Mountain Flyer Number 5

Mountain Flyer

The Man Who Made the Playground TransRockies Through the Eyes of a Competitor Make Your Miles Count by Pedaling for a Cause

Number 5, 2006

Paying Top Dollar for a Comfortable Bottom Tasting Colorado’s Wine Country on Two Wheels The Insatiable Pull of a Pile of Rocks

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Editor’s Note

Just Put an Orange Tag in Your Ear My friend Jonathan put it best when, talking to me about mountain bike use on public lands, he said “I’m just gonna pay my $3 per acre for a grazing permit, put the orange tag in my ear and then I can go anywhere I f-ing want.”

We’ve all felt that frustration. A favorite trail gets closed because users built it without authorization.

Or maybe it’s that you’ve tried to go through the proper channels and dealt with the agonizingly painful process of working with the federal or state government to get approval for a proposed trail on public lands. Then you have to listen to the local land manager tell you that the trail was closed or a new one can’t be created because of the devastating environmental impact you and your bicycle will have on the land and wildlife—the very same land that they allow to be grazed by 1,300 pounds of pissin’ n’ shittin’ bovine that tramples all over anything green. Even worse, they allow that land to be bulldozed, mined and drilled for any resources that can be extracted.

Although the orange tag trick might be fun (and fashionable), it’s not gonna work. We need to help change the way land managers view mountain biking.

Dan Grunig, director of Bicycle Colorado, conducted an informal poll at the first-ever Colorado Mountain Bike Summit held recently in Gunnison, Colo., through a joint effort of IMBA, Bicycle Colorado and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

He asked the group if they thought mountain bikers had either no concern for land use conservation, tended to be land use conservationists or if they felt so strongly about conservation they would throw down cash and volunteer time to support it.

The outcome of the poll was not too surprising to me or any of the other mountain bikers present.

Most of us considered ourselves to be concerned with conservation. But what’s most important to note is that at the meeting only hands belonging to the few federal land managers were raised after the first question—whether they thought mountain bikers are generally unconcerned about land use conservation.

This is a generalization but I believe that most of us, cyclists as a whole, tend to lean towards conservation as a general value.

So why do the land managers view us otherwise? Well, two main reasons: communication and image. Usually the only signs these land managers see of mountain bikers are the tire tracks we leave behind.

So, first of all, make a note: Their impression of us, as a general population, is that we are not concerned with anything but using our public lands as an amusement park. Although that is part of our interest, I think we are interested in doing it responsibly. We need to convey that image to the land managers.

One goal of the Mountain Bike Summit was to introduce a new “memorandum of understanding” (MOU) with the BLM. The MOU is simply a document, signed by representatives of IMBA, Bicycle Colorado and the BLM, agreeing to work and

communicate with each other about public land use issues. This is a huge step that guarantees mountain bikers will have a voice in the decision-making process and make sure we get fair representation during the long-term planning process. (For more information on the 2006 Mountain Bike Summit see Flyover on page 8.)

One of the land managers made another important comment about how much weight they put on the attendance at public meetings regarding land use issues.

If they hold a meeting regarding a land use issue and no mountain bikers show up, they assume that we are not concerned.

An example of this is a recent meeting regarding stripmining and gas drilling at a place most of us consider to be a worldclass recreation area near Grand Junction, Colo.—the now famous Eighteen Road Area. According to the local BLM manager, zero mountain bikers showed up for public comment at the meeting. I don’t believe for a second that this is because nobody cared.

The BLM manages most of our public lands and historically has focused more on balancing conservation with resource extraction than with recreation. If the BLM land managers don’t see us at these meetings, they will not consider our opinions during the planning process, and really, how could they?

Keeping track of all these public meetings is not easy. The schedules are usually posted in a completely obscure place like the last page of the local want ads, in the public notice section, buried between a couple of bankruptcy announcements.

Many of the BLM land managers tend to be conservationists who are trying to manage the resources in a way that minimizes impacts to the land. It’s a daunting proposition. Usually there are a handful of BLM employees assigned to millions of acres of land.

They’re busy people. It’s up to us to reach out and communicate with these land managers. In doing so, we will accomplish two things. We will show them that we are concerned with conservation of our public lands and, in turn, improve their perception of mountain bikers. If you’re concerned how the public lands are used, this is your chance to improve your image.

I could say that the land managers should find a better, more accurate way to measure public interest, but they’re simply not going to. You could try your luck wearing one of those big orange plastic earrings. Or you can choose to get involved.

Cheers,

Join IMBA: www.imba.com Join Bicycle Colorado: www.bicyclecolorado.org Get BLM News: www.blm.gov

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Defining the Rocky Mountain Cyclist Editor Brian Riepe Managing Editor Caroline Spaeth Creative Editor James E. Rickman Art Director Gloria Sharp Writers Nate Hebenstreit Jefe Branham H.E. Sappenfield Christina Buchanan Brad Seaman Cimarron Chacon Dave Sheldon Chris Dickey Lynda Wallenfels Ron Georg Keith Whelpley Jill Janov Scott Morris Copy Editor Lisa Inkret Photographers Liam Doran Xavier FanĂŠ Anne Keller Rachel Schneider Tom Spross Illustrators Joe Coombs Dave Delano Printer Crested Butte Printing and Publishing Publisher Secret Agent Publishing Group, LLC

Mountain Flyer P.O. Box 272 Gunnison, CO 81230 adsales@mountainflyer.com subscriptions@mountainflyer.com www.mountainflyer.com Send your letters to: editor@mountainflyer.com

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Contents 1 Editor’s Note 8 Flyover—News and Notes from Around the Region by Brian Riepe 10 Advocacy—Pedaling for a Cause by Cimarron Chacon, Chris Dickey, Nate Hebenstreit and Caroline Spaeth 14 Profile—The Man Who Made the Playground by H.E. Sappenfield 18 Lever Love—In Praise of Handmade Goods by Ron Georg 24 Photo Gallery—A Collection of Inspiring Images 32 The Ghost Towns of Sierra County by Keith Whelpley 36 True Thrash Test—Scott Racing Scale Limited by Brian Riepe, Janae Pritchett and Len Zanni 40 Paraphernalia—Gotta Have It Gear 43 Paying Top Dollar for a Comfortable Bottom by Jill Janov 44 Profile—Harlot Clothing by Caroline Spaeth 46 Training With Power by Dave Sheldon 48 Recipes for a Balanced Diet by Christina Buchanan 50 TransRockies Challenge—Through the Eyes of a Competitor by Lynda Wallenfels 58 Flyby—A Photo Journal from a Season of Racing 59 Try the Arizona Trail 300 by Scott Morris 77 Montezuma’s Revenge by Dave Ochs 82 Tasting Colorado’s Wine Country on Two Wheels by James E. Rickman 106 Riding the Plank—Secrets of the Pirates’ Bond by James E. Rickman 110 The Insatiable Pull of a Pile of Rocks by Jefe Branham 114 Land of the Giants by James E. Rickman

on the cover: Fred Marmsater (in red) descends Collier Mountain, Montezuma’s Revenge 2006. Photo by Brian Riepe

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FLYOVER Pump Up Your Skills

Fort Collins, Colo.—The latest craze of pump tracks is spreading like a loamy wave across the region and the country. This past fall, new pump tracks have been constructed in Fort Collins, Colo., at Lory State Park and in the Gunnison, Colo., city limits.

Boulder, Colo., has had its own pump track located behind The Fix bike shop, next to the Maverick factory for some time now.

The Lory State Park track, designed and built with help from State Park trail contractor Greg Mazu, is being touted as the largest in the state. The Gunnison Freeride Club built Gunnison’s track, near the Gunnison Middle School, with complete cooperation by the City of Gunnison.

Best described as a mix between a BMX track, dirt jump park and a mini cross-country singletrack loop, pump tracks are designed so that the rider moves through a short lap by pumping the bike (no pedaling allowed) through a series of whoops and tight burned turns, picking up speed via the momentum generated on the downside of each whoop

Dave Kozlowski pumps and glides through an early morning session at the Gunnison pump track.

and accelerating out of each turn. Pump tracks usually have small tabletop and gap jumps thrown into the mix.

There is no better way to learn how to ride smooth, fast and efficiently in singletrack.

The history of pump tracks is vague and undocumented but they seem to have been developed by pioneering gravity racers looking for a way to practice skills used in four-cross racing. Rumors are that some Australian downhill racers, Jared Graves, Miles Mead, Mick Hannah and Luke Stom, brought the idea to this continent.

Regardless of how or where pump tracks developed, the concept is catching on fast because they are easy to build in a small space and can be both fun and safe to ride for anyone regardless of age or ability. If you build one in your own town, be sure to get permission from whoever owns the land, or risk having it bulldozed.

For more info on pump tracks, check out www.970biking.com and www.leelikesbikes.com. —B. Riepe

Brown, Gregorio, King Inducted Into MTB Hall of Fame Las Vegas, Nev.—Every fall the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame gathers at Interbike in Las Vegas, Nev., to welcome new inductees into the society.

This year’s celebration honored a perfect sampling of what mountain bikers are all about: Travis Brown, a graceful racer; Robert Gregorio, aka Bicycle Bob, a defining innovator; and Chris King, a commendable manufacturer.

With Zapata Espinoza, Greg Herbold, John Tomac, and Scot Nicol giving introductory speeches, you can bet it was entertaining.

Travis Brown represented the United States in the 2000 Olympics, won two singlespeed world championships—enduring the mandatory tattoos and brandings to prove it—and was the 1999 NORBA National Champion.

But being a world caliber racer isn’t enough to get you into the Hall of Fame.

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Brown’s entry in to the Hall was due to his character. Known on the circuit for his strong anti-doping principals and humble attitude about his successes, Travis has always been a respected individual in the cycling community.

Bob Gregario’s contributions to mountain biking stem back 25 years ago when he was known around Durango, Colo., for building custom Klunker bikes and riding them on epic adventures in the San Juan mountains.

Gregario was a famed mechanic and eventually became an advisor to early mountain bike producers Miyata and Cannondale. It’s possible that his humble style kept him out of the spotlight, even during his years as John Tomac’s personal race mechanic, but clearly he was one of the first to innovate, define and push the limits of the mountain bike.

Chris King: The precision of King’s

components and his manufacturing ethics set a good example of how any company should be run.

King has earned the respect of the bicycle industry through his quality and ethics. Manufacturing anything can be detrimental to the environment, but King has been dedicated to his position on manufacturing and its relationship to sustainable communities.

All King components are made in the US, and the King Cycle Group facility in Portland, Ore., was built to strict green standards. Recycling is a major part of the process at King Cycle Group and is highlighted by its state of the art anodizing system (which “cost a fortune”) that eliminated polluted wastewater from the process.

For complete bios on all Hall of Fame inductees, go to www.mtbhalloffame.com.

—B. Riepe

FLYOVER

photos by Brian Riepe

Participants in the first-ever Colorado Mountain Bike Summit take time off from their public land use discussions for a ride at Hartman Rocks.

Know Your MOUs Gunnison, Colo.—In an unprecedented assembly, bicycle advocates met with land managers in mid-October in a think-tank style forum to discuss public land use, mountain bikes and recreation management. The summit took a big step toward a better relationship between mountain bikers and land managers, with an eye toward working together on more trails.

This first-ever Colorado Mountain Bike Summit was held in conjunction with IMBA, Bicycle Colorado and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Catalyzing the meeting, the groups signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU). Besides being a charming acronym, the MOU is a signed contract between IMBA, Bicycle Colorado and the United Stated Department of the Interior, stating a desire to cooperate and reach common goals.

The MOU outlines specific priorities

and project goals, including education standards, creation of a managed singletrack loop-based trail system through every BLM field office in the state, preservation of pristine settings for mountain biking, infrastructure at trailheads and cooperative participation in the planning process.

The general goal is to manage Colorado public lands so mountain biking interests and BLM land manager concerns are addressed, moving ahead on a lasting relationship between the two groups. The long-range plan is to create similar MOUs in other states.

“This summit is a great opportunity to show land managers that mountain bikers are willing to work with the BLM to plan and manage trail systems on public lands and Gunnison is a perfect area to use as an example, said Dave Wiens of Gunnison Trails, a non-profit trail advocacy group.

“We’re in the beginning stages of develop-

ing official trails in an area that historically was developed without any cooperation.”

An invention of Scot Lindenburge of IMBA, Greg Mazu of Colorado State Parks and Dan Grunig of Bicycle Colorado, the summit was organized with the help of Sally Palmer, Gunnison Chamber of Commerce. More than 30 individuals attended, including land managers from Gunnison, Salida, Grand Junction, Kremling and Glenwood Springs.

The three-day summit included open discussions, land manager presentations, trail design specialists, recreation managers and advocacy leaders. The summit ended with a group ride/tour of the Hartman Rocks trail system near Gunnison.

The participants response was so positive that a 2007 Mountain Bike Summit is already in the works for next fall. More information is available at www.imba.com or www.bicyclecolorado.org. —B. Riepe Mountain Flyer

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Pedaling for a Cause It’s Way Cooler Than a Telethon The following four articles chronicle riders who decided to climb into the saddle and log miles for a good cause. Whether rolling across the country on a fixie, venturing off for a 72-mile epic in the San Juan Mountains or committing to a solo journey across the Americas, these riders offer up their own suffering to raise money and awareness for their chosen cause.

photos by Bryce Pratt

Traveling Against Traffic An Epic Ride Across the Americas for Advocacy

by Cimarron Chacon Just how many miles of desert are there between Logan, Utah, and Santiago, Chile?

Lukas Brinkerhof, a Utah native and former bike mechanic, will soon be able to answer that question and many more about the topography and cultures of South America on this trek of a lifetime.

What motivates a person to make a solo journey across the Americas? Lukas says he is doing it a little for love, a little for the challenge and adventure and a little because of his frustration with the state of our society and culture.

Lukas has a simple message to share: “Get out on your bike and ride.” He wants to reach those who already own a bike and already ride and encourage them to do it more. If you own a bike, then ride to work, ride to the store, basically live on your bike and park your 10

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car. If he can ride to Chile, you can ride around your town.

But Lukas has another message, as well, to all those people who have the power to make a difference. He wants to see more city infrastructure dedicated to alternative transportation; he wants to see safe pedestrian and bike access; he wants to see us plan and build our cities and towns differently to support cycling and alternative transportation; and he wants the message of tolerance and awareness to be commonplace.

He began his journey Sept. 9, and as of Oct. 4, he had already traveled more than a thousand miles across America to Tucson, Ariz., where his journey really is just beginning. He has spent this month sharing his message with school groups, advocacy groups and politicians along the way.

On Oct. 21, Lukas will be joined by a group of local Tucson riders as he crosses the border into Mexico and makes his way farther south. He hopes to arrive in Santiago, where his wife is waiting, some time in early February.

His route will keep him close to the Pacific Ocean, traveling through small towns and villages. There are some long stretches of desert, however, where water will be scarce and few people on the route.

When he can, Lukas will share portions of his daily journal on his online blog located at http://lukasandveronics.spaces. live.com, telling his journey and discussing how other countries in the Americas deal with pedestrians and bicyclists. When his ride is complete, Mountain Flyer will publish a sampling of his memoirs, so look for Lukas in future issues.

The Big Fix

Pedaling for a Cause

Riders cross U.S. on fixies in fight against histiocytosis

by Chris Dickey

photos by Gregg Morin

On June 17, about 20 a loved one or personally, committed cyclists dipped the with a life-threatening illrear tires of their trusty steeds ness or disease. into the pale blue waters of All along the way, ridthe Pacific Ocean near Davis, ers were treated like heroes Calif., and embarked on an by untold members of the anything-but-typical crosshistio family. Mothers who country journey. had lost sons to the disease Not that any 3,480-mile, offered sag support. One 28-day bike ride can be called family traveled 400 miles “typical,” but this one had to meet the ride, so their some especially unique eleseven-year-old son and ments. histio patient could pedal For starters, the main puraround a parking lot with pose of the event was to raise The Big Fix gang. awareness, and cash, for a The group’s lone day off, rare disease called histiocytoJuly 9 in Cleveland, Ohio, sis—an often fatal, cancer-like coincided with a national The Big Fix Gang proudly poses with one of their fixie bikes. malady afflicting children and histiocytosis conference. young adults, for which “Putting a face on the there is no known cure and reason this ride was taking little research funding. place was by far the greatMaking the epic endeavor est thing about it,” said even more uncommon, Big Fix participant Ricky however, was the selected Garcia, who owns the mode of transportation: fixed TuneUp Ski and Bike shop gear bicycles. The riders took in Gunnison, Colo., and to heart the creed that a little whose son, Garrison, has (okay, maybe a lot) of pain is battled leukemia. temporary, especially when The ride averaged 120 considering the life-or-death miles a day and was, by all battles that some people reaccounts, “brutal.” Factor ally have to face. in the elements and road They called their The Big hazards with 135,000 feet Fix. Their motto: “coast to of vertical gain and loss— coast without coasting.” remember, no coasting The advocacy ride was the on a fixie—and you have brainchild of Michael Costhe recipe for an extreme grove, a Davis psychiatrist by cycling challenge, the trade and avid “fixie” fan. He’s first known cross-country also the father of Dakota, a fixed-gear adventure. young histio survivor.

A videographer “When I was almost six, accompanied the riders Just another day in the (ouch) saddle, the Big Fix peleton rolls down Colorado Hwy 50.

I got sick with histiocytosis every mile of the way, in my spine,” she reported on and a top-rate documenThe Big Fix Web site (www.fixhistio.org). “I months to make sure it doesn’t come back. tary DVD is available for sale at www. couldn’t walk and was in the hospital. I had “I hope it won’t,” she wrote. fixhistio.org, with proceeds benefiting the to have chemo, steroids and radiation before Not everyone who took on The Big Fix Histiocytosis Association of America. To it was in remission. I’m happy and healthy had a direct relationship with histio, but date, The Big Fix has raised more than now but need to have scans every three most had had some experience, either via $307,000 for the cause.

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Pedaling for a Cause

First Annual Colorado Trail Jamboree Logging worthy miles for MS

by Nate Hebenstreit On two days in July, fresh water and cold beer 26 mountain bikers from Durango’s Carver’s set out to conquer a Brewery. mountain much bigger Riders awoke Sunday than the mountain morning to hot coffee, passes of the Colorado bacon, sausage, eggs and Trail. These cyclists pastries from Carver’s were helping raise Bakery, fuel for the day’s funds for multiple 40-mile epic. Sunday’s sclerosis, a neurologiskies were forgiving for cal disease that afflicts the long ascent up Indian nearly 400,000 people Ridge and down to Taylor in the U.S. Lake. But afternoon rain, Durango mountain hail and cold mountain biker and climber Ian winds pummeled the Altman organized the riders as they descended July 15–16 MS fundKennebec Pass. Three ridraiser and named it the ers, exposed and vulner1st Annual Colorado able, hunkered down on Trail Jamboree.

Kennebec Pass when a Since being diagpassing SUV spared them Colorado Jamboree riders worked their tails off for the Jimmie Heuga Center but, as seen here, nosed with MS nine of their misery. During they were rewarded with the beauty of the San Juan Mountains. years ago, Altman, the storm, the rest of the 33, an instructor at group pushed on through Colorado Timberline mud, slippery rocks and Academy, has been swelling creek beds. Skies a devoted activist in eventually cleared, and the fight against the they enjoyed the final 10disease. mile downhill to Junction Riders were asked Creek trailhead. to raise at least $200 On Sunday night in pledges for the Vail, at Carver’s Brewery in Colo., based Jimmie Durango, the riders and Heuga Center, which Heuga Center reprehelps individuals sentatives celebrated diagnosed with MS the fundraiser’s success, and their families which raised $10,000, learn how to manage enough for two scholarthe disease through ships to the Heuga Center. exercise and lifestyle A portion of the proceeds Riders from the first annual Colorado Trail Jamboree gather on top of a pass near (as the crow changes. This ride’s was donated to the Coloflies) Durango, Colo. photos by Nate Hebenstreit. money would support rado Trail Foundation as scholarships for Four Corners residents to journey to Hotel Draw (FS 564), climbing a token of appreciation for the trail work attend the Heuga Center.

