Number 2Summer 2005

$3.95

Advent of the Town Series

MTB Little League

Training with the Circus

Tuning the Political Wheel

Fruita Fat Tire Festival

Race Reports

Defining the Rocky Mountain Cyclist

The first thing people do after launching a publication isanxiously type their names into Google and see how theyrank out there in the dark and mysterious Googleworld.

I’m just as curious as any other neo-publishers. Every so often(okay, twice a week) I send the Google gremlins on a littlesearch for Mountain Flyer. This morning my search turned upsomething new and interesting. A chat room on an anonymouscycling-related site I’d never heard of had a little smut on my‘zine. I was flattered. I happily read on about how cool and soul-ful Mountain Flyer was and how this tremendously sophisticatedcyclist really recommended Mountain Flyer to his friend (we’llcall him Myron).

Things went south from there. Myron replied that he thoughtMountain Flyer was “lame” and we spent too much valuableprint space on, yuck, how distasteful, racing of all things. Myronread through “as much of it as he could stomach.” Well, Ithought, that’s a little over-dramatic. I thought issue No. 1 was awell-rounded publication. What about the article on the VallesCaldera Ride or Jefe’s single-speed adventure? Those articleshad nothing to do with racing. Can’t please them all I guess.

Thankfully, the compliments I have received on issue No. 1have far outweighed any non-constructive criticism. But if youlook beyond the insults, this person’s comments do bring up anoticeably divisive gap in the cycling world. What relevancedoes racing have and what has it contributed to our sport?

I’ve spent roughly one-third of my life racing. I love when myheart pounds so hard that it feels like Keith Moon is doing adrum solo in my temples. Because of this, I admire other racersand the feats they achieve. I appreciate the challenge racing addsto my life and how it drives me to get out and do something thatpumps endorphins through my veins like a designer drug. I likethe chase, whether I am the hungry wolf or the desperate rabbit.

It is, however, important to recognize that not all cyclists areracers. I’d say that there are five basic types of cyclists:

1. Racer X. You know, they wear their heart rate monitors as awatch and constantly tries to talk everyone they know into racingso that they can beat them into a pulp on the first climb.

2. The Recreational Racer. Loves anything to do with cycling.Loves to compete and be involved but does not center life aroundtraining. It’s really all about riding. Has competed in the 24Hours of Moab every year since its inception, once riding a sin-gle speed and wearing a tutu (never again).

3. The Avid Cyclist. Way into riding hard, fast and long everychance he or she gets and does not really care about racing at all.It’s safe to say that many of these types are faster than the racersbecause they are usually on their bikes while the racers are sit-ting on the couch worrying about resting.

4. The Casual Rider. Loves anything to do with The Tour andeven more about Lance Armstrong. These folks may own as

many as six Livestrong bracelets and a postal service editionTrek road bike.

5. The Baggy Pants, Slightly Intoxicated, Soft Around theMiddle Boulder Frat Boy. Thinks a bike is something to stealwhen walking home from the bar (because his friends took awayhis car keys—again).

Mountain Flyer is meant to be for numbers one, two, threeand four. These folks all have one thing in common. They lovethe sport. Their best day of the week involves an epic ride withfriends or family.

Has racing contributed to the sport? Even if you don’t dig racing it’s easy to see that competition has inspired people topush the boundaries of possibility. John Stamstead rode theentire Continental Divide Trail by himself and set the record.That’s got soul. Last year, Mike Curiak rallied a handful of like-minded lunatics, labeled it a race and proceeded to breakStamstead’s record by 52 hours. That’s sick!

Some of the best innovations in cycling were inspired by racing. Where would front suspension be if Ned Overend hadn’t raced on the original Rock Shox in the 1990 WorldChampionships? Would we have full suspension bikes if therewere never such thing as downhill racing? Without the racers’need for more efficient bikes, would we have clipless pedals orSTI shifting? I doubt any of these products would be available if it were not for competition.

Furthermore, racing has provided a format for which cyclistsand representatives from the cycling industry can get togetherand get organized. Some of cycling’s greatest advocates are therace promoters because they have a powerful voice in their communities and can use their role to organize trail work daysand educational programs (see the story in this issue onMTB Little League).

One purpose of the media is to cover newsworthy events andhappenings. Well Myron, racinghappens. I agree that getting outand riding with your buds is whatit’s really all about, but racing has contributed to the growth ofcycling.

So all you Myrons out there—keep the criticism coming (butplease keep it constructive), andbefore you get too critical, take acloser look. Racing does have soul.

1Mountain Flyer

Editor’s Note

Pho

toby

Mik

eTi

ttel

Is racin’ lamer than a 3 legged horse?

Cover photo: Karen Janssen at Harman Rocks by Xavier Fané

EditorBrian Riepe

Managing EditorCaroline Spaeth

Art DirectorGloria Sharp

Mountain Flyer Logo Design Donald Montoya

PhotographersXavier FanéJosh McGuckinBrian RiepeMike TittelNathan Ward

WritersLisa CramtonDean CrandallSusan DeMatteiJeff IrwinDan RoperLora SchmillenAndrea SchulzDave SheldonCaroline SpaethBrian RiepeKevin Tan

PrinterCrested Butte Printing and Publishing

PublisherSecret Agent Marketing Group, LLC

Mailing AddressMountain FlyerP.O. Box 272Gunnison, CO 81230

Emaileditor@mountainflyer.com

Web Sitewww.mountainflyer.com

Advertising Sales970.275.2573adsales@mountainflyer.com

Subscriptionssubscriptions@mountainflyer.com

Who’s Who In This Issue

2 Mountain Flyer

Editor’s Note 1

Advent of the Town Series by Brian Riepe 6

Flyover by Caroline Spaeth with Brian Riepe 14

Tuning the Political Wheel by Caroline Spaeth 16

Salida Mountain Trails Park by Andrea Schulz 18

The Candy Store 20

KT’s Garage by Kevin Tan 24

Lisa Myklak—Moving up Fast in the Downhill World by Dave Sheldon 28

Training with the Circus—Tricks and Tips for Fitting Training into Your Real Life by Susan DeMattei 30

Contents Number 2Summer 2005

3Mountain Flyer

The Fruita Fat Tire Festival—Ten years Worth Celebrating by Brian Riepe 34

Racing Action 2005

Tour of Canyonlands 4018 Hours of Fruita Endurance Race 46Chalk Creek Stampede 50Kokopelli Trail Race 56

The Sordid History of Fat Tire Bike Week by Lisa Cramton 60

Calendar of Obscure Events 64

Will There be Future Cooperation with ACA and USA Cycling by Dean Crandall 66

Our Forests—Land of Many Uses by Lora Schmillen 68

La Ruta de la Conquistadores by Dave Sheldon 70

What if the Buddha Raced a Bike? by Jeff Irwin 74

The Unthinkable Day by Dan Roper 78

Contents

4 Mountain Flyer

Some may consider it the glory days of U.S. cycling. Picture it. It’s late June 1991. All the best

Europeans came here to race. Ninemonths before this, Ned Overend wonthe first-ever official Mountain BikeWorld Championships in Durango, Colo.Cycling is going strong in the RockyMountains. Getting trail use permits androad closures is as easy as clicking yourfoot into your new SPD pedals (the lat-est and greatest at the time).

So, here you are, vacationing in thepicturesque, little Rocky Mountain town.

An excited crowd, beers in hand, linesthe dirt streets. Riders are streamingpast, hopping off the Main St. curb andthumping across the narrow wood bridgeover the swollen waters of No-NameCreek. The racers’ bikes are mostly custom steel. Only a few have shocks.Some of the riders are wearing thosecool Etto helmets—the ones with the florescent green and pink tiger stripes—and Oakley Blades. Sweet!

The cheering grows louder as ridersrip past. Two of the world’s best, JohnTomac and Tinker Juarez, fly by in their

big rings and climb up towards Thin AirPass. Tomac is hunched over in his dropbars, tongue hanging out, taking in everybit of oxygen he can find. Tinker is righton Tomac’s wheel but he doesn’t know it because his ’fro is covering his eyes.One more lap to go….

Is this stop number 6 on the WorldCup circuit? No way. A NORBA NCSrace? Nope. This is the circuit race at a humble Colorado Off-Road Points Series event.

Back in 1991, this is where you couldwatch some of the best competitors in

6 Mountain Flyer

Closer to HomeAdvent of the Town Series

by Brian Riepe

cycling. Boulder, Durango, Winterpark,Crested Butte, Steamboat Springs, Aspenand Vail all hosted races that attractedthe top competitors in the country. Thebest thing was, even with the high levelof competition, the races had a modestatmosphere. It all seemed very approach-able for a newcomer. People camped inthe parking lot and everyone attendedthe post race barbecue to share a beerand tales from that day’s adventure. For$25 you could race, eat and get a cool T-shirt.

In the next few years, things wouldchange dramatically. NORBA beganlooking for new venues around the country. The National ChampionshipSeries and the UCI World Cup took offand the top riders began chasing pointsand sponsors. Good for the growth of thesport? Perhaps. But racing in the countrychanged. The overall attitude at theevents became less microbus and moreSUV. Things got serious. Everything wasgeared towards sponsorship and the eyesof race promoters became fogged withthe elusive goal of getting television

coverage. Hype was the rumbling,throaty hotrod and dinero was the tattooed, leather-bound driver. Some ofthe riders and most of the fans started

to lose interest. Luckily they only lostinterest in traveling and paying hugeentry fees, but they did not lose interestin racing.

To meet the demand for regional racing, high quality events sprang up.New formats like 24-hour racing and thefreeride scene emerged. For the dedicat-ed racer, it’s never been hard to find agood venue in the Rocky Mountainregion. The Mountain States Cup offersa professionally run, wonderfully com-petitive series. Thanks in part to theAmerican Cycling Association, the roadracing schedule is growing steadily.There are even more bike races in thisregion than rodeos!

But what about those who can’t travel every weekend to chase a pointseries around the state? What if you’renot that serious, and you miss the dayswhen beer was a recovery drink. Ormaybe you like a good race but aren’twilling to blow your retirement savingson traveling. You have job commitments,families or other interests that keep you from devoting your life to racing.You may be part of the majority ofcyclists looking for something different.For you and many other cyclists, theTown Series is the perfect answer.

7Mountain Flyer

Beer, Pizza and Door Prizes.

Is this Bingo Night

or a Bike Race?

Along Came the Town Series

In the early 1990s, a new type of raceseries popped up in the Rocky MountainRegion: The Town Series. The trend mayhave started in Vail or Winter Park, maybeSummit County. The formula is simple.Give people a fun, inexpensive weeklyrace series that is just a bike ride fromhome. Add some tasty snacks, foamingmicrobrews and locally donated prizes atthe finish line and you’ve got a quick suc-cess. If you hang around at the post raceparty, you’ll likely hear slurred commentsabout how much fun this is and how,“This is just like the good ol’ days.”

A Town Series race is like the good ol’days in that it makes racing fun, humbleand accessible. You don’t need hype to puton a bike race. All you need to do is lineup and say go!

Ironically, these series have becomesome of the largest races in the regionnowadays. Collectively, they are the bulkof the racing in the Rocky Mountains. TheWinter Park series brings in more than600 racers per event, while the Summitand Vail series can see more than 300 rac-ers on a warm summer night. EvenCrested Butte’s Pinnacle series hosts sixparties per summer for more than 100 racers. The Aspen Cycling Club putson 22 events alternating between road andmountain every week from May untilAugust. The Front Range communitieshave their own versions with continuousracing from March through December(mountain, road and cyclocross) hosted by several different promoters includingSchwab Cycles and Boulder Racing.

These town series races are inexpensive.Old-fashioned fun is the main theme butdon’t let the low-key atmosphere fool you.Just like in the good ol’ days, when you puta bunch of adrenaline-spiked cyclists on thestarting line and say go, the chemicals kickin and you’ve got a race. The level of com-petition is whatever you want to make of it.You can have a few beers before the raceand hang out with the laughing group oryou can put the hammer down and try tohang with the likes of Mike Kloser or

8 Mountain Flyer

Town Series events are about racing with your friends. Photo Courtesy City of Steamboat Springs Parksand Recreation.

Brian Passenti and Bob Helmus lead the peleton in an Aspen Cycling Club Series race.Photo by Steve Kelly www.rof.net/yp/photography/index.htm.

Jimmy Mortenson in the Vail series, CharlieEckert in Aspen, Susan DeMattei in CrestedButte, or Travis Brown, Marc Gullicson andGretchen Reeves in the Boulder RacingSeries. I’d be willing to bet the competitionis stiff in the Four Corners Series. The pointis that many of today’s top racers live in theRocky Mountains, so you can get someserious competition at town series races ifthat’s what your looking for.

Town Series racing is grassroots racingat its very best. It offers an opportunity tocompete against your peers, ride withsome of the best in the sport and train atan intensity that would otherwise beimpossible to replicate. Best of all, theconsensus is that Town Series racing is themost fun you can have in a little mountaintown without getting arrested.

What’s next? Here is a call to arms:Will some budding young race promoterhost the Rocky Mountain TownChampionships? I’d love to see some sortof one day/team points event where eachtown can enter a representative group ofriders. You design the format. Imagine therivalries. Get on it!

Aspen Cycling Club Race Series

Detailed information at www.acc.org Aspen Cycling Club is one of the

oldest and best organized cycling clubsaround. This series hosts an impressive 22 events (alternating between mountainand road) spread over five months.

Highlights: Some of the best roadraces in the state like a hill climb upIndependence Pass on May 21, 2005,before the road is open to traffic and arace up to the Maroon Bells trailhead andback on July 27, 2005.

Schedule: May 4 through Sept. 17,every Wednesday evening with severalevents on weekends too

Banquet on Sept. 21

Crested Butte Poweraid Pinnacle Series

Detailed information at www.Skicb.comor April Prout @ (970) 349-2303

The Pinnacle series is locally known asthe best dinner deal in town. Lay down 10big ones and get all you can drink beerfrom Breckenridge Brewery and all youcan eat pizza, pasta, barbecue and cook-ies. Oh yeah, you have to race your bikefirst. The stack of prizes in race promoterEric “H-Bomb” Baumms’ closet rivals theGrinchs’ sleigh as he’s leaving Whoville.Get the picture? You race, you eat welland win cool stuff.

Highlights: You guessed it: Beer,food, prizes and racing on the infamousCrested Butte “tunnel of Aspen tree’s”singletrack.

Schedule: Every Thursday night:July 7, 14, 21, Aug, 4, 11, 25

Wildflower Rush June 24–26

Summit Mountain Challenge XC Series

Detailed information at www.mavsports.com

The Summit Series is one of the originals. Founded in 1987 by Greg and Amy Guras of A Racers Edge, alocal bike shop, and currently promotedby Maverick Sports Promotions. Raceattendance averages 310 people per race.Format is cross-country. Sponsorsinclude Avid, Mavic, Yeti, Turner, ClifBar, Gary Fisher and A Racers Edge..

Highlights: Maverick Sports clearlyfocuses on putting on a great event.If you read through their mission statement, take notice of the phrase“customer service”—very cool. The opening race is always huge, more than400 people, but the best thing is that it’sa series of backcountry courses. Eachcourse is different and the series isdesigned to cater to “complete riders”rather than climbers. The season endswith a championship and finals partywith the “mother of all raffles.”

2005 Schedule: Sunday June 5,opening race; every Wednesday night June15 through Aug. 17July 4, Firecracker 50Aug. 27–28, Fall Classic

Note: The Summit MountainChallenge XC Series is also the birthplace of MTB Little League,a program designed to get kids involved in cycling in a low-key fun environment with an emphasis on sportsmanship, team building and fun. For more info see the article on MTB Little League on the following page.

9Mountain Flyer

Calendar of Town Series Racing in Colorado

Matt Boughton enjoys a splash through a mountain springon the Government Trail (Aspen Cycling Club Series).Photoby Steve Kelly www.rof.net/yp/photography/index.htm

10 Mountain Flyer

Hitting a Home Run in Kids’ Cycling

You know when your dog hangs his head out the window of your car andthe wind makes his lips flap around? That’s the feeling MTB Little

League will give your kids—pure, unbridled, drooling enjoyment.Little League involves racing but

riding is the focus of the program,which is designed to expose kids tothe true soul of cycling. Give a kid acustom team jersey, a group of friendsto ride with every Friday evening, afun race series, sneak in a little lifeeducation and you’ve got MTB LittleLeague.

“It’s a program, or more appropri-ately, the template of a program thatwe’re offering free to all promoters aswell as those interested in youthdevelopment,” said Mike McCormack,Maverick Sports Promotions, which setup the program. “Last year we hadmore than 1,300 junior entries andlogged more than 2,300 ‘kid hours’ oftrail work and education in steward-ship of the backcountry. That’s a bigdeal in youth development.”

