Come to Casper.

Stay for the cycling.

Just as the Casper Area Convention and Visitors Bureau put central Wyoming on tourists' radar several years ago with fishing, it now is doing the same for biking.

"This is going to be main area of focus to us to push out to people along the Front Range, and around the Wyoming region, and around the surrounding states to get them the information that they want and need to decide to come to Casper to bring their bikes here and ride our trails," said John Giantonio, director of sports and events for the CACVB.

Central Wyoming offers venues for mountain biking, road biking, fat tire biking in snow, BMX and other kinds of cycling, Giantonio said Friday.

"We are a new and different and unique experience that's not too far from where they live," he said.

Giantonio announced the launch of bikecasper.com during a news conference at AdBay on Friday.

The website highlights featured courses such as the Crossroads Trail starting at Mike Lansing Park, riding areas at Alcova Lake and Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park, and fat bike riding on Casper Mountain's Eadsville course.

It announces upcoming events including Fat Fish racing and cyclo-cross races.

And the website offers information about local cycling clubs and shops, restaurants and hotels.

"Bike Casper" is a research-driven idea, which grew from the data gleaned from the results of the "Fish Casper" campaign with a lot online, print and other advertising, said CACVB executive director Brook Kreder.

The data from Fish Casper was impressive, Kreder said. "From 2011 to 2014, we saw a 34.5 percent increase in nonresident fishing licenses."

Besides the fishing licenses, the Bike Casper campaign is drawing on research from the Wyoming Office of Tourism, the Outdoor Foundation, and the CACVB itself, she said.

Giantonio said Bike Casper is getting a boost from the city, which recently created biking lanes on some streets.

"While it might not be recognized by a lot of people, cyclists do recognize that kind of thing," Giantonio said. "When they do see that kind of thing, when they do see signs that say 'share the road' or 'bike safely,' those kinds of things, they understand that they are wanted and they are invited and they are welcomed into the community."

The Convention and Visitors Bureau is looking to promote more events for mountain biking, road cycling, cyclo-cross and especially BMX racing, he said. (Cyclo-cross is a sport with cycling on a variety of terrians including roads, mountains, fields and obstacles. BMX -- "bicycle motocross" -- racing is done on hilly dirt tracks, such as the one at the Mike Sedar Park.)

"We would like to really kind of own cycling in general in the state of Wyoming," Giantonio said.

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