11 miles to 12,490 feet. The weather held done each year.

For this 72-mile section of the 500-mile strong in the morning but the afternoon Those interested in signing up to Colorado Trail, the mountain bikers rode brought heavy thunderstorms. Techniendure some lactic acid buildup for the through breathtaking scenery in the San cal issues arose too. One rider lost a rear worthy cause next year, can email nheJuan Mountains. derailleur and several spokes but pushed bens@netzero.net for details on the 2nd On Saturday, riders departed from on despite these obstacles. At Hotel Draw, Annual Colorado Trail Jamboree, planned Molas Pass for a 32-mile, high-alpine a support team waited with hot food, for July 2007.

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Pedaling for a Cause

Will Pedal for Food Cyclists raise food, cash donations for poor

by Caroline Spaeth It’s a rare and strange Some club members sight to see a cyclist ridwere going out of state to ing down the road with do charity rides. When he a couple of cans of beans heard this, the light bulb in his jersey pocket. But went on for Goodding, in Albuquerque, N.M., and he came up with the Jim Goodding and others food drive/ride idea. think it’s great.

“A food drive is a kick For the fourth year in because you see all the a row, Goodding and the piles of food and you Albuquerque cycling club, know you’re doing somethe New Mexico Touring thing good,” Goodding Society, held its Will Pedal said. for Food fundraiser, raisThe ride, with route ing food and cash for the options of 29, 45, and 63 Roadrunner Food Bank of miles, grows every year.

New Mexico Tourism Society club members gather in front of a Roadrunner Food Bank semiNew Mexico.

The ride is supported truck full of food slated to feed New Mexico’s poor.

“We encourage riders

by Roadrunner, whose to show up to the ride chief executive officer with groceries and a started the ride, by Team check, but it’s optional,” Specialty Products, said Gooding. “They eiAlbuquerque Libraries, ther drive up with a trunk and countless bakers who full of food or ride up made homemade baked with a few cans of beans goods for the rest stops. in their jersey pockets.

Goodding doesn’t Every bit helps.” have enough volunteers This year the October to set up rest stops and ride on Albuquerque route makers, so he gives roads attracted 63 riders, out a map to the riders, who raised donations of and a few friends drive 1,230 pounds of food and along the routes to set $2,080 for Roadrunner, up a rest stop, offer cywhich distributes food clists homemade goodies, to New Mexico’s quarterthen pack up and drive million poor, or nearly ahead of them for the one in six people in the next rest stop. state. Roadrunner uses The craziness of orga“Will Pedal for Food” participants discuss different techniques for carrying a case of spam on each dollar raised to buy nizing the ride, the piles their bicycle or in their pockets. photos courtesy of NMTS an additional 3 pounds of of food and the eager food. cyclists on ride day is all “It’s astronomical the level of poverty one you bring a dollar or a can of food and worth it because of the outcome. in New Mexico,” said ride participant and you’re just as welcome as someone who “Our little club does make a difference. club vice president Chris Heimerl. “And a backs up a truck with a truckload of food,” It’s an absolute thrill for me to see the significant portion of that is kids.” he said. generosity,” Goodding said. “It’s such an The chance for charity attracts riders of The fundraiser originally started as a easily curable thing, not like looking for all types, Heimerl said, from “very strong novel charity ride, intended to keep club a cure for cancer. Here we know what the and fast racers to people who putz around members, which number nearly 300, in solution is.” about 10 mph. the state to earn annual riding miles in the For info on the next year’s ride, go to “Unlike other club-organized rides, this club’s friendly riding competition. www.nmts.org.

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PROFILE

When Vail scored the 1992 World Cup finals, they turned to Mike Kloser and me. I was in the right place at the right time, and fortunately for me, Vail was committed to putting on the best race possible.

John Bailey helped create some of the playgrounds on which the world’s best mountain bikers have raced.

The Man Who Made the Playground

by H. E. Sappenfield

R

emember mountain biking’s premier as an Olympic sport in the sweltering Atlanta of 1996? Remember the women’s race? Italy’s Paola Pezzo pursuing Canada’s Alison Sydor and our own Susan DeMattei right in the mix with Pezzo, the blonde sporting the great body and skin-tight Lycra, looking more like a Playboy Bunny imposter.

Remember how Pezzo eked out the gold in the final minutes making you look past her figure to her guts and how DeMattei took the bronze with her contrasting all-Ameri14

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can smile and mountain biking’s unprecedented worldwide exposure?

John Bailey remembers. He co-created the course.

How did Bailey come to create the playgrounds on which the world’s best mountain bikers gauged themselves and cycling history was made? For this Vail Resorts Mid-Vail manager and father of three boys, it was a natural chain of events.

Bailey started serious mountain biking in 1986 and quickly became a stud racer.

Scattered throughout his home in Eagle,

Colo., is a trophy for expert champion in the Colorado Off-Road Series, KHS-sponsorship schwag and a gold medal from the expert division when Mammoth hosted Nationals in 1989. But by fall 1992, Bailey was ready to retire.

“Liz was pregnant with our second son, and I had a bum knee and a bum back,” he says, but he was far from finished with the sport.

“I’d been a manager in Vail Resorts summer mountain bike program for a couple of years,” Bailey recounts. “It was

Therein lies that fine line, that tightrope on which a course designer hopes to balance: a course that tests the limits of the world’s best and yet does not cross the line to insanity. mostly retail, bike rental and then building trail on the mountain for this new sport.

When Vail scored the 1992 World Cup finals, they turned to Mike Kloser and me. I was in the right place at the right time, and fortunately for me, Vail was committed to putting on the best race possible.”

Bailey quickly learned what goes into creating a world-class venue.

“I met with the UCI, with the Vail Valley Foundation and Vail Race Crew. The UCI had requirements about course length and wanted races to be between 1:45-2:15 for men and 1:15-1:45 for women,” he says.

“They also wanted a course to be spectator friendly. And it all had to be rideable. No hike-a-bikes.”

Bailey took UCI stipulations, combined them with Vail’s terrain and went to town, creating one of mountain biking’s most remarkable downhill courses. He smiles as he remembers the start atop China Wall, a 20-foot cliff band in China Bowl.

“I remember selecting the chute on China Wall. It was impressive,” he says.

Picture a stark band of chalky cliffs just above treeline, with the jagged Gore Range in the background and a start shack with racers in it, heads down in concentration, as the lonely beep of the timing clock echoes across the vast bowl below. There’s the final beep, then the thrum of tires down the precipitous ramp and when they hit dirt, they’re a streak of color.

It was also one of the longest downhill courses in history, clocking in at almost 10 minutes, an endurance event by today’s standards.

“Tomac won,” Bailey says, then reflects on the evolution of his sport, “you can’t make courses like that anymore. Now they last about two to three minutes. Now they can ride things I wouldn’t have dreamed of taking them down back then.”

Therein lies that fine line, that tightrope on which a course designer hopes to balance: a course that tests the limits of the world’s best and yet does not cross the line to insanity.

“Remember, for a world championship, you’ve got some junior girl from Japan out there on the same stuff as the most radical guys in the world. It’s a balancing act.”

A balancing act that’s carefully watched.

Heidi Trueblood, shown above, is lovin’ some classic Bailey singletrack in Eagle, Colo.

“We were out on the course all the time during the practice rounds, watching to make sure things worked,” he says. “On a tough part, I’d envision this line through it, or maybe this one, and then some guys would come along and take a third line that I never thought possible.”

If that line was within course boundar-

ies, it was fine. If it wasn’t, then Bailey and officials met to decide whether to amend the approved route.

“Sometimes guys would show me things on the course as well, like a turn.

They’d say, ‘Watch here. Nobody can make this turn.’ And if nobody could, then I’d change it.”

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John Bailey now puts his efforts into his local trails near Eagle, Colo., so much so they named one of the trails in the burgeoning open space area after him.

Competitors could also be sneaky.

“They’d move the tape outlining the course to avoid a tough section. Take out a rock. We’d have to watch for it and put everything back. That happened more in downhill,” Bailey explains.

When it came to the 1992 cross-country course, Bailey was also revolutionary in creating a spectator-friendly, cloverleaf layout that circled out in three separate loops, crisscrossing in Vail Village and making the UCI and event sponsors very happy. So happy, that when it came time for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Bailey was the man they called.

“I was actually subcontracted by a national landscape company called Valley Crest that had won the bid to build the mountain bike course. They do tons of interstate medians in California, but they’d pretty much never seen a mountain bike, so they hired me,” he says.

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Bailey would jet down for two-week intervals in Atlanta to prepare the course.

“It was such an honor,” Bailey reflects, “and I had a great crew. Co-designers were Brian Stickle from NORBA and Dave Weins as the racer consultant because he was the national champion for that year.”

They’d say, ‘Watch here.

Nobody can make this turn.’

And if nobody could, then I’d change it.

What they had to work with was a large space with a lot of stipulations. The Georgia International Horse Park, 30 miles east of Atlanta, was the site of not only the

mountain bike race but also the equestrian steeplechase venue.

“I looked at the map and there was a lot of containment, like this area I could go, but not here, and here and not here. Also, we had only 90 feet elevation gain, so we milked it. We found the granite slabs, and we said, ‘That’s good. We’ll use that.’ Otherwise, it was mostly winding dirt with no rocks, so we tried to create climbs, tiered jumps and drops in the trees.”

“It was crazy because they didn’t want any lead changes off camera, so the entire course had to be accessible to cameras.

They were mounted on tracks in the trees, and if there was a tree in the way, we’d cut it down.”

Also, despite having carefully delineated courses, the horses and the bikes were not to mix. They had separate practice times when they could be out there observing how the course worked.

More Open Space Means More Trails to Come in Eagle Eagle offers miles of off-road riding, especially early and late season, via its open space, a buffer of land that borders its eastern, southern and western sides. Gained largely through wise development, Eagle’s open space boasts ripping connector trails through sage and piñon pines, which ensure access to huge tracts of BLM land beyond.

“We currently have about 1,000 acres with more to come in the future,” says Bill Heicher, Eagle’s open space coordinator. “We have nine connector trails that add up to about four miles, but they connect to hundreds of miles in the BLM.” A good place to start is the Eagle Bike Skills Park, a half-mile mountain bike skills loop and jump park. It’s located south of town, next to the pool and ice arena, and connects with the open space trail system directly to the east, or to the west and south on bike paths.

Stop into The Mountain Pedaler on Broadway (the easy-to-find main street) for information on seasonal habitat closures, directions and maps, or go to the town’s excellent website at www.townofeagle.org.

Riding in temperate Eagle runs as late as November and starts as early as March; late April through May is prime riding time with wildflowers and blossoming shrubs. —H. E. Sappenfield

“Watching the race was definitely a high point,” he says. “It was awesome witnessing that caliber of riders pushing to that level.

Everything on the course worked and blended well.”

For Pezzo, who kicked off a winning streak in Atlanta second only to Juli Furtado, it remains her ultimate course.

Today, it is an Atlanta-area favorite, receiving a 4.49 out of 5 on the popular cycling website: www.mtbreview.com.

Good course design shows up when you create easy access to multiple viewing spots for spectators, and this paid off in a way they hadn’t expected as Weins sped around the course watching his wife, DeMattei, win the bronze.

“A standout in my memories from Atlanta was definitely watching Dave Weins during the women’s race,” Bailey reflects.

Vail hasn’t hosted a World Cup event since 2001, so for now Bailey’s trail work is through Eagle County, ECO, Trails as a mountain biking advocate, ensuring access and good relationships with the BLM and Forest Service. “Bailey’s Trail” is proof of his work in his hometown of Eagle and its new and burgeoning open space system. He can always be found on explorations, traveling to places like North Dakota to ride the Maah Daah Hey Trail, always looking at what’s out there or what could be.

“Building all the race courses was incredible, but now I’m mostly focused on trail advocacy,” Bailey says. I’m always working on trail. If I’m not out there doing it, I’m building or repairing it in my head.”

John Bailey flies the KHS colors at a Grundig World Cup event, circa 1993.

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by Ron Georg

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ears ago, I cooked dinner for some friends fresh from the commune. While I’ve always been at least half hippie, their socialist experiment had imbued them with an openness that could make me feel like a flasher at a nude beach.

My younger, drunker self didn’t have the emotional juice to digest her beautiful compliment at the end of dinner: “Thank you, that was wonderful. I can taste the difference when food is prepared with love; I can tell that you love to cook and to share.”

Of the few times I’ve kept my sarcastic mouth shut, that’s one of which I’m proudest. Any technical cooking skill I’ve developed was under stress and duress, from my time as a pearl-diving teenager to the heat and haze as a line cook in college.

At the time, even I didn’t realize how much spirit was involved.

If I had said anything but “thank you,” it probably would have been inappropriate, and I wouldn’t have treasured her compliment as I have ever since then.

In the years since that dinner, her remark has led me to wonder about the emotional connectedness in all things, animate or otherwise, which in turn has helped me 18

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develop values apart from the consumerism that defines our so-called culture.

And so, for the past couple of weeks, I’ve surreptitiously slipped a set of tire levers in my pocket, where they spoon comfortably. I take them out periodically and hook their ends together, dangling one from the other like a child’s pick-up game.

While friends of the shop and its employees are often generous, providing beer and snacks, Mitchell is the only one who ever brought in a loaf of his own multigrain artisan bread baked in a woodfired, outdoor clay oven.

Then I hold them as gently as possible, tapping them together to hear them chime.

I’ve got a set of levers made with love, which is really something since the tire lever has been about my least favorite tool.

A bicycle tire should be removable without tools; a tire with a bead so tight that it won’t come off by hand is a reminder that manufacturers of things like rims and tires can’t make parts compatible.

Sure, downhill tires, or tubeless set-ups or extra-high-pressure road tires benefit from tight beads, but most others don’t.

Note: if you’ve never encountered a tire you could remove by hand, you probably don’t know the technique. You need to pop the beads out from under the hook and push them toward the center of the rim, where there’s a deeper channel. This portion of the rim has a smaller circumference, which makes the tire’s bead circumference larger, relatively speaking, and you can pull the bead right over the rim.

If you’re not following, go to your nearest bike shop with a six-pack and ask a mechanic to show you. Don’t forget the beer; this is a trade secret.

Anyway, if a tire is too tight to be removed by hand, it’s too tight for those

It took an artist to see the potential beauty in creating a noble tool for so ignoble a task as struggling by the side of the road, wearing funny clothes, working with a difficult, deflated tire. stupid plastic levers. They will bend, they will break, they will not remove a tight tire.

Even the steel-core variety snap at their spoon ends. Plastic levers do weigh less, and they don’t scratch rims, but those are hardly important considerations compared to the fact that they don’t work.

So the only tire levers I tolerate are metal, but I’ve never been happy to have to reach for them. That has changed since metalsmith Scott Mitchell dropped off this set for me. Knowing that I’d admired the set he had on display at the shop where I work, he went home to employ heat and hammer, to make little rods of titanium answer with sharp pings and white sparks before yielding into the shape of little, hooked spoons—peened and ground, not pressed or stamped.

If you think I’m reading too much into this artistic expression of utilitarian purpose, consider that I’m not the one who said to myself, “Hmm…how could I put my artsy, smithy skills to use expressing my love of bicycles…wait, I know, I’ll make some tire levers, out of titanium.”

I’m just an approving art critic; it took an artist to see the potential beauty in creating a noble tool for so ignoble a task as struggling by the side of the road, wearing funny clothes, working with a difficult, deflated tire.

It’s not surprising that Mitchell saw that latent appeal in something so pedestrian. While friends of the shop and its employees are often generous, providing beer and snacks, Mitchell is the only one who ever brought in a loaf of his own multigrain artisan bread baked in a wood-fired, outdoor clay oven. (He included a slab of European butter to make sure we didn’t sully the bread with some sort of hormonally influenced udder grease.) It’s too bad he lives 50 miles from Moab, so I haven’t been able to sample his home brew.

While I don’t know much about Scott Mitchell’s other art, I do know from his devotion to process, from his work with tools like fire and yeast, that he would agree with my friend from years ago, that consumption and materialism aren’t always crass and transitory, that they can be considered lasting and human.

Scott Mitchell isn’t limited to designing trinkets to charm simple-minded folk like bike mechanics; the man can actually twirl brass spaghetti, among other displays of metal magic. You can often find him on the Moab’s Saturday morning group road ride, or you can contact him at his hinterland studio: Scott Mitchell Studio, Metalsmith P.O. Box 1151 Monticello, Utah 84535 435.587.2667 Ron Georg can be seen around Moab, towing a toddler trailer behind his ’52 Schwinn. When he’s not going to reading hour, the swings or the crawdad hole, he’s still escaping the adult world in the pit of one of the world’s most famous mountain bike shops. He can be reached at ontwowheels1@earthlink.net.

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Mountain Flyer Photo Gallery

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ere and on the following pages we present four of our contributing photographers with a gallery of their work.

The selections are all available for purchase as fine quality prints.

Contact the photographer directly if you are interested.

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Liam Doran 907..485.2071 liamjski@msn.com

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Xavier FanĂŠ Crested Butte, Colo xavi@rmi.net www.xavierfanephoto.com

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Anne Keller coyote7studios.com info@coyote7studios.com

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Tom Spross Corrales, N.M. photo@tomspro.com tomsprophoto.smugmug.com/

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The Ghost Towns of Sierra County Riding backwards in time on remote New Mexico roads

by Keith Whelpley

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t was a long, slow ascent into the Black Range in southern New Mexico. But by mile marker 24, I found the payoff. The flatter lowlands that had taken most of 90 minutes to get through kicked up into the green luminescent hills along Highway 52 in Sierra County. And except for an occasional cow, I was all alone.

You can’t say Sierra County is bicycle friendly, but it certainly isn’t “unfriendly” either—especially for cyclists who enjoy long, lonesome rides. Here there are more head of cattle than people. So when you find a nice wide blacktop that cuts through open rangeland, it’s likely you’ll be the only one on the road. That was one quality that drew me to take this ride, beginning in Truth or Consequences (two hours south of Albuquerque on I-25) and into the ghost towns of Sierra County.

In fact, this small town, best known from Ralph Edwards’ infamous television show of the same name, makes a perfect location for a long-weekend cycling excursion. And because of warmer temperatures, such a trip would be perfect for an early-season training camp.

This particular ride (round trip) is just over 80 miles if you begin in downtown 32

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Truth or Consequences. On a long weekend, one can easily find another 80-mile ride into Hillsboro and Kingston, ghost/ artist communities located in the Black Range but on a different highway.

Having lived in southern New Mexico for 20 years, I had made Truth or Consequences my guilty pleasure. Its tangle of trailers, houses and storefronts seem to defy the natural laws of commerce. How could anyone make a living here? But they do somehow. With no industry to speak of, people here seem to be hiding or somehow stuck. But their quirkiness is charming and has kept me coming back.

The community abuts Elephant Butte Lake and a myriad of natural hot springs that make an ideal after-ride activity. But don’t expect the polish of a resort town.