Want one in your own town? Whynot? It’s easier than you think. Justadd a little sweat equity and it’s free.Maverick Sports Promotions has done

all the work and the company is happy to give you the template to start yourown chapter.

For years, the bike industry has recognized the need for junior programs.Many have tried with moderate success.

The problem? Well, racing can be intimidating, expensive and generallyhard for a kid to get involved in. More importantly, before kids get involved inracing, it’s important to teach them something about backcountry ethics, envi-ronmental conservation and the heart of the cycling culture: advocacy and ageneral love of the sport. The trick is to make all that stuff fun and cool sothat the kids stick around.

MTB Little League

by Brian Riepe

11Mountain Flyer

MTB Little League is the creation of Mike McCormack and Jeff Westcott ofMaverick Sports Promotions. In 2001, they were trying to find a way to getmore juniors racing at the Summit Mountain Challenge Series in SummitCounty, Colo.

The simple thing to do, they realized, was to make the racing free. Sothey did. Word got out and by the end of the summer the junior ranks hadgone from 11 racers to 50.

The only problem was that they totally underestimated the numbers andhad to go out and purchase prizes for all the extra winners they had. Thatfinancial hit led them to the creation of a more organized youth program.Not one that would make a profit, but at least break even, an importantstep towards sustainability.

The program is simply modeled after baseball little league and otheryouth sports programs. The idea was to keep the costs down by selling teamsponsorship to local businesses.

The cost for joining the league is$40 per child. All the kids get customjerseys and a bunch of quality timeon their bikes. Participants get tobuild good sportsmanship and cama-raderie by racing as a team and rid-ing together once a week on recre-ational rides guided by parents andvolunteers.

The racing is the fun and exciting part that draws kids into theprogram. It’s cool wearing the teamjersey, taking joy in each other’s vic-tories, consoling each other’s defeatsand winning prizes as a team.

Now comes the advocacy. Havingfun in the outdoors goes beyond rac-ing and understanding good ethics.

Maverick Sports had the fore-sight to take the program one stepfurther and use it as an opportunityto teach the kids about backcountryethics, appropriate trail use and giving back a little something to thecommunity through volunteering.The weekly recreational rides areused as an educational opportunity.

Coupled with organized trailworkdays, MTB Little Leaguers get a full cycling experience. Come to think about it, maybe a few adults out there should think about joining.

MTB Little League now has chapters in Summit County, Colo., Vail, Colo., Maine and Iowa. For more information on starting a chapter in your hometown, check out www.mavsports.com or call Mike McCormack at (970) 333-1159.

Photos Courtesy of Mountain Bike Little League

Winterpark

Detailed information at www.epicsingletrack.com,ccenter@skiwinterpark.com,or (970) 726-1590

One of the best memories I have frommy early cycling days is racing theTipperary Creek Classic, an epic point-to-point race that traverses high above the valley from Fraser to Winter Park. Thatpoint-to-point race is still part of the WinterPark Series. Following the great tradition ofthe Town Series, Tom Carey of Winter ParkResort/Winter Park Competition Centerhosts the races as fundraisers for their youthski and snowboard programs.

Highlights: All the good stuff.Raffles, epic singletrack and it’s all closeenough to Denver to bring in more than600 competitors for each event.

Schedule: Every other SaturdayJune 4 through Aug. 27

Vail

Detailed information atwww.vailrec.com, (970) 479-2279 or e-mail admin@vailrec.com

The Vail series is one of the originalsand it’s run as professionally as the WorldCup events that have been held on thesame trails. The series is promoted by the Vail Recreation District along withvariety of other events like golf tourna-ments, lacrosse, marathons, ice hockey,gymnastics and hiking.

Highlights: World-class race courseswith the town series feel. Finishes off witha huge end of the season party at BeaverCreek. Cash Prizes for Pro/Expert and generous prizes for all other categories.

Schedule: May 25, June 8, June 29,July 13, July 20, Aug. 10, Aug. 24. Racesheld on Wednesday nights starting withthe kids races at 5:00 pm and the adult categories at 5:30 pm.

12 Mountain Flyer

Butch Peterson (leading) takes a pull, while Jason LaPointe (in red) sucks his wheel and Rich Burkley makesa sneak attack from behind on the white stripe in the Aspen Cycling Club Series. Photo by Steve Kellywww.rof.net/yp/photography/index.htm

In an unexpected move, numbers 734 and 96 attack from the back, putting the pressure on the leaders.Photo Courtesy City of Steamboat Springs Parks and Rec

Four Corners

Detailed information at www.4cornerscup.com

According to the series website, thisseries is not officially running for 2005but they still are going to keep track ofpoints for 11 races (what more do youneed, keep track of the points and it’s aseries). With Durango located within thegreater 4 corners area, it’s needless to saythat this “series” is extremely competitive.

Highlights: Includes the Iron Horseclassic and culminates with the RoadApple Rally (rumored to be NedOverend’s favorite race).

Schedule: March 5 through Oct. 1

Steamboat Springs TownChallenge Mountain Bike Series

Detailed information at www.townchallenge.comor (970) 879-4300

Steamboat Springs is probably one ofthe few ski towns left that still has asmany cowboys as mountain bikers, andthey like it that way. But it’s also a breed-ing ground for outdoor cottage industries;

Home of Moots, Kent Eriksens’ new ven-ture, Byk E, Honey Stinger /EN-R-Gfoods, Big Agnes and Bicycle AssociatedProducts. Just like the rest of Coloradotowns, Steamboat Springs has its fairshare of local honchos and a well-estab-lished 15-year-old town series wherelocals can vent off some steam after work.

Highlights: Race on the incrediblenetwork of trail that crisscross Mt. Wernerand Howelsen Hill. Ahhh, classicColorado singletrack, Aspen trees, skunkcabbage up to your pierced belly buttonand that beautiful red soil! Each race isfollowed by the de rigueur post-race partyat a different local establishment eachweek, complete with a raffle for $500worth of merchandise.

Schedule: Beginning May 25 and running on alternating Wednesdayevenings.

Boulder/Denver

Detailed information at www.americancycling.org or www.boulderracing.org

I was raised in a small town and still live in a small town so I have a tough

time calling anything brewing in thecommercial-sized vats of the front rangea town…but all the racing aroundBoulder and Denver provides the essen-tial ingredients: fun, inexpensive and accessible races. There are now morebike races within 75 miles of Denverthan there are tasty items on the menuat Tokyo Joes. Between the Cherry Creektime trial series, Pro Peleton time trialseries, Schwab Cycles’ spring trainingseries and fall cyclocross races, BoulderRacing’s variety of events from mountainto cyclocross and the Mead series, pru-dent Denver cyclists can race their bikes three days a week all year long without logging too manymiles in the Subaru.

Highlights: Colorado’s front rangehosts some of the best Cyclocross racingin the country and criterium races thatwould scare the EPO out of any Europeantour rider.

Schedule: Way too many to even summarize, we can’t afford to use up printspace on it all–look it up on the Internet(just make sure you log off, get off yourphat butt and go ride your bike beforeyou’re tempted to start surfing).

13Mountain Flyer

Charlie Eckert in yellow helmet, Chris Seldin in blue helmet, Rishi Grewal two behind Chris with white and yellow helmet and Ted MacBlane on the right edgejockey for position in an Aspen Cycling Club Series race. Photo by Steve Kelly www.rof.net/yp/photography/index.htm

World Cup Comes to New Mexico

Angel Fire, NM – In a mountain biking coup for New Mexico, the WorldCup is coming to Angel Fire Resort onJuly 9-10. The mountain resort in north-ern New Mexico was chosen as the onlyU.S. location for the 2005 MountainBike UCI World Cup competition.

“At nearly 11,000 feet, we have twohigh-speed chair lifts, the challengingtrails and the facilities to make this theideal racing location,” said JonMahanna, the resort’s general manager.“We’ve been one of New Mexico’s best kept secrets and that’s beginning to change.”

World-class riders will descend on theresort, nestled high in the Sangre deCristo mountains, to compete in threegrueling events. The downhill coursewill send racers off tight technical drops,across a lava field and down a high-speed ski slope before screaming downto the resort base.

The cross-country course will coveran 8-mile singletrack loop that climbs1,500 vertical feet to the mountain’ssummit. In the mountain cross, racerswill go head to head on a course with

huge jumps and berms. During the races,the resort village will host a shoppingvenue for bike gear and provide liveentertainment.—Caroline Spaeth

Double Your Riding Pleasure:Valles Caldera, NM

If you missed your chance at riding the Valles Caldera National Preserve inNew Mexico last year, mark your calen-dar for this summer. Banking on dou-bling their big success of last year’sfirst-ever rides in the 89,000-acre feder-al land, the Preserve staff and a group ofmountain bike volunteers are setting uptwo weekends of rides in the ancientsunken volcano. Choose from shorter scenic ridesthrough expansive grasslands,rimmed by the resurgent volcanicdomes. Or climb up those resurgentdomes on a longer 30-mile loop. Rides are scheduled for June 18-19 and Aug. 13-14. The August rides coincide with the nearby Fat TireFestival in Los Alamos. For more information, go towww.vallescaldera.gov—C. S.

Velodrome, BMX Track Planned for Albuquerque

Albuquerque, NM – Plans are underwayin Albuquerque for an indoor bicycle park,where city officials plan to build a BMXtrack, velodrome and training facility.

In late 2003, Albuquerque votersapproved a $1.96 million bond for the project, which is expected to produce a $10 million price tag. Albuquerque’s Mayor Martin Chavez announced inFebruary that David Chauner, president and CEO of Threshold Sports, has beenhired to help the city plan and develop the project.

The American Bicycle Association(ABA), a BMX sanctioning body with60,000 members, will stage events at thecovered BMX track and help young ridersprepare for international and Olympiccompetition. John Clayton, ABA presidenthas called the facility, “A boon for BMXracing across the country and a site forour top national events.”

According to newspaper reports, MayorChavez has indicated that money will beraised from city, state and private sourcesto fund the project. Ground breaking isexpected to take place in 2005 with target-ed completion in fall 2006.—C. S.

14 Mountain Flyer

Regional cycling news

Boulder Considers MoreMountain Bike Access

Boulder, Colo. – Although this westerncity has an incredibly high concentrationof cyclists, Boulder’s surrounding openspace and mountain parks have been notoriously inaccessible to mountain bikers. But that could soon change.

In a move possibly influenced by pub-lic input from local advocacy groups likethe Boulder Off-Road Alliance (BOA), theBoulder City Council approved on April12 its new Visitor Master Plan, which dic-tates future uses and policies for Boulder parks. Despite the plan’s newrestrictions for hikers, dog-walkers andequestrians, it contains optimistically positive language concerning mountainbike uses.

On its website, BOA points out that it’snot necessarily time to celebrate. The bur-den is now on the cycling community tomake sure the plan gets implemented asintended.

The BOA has an extensive wish list fortrail projects with an overall goal of open-ing new trails connecting existing trailsystems to the community so cyclists arenot forced to drive to trailheads.

Some of the proposed projects wouldinclude the following:• Southeast: Boulder to Superior• East Boulder Trail: Baseline

Reservoir to Teller Farms

• Lefthand Trail to Boulder Reservoir and Feeder Canal Trail (Axelson Trail)

• North Foothills Trail to Heil Valley Ranch

• Mesa Trail to South Boulder Creek West Trailhead

For more information on how you canhelp, go to www.boa-mtb.org.—B. Riepe

Safer Colorado Roads in the Works

A bill that would significantly improvecycling safety on Colorado roads washeading to the Governor’s desk in lateMay. The Bicycle Safety Bill givescyclists the legal backing for using com-mon sense riding techniques. Gov. BillOwens is expected to sign the bill in Juneand the law will go into effect July 1.

“This bill was made possible by ourgrassroots support from cyclists aroundthe state,” said Dan Grunig, director ofBicycle Colorado. “Changing laws is achallenging and slow process, but cyclistsare building political power at the state-house.”

The bill received strong bipartisan sup-port evident by the lead sponsors. Rep.Greg Brophy (R-Wray) rides year-roundand enters an occasional road race. Sen.Ron Tupa (D-Boulder) loves to bike andhis sister Shannon is a professional moun-tain bike racer.

House Bill 1218 improves the rights of cyclists on roadways while riding side by side, riding in crosswalks and signaling a right-hand turn. Current state law in these three areas assigns automatic fault to a bicyclist hit by a car, even if the driver is out of control. The bill gives cops and the legal systemthe power to cite the person, motorist orcyclists, who behaves unsafely.

If signed, the bill would allow cycliststo ride side-by-side as long as they are notimpeding the normal flow of traffic. ButGrunig also stresses, “On roads with noshoulder, please be alert and ride singlefile when cars want to pass.”

The bill also improves the safety of cyclists crossing streets. Most kids ridebikes on sidewalks and bike paths. Undercurrent law, if they ride across a street in asafety crosswalk, and a car hits them, thechild is at fault and the parents pay themedical bills. The bill takes away some ofthis potential liability.

Finally, the bill would make it legal tosignal a right turn either by pointing to theright or with the traditional bent left arm.

Bicycle Colorado, our statewidecycling advocacy group that created thebill, said bicycling tourists bring in morethan $250 million dollars of revenue toColorado each year.

Find the latest status of the bill atwww.BicycleColorado.org.—C.S.

Mountain biking and politics. Not the most harmonious of combinations, is it? But as

unnatural as it may sound, getting cool new trails on public lands often depends on this unlikely combo.

Unfortunately it’s usually the suits at desks, not gearheads on bikes, making theoften politically charged land managementdecisions. But these days, in New Mexicoyou’ll actually find more of those suits on the trails.

It all started last fall when the NewMexico State Parks signed an agreementwith IMBA to build more trails in the statepark system, the first agreement of its kindin the country.

Dave Simon had taken the job as direc-tor of New Mexico State Parks a few yearsearlier, but soon realized that the economicfortunes of the parks were tied like anumbilical cord to the state’s lakes and watersports, naturally a big draw in the drySouthwest. The recent drought and shrink-ing budgets made him look elsewhere toslake the state’s thirst for recreation.

“What we really needed to do was make

those recreational opportunities available no matter what the moisture conditionswere in the state,” Simon said. State sur-veys supported what he already knew asan avid mountain biker: The parks neededmore trails. “I feel like mountain biking isa huge untapped potential for state parks,”he said.

So Simon picked up the phone andcalled IMBA. What did they think aboutcoming down to the state and teaching hisstaff how to build more trails? IMBA,which has numerous agreements with fed-eral land agencies, jumped at the chanceand signed its first-ever agreement in a statepark system to build mountain bike trailsand conduct trail-building schools.

“This opens the door to more trails inNew Mexico,” said Pete Webber, IMBA’scommunications director. “It’s a model forcooperation between mountain bikers andland management agencies.”

Somehow that unappetizing mountain bike-politics combo is looking a littlemore appealing, don’t you think? But itgets better.

News of the agreement made it up

to the state’s top politician, Gov. BillRichardson, who has been getting into riding his mountain bike on the Bosquetrail along the Rio Grande inAlbuquerque. He liked the idea of build-ing bike trails in the state parks.

“This is another example of how government can work with organizations to encourage responsible use of publiclands for our residents and visitors,”Richardson said. “More than 39 millionAmericans participated in mountain bik-ing in 2003, and New Mexico’s uniquelandscapes, climate and biodiversity areideal for this kind of recreation.”(That’s political-speak for, “Cool, dude,more trails!”)

But the Governor really is into trails, especially that Bosque trail. He wanted to extend the bike trail, so he talked to State Parks Director Simon,who instead suggested developing atrails programs in the state, promotingtrails of all kinds.

With Richardson’s political support,this spring the state legislature approvedhiring a first-ever statewide trails coordi-nator position and $1 million in federaland state money to fund state trail plan-ning. Simon said the trails coordinatorwill focus on two major statewide trails:extending the Bosque trail so theGovernor and other cyclists can ride it farther along the Rio Grande, perhaps ultimately across the entire state; andfinalizing New Mexico’s section of theContinental Divide Trail. The state’s section of the 3,100-mile CDT is the least developed of all the five states where the trail runs.

In the meantime, Simon already is reaping the fat-tire fruits of political labor.IMBA and the state parks staff brokeground on a new trail in Sumner LakeState Park the same day their agreementwas signed last September, and more trailsare in the works.

“We literally built the first trail in the park that very day,” said Simon. “Thenwe rode it.”

Who says the wheels of bureaucracycan’t have knobby tires?

Tuning the Political WheelNew Mexico Guv gets singletrack mind

by Caroline Spaeth

16 Mountain Flyer

Dave Simon, director of New Mexico State Parks, reaps the rewards of the first-ever trail-building agreement between a state park system and IMBA. This trail is the first of many planned for Sumner LakeState Park and other New Mexico state parks.

