Cycling and Outdoor Gear

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Join the Movement

May 26th, 2011

It’s been called “the graying of the greens,” – members of outdoor and environmental groups are aging and younger people aren’t joining them.

A new youth-led movement aims to change that. Outdoor Nation is hosting five multi-day summits in five cities this summer to address regional outdoor issues and engage more young people in the outdoors.

Denver is one of the cities – ON delegates from around the country will be there July 22-24. Delegates are still needed – interested 18- to 28-year-olds can apply at www.outdoornation.org The 250 Denver delegates will develop action plans; the best idea will be given $10,000 to get it started. Lodging, food and activities will be covered for each delegate.

-Deb Acord

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2011 Ride of Silence

May 16th, 2011

This Wednesday, May 18, 2011 the Ride of Silence will begin in North America and roll across the globe. The first ride of Silence was in 2003 in Dallas, Since then it has spread to hundreds of locations across the world. 297 ride locations have been confirmed for this year and the list of ride locations here. The details for the Colorado Springs Ride of Silence are below.

Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn’t aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

The Ride of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph and remain silent during the ride. There are no sponsors and no registration fees. The ride, which is held during National Bike Month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for those who have been killed or injured.

Colorado Springs Ride of Silence

David Peal is once again helping me organize the Colorado Springs Ride of Silence. The Ride of Silence in Colorado Springs is meeting at Old Town Bike Shop at 426 South Tejon Street. The ride isn’t organized by them. It’s just a group of cyclist getting together to honor those who have been killed or injured while riding their bikes.

This year we’re going to ride about 7.5 miles in the downtown Colorado Springs area. The map for the approximate route is here. The ride is also done at a slow pace so anyone can ride it and keep up.
Meet at 6:45 PM so there’s time to read the Ride of Silence Poem, tape on a sign, put on a black arm band, etc. and be ready to roll at 7 PM. Rides of Silence I’ve done in the past have been pushing dusk so we need to get started on time and stay safe. If you have lights, bringing them wouldn’t be a bad idea.

There’s a Facebook event for the Colorado Springs Ride of Silence. You don’t have to RSVP but if you do, we’ll be able to send you last minute updates.

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Tags: Ride of Silence, share the road
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Sand Creek Series Palmer Park Race Photos

May 16th, 2011

Here are some of my best photos from the Sand Creek Series mountain bike yesterday in Palmer Park. You can find my complete Sand Creek Series Palmer Park photo album here.

[View with PicLens]

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Mountain Biking Position to Avoid

May 15th, 2011

Update: Sand Creek Series Palmer Park mountain bike race photos are now posted.

It can happen to the best mountain bikers but this is a mountain biking position to avoid.

It was a good day of mountain bike racing out at Palmer Park today for the first race in the 2011 Sand Creek Series even though the day started out wet and stayed cloudy and cool all day.

I’m still going through the photos that I took but the one above is definitely the photo of the day. The photo below is the shot just before he crashed. The racer did ride on after a couple minutes but I think he and his bike were a bit beat up.

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Flowers a No-Show?

May 13th, 2011

Ahh…springtime in the Rockies. Those fuzzy caterpillar-like catkins have fallen from the aspen trees and covered my deck. A herd of evening grosbeaks have taken over my bird feeder, bullying the winter regulars – chickadees and pine siskins – into retreating and watching from the tree nearby. Hungry young mule deer, wandering in groups like teenagers looking for a good party, fill my yard at night.

There’s just one thing missing – pasque flowers. They usually show up by now, poking through the dead leaves and dry pine needles on the forest floor.

But the sturdy lavender blooms are a no show, at least in the woods near my house at 8,600 feet. What’s up with that? I know the little blooms have been spotted at lower elevations, but has anyone seen the little blooms anywhere higher in the Pike National Forest?

– Deb Acord

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Little Blue Climbing Pill?

May 12th, 2011

Wikimedia Commons Photo

May is the busy season on Mount Everest, with nearly three dozen expeditions on the mountain right now.

There are hang gliders, paragliders, speed climbers, fund-raisers, and one group from the UK that is experimenting with the little blue pill.

For years, doctors have touted the benefits of Viagra for climbers. According to David Hempleman-Adams, leader of the Iceland Everest 2011 expedition, his team is experimenting with the drug and members hope it allows them to take in more oxygen at a higher altitude because of its ability to expand the blood vessels in their lungs (the same reason it helps with sexual dysfunction).

Go ahead…. You know you want to say it: This is going to be one long, hard climb.