Its lonesome quirkiness feeds into the mystique of cyclists I ride with. However, if you’re not a minimalist, don’t be afraid to bring along a boat or jet ski. The lake is well-suited for water recreation.

Back to the ride.

So here it was, 7:30 on a Sunday morning with the Black Range looming ahead, revealing her scenic secrets one at a time the farther I went. First the soft folds of

nearby hills then the pink, white and orange flowers that pushed up along the gravel roadbed.

Above me the monsoon season filled black clouds like water balloons—always threatening but never letting loose. Below me a clean strip of road curled around this eastern edge of the Gila National Forest, pulling me along to what eventually would be the historic ghost towns of Cuchillo, Winston and Chloride.

Only three weeks before, during a scouting trip in a car, the landscape had looked barren, brown and hot. I had imagined an unpleasant ride into the unforgiving sun. But still, the soft up-and-down profile of the road challenged me.

As luck would have it, August rains were heavier than in most years and created perpetual cloud cover. What easily could have been 100-degree temperatures were dampened to 75 to 80 degrees. I seized the day.

Highway 52 is a wide, well-kept roadway and one that makes middle New Mexico a wonderful place to explore by bicycle. It definitely fits into the category of “off the beaten path.”

While Sierra County works hard to

photos by Rachel Schneider show the world its natural and historical beauty, it suffers by way of remoteness.

But that’s good.

Without traffic, cyclists can put their bodies on autopilot and let the landscape take their thoughts away. Its curves are accentuated with an occasional barbed wire fence made the old school way with wooden posts that by now have twisted and dried.

This part of the state had its heyday during the mid to late 1800s when the country was hungry for precious metals.

Cuchillo, the first ghost town along the way, was named for the nearby creek Cuchillo Negro (Black Knife), which was named for an Apache chief who roamed the area. It was settled as a halfway point between Engle—where the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad stopped—and the productive mining towns of Winston and Chloride.

A few original buildings still stand, including Cuchillo Bar and Store and the stables behind it. San Jose Catholic Church was built in 1907 and recently Ritch’s Pecans and Candy Shoppe started opening its store between October and May. Cuchillo Cafe is open each Friday through Sunday.

Only three weeks before, during a scouting trip in a car, the landscape had looked barren, brown and hot.

I had imagined an unpleasant ride into the unforgiving sun.

But still, the soft up-and-down profile of the road challenged me.

Because of a healthy cloud cover and two water bottles, I chose to pass through Cuchillo without stopping and press on to Winston. At the 25-mile marker of

Highway 52 and before Cuchillo, I climbed what turned out to be the steepest of the climbs on my trip. A Colorado cyclist likely would consider it simply a bump, but for me it took a concentrated effort.

As on all the hills, the descents required caution because of pea gravel washed onto the road by recent rains. Riding during monsoon season also meant that low-lying parts of the road were washed over with sand and some rocks but never anything that would require ending the ride.

Winston emerged 23 miles after Cuchillo. In the distance, I saw many more homes and ranches than I had seen on my approach to Cuchillo, and they broke up the scenery somewhat.

Winston was founded in 1881 by settlers who didn’t like the rough-andtumble life in nearby Chloride. By 1884, it had 3,100 residents, a school, bars, a newspaper, horse races and feature plays and songfests.

The population ebbed and flowed with the fluctuation of silver prices. The town, originally named Fairview, later was renamed to Winston after its most popular resident, Frank Winston, died in 1929.

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As you could imagine, the shopkeep gave me a good long look as my cleats clicked across her wood floor.

Any rural ride will eventually take you along historic cemeteries of ghost towns that tell their own stories of a town’s past. Markers in this Chloride, N.M., cemetery, from the elaborate to the very basic, date to the late 1800s.

The ghost of a building stands by the road, keeping the secrets of the town’s raucous history to itself.

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the valley. Mr. Winston’s home and carriage house remain along with several other buildings. Travelers like me can get refreshments from the Winston General Store, which I did in the form of a Snickers bar and water. As you could imagine, the shopkeep gave me a good long look as my cleats clicked across her wood floor.

By now, Chloride—my ultimate destination and turnaround point—was only two to four miles away.

The town, founded in 1881, was named for the type of silver discovered there by Englishman Harry Pye, who was killed

by Apaches two months after filing his first claim. Regardless, word got out and the town wedged between the folds of the Black Range became home to 2,000 people.

Many of the original structures still exist here and it is the most developed of the three towns on this ride, thanks to Don and Dona Edmund, a retired couple who began purchasing buildings for renovation.

Don, who probably has the key to every building in town, is the constable, fireman, judge and historian. Thanks to Don and his wife, there are cabins to rent as well as RV hookups and a museum. Be sure to bring your own food for cooking if you decide to stay for the night. I can envision a support van pulling up with food and a fresh change of clothes for cyclists if they did stay the night. A diversion could be a mountain bike ride with the help of Forest Service maps, which would have to be arranged before arriving.

As I waited for my support car, whose only purpose was to take pictures for this ride, Don and Dona gave me an extended tour of the museum they had restored from near ruin. Over the years the two have become not only experts on Chloride but on the whole mining industry, with old assay tools and artifacts of the day. Expect to spend two hours easily if your intention is to soak up the history. Don and Dona are very willing to tell all (you can well imagine how lonely it gets out there with few if any visitors on many days).

This Sunday it was especially slow and I received a tour of the Chloride cemetery—still wearing my cleats. Don drove me through a rushing arroyo in his 4-wheeler and up to the top of a hill

Markers dating back to the late 1800s peeked out from beneath piñon trees or tangles of weeds.

Don Edmund poses with the writer in front of one of the many original Chloride, N.M., structures he and his wife, Dona, renovate and proudly show to people who pass through town.

where families could be certain their deceased loved ones would be safe from running water. Markers dating back to the late 1800s peeked out from beneath piñon trees or tangles of weeds. Plots ranged from the elaborate with entire historic families buried next to each other to the very basic.

The saddest markers were those of children. Standing there in the quiet of the Black Range with wind rushing past your ears, it’s easy to imagine little voices or the spirit with which small decorations were placed next to markers. There were graves that bore signs of recent visitations, while others that had not been visited for decades.

In these rugged mountain towns like Chloride I suppose the day finally comes when the survivors of the dead grow too old to make the trip or simply die themselves. But even as you look toward the oldest side of the cemetery where surely this is the case, there is, remarkably, some bright little treatment next to oldest of stones—who in the world . . . .

The remarkable thing was the number of people who had lived well into their eighties, and some even close to 100 years, back then. It seemed that you either died young or died very old.

By now my support car had arrived.

Relatively new to bicycling, my driver was quite amazed that I had gotten there before her. Not one to dash a good first impression, I received the accolades while reaching over to zero out my bicycle computer.

Cyclists can enjoy the true spirit of riding here. Definitely off-the-beaten path, this well-kept southern New Mexico highway runs for miles and cuts through wide open rangeland that is haunted by few cars and even fewer people.

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Bike Details (as tested) 2006 Scott Racing Scale Limited Size: Medium Price (2006): $5,999 Frame: Scott CR1 HMF carbon technology Components: Full Shimano XTR Groupo, Mavic Crossmax SL wheels, Rock Shox Reba Team fork

Janae Pritchett takes the Scott Scale for a test ride in her back yard, Crested Butte, Colo.

Scott Racing Scale Limited introduction and photos by Brian Riepe

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eight and efficiency are still vital aspects of a fast crosscountry race bike and always will be. So oftentimes I can’t understand why people want to race on a 25-pound full suspension XC bike in a race with 5,000 feet of climbing and 30 miles of buff singletrack—a safe description of many races in the Rocky Mountains.

When it comes to racing uphill, I want a bike that, when I step on the cranks, rages forward like a thoroughbred. For me, racing success is still all about the hardtail speed machine. So when I had the chance to do a hot lap on the Scott Racing Scale Limited, I got all fired up for it, drank a few double espressos, squeezed a few energy gels down 36

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and headed out on the local trails for a self-governed time trial. It was great! I don’t know if I was fast but I won.

Bottom line is that the Scott Racing Scale is a purebred race machine. It’s not a plush trail bike for the recreational rider, so we didn’t treat it that way.

After my ride on the Scale, I reluctantly handed it off to more worthy testers for a True Thrash Test, four months of racing with a couple of regional pro riders: Len Zanni: A genuine sandbagging closet trainer based in Carbondale, Colo., Len is a father of two, outdoor industry PR type who somehow manages to successfully race pro in the Mountain States Cup

circuit. There are rumors that Len has a George Costanza-style “desk bed” set up for afternoon recovery naps.

Janae Pritchett: A school teacher in Crested Butte, Colo., Janae showed up on the XTerra scene a few years ago and introduced herself by crushing everyone.

Now she races pro.

We began testing the Scale in May 2006 and rode it all season. Our Shimano XTRequipped test bike weighed 21.5 lbs. For 2007, the bike is essentially unchanged, but thanks to lighter components, the top of the line Scale Limited is down to 19.8 lbs.

Sick!

The fact that I posted one of my best race finishes of the year aboard the bike makes me biased, but if you’re testing race bikes, what more can you ask? photo courtesy of VAST—vastaction.com

Also worth checking out is the Scott Spark Limited, new for 2007. Designed at the request of Thomas Frischknecht, the Spark is built using Scott’s patented HMX and IMP carbon technology—a construction technique that eliminates internal irregularities in the carbon so there is no extra material in the tubes. The result is a 21.5-lb XC race bike with 4.5 inches of rear travel. Check out the 2007 Scale and Spark at www.scottusa.com.

Here’s what Len and Janae thought of the Scott Racing Scale Limited.

Tester: Len Zanni Bottom Line: The Scale looks fast standing still so prepare your poor race excuses ahead of time. You won’t be able to blame anything on this bike.

Why rip on a bike that does exactly what you need it to do and nothing more?

If the bike is a Scott Scale Limited, the answer is, you can’t. The fact that I posted one of my best race finishes of the year aboard it makes me biased, but if you’re testing race bikes, what more can you ask?

When the Scott test bike came my way, the timing was perfect. With several Mountain States Cup events and a few Aspen Cycling Club races coming up, a light hardtail seemed to be the call, or was it?

I was in the midst of personal evaluation to determine whether a hardtail was still a viable Colorado race rig—a quest born less of a masochistic love of all things rigid and more out of a desperate need to drop weight in hopes that I could be competitive after an upgrade.

The quandary was that with my passable-but-not-stellar bike handling skills, could I descend fast enough on the rigid after a few years on full suspension? I was junkie-like hooked by the travel and disc brake advances that let me ride seemingly faster and longer with less effort. Would the weight savings give me a climbing edge over riders with similar fitness aboard suspended rigs?

I was curious to know what effect the weight loss and power transfer would have on my results.

The Machine Defined: The Scale Limited is Scott’s premier carbon hardtail, dressed

Len Zanni test-thrashes the Scott Scale at a Mountain States Cup race in Telluride, Colo.

in XTR and Ritchey WCS components.

The test bike came basically stock with the exception of the fork. The stock Ritchey WCS carbon flat bars had been swapped with low risers.

The stock Rock Shox Reba World Cup had been substituted at some point with a

Reba Team with Pop-Loc, a widget that I questioned at first but learned to like. A bit heavier in weight and lighter on the blingbling factor perhaps, the Team is probably a better choice for the privateer anyway. I believe that carbon fork steerer tubes are best left for bikes wrenched on and ridden Mountain Flyer

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The test bike had clearly seen some use by the other rider and showed a few wounds expected from local and regional racing, but the intricate carbon weave on the Scott frame was still gorgeous beneath the scuffs and dust.

Janae Pritchett big-rings the test rig up a short climb in Crested Butte, Colo.

by elites vs. the average rider unfamiliar with a torque wrench.

The test bike had clearly seen some use by the other rider and showed a few wounds expected from local and regional racing, but the intricate carbon weave on the Scott frame was still gorgeous beneath the scuffs and dust.

Race Report: The Scott UST tires were starting to show wear, but I left them on and they performed well in the region’s prevailing dry, loose-over-hard conditions.

The size medium frame was a bit small for me (5-foot-11 when not slouching), so I was showing a lot of post.

A bonus was the anti-chainsuck thingy that came on the bike. Easiest way to describe it was an oversized ring that fits between the bottom bracket shell and crank that eliminated any chain drops.

Surely a defensive response to tearing up the carbon but a nice touch nonetheless.

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and it remained stable on the descents. A good test was my ability to hang with a fully suspended rider who I can usually hang with on the Anaerobic Nightmare descent portion of the Snowmass Blast the Mass course.

Perhaps I was on that day, but more importantly, I couldn’t blame the bike and kept him in sight until the rolling terrain that followed. That race helped me conclude that not only is a high-end hardtail a viable race rig, but it’s probably the way to go for most cross-country races. Tire choice and pressure are obvious factors here but even the Telluride cross-country descent was manageable, and my only get-off was an unfortunate Superman-flying-throughthe-air crash on nontechnical terrain that I still can’t explain.

Gripes: My gripes with this bike were few, and I would seriously consider buying one. The sizes available are a bit limited and seem to exclude a good portion of the

riding community that rides 18” frames.

Believe it or not, the stock Scott grips were sharp enough that I got the inner thumb blisters both times I raced it on longer courses. Cheesy grips are annoying on a bike in this price range. Finally, the test bike had a single nonreplaceable derailleur hanger, but Scott has since remedied this on all new models and a retrofit is available at Scott dealers.

Tester: Janae Pritchett Overall Impression: The Scale Limited is an incredibly light, responsive and fast racing machine. Weighing in at 21.5 pounds, the Scale could be a racer’s or climber’s dream.

Bike Setup: In short, the bike is long and low. The medium frame fit my leggy 5-foot-6 body well, but I’d swap a few parts for a more aggressive body position.

Changing the narrow flat bars and 110 mm stem for a 90 mm stem and 640

Distinguishing itself from other hardtails, the Scale accelerates with unbelievable ease. Put the hammer down on this bike, and you’ll be dropping people in no time.

The exposed CR1 HMF carbon fiber weave of the Scale’s frame makes it super light and super strong, and it looks flashy when the sun hits it, too.

Janae Pritchett catches the last bit of evening light, squeezing in one last ride on the Scale.

The drop-outs on the frame, formed with a unique molded one-piece chain stay/seat stay unit, are clean and strong.

mm wide low-riser bar helped the bike’s handling at race speeds. And in my case, I would also consider running a straight seatpost rather than the spec’d setback one.

Moving beyond the cockpit, the bike’s components are well suited for weight savings and race performance. The Mavic Crossmax SL wheelset is downright confidence-inspiring paired with Scott’s own OXYO 2.0 UST tires.

The XTR disc brakes are great for an ultra-light bike, but if you are used to riding Avid Juicys or other more powerful brakes, the XTR brakes might feel a bit wimpy. All in all, it’s a grouppo designed for lightweight above all else. If acceleration is your

primary objective, then this bike is spec’d just for you.

On the Trail: The Scale’s taut chassis climbs well on just about anything, but it really shines on shorter climbs hammering out of the saddle. As light as it is, the bike also climbs well when the rider is sitting down. I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how well this easily maneuverable bike climbs in the more technical sections.

Distinguishing itself from other hardtails, the Scale accelerates with unbelievable ease. Put the hammer down on this bike, and you’ll be dropping people in no time.

The bike is agile and quick to respond

for tight corners. It also feels well balanced and rails high-speed corners. Not surprisingly, the bike is not well suited for rugged trails littered with rocks and roots.

A touch more compliant than aluminum, this carbon hardtail is still quite stiff and somewhat unforgiving on anything other than smooth terrain.

In the Races: I raced this bike in two XTerra triathlons, one NORBA race and several local mountain bike races. This bike was perfect for the XTerra in Richmond, Va., course, which is fast, smooth and littered with short, steep climbs. On the rootcovered trails of Birmingham, Ala., this bike did not suit me well, and I felt like I had been abused by the end of my race. This bike was great at the Wildflower Rush with 1,500 feet of climbing per lap, on Crested Butte trails and for the fast, rolling singletrack at Gunnison’s Hartman Rocks.

Bottom Line: I would highly recommend this bike to any racer or anyone who wants an aggressive, responsive and fast ride for smooth trails.

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PRODUCT REVIEWS

Paraphernalia*

*GOTTA HAVE IT!

Pearl Izumi Optik Jacket Kiting up for autumn riding can be tricky business, since leaving the storm jacket behind puts you at risk for a hypothermic retreat should the skies open or temperatures plummet. But then again, no one likes lugging a bulky garment around when you might not need it.

The folks at Pearl Izumi feel your pain and cooked up the Optik Jacket. The Optik Jacket boasts a minimalist 3 oz. weight and miniature packed size. Just compress the jacket into its built-in stuff sack and you have a package about the same size as the average ham sandwich. Then drop the Optik Jacket into your jersey pocket or hydration pack and forget it’s along for the ride.

I used the Optik Jacket on numerous Colorado Rockies mountain and road rides and was pleasantly surprised how much

warmth and weather protection such a light outer layer could supply. And despite its ethereal quality, the jacket stood up to a number of good slaps from trail-encroaching tree limbs. If you are the gear-wrecker type, however, a product with more weight is probably a better match since the non-mindful user could tear the fabric on rocks or exceedingly sharp branches.

The Optik Jacket features excellent water and wind resistance, a sleek aerodynamic fit and a small zippered key/cash pocket. The jacket also boasts comfortable elastic wrist and waist cuffs to keep the warm air in. The price? A reasonably cool $65. —Dave Sheldon Price: $65 Weight: 3 oz.

Size tested: Medium www.pearlizumi.com

Gallup Waypoints Guidebook Gallup, N.M., is located several hours southwest of Durango, Colo. You may have passed through it, sailing by at 80+ mph, traveling west on I-40 heading towards Flagstaff or LA. At a glance it may not seam like a potential mountain bike destination (but you would have said the same thing about Fruita or Moab 20 years ago). Look closer and you’ll find that Gallup has a lot going for it. Gallup is an interesting community in a mild climate, it’s convenient to get to, and more importantly, Gallup has great mountain bike trails ranging from slickrock/desert to alpine rides in quaking aspen trees.

The Guidebook is well organized and easy to follow. Each ride is labeled with a color and symbol designating its difficulty. The specific ride pages include a written description, a small topo map and are designed so that the reader can obtain key information at a glance. The Gallup Waypoints book covers 20 classic rides in the Gallup area and also provides extensive community details like where to eat, camp or stay the night. —Brian Riepe Introductory Rate: $12 58 Pages Author: Steinar Smith www.gallupwaypoints.com

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Specialized Alias Saddle One of the most important features of any bicycle is the saddle. No amount of carbon wizardry, weight reduction or suspension hoopla can overcome the misery of a sore rear end.

These scientifically designed seats have been advancing ever since, and Specialized’s current incarnation was tested at Germany’s University of Cologne and proven to allow maximal blood flow to the genital region, thus making riding related numbness and discomfort old news.

To fully understand the Body Geometry philosophy, I tested out the Alias saddle, a high performance model suitable for both trail and road riding.

The Alias features excellent trail durability in a package that’s sporty enough to complement skinny tired machines, comes in three different widths (130, 143 and 155 mm) to best accommodate different sized pelvises and is light on the scales thanks to a carbon-reinforced shell and hollow titanium rails.

Being extremely picky about where I sit my cheeks, I was a bit skeptical before riding the

Alias. One ride was all it took to impress. I found the Alias offers excellent sitz bone support thanks to its innovative custom width sizing and dense padding, while a pressure-relieving cutout made the saddle easy on the soft tissue.

Now, after a summer of riding the Alias on my mountain and road bike, I can honestly say it is one of the most comfy, versatile, high performance saddles I have ridden.