“This is another example of how government can work with organizations to encourageresponsible use of public lands for our residents and visitors,”

17Mountain Flyer

IMBA crested a major hill on the national trails frontthis spring, signing an unprecedented agreement withthe National Park Service.

National Parks have hundreds of dirt roads that havebeen closed to bicycling. With this agreement, mountainbikers can now picture a future where they could ride innational parks for the first time, mostly likely on dirtroads first and then later on trails if all goes well.

“This agreement represents a true breakthrough formountain biking,” said Mike Van Abel, IMBA’s executive director. “It opens the door for individual park units topartner with mountain bikers and investigate new ridingopportunities on a case-by-case basis.”

But don’t load up your bike and head over to your

local national park just yet. As part of the five-yearagreement, the two organizations will partner on twopilot products to be selected later this year.

The NPS could open dirt roads with a straightforwardadministrative process but opening singletrack to bikes will require a much more lengthy process under NPSrules. The agreement primarily recognizes bicycling as apositive activity, compatible with the values of the parksystem.

In other words, although the progress will move slow-ly in low gear, at least the wheels are in motion. In the meantime, check out the IMBA website, www.imba.com,where they’re taking suggestions on what pilot projects to propose first.—Caroline Spaeth

IMBA Signs Agreement With National Parks

“More than 39 million Americans participated in mountain biking in 2003, and New Mexico’sunique landscapes, climate and biodiversity are ideal for this kind of recreation.”

Just a few yards north of downtownSalida lies a lonely slice of public land owned by the Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) and the City ofSalida.

For many years this land has sat virtually unused, its few difficult trailsused only by expert mountain bikers andhikers, a place where people do little more than illegally dump trash.

However, if a new public project gainsacceptance, this land may be given the attention it deserves and turned intothe Salida Mountain Trails Park, a sustain-able non-motorized trail system that will greatly enhance Salida’s recreationalopportunities.

“It’s really unusual in this day and ageto have the opportunity to create a newtrail system right on the edge of down-town,” says Tom Purvis, a member of theSalida Mountain Trails Park Committee.“We have the chance to turn this smallpiece of littered land into a place of pridethat will benefit the entire town, a placewhere people can ride their bikes, takewalks and have picnics while learningabout the history of our area.”

The proposed non-motorized trail system will focus on creating trails forbeginner and intermediate mountain bikers, trails that are also perfect for walking or running.

Salida local Nathan Ward also com-mented, “Last year when I was workingon Salida Singletrack, the mountain bikeguidebook to the valley, I noticed thatSalida didn’t have many trail options forbeginners or intermediate riders. Thesepeople were leaving the area and travelingto Buena Vista or Leadville to ride theMidland Railroad Bicycle Trail or the

Mineral Belt Trail. Salida would reallybenefit from having some easier trailsaccessible directly from downtown.”

If all goes according to plan, the SalidaMountain Trails Park will include severalnew trails, rebuild existing trails to sus-tainable standards, incorporate trailheads,provide parking and teach visitors about

the Salida area through interpretive signage.The Park’s ultimate goal is to build 25 miles of new singletrack in the area.

To help facilitate the process, theSalida Mountain Trails Park has officiallybecome a chapter of the Arkansas RiverTrust, the local non-profit group responsi-ble for creating the immensely popularRiver Walk and Whitewater Park along theArkansas River.

“We want to build on the excellentwork done by the Arkansas River Trustalong the river and apply that same professional standard to the public landsnorth of downtown Salida,” explainsWard. “Wouldn’t it be great to have a trailsystem accessible just minutes from anywhere in town, a place where everyonecan go and enjoy the trails–cyclists, run-ners, walkers, kids, everybody.”

The fate of the project lies in the handsof the BLM, which is currently conduct-ing its first ever Travel Management Plancovering all BLM lands from Salida toCañon City to Westcliffe. The BLM willultimately decide what types of trails anduses are allowed.

The City of Salida is also playing amajor role since it owns the piece of landclosest to downtown, which will deter-mine the vital access points to the SalidaMountain Trails Park Area.

“Both of these groups have been great to work with so far, and we hope topartner with them in the long-run to make these new trails a reality,” said TomPurvis.

To express your support, or if you havequestions on how you can help, pleasecontact the Salida Mountain Trails ParkCommittee at (719) 539-8523 or email:cyclingclub@arkansasvalley.net.

18 Mountain Flyer

Salida Mountain Trails ParkMountain bikers work to create more singletrack on the

edge of Salida’s downtown historic district

by Andrea Schulz

Photo by Nathan Ward

Wouldn’t it be great to have a trail system accessible just minutes from anywhere in town, a place where everyone can go and enjoy the trails–cyclists, runners, walkers, kids, everybody.”

Overheard—quotes from the field

“Ohhhh, I can ride my bicyclebut I can’t drink my liquor.”--Mavic roadie Dan Crean, after a four-hour ride in Fruita,taunting a friend to do a shotat his bachelor party

“I like bike rides better thanwomen. A good bike ride iseasier to come by.”--Lucius Warner, enjoying anendorphin buzz at the top oftrail 401 in Crested Butte

“Are you guys gonna wearyour numbers on the front ofyour jerseys or the back?”--An anonymous cyclist, heading out with eight friendsfrom Aspen on a “casual”early-season Sunday ride inFruita

“Oh, yes. I’m hoping there will be lots of mud and snow.It will help slow down the fast guys”--Mike Curiak, illustriousendurance rider and organizer of the Kokopelli Trail Race, when asked if hethought there may still besnow on the high parts of therace course

20 Mountain Flyer

Descente AthleticNew Chamois Eliminates Stitching

Say goodbye to chamois stitching that irritates you in all the wrong places. Boulder-based Descente Athletic has created the ultimate chamois, the Aero X. The chamois’separate side wings and front panel are radio-frequency welded to the main chamoisbody. This completely eliminates stitch-ing, making the Aero X one of the mostcomfortable shorts on the market.Descente uses higher density and thickerfoam in the critical center areas and putslower density foam around the periphery,creating multiple layers and more protection for you and yours on thoseepic adventures. Find more information at www.descenteboulder.com.Suggested retail: $110.00

21Mountain Flyer

DeFeetThe Levitators Will Move You

Ever feel like you need those sci-fi rocket-propelled shoes to get off the couch fora ride? Defeet’s new Levitator socks might be the motivation you need to getmoving. Defeet, one of the best names in high performance athletic socks, hasdesigned the most unique socks I’ve ever seen. The features of the newLevitator socks make it sound more like space age gear than something to slipyour foot in. The socks, designed by engineers and knitting technicians, havea Levi-Pad for cushion and stability, Ambi-Fit left and right specific design,Awetoe seams, sculpted Air-E-Ator mesh for exhaust, Sexe-Hedron cuff forairflow, Coolmax-fresh FX fabric for wicking freshness. If that doesn’tinspire you, these socks are super comfy and last a long, long time undertypical abusive conditions, all for less than the cost of breakfast at Pasquals. Get more information at www.defeet.com.Suggested retail: $10.99 - $12.99.

Ultimate SupportExpanding Its Bike Repair Stand Line

Ultimate Support’s history of innovation comes into the spotlight yet again withthe addition of several new products in its bicycle repair stand product line. Thecompany has four new products: Pro Elite, Pro Elite Commercial, Pro Compact andthe Alpine Digital Scale. Website: www.ultimatesupport.com

Pro CompactFor the new Pro Compact, Ultimate offers this description, “Smaller, lighter,

faster. That’s what traveling pro mechanics kept telling us to create, so we listened.”The company put its slide-lock clamping head on the slimmer Pro Compact standfor fast and easy adjustments. The Pro Compact weighs less then 10 pounds, can befully extended to 58 inches, yet folds into an impressive 38-inch unit. Suggestedretail: $179.99.

New Alpine Digital ScaleFurther expanding Ultimate Support’s bike repair stand line is the new Alpine

Digital Scale, offered in partnership with Feedback Sports®. The scale is construct-ed either to be clamped into a bicycle stand or be suspended from a hook. Its com-pact size allows for travel and storage. Suggested retail: $64.99.

I have an Ultimate stand that I purchased in 1993; it’s still the best stand I’ve ever used. —Editor

22 Mountain Flyer

Strawberry Honey StingerThe Gel with More Buzz

Honey Stinger, produced by EN-R-G Foods of Steamboat Springs, Colo., hasbecome a favorite among serious endurance athletes like Tinker Juarezand Cristina Begy. And it’s not just because they have theendurance of grizzly bears. Honey Stinger energy gel is theproduct of extensive studies showing that honey, because of itsunique combination of sugars and relatively low position onthe glycemic index, is the ultimate natural energy gel. HoneyStinger makes it even better by adding all-natural flavors, Bvitamins, electrolytes and, in some flavors, caffeine. Thenewest flavor is strawberry. Buzz! Fly over to more info atwww.honeystinger.com. Suggested Retail: $1.39.

KINeSYS Performance SunscreenSpray and Go

When you rode out it was cloudy, now the sun is out and your face is feeling it. Try thisquick solution: KINeSYS Performance Sunscreen is a new microspray sunscreen, developedby chemists, sports medicine physicians and scientists. Spray it on and it dries fast withoutany rubbing and without residue. Better yet, the sunscreen is oil-free, water and sweat resistant, hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic. Available in mango scent or fragrance-freewith broad spectrum 15 or 30 SPF UVA/UVB protection. Just spray it on and go. Find moreinformation at www.kinesys.com. Suggested retail: $14.00.

First EnduranceRelying on Research and Racer Expertise

First Endurance continues to stay at the front of the endurance nutri-tion pack with its new E3 sports drink. First Endurance blended theknowledge from the company’s clinical research with input from rac-ers like Fred Rodriguez, three-time USPRO Champion, and theNavigators and Sierra Nevada Professional Cycling teams to producethe new sports drink. E3 contains an ideal blend of simple and com-plex carbohydrates, amino acids, antioxidants and electrolytes to pro-vide endurance athletes the nutrients they need to fuel working mus-cles and increase exercise endurance. Flavors come in tangerine andlemon-lime. Find more info at www.firstendurance.com and (866)347-7811. Suggested retail: $12.95.

23Mountain Flyer

Black DiamondDepend on the Vectra IQ in the Dark

Whether you’re commuting to work at all hours of the night or cranking in a 24-hour race, you depend on a reliable, affordable back-up light. This time

make sure you have the Vectra IQ headlamp in your gear bag. The VectraIQ headlamp combines four long-lasting LED lights with a high-pow-

ered xenon bulb, giving you the best of both worlds: bright light whenyou need it, longer run times when you’re out for hours. Running

on four AA batteries, the Vectra headlamp lights up the trail forup to 300 hours of run time in the “strobeoscope” mode and

three hours at full power. Find more information atwww.bdel.com. Suggested retail: $65.

Boone TitaniumA Single-Speed Cog

That Exudes Cool

Want your single-speed to exude cool like one of JesseJames’ West Coast Choppers? If you’re thinkin’, “Oh yeahbaby, that’s the way I wanna live and if you don’t like it,FU,” well then this single-speed cog is the cool you’re look-ing for. Boone Titanium is better known for making customrings for fingers but also produces a full line of bicyclechainrings that are sure to put all your friends into a state of cog envy. Find more cool cog info at http://www.booner-ings.com/cr/crsizes.html. The single-speed cog pictured can be yours for a surprising $45.

Big AgnesThe Mother of 24-Hour Race Comfort

Planning to endure some 24-hour events this year? You may want to cozy up with a great deal on a Big Agnes sleeping bag. All Big Agnes bags have a fabric sleeve on theunderside of the bag, which holds your pad in place. The result: you’re left to your sweetsingletrack dreams instead of sliding off your pad all night. For car camping, we like the 3lb, 4oz. Encampment Polarguard Delta synthetic bag because of the reasonable $155price and the roomy rectangular shape. A Big Agnes bag is the perfectinsurance policy for those cold frosty October nightsin Moab. Mate the 15-degreeEncampment with a Big Agnes pad—orany 20-in. wide sleeping pad you alreadyown—and you’ll be set in the campingdepartment. Consider the fact that BigAgnes supports races like the 24 Hours ofSteamboat and the 24 Hours in the Sageand you can’t go wrong. Find more information at www.bigagnes.com or(877) 554-8975. Suggested Retail: $155.

White ENO Crank, Phil Wood BB: A Quality

Combo

With the advent ofnewer cranks featuringoversize spindles, out-board bearings and hol-low forged arms, theolder square-taper stan-dard has fallen into the shadows.Unfortunately, so have meticulouslyengineered concepts like adjustablechain-line, Q-factor and longevity. While the increased demands of suspen-sion and ever-increasing airtime make theadded strength a necessity for heavier riders or the vertically gifted,for many riders and bike setups, a square taper was right on.

With this in mind, I got the chance to

install White’s ENO crank (that’s one inreverse) along with Phil Wood’s bottombracket for a trip down memory lane.

If you have enjoyed riding single-speeds for any length of time, you haveprobably heard of White Industries’ ENOfreewheel, arguably the most durable andwell-sealed unit I’ve ever seen. Availablein sizes from 16T to 23T, it does thetrick. Well this is the matching crankset.The cranks are designed for the lowestpossible Q-factor (this is the width of thecrankset from edge to edge) and come inlengths of 170, 175 or 180 mm. (A quicknote on Q-factor: many elite-level ridersfuss about it, and go so far as requestingmachined-down crank spindles, bottombracket shells or pedal spindles. If youspend much time on a road bike with a double ring, you know what a low Q-factor feels like.) The cranks feature

an aluminum drive ring with availablesizes of 32, 34, 36, 38 or 44T.

I think it’s safe to say that Phil Woodhas essentially perfected the square-taperbottom bracket. With slightly hollowed-outfaces on the taper for maximum security,aluminum or stainless steel cups to endcreaking and seizing, sealed bearings withmarine-rated seals and the ability to finetune the chain line, this piece of equipmentis for the purist. It is not uncommon to hearabout these bottom brackets just gettingsmoother after several years and outlivingseveral bike frames. The cranks and bottombracket installed with minimal fuss andworked without a glitch. As for stiffness, Ihave seen plenty of Octalink or ISIS setupsthat are flexier and a few setups that arestiffer (XT hollow forged). The appeal ofthis type of setup is in the small batch qual-ity that these manufacturers are known for,

24 Mountain Flyer

Kevin Tan has worked as a mechanic in theGunnison, Colo., area since 1995. With a back-ground in mathematics, physics and chemistry,he could go head-to-head with just about any tech guy out there, but he prefers to keep it simple. “As a mechanic, I have had an opportunityto play with everything from Wal-Mart crapola to the most Gucci stuff out there,” Tan said. “It’s a great vantage point to consider what is

truly innovative versus what is hyped and whatmakes some product designs so successful and others bomb. It’s also a cool way to connect with both industry people and riders.” In otherwords, whether wrenching on adult tricycles or a local pro’s velocipede, it’s all good.

KT divides his time between managing theTune-Up bike shop in Gunnison, goofing off with his family and playing in the dirt.

KT’s Garage

by Kevin Tan

Product Review

the product longevity and the attention toperformance and fit that is impossible toachieve in the mass market.

White Industries ENO Crank 180 mmSuggested retail: $185Weight: 525 gramswww.whiteind.com

Phil Wood Bottom Bracket (stainless cups) 116 mmSuggested retail: $131 (w/ stainless cups)Weight: 256 grams (w/ cups)www.philwood.com

Hutchinson: Fatter PythonHas Bigger Bite

Hutchinson scoredbig with the Python tire.During the mid to late’90s, these tires couldbe seen winning almosteverything. PaolaPezzo, Miguel Martinez and many othertop pros consistently chose to ride them.The unique design of the tire, with itssquared-off profile, ultra-supple high-vol-ume casing, low-profile knobs and spookylow recommended pressure made for a

ride that truly was more than the sum ofits parts. Within a two-year span, severalcompanies were producing tires thatattempted to recreate both the comfort andefficiency of the Python, but with limitedsuccess.

Well it’s almost 10 years later, anddespite changes to the casing, rubber com-pound and tread, the Python looks muchlike it first did. For ’05 Hutchinson hasintroduced the Python in a 2.3 size. The

tires we tested are UST tubeless and feature a multiple-extrusion rubberdesigned to maximize straight-line effi-ciency and cornering traction.

