CARBONDALE — The Rio Grande Trail, which will soon extend 33-miles from Glenwood Springs to Aspen, has people talking and riding, according to Dave Hollenback of Ajax Bike and Sport in Carbondale.

“People are excited about it,” Hollenback said. “I know a lot of people have begun to commute to work on the trail rather than driving their car or riding the bus. Especially those who live and work in Carbondale and Basalt.”

When new sections of the trail first opened last summer, Hollenback said the shop saw much business from people riding the trail.

“It wasn’t like ridiculous or anything,” Hollenback said. “But we had a lot of people that road the trail come in to get supplies and stuff.”

Hollenback expects interest to grow this season with the trail completion expected in June. The final stretch below Carbondale is soon to be paved.

“I think it’s going to increase more and more each year,” Hollenback said. “It will be a more viable trail when it’s complete.”

Hollenback is hopeful that the trail will be open year-round to generate more interest during the slow winter season.

That may be a positive sign for Jeff Neer, owner of Canyon Bikes, a rental shop at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs.

Neer’s business closes for the winter because the majority of his customers use the Glenwood Canyon bike path, which is closed for the winter months.

“Ninety-nine percent of our customers go into the (Glenwood) Canyon,” Neer said. “So, it doesn’t make much sense to stay open if the path is closed.”

However, Neer said, his customers like to have options. Some of his customers like a good road or mountain trail to ride. For those, Neer said he usually sends them to Rifle Gap Reservoir, Harvey Gap or Red Mountain for the off-road experience. The addition of the Rio Grande Trail just gives Neer another option for customers.

“I’ve been in business for nine years, and there has always been something going on in the canyon that closes the path,” Neer said. “Maintenance, flooding, there’s always a few days that the path is closed. So, it will be nice to have an alternate route.”

Neer expects the majority of his customers to use the Glenwood Canyon path mainly because of its close proximity to his business; the trail begins less than a block from his shop. But he has seen an increase in interest from locals who want to check out the new Rio Grande Trail renting bikes.

“I haven’t heard so much from the tourists,” Neer said. “But from the locals I’ve heard several comments about the trail.”

Neer said his company’s fleet has 130 bikes and during the summer months most of them can be rented out. Over the years, business has fluctuated but the interest is always there. He couldn’t pinpoint what the impact of the trail would have on his business this summer.

“I don’t anticipate a huge increase,” Neer said. “But it will be nice to have an alternative.”

Marianne Virgili, president and CEO of the Glenwood Chamber Resort Association, said she sees around 400,000 tourists each year utilizing bike paths and rentals. She was positive the new trail would impact local economy.

“We are already on the map for biking,” Virgili said. “With the addition of the new trail, you have a destination no matter which direction you go from Glenwood.”

The remaining section of the Rio Grande Trail, between the Colorado Mountain College Spring Valley campus turnoff and Carbondale, is scheduled to be completed by June 15. A grand opening for the trail is scheduled for July.

<i>This article is a feature of Inside Business, published Tuesdays in The Aspen Times.</i>