It used to be nestled at the top of a decent bike climb. You could race your friends and swap stories all the way up about how out of shape you were or blame last night’s dinner for your molasses-like speed. You could peel left and head to Ward if you were a glutton for punishment or stay straight (or as straight as the canyon would allow) and find yourself in the idyllic mountain town of Jamestown.

On July 4th, you could join waves of other cyclists and be met at the top with the Jamestown volunteer fire department’s annual pancake breakfast (with bacon for an extra buck or two — ummm, yes?). You could also get suckered in by friends to ride the Super Jamestown route, taking you up and over Jamestown to the Peak to Peak Highway and back into Lyons.

Personally, I only let that suckering happen once. Six hours later. I never said I was fast.

But the floods. Criminy, the floods have wiped out Jamestown. A town is gone, a destination wiped from the map. The former owner of the Jamestown Mercantile even died when his house collapsed.

It’s time, however, to help rebuild Jamestown. So, if you love Jamestown like I do, head on over to Rebuild Jamestown. You’ll be able to read about what they lost and what’s left, along with how you can make a donation to help bring the town back on the map. You can also stop by their new Facebook page for updates.

And sure — they’re getting financial assistance from FEMA andBoulder County, but as their neighbors, it’s the least we can do to chip in and help. The whole town operated on a budget of $56,000 per year and most of us can’t imagine LIVING on a budget like that.

You can make an online donation directly here (be sure to designate REBUILD JAMESTOWN in the drop down menu). The Boulder floods won’t keep us down. Let’s do our part to help our neighbors up the hill we all loved to climb build back up once again.