I tried to mount these on my single-speed bike, which uses V-brakes. ThePython 2.3 leaves only a few millimetersclearance to the brake cable, not enoughfor my liking, so I decided to run them onmy disc brake bike. I had been runningsome dual compound sticky tires, and thedifference in rolling resistance was likenight and day. These things motor! Thehandling of the tire, like the original,favors smooth riders with honed skills. Oncorners, these tires handle quite a bit dif-ferently than aggressive knobbies, with asensation I would describe as “adherence”vs. “bite.” On the dry, rolling technicalterrain that much of Colorado is knownfor, these tires roll very fast and smoothbut require more attention in steep orloose sections.

As cross-country bikes have evolvedfrom hardtails with limited travel to full-suspension bikes with disk brakes andseveral inches of travel, the Python hasevolved accordingly. Where the original2.0 Python is well suited for racing, the2.3 is better suited for long, fast trail rideswhere their high efficiency can meanpushing a gear or two higher.

Hutchinson Python 2.3 MRC UST Suggested retail: $55Weight (as listed): 895 gramsFor more information check outwww.hutchinson.fr/tires

Dissecting the DT Swiss 240Single-Speed Wheel Set

Lurking just out ofreach of the Mesa Mallin Grand Junction,Colo., is the U.S. head-quarters of DT Swiss.DT’s Swiss-made prod-ucts, which include rims, spokes, hubsand shocks, are shipped here for distribu-tion in the States. DT offers a complete

25Mountain Flyer

The White Brothers Eno Cranks combined with the Phil Wood BB is old school, but sweet.

A bigger Python has evolved.

The unique design of the tire, with its squared-off profile, ultra-supple high-volume casing,low-profile knobs and spooky low recommended pressure made for a ride that truly was morethan the sum of its parts

26 Mountain Flyer

line of pre-built wheel sets from moun-tain and road racing to downhill andfreeride applications. All wheels useDT’s well-known hubs and newer lineupof rims, laced with the optimal spokesfor the job.

Being an avid member of the one-gearcrowd, I opted to take the new 240 single-speed wheel set for a spin. The wheel setcomes in either disk or rim brake configu-rations. Since I have purist tendencies,I opted for the rim brake version. The 240 rear hub (240 grams, that is) is DT’sclassic ultra-light rear hub.

The single-speed version has a fewchanges from the standard hub: it is avail-able with a quick-release lever or bolts,comes stock with a Centerlock rotormount and uses a Shimano-compatiblecog body. The hub body is roughly half aswide as a nine-speed body, giving youenough room to run more than one cog (if you choose to) and several spacers forfine-tuning of the chainline. The freehubuses DT’s patented Star Ratchet Systemand boasts a “no tool” service concept.The front hub is wispy light and is set upto be radial laced with 28 holes. The rimsare DT’s XR4.1, which weigh in at about425 grams and feature welded/machinedsidewalls for strength, durability and precision.

In reference to the “optimal spoke” forthe job, the front wheel is radial lacedwith Revolutions (2.0/1.5/2.0), while therear wheel uses a slightly beefier SuperComp (2.0/1.7/1.8) in a three cross. If youare unfamiliar with the Super Compspoke, it basically bridges the gapbetween the ultra-light Revolution and theworkhorse Competition (2.0/1.8/2.0)spokes—less windup (twist) in tensioningthan Revolutions, full strength at the hub,able to use stronger nipples and with aweight somewhere in the middle.

DT’s reputation for high precision isvisible on all elements of the build. Light,stiff rims laced to smooth hubs with awell-thought-out choice of spokes makefor a great feeling wheel set. The frontand rear wheels accelerate very quicklyand are both dish-less, which makes them

feel very solid laterally. DT designedthese wheels around an “easy service”concept, with commonly found spoke andrim configurations and a tool-less freehubrebuild. I had to see for myself—and it’strue. Rebuilding the freehub mechanismshould take no more than 15 minutes withjust your own paws and some light grease.If you have ever worked with a “typical”freehub system that uses small pawls,microscopic springs and around 40 or 50ball bearings, DT’s Star Ratchet isrefreshing. There are two interlockingplates with coil springs on either side. Thesystem is surprisingly simple, feels verypositive and is confidence inspiring.

Oh and one more thing. I gotta say I

was impressed by the integrated, knurledwashers on the 8 mm bolts. It’s a smalldetail that makes the bolts non-marring tothe frame and keeps them solidly in placewith minimal torque.

DT set out not to redefine the wheelbut to raise the bar with well-engineeredproducts designed for ease of service,durability and lighter weight.

DT 240 Single-Speed Wheel Set (rim brake version)Suggested retail: $770Weight: 1,523 grams (as listed)For more information:www.dtswiss.com

The DT Swiss front hub is specifically designed for radial lacing.

The DT Swiss rear hub is one of most user-friendly hubs on the market. Look ma no tools!

Photos by Brian Riepe

Lisa MyklakMoving up fast in the downhill world

Lisa Myklak’s rise from a crash-happy beginner to an accomplishedprofessional downhill racer in four shortyears is nothing less than inspiring.

In 2001, in only her second year ofracing, Lisa signed up for a downhill race.Competing in the expert class, she tore up the course for a fifth-place finish.

The next year, she started winningdownhill races consistently in the expertclass, including taking first in theCollegiate National DownhillChampionship race.

This year, embarking on her third yearof racing as a pro, Lisa will try to betterher 2004 fourth-place finish at the Big

Bear Mountain Cross and defend heroverall title in the Mountain States Cup series.

Mountain Flyer caught up with thebright-eyed, energetic rider for a few margaritas at a popular Mexican joint inher hometown of Boulder, Colo.

Mountain Flyer: What was your firstmountain bike ride like?Lisa Myklak: Hmm, it was during springbreak in ’98. We went to Moab instead ofCancun. I borrowed my boyfriend’s bikeand rode the Porcupine Rim trail andloved it.

MF: That’s a pretty serous first ride.LM: Oh yeah, I was hooked. As soon as Igot back to Boulder, I bought a bike.

MF: And the rest is history?LM: No. That bike was stolen after twomonths, so I focused on rock climbing fora few years. Then in 2000, I got aSchwinn Homegrown, named it Bucky,and started up again.

MF: When was your first mountain bike race?LM: It was a cross-country race in thesummer of 2000. It had a hideous nine-mile climb, followed by a nine-mile

28 Mountain Flyer

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descent. I was in last place at the top ofclimb, but found myself in second by thebottom. After that experience, downhillracing started to look pretty good.

MF: But you didn’t start racing downhillevents until 2001?LM: Right, buying a downhill bike is abig deal, but I knew I had made the rightdecision when I placed fifth in my firstrace. Unfortunately it was the last race ofthe season, but it was so much fun!

MF: How did your 2002 season go?LM: Oh man, rocky start. First, I beggedmy parents to give me back my downhillbike. They took it away in the fall when mygrades took a nose dive. So my first race ofthe season wasn’t until June in Angel Fire,N.M., which was quite humbling. I startedtraining seriously on my DH rig after that,and from the middle of the season on I wonjust about all the expert races.

MF: This will be your third season racingas a pro. What are your goals?LM: I would like to reach the podiumagain this year in a national race. And itwould be great to defend my overall titlein the Mountain States Cup series.

MF: And you must be psyched for theWorld Cup at Angel Fire, N.M.? Didn’tyou win Collegiate Nationals there?LM: Oh yeah! I love that course!

MF: Each season your skills and racing jump up a notch. What’s thesecret to your consistent increase in performance?LM: I love being on the bike so it’s easy to improve. I don’t feel completeunless I get to ride at least once a day. Myweaknesses are pretty evident so I try tofocus on them. Plus, the people I ride withare so darn good, I think it rubs off.

MF: So you must be on a regimentedtraining program?LM: No, I had one and couldn’t stand it. Now I listen to my body and keepeverything fun.

MF: Do you ever get scared?LM: Sure, but not when I’m riding. OnceI start down, I get totally focused. Feargets you into trouble, so if my head isever in the wrong place, I’ll call it a day.

MF: You’re known as an intense competitor among your peers. Some ofthe women are even intimated by you.LM: Really? Maybe it’s my race face. I’mactually very approachable.

MF: What other kinds of riding do youenjoy?LM: I love dirt jumping and cross-countryriding, and going to the skate park with friends is great. It’s fun to pusheach other.

MF: Road riding?LM: The road bike…not so much. But Ido have one.

MF: Who will you be racing for in 2005?LM: My bike frame sponsor is MorewoodBikes, a new company from South Africa.I'm really excited to be riding for them.Also, Velocity Racing is helping me withMRP Chainguides, White Brothers Forks,Thompson Stems/Seatposts, and Lakeshoes. Also, the Colorado companyYellow Designs (www.yellowdesigns.com)has hooked me up with some great environmental friendly clothing. I hope to be doing some more jumping demoswith them.

MF: So it looks like you’ll at least have abunch of loyal equipment sponsors, butyou’ll still be paying the bills. It is hardcompeting against salaried riders?LM: Getting the gear is a huge help. Icouldn’t race without sponsorship. Butholding down a full-time job takes lots ofenergy. Being able to focus one hundredpercent on racing and training would beawesome. I know I would go faster.

MF: Speaking of working for the Man,you’ve got a kinesiology degree. Do youhope to head in that direction some day? LM: No, I plan to stay involved with the

biking industry. Right now I work forSmartEtailing.com, a web hosting servicefor bike retailers.

MF: How long do you think you will race?LM: I won’t race forever. The world is somuch bigger than bike racing, and racingfull time is pretty self-centered. I’ll seewhat doors God opens. But I hope toalways be involved in the industry, and I’llalways ride.

MF: Who’s your biggest fan?LM: The Super Fan! He’s everyone’sbiggest fan and my personal favorite.

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More Q&A

Best DH course?Angel Fire N.M., orSand Point, Idaho

Favorite place to ride?Whistler, Canada

Best post-race beverage?Margarita on the rocks with salt

How many broken bones? 0

Broken frames? 4

Bikes in the garage? 4

Sickest drop? Third drop atDurango Nationals

What’s in your CD player 15hours into a 30-hour drive?Marilyn Manson

Who would you want to bestuck in an elevator with?Greg Minaar or Travis Pastrana

If you were lost at sea, whatbook would you want along?The Bible

L ast spring I registered for a localmountain bike race, “The Rage in theSage,” one of the only races that I com-pete in anymore. The great terrain,proximity to my house and low-keyatmosphere make The Rage one of myfavorites. My hubby was out of town,but I had made arrangements with ababysitter to come over early enough forme to get a warm-up, do the race and spin home. Perfect.

Too bad my babysitter was ill from get-ting her wisdom teeth out the day before;her mom (a friend and neighbor) hadcalled that morning to say that Sara could-n’t make it because she was still so woozyfrom the dental assault. She added thatshe would happily watch my three boyswhile I followed through with the race.Little did she know that one of my boyshad been up all night, vomiting andsquirting out of every orifice. I hadn’tslept a wink, but something in me wasstill looking forward to starting the race.

“Are you sure you want to watchthem?” I asked her with some hesitation.“Sammy has a nasty stomach bug, so Iwas thinking about calling it off so no oneelse would get sick.” Unbelievably gra-cious as ever, my neighbor persisted, say-ing it would be fine, “Don’t worry; wecan just play outside ‘til you’re done.”

Well, I jumped on the offer, sped overto the course, put on my number and

tossed my pump and tool bag into theback of a friend’s car, exclaiming “I neverneed this stuff.” I headed to the start linewith a few seconds to spare. Wouldn’t youknow I had a flat about 15 minutes intothe race? I was able to finish the race,however, and thoroughly enjoyed myself,but I knew I should get home to relievemy savior, neighbor Kathy, before any

more germs were spread. I may not havegotten the warm-up or cool-down that Iwas used to, but it was pure quality riding,especially given the circumstances.

The aforementioned scenario isn’tunusual for parents or those with demand-ing full-time jobs, so it’s in our best inter-est to expect it and DEAL. If you’re intoendurance sports, and my definition

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Training with the CircusTTrriicckkss aanndd TTiippss ffoorr FFiittttiinngg TTrraaiinniinngg iinnttoo YYoouurr RReeaall LLiiffee

by Susan DeMattei

includes any activity over 30 minutes—seriously—focus on quality rather thanquantity, and you’ll be much happier.

The old saying, “Quality, not quantity,”has a perfect application for athletes inthis day and age. Trying to fit in a job,family, extracurricular activities for kids(and parents), social engagements, house-hold obligations, etc., is daunting enough,but carving out time for a ride, whethertraining or recreational, can really put usover the edge. How do we fit it all inwithout shortchanging our families,friends, jobs or piled-up laundry?

Before marriage, kids and “real life”came into the picture, training was a jobthat I was lucky enough to focus onalmost every day. These days, I reallyneed to be organized to ensure that I havetime to get out for a healthy sweat.Granted, my priorities have changed and Ino longer race for a living, but I’ve beenon both sides of the “I need more time inthe day!” conundrum.

I’m happy to report that, even with aseemingly endless list of everydaydemands, it’s possible to get some qualitytime on your bike without compromisingyour day. Try incorporating some of theseideas into your schedule:

Get Your Ducks in a Row

Preparation is key for finding a fewextra minutes to spend on your bike.Make kids’ lunches the night before, prepdinner ingredients for the next day’s mealwhile the kids are in bed, pay bills whileyour favorite sitcom is on. Check out yourbike the night before an early morningride to avoid a time-wasting flat repairwhile you’re bleary-eyed. Fill water bot-tles, have clothing and a snack ready andbring your cell phone if you must.

Multi-tasking will free up some timeearly in the day, giving you more room foran afternoon getaway. That being said,squeezing some type of workout in beforeyour day begins is the best way to makesure that it happens at all. If you’re not anearly riser, try to become one.

Do Business on the Fly

Commuting on your bike is a veryviable option for many. Pack a change ofclothes, a hat, some deodorant andyou’re good to go. Doing errands in thesaddle works, too: trips to the postoffice, grocery store, retail outlets andfriends’ houses can all be done aboardyour steed, especially if it’s outfittedwith bike racks or baskets. These days Idon’t meet girl friends for lunch or goshopping for fun, but I do call up friendswhen I need a little social time on thebike. I can catch up on all the latestnews around town while keeping myheart rate up, feeling connected andenergized once we head for home.

Try Something New

Health clubs offer a lot of options forpeople who need to keep an eye on youngkids. Indoor cycling classes, Pilates, yoga,treadmills and weights are readily avail-able and childcare is typically on site for anominal fee. Being outside is preferable,of course, but gyms fill in the void whenbad weather is a factor. They’re alsohandy for people who don’t mind gettingup at the crack of dawn for a workout, orthose who can muster up the energy for anevening session. Splurging on a niceindoor trainer makes a lot of sense forultra-busy over-achievers, too.

Be Realistic

If you have racing or recreational goalsyou’d like to meet, plot your strategy forbeing fit enough to reach them months inadvance. If you determine that you haveonly five hours per week to train, chancesare that registering for the Leadville 100would be unrealistic and self-defeating.Seek out shorter, less stressful events thatyou’d feel comfortable completing andwork up from there. Competitors whohave more time to train and recover maypost better results than those with full

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Photos courtesy of Susan DeMattei

schedules, but not necessarily. I’ve seenmany athletes who, upon earning somesponsorship that allows them to devotemore time to training, lose focus and putin too many hours and miles on theirbikes, erroneously thinking that thoseextra miles will surely help them producebetter results. Remember the mantra,quality not quantity.

Cover the Bases

Depending on where you live, the variety of rides available to you on a dailybasis will vary, but keeping your rides“fresh” remains an important componentfor time-pressed individuals. A lot can beaccomplished during an hour ride (road ormountain). Giving yourself 10 minutes oneither end for warm-up and cool-downstill allows for 40 minutes of interval,tempo, time-trialing or technical riding.Find loops from your house wheneverpossible and bring along partners to keepthe motivation high. I have a friend whouses her lunch hour for training time,choosing to eat later at her desk, with herboss’s approval.

Have a plan for most of your rides,depending on how serious your goals,and follow it. Enlist a trainer or some reputable training books/internet advice to gain the most bang for your buck.When the weekend comes and you have abit more time, slot in an endurance ride,knowing that during the week you already

did some speed work or intervals. Havinga full schedule means you won’t typicallyhave time for “junk miles,” that extra timein the saddle that some feel compelled toadd to their weekly total but that reallydoesn’t enhance their fitness. Commit toyour progress by including family, friends,business associates and even competitorsin your routine. The more people whoknow what you’re up to, the more supportand encouragement you’ll get towardaccomplishing your goals.

Cheers,Susan

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D riving into the Grand Valley onHighway 50, my little Hondarice burner is surrounded by

steroidal pickup trucks displaying proudbumper stickers exclaiming F*ckTerrorism. The cultural diversity here isobservable. Ten years ago I would havenever guessed I’d be in homely little Fruita,Colo., to cover an 18-hour bike race that ispart of the industry’s most trendy bike fes-tival, hosted in part by one of Velo News’top 20 bike shops in the country.

