Get Your Recommended Daily Allowance of Singletrack

DEFINING THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CYCLIST

mountainflyer

magazine

number 11 $5.95 www.mountainflyer.com

BIG PHAT PHOTOGRAPHY ISSUE BIKE INVESTMENTS FOR A BEAR MARKET BOULDER IS CRAZY FOR ‘CROSS UNDERSTANDING THAT FRESH COAT OF PAINT

Display until 3/31/09

getting your

James Rickman

tour of the white mountains

RECOMMENDED DAILY allowance of SINGLETRACK

By James Rickman Some 20 miles into the 13th annual Tour of the White Mountains, just as I was feeling really good about the flow I had captured through an extremely challenging three-mile technical section, I felt my pedals seize up. A rock had torn my derailleur clean off the bike. The crippled contraption was now well woven into the back wheel, which was skidding dumbly through the dangerous terrain.

On the bright side, as I sat in the dirt fixing my bike, the sun came out. It was the first break in the slate-gray clouds since the start of the race. I might have let the warmth lull me into a false sense of security had I not trusted my own gut instinct that the rains would come at exactly 3 p.m. So I continued repairing the bike with the same urgency I had shown on the rocky climbs and descents that led to my current predicament while continuing to deliver friendly how do you do’s to the steady stream of passing cyclists, several of whom flew over the bars before my very eyes.

Back on my bike 45 minutes later, I was again enjoying the fantastic trails. The White Mountains offer some of the best singletrack in the West. Here at 7,000 feet in the mountains of east-central Arizona, I found myself threading in and out of the trees, enjoying myself immensely despite the dull ache that had settled into my 64

butt and hamstrings. The rocky section had been an anomaly. My riding partner and I chirped out cheeriness to one another as we rode, trying to forget that we had now entered unknown territory— surpassing any previous distance or time spent on a bike in one sitting.

The winds began blowing with three miles left in our 37-mile ride, but we heard music off in the distance, perhaps the start the post-ride festivities. The promise of barbecue and beer instead of the god-awful gels and energy bars we had been eating all day gave us the strength to press on.

We struggled into a fierce headwind the last mile to the finish.

Fifteen minutes later, in line with my prediction, the rains came.

Soon after that the trails became unrideable, forcing some people to abandon their bikes and slog back on foot.

The band got off a few songs before the rain started, so we balanced our beers with plates of barbecue beef and beans back to our vehicle. The car’s heater took away the deep chill that had settled into our bones and we drove out just before the road became impassable.

The 13th annual Tour of the White Mountains was incredibly fun and we’ll be back next year to do it all over again.

Gloria M. Beim, M.D.

Sports Performance & Regional Hand Center

+ U.S Physician at 2004 Games in Athens, Greece + Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon with fellowship training in sports medicine, arthroscopy, shoulder and knee surgery + Team Physician of the U.S. Track Cycling Team + Team Physician of Western State College of Colorado Athletics + Author of The Female Athlete’s Body Book

& Alpine Surgery Center O F F E R I N G S TAT E - O F - T H E - A R T O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y

A Commitment to Excellence in Comprehensive Orthopaedic Care & Sports Medicine with Knee, Shoulder and Hand Specialists

970/641-6788

Rhett J. Griggs, M.D. + Board Eligible Orthopaedic Surgeon with fellowship training in upper extremity, shoulder, elbow and hand surgery + Accomplished cyclist & skier

Alpine Orthopaedics, Sports Performance & Regional Hand Center

970/641-4522

Alpine Surgery Center www.alpineorthopaedics.com drbeim@alpineorthopaedics.com

5 Locations to serve you better

MT. CRESTED BUTTE CLINIC Base of Ski Area CRESTED BUTTE Elk Avenue Medical Center 405 Elk Avenue

GUNNISON - Main Office 112 W. Spencer Avenue

SALIDA Arkansas Valley Physical Therapy 735 Blake Street TELLURIDE Telluride Medical Center

Alonso Escalante, M.D. + Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon since 1970 + Medical School graduate at National University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico + Orthopaedic Residency and fellowship of surgery of the hand at Tulane University of Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana + 30-year private practice in general orthopaedics and hand surgery in San Antonio, Texas and relocated to Gunnison June 2008 + Fluent in Spanish

65