—Dave Sheldon Price: $100 Weight: 255 grams in 143 mm width

Big Agnes Big House Tent When I was a kid we called these tents “family camping tents,” but that phrase has been tossed out into the dumpster along with the heavy canvas fabric and flim-flam poles. Now we’re calling these larger tents “base tents” and they’re definitely a huge improvement from the one your dad used to stuff into the back of the family truckster.

The Big Agnes base tents, available in four or six-person models, are built for anything from the Woodstock-like base camps of 24Hour Towns to the base camp of Everest. They’re light and compact enough to pack into your Honda Civic or tie to the back of your yak.

Essentially, these tents combine all the ease of set-up features of a backpacking tent into a roomy, full-height portable abode. You could stand up in these things. Add on the gigantic accessory vestibule and you’ve got yourself an instant outdoor apartment with a garage. A base tent and an economy car combo is a great minimalist alternative to a gas-guzzling SUV and one of those cumbersome pop-up RV thingies.

Key features to the tent are the lightweight 7001 aluminum poles, color-coded pole ends, 75D polyester rip-stop fly with 1500 mm waterproof PU coating, 75D polyester floor also with waterproof coating, two large doors, large skylight, 12 mesh floor pockets, taped seams and a briefcase style carry bag with shoulder straps.

The 52 or 68 square feet accessory vestibule is sold separately.

Every Big Agnes tent comes with a solid customer satisfaction warranty. If you’re not satisfied, just return it for repair, replacement or refund, unless you do something stupid like back over it after drinking too much around the campfire, then you’ll have to pay for the repair.—Brian Riepe Price: $299 Big Agnes Inc. Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Phone: 877.554.8975 www.bigagnes.com

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Endura Hummvee Knickers Endura, based in the UK, produces a full line of durable outdoor clothing designed to be used and abused. The Hummvee Knickers combine a baggy, double-short style design with cool weather knickers. Made from durable nylon fabric, the Hummvee Knickers are feature-rich, offering a snap-in chamois short (the snaps are very small and out of the way). The knickers have side zip ventilation, stretch lower back panel, seamless stretch inner leg panel, articulated knees and back calf-ventilation and leg adjustment via velcro strapping.

On the trail the knickers allow surprisingly free and comfortable movement with no chafing points or unacceptable binding in crucial regions.

They’re loose enough to be stylish around town but follow your motion perfectly while pedaling. The knickers have a variety of pockets: two rear-tabbed, large map pockets, two front zip pockets and a zippered

mobile phone pocket. These were nice and proved to be useful for stashing extra snacks during my test ride.

The snap-in chamois short was decent (but nothing special compared to today’s high-dollar models), but the snap-in feature didn’t seem that necessary so I would probably choose to line the knicker with a finer quality short.

Just an observation but when you have a baggy short with a sewn-in chamois you have a true double short. As soon as you can snap out the chamois, you really just have some sort of over-pant.

It’s not an important difference because these knickers are perfect for the allmountain ride. —Brian Riepe Price: $82 Colors: Black, gray or olive Phone: 440.235.1050 info@endura.co.uk endurainc@earthlink.net

Industry Nine Hubs and Spokes Based in North Carolina, Industry Nine originally came into the bike business by machining parts for the original Rock Shox and has been manufacturing highquality machined goods for bikes and many other things ever since.

The company’s wheelsets feature distinctive individually machined 7075-T6 one-piece spokes that have no spoke-nipple. This reduces the all-important rotational weight, adds a considerable amount of strength and makes it much easier to replace the spokes.

Industry Nine also produces beautiful and smart hubs. The hub bodies and axles are machined from 7068-T6 aluminum; 7068 has a tensile strength 25% higher than steel. The axle end caps are made from hardened stainless steel. For most of us, the most important

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component of the hub is the cassette body; if the cassette sucks, the wheel is useless. Well, Industry Nine looks to have designed a solid hub body, available with your choice of three palls or six.

Three gives you less friction and weight while the six-pall model gives you instant engagement time, crucial on a singlespeed, and more strength. Look for a complete Mountain Flyer True Thrash Test in the next issue to find out how they really hold up on the trail.

Industry Nine makes a full range of wheelsets for singlespeed, all mountain, enduro (XC), downhill and 29ers that can be built on just about any rim you choose.

—Brian Riepe

MSRP: Variable but plan on $850 or more a wheelset Colors: Red, black, silver or blue Phone: 800.404.1775 www.industrynine.net info@industrynine.net

Paying Top Dollar for a Comfortable Bottom That little black short could cost you

by Jill Janov Just how many times will you ride in cheap shorts before running your sore bum to the store screaming for saddle cream and antiseptic salve? Probably only once before you’re willing to pay a high price for comfort.

Cyclists today are spending upwards of $200 for a single pair of premium black cycling shorts.

In the old days—25 years ago—the best cycling shorts were made of wool with a leather chamois and cost $30.

Gone is the wool-leather combo, thankfully. But while you can still buy a pair of basic black shorts on sale for $40, there’s a distinct difference between your sale pair and the two C-note shorts, particularly in the high-performance fabrics, advanced chamois, fit and finish of the pricier pair.

“Since this is your main contact with the bicycle, and the one that suffers some of the most severe conditions, it is critically important that this garment perform to your satisfaction,” said Steve Baker, marketing director for Hincapie Sportswear.

Today’s fabrics, he noted, really do work better than the fabrics of even just a few years ago.

“They breathe better, transfer moisture away from the skin, move with the body better and are more durable than ever before,” Baker added.

The latest high-end shorts for 2007 are made of fabrics from around the world with many tested in labs and wind tunnels.

Some are cut with lasers and fused without seams. The fabrics move moisture from the body, support muscles, fight germs, control temperature, dampen vibrations, block UV rays and even glide through the air with aerodynamic ease.

But advanced fabrics and technology can be expensive to produce, which is one reason why prices have risen dramatically.

“The price really depends on your perspective,” said Jon Knoll, Specialized’s apparel manager. “If cycling is an important aspect of your life, and the experience is enhanced by the performance of your equipment, it’s hard to put a price on that.”

Some of today’s shorts have a chamois

that stretches in four directions causing less skin irritation. Some have additional padding where needed and leg grippers that don’t pinch or leave marks on the leg.

“It’s the interface between your bike and your body. Other than your hands and feet, it’s a place you need to be comfortable,” said Geoff Shaffer of Pearl Izumi.

But even among the high priced shorts, not all are the same. Differences in chamois construction, fabrics, design and fit can mean differences in performance and price.

Other variances include the number of panels, the contour and curvature, the type of leg gripper, the seams and overall look, all of which affect the cost.

Then there are invisible expenses such as development, sourcing, shipping, distribution, import fees, marketing and low volume production. And the country of manufacture can also play a role in premium pricing.

“I think in general, the European brands are having to deal with currency issues that force them into $100-plus pricing. Other brands may be putting lots of marketing dollars against the product and need to

recoup,” said Paula Dyba, vice president of marketing for Terry Precision Cycling.

With so many choices and price tags ranging from $40 to $250, it’s sure to leave you questioning the value of one pair over another.

“People always question premiumpriced products and whether they’re worth more than their competitive counterparts,” Dyba said, admitting there is definitely a market for $200 bike shorts.

She knows because Terry carried a $130 pair of Etxe Ondo capris in its 2006 catalog as a test to see if consumers would pay.

“We sold nearly 300 and ran the company completely out of them,” Dyba said.

“The presentation and the product were lovely, but still, what a shock.”

Michael Berlinger, product expert for Adidas Cycling, said some brands command designer prices because consumers are willing to pay for the image and innovation of that brand.

But isn’t $200 a little too much?

“I would say that paying hundreds of dollars for a pair of jeans that offer no technological benefits seems rather extreme,” Berlinger said. “Don’t get me wrong, $200 is a lot of money, but these pieces are very well designed and manufactured with many high-zoot fabrics, threads, pads and advanced technology. There are folks out there willing to pay the higher prices.”

Prices could keep rising more as these technologies continue to attract new customers willing to pay top dollar for a comfortable bottom.

“First off, no one needs a pair of $200 bike shorts, just like no one needs a 15-pound carbon road bike or a Porsche,” said Paul Done of Sugoi. “However, given that most of what is sold in our business is a luxury item, $200 shorts can offer genuine and specific performance benefits.”

And with promises of making cyclists look good and ride fast, who can resist?

“Of course my favorite is the rider who, when faced with the reality of Lycra, will pay any amount of money if it makes her booty look good,” Dyba said.

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Harlot Clothing A New Take On Women’s Bike Apparel

by Caroline Spaeth

S

ometimes you get so stuck in a working rut in a job that’s gone on for countless years, you think you could never crawl out of the hole and get a fresh start. That’s when you come across someone like Jennifer Steketee, who proves you oh so totally wrong.

Jennifer hadn’t planned on starting a women’s bike apparel company, complete with a new take on colors, fashions and function and an edgy name like Harlot. Shoot, she wasn’t even a seamstress, much less a dedicated cyclist.

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Looking to design comfort and fashion into women’s bike clothes, Jennifer Steketee, at top in her studio, has found an eager market for Harlot’s freeride and urban-style shorts and knickers.

photo courtesy of Harlot Clothing

A veterinarian for 10 years and “not a cyclist by nature,” Jennifer picked up mountain biking as an adult, but she struggled. She felt like an outsider in an exclusive club. The clothes didn’t help. When she tried Lycra (“too skintight”) and other women’s bike apparel (“not flattering, made me feel uncomfortable”), Jennifer knew something had to change if she was going to keep riding—at least for herself.

She decided to try making a pair of shorts for herself. “I had never sewn in my life,” she explained, “but I am a veterinary surgeon, and it surprisingly does translate.

Putting things together…skin stretches like fabric.”

She designed one pair of shorts for herself, then friends started asking for some after seeing the more urban, functional designs. After a few product runs in Albuquerque to produce a line of shorts, knickers and two tops, Harlot apparel started selling. It’s now available in bike stores in six states, Canada, even a UK store called Minx (“a good fit, Minx and Harlot”) and online at www.harlotwear.com.

Harlot apparel has an urban riding look mixed with a punk-rock type style, although women are wearing it for trail and road riding. The knickers and shorts are loosefitting and made with a water-repellent, nylon-Lycra fabric, colored in more muted, non-pastel grays, browns and blues. In the new designs, the small chamois will be made with an anti-odor, soft thermodynamic fabric called X-static. This year, she’ll continue making the popular Houlihan Short, a camo freeride short, and come out with a Dri-release wool jersey and even a short for men.

As for the racy company name, it’s a shocker for some, although a lot of younger cyclists haven’t ever heard of the word.

“There are a lot of people who are put off by the name, but they’re people who are probably comfortable in an 8-panel Lycra short,” she said.

She chose Harlot because the name was given to women at the turn of the century who dared to break with tradition, give up their skirts for pants—a scandalous move at the time—just so they could ride bikes. Jennifer likes that attitude. “Call me what you want, I want to ride a bike.”

photos by James E. Rickman

Call me what you want. I want to ride a bike.

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Training with Power Laying the foundation for success in ’07

by Dave Sheldon With the hint of winter in the air and the circuit’s late season events all wrapped up, it’s time to clock some quality lounge time on the couch, complete with beer, ice cream, bonbons or maybe even all three.

And don’t forget to reach back and give yourself a big pat on the back, because regardless of how the season unfolded, simply setting goals and dreaming the dream deserves congratulations. After all, bike racing is the hardest sport in the world.

Couch Time

The best way to recover physically and mentally from a season of training and racing is to simply step away from the bicycle. That’s right, hang up your baby for two or three weeks. Go hiking, visit with friends and family, sleep in, walk the dog…do whatever comes naturally and feels good. Don’t shy away from exercise, but make sure to keep it light.

After this important break, schedule two weeks of non-structured transitional exercise. This can be running, hiking, light weight training, swimming or anything that gets your blood moving. If withdrawal from a two-wheeled addiction causes pox to blister your skin, dust off your steed for a few easy spins. For those with selfcontrol, continue to enjoy the variety of alternative exercise.

With the completion of four or five weeks of rest, active recovery and light cross-training, the mind and body should be feeling fresh and injury free. If it’s not, get yourself to a good body-worker.

Rolfing® Structural Integration can be particularly helpful for smoothing out the rough spots.

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Beginning the Base

The next six to eight weeks will be dedicated to building the foundation or base from which your 2007 successes will emerge. Remember, the more solid the base, the longer a mid-season peak can be held. A quality base also makes it less likely to become over-trained, burned out or injured.

Keep the cross-training going with cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing, running, etc. as they stress the aerobic system in a positive way while reducing cold weather saddle time.

And don’t worry too much about your perceived exertion or heart rate zones while off the bike, as the firing sequence of muscles used during these non-cycling sports are so different they are much less likely to wear you down like long periods of hard riding can.

This goes contrary to the old thinking that everyone must partake in three months of easy Zone 2 riding before even thinking about serious exertion. And while it is true that professionals trying to recover from 100 days of racing ride slowly for weeks on end, keep in mind they are on their machines 300 days a year and never get far from their racing edge. And what they lose during the winter months comes back very quickly. The weekend athlete can only wish for such physiology. (See Mountain Flyer Spring ’06 for a complete discussion of training zones.)

That said, it’s important to know that consistency is the golden rule of the base period, and completing multiple workouts in a row is far more beneficial than any one training day. Therefore, make sure never

to push so hard that you need an unscheduled recovery day.

Early into the base period is also the time to decide if a cycling-specific weight program is right for you. The benefits are improved muscle recruitment, power and increased mass. Think boosted power to weight ratio.

If you do decide to throw some iron this winter, schedule the program so it will end four weeks before you start going hard on the bike, thus ensuring your legs are fully adapted back to the motion of pedaling.

(A hard workout would be any ride that requires a few days to recover from.)

High-End Maintenance

It’s very important not to let high-end aerobic systems go dormant while building a base. After all, most people spend months working on their weaknesses with intervals and racing, and the last thing anyone wants is a drastic reduction in fitness.

Along with thoughtful cross-training, high-end systems can be stimulated by completing a set of form sprints once a week. These are sprints done in a maximum gear of 39x14 or easier, with cadence and technique being the focus. They can be started anywhere from a walking pace or faster. Throwing three or four in at the end of an easy ride can be fun and interesting.

Finishing a ride with 10 or 15 minutes of sub-lactate threshold zone work or a few very short burst efforts, sprinting or minihill attacks is another good way to fire up the engines, as an intensity burst this short will not overly stress the body or impede recovery.

Cashing in on the Sweet Spot

by Brad Seaman After you’ve had a nice break from the bike, started Another beneficial aspect of the Sweet Spot is that it alcross-training and have completed three to four weeks of lows you to get an effective training load in the cold winter easy riding (base phase), it is time to add focus and strucmonths without having to go out and ride for five to six ture as you slowly work to gain race fitness in the build hours like that old Zone 2 LSD (long slow distance) philosophy phase. And a good build phase is not complete without a advocated. Both your family and your body will thank you for hearty dose of Sweet Spot training. being able to get the same training effectiveness in a two to The Sweet Spot three-hour ride that incoris a level of intenporates some Sweet Spot sity based on high training versus a five to Zone 3, low Zone 4. six-hour day on the bike More specifically, this that is strictly at LSD pace. “sweet spot” occurs Typically, for the first at about 88 to 94% week of the build period, of your functional you could schedule one threshold power as Sweet Spot workout on defined by power the weekend. This would guru Dr. Andy Cogbe a two-hour ride in total gan. (See Mountain duration at a Zone 2 pace Flyer Spring ’06 for a but would incorporate 3 x complete discussion 10 minute Sweet Spot efof how to deterforts with 10 minutes easy mine power training spinning in between.

Sweet Spot graph as defined and created by Andy Coggan, PhD zones.)

Then you could build While the Sweet towards 4 x 10 minute efSpot is not necessarily forts the next week, 3 x 15 its own training zone, since it straddles high Zone 3 and low minutes the next week and so on. Eventually you will be doZone 4, it offers great physiological benefits. Sweet Spot ing two days a week of up to an hour straight of Sweet Spot riding allows you to train your aerobic functional threshold training before you start more intense race-specific workouts. power at the maximal effectiveness for the minimal stress Sweet Spot training is also highly effective when applied to your body (i.e., a faster recovery so you aren’t wasted during the race season between a spring and late summer for the next day’s ride equals more “bang for your buck”). peak, as it allows you to hold onto most of your spring fitness See the accompanying graph for a visual explanation of the gains while simultaneously giving your body some rest…but Sweet Spot concept. that’s for another article.

The Sweet Spot also prepares you for more race-specific intervals come early spring, keeps the high-end aerobic Brad Seaman is a USA Cycling Certified Expert Coach power systems stimulated and, best of all, slowly increases and head cycling coach for Boulder Performance Network. your functional threshold power.

That said, losing some of the afterburners is expected, and a 10% drop of functional lactate threshold is fine. You can check this by by completing a lactic threshold test every six to eight weeks. (See Mountain Flyer Spring ’06 for a complete discussion of threshold testing.)

Show Me the Sweet Spot

Completing Sweet Spot workouts once

a week, and building to twice a week as winter training progresses, is another excellent way to keep and actually improve your functional lactate threshold without putting undo stress on your body. These workouts are best started with the introduction of the build period. (See sidebar for more information.)

Finally, listening to your body and

staying flexible within this three-month training block is key. If you feel motivated to complete three or four weeks of training in a row before taking a rest break, go for it. On the other hand, catching a cold or the holiday stresses may warrant a less intense approach.

Good luck, and don’t be surprised at how easy it is to transition back into fast riding come spring.

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Recipes

for a Balanced Diet

by Christina Buchanan

In this issue, I have included recipes that are not exactly trail or road friendly—then again, what can’t be crammed into a plastic bag—but if these dishes are eaten before or after your event or workout, they will definitely provide the nutritional results you’re looking for.

Plus they taste good, and you can impress your friends and loved ones with nutritionally sound, delectable food.

I’ve chosen these recipes because they are definitely geared toward energy loading and recovery. They are also great choices for company since they’ll feed you and your friends well—just in time for the holidays.

In next spring’s issue, look forward to the Homemade Hippy Pizza edition, plus more trail/road friendly desserts.

Keep riding energized!

Sausage Fennel Ragu My husband, who used to work at a now-defunct pizza joint, first introduced me to this basic pasta sauce. I’ve added fennel and sausage recently and have to say it is much improved from the original standby. You can omit the sausage for a great vegetarian version. Add it to regular or whole grain angel hair pasta and top with Parmesan.

Directions

Ingredients 3 Tablespoons olive oil 1/2 medium onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes, drained 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, undrained 1 teaspoon Italian spices (or just oregano) Pepper to taste Kosher or sea salt to taste 2 bay leaves 1/16 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon fennel, or to taste 1/2 pound ground turkey or pork sausage

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook about five minutes or until translucent. Add garlic and cook another two minutes, careful not to burn it. Add the three cans of tomatoes and spices.

Use a potato masher to break up the whole tomatoes. Bring sauce to a boil and turn heat to low. Simmer for up to an hour, stirring occasionally (30 minutes works, too). The longer the sauce simmers, the more the flavor it will have.

2. When sauce is nearly done, cook sausage in a separate pan. Add to sauce before serving.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions.

Yields approximately 4–6 servings (3–4 for lumberjack types)

What’s In It This sauce is loaded with the antioxidant lycopene, which is all the rage these days. Processed tomatoes are a great source of lycopene. It has been shown to decrease the risk of prostate cancer in men and may decrease breast cancer risk in women.