It’s 6 p.m. and I’m hungry. The racedoesn’t start until midnight so I stop forsome pizza at Pablo’s, a gourmet pizzeriaon Main Street, Grand Junction. I order aSunshine Wheat with a Thai chickenpizza, grab the local papers and sit downat a table by the window. Ironically bothnewspapers contain feature articles aboutthe Fruita Fat Tire Festival, touting howcycling and the festival have pulled littleFruita out of economic misery and into ahealthy tourist-sponsored boom.

One interview with a city administratorin Fruita stated that since Over The EdgeSports (OTE) moved in and began publi-cizing Fruita’s cycling opportunities,membership in the Fruita Chamber hasgrown from 150 to 300 businesses. Theincrease is not entirely from cycling, butthat growth rate is unheard of on the west-ern slope of Colorado where many smalltowns instead have a new blue WallyWorld Super Center and a Main Streetlined with empty storefronts.

Part of the success of Fruita and OTEcomes from the regular media attention.While in Fruita I saw a journalist from theDenver Post, a group of blokes working on astory for a British magazine, and a scrap-book of previous magazine articles includ-ing one in Solo Bici (a Spanish cycling rag).

Troy Rarick, owner and founder ofOTE, is no longer surprised by the mediaattention. “We do really well with thepress. I seem to be in something everymonth if not every week,” Rarick said.“Last year I flew to the Tour and there Iwas in the in flight mag, this year peopleflying United saw me again coming to thefestival in the United mag. I think theyjust love my boyish looks…or I meantimmaturity!”

The story of OTE’s beginning is morecomplicated than I wish to unearth as itprobably involves some sort of scenarioparallel to Fear and Loathing in Moab. Thesimple version is that Troy saw an opportu-nity and boldly went forth with an unprece-dented plan to open a bike shop in a cozylittle farming community west of GrandJunction. They say even his mom thoughthe was crazy. Well, Troy was right.

Fruita was perfect for several reasons.The mountain biking is better than any-thing Moab has to offer and it’s a tempt-ing two hours closer to the major popula-tion centers in Colorado. The town hasturn of the century class, it’s right off of I-70 and the real estate was affordable.Everything fit.

The shop opened up and the Festivalwas started to help promote the riding.Ten years later the little town has changedforever. Fruita now has a local brewery, anawesome pizza joint, una muy buenotaqueria authentico, coffee shops andmore charm than Opie. Even cooler - thelocal Balanced Rock Hotel has a bikewash station out in front.

But the setting is really worth goingthe trip to Fruita. Colorado’s WesternSlope is an uncommon transitionalecosystem. The area is named for theleisurely deposit of sediment where the

Rocky Mountains fall away into the mag-nificent red fragmented scenery of thedesert southwest; a landscape molded bythe slow but inevitable erosion of the cur-rent and Ancestral Rocky Mountains. At aglance, it’s a place seemingly devoid ofwater where a dry wind continuouslywhips the persistent vegetation into smalltwisted shrubs. Rocks the size of VWbuses are strewn about carelessly likescraps at a construction site. It is bothrugged and magical.

It turns out that, complemented by amild climate, this process has accidentallycreated a one of a kind playground forcyclists; a complex landscape that con-tains a network of dreamy hiddencanyons, huge prominent cliff bands andflat winding shelves of rock. Perfect forcreating a network of scenic and techni-cally challenging bike trails. The world-class trails combined with quiet countryroads and a stunning 40-mile loop ofpavement winding high up through theColorado National Monument has madeFruita and the entire Grand Valley a desti-nation for mountain bikers, free riders androad cyclists.

This year’s festival was the best oneyet. Ten days of parties, bike tours, trailbuilding seminars, more parties, an officialEpic Ride For Advocacy, live music, the18-hour bike race starting at midnight andof course the infamous liability nightmare– the Clunker Crit in downtown Fruita.

Because of its grassroots style theFruita Fat Tire Festival has always been afavorite hideout for the industry icons andthis year was no different. In one hour Ispotted Joe Murray, Marla Streb, ShonnyVanlandingham and Jeff Lenosky. (I’veeven heard of a Chuck Ibis sighting.)There are no poster signings or auto-

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T he Fruita Fat Tire Festivalby Brian Riepe

graph sessions (well, maybe at the LunaChix expo booth) – these people come toFruita for the same reason as everyoneelse: to ride trails like Zippity, HorseThief Mesa, More Fun, Troy Built andThe Ribbon.

Kicking the festival off with an 18-hour bike race was new this year and itwas a huge success. The race was held atHighline Lake State Park – a surprisinglittle oasis (thanks to irrigation canals) inthe middle of the farm country west ofFruita. It was a perfect venue for the race– acres of grass for camping (log thatinto your travel file), shade trees, elec-tricity, bathrooms, and a luge-like 5-mileloop of smooth fast singletrack loopingthe lake. For a complete race report see page 46.

Advocacy has always been a focus atthe festival and the Fruita cycling scene.Cooperation and planning are the realfactors that make Fruita’s trail system so unique. Accordingly, one of the highlights of this year’s festival was theFruita Singletrack Trail Summit on“Successful Sustainable Trials,” hostedby Over The Edge Sports and sponsoredby New Belgium Brewery. (I think theremight have been more beer drinkinginvolved.) The three-day conferenceincluded speakers from the Grand ValleyMountain Bike Patrol, Colorado PlateauMTB Trail Association and the Bureauof Land Management. Some of the top-ics discussed were construction secretsand techniques, successful trails andpartnerships with land managers, desti-nation trail design, developing a trailplan and designing a line.Attendeeswere given valuable hands on experi-ence by designing and completing areroute on the east side of the More Fun Trail.

The final days of the Festival turn intoa general celebration of riding withfriends and partying. Saturday was thefinal bash, sponsored by AmericanNational Bank, which included a trialsdemonstration by Jeff Lenosky and livemusic in the park. The streets wereclosed off to traffic and the freaks came

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out to race their clunkers. It’s a spectacleworth witnessing.

As with any good evolving businessplan, you can expect a few changes fornext year. When asked if he was alreadythinking about next year’s festival Troyresponded “Unfortunately, yes! Trying not to. It will go back to its simpler rootswith the rides, expo and the big SaturdayParty. Ten days was too much! But it wasa great 10-year party and I’m glad we didit, the excitement of all the people makesit all worth while.

“There are always folks who say, ‘Itchanged my life,’ Troy continued, thinkingback on those 10 years. “That’s all it takesfor me, that’s what mountain biking is allabout to me. The people who say, ‘I usedto be bitter, addicted, stuck, angry…whatever it is and now I’m a mountainbiker and Fruita is my homeland, myplace.’ I can think of a hundred of thosestories; great trails, great times and greatpeople… what it’s all about. That’s prettydamn cool.”

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This year’s festival was the best one yet. Ten days of parties, bike tours, trail building seminars,more parties, an official Epic Ride For Advocacy, live music, the 18-hour bike race starting at midnight and of course the infamous liability nightmare—the Clunker Crit in downtown Fruita.

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Photos by Brian Riepe

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39Mountain Flyer

Those riders in the meditative groovewere Allan Obye, Ryan Artale,Rodrigo Gil Moreno De Mora, Etan

Franklin and Matt Simmons.What set them apart and ahead of the

rest? Only those riders who cleaned theprecipitous 25 meters of technical, loose,twisted climbing singletrack would scorethe 30-second time bonus.

It turned out to be a hard-earned wind-fall of time that had a major impact on thefinal outcome of the race; it gave somevictory and, in turn, knocked others offthe podium.

Cycle Cyndicate chose to open the firstMountain States Cup race, held in Moab,Utah, with a new format of two time trialsin two days. If the blue skies and dry heatof Saturday was the yin, then the dramaticovercast atmosphere of Sunday was theyang. The two courses were as dissimilaras the weather.

Day one ran competitors on theSovereign Trail: a 10-mile loop of two-track roads and technical singletrack thattraverses a slab of moonscape just north-west of Arches National Monument. Atleast half of the route zigzagged over atwisting red line of sandstone shelves andundulating waves of slickrock. The traildemanded finesse in a rider even morethan raw fitness.

Day two treated everyone to the AmasaBack hill climb. Those who have riddenthe Amasa Back in years past mayremember it as being a series of rampsand ledges. It looks a little different now.

Somebody drove a dozer up it to serv-ice the gas pipeline at the top. For betteror for worse, it’s all rideable now. That’snot to say it’s easy. Pre-riding the coursewas essential because there were severalplaces where choosing the wrong linecould put you in a bad spot further up the

road. Still, riding up it is mostly a test ofpower and fitness.

Results of the five fastest riders onboth days are as follows:

DAY 1Sovereign Trail Time Trial

Women1. Alison Dunlap

(Luna Women’s MTB Team) 47 min, 10.1 sec

2. Kathy Sherwin (Biogen Idec.)

+2 min, 8.5 sec3. Jennifer Smith

(Tokyo Joes/Golite) +2 min, 29.8 sec

4. Danelle Belengee (TrainingRX.com) +3 min, 49.1 sec

5. Tonya Laffey (MTBChick.com)

` +5 min, 15.3 sec

Men1. Allan Obye

(MGtech) 40 min, 43.3 sec2. Jay Henry

(Ford Cycling) +4.3 sec3. Brian Smith

(Trek/Volkswagen) +36.8 sec4. Travis Brown

(Trek/FRS Plus) +41.2 sec5. Nick Martin

(Trek/Volkswagen) +1 min, 22.4 sec

DAY 2Amasa Back Time Trial

Women1. Alison Dunlap

(Luna Woman’s MTB Team) 16 min, 8.7 sec

2. Jennifer Smith (Tokyo Joes/Golite) +5.8 sec

3. Katherine Compton (Cody Racing/Pro Cycling) +36.4 sec

4. Kathy Sherwin (Biogen Idec.) +55.7 sec

5. Danelle Bellengee (TrainingRX.com) +1 min, 31 sec

Men1. Brian Smith

(Trek/Volkswagen) 13 min 21.7 sec

2. Travis Brown (Trek/FRS plus) +2 sec

3. Jay Henry (Ford Cycling) +12.9 sec

4. Brian Lugers,first Semi Pro +51 sec

5. Lance Runyon (Titus) +59.3 sec

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Five riders managed to find the Zen of singletrack and separate themselves from the pack of 380 racers contesting the Sovereign TrailTime Trial at the opening of this year’s Mountain States Cup.

Race Report: Tour of Canyonlands 2005—Mountain States Cup No.1

by Brian Riepe

41Mountain Flyer

Allan Obye (MGtech) reaching the top of the 30 sec. time bonus section on the Sovereign Trail Time Trial. Obye was the only pro rider to clean it, landing him onthe high point of the podium with 4.3 seconds to spare.

Benjamin Kraushaar (Durango Wheel Club) on his way to a fourth-place finish in the Junior Expert class of the Amasa Back Hill Climb.

Mountain Flyer42

Photos by Brian Riepe

Clockwise from left: Sean Cassily suffers up a tough section of the Amasa Back Hill Climb. He gutted out a 7th place in the Expert Men 35-39 class.

A rider struggles through the crux move of the 30 sec. time bonus section– Sovereign Trail Time Trial (no, unfortunately, he didn’t make it).

Becca Blay (Team DEAN) makes a final push to the top, where the AmasaBack Hill Climb finished. She captured 8th place among the pro women in the race.

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Clockwise from top:Darren Ray (laserlaser.com) placed 13th in the Expert Men 30-34 agegroup in the Amasa Back Hill Climb.

Rachel Ouwinga (Boulder Performance) flies through a corner onthe Sovereign Trail Time Trial for an 8th Place finish in the ExpertWoman 30-39 category.

A wetter than normal spring gave the Amasa Back Trail a colorfulradiance.

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Feeling the lactic acid burn, no doubt, Danelle Ballengee (TrianingRX.com) cranks up Amasa Back to 5th place in the pro women’s class.

Tyler Foss (Bingham Cyclery – Ogden, UT) hangs on around a tight corner at top speed. His speed took him to 4th place in the expert men 19-24 category of theSovereign Trail Time Trial.

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Perfect temperatures and a little luck keeping the rain at bay made forfavorable conditions at the inaugural

18 Hours of Fruita Endurance Race, kick-ing off the 10-day Fruita Fat Tire Festivalin fine style. The oasis-like setting atHighline Lake State Park, with roughly 20 acres of grassy campgrounds lined withtall trees, combined with a midnight startset a surreal mood for the entire event.

By 7 p.m. Friday night the New BelgiumBeer tent had the taps flowing, live musicwas rocking the whole park and teams wereputting the finishing touches on their basecamps. More than 250 racers turned out tocompete on five miles of mostly smooth and fast singletrack circling the lake.

Begy, riding in her trademark corn-rowed hair and lacy red knickers, seemedto be riding well within her comfort zoneas she ticked off consistently fast lap timesthroughout the race. When asked how shefelt winning in Fruita, Begy replied, “I’vebeen in a bit of a funk concerning racingand riding. I took some time to get my shittogether and I’m feeling like I’m back now.Fruita was a really great pick-me-up I needed.” Cristina Begy is the 2003 24-Hour Solo World Champion.

Thirteen men lined up in the solo category, but Fred Marmsater bested thefield by completing 34 laps, two more thanhis nearest competitor, Marko Ross Bryant.

Another hotly contested race was theDuo Male category. With such a short/fastlap (some riders were cranking out the 5-mile loop in nearly 20 minutes), many of the duo teams opted to have each teammember ride two laps in a row beforehanding off the baton. Initially theTrek/VW team of Brian Smith and NickMartin looked to be receiving some stiffcompetition from the www.nohair.com

team of Kevin Gillest and HenryHorrocks. Alas, through the night Smithand Martin’s hyper pace was untouchableand after the eighteenth hour, theTrek/VW duo was an impressive sevenlaps ahead, completing an agonizing 50 laps (roughly 250 miles), notably morethan any other team at the event.

All day Saturday substantial cloudssurrounded the valley, hanging over thenearby mountain ranges and threateningthe racers with strings of verga reachingdown from their black undersides. For allintents and purposes everyone stayed dryuntil the very last minutes of the race,when an easy but steady rain moved in,sweeping across the lake in gusty sheets.Regardless of the rain, the band optimisti-cally set up its equipment in the rain whileeveryone else huddled under the tent infront of the Beer Garden and worked oninitiating a cool buzz before the awardsceremony. The rain stopped just in timefor the awards ceremony where winnerswalked away with cash prizes courtesy ofthe Bank of the West.

Notable Results (See complete results at

www.fruitamountainbike.com)

Solo Female1. Cristina Begy

(Maverick American)33 laps

2. Erika Tieszen29 laps

3. Erika Marie Van Mete26 laps

Solo Male1. Fred Marmsater

34 laps

2. Marco Ross Bryant32 laps

3. Brian Nicholson (Cut Away), 29 laps

Duo Male1. Trek/VW, 50 laps

Brian SmithNick Martin

2. www.Nohair.com, 43 lapsKevin GillestHenry Horrocks

3. Sports Garage, 42 lapsKelly MagelkySean Madsen

Duo Female1. Damsels in D-stre-SS

Sarah RarickAnne Spalding

Four Person Coed1. GoLite/Timberland Sprint

Keith BushawJeff OakeyAli RockwellChris Boyd

Four Person Female1. Is that Your Ass?

Denise WojcikHeidi DelasantosSandra ChavezBonnie Nuttel

Four Person Male1. Two Fast, Two Old, Two Slow

John CurrierBen WagenmanJeff MozingoNorm Fuccini

Riding more than 165 miles in 18 hours, Fred Marmsater and Cristina Begyshowed off their early season form with solid wins in the solo category ofthis inaugural long-distance race in Fruita, Colo.

Race Report: 18 Hours of Fruita Endurance Race

by Brian Riepe

46 Mountain Flyer

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Clockwise from top: Racers had a “cyclocross” start on the beach at Highline State Park at a nice early time of 12 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Brett Landin (Team Training is Over Rated) gliding through the night leaves a comet trail as he streaks by.

Ghost Rider: The oasis-like setting, the midnight start and live music echoing off the lake gave the night a surreal ambiance.

Henry Horrocks (www.nohair.com) finishing lap #1 of 43, which he shared with his teammate Kevin Gillest. The pair finished second in the Duo Men’s Category.

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Top: Nick Martin (Trek/VW), left, being driven by Trek team mechanic Zack Vestal, just a few laps away from winning the Duo Men’s race.

Bottom right: Brian Smith (Trek/VW) suffering like a dog and loving it (as usual), en-route to winning the Duo Men’s race with his teammate Nick Martin.

