Starlight riders take off in the dark.
So if you can't sleep Saturday night, or you're stumbling home particularly late after the bars close, don't be alarmed at the sight of a mass of blinking red lights descending from the mountains into our fair city. It's the 6th running of the Starlight Spectacular, a 14-mile bike trek through the heart of downtown Colorado Springs, with 500 bikers starting and finishing their odyssey at the Garden of the Gods. Trails and Open Space Coalition Executive Director Dan Cleveland recalls a past year's illumination winner who came dressed as a Christmas tree. With or without the Christmas tree lights, the 500 some bikers are all required to have headlights, tail lights, and helmets. The effect of watching all those tail lights head into the dark of 30th Street toward Garden of the Gods Road from the Visitor Center is one of Cleveland's favorite parts of the ride.