Pristine Riders Trash Crush Cleans Aspen Roads Friday

The 11th annual Pristine Riders Trash Crush kicks off at 10 a.m. Friday, May 22, at the South Gate parking lot of North Star Nature Preserve. It is a two-hour sprint to clean up Aspen’s roads and trails.

Sun Dog Athletics and Pristine Riders are running the show. The goal is simple: remove litter from Highway 82, Castle Creek Road, Maroon Creek Road, and the East of Aspen trail. The organizers expect to haul away 40 extra-large trash bags. That is a lot of garbage for a single morning.

Erik Skarvan runs the event. He founded Sun Dog Athletics and leads Pristine Riders, the non-profit dedicated to clearing bike paths and roadways. Skarvan started with the Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers trail crew. He worked his way up to crew leader. He says he got hooked on the tangible results. You see the trash disappear. You feel the stewardship.

The event operates on a "Just one" motto. Pick up one piece of litter. That is all you have to commit to. Skarvan argues it takes seconds. If 20 people pick up one piece each, you have removed 20 pieces of trash. It sounds small. Extrapolate that over time and across social media, and it becomes significant.

This is not a new idea. The cleanup has been happening for 11 years. It now has a fall counterpart to handle the summer surge. The Colorado Department of Transportation provides safety vests and equipment. The support is steady. The volunteer count is growing.

Skarvan says the short duration is a feature, not a bug. "There’s no other volunteer days that are that short," he said. Two hours. Start, finish, done. It lowers the barrier to entry. It gets people off the fence.

The mission is about a multiplier effect. It cannot be just a few dedicated folks. It needs the community. Every person matters. The goal is general awareness. It is about creating a culture of conservation.

After the cleanup, the group heads to Koch Park. There is lunch. There are prizes. There is the "Trashy Awards." It is designed to be fun. Skarvan calls it a rare opportunity to care for your surroundings while experiencing community.

The event targets specific corridors. Highway 82 is the artery. Castle Creek and Maroon Creek are the veins. The East of Aspen trail connects the neighborhoods. Litter accumulates in all of them. The cleanup addresses the visible waste. It does not address the source.

Skarvan notes the "good feelings" that come with the work. It is a reward in itself. But the real prize is the cleaner environment. The 40 bags of trash are proof of effort. They are physical evidence of what the community can do in a short window.

The event starts at the South Gate of North Star Nature Preserve. It ends at Koch Park. The route covers the major thoroughfares. The tools are provided. The safety vests are ready. The only thing missing is the litter.

Skarvan wants people to try it. He wants them to share the message. He wants them to pick up that one piece. It is a call to action wrapped in a community event. It is not just about trash. It is about stewardship. It is about giving back.

The clock starts at 10 a.m. Friday. The bags will fill. The trails will clear. The awards will be handed out. Then the cycle begins again in the fall.