Bottom left: Ripping one for the Fruita TNT team – is that Nick Nolte or Cat Callur?

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Photos by Brian RiepeCristina Begy, still pedaling circles at sunrise, won the esteemed solo women’s race with inspiring style.

The staff of Cycle Cyndicate,Keith Darner and a small army of volunteers spent all spring design-

ing, building and testing the new mountaincross course on Keith’s private ranchoutside of Nathrop. All the work was wellworth the trouble as more than 150 racerscame to rip it up and have a few laughswith the tight knit gravity crowd.

“I’d watch out, those four guys aregonna’ rip through there like 1,000pounds of mean.” This was advice givento a spectator who got a little too close tothe inside line on the second corner of thefour cross course. It was the final heat ofthe day and the pro men’s championshipwas on the line. Good advice. The coursehad plenty of room for maneuvering butthat inside line in corner 2 seemed to beworth fighting for.

The pro men’s final heat was stacked.In his noticeably powerful style, RossMilan floated through that key corner,already one bike length ahead of the otherthree. He never looked back.

Equally as exciting, the pro/expertwomen’s races were tight. Bobbi Watt and Lisa Myklak topped the field.

Final Results

Pro Women1. Bobbi Watt

(Fox, Santa Cruz, FSA,Pearl Izumi)

2. Lisa Myklak (Moosewood)

3. Jessica Vogt

4. Wendy Reynolds (Cannondale, Chile Pepper,Sport Legs, T2)

Pro Men1. Ross Milan

(Yeti Factory Team)2. James Stiber

(Lenz Sport)3. Mathew Thompson

(Big Crank Racing)4. David Ziegman

(Big Crank Racing)

Junior Expert Men1.T. Fisker (Gravitee)2. Shane Neer3. Reed Uhlemann4. Julian Unger (Lenz Sport)

Ross Milan, Bobbi Watt and T. Fisker cleaned up and set a high standard at the first Mountain States Cup gravity event of the season.

Race Report: Chalk Creek Stampede, Mountain Cross, Nathrop, Colo. May 8—Mountain States Cup No.2

by Brian Riepe

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The Nathrop, Colo., mountain cross course is built for speed. Mountain cross races pit four people against each other on a course that’s set up like a BMX course on steroids.

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Quentin Coffman (Denver Spoke), far left, and Ian McCarthy (Full Tilt/GT), second from left, throw elbows in the second corner of the track.

Junior Expert racers (left to right) Forest Miller (RPM/Yeti), Matt Mason (Over the Edge Sports), T. Fisker (Gravitee) and Julian Unger (Lenz Sport) jump out of thestart gate and into the fire. Fisker won this semi-final race and the Junior Expert final later that day.

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Photos by Brian Riepe

Top: Martha Renn lauches ahead in perfect position for5th place in the Pro/Expert Women’s category.

Right:Ross Milan (Factory Yeti), already a bike lengthahead and in mid-air, lines up for the next corner.Milan won the Pro Men’s final with a comfortable1.8 sec. margin.

Facing pageTop:With the Collegiate peaks as a backdrop, theNathrop mountain cross course is in a magical setting.

Bottom:Junior Expert racers wind it up out of the strategiccorner 2.

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Junior Beginner Men – Drew Scott (707) keeps his focus on who’s in front of him, Dylan Stofflet (782), Tyler Linne (602)

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970.275.2573adsales@mountainflyer.com

On the morning of Saturday,May 14, at 2 a.m, a few suspicious looking cars are

parked at the far side of the SlickrockTrailhead in Moab. (“Yes sir, officer sir,I did notice the No Overnight Campingsign. Who said anything about campingovernight?”)

By 2:20 a.m. a few souls begin to shuffle about, their metal cleats clickingon the pavement. They begin stuffing food and gear into hydration packs, test-ing lighting systems and spinning wheels.At 2:30 a.m. a few more cars pull into theparking lot and people stagger out laugh-ing and irreverently joking amongst themselves.

At 2:55 a.m. Mike Curiak, ultraendurance icon and organizer of theKokopelli Trail Race, passes around asign-up sheet and makes a brief pre-racedialogue. In essence, it was something tothis effect: This race is 142 miles. Theroute is mostly marked by little signs withthe Kokopelli logo. You have to find yourown way. There is no support. There are afew streams high in the La Sal Mountainswhere you can get water if you have a fil-ter with you. You may also get water atthe West Water Ranger Station roughlyhalfway through the race. My truck willbe parked at the trailhead near Fruita witha sign-in sheet in the back. When you fin-ish, please register with your signatureand finish time. If you need to bail out,there are a few places where the coursemeets a roadway and you can hitchhikeback. If you do DNF, please make sureyou go to the finish and sign the sheet so we don’t go out looking for you onSunday.

At 3 a.m. 15 riders rolled off into thedarkness (14 male, one female). Only fivewould finish.

The Kokopelli Trail Race is organizedin a fashion that encompasses the greatcharacter of adventure cycling. No entryfee, no support, no bib numbers, no hassle, no license; just a group of peopleout for a long ride. Some ride to get therefirst (and believe me, bragging rights areworth more than cash – these people willbury themselves to win this race) andsome people ride to finish. Most of theracers are from Utah and Colorado but afew traveled from as far away as NewYork, Alaska and Minnesota.

With a total distance of 142 miles, thecourse is extremely difficult. Starting atthe Slickrock Trailhead in Moab, it climbshigh into the La Sal Mountains gainingover 4,500 feet in elevation to top out near9,000 feet. At this point the temperaturescan be in the low 30s or colder. After tra-versing the mountain range, the coursedrops down a series of gorges to theColorado River and approximately followsthe course of the river back to the Lomaexit near Fruita, Colo. This section is anextreme dry desert climate, it is veryrough and in May the temperatures can bein the high 80s to low 90s. Once thecourse reaches the Rabbit Valley area, thetrail becomes excruciatingly technicalwith the last 15 to 20 miles consisting ofchallenging singletrack riding.

Jon Brown (CO) and Fred Wilkinson(UT) broke away from the rest of thegroup on the Sand Flats Road. These twowould ride together for the first five hoursuntil Brown pulled away on the descentinto Cottonwood Canyon. At this pointWilkinson made an unfortunate error andmissed a crucial left hand turn, skipping ashort but demanding portion of the course.Wilkinson managed to rejoin the coursefarther down the Entrada Bluffs Road andwent on to finish the race but was disqual-

ified from the general classification.Nearing the river crossing at Dewey

Bridge Brown, a veteran adventure racer,was riding confidently but would sufferseveral setbacks in the next few miles.First, while descending into CottonwoodCanyon, Brown’s hydration pack (whichhe had decided to strap to his seat-rack)sprung a leak. The West Water RangerStation (and its essential water spigot) wasstill several hours away. “I wasn’t tooworried,” Brown said after the race. “I hadbeen drinking a lot but I have a bad habitof dehydrating myself on these rides.”Then, as Brown reached McGraw Bottom,he sliced his tire on a rock and flatted. “Isort of freaked out there. I didn’t knowhow big of a gap I had so I kept lookingback while I was trying to patch the tire.”Brown fixed the puncture and would ridevirtually alone for the rest of the race,finally refilling his spare bladder at WestWater.

At the West Water Road Crossing,after 10 hours of racing, Mike Curiak(also riding a single-speed) had movedinto second place, one hour behindBrown. One hour is nothing over a 15-hour race so Curiak kept his focus, try-ing to reel in the out-of-sight Brown.Curiak would gain some time herebecause Brown had to stop at the rangerstation (a two-mile round trip off of therace course) to fill up on water.

While Brown was at the ranger station,Wilkinson (now riding just for the sake offinishing) symbolically moved ahead untilreaching Rabbit Valley where Brownregained the overall lead.

One hour proved to be too much forCuriak to make up even though Brown,after digging himself into a waterlesshole, was severely bonking. Brown fin-ished (11 pounds lighter), signed in, and

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Jon Brown wins Kokopelli Trail Race. Sets new single-speed record: 14 hrs,47 min. Mike Curiak’s all-time race record still stands at 14 hrs 17 min.

Race Report: Kokopelli Trail Race, May 14, 2005

by Brian Riepe

drove immediately to Over The EdgeSports in Fruita (his temporary employer)where he purchased a case of VitaminWater and slipped into an ambivalentcomma. He later came out of the comaafter eating an obscene amount of sushi.

Curiak rolled easily into the parking lotlooking surprisingly vigorous, checkedBrown’s finish time, clinched his fiststogether and exclaimed, “Yes! My recordstill stands.”

If this all sounds like a good time toyou, the race will take place around thesame time next year. Email Mike Curiakat mikec@bwn.net to get yourself on themailing list.

There is also a forum about the race athttp://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=69465

Final Results

1. Jon Brown (CO) (Team Crested Butte) 14 hrs, 47 min

2. Mike Curiak (CO)(Moots, White Brothers) 15 hrs, 30 min

3. Gary Dye (CO)21 hrs, 43 min

4. Pierre Oster (MN)27 hrs, 5 min

UnclassifiedFred Wilkinson (UT)

(Poison Spider Bicycles,Zeal Optics) 15 hrs, 2 min

DNF (pull out point)Pete Basinger (Rabbit Valley)Sean Smith (Rabbit Valley)Erika Van Meter (Rabbit Valley)Henry Horrocks (Yellowjacket)Kevin Gillest (Yellowjacket)Nate Keck (Dewey Bridge)Jim Ishman (Dewey Bridge) Nate Wilson (Onion Creek)John Weirath (Onion Creek) Rick Hudak (Onion Creek)

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John Weirath crosses a bridge over a rushing creek in the La Sal Mountains.

Jon Brown (Team Crested Butte) setting a record-breaking pace in the early a.m. hours. Brown chose torace his single-speed and later proved it was a smart choice.

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Top to bottom: Henry Horrocks, right, and Kevin Gillest, both racing for the www.nohair.com team, work together just after sunrise.

Jon Brown (Team Crested Butte), dehydrated anddelirious, is on his way to winning but strugglingthrough the last few technically challenging miles.

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Photos by Brian Riepe

Top to bottom: Mike Curiak (Moots/White Brothers) looks towardsRabbit Valley. The cool air of the La Sal Mountainsis now a distant memory.

Fred Wilkinson (Poison Spider/Zeal Optics), after 15 hours of riding, enjoys the last few miles of singletrack.

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The Sordid History of Fat Tire Bike Week

by Lisa CramtonBoard MemberMountain Bike Hall of Fame

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C rested Butte’s Fat Tire Bike Weekwill celebrate its 25th anniversary In June, with a huge festival and

all the traditional events that have madeit famous.

Where were you in September 1976?What kind of bike were you riding? Nowimagine riding that same 50-pound single-speed Schwinn with ape hanger bars andcoaster brakes for two days across the 38miles over Pearl Pass from Crested Butteto Aspen, Colo. Then stay up all nightreveling and causing general debaucheryin Aspen.

The 12,700-foot Pearl Pass is still notfor the faint of heart. It is a gnarly 1860’smining supply road with 3,500 feet of ver-tical climbing, boulders the size of water-melons, at least five stream crossings andseveral miles of schlepping your bike overthose watermelons.

This was the beginning of Fat TireBike Week as we know it today. Fat TireBike Week has taken many twists andturns over the years, from a leisurelydrunken traveling sideshow to Aspen, to afall festival and race, then to a summerfestival and race separate from the PearlPass Tour. I will pedal you through a briefcrazy history of this epic event and itsmetamorphosis into the weeklong festivalknown today.

Back in 1976 the Pearl Pass Tour origi-nated as a touché to the Aspen motorcy-clists who rode over the pass to “steal” theCrested Butte women. A crew of CrestedButte “gentlemen” became annoyed withthis challenge and decided they couldoutdo the Aspen motorheads by ridingtheir newly discovered all terrain bicyclesover the pass. The tour was a success(according to the men involved), but in1977 many of the previous years’ riderswere fighting forest fires so the Pearl PassTour was put on hold.

Luckily, in 1978 a few soon-to-befamous Californians read a magazine arti-cle about the 1976 Pearl Pass Tour. Theyshowed up in town with fine clunkers insearch of the legendary ride. The CrestedButte riders obliged. Thus the Pearl PassTour was held again and would soon

become a place where “all terrain bike”ideas were exchanged and tested. Justimagine if the Californians (i.e., CharlieKelly, Joe Breeze, Richard Nielsen,Michael Castelli, Gary Fisher and WendyCragg) wouldn’t have made that fatefultrip. The Pearl Pass Tour may have justfaded away.

But the California contingent keptcoming with more soon-to-be famousfriends, and in 1980, 90 people showed up for the ride to Aspen and the campout.The Crested Butte Chronicle & Pilotreported, “Five Fairfax riders on ‘AlpineClunkers’ having the equipment but theCrested Butte riders having the energyand expertise” participated in the PearlPass Tour. Infamous Crested Butte resi-dent, Mountain Bike Hall of Famer andearly Pearl Pass Tour participant, NeilMurdoch (AKA Richard Bannister), whoat that time owned Bicycles Etc., the firstbike shop dedicated to mountain bikes,drove the traveling party’s support vehiclecarrying the much needed “MidolMartinis,” steaks, donuts and two kegs of beer for the campout in CumberlandBasin.

In 1981 the event was renamed Fat TireBike Week and the official multi-day fes-

tival began. Because the Pearl Pass tourhad become a race, future Ross Bicycleteam rider and Mountain Bike Hall ofFamer Don Cook thought there should bean official race so that the Pearl Pass Tour could be more of a fun,relaxed ride.

For the next several years there wouldbe a stage race of four races, a cross-country race over Paradise Divide, with atimed uphill and downhill portion within,then an hour after the cross-country race,a criterium through the town’s alleys,combining for an overall result.

Herein lies the history of this greatevent. Pouring over piles of early maga-zine and newspaper articles on the PearlPass Tour and Fat Tire Bike Week, the his-tory of our great sport starts to unravel.

In 1983, because of Fat Tire Bike Weekgained a good reputation and internationalrecognition, some considered the raceover Paradise Divide to be the WorldChampionships, but it would take sevenmore years for the UCI WorldChampionships, held in Durango, Colo.,to become a reality. That weekend in1983, more than 300 people showed up to ride the Pearl Pass Tour. The racing and camaraderie of Fat Tire Bike Weekand the Pearl Pass Tour continued withnew ideas tested over the years. TheCalifornians as well as others crazy formountain biking came to Crested Buttewith their innovations. Soon companieswere making full production mountainbikes with ideas tested and proven at Fat Tire Bike Week.

In 1989 the Festival separated itselffrom the Pearl Pass Tour, and Fat TireBike Week as we know it today began itssummer stroll through the wildflowers.That year, the star of our story came ontothe scene. Fat Tire Bike Week continuedbecause of the hard work of many peoplebut one in particular, Mountain Bike Hallof Fame inductee Kay Peterson-Cook wasthere to be sure it kept rolling year afteryear, earning her right in the famous hall.She and a dedicated crew created a festival that drew thousands of people toCrested Butte. There were bike rodeos,

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chainless races, bicycle polo, innovatorscontests, industry trade shows, MountainBike Hall of Fame induction ceremonies,celebrity guests and workshops and bothtours and racing through the alleys andmountains surrounding town.

Kay got everyone together as a bighappy family. Kay found the sponsorswho would give generously to the event,Eliane Wissocq was the tour director,Keith Austin was the race director, HeliPeterson, organized the awards ceremony,

Peg Sharp was the EMT director, Kay’sdog Chelsea was the official greeter andtail guide on tours. (I remember one daygoing up to registration on the mountainand seeing Chelsea trotting her way up theroad because she had been left at home

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and was not happy about it! Mind you, itwas a 3-mile trot for her.) Don Cook, nowKay’s husband, was in charge of the“honey-do list” of hanging banners, set-ting start and finish lines, etc. RoxieLypps collected volunteers and LisaCramton was the shop liaison. Everyonehad a purpose and was giddy for the eventto start. Fat Tire Bike Week was the bigkick-off to the summer season, and busi-nesses were excited to get their summerrolling after the long off-season drought.

In 1993 Vail hosted the NORBANationals the weekend after Fat Tire BikeWeek and that meant big names for theCrested Butte race. Fat Tire Bike Weekwould be a training ride for the VailNational. The start line for the pros wasstacked. It would be the greatest race inCrested Butte and Fat Tire Bike Week his-tory. I heard Dave Wiens call the Fat TireBike Week cross-country race the ParisRoubaix of mountain biking. It would bea 40 mile cross-country loop of truemountain bike endurance. They wouldn’tbe back for hours.