Lycopene may also be associated with a decreased risk of heart disease in both men and women. One serving of tomato sauce provides a day’s recommended value of lycopene, approximately 30 mg. The pasta in this meal also provides a great source of low glycemic index carbohydrates, which provide long-lasting energy and will help with post-workout/race glycogen recovery. The cheese is a good source of calcium and protein. The sausage is also a good source of protein for muscle and tissue repair after exercise. When picking canned tomatoes go for the good ones; a few extra cents can make a big difference in taste.

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Mashed Sweet Potatoes These potatoes are by far one of my favorites, particularly in the fall and winter. Use sweet potatoes and not yams.

Sweet potatoes are more starchy, their skin is orangish-tan and their flesh is light peach or off white in color. Yams have a higher water content, their skin is dark orange or even purple and their flesh is bright orange. Sweet potatoes are a great source of low glycemic index carbohydrate, fiber and protein. These potatoes go great with pork, roasted chicken, turkey or even tofurkey.

Directions

Ingredients 2 large or 4 small-medium sweet potatoes Butter to taste Salt to taste 1/3 cup milk or plain soy milk

Bring six quarts of water with a dash of salt to a boil. While the water is heating, peel the potatoes and cut into approximately two-inch cubes. Add potatoes to boiling water. Boil for 10–15 minutes or until very soft when pierced with a fork. Drain potatoes in colander and place in a large ceramic or glass bowl. Add butter, milk and salt. Mash with a potato masher until desired consistency. You can also mash the potatoes in a food processor.

Yields approximately four servings

Grandma’s Homemade Apple Pie In the last issue, I promised dessert and this one is sure to please for a pre-race or any other day’s feast. Use Granny Smith apples or even a combination of Braeburn and Granny Smith.

This recipe is certainly time and work intensive, but it is definitely worth the effort. If you do not want to make the crust from scratch, you can always opt for cheater grocery store crust; no one will ever know. If you do make your own crust, use the all-vegetable, not a transfat type of shortening.

Ingredients Crust (adapted from Joy of Cooking) Makes two 9-inch crusts 2-1/2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon white sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter (one stick) and 1/2 cup shortening OR 1 cup shortening 1/3–1/2 cup ice water Filling 8 medium-sized apples 3/4 cup brown sugar 6 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions Preheat oven to 375º F Crust: In a large bowl, cut the shortening and/or butter into small pieces. Add the dry ingredients slowly. Cut the dry ingredients into the shortening (butter) with a food processor or by using two knives against each other in a slicing motion. When the flour-shortening mixture is the consistency of bread crumbs, add the ice water. At this point you can use your hands and mash the crust into two cohesive balls. If the crust does not stay together, add more ice water. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Filling: While the crust is chilling, peel, core, halve and thinly slice apples. Measure out sugar, cinnamon and ginger.

Roll out crust on a flour surface with a rolling pin or a wine bottle to about 1/8-inch thickness. Fold crust in half and carefully transfer to a 9-inch metal or glass pie pan and unfold. Press crust into bottom of pan and let edges hang loosely over the sides.

Start with a single layer of apples in the pie pan. Top with a tablespoon of butter, some sugar and some of the cinnamon and ginger. Keep layering this way until all the apples, sugar and spices have been used. Sprinkle lemon juice over the top layer. Roll out the second ball of crust. Carefully fold in half and transfer to the top of the pie and unfold. Pinch the top and bottom crusts together to seal. Remove excess crust by running a knife around the perimeter of the pan. Using a sharp knife make four opposing slices in the top of the crust.

To keep the edges of the crust from burning, cover with tin foil for the first 30 minutes of baking time. Bake at 375º F for 45–55 minutes or until apple juice is bubbling up through the vents and the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes. Serve by itself or with ice cream.

Christina Buchanan is a lecturer in the Department of Sport Science, Western State College, Gunnison, Colo.

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TransRockies Challenge Through the Eyes of a Competitor

by Lynda Wallenfels introduction by Brian Riepe

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M

ulti-day stage racing has been the ultimate test in road racing since the early 1900s but logistical challenges have kept this type of racing out of a major part of the elite North American mountain bike racing scene. Thankfully it’s here now, so start training. In August 2002, Heinrich Albrecht and Chester Fabricius, organizers of the original TransAlp Challenge in Europe, brought the format to the Canadian Rockies with the first TransRockies Challenge.

Now in its fifth year, the TransRockies has established itself as North America’s only major off-road stage race and the ultimate test for elite riders.With seven days of racing

covering 600 kilometers and 12,000 meters of climbing, the TransRockies will expose any weakness and allow only the strongest riders on top of the podium. The field is limited to 350 teams. Registration opened Nov. 1 for next year’s race.

If you’re wondering what it’s like to survive a race like this, the diary on the following pages gives one competitor’s view of the experience from the winners of the open mixed category (that’s co-ed pro to us Yankees): Team Health-FX riders Lynda Wallenfels and David Harris. Hopefully, Lynda’s account inspires you to enter, or at least put on your knickers and go out for ride. For more info and great photos from past races, photos courtesy of TransRockies Inc./Don Hudson

Fog rises out of the valley as a group of riders crest Paradise Ridge, Stage 7.

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We had good position by the time we hit the singletrack, and the spectators had started to shout out ‘first place woman’ at me, a very nice sound to hear.

An antique fire engine leads the peleton off the Stage 1 start line in Fernie, British Columbia.

Stage One: Fernie to Sparwood, 61 km, 1225 m This was the most technical stage with lots of steep, rooty singletrack. The pack was huge with 230 teams starting. We were staged in about the middle and I was super nervous about the start. The first 15 km were on a mix of flat and rolling paved, dirt and gravel road. A pack of 460 mountain bikers is a sketchy recipe...and it turned out to be very fast and sketchy.

Dave worked the pack like a charm.

Somehow through all the wheel bumping and getting pushed around by big guys, I managed to stay on his wheel as he worked up the field.

At the 10 km mark, we hit a 180-degree turn where the road narrowed and went uphill. Dave made it through fine, but I got caught in a big crunch up and lost his wheel for a few moments. I worked really hard to stay upright and even rode over 52

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someone’s back wheel, managing to skip through unscathed and fight back up to Dave’s wheel. From there we were pretty much home free as it headed uphill and the field began to string out nicely. We had good position by the time we hit the singletrack, and the spectators had started to shout out “first place woman” at me, a very nice sound to hear.

The rest of the stage was super fun singletrack with the occasional tremendous view when we came out of the trees. We hammered it out without seeing another mixed team and were jubilant to finish first and be the first mixed team to wear the open mixed leaders jersey. Second place Team X-Fusion came in just over 6 minutes later then Cannondale/LandRover was third at 8 minutes and Crystal Hotels fourth at 10 minutes. The competition was deep. We were impressed and immediately realized we would not be able to sit up and

keep this lead going. Wake up call! The 100+ masters winning team was fast and we yo-yoed with them the entire week.

Stage 2: Sparwood to Blairmore, 77 km, 2140 m As the leaders, we got staged at the front of the field. We didn’t know about this and were dorking around mid-pack before the start when the announcers shouted out asking where we were and pulled us up to the front. How cool! There was a bottleneck only about 2 km off the start line today and a front line stage gave us a huge advantage.

We led from start to finish. Lots more dirt road and lots more climbing today. Dave worked super-duper hard and rode like a king today, doing everything he could to make my ride easier. I rode light and fast, what a treat! Team X-Fusion crossed about 8 minutes behind and Cannondale/ LandRover was right behind them.

We were flowing along the trail together, almost riding like one, and I got choked up over the beauty, the teamwork and the effort.

Lisa Bartlett of the Canmore Girlz Team understands why they call it Paradise.

Stage 3: Blairmore to Elkford, 109 km, 2612 m This was the longest stage with the most climbing, a prime opportunity for us to put a big pad on our GC lead. With lots of dirt road off the start line, our front line staging was not such an advantage today. A few kilometers off the start, Team X-Fusion passed us. This was the first time we had a mixed team in front of us. They attacked really hard and we watched them ride off.

We stayed smooth and slowly reeled them back in. Then the road turned rough and crossed a creek.

Lou Kobin, the woman on X-Fusion, was about 20 meters in front of me and got cut off by a media motorbike and crashed right by the river. Being the super nice gal that I am, I rode past her fast and upped the pace for a few kilometers. When Dave caught up to me, he told me I was going crazy and should slow down. So we slowed

and settled into our go-fast-all-day pace.

The course led over to Elkford on a long gradual climb with super nice views. We could see a long way back and no X-Fusion in sight. One men’s team was slowly reeling us in but we were relaxed and were not worried about them until they passed.

Tucked right in behind them out of sight were Lou and Eric Warkentin of X-Fusion.

Crap! They were amped and flew passed us and were gone from sight quickly as we had to stop for a minor, 5-minute mechanical.

Once back on the bikes, we wound it up into chase mode. Next up was a big, wide-open climb up Racehorse Pass and we got a good visual on exactly how far ahead of us they were. They went over the top of Racehorse Pass about 5 minutes ahead of us and we were able to hammer down the descent and catch them. My bike and tires worked like a dream all week and

I was descending fast. From that point on, we pinned it for the next 58 km to keep the lead to the finish.

The last 9 km of Stage 3 were on some of the most fun trails I have ridden and we ripped them. They followed the rim of a canyon for a while. It was incredibly beautiful and we had worked so hard for the win that day. We were flowing along the trail together, almost riding like one, and I got choked up over the beauty, the teamwork and the effort. Right then we passed a photographer near a huge view point and he took a picture of me. I shouted out I’d love a copy of it and lo and behold it ended up on CyclingNews the next day.

We finished out the stage with a 32-minute lead on Team X-Fusion, which ran into a few of their own mechanical problems. Cannondale/LandRover pulled up to second for the stage 21 minutes behind us.

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One guy once dared to push me off Dave’s wheel and was set straight verbally, quickly and clearly by yours truly.

Mojo was a rare commodity on this 49 km section.

Open women’s overall champions Sue Butler and Anna Vacca (Team Bear Naked/Cannondale) top out on Racehorse Pass.

Stage 4: Elkford to Whiteswan Lake, 94.5 km, 1368m We were not real sparky today. We did lead from start to finish but had our closest one yet crossing only 4 minutes ahead of a hard charging Cannondale/LandRover team of Sam Koerber and Trish Stevenson.

The views dropping down into Whiteswan Lake were knock-your-socks-off: the types of huge vistas I’d hoped to get a glimpse of when I signed up for the race. At one point I slowed and sat up for a while so I could look at the view. It was just too good to miss. We were hooting and hollering, shouting look at this, look at that.

Stage Five: Whiteswan Lake to Nipika, 107.5 km, 1285 m We never did see Whiteswan Lake. It was 54

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supposed to be outstanding but the 3 km walk from the camp was a bit much for us. We spent yesterday afternoon lying in a creek cooling off our legs or lying in the RV snoozing, and we were out of there at 8 a.m. sharp for the race start.

Here is the description of the first 49 km of Stage 5 from the official route book: 0–49 km beginning in Whiteswan, the race follows scenic Forest Service Road on cliffs above the White River, before turning up the North White FSR part of a long gradual accent for the first half of the day.

This was a totally buff gravel road where packs formed and we all had our heads down, bleeding out our eyeballs, going as fast as we could so as not to get dropped off the pack. I missed the scenic bit unless you can describe Dave’s rear end as such.

One guy once dared to push me off his wheel and was set straight verbally, quickly and clearly by yours truly. Mojo was a rare commodity on this 49 km section.

I felt it for these two guys, Rich and Josh of Team Bad Idea Racing. Those studs did the entire race on rigid singlespeeds and must have been totally spunnered out silly on that road. My rear chafes at the thought.

After 49 km, the course turned up and was a bit more interesting. Dave stopped to take a leak and I spun up the road ahead. We were having a rare wee break from the hammer and some relief that the road part was finished. Team Cannondale/Land Rover caught us snoozing and came storming by looking strong, whoops!

I hopped in behind them and enjoyed

Two studs from Team Bad Idea Racing did the entire race on rigid singlespeeds and must have been totally spunnered out silly on that road. My rear chafes at the thought.

Open men’s overall winners Andreas Hestler and Seamas McGrath (Rocky Mountain/Business Objects), wearing bib No. 1, sit comfortably in the lead group during Stage 4 from Elkford to White Swan, BC.

Troy Head (Devon NRG) descends off Paradise Ridge, Stage 7 after a climb of 9,000 feet in 15 miles.

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Dinner that night at Nipika was the best of the race. Steamed salmon, spinach salad, steak, stir fry, veggie burgers.

I ate a ton, which would haunt me the next morning.

stopped what they were doing and stared at me...uughh... I even embarrassed myself. Trish was up the road and I was pretty agitated. Dave calmly got out the tools and switched a cage from his bike to mine while I hopped about going crazy.

He is too cool!

Back on the bikes, we went into chase mode. There was one 450-meter climb between us and the finish line and we knew that was our best chance to get them.

Halfway up the climb we got close enough to get a visual on them and passed them shortly after. Same routine: pinned it to the finish line in Nipika to take the win by 4 minutes. We had to fight for that one today.

About an hour after we finished, the heavens opened and poured down on everybody. The ground turned to slop and made finishing that much harder for the racers farther down the field. We lay in our RV listening to the rain, congratulating ourselves for not being in a tent. Dinner that night at Nipika was the best of the race. Steamed salmon, spinach salad, steak, stir fry, veggie burgers. I ate a ton, which would haunt me the next morning.

Lynda Wallenfels (Health-FX) rides through scenic country of British Columbia.

a few minutes, watching them ride and their teamwork. They were working nicely together although using different team strategies than we did. Then I passed them on a steep techy climb that they flubbed on and Dave caught back up to me on the following descent.

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get over that Cannondale/Land Rover caught back up to us. Over the river was a checkpoint/aid station. Trish hammered through while Sam stopped to fill up their bottles. Both Dave and I stopped. It was a beautiful, quiet backcountry spot beside the river. I filled up my bottle and slammed it back into the cage succeeding to rip the cage right off my bike! My first reaction was to scream f**k.… Everyone

Stage 6: Nipika to Invermere, 63.8 km, 1119 m It rained all night. I didn’t sleep much and felt ill in the morning like I had food poisoning. My gut was full, I was burping like crazy, I was cold and shaky and I thought I was gonna puke. I didn’t even go over to breakfast. I did manage to get a couple of servings of Drip 4:11 into my stomach. So that is what I was going to race on that day.

The rain stopped by start time, but the ground was sodden. The first 20 km were on singletrack and cross-country ski trails and we were warned the first 1.5 km was on blue clay and would be very dicey. I was on the start line feeling so weird and anticipating crashing my a** off on the wet, rooty trails coming up. We started crazy fast to get through the blue clay before it 1

Drip: The Drip diet is a special liquid diet supplement invented by the Fort Lewis College cycling coach, Rick Crawford. This stuff helped send Fort Lewis alumni Tom Danielson to the Vuelta and beyond. Look online for more info.

We kicked it into overdrive when we saw them lose their spark and gave the rest of the hill absolutely everything that was left in the tank.

was all chewed up and stay up with the front pack riders, who could ride their bikes well.

Once riding, to my big relief, my legs felt good. My stomach felt awful though.

I was super relaxed and rode the trails so well I shocked myself. I didn’t balk, sketch or crash once, and a couple of guys got on my wheel to follow my lines.

Next up was a haul along a road section before turning off the road up Bear Mountain. Here is the book description for this section: 28.75 km to 35.67 km heads straight up Bear Creek. There will be creek crossings, hike-a-bike sections and some very steep climbs. This is a rough and tough section in very rugged country.

Thick vegetation. Temperate rain forest.

Barely a trail. This 7 km took us 1:53 and we carried our bikes the whole way. I have more bruises from that hike-a-bike than the entire rest of the week. It was steep, it was slippery. Two mixed teams passed us on the way up. Once over the crazy section, we motored down 25 km of buff dirt and paved road to the town of Invermere.

The race finished today in the center of town. On the way in were three stoplights that you had to stop at if they were red.

What a buzz kill. We got stopped at two of them. How weird to finish a stage having to stop at stoplights. Sitting in the traffic at the lights, smelling car exhaust fumes, was awful after being in the clean crisp Canadian bush air for six days.

We rolled in third and only lost about 7 minutes on the GC to Cannondale/ LandRover, who took the win in a sprint with X-Fusion. We didn’t give away this stage. We just suck at carrying our bikes and the other teams were better. Our finish time for the day was 4:45 and about two hours of that was hoofing with our steeds on our backs.

My gut had slowed down dramatically and it was Drip 4:1 for post-race snack, dinner and bed-time snack. Gotta love that stuff.

Stage 7: Invermere to Panorama, 51.2 km, 1649 m Drip for breakfast too. In fact, I pretty much lived on Drip for the last three days

Looking down from a bear’s eye view of the Trans Rockies camp, Stage 4.

of the race. Good thing Dave brought a ton of it.

This stage was designed perfectly for us and I had been salivating over it as soon as I had seen the profile in the route book back before Stage 1. It started on a slight descent bottoming out at 814 meters at the 14 km mark, then climbed straight up to 2,463 meters at 38 km. In that 24 km section, it climbs 1,649 meters (or about 5,000 feet in 15 miles). Have I mentioned that we are climbers?

Shortly after the start, the Crystal Hotels team of Hillary Harrison and Ryan Watts passed looking real strong on the road. We kept on our pace looking forward to the climb. Shortly after the climb started we reeled in and passed them but they hung tough and passed us back. We yo-yoed with them maybe six times over the next few kilometers until they faded back. We kicked it into overdrive when we saw them lose their spark and gave the rest of the hill absolutely everything that was left in the tank. We were hauling up that hill totally in the flow, passing open men’s teams.

If there was one place we should have been carrying a camera, it was here at the top of the pass over Paradise Ridge. You could see forever. Peaks of mountains poking out of clouds in the distance, massive vistas, it was incredible. All we had left was

a screaming fast 15 km descent down into Panorama and we had won TransRockies.

Up there on the ridge was really the moment we felt we had the win sealed up. It was a magical moment.

We crossed the finish line 15 km later to win the stage by 9 minutes over Crystal Hotels and 15 minutes over second-place GC team Cannondale/Land Rover.

TransRockies is an incredible race and winning it was an off-the-charts optimal experience. So cool! I think we’ll be back next year.

TransRockies: We Did It TransRockies was big and beautiful, and we won the open mixed category. We showed up peaked, super fit, healthy and fresh.

And it was hard: 564 km and 10,173 meters of climbing. We finished the seven stages in 32:54, good enough for 11th overall out of the 230 teams that started.

We had six stage wins and one third-place finish.

Huge respect goes out to every athlete who finished the event with his or her teammate. A few teams clocked over 60 hours, which is a whole lot of chamoistime in a week. The vibe from every racer collecting a finisher medal and T-shirt was euphoric.

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FLYBY A Photo Journal from a Season of Racing 2006

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Race date: April 14

Looking for an Obscure Racing Adventure?

Try the Arizona Trail 300 story and photos by Scott Morris Call it an experiment. Or call it ridiculous. Most people did.

I’m still a newbie to the ultra world, so I had no idea how the race would go. Was it crazy to hold a 300-mile race with so much singletrack? Would I end up carrying my bike the whole time, unable to ride?

Yes and no. It’s true the race covers some technical and steep trail. The amount of hike-a-bike is well above the threshold of most mountain bikers. Comments from 2006 racers included: “A true name for your event would be Arizona Trail Push, Pull or Drag 300.”

“It’s a good thing you live in Tucson because if I ever see you again I’m going to f---ing kill you.”

