zone. It had been at Clarkson, and was bright with big splotches of color and lines. Lind and DPR spokesperson Stephanie Figueroa didn’t know about that specific one, but Lind offered this general note:

“After murals are repeatedly tagged and cleaned and tagged they start to degrade and lots of artists aren’t local or there isn’t funding to continuously repair and repaint them, so eventually they get painted over and removed.”

Over on the South Platte River Trail, I had questions about a couple of detours that Lind answered. In short, the Alameda detour might be sort of close to being done:

“CDOT finished its bridge reconstruction and detour a month or so ago, but we (DPR) are managing construction of the trail improvements north and south of that area. That construction should be wrapped up by the end of the year and the trail will be reopened. There is a second phase in that area that will add amenities to a new bike/ped trailhead area and turn the rest of the area into a more park-like storm water facility, but the trail shouldn’t be significantly closed or detoured with that construction.”

And we’ll see another detour just a bit south of there soon:

“The next upcoming detour that will be put in place on the Platte is south of Johnson Habitat where we’ve had off-again-on-again detours for the failing retaining walls the last few years. We’re just trying to get our permit from CDOT to start that construction in September and get that retaining wall rebuilt finally.”

Being a giant nerd, I also asked about Grant Frontier Park, down by the old Table Public House, because the city's website says the South Platte Ecosystem Restoration project will impact that “no sooner than fall 2025,” but Lind said nothing's coming soon there.

I was also curious about the progress of construction along Reynolds Landing in Littleton – big project, dating back to a December 2023 grant and expected to continue through spring of 2027, according to South Suburban Parks & Recreation’s project page. The South Platte River Trail detour there takes you away from the action now, so here’s a July video showing what some of the progress looks like. It’s going to be a huge difference, and I wonder how much it’ll activate the area – for now, I think of it as Confluence Park, hold the Confluence (and the downtown) and add what seems like a lot of areas to attract both human and non-human parkgoers. If you haven’t, take a gander at the overall project map (and remember: spring of 2027 … maybe).

I’ll ask for more and better information in another month, but for now, South Suburban Parks and Rec spokesperson Becky Grubb tells me that the current phase involves “the in-river work, re-alignment of the Mary Carter Greenway, parking lot expansion, connecting pathways, and some landscape and irrigation.”

Saturday, Sept. 6 the Golden Hours music festival runs from 2-9 p.m. at Commons Park (although the event organizers are calling it Riverfront Park – someone please educate me if this is a name change I’m unaware of, but I think it’s probably just branding). The Knocks, Dragonette, Neoma and more are on the lineup. Free.

Saturday, Sept. 6 is also an opportunity to volunteer some time from 9:30 a.m.-noon to clean up Overland Park along the South Platte River Trail. You can register here.

Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 6-7 the Denver RC Eagles have a big event, which I just mention because when I’m riding through Cherry Creek State Park, I always enjoy seeing the RC planes zipping around at the airfield as I pass by. If you’ve never noticed the airfield, it’s on the south side of the main loop road (there are signs!).

Sunday, Sept. 7 is a Walk the Wetlands event with Denver Audubon. These are lovely events, with about 3 miles of very chill walking near Audubon HQ down by Chatfield, led by master birders who will tell you what to look for and where.

Friday, Sept. 12 I am not invited to the invite-only Greenway Foundation Gala On The Bridge, I’m just putting it here in case you’re biking by the 19th Street bridge over the Platte that evening wondering why a bunch of people are partying there.

Saturday, Sept. 13 is the recurring free and family-friendly Second Saturday event at the CSU Spur campus. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. It's a cool thing to check out once -- in my experience, the kids get pretty engaged with the stream table (who wouldn't?) and mock vet clinic. But it's a fascinating campus to explore, and you can also see some horse therapy, the rooftop greenhouse, veterinarians at work. More info here.

Sunday, Sept. 14 will be the Cherry Creek Trail Wall Fest – Denver Parks & Recreation was looking last month for 16 artists to put up new murals, specifically focusing on the segment of the trail between Downing Street and Sixth Avenue – “there’s just so much blank space that could be beautified” along this stretch, says DPR spokesperson Stephanie Figueroa, who added that the Wall Fest was thought up by Trails Planning Manager Adam Lind, and is being sponsored by some frequent DPR/trails collaborators. I love riding by murals that I’ve personally seen as they were being painted – hit the trail between about 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and you can see some murals in progress.

Thursday, Sept. 18 (and other dates) I found this $210 DU Continuing Education course on the fall bird migration. Two Thursday-night classes and two half-day Saturday birdwatching field trips. $210. I have no idea if they’re along the trails, but birding pairs beautifully with biking these trails; watching the seasons change not only through the flora but also through the fauna has been marvelously grounding over the years.

Saturday, Sept. 20 if you buy Corn Maze tickets at Chatfield Farms, you can add Hop Festival tickets and have yourself a Saturday. For non-member adults, that’s a total of $32, as far as I can tell.

Saturday, Sept. 27 you can volunteer with the Greenway Foundation to help clean up a riverside park. Adults can register here. Families can register here. High schoolers can register here.

Something that isn’t happening in September is SuaveFest, which was the annual-ish beer, food and music festival from Raices Brewing. It was supposed to be at Levitt Pavilion, a bit down the Platte from Raices’ taproom, and the only notice I’ve seen (not that I looked hard) was on Levitt’s social media pages. Raices – which I have loved over the years, and which has been the site of more than a few send-off gatherings for friends, miscellaneous hangs, etc. – has had some financial troubles of late.

Prep for next month

Denver Botanic Gardens Pumpkin Festival is Oct. 10-12. Tickets will go on sale Sept. 8 at 10 a.m. DBG told me by email that “if you are a member with the Gardens, tickets will be available to you the week before this date depending on your membership level. The tickets will be available online, over the phone, or in person.” This is one of those tickets that can actually be a little hard to get if you don’t do it early.

Four Mile Historic Park Pumpkin Harvest Festival tickets are already on sale. Oct. 18-19.