In 1996 Kay retired from her helm asqueen of Fat Tire Bike Week to have moretime to ride her own bike. In 1997 LowRider Promotions of Vermont purchasedthe rights to the event and ran it for twoyears. Then in 1999 Fat Tire Bike Weekwas returned home to the community ofCrested Butte, the Chamber of Commerceand Crested Butte Mountain Resort whostill co-organize the event today.

In 2003 Kay and Don, now the curatorsof the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame andMuseum, hosted an Inductees Ride duringFat Tire Bike Week. It was the first time many of the inductees had beenback to Crested Butte since the 1980s. It was a time to ride and meet the heroesof mountain biking and celebrate thegrand re-opening of the Hall of Fame inits new location in the Crested ButteHeritage Museum.

All content, dated material and photographs provided courtesy of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and Museum.

Fat Tire Bike Week 2005

June 22–26, 2005, marks the 25th anniversary of Fat Tire Bike Week, and Sally Palmer, the Chamber’s event organizer, has promised a lineup likeno other. Wednesday will host a new event, a poker ride giving participantsa chance to get to know their way around town, picking up cards at various locations.

On Thursday, gravity fanatics can test their finesse at the World FamousChainless Race and Costume Contest, with a 9-mile, 3000-foot descent. ABike Rodeo and Clunker Crit on Friday closes Elk Ave., the main drag oftown, for an afternoon of bike carnival fun.

All week there are day and evening tours, with scenery, wildflowers andclinics that will make you the envy of your riding posse at home. Fridaynight’s movie, Off-Road to Athens,documents four menand four women asthey compete for aspot on the 2004Olympic team.

The WildflowerRush cross-countryrace on Saturdaydraws hundreds for arace unmatched inscenery and altitudegain. Saturday night the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association will hosta 25th anniversary party at the Rafters with two bands and lots of NewBelgium beer. Sunday’s downhill, one of the few in the state, will test thenerves of the fearless for more than 2,000 feet of fast vertical plunge.

Fat Tire Bike Week has returned to its grassroots origins, meaning smallenough to meet your fellow fanatics but large enough to lose yourself inmiles of amazing singletrack.

If it weren’t for the many community members who believe in thisevent, it would have died with Kay and her crew’s retirement. CrestedButte is committed to Fat Tire Bike Week and the crazy chance to celebrateits history and place in the world of the fat tire. Come visit Crested Butte,Fat Tire Bike Week and the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and Museum in historic downtown Crested Butte, exactly where it should be, the heart and soul of a mountain bike mecca that refuses to go away. For more information visit www.ftbw.com or call (800)-545-4505

As for the Pearl Pass Tour, it still takes place every year but is now a separate event that will commence September 17–18, 2005.

There were bike rodeos, chainless races, bicycle polo, innovators contests, industry tradeshows, Mountain Bike Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, celebrity guests and workshops andboth tours and racing through the alleys and mountains surrounding town.

July 16Crested Butte, Colo. Second Annual Crested Butte ClassicFor updates and more info, emailcrorussell@yahoo.com

Over 85 miles of epic Crested Butte singletrack, beautifulscenery, no entry forms, and best of all, it’s free!

This is a great model for an event. No hype, no pre-registra-tion. Just line everyone up in the street and say, “adventure on.”There are no prizes but the bragging rights to this one are goodfor at least one year.

It’s up to you to know the course. You’re on your own. The exact course, date and time have not yet been decided.Tentatively it will start July16 at 6 a.m. in front of the BrickOven Pizzeria on Crested Butte’s Elk Ave. Make sure you’re inthe loop and get yourself on the email list.

Aug. 27–28Salida, Colo. Vapor Trail 125 High Altitude Ultra MarathonMore info at www.absolutebikes.com

This ultra-marathon starts at midnight—hopefully you finishin time for dinner

The event covers 125 miles of singletrack and doubletrackranging over the Continental Divide, three 14,000-foot peaks andseveral mining and railroad ghost towns, all in the high thin airof the Collegiate Peaks. Portions of the course follow rail routeslaid down by two railroad companies competing to reach thebooming town of Gunnison in the 19th century. Ride theColorado trail under the summer moon, cross over the infamousAlpine Tunnel at 12,000 feet and cruise the classic MonarchCrest Trail above treeline. This is a truly epic event in the besttradition of Salida trail riding.

Entry form available here:http://www.absolutebikes.com/FLYER.pdf

Sept. 15–18Grand Junction, Colo. See box on facing page

Sept. 17Angel Fire, NM Cerro Vista ChallengeMore info at bpeterson@angelfireresort.com

or 505-377-4333

This is a classic 50-mile point-to-point cross country racewinding through the beautifully remote Carson National Forest in the Northeast corner of New Mexico. Described as agrueling and technically challenging course, the Cerro VistaChallenge starts at Angel Fire Resort and finishes at the neigh-boring town of Sipapu. Race on Saturday–then spend the night in Taos and eat dinner at The Apple Tree restaurant for the bestmango chicken enchiladas this side of the Pecos River.

Sept. 24Telluride, Colo. to Moab, UtahAnnual Mountains To The Desert Road Bike Tour For more information call 970-728-4454

Sure to become a Colorado classic, the second annualMountains To The Desert Ride is a charity event, leaving from Telluride on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 7 a.m. and droppinginto Moab, Utah, a breathtaking132 miles later. Organizers Erik and Josephine Fallenius created the event in 2004 to raise money for Just For Kids, a granting foundation providingfinancial support for kids organizations in the San Miguel Riverwatershed. Cyclists and volunteers raise money from sponsors,friends and family. Last year, for every $100 they raised, partic-ipants received a lottery ticket for a chance to win a titaniumroad or mountain bike from event sponsor Moots,or one of a number of other great prizes. A total of $50,000 was raised last year, which was matched by Just For Kidsfounder and benefactor, Bill Carstens. Because of logistics,this year only 100 fund-raising riders will be able to take partin the fully supported event.

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The World Wide Web is laden with event calendars. They’re easy to find and crammed withinformation—sometimes so crammed that you’d need a part-time research assistant to siftthrough them for the cool events you really want to know about. We’ve picked out a few ultra-cool, low-hype, new or obscure events that you may not know about but always wanted to find.

Calendar of Obscure Events

Oct. 2Montrose, Colo. Tabeguache Trail, Dry Creek Canyon ChallengeFor more info email pkcsk@aol.com

or call 970-244-8877 or check out www.copmoba.com

This is a new event that will celebrate the joy of backcountry trail riding. Choose from 15- and 21-mile rides with lots of singletrack, food, beverages and prizes.Organized along the lines of a traditional poker ride, this rideis a great way to cap off the fall and explore some remotewestern slope terrain.

Sometime… Maybe in September orOctober… in a Galaxy Far, Far Away… Well,Near Boulder, Colo … The Intergalactic (yeah, it’s way bigger than the World Championships)Single-Speed Championships will occur.For more info (and a more accurate date)keep watching www.offcamber.com

Fill your Camelbak with 100 ounces of margarita, wedge intoyour purple one-piece speedsuit, tune up that single-speed (aka:drip a little lube on the chain) and load up into the U-haul truckwith the rest of the Intergalactic Pilots for an epic adventure likenone other. Prepare for a lengthy ride, hours of sardonic laughter,multiple chances to get road rash and a lasting feeling of rebel-lion against society, industry and The Man.

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Sept. 15–Sept. 18, Grand Junction, Colo.

Fourteenth Annual Colorado Mountain Wine Festival and Bike TourAccording to one vintner, it takes more than 10 years for red grapevines to begin producing high quality grapes for making

wine.Some wineries on Colorado’s western slope began planting red grapes just aboutthat long ago. Colorado’s wineries, known for their quality white wines for sometime, are now being recognized for their award winning reds as well.

What that means is that the time is ripe for all of us to take advantage of thisresource, especially now that we can bike in addition to enjoying the fruits of thestate, all in one event.

Grand Junction and its surrounding communities, with the red cliffs of theColorado Monument as a backdrop, offer a perfect fall getaway—especially if

you mix in four days of drinking finewine, savoring gourmet food fromaward winning chefs, cheese tasting, golf,a 25-mile bike tour and chocolate tasting as a final temptation.

The bike tour starts bright and early at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17. Thecourse will take riders on a 25-mile loop, starting at the Grande River VineyardsWinery, which winds through the vineyards, wineries and fruit orchards ofPalisade, Colo.

Shortly after the tour, riders can move on to the Festival in the Park to enjoy anentire day of wine tasting, a “rotating buffet,” national jazz musicians and seminars on the advanced qualities of wine making.If you can get out of bed Sunday morning, don’t miss the Winemakers Brunch and Amateur Wine Makers Competition.

Cost of the bike tour is $30, with an additional charge of $30 if you choose to take part in the Festival in the Park. The costof participation in the entire festival varies greatly depending on how many events you choose to attend.

To register for the bike tour: go to www.emgcolorado.com or call 303-635-2815. For more information on the ColoradoMountain Wine Festival check out www.coloradowinefest.com.

Heads up! The word is that lodging gets booked up long before the event. Be sure to plan ahead.

R ecently there has been a lot of con-versation regarding the relationshipbetween the American Cycling

Association (ACA), a local/regionalcycling governance body, and USACycling (USAC), the national governingbody for cycling.

About five years ago, ACA—formerlyBicycle Racing Association of Colorado(BRAC)—was the USAC state associationpromoting cycling in Colorado, a positionit held for more than 20 years. At thattime, USAC staff determined that staterepresentatives were no longer needed.For Colorado, that was BRAC. The rea-soning from USAC held that a restructur-ing was in the works and state or localrepresentation was going to be handled bya regional representative who would covera larger area than just a state. In effect,this meant a smaller, more efficient staff.

All the existing state representativeswere notified via fax that they were fired.At that time none of these 39 district rep-resentatives was offered the newly createdregional representative position. Onlyafter a huge backlash by the membershipdid the USAC staff ask some of the firedreps to take on the new role.

After working for USAC/USCF formore than 20 years, Colorado’s districtrep, Yvonne van Gent, was fired andsomeone else installed in her place to govern Colorado and the rest of the mountain states.

At the time, Colorado was the mostinfluential and successful district associa-tion in the United States. Colorado couldbrag the largest membership outsideNorthern California with more than 2,100licensees. Van Gent was a dedicated

USAC employee. She always upheld theinterest of the members above all else,which she and most other members feltUSAC had distanced itself from, insteadfocusing on elite programs and theOlympics.

Why do I mention all this? Because itis the basis for BRAC, later to becomeACA, to withdraw from USAC, continueits grassroots programs and remain inde-pendent to this day.

As fortune would have it, the staff thatran USAC at that time has since beenreplaced. Most of the new staff at USAChas no history with ACA so there shouldbe a melting of animosity.

Throughout these past five years,USAC floundered with its mission state-ment to serve the membership, insteadfocusing on its Elite Program at theexpense of its non-elite members, particu-

larly junior and master racers. During this time, ACA became even

stronger through its attention to its mem-bership and junior programs. MostColorado racers, frustrated with USAC,withdrew their membership dues andjoined ACA.

ACA’s programs were so successfulthat organizations and racers from otherstates joined in this grassroots movementeither out of frustration or desire to helpimprove grassroots racing.

BRAC became the ACA when theseout-of-state organizers joined. BRAC was no longer a Colorado-only associa-tion, but a New Mexico, Texas, Nebraska,Ohio, Hawaii, Arizona and Wyomingassociation.

In 2004, USAC formed a ColoradoLocal Association, headed up by MarkTyson of the Colorado VelodromeAssociation. Mark and the new USACregional rep, Tom Vinson, met with theACA board of directors a few months ago and pitched a plan for re-uniting thetwo associations. The proposed plan wasweak financially and would cost ACAalmost one half of its yearly budget. ACAhas numerous programs in place thatrequire money raised through sponsorshipand member dues.

On the positive side, talks have begunand hopefully will continue. As for ACA,the 2005 season was set and underway. Ilook for more meetings in the fall beforethe next year’s budget is set.

ACA sponsors two junior camps eachyear, road and cyclocross, as well as aseries of skills clinics, a local time trialseries, a yearly cycling calendar that isupdated monthly and a Best All-Around

by Dean Crandall

Will There be Future Cooperationwith ACA and USA Cycling?

Commentary

Courtesy photo

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Rider and Best All-Around Team competition each season. New this year,ACA started the First Bike Program forjuniors who have an interest in competi-tive cycling but cannot afford a bike.

Executive Director Beth Wrenn Estesand Board President Lee Waldman havebeen submitting grants to Nike andBalance Bar for junior program grants. If these grants and other sponsorshipsmaterialize so that ACA will not dependso much on member dues, I foresee a possible re-unification of ACA and USAC.

There is a lot of gossip on cyclingforums baiting the two organizationsagainst each other. I think these are coun-terproductive to the goal of a re-unifica-tion. Most of the cycling forums’ dailysubmissions seem to be about “me.” Whatcan each or both organizations do for“me?” They say things like, “I ride a$3,000 bike and am angry at having topay a $5 fee to the organization I don’tbelong to just so I can race.” We need tolook at what is best for cycling inColorado and the West.

When USAC implements programsgeared towards non-elite members,such as the ACA junior programs,I see a melting of tension and resumed communication.

Dean Crandall has been a road offi-cial since the early 1970s, having beenthe chief official at two Olympic Trials.He started officiating mountain bike racesin the early 80s when Ed Zink, of the IronHorse Bicycle Classic, asked him to helpout with his “little mountain bike race,”the NORBA Nationals. He was hooked onmountain biking. Crandall went on tobecome a UCI Commissaire and NORBAPresident. He was a member of the UCITechnical Commission for mountain bik-ing and is currently on the USACTechnical Commission. He is the authorof the original rules and regulations forinternational mountain bike competition.Crandall was inducted into the MountainBike Hall of Fame in 1997.

R iding in our National Forests issuch a great pleasure, but nothingis more frustrating than seeing the

negative effects of misuse. On a dailybasis, the Forest Service receives publicinput about trail damage, user conflict ornew routes being discovered. As popula-tions increase, the Forest Service experi-ences a growing proliferation of multipur-pose trail users who are changing the faceof the land.

In an attempt to address rising prob-lems of recreational users who misuse theforests, the Forest Service is faced withcreating new policies and education pro-grams. Recreation forest managers aretasked with signing and researching trailsto make sure that the appropriate types ofrecreation are taking place on the trail.Along with these efforts, education pro-grams are being put in place, and forestmanagers work with local advocacygroups to make sound trail decisions.

In 2001 the Chief of the Forest Serviceannounced that addressing unmanagedrecreation was one of four top prioritiesfor our nation’s forests. This means thatthe Forest Service is working really hardto maintain healthy harmonious foreststhrough addressing trail damage, by notcreating new routes and by educating

users to respect the trail and all trail users.The mission of the Forest Service is to

sustain the health, diversity and productiv-ity of the nation’s forests and grasslandsto meet the needs of present and futuregenerations. Its motto is caring for theland and serving the people. Forest man-agers work hard towards fulfilling themotto in many ways. By following lawsthat have been historically enacted to pro-tect our resources, forest managers have tobalance the needs of the American peoplewith the need to follow the rules.

One of the most important laws gov-erning management of national forests isthe Multiple-Use and Sustained Yield Actof 1960. It recognizes that our forests are“lands of many uses.”

This act emerged at a time marked bygrowing pressure from single interestgroups, such as timber harvesters andwilderness conservationists. It made mul-tipurpose use explicit by requiring equalconsideration for all resources, best meet-ing the varied needs of the American peo-ple. The act respects our shared responsi-bility for preserving our forests. Thenational forests are to be used for outdoorrecreation, range, timber, watershed andwildlife/fish purposes. Sustained yieldmeans harvest is in balance with growth.

The act requires “...harmonious and coordinated management of the variousresources.…”

To keep it harmonious and healthy,there are a few ethics that all forest usersshould keep in mind when traveling ontheir favorite trails. Following these ethicswill help minimize trail damage and trailconflict:Following these guidelines will make youresponsible forest users by minimizingtrail damage and trail conflict. How canyou be even more responsible? Search outthose trails that meet your recreationalneeds and desires, then work with localadvocacy groups to decrease user conflict.Contact your local Forest Service whenyou have concerns or questions aboutwhat’s happening in the woods.For more information and to find yourlocal Forest Service you can visitwww.fs.fed.us. Another educationalresource for traveling on the trails can befound on the tread lightly website atwww.treadlightly.org or (800) 966-9900.We are all so lucky to have the greatresources and multiuse recreational oppor-tunities that are abundant in these greatRocky Mountains. Just remember to getout there, have fun, be safe and be kind tothe land and all users.

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Land of many usesBy Lora Schmillen

U.S. Forest ServiceGunnison National Forest

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by Dave Sheldon

La Ruta de la Conquistadores

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E very November in the small Costa Rican beach town of Jaco, 300endurance cyclists wake in the early morning to prepare for whatmay be the most physically demanding event of their lives.