– Deb Acord

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Sand Creek Mountain Bike Series Kicks-off this Weekend

May 11th, 2011

Photo Courtesy of Sand Creek Sports

The Sand Creek Series of mountain bike races kicks off this Sunday at Palmer Park. It will be a 4 race series this year. Although it was cool seeing the bears last year at Palmer Park, I’m sure the racers would rather not have them on the course.

For the first time, the Sand Creek Series races won’t be sanctioned by NORBA/USA Cycling. This means that no race license is needed. Race insurance is through the same company that the ACA uses. Very few races in Colorado are sanctioned any more so the change isn’t surprising.

Series Schedule

Sunday May 15 – Palmer Park
Wednesday June 1 – Bear Creek Terrace
Wednesday June 8 – Bear Creek Terrace
Sunday June 19 – Cheyenne Mountain State Park

See the Sand Creek Sports site for all the details.

Andy had said earlier this year that it was possible that there would also be a race on the ’90s course in Manitou Springs called Hell on a Hillside. The Hell on a Hillside was by far my least favorite Sand Creek Series course. The photo above is me leading out the start on that course in 1996. Andy has decided against putting that race on.

The Pro XCT race that Sand Creek Sports has put on the last couple years has been canceled for this year. It was partly canceled because of budget issues and partly because of a disagreement with USA Cycling.

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Colorado Avalanche Information Center Photo

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Tags: Colorado Springs, mountain biking, Sand Creek Sports
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Colorado Avalanche Alert

May 9th, 2011

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center and the Colorado Geological Survey have issued an avalanche alert:

“Public, fieldworkers, recreationalists cautioned that unusually heavy snowpack could spark larger, stronger avalanches in uncommon locations. Unusually deep snowpack in parts of Colorado’s northern and central mountains has the potential to produce dangerous avalanches in pathways that may not have run in decades, and that may run farther than they have in recent memory.”

Many monitoring sites are recording snowpack levels of more than 160 percent of average, with some with levels well over 200 percent of an average year.

An example of this hazard occurred April 30, when an unusually large and destructive avalanche struck the Peru Creek drainage near the town of Montezuma in Summit County. This avalanche destroyed large, 100-plus year-old trees as well as a high-voltage tower that was installed in the late 1970’s. This was an isolated event, but an indication of what is possible this spring.

In addition, the Colorado Geological Survey warns that the heavy snowpack combined with a rapid warm-up could also lead to substantial mudslides and debris flows. For instance, similar conditions in 1984 led to more than 40 mudslides and debris flows in the Vail Valley. More information is available at Natural Resources Conservation Service with a map showing federal NRCS SNOTEL data on snowpack.
Backcountry advisories are available at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center through May 30.

-Deb Acord

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How Not To Give Mountain Bikers a Good Reputation

May 5th, 2011

Photo courtesy of Allen Beauchamp

Other trail users don’t always welcome mountain bikers on the trails. We are fortunate that very few trails in the Colorado Springs area are closed to mountain bikes unlike some other areas. Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates has had a huge part in keeping it that way. If I remember my history correctly, Medicine Wheel was started nearly 20 years ago when most of the trails in Garden of the Gods were closed to mountain biking.

A few weeks ago I got the following message from Medicine Wheel

Recently, an off-duty city park ranger was hiking in Garden of the Gods Park in a relatively undeveloped area near Rampart Range Road and came across several individuals hacking away at trying to build a “radical downhill” trail. You know, the kind you might see at a ski area, with gap jumps, straight down the fall line, big rocks, etc. These people had no authorization, had chopped down trees, moved boulders, and had generally made a real mess of things. As most of you know, mountain biking in most of Garden of the Gods is specifically banned, so you probably couldn’t pick a worse place to build a renegade trail.

To make matters worse, when this ranger inquired as to what the “trail builders” were doing, they threatened to physically harm her. So, the police were called, the “trail builders” disappeared, and now the entire mountain biking community is left to clean up the mess.

Obviously this is not good for mountain biking. Medicine Wheel is having a work day this Saturday, May 7th to fix up the damage done by these mountain bikers. They are meeting at 8 AM in the upper parking lot at the Garden of the Gods Trading Post. The park is closed all day because of a running race and you can only enter via the Becker’s Lane entrance.

No experience is needed. Tools will be provided but bring sunscreen, snacks, water, long pants, gloves and sturdy shoes. Most of the work is on steep slopes with lots of cactus, yucca, scrub, loose rocks, etc. There is very little shade and it is expected to be warm, so please be prepared for the conditions. RSVP to jim@medwheel.org

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