That said, I estimate that I rode my bike well over half the time during the 2006 race. When I wasn’t riding, I was always in a pretty nice place to be walking a bike.

Organizing the AZT 300 was unique in that, in an attempt to level the playing field, I painstakingly mapped the course using GPS and TopoFusion software. I also produced mileage-based cue sheets for all the turns. Wrong turns are still possible, and a GPS is no substitute for local knowledge, but this year’s racers found that it does prevent major route errors.

Generally, the course follows the southern portion of the cross-state Arizona Trail.

The race starts five miles from the Mexican border, at the Parker Canyon Lake trailhead. From there it traverses the Canelo Hills towards Patagonia. The Canelos have some of the roughest, most difficult riding around. It took the fastest racer six hours to cover the first 30 miles of trail.

At Patagonia the race route takes a detour around the west side of the Mt.

Was it crazy to hold a 300-mile race with so much singletrack?

Would I end up carrying my bike the whole time, unable to ride?

Wrightson Wilderness. Brutal 4x4 roads and technical singletrack on the Elephant Head Trail are the highlights of the detour.

Singletrack on the Arizona Trail continues on the freshly constructed Cienega Corridor segment. Volunteers across

southern Arizona have built some fine trail connecting the Santa Rita Mountains with the Rincon Mountains.

The race route detours around Saguaro National Park, brushing the outskirts of Tucson. The pavement is a welcome relief, and Tucson provides racers the opportunity to refuel and regroup before heading to the next challenge: the Catalina Mountains.

Tucson sits at roughly 2,500 feet (think saguaro cactus and prickly pear). From here the race climbs to 8,200 feet (think ponderosa pine trees) before topping out at the Oracle Ridge Trail. It’s mentally devastating to consider climbing that high after 150 miles and more than 24 hours in the saddle. Several racers dropped out here, and I had strong thoughts of bailing as well.

If the climb is hard, the descent is even worse. Oracle Ridge was at one time a beautiful, challenging and mostly rideable trail. It’s still beautiful, but two major forest fires have left the trail in terrible shape. It’s now a “character-building experience,” to say the least.

Nearing the town of Oracle, the trail becomes blissfully fast and fun as it heads into the vast Sonoran Desert. It’s one of my favorite sections. Snakes wait at every corner.

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Nearing the town of Oracle, the trail becomes blissfully fast and fun as it heads into the vast Sonoran Desert. It’s one of my favorite sections. Snakes wait at every corner.

2006 Results Finishers 1. Scott Morris (Ariz.), 2 days, 16 hours, 57 minutes 2. Kevin Gillest (Colo.), 3 days, 9 hours, 49 minutes Did not finish Eric Lashinsky (Colo.), Freeman Road, mile 250 Lee Blackwell (Ariz.), Oracle Ridge, mile 185 Rudi Nadler (Ariz.), Redington Pass, mile 150 Cliff Walker (Calif.), Tucson, mile 130

Rudi Nadler enjoys hike-a-bike in the Canelo Hills. The Canelo Hills have some of the roughest riding around.

After descending to the Gila River, the route works its way up the narrow walls of Box Canyon. I rode this section in the dark during the race. Each time I looked up I saw large pairs of glowing eyes following me up the canyon. So I stopped looking up.

Finally the route ends as it begins: on rocky, challenging trail. I don’t know how I covered those last miles of the race, given the physical state I was in. I collapsed 60

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to the ground several times and kept myself awake by shoving peppered beef jerky into my mouth every few minutes.

I made it to the Picket Post trailhead, the finish line, at 2 a.m.

As I write this, months from the race, it doesn’t seem like it was that hard.

Selective memory I guess. Kevin Gillest of Denver was able to finish the race, despite the fact that he hadn’t seen any of it (those are his quotes earlier in the story).

He had no idea what he was getting into.

In the end, the experiment of the Arizona Trail 300 was a success. It is possible to race singletrack for multiple days, completely unsupported. Is it enjoyable? That’s a loaded question for any ultra-racer.

Interested in trying the AZT 300? The adventure begins April 11, 2007. Stay tuned to the race website for details: topofusion.com/azt/race.php.

photo by Lee Blackwell

Map by topofusion.com

Scott Morris rolls those 29-inch wheels through typical Arizona dry and rocky Trail terrain.

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photo by Tom Spross

Race date: April 22

Galisteo Classic Road Race

Category A race leaders charge ahead in a breakaway at the Galisteo Classic Road Race.

Race date: May 20–21

Mountain States Cup #1: Angel Fire, N.M.

Racer No. 465 gets the hole-shot at the Shimano Kids Race while keeping his good eye on the competition.

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Angel Fire photos courtesy of VAST—vastaction.com

Ariel Lindsley (Maverick American), No. 6, leads out Eli Krahenbuhl (Big Crank Racing), No. 287, in the Super D at Angel Fire.

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Race date: June 10–11

MSC #2: Nathrop, Colo. photo courtesy of VAST—vastaction.com

JJ Clark (Pro Cycling) concentrates on a narrow piece of singletrack on his way to a six-place place finish in the pro men’s race.

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Race date: June 10–11

Albuquerque Downtown Crit photo by Tom Spross

B Category racers rip a tight line through a corner at the Albuquerque Downtown Crit.

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Zach Bingham of Team Vail/Beaver Creek, the 2006 four-person team champions, awaits a tag from his teammate in their relay-style siege across the country.

Race Across America

RAAM 66

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photos by Mark Ridenhour

Race date: June 11–22

A thin fog at sunrise sets the mood for Mike Janelle (Vail/Beaver Creek) with only 25 miles left to the finish line in Athens, Ga.

Mike Janelle (Vail/Beaver Creek) rides through the breadbasket of America.

Nat Ross (Vail/Beaver Creek) closes in on a traffic jam of support vehicles.

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Race date: June 24–25

photos on this page by Brian Riepe and facing page courtesy of VAST—vastaction.com

Kicking up a wave of baby powder, a Junior expert downhill racer negotiates a loose corner.

Matt Mason (Over the Edge Sports) carries his speed through a section of tight aspen trees.

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MSC #3: Crested Butte, Colo.

Lauren Ziedonis is happy to be racing in paradise.

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Race date: June 30–July 4

Silverton Freeride Comp

A rider gets his airtime while, in the background, others hike back up for another go.

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photo courtesy of VAST—vastaction.com

Race date: July 12

Crested Butte Classic

With 60 miles of racing already under his belt and 40 more miles to go, Mark O’Neill crests the highpoint of Trail 401.

Johnny Biggers (Crested Butte Builders) paces himself up the infamous “Slate D’Huez” (Slate River Rd at Paradise Divide).

Dave Wiens (Yeti), on left and Ethan Passant (Crested Butte Builders) play cat and mouse in the early stages of the race.

photos by Brian Riepe

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Race date: July 15

Breckenridge 100 photos by Liam Doran

A rider slips over the top of a climb and gets a little recovery time while dropping into the distant valley.

Following in the footsteps of the racers in front of him, a rider pushes up a steep section of trail above tree line.

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Josh Tostado (Giant), the eventual winner in the men’s solo 100mile race, pushes hard over the top of a long climb.

James Millespie (Mojo Wheels), No. 585, powers off the start line of the mountain cross course.

Eric Sheagley (Valdora Mtn Lodge) splashes through a mountain spring in the crosscountry race.

Race date: July 15–16

MSC #5: Snowmass, Colo. photos courtesy of VAST—vastaction.com A racer, engulfed in his own dust cloud, experiences a significant “get-off” during the downhill event.

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Race date: July 22

Mount Evans Bob Cooke Memorial Hill Climb Beth Saliga photos—3catsphoto.com

Scott Moninger (Health Net) pulls as Ned Overend (Specialized) marks his every move. Only 5 seconds separated the two racers at the finish.

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Race date: July 28–30

Salida Omnium Photo by Brian Riepe

Beth Fisk (Vitamin Cottage) drags the pro women’s winning breakaway around the criterium course.

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Race date: July 29–30

MSC #6: Telluride, Colo. photo courtesy of VAST—vastaction.com

Sampson Bruesewitz (38) dices with his Adventure Cycling teammate Gary Kuntz (45) on the final decent. Kuntz came out ahead at the finish.

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Race date: August 11–12

Montezuma’s Revenge Montezuma, Colo.

by Dave Ochs Ethan Passant (Crested Butte Builders) at the top of Radical Hill, still riding strong after 23 hours in the saddle.

M

ontezuma’s Revenge...

Montezuma’s Revenge...wait, the 24-hour race or the trouser gravy? Oh, the race.… Well they’re both equally uncomfortable. For bike races, Montezuma’s Revenge is truly the “world’s worst race.”

I had the honor of watching Ethan Passant persevere the discomfort of 11 laps of this sick race, and it must be known, this race is the mother of all bad-ass races, I mean, borderline insanely stupid.

To win this thing, Ethan rode 149 miles and climbed 31,303 feet in elevation (like climbing Everest from sea level and then another couple thousand feet more for good measure). Cat Morrison was first female finisher. She rode 105 miles and climbed 19,303 feet.

Personally, I rode two laps beside Ethan for support and drove another one.

It’s friggin’ ridiculous how tough the laps are. The race goes up and down the whole time, entails the craziest of terrains, from any 24-hour race standpoint, and is inyour-face steep.

Montezuma’s Revenge is also one of

those classic venues that bring out the craziest of racers and the craziest of cheering hecklers. It’s not like Moab where thousands of people show up, even for the

Thane Wright and his support crew prepare to drop thousands of feet off the Santa Fe Plateau (Continental Divide) back down the Old Mule Pack Trail into the valley below

spectacle. Even the spectacle here is intimidating. You don’t show up, support or

even heckle unless you’ve got an inkling for the insane. This particular year the weather was not so good but that stopped neither racer nor supporter.

Ethan Passant (Brick Oven/Crested Butte Builders), the wily, mountain goat he is, decided to punch it from the start. As he did in each race this year, his strategy was to start real fast and suffer more later.

The dude is fast but starting that fast for 24 hours in this tectonic upheaval of a racecourse playing field was just crazy.

But so is he. Montezuma and Ethan make a good combo.

As a member of Ethan’s support crew, I witnessed the laps unravel. All was well going into the Gray’s Peak lap at night, where you ride to the base of Gray’s, strap your bike on your back and hike to the top of 14,000-foot peak, then down the other side.

Ethan was in the lead at this point, with Thane Wright and Josh Tostado on his heels as they approached the summit.

Yours truly was there beside Ethan as his support and closest heckler at the moment, when up top I realized I had the wrong Mountain Flyer

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Ethan brought out the best of his support crew. On his final lap, six of us were with him, rain and all. It was most excellent suffering with him in the nasty weather, on a nasty climb, as he finished off the gun lap in first place and won. photos by Brian Riepe

Ethan Passant and Thane Wright, neck and neck after 20 hours of racing, stop at the Bullion Mine to figure out where the heck the course goes.

In the last hours of the race, Ethan Passant and his support riders climb the north side of Radical Hill.

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battery to swap out for Ethan’s descent.

It was about 1 a.m., it began raining, we were at 14,000 feet, each direction of sky poking through the roof of the Rockies looked ominously evil, and I took off my (2) AA battery headlamp to give to Ethan in shame, as I conceded my defeat knowing he was at a serious disadvantage.

Ethan was worried about me trying to descend this peak at night, with no light, in the rain, and I’m thinking, “I just lost him the race.” But hey, that mountain goat took his time and only one digger, putting him in second when Thane Wright passed him on the descent.

Ethan took it in stride, headed out on the next lap with another member of our support group, a new battery and a whole lot of drunken heckling. The good kind of heckling that is.

But that wasn’t it for the suffering.

Ethan developed a little stomach Montezuma’s of his own and had a couple of digestive upheavals. A whole bunch of his supporters, including myself, witnessed him at a pit stop in not such a good place, then just curse off food and nutrition, take a sip of water, then go back out, eager to get back the lead. The dude was awesome to witness.

That lap brought him closer, the next lap he regained the lead, then it was a matter of riding it out, suffering like no other as the course got harder. Gone were some of the slight “road” parts that connected the loops, now it was just in your face up.

Ethan kept the lead for the remainder.

Ethan brought out the best of his support crew. On his final lap, six of us were with him, rain and all. It was most excellent suffering with him in the nasty weather, on a nasty climb, as he finished off the gun lap in first place and won Montezuma’s Revenge, despite a night light issue and a bout with an angry stomach. Had the weather been better, I’m sure he would have broken the record out on the 12th lap.

Perhaps the Revenge has holed up and implanted itself in the lining of Ethan’s very being, and he’ll be back to tame that animal again. That race is awesome.

PS: I think Ethan had about four water bottles in all, a sandwich and a couple of bars the whole time; the dude is a camel.

Race date: September 2–4

MSC #7: Keystone, Colo. photos courtesy of VAST—vastaction.com

The creative wood features of the Keystone downhill course entertain Nathan Sherling (Totally Wired).

Matthew Thompson (Big Crank Racing) keeps his balance in the dual slalom race.

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Race date: September 2–4

24 Hours of Moab photos by Xavier Fané

Jari Kirkland (61), last year’s solo women’s champion, mixes it up with the masses during the stampede-style start.

Nat Ross (Subaru/Gary Fisher), the eventual 2006 men’s solo champion, looking fatigued and dirty as the rains move in.

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Nick Martin (Trek Rocky Mountain), No. 39, leads Nat Ross (Subaru/Gary Fisher), No. 1, in the early stages of the hotly contested men’s solo race.

Muddy rivers begin to flow down the trail, an ominous sign of worse things to come, as the disastrous rains begin to soak the course

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Grand Junction resident Troy Rosencutter enjoys one of the community’s backyard trails in the “Lunch Loop” area near the Tabeguache Trailhead.

Tasting Colorado’s Wine Country on Two Wheels Grand Junction Pours Cycling from a Finer Bottle words and pictures by James E. Rickman

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nyone who’s ever hunkered down in a tent or motel room after a great day of riding wondering whether that 12 pack and deck of cards procured from the local Loaf ‘N Jug will get them through to the next day knows what I’m talking about: Sometimes what’s off the trail is just as important as the trails themselves when it comes to choosing a destination for a great bike trip.

When packing for a trip to Grand Junction, Colo., leave the cards at home.

Located at the heart of Colorado’s Wine Country, Grand Junction for years has been regarded as that place next to Fruita—Western Colorado’s fairest suitor for those lusting for a romp with some alluring singletrack. But bottled up inside the heart of Fruita’s often overlooked stepsister are 18 wineries, a funky and vibrant downtown, a selection of outstanding restaurants and breweries, and a complement of lodging opportunities. And Grand Junction has its own trails and enough road rides to thrill and challenge any cyclist.

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A smile of satisfaction creeps across Carlson’s ruddy face, which is reminiscent of the classic jolly Saint Nicholas persona portrayed in vintage soft drink ads.

“We have the best of a lot of worlds here, and that’s what people are discovering,” says Doug Barnett, owner of Ruby Canyon Cycles on Main Street. “In Grand Junction you’ve got a unique place where you have the culture and metropolitan amenities here, plus five minutes away you can have a great ride.”

Barnett should know. He’s lived in the Grand Valley area for nearly 40 years.

Because of its moderate climate, proximity to Fruita to the west, the Grand Mesa to the east rising 10,000 feet, the Colorado National Monument just a stone’s throw away, and a sweet stash of local trails tucked in to the Tabeguache Trailhead area near the Monument, Grand Junction has something for nearly any outdoor enthusiast year ’round.

“In the winter you can hit 12 inches of powder up at Powderhorn on Grand Mesa in the morning and then come down here and mountain bike in the afternoon,” exclaims Barnett as he hobbles around his cycle shop this day wearing a leg brace—a fashion accoutrement he picked up after freeriding on stunts built by local racers.

winery to win the World Riesling Cup in 2003.

And so it was in this relaxed atmosphere on a rainy fall day that Parker Carlson taught a couple of beer-drinking, bike-riding philistines about wine without the air of snobbery that we had perhaps expected to find among wine aficionados, and we were eternally grateful as sample after tasty sample filled our glasses.

Apparently, most of the tasting rooms in the area are as mellow as oaked Chardonnay, so with the plethora of local wineries, a person could easily and pleasantly wait out a couple of wet days in Grand Junction. This is good to know, because biking certainly is out of the question when the trails are slogged.

Parker Carlson cheerily dispenses wine and winemaker’s wisdom to visitors of Carlson Vineyards.

An Active Climate

As Barnett says, Grand Junction’s climate is not prone to mood swings throughout the year, as if it were on some kind of natural lithium therapy. This is great for cyclists and other outdoorsy types, but it’s ideal for the Grand Valley vintners who have established the region as Colorado’s Wine Country.

“We have the longest growing season in Colorado here in the Grand Valley,” says Parker Carlson as he pours us a sample of his craft. He hooks his thumbs beneath his trademark red suspenders and waits for our reaction with a twinkle in his eye as we take a sip of his Tyrannosaurus Red—a name inspired by the area’s location within the fossil-rich “Dinosaur Diamond” of Colorado and Utah, which still yields the bones of prehistoric beasts that once ruled the landscape. The wine is delicious. A smile of satisfaction creeps across Carlson’s ruddy face, which is reminiscent of the classic jolly Saint Nicholas persona portrayed in vintage soft drink ads.

As one of the valley’s original winemak-

Even an encounter with the tiniest patch of wet bentonite can have messy consequences.

ers, Carlson and his wife, Mary, operate their nearby Palisade, Colo., vineyard without pretension. Grand Junction locals point to Carlson Vineyards as a great place for neophytes to get a taste for the fine art of winemaking in a nonthreatening, low-key atmosphere. Though Carlson often gives his creations whimsical names, the wines are serious contenders when it comes to quality and taste, illustrated by the vineyard’s impressive list of awards— including distinction as the first Colorado

Bentonite-mare!

According to statistics provided by the Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau, the community averages an arid eight and a half inches of rainfall each year and is blessed by more than 275 days of sunshine annually.

As things sometimes turn out, however, we happened to visit when the skies decided to unleash a quarter of that annual rainfall over a two-day period. Staring ruefully at the gathering puddles in the hotel parking lot at sunrise, we wondered whether riding was possible.

In short order we received our answer from a local professional chef named Pat Kennedy, who knows his ways around the trails like he knows his way around a Béarnaise sauce.

“We don’t ride the trails when they’re wet,” Kennedy explained. The area geology means most of the trails are situated in formations rich in bentonite. “You do know what bentonite is, don’t you?”

I nodded grimly as a shiver swept over my body. Just the name struck fear in me.

Bentonite, a type of clay, absorbs seven times its weight in water and becomes a heavy mass that is slippery to step in and sticks to anything. A tire rolling through bentonite will quickly collect 10 pounds of the grayish oobleck and deposit it on brakes, rims, shock stanchions, chainrings—pretty much everywhere.

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only smear it and deposit it deeper into cracks and crevices. If you think about how much water a little bentonite can digest, just imagine what it does with oil.

Slog through enough bentonite, and you’ll be replacing key components later on.

Yes, I do know what bentonite is, and we make the right choice to wait out the rains.

Trail Time

Two days later the trails have dried and are rideable. We find the wait was well worth it.

Grand Junction and Fruita have a wide selection of trails built specifically for mountain biking. A grassroots group of volunteers known as the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association (COPMOBA) constructed the area’s first trails back in the late 1980s on Grand Valley’s west end, creating the Kokopelli’s Trail from Fruita to Moab. Without COPMOBA’s diligent work with the Bureau of Land Management, trails might have not been established on the nearly 2 million acres of BLM and Forest Service land in the area.