Fittingly, the day starts with a taste of things to come: dripping humidityand temperatures in the 70s.

In this murk, most riders are engrossed in pre-race rituals. But amongthe focus, a few newbies bounce around, wide-eyed and eager, in greatcontrast to the veterans who move slowly, already conserving energy.

What speaks to them is the challenge of La Ruta de LosConquistadores. A three-day stage race that starts on the Pacific Coast and follows the route used by the Spanish to colonize the region 450 years ago, eventually finishing on the Caribbean Sea. It is the hazards found between these two oceans that cause many to rate the Ruta as, “The most torturous mountain bike race in world.”

The course contains roughly 30,000 feet of climbing spread across 280 miles of dirt roads and jeep trails and boasts a high point of 11,000 lung-searing feet found on the slopes of the Irazu volcano.

Other hardships include the interior’s hypothermic-inducing high mountain thunderstorms, an ironic contrast to the crushing heat and humidity of the coast, and countless ankle to neck-deep river crossings, complete with reptilian inhabitants.

Now add in feces-hurling monkeys,tropical rainstorms, landslides, glue-likemud, lethal snakes and a tricky course tofollow—it’s not uncommon for competi-tors to become lost in the jungle forhours—and it’s easy to see why the Rutabrandishes such a heavy reputation.

Jeff Wardell, veteran of numerous solo24-hour and one-day endurance mountainbike races said, “The Ruta is sort of likedoing three, back-to-back, extra longBreckenridge Firecracker Fifty’s, but inthe heat and mud of a jungle.” It shouldbe noted that Wardell is as modest as he isstrong. His first crack at the Ruta was in2004, and he placed 24th.

Many competitors simply find them-selves fighting to beat the daily cutoff,which occurs at sunset. That makes forthree 12-hour days. Luckily, or maybenot, anyone who misses a cutoff or doesnot finish a stage is welcome to stay in therace and start the next day. The catch isthey won’t be listed as an official finisher.

The inaugural Ruta was billed byorganizer and extreme endurance athleteRoman Urbina as a cycling adventure. Itsgoal: to publicize how the rain forest wasbeing devastated from logging. But it was-n’t long before the course’s brutal naturehad riders packing for home, and in theend only three people, Urbina included,finished all three days of riding.

The difficulty of the event persiststoday, and even though the Ruta is consid-ered a race, the goal for most entrants isjust to finish. Urbina appreciates this sur-vivalist attitude. “I didn’t design the Rutato be a cut throat race,” he said. “The peo-ple that gain the most from the event arethose who focus on the great experiences.Armed with the right attitude, competitorsstill find reasons to smile and laugh asthey move along on this epic journey.”

Indeed. But despite Urbina’s veiledwarning, many first-time competitorssecretly harbor the dream of being thefirst non-Costa Rican to win the event, butsoon find themselves simply trying to sur-vive the first day. The task of winningbecomes more daunting if you considerthat the Ruta is the biggest event on the

Costa Rican mountain bike calendar andthe local teams train to win, as victorybrings the respect of the country.

A few people have come close to own-ing the podium’s top spot. In 1999 and2003, Colombians Freddy Restrepo andDiego Garabito filled the second-placespots. But what is especially impressive isAmerican Tinker Juarez’ second-place fin-ish in 2001, as he was competing againstentire teams that were supported duringthe event by their own vehicles and per-sonnel.

For most, the Ruta is a wild adventurein an exotic land, complete with enoughhardship to enrich the memories, but notso much that it detracts from the overallexperience. When I asked Wardell if hehad any advice for Ruta virgins, hereplied, “It’s good to be physically pre-pared, but in the end, you’ve just got to godown and be ready to suffer.”

We asked race veteran Wardell to giveus a brief summary of the event and howone might attempt to prepare for the Ruta.Mountain Flyer would like to thank

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Wardell for his insight. And he would liketo thank the sponsors that make his racingpossible: Ellsworth Bikes, SRAM,RockShox and Xybix Systems, Inc.

A Quick Preview of the Ruta

Day One: After 20 minutes of riding,the pavement ends and the road tipsupward, sometimes getting as steep as 20 percent. Three thousand feet later, thefirst climb of this 9,000-foot day is over.And just when you thought the climbingwas over, numerous short but steep, rot-ting concrete hills (75 yards long with agradient of 25 percent) must be ridden orwalked during the run into the finish.

Day Two: The highlight of this secondstage is a 10,000-foot climb up to theIrazu volcano. Ironically, the cold, wetweather of the altitude combined with thewind chill of a three-hour descent (stop-ping to replace brake pads is common)

should not be underestimated, as many ofthe ill-prepared become hypothermic anddrop out of the race. And while flyingdown the mountain, don’t be surprised by long sections of loose, sharp babyheads and 30 percent grades of decayingconcrete road, and then there’s the streamcrossing….

Day Three: Along with a fair bit ofclimbing, the biggest hurdle of this penultimate stage comes right at the end:15 miles of railroad tracks that have been

filled in with tennis ball-sized rocks. Thisevil combination challenges balance andsanity, as the rocks are loose and thetracks laser straight, making it look likethey reach to the horizon.

Equipment and Clothing

“The Ruta eats bikes. Have as manynew parts on your rig as possible,” saidWardell. And still don’t be surprised ifyou break things. Wardell sheared twobolts off his granny gear 10 miles intothe first day. “If I had lost my low gear on day two or three, I couldn’t have finished.”

While racing, many competitors ridewith a hydration system that has room forextra clothing like a rain jacket, insulatedhat, full fingered gloves and leg and armlayers. Without this gear, it’s very easy tobecome hypothermic during the hours ofdescending during day two, especially if itstarts raining at 11,000 feet.

Wardell learned that it’s also essentialto carry two or three tubes (patches don’twork so well in 100 percent humidity), achain tool, four extra brake pads, hexwrenches and a big bottle of chain lube.“At every third or fourth stream crossing,I would dunk my bike to wash all the mudoff. Then it’s essential to re-lube thechain. Running a medium width mud-clearing tire is also key, as is full suspen-sion. The course is extremely bumpy.”

Aid Stations and Logistics

The stations are a smorgasbord of freshtropical fruit like papaya, bananas, water-melon and pineapple. “It’s amazing,you’re riding along in the jungle, andevery time you wish for an aid station,one pops up around the corner,” Wardellsaid. Water, energy drinks and Red Bullare also on the menu.

Hotel accommodations, meals, trans-portation, as well as secure bike box andluggage storage are provided by the raceorganization.

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All photos courtesy of Jeff Wardell

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Winning, one engenders enmityMiserably sleeps the defeatedThe one at peace sleepsPeacefully having abandoned victory and defeat —Dhammapada, The Sayings of the Buddha

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W hen in the course of human eventsand bike racing, it becomes necessary for one person to step back, take stock oftheir current situation, and ask himself,why in the hell am I still doing this? A self-evident truth indeed!

I have been told on several occasionsthat I think too much. Perhaps that’s true,perhaps not, but I did come to the realiza-tion a few years ago that I just wasn’t hav-ing much fun racing anymore. The notionof beating someone else for the sake of itbegan to seem pointless to me. This hap-pened during the course of one particularrace.

What to do then? Well, I slowed downand looked at the scenery instead of whatwas three feet in front of me. I felt like Ineeded to take something positive out ofthe situation because I wasn’t getting itfrom the race. It did get me thinkingthough about the bigger picture of racingand competing. What else can be gainedby racing other than the place? Can onerace, be competitive and yet still maintaina stance of ego-less action throughout?

Unfortunately in life we have a tenden-cy to gauge our own success against oth-ers. Bike racing is no different. We’realways looking to do better than everyoneelse. Basically we want to win. The placeis how we’ve come to determine a suc-cessful race. But is it really? The attach-ment we have to a simple number canoften override the experience itself. Is firstreally better than eighth or 15th? It’s all amatter of perspective.

All too often fixation on the place itselfcan become a self-imposed boundary withwhich we define our successes and fail-ures. This can be dangerous and very easi-ly lead to ego-centered showmanship. Weend up clinging to the transient nature ofthe goal, a temporary gratifying of thesenses.

Once we win, we want to keep winningand as that ends, as it inevitably does, wefeel disappointed we weren’t able toachieve the same level of success. Can webe truly happy for the person who beatsus, as we were when we beat them? Wefeel as if we have something to prove,either to ourselves or others in order tojustify our own participation.

It need not be this way. As the thirdNoble Truth of Buddhism states,

“Suffering ends when we let go of ourattachment to craving and desire.”

Once we realize that external forces(placings) are not the approach we need tocling to, we can begin to see that there arethings within ourselves we can rely on tocreate a foundation on which every expe-rience can be a vehicle for growth. Thefinal placing no longer matters becausewe have moved away from such superfi-cial motivations.

In Ethics For The New Millennium, theDalai Lama teaches us that, “The problemwith misperception, which, of course,usually arises because of our tendency toisolate particular aspects of an event orexperience and see them as constituting itstotality. This leads to a narrowing perspec-tive and from there to false expectations.But when we consider reality itself wequickly become aware of its infinite com-plexity, and we realize that our habitualperception of it is often inadequate.”

Basically stated, there’s more to a racethan meets the eye.

So how do we ride with this realiza-tion, and if the Buddha did indeed race,how would he go about it? The first thingwe need to learn and accept is that truesatisfaction and happiness come fromwithin. We need to move beyond our perception and clinging to external forcesthat have created the suffering and disappointment in our own lives and racing.

In that vein, I believe the Buddhawould use the race as a form of medita-tion, a challenge to himself to remain in

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An approach to racing without ego

story and photography by Jeff Irwin

Can we be trulyhappy for the person

who beats us, as we were when we

beat them?

What if the Buddha Raced a Bike?

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single, pointed concentration for the duration of the event, using meditation to generate the inner awakening requiredfor liberation from the event itself.

I’m certainly not suggesting anythingquite so esoteric as nirvana, just merely anawakening to the immediate truth, whichis, that the essential nature of reality isbeing always at ease and aware of thewhole of the experience yet still remain-ing unattached.

The question then becomes; how hardcan I push myself and still remain focused?But focused on what exactly? If we are nolonger concerned with other racers then weneed to find something else to focus ourattention on. For example, many Buddhistswill use their own breath as the basis formeditation. However they do not keeprepeating to themselves, “now I’m breath-ing in, now I’m breathing out,” but they aremerely being present with the action itselfwithout attaching any specific thought to it.

As odd as this may sound it already hassome roots in bike racing. The greatBelgian climber Lucien Van Impe has saidthat one of his keys to being a great climberis getting into a rhythm with his ownbreath. That way his breathing would be incomplete synchronization with his pedalstroke. Whether he realized it or not, hewas meditating his way up the mountains!

Of course distractions will presentthemselves as they always do. Perhaps Iget a flat tire or someone cuts me off.Maybe I just don’t have the legs on thisparticular day. But if we are able to dothis, to remain fully concentrated with ourmind, all else will take care of itself andwe will get the most out of our bodies. InBuddhist terms, this mind/body unity iscalled “namarupa”. The place won’t mat-ter as much because our objectives havechanged. The inner journey has becomethe catalyst for growth instead of the outerjourney against others.

With this in mind we can never again be disappointed with the outcomebecause the outcome lies within and isno longer contingent on others. All ofthis requires us breaking down theboundaries of what we thought to be true and opening our minds to a new andvast realization. The Buddha lies withinus all and just needs to have that dooropened.

As for me now, well, I still race a bitfor fun and occasionally like to go fastbut it really doesn’t matter anymore tome what the result is. I like to think thatI’ve grown a bit for the better and thatmy priorities are a little more in linewith how I want to live my life.

So yes, I believe it is possible to race, be competitive and remain ego-lessthrough it all. We just need to apply afew simple teachings to ensure a positive experience every time out.Happy racing!

The inner journey has become the catalyst for growth instead of the outer journey against others.

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As outdoor enthusiasts, we all take chances to some degree andrisk our own well-being. We

accept those risks and, depending on ourpsyche, push our limits. In doing so, werun the risk of facing our own mortalityor that of someone close to us.

Last spring I was involved with a trag-ic event in Moab. While competing in amountain bike race, another racer wasstruck by an oncoming vehicle. I wasonly seconds behind him and immediate-ly stopped as the event unfolded.

From my experience and training I knew something was seriously wrongand could not in good conscience leave. I stayed throughout the entire event thatmorning. Time blurred as I and everyoneelse there helped in any way we could.Unfortunately the injured rider, Samuel“Ben” Hall, died at the scene.

I rode back to the start with the otherthree men who had helped. We talkedsome but I was in a state of disbelief. Itwas hard to comprehend what had justtaken place. We checked in at the startarea and I finished riding back into townby myself. When I caught up with myfriends at the hotel and told them what happened, it all started to sink in.

The rider who died that day was afamiliar face I remembered from pastracing seasons. At the time, I didn’tknow his name or any specifics abouthim. I couldn’t stop thinking about hisfamily and friends. I was told he hadtraveled to the race with a friend but noone was sure who that was. A questionkept repeating itself in my mind: Whowould find this person and what wouldthey tell him? Even worse: Who wouldcall his family?

For more than 10 years now, I haveclimbed, skied, boated and biked my wayacross the American West. In doing so,

I have been blessed with countless amazing adventures and have seen some incredibly beautiful country. As a drawback though, I have been witness toserious injury and death. Unfortunatelywe all have lost someone close to us whowas just enjoying what we all love todo—getting outside and living life tothe fullest.

As you spend more time in the back-country, your circle of friends who sharethe same passion for outdoor pursuitsgrows. If there is one thing I love themost, it is that our small communitiesbecome such close-knit groups. Butwhen a group is this tight, it makes theloss of someone special that much moredifficult.

Over the years the list of friends wehave lost has grown. It never gets easierand we all react in a different way. Somelike myself close up and hold it in. Someof us may turn to drugs and alcohol. Stillothers choose to push their own limitsand believe they are ready when it’s their time to go.

As the days, weeks and months havegone by since the Moab race, I have hadmy good and bad times dealing withwhat happened. Never have I ever felt socompletely helpless. I know that we dideverything we could have, but that doesn’t always help calm your heart.Talking with friends has helped but thequestioning of myself has not. I havequestioned why I pursue these activities.If it were me, who would call my family?

The hardest part about continuing racing last summer was the constantreminder of what happened. Race afterrace, we would be at the starting line andthe announcer would talk about beingcareful and talk of the tragedy in Moab.The last straw snapped when at a roadrace in Leadville a racer in front of me

fell and slid across the road and into thewoods at over 40 mph. Unfortunately, Ifinally shut down and didn’t even want totouch a bike.

Yet the saying is true, time does healyour wounds. The length of time ofcourse varies for each person. At somepoint we do need to move on to avoidrepeating, self-destructive patterns.

I feel the pain of Ben’s family and Iknow all too well what it is like. Twentyyears have passed since my family and I lost my younger brother Christopher.We have all healed in various ways and to various degrees. You never getover it but in some way we have movedon. There is always the lingering thought about what it would be like ifChristopher were still here.

Thankfully for me, I got some helpfrom outside the family. It has neverbeen easy but helped me go on with life.It is a constant reminder to myself to notclose up but continue talking, no matterhow hard that may be. If many of uscould keep that resolve we would all bemuch better off in dealing with our loss.

Today the healing process continuesbut so do the questions. How do wemove on? What would our friends whopassed away want us to do? Where do we go from here? The loom-ing question is, “Do we continue doingthe same activities?” It really makes you re-evaluate everything that is impor-tant to you.

As for continuing with our passion forthe outdoors, we have to make thatchoice on our own. Some of us stoppeddoing what we love. The trauma was toomuch and we couldn’t continue. Othersslowly went back to being comfortableagain. I would like to think that thosewho have passed away wouldn’t want usto stop doing what we love because they

The Unthinkable Day

by Dan Roper

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are gone. They would want us to continue chasing our dreams howeversmall or large. We don’t carry on withour pursuits because we have a deathwish, but rather a love for life, a love for the land, ourselves and the opportunity to challenge ourselves.

To all our friends and family, I praywe will continue to be there for eachother. We can help each other through the healing process. We should not be

afraid to open our hearts and minds tothose in need and should never be afraidto ask for help.

To those of you who are no longer withus, we miss you. We will never forget thegood and bad times, the laughs, and theadventures we shared. We know you areall looking down at us from somewhere,smiling and laughing. Your spirit lives onin our hearts and minds.

In Remembrance

Christopher Ide Roper–we miss youdearly little brother.

Samuel “Ben” Hall–your courage andpositive spirit remain in the hearts ofyour friends and family.

Peter Terbush–your enthusiasm andinfectious smile will never be forgotten.

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