Starlight Spectacular 2011

June 13th, 2011

Starlight Spectacular 2011

Saturday night was the 17th annual Starlight Spectacular. It’s a ride starting at midnight and goes through downtown Colorado Springs and Garden of the Gods and supports the Trails and Open Space Coalition. This year’s ride options were 14 miles and 22 miles.

Although I’ve known about it, I had never ridden it before. I’ve ridden pretty much all night over a dozen times between the solo 24 hour mountain bike races, RAAM qualifier and RAAM itself but it hasn’t seemed worth ridding for a couple of hours the middle of the night.

The difference this year was my 8 year old was begging me to take her since some friends were ridding it. She’s never ridden 10 miles so I was a bit concerned about her making it 14 miles but she’s very determined so I figured she’d try hard.

We showed up about an hour before and it was one big party like I had heard. Some people had their bikes decorated and were wearing costumes. I saw several people I knew.

My daughter hadn’t felt well the night before and still wasn’t feeling the best that morning. We got part way into the ride and she decided she wanted to go home. We live just a few blocks off the course around mile 6 so we stopped by the house and then I continued on the ride.

It was a fun ride and it was clear, dry and not too cold. I heard there were about 1,300 riders and everyone was in party mode. I rode for little