Shortly afterward, they built the Tabeguache Trail from Grand Junction to Montrose. And then the fun began.

“So we got these trails established and people said, ‘but we really don’t want to ride 142 miles all the time,’ so people like Mary Nelson started to put in these loops off the main trails,” says Kennedy, who served as COPMOBA executive director from 2003–2005. Mary’s Loop became a hub for other loops like Fruita’s Horsethief Bench Trail, “probably my favorite ride in Mesa County,” Kennedy says.

The trail is a singletrack joyride that provides views of the Colorado River and stunning canyon formations. On the climb back up to Mary’s Loop, we luck out and run into Chris Muhr, designer of Horsethief Bench, and Bill Harris, designer of the Tabeguache Trail. The two are nondescript, graying and extremely affable— grandfathers of the trails, says their riding companion—knowledgeable, energetic and instantly a joy to be around.

“BLM insisted that we hand-build ’em,” Muhr says chuckling, pointing to the flowing ribbons of singletrack etched into the 84

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Wake, Ride, Drink Wine: a Lost Weekend In Style If the energy generated during the 13th annual Tour of the Vineyards had been channeled into winemaking, participants could have treated an entire city to one hell of a bacchanal.

Nearly 1,200 people participated in this year’s tour, which begins at sunrise in Palisade, Colo., and winds through vineyards and orchards on 25 miles of meandering back roads in scenic Colorado Wine Country.

According to ride sponsor Parker Carlson, proprietor of Carlson Vineyards, it takes about two minutes to stomp the three to four pounds of grapes required to create a bottle of wine. Pedaling is a lot like stomping, so if the tour takes about two hours to complete, participants could have stomped enough grapes to produce more than a quarter million bottles of wine, or nearly 21,000 cases!

Thankfully, not everyone was attaching a bizarre calculus to the event as I was.

At the urging of friends, Andrea Swensen, 47, came all the way from Salt Lake City, Utah, to participate on a bike she had purchased two weeks Two riders pass the grapes during the 13th Annual Tour of earlier. The Tour was her the Vineyards. first-ever organized ride.

“I didn’t even know there were wineries up here,” said the slightly euphoric Swensen as she nibbled on post-ride treats, including a chunk of tasty toffee from Enstrom’s, presenter of the tour. “It was a lot of fun—and scenic!”

Tour of the Vineyards is an integral part of the 15-year-old Colorado Mountain Winefest, a four-day tribute to food and grape that constitutes one of Grand County’s biggest annual events. The tour starts and finishes a short distance from the famed Festival in the Park, where people hang wine glasses from lanyards around their necks—a fashion trait nearly as ridiculous to behold as a big guy like me in Spandex.

But the glass is no laughing matter. It is a necessity for sampling hundreds of different wines from the dozens of Colorado wineries represented at the festival.

Eventually, sampling countless reds, whites, pinots, ports and whatnots—two swallows at a time—does turn into a laughing matter. Thankfully, gourmet food offerings that go well beyond the ubiquitous smoked turkey legs and meats on a stick found at your average weekend festival are available to help absorb all that fermented grape imbibed throughout the day. Smooth live jazz adds a mellowness to the atmosphere and drowns out the cackles of those who insist on continuing to drink on an empty stomach. And portapotties are plentiful.

They’ve thought of everything.

Give me roasted lamb in fancy sauce, fine wine, sunshine, fall colors and a friendly environment in which to enjoy it, and I’ll ride 25 miles anytime. As Swensen found out, the Colorado Mountain Winefest is a perfect excuse to get in the saddle. —J. Rickman

landscape below us. “We were kind of like, ‘Whoa! That’s four miles!’” But Horsethief Bench became the first hand-built trail in the area, and I have no doubts that Muhr can ride it better than anyone.

The duo jaws with us a bit longer, and then with youthful eagerness they disappear down the rocky slope.

“Those guys are the soul of the ride and the spirit of the trail,” whispers their riding companion.

After taking a spin on Steve’s Loop through some rugged terrain that follows a bizarre slot canyon, we make our way back to the Kokopelli’s Trailhead and return to Grand Junction, where adventure awaits.

At the Tabeguache Trailhead just below the entrance to Colorado National Monument, we consult our guidebook and select a ride called Andy’s Loop. The map at the trailhead outlines other routes not in our guide, many passing a landmark known as Widowmaker Hill, described in our guidebook as “steep and hideous.”

“I wonder what they mean by hideous?”

I say to my riding companion. After a prolonged spate of climbing we find out.

Widowmaker Hill is a virtually unridable section of doubletrack that is even a challenge to push a bike up. Hideous is an understatement.

After the worst of the steeps, I mount my bike and begin weaving up the remainder of the Widowmaker, bearing down on the pedals so hard that I fear I’m about to unleash a turtlehead that will smear my chamois. My heart rate at the top is off the charts so I dismount just as a local continues to crank on by me and out of sight.

Elated at beating the Widowmaker, we press on despite unclear directions that lead us to a paved road and into a treacherously steep canyon that demands about a mile of hike-a-bike through boulder fields and moist bentonite. In the wash at the bottom, the trail peters out and the sun begins to dance just above the canyon rim. Realizing we have a crappy guidebook, tired legs and no idea how long it will take to get back, we make the wise decision to backtrack. After navigating the ghastly hike-a-bike upwards this time, we are tired and frustrated. We begin the

Doug Barnett, owner of Ruby Canyon Cycles in Grand Junction, used to sell insurance, but later found his true passion resides in promoting the joys of riding. That passion also is responsible for Barnett’s temporary leg hardware.

Chris Muhr, left, and Bill Harris played an important role in establishing Grand Valley trails that they continue to enjoy to this day.

descent down and walk the Widowmaker to the bottom.

Dejected, we coast in silence, just as the sun starts to throw serious colors onto the layer-cake striations of the Little Bookcliffs northeast of town. I spy a turn onto some singletrack and impulsively I decide to take it. My riding partner objects, saying we have no idea where the trail goes and how long it will take to get there. She looks up

nervously at the sky, which is ablaze with the colors of sunset on one horizon and dull and dark on the other.

“I climbed the steep doubletrack and rode the goddamned Widowmaker, and we slid through the wet bentonite hike-a-bike and dug spooge out of our cleats with a stick!” I shriek. “This place seriously owes me some singletrack, and by God we’re going to get some!”

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The trail became as silky as butter cream frosting, the light on the Little Bookcliffs was the color of light shining through a glass of fine Merlot and the entire trail lit up in a flash of crimson and purple neon for the final minutes of the descent.

And our short blast down the Eagle’s Tail does not disappoint. Maybe it was the flowing curves or the thrill of not doing an endo while navigating some of the more demanding technical sections of the trail; maybe it was the fact that just as the trail became as silky as butter cream frosting, the light on the Little Bookcliffs was the color of light shining through a glass of fine Merlot and the entire trail lit up in a flash of crimson and purple neon for the final minutes of the descent. Whatever it was, the magic combination constituted a ride that will remain etched in memory for a long time. It’s dark when we load up the car at the trailhead.

Plenty More

The next day we return to Tabeguache and discover much more singletrack crisscrossing the maze of humps that characterizes the landscape. A local we meet on the trails enthusiastically tells us to try the Holy Cross Trail next time we visit. The genuine friendliness of residents is something that hasn’t escaped us during our visit. Someone is always eager to suggest a ride, such as the road-riding tips we received.

A 35-mile loop through the Colorado National Monument is a great challenge for skinny tires, but a brutal climb awaits no matter which direction you go. The road winds through red rock formations that give the precipitous landscape an otherworldly feel—as if Mars had spires and tent rocks. The payoff is a wickedly fast descent back down and out of the Monument.

Those seeking mellower pavement can try the relatively flat 18 miles of paved pathway along the Colorado River a short distance from downtown, or take a cruise through wine country on uncrowded roads in nearby Palisade.

During the heat of the summer, the Grand Mesa—one of the world’s largest flattop mountains—is a 45-minute drive away and provides trail opportunities in cool pine and aspen forests among highmountain lakes. A fun ride suitable for the entire family is the highly recommended West Bench Trail, although several opportunities for easier and more difficult trails exist. Be sure to bring bug spray during the 86

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The author is dwarfed by the landscape on a questionable section of “Andy’s Loop” in Grand Junction.

Photo by Caroline Spaeth

Colorado Wine Room’s Glenn Foster makes Colorado wines unforgettable with special packaging for a trio of bottles.

summer as some of the insects are rumored to have a healthy appetite.

Sitting in the Colorado Wine Room in Fruita on our last day, we realize that our trip has been a little like a visit to a tasting room—we got a flavor of what’s available, but we’re ready to come back for the whole bottle next time. Proprietor Glenn Foster hands us a sample of the Viognier he’s made. No one else in Colo-

rado crafts this stuff, and Foster, whose father founded Ravenswood Winery in Sonoma, Calif., is proud of the flavor he’s coaxed from the locally grown grapes.

We savor the concoction like we savored our rides.

“A lot of people put a bottle aside waiting for that special occasion,” he says, “but the day you open it is the special occasion.”

Chet Enstrom Owes Me A Bike

by Caroline Spaeth Each time I walk past a candy shop, I like to imagine the kind of bike I’d be riding if I hadn’t spent my youth chomping away on sweets and my adult years writing checks to dentists instead of a bike shop.

Needless to say, I’ve taken to avoiding hard candy lately in deference to my savings account.

But every once in a while, a mental Novocaine takes over and the sugar urge is unstoppable.

Never was my indulgence more worth it than when I tried Enstrom’s almond toffee in its hometown of Grand Junction. Hand-crafted in the western Colorado town for three generations, the toffee is the company’s signature candy and conjours up the same adjectives local wineries often use for their wines: rich, smooth, big-bodied.

It all started more than 40 years ago when Enstrom’s founder Chester K. “Chet” Enstrom, much like me, couldn’t stay away from sweets, turning his favorite hobby of making confections into a company that today ships its toffee worldwide from its “candy kitchen” in Grand Junction.

“It’s not a unique recipe,” said Jamee Simons, Chet’s granddaughter, who with her husband Doug, owns the company.

“It’s really the right combination of humidity here in town and our method of making it.”

Just a block away from the historic Grand Junction downtown, visitors can watch Enstrom’s candymakers pour hot buttery toffee onto big metal, water-cooled tables, where they add chocolate coating and finely crushed almonds, then break the big toffee slabs into munchable pieces.

I could easily justify all the toffee I ate in Grand Junction by describing the unique flavor of Enstrom’s toffee, how it melts in your mouth, how it’s important to support local Chester K. “Chet” Enstrom businesses….

Or maybe I could just give in, enjoy the toffee, give up my high-end bike aspirations and realize that the next time someone rips past me down the trail on the lightest, nicest highend bike, it will probably be my dentist.

The Grand Junction Lowdown Grand Junction Visitor Center—Chock full of useful information; helpful staff.

740 Horizon Dr. (Exit 31 at I-70); 800.962.2547 or 970.256.4060; www.visitgrandjunction.com Crystal Café and Bake Shop—Minutes from the Tabeguache trails; great breakfast, pastries. When’s the last time you tackled a slice of pie as big as your head? 314 Main St., Grand Junction; 970.242.8843 il Bístro Italíano—High-class, kick-ass authentic old Italy cuisine; the place to dine in style in downtown Grand Junction. 400 Main St.; 970.243.8662

Main Street Bagels and Bakery—The name says it all. 559 Main St.; 970.241.2740 Carlson Vineyards—461 35 Road, Palisade; 888.464.5554 or 970.464.5554; www.carlsonvineyards.com Colorado Wine Room (Fruita)—455 Kokopelli Blvd., Suite A; 877.858.6330 or 970.858.6330; www.coloradowineroom.com Ruby Canyon Cycles—301 Main St.; 970.241.0141; www.rubycanyoncycles.com

The Hot Tomato Café (Fruita)—Friendly staff knows tons about local Fruita cycling.

Best pizza in the area, a good beer selection; across the street from the famous Over The Edge Sports. 201 East Aspen Dr., Fruita; 970.858.1117

Brown Cycles—549 Main St.; 970.245.7939; www.browncycles.com

Fiesta Guadalajara—Family Mexican restaurant; good food and margaritas; fajitas for two are gut-bustingly huge. 710 North Ave., Grand Junction; 970.255.6609

Bicycle Outfitters, Inc.—437 Colorado Ave.; 970.245.2699

Pablo’s Pizza—We staggered in here more than once stinking of perspiration, coated with trail dust and suffering a bad case of helmet head—and we fit right in! Inspired pizzas.

319 Main St.; 970.255.8879 The Winery Restaurant—Big hunks of meat and potatoes; dim, funky, but comfortable atmosphere. Button-down servers, dressy clientele give the place an upscale feel. Extensive wine list but lacking in local selections. Weird. 642 Main St.; 970.242.4100 Kannah Creek Brewing Company—Pizza and pasta dominate the menu; okay food, but their stout is everything you could hope for and more! Located a short hop from Horizon Drive, Grand Junction’s “hotel row.” 1960 North 12th St.; 970.263.0111 Jenny’s Creations—as Forrest Gump would say, “I am not a smart man, but I do know what good food is, Jenny.” Soup and sandwiches for a rainy day. 560 Main St.; 970.241.9565 Rockslide Restaurant & Brewery—Grand Junction locals and visitors love this Main Street fixture. 401 Main St.; 970.245.2111

The Bike Shop—964 North Ave.; 970.243.0807

Board & Buckle Ski & Cyclery—2822 North Ave.; 970.242.9285 Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association (COPMOBA)—970.244.8877; www.copmoba.org Colorado Mountain Winefest—Sept. 13–16, 2007, with Festival in the Park scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007; www.coloradowinefest.com Tour of the Vineyards—Sept. 15, 2007, Palisade, Colo.; http://www.coloradowinefest.com/biketour.html Palisade Peach Festival—Aug. 16–19, 2007, Palisade, Colo.; www.palisadepeachfest.com Lodging—There are numerous hotels, B&Bs and campgrounds in the area.

Consult the Grand Junction Visitor & Convention Bureau for a complete directory: www.visitgrandjunction.com

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Steamboat is Colorado’s version of Northern Exposure. It is a wonderful, bike-friendly community sitting in a huge pocket of National Forest land. The interesting thing about Steamboat Springs is its tendency to nurture outdoor-related cottage industries. Most famously Steamboat is home to Moots Cycles but in recent years a host of new businesses have popped up; Honey Stinger, Big Agnes and Kent Eriksen Cycles all call Steamboat Springs home. Maybe it is possible to live in a beautiful mountain town and make a living. Recommended trail: Base Camp to Mountain View Trail from the top of Rabbit Ears Pass to town.

Local Information and Lodging Steamboat Chamber of Commerce: www.steamboat-chamber.com, 970.638.4239 General Information: www.steamboatsprings.net

Kent Eriksen Cycles Tour de Steamboat, August 2007, www.rockypeakproductions.com

Local Clubs and Club Rides Routt County Riders Bicycle Club: www.routtcountyriders.org Calendar of Events Town Challenge Mountain Bike Series, open to kids and Tuesday night rides meet weekly at 5:30 p.m. adults, and held every other week in May through August. at Orange Peel Bike Shop (downtown at the corner of 12th Street and Yampa Ave).

Each race is followed by a post-race party: Contact Barkley Robinson at bark@lseng.net www.steamboat-chamber.com Moots Criterium Series, May through August, www.routtcountryriders.org The Rio 24 Hours of Steamboat, June 2007, www.rockypeakproductions.com

Guidebook Mountain Biking In the High Country of Steamboat Springs, Colorado

by Tom Litteral

Arkansas River Valley: Salida and Buena Vista, Colo.

Portals to the Banana Belt With a long history of cycling, an intriguing list of local legends and access to world-class trails, skiing and river sports, the artistic, old-fashioned communities of the Arkansas River Valley are home bases to one big playground. If you’re in possession of an intensely motivated soul, it would be possible to stay in Salida for a weekend in late March and mountain bike, ski, run some rapids, climb a 14’er and still have some time to enjoy a hot springs soak, gallery tour and a few good meals at the local one-of-kind eateries. Salida is a refreshingly low-hype community. On the local scene, the Colorado’s Headwaters website says it all: “Bumping into a celebrity is not likely, however, finding yourself is.”

Local Information Centers

Colorado’s Headwaters of Adventure, Lodging, Camping

and Recreation Info: www.coloradoheadwaters.com

Salida Chamber of Commerce: www.salidachamber.org,

877.772.5432

Buena Vista Chamber of Commerce:

www.buenavistacolorado.org, 719.395.6612

Absolute Bikes: www.absolutebikes.com Guidebooks

Salida Singletrack, by Nathan Ward, available online or at

local bike shops, www.nathanward.com

Colorado Headwaters Mountain Bike Guide: Free guide

available at local shops, www.ColoradoHeadwaters.com Regional Cycling Calendar

Chalk Creek Stampede, www.racemsc.com or

www.rpmcycling.org

Salida Omnium Road Race, Masters State Championships,

July 2007, www.southcentralracing.com

Leadville Trail 100, August 2007,

www.leadvilletrail100.com

Third Annual Vapor Trail 125 Ultra Marathon,

www.vaportrail125.com

Mt. Princeton Hell Climb, 4,000 vertical over 7.5 miles,

October 2007, www.rpmcycling.org Local Cycling Clubs and Club Rides SRC/Amicas Cycling Club: www.southcentralracing.com Group rides leave almost every day from Amicas Pizza and

Brewery in downtown Salida.

Other Attractions Hot Springs in Salida and Buena Vista, Arkansas River (kayaking, rafting, fishing) and Monarch Ski Area Salida’s Amicas Brewery and Pizzeria 90

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Place Your Ad In ER Y L F AIN T N U MO adsales@mountainflyer.com

Nestled into the rugged womb of the Rocky Mountains, Gunnison County is one of the largest counties in Colorado, occupying 3,260 square miles of terra firma, roughly 80% of which are public lands. Despite its voluptuous size, Gunnison County provides more habitat for elk than people—only 14,000 people call Gunnison County home. This is attractive to the adventure-seeking cyclist for reasons that define the obvious. The land around Gunnison is bejeweled with old mining roads and singletrack ranging from the well-known classic singletracks of Crested Butte to enchantingly obscure trails in remote parts of the county. Gunnison County also has plenty to offer the road cyclist with scenic byways jutting out in every direction.

Local Information Center

Lodging, Camping, Events, Festivals, etc.

go to www.gunnisoncrestedbutte.com

1.800.814.7988

Camping info call 877.444.6777 or

www.reserveusa.com

KOA campground 970.641.1358

Local Cycling Clubs and Club Rides CBMBA–Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association

Weekly Rides

Crested Butte

Club Road Ride–Tuesday evenings (Summer)

meeting Tuesdays 5:30 pm

Regional Cycling Calendar

Hartman Rocks Spring MTB Series, May through June,

Contact Gunnison Chamber, 970.641.1501

Fat Tire Bike Week, 27th annual, June 2007,

www.ftbw.com

4th Annual Crested Butte Classic, no entry fee, no prizes,

crorussell@yahoo.com

5th Annual 24 Hours in the Sage, August 2007,

www.24hoursinthesage.com

Guidebooks and Trail Maps

Mountain Bike Crested Butte Singletrack

by Holly Annala

Available at local bike shops or online booksellers

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Hartman Rocks Trail Map (Pocket-sized and laminated) designed by David Kozlowski Available at local bike shops and some coffee shops

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Gunnison Club Road Ride–Wednesday evenings (Summer) meeting 5:30 pm at the TuneUp Bike Shop, 222 N. Main Street

Weekly Women’s MTB ride–Tuesdays 5:30 p.m. leaving from Hartman Rocks main Parking lot

Attractions

Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and Museum

331 Elk Ave. Crested Butte 970.349.1880

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Vail stakes its claim as one of the world’s most popular vacation destinations. It is certainly one of the originals. Vail’s infrastructure, resort facilities and faculty make it an event promotion machine. Vail has hosted World Cup and World Championship mountain bike races with more success than any other resort in North America. The Vail Recreation District runs the local town series with the organizational professionalism of a World Cup event. There is always something going on in the Vail Valley and the land from Vail to Eagle is laced with great singletrack. Check in the local shops for beta on all the “secret” trails. Minturn, Edwards and Eagle are your best bet for great food and honest bike shops. Recommended ride: Top out on Vail Mountain and follow the trail to Minturn, finish off at The Saloon for a Mexican feast then roll your belly back up the bike path to Vail.

Local Information and Lodging

Vail Valley Chamber and Tourism Bureau:

www.visitvailvalley.com or 800.653.4523

Vail Vacations for the Economically Challenged: www.econovail.com Calendar of Events

2006 Vail and Beaver Creek Mountain Challenge Bike Race Series,

MTB Little League and adult races, May through August,

www.vailrec.com

Eagle River Ride, 50, 100 mile and 100 km road races, July 2007,

www.vailvelo.com

Ultra 100, Beaver Creek, July 2007, www.gohighline.com/ultra100 Clubs and Club Rides

Vail Velo: www.vailvelo.com

Moontime Bike Shop: Group rides, Tuesday and Thursday

road rides at 5:30 p.m. For more info, call Frank at 926.4516 or visit

www.moontimecyclery.com.

Mountain Pedaler of Eagle: Every Wednesday night fast rides

starting at 6 p.m, typically lasting a couple hours; Tuesday night

women’s mountain bike rides at 5:30 p.m.

Call Charlie Brown for more info: 328.3478 or visit

www.mountainpedaler.com.

Colorado Bike Services: Every Thursday night advance road

training rides typically from shop in Eagle-Vail to top of

Wolcott Pass, 50 miles. Call Jeff at 949.4641 for start times.

Kind Cyclist Bike Shop: Group rides Thursday at 5:30 p.m..

For more info, call 926.1260.

Local Guidebooks and Maps

Latitude 40 Map: Vail and Eagle Valley

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In the 1940s, Los Alamos’ best-kept secret was the town itself and its clandestine atomic work. Today, locals and visitors to the Atomic City agree that the riding opportunities are secrets worth discovering. Perched at 7,000 feet on mesa tops of the Pajarito Plateau, Los Alamos serves as the perfect home base for Rocky Mountain riding, boasting an urban network with 85 miles of singletrack trails.

Not enough? Surrounding the county trails is a wealth of public lands with desert, mountainous and canyon trails and roads. In exploring the high Southwest desert and mountain peaks, you will definitely find Los Alamos a rewarding riding destination.

Local Information Center Lodging, Events, Festivals, etc., go to Los Alamos Meetings and Visitor Bureau, visit.losalamos.com, 800.444.0707 or 505.662.8105 Camping info, call 505.672.3861 or visit www.nps.gov/band for info on camping in Bandelier National Monument Local Cycling Calendar June 2 & 16, July 7 & 21, Aug. 4 & 18, Pajarito Ski Area lift operates for cyclists July 2007, 35th Annual Tour de Los Alamos, tourdela.home.mindspring.com August 2007, Los Alamos Fat Tire Festival, losalamos.com/fattirefestival Aug. 18, 2007, 33rd Los Alamos Triathlon Guidebooks and Trail Maps Los Alamos Trails by Craig Martin, available at local bookstores Local trail maps available at Otowi Station Bookstore, 1350 Central Ave., and online at www.losalamos.com Local Cycling Club Tuff Riders Bike Club, www.tuffriders.losalamos.com Club members eager to show visitors extensive local trail system Local Attractions Bradbury Science Museum, 15th St. and Central Ave., Los Alamos Los Alamos Historic Museum, Fuller Lodge: atomic history Pajarito Ski Area, www.skipajarito.com Bandelier National Monument: ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings Valles Caldera National Preserve, www.vallescaldera.gov

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Riding the Plank

For freerider Peter Schulze, the gold at the end of the rainbow is one hellacious stunt.

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We just started building and once we got started we decided to go for New Mexico’s longest ladder bridge.

Secrets of the Pirates’ Bond story and photos by James E. Rickman

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n the community where the Atomic Bomb was built 60 years ago, a new state secret lies hidden in the forest—but it has nothing to do with national security.

In Los Alamos, N.M., a group of teenage freeride enthusiasts is clandestinely constructing what they hope will be New Mexico’s longest ladder bridge. Peter Schulze and Clark Smith, both 16, are heading up the effort, which they envision as a central feature of a very long and very sweet downhill ride.

Constructed of downed trees and slats scrounged from wooden pallets found around town, the ladder bridge spans 125 feet and towers 13 feet above ground at its highest point. A smooth stretch of singletrack with a 45-degree banked turn ensures that a rider can enter the ramp with maddening speed.

“We just started building and once we got started we decided to go for New Mexico’s longest ladder bridge,” says Schulze, while using a hammer to bash slats free from a pallet frame at the base of the bridge.

A short distance away, the sound of gunfire from the community shooting range drowns out the rhythmic whapwhap-whap of Smith’s hammer as he secures another plank to the slightly wobbly structure above. In this hidden location well away from town, on land belonging to the federal government, the duo can work on their dream without interruption from adults who might not understand the compelling need for adolescent thrills.

“We had actually started another one of these in a more public location, but one guy came out and called us ‘destroyers of the environment’ and another threatened to call the cops, so that’s when we quit,” recounts Smith, who oddly enough is just as comfortable turning in low scores for the high school golf team as he is flying high

To build a ladder bridge, you need dedication, some borrowed tools and wood, vast amounts of teenage energy, plus a few good snacks and friends who drop by to admire your work.

As the ladder bridge takes shape, toward a possible record length for New Mexico, Peter Schulze is grateful the 13-foot-high structure holds his weight during a test ride.

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Clark Smith, left, pounds in a nail on one of the log supports held in place by Peter. While parents might admire such a display of cooperation among teenagers, Peter simply admires Clark’s good aim.

on a bike upside down through the air.

According to International Mountain Biking Association spokesman Mark Eller, kids all over the country are building pirate bike parks like the one Smith and Schulze are creating.

“Building unauthorized stunts in the woods has become an unfortunate part of freeriding,” says Eller. IMBA favors gaining permission of landowners for such projects and endorses construction standards that will lead to safe, sustainable parks.

For Smith and Schulze, the motive is in part to build something that may help swell the ranks of what the pair estimates to be about a dozen or so adolescent freeriders in a population of 18,000 residents.

Before making a beeline toward the dirt mound ahead, Schulze looks back at the structure for a moment and nods with satisfaction.

All work and no play will only turn you into a mechanical engineer, so Clark Smith takes a well-deserved break and gets in a little play time on the dirt track close to the nearly completed structure.

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“There were some others who used to do this stuff, but one guy went away to college and the other one got into car racing,” laments Schulze, who began competing in the Mountain States Cup series a year ago and has collected a couple of impressive scars in the process. “Originally, Clark and I weren’t friends. He did dirt and I did North Shore, but we started talking and thought it would be cool to go from North Shore into dirt and that’s how we got started.”

Satisfied with the couple hours of craftsmanship they’ve completed on this late-September brilliant blue-sky day, the duo piles up their tools, pulls their bikes from their vehicles and begins donning helmets and body armor for some riding and jumping on the dirt track below the unfinished structure. Before making a beeline toward the dirt mound ahead, Schulze looks back at the structure for a moment and nods with satisfaction.

“We’ll try to get people to come out here and try this bridge and maybe they’ll think it’s cool and then, I dunno, maybe they’ll start riding bikes!” he says.

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The Insatiable Pull of a Pile of Rocks story and art by Jefe Branham

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For me, the lure to experience such a personal adventure with such a great pile of stone is irreplaceable, leaving me so satisfied for a period of days that I get addicted to the feeling.

nyone who has been haunted by a mountain knows what I’m about to talk about.

Perhaps it lurks over your mountain town with its every detail displayed to tease your day-to-day life with temptations of adventure. Or maybe it’s a distant shape jutting from the mysterious horizon, its every couloir, glade or timberline trail, all unknown wonders to be discovered.

It is the insatiable pull of these massive piles of rocks that can overtake a person’s good sense, possessing you so that in the backs of your mind there is always a flicker—a flicker of the intense focus dedicated to getting to the top and hopefully down, too.

A few mountains have held me in this trance during my time here in the Rockies.

The latest is perhaps the most obvious and obscure. Sawtooth sits at 12,147 feet.

Most of the long, sweeping ridges leading to the hooked, upswept peak are easy mellow pitches, and the snow isn’t too great. Yet it is the dominant feature south of Gunnison, Colo. The acres of dark, timbered ridges surrounding the peak on all sides make it a huge mountain with a long approach.

I rode my bike and trailer to its base for an overnight in mid-August, my second try at hiking it—let’s just say I got a little sidetracked the first time. Having climbed to its high point and taken it all in, I have only become more entranced, wanting more of the mountain and its surrounding forests and sage-filled gulches.

All last winter Sawtooth haunted me from 20 miles away, jesting at my everyday life, taunting my thirst for adventure.

It was always there as I ran errands, went to work, skied at Hartman Rocks, walked the dog. I could look up and see the long ridges, the waves of countless drainages, the tiny hooked peak, all calling me to make the journey.

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Sometime between the winter solstice and New Year’s, I always have lots of extra time because of temporary unemployment, so I usually plan a big day trip. My ski partner, Todd S., is equally possessed by the mountain spirit, is up for just about anything anytime and was all about this one. He even agreed to my idea to ride our bikes instead of driving out to a friend’s house where the skiing started.

• It was the day after Christmas, a full moon, and we start early enough to use the moonlight on our morning climb. Awkwardly strapping skis to the bike trailer, up the road go, the cold freezing my fingers, making the grease in my hubs feel like 112

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tar and the sweat on my flesh icy hot. I swap the trailer off to Todd for the last couple miles. We clumsily stash our bikes and switch over to the skiing part of our program. Next we are bombing in the predawn darkness, sparks flying off our skis smacking invisible rocks hidden in the fast, packed snow.

Now it is a pretty consistent climb from here, about nine miles of snowmobile roads with varying amounts of snow and then about six miles of total bushwhacking unknowns. The first nine miles are a good time to put the head down and bust out the quick and easy.

We watch the moon set and the sun rise as our skis climb up through the saddle

and over the hump, through the sunbaked parks and to the road’s end at the base of the long, broad northwest ridge.

After hours of biking and skiing, the top still looks far away.

Gaining the ridge is something else.

The snow was a thin four to eight inches of pure sugar, just rotten. Straight up the hillside, we plunge a switchbacked skin trail through logjams, rock piles and thin snow; it is an incredible use of energy. Once on the ridge, it is all about going up and slowly swerving to the east, forging a smoothish path through the deadfall and following the wide, timbered route to the peak. Cresting the ridge gives me a great boost in focus; it

is so close now after almost 10 hours of travel. I can see the top in my sights.

Finally the sun-crusted wind lips of the last bit of exposed ridge give way to the wind-scoured top. Luckily today the sun’s warmth is much stronger than the wind’s chill. We spend more than an hour hanging out, melting snow, eating and taking pictures.

• The view is special from every mountaintop and Sawtooth is no exception.

White fangs of jagged mountains ring the horizon, the Elks blend right into the Collegiates and the Sawatch, the San Juans seem so much closer, the long, thin spine of the Sangre’s knife ridge cuts off the horizon. Here it is hard to believe there is anything else out there but more whitehaired giants of ancient stone.

What goes up must go down and the top is just the halfway point. We trace our path down the ridge where the skiing is soft, fast and fun. But the drop off the ridge ahead of us lurks in our minds; the steep, wooded hillside littered with down timber is barely covered with rotten snow. Full on 4x4 skiing, slow dangerous and scary. Yet we stay positive and focused and get out of the dark woods just as the sun sets into the thin, high clouds of the western sky.

Now what remains is a long, rolling downhill, the cold of night and the physical and mental burn of well over 12 hours of self-powered travel. After the brainnumbing descent down the well-traveled road, we arrive at my friend’s cabin for a break around the woodstove, some talk of our long day and repeatedly fending off a ride to town. The air outside seems especially crisp after 20 minutes of sitting in a chair in front of a raging woodstove.

The concept of riding my bike in the sub-zero air makes me wonder what it is that makes me do this. Of course I didn’t take the ride home, but why not?

Why go out and ski all damn day to top out on some odd, unknown little mountain? Why ride my bike in the dark and cold with a bunch of bulky ski gear? Why do anything? Right?

• For me, the lure to experience such a personal adventure with such a great pile

of stone is irreplaceable, leaving me so satisfied for a period of days that I get addicted to the feeling pulsing within.

I can look up on Sawtooth from my own yard and remember all the toil, the hours of sweat, the tough decisions it took to get from here to the top and back safely, completely unsupported. It’s the chance

The view is special from every mountaintop and Sawtooth is no excep-

tion. White fangs of jagged mountains ring the

horizon, the Elks blend

right into the Collegiates and the Sawatch, the

San Juans seem so much closer, the long, thin spine of the Sangre’s

knife ridge cuts off the

horizon. Here it is hard to believe there is any-

thing else out there but

more white-haired giants of ancient stone.

to look at life and death all on the same page with none of the everyday bullshit that clogs our eyes, weighs down upon our backs and ceaselessly shouts in our ears about all the things we aren’t doing right or getting done.

Too much energy is used to worry about life instead of living it. In the natural

world that fine line seems so much clearer.

Sometimes one must push the limits to the point of complete exhaustion, until the body wants only rest, the brain wants only sleep but the soul, the spirit wants only the success of living out your dream. Here in this place of decision great things can be realized, recognizing the knowledge that you are way beyond the edge and need to turn back. Or seeing the completion of your mission before you and letting the pain and discomfort fall away leaving only the firm confidence in yourself to carry on.

• In this place of doubting wonder, as I reluctantly swing my three-pin boots over my bike in the cold, dark evening, I find the joy of life, my life, burning brightly within.

This recognition of the simple fact that I am living the life I always wanted, maybe not every moment of every day, but here right now despite the vague, numb pain of my feet, the tightness of raw shoulders, the mild agony of sore knees and feeling like I could fall asleep on my bike, I wouldn’t choose to do anything else anywhere else. I live off the joy and energy that being in the mountains gives me. I live to test myself against the next dreamed-up journey and visit this place again to see if my soul is still true.

Meanwhile the tiny specks of gravel in the snow-packed road catch my eyes in the blue-white light of my headlamp as I try to keep up with Todd, who’s managing to pull away. My mind is wandering about the expanse of my brain, a million thoughts bounce about my head, yet seriousness is waning in my exhausted state. Instead food and sleep dominate any and all clear thoughts.

The rolling train of our momentum is all that’s carrying me home, my hands and feet are numb with the cold, the beginning and end coming to a head. We bomb the downhill into the flat, bleary-eyed brightness of town and the sudden company of people, cars, streets and rules. The clarity of my lofty point has faded with our reemersion into the cloud of humanity and the insane excitement of a reunited dog. In my mind the coals of this fire will always remain aglow.

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es E. Rickm am J an by

N

ow and then something just possesses you to indulge in ultra highrisk behavior.

Sidelined for five weeks while on the mend from a terrible bone injury suffered during a recent spate of mountain biking hooliganism, I decided that my next bout with mortality would not take place in the Arena of the Great Outdoors using parachutes or waterfalls, bicycles or firearms; nor would I attempt to wrestle some ferocious beast in water or on land, mano-amano, wearing only a Speedo and a K-Bar USMC Survival knife. Such adventures are best left in the capable hands of trustfund poseurs whose feats are chronicled in Outside magazine next to homoerotic advertisements for expensive fragrances, designer apparel, Hummers and high-end sporting gear.

Nay, my next foray into foolhardiness would take place in the Gritty Theater of the Common Man—where my true heritage lies. I would be among friends when I breathed my last breath in this venue should events turn dire, I reckoned, and my genetics might protect me from the onslaught I would soon face.

And so I made my way to Furr’s Cafeteria, where a warrior can slap down a mere seven dollars to pit himself against the most horrific of the Seven Deadlies: Gluttony.

In the Coliseum

As I stood in line waiting to meet the caloric adversaries that would test every ounce of my mettle, I realized I was way out of my league. Assembled here in this dimly lit, charbroiled-smelling corridor were the True Titans of an unholy all-youcan-eat blood sport. A fleeting thought of escape entered my mind, but it was too late. The way back out was choked with a phalanx of giants who had filled in my 114

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wake and blocked out the light from the lone entrance door; moving back upstream would be all but impossible. These brutes had come to feast and feast mightily, and they were shuffling forward with grim resolution. I was committed.

As the first whiffs of the steam tables stung my face, I took a good long look at the gathered crowd in an attempt to gain some last-minute wisdom. Assembled here were entire families of humongous proportions—people whose waistlines were three times longer than their inseams. Even among the children!

I watched a moon-faced boy of 12 grab two green Jell-Os in rapid-fire succession. He moved one of the chilled plates close to his ample, trembling lips, which closed dutifully around the dollop of whipped cream artfully arranged atop the translucent jiggling green slab. With an intentional extension of his neck, he swallowed the sweet white puff like a dog choking down a chicken bone. He let out a little grunt of excitement and flapped his chubby arms like a penguin. His immense mother looked down at him and smiled, tousling his hair.

Parade of the Horribles

Behind them, the Human Cannonball, wearing a Bedouin tent of a white shirt beneath an impeccably pressed pin-striped jacket, walked forward through the line with purposeful steps, pointing and grunting his desires to the steam-table attendants. He heaped plate after plate upon his tray until it had reached its intended capacity. And then he heaped on more.

I saw a toddler in a stroller who had taken on the proportions of a Jerusalem Cricket—with a grotesquely swollen head and abundant abdomen—being shuttled through the line by a corpulent mother.

His mouth revealed a line of silver-capped

teeth when he opened it to grasp a straw from a glass of fizzy soft drink.

The only set of bicycle tires I could see being used by this crowd were attached to the wheelchair of a man who had no feet. As his sad-faced attendant pushed him through the line, the man fingered a blood-sugar monitor in one hand and a piece of custard pie in the other.

It was then that I realized I truly was among risk takers—people who were engaged in an activity so dangerous that it could cause their hearts to explode, retinas to disintegrate, limbs to rot on the vine. Yet I was not deterred!

The Trough

Swept up in the inexplicable craziness of the moment, I selected my meal: not one, but two chicken-fried steaks; mashed potatoes in a sea of gravy; macaroni and cheese; corn; beans soaked in a broth of bacon grease; sugared fruit salad; not one, but two cornbread loaves; chocolate pie. And a glass of water. My tray weighed 25 pounds.

I made my way to the dining room, past tables with plates piled so high you could not see the patrons behind them. My walk was a blur of food-smeared faces and sweaty forearms clutching forks and knives.

I downed my food like a starving animal, and soon I could feel the roar and pounding in my ears that signaled the success of my mission. I staggered outside into the fresh air. I thought about poking around the bike shop next door, but what I really needed was a nap. I walked past logos for Specialized, Mavic and Pearl Izumi, got in my car and drove home in a stupor.

The meal hung with me for the rest of the day and long into the night. I would be sore tomorrow, I thought, as I drifted off to dreamland. But for that one day I was A Giant Among Men. And it felt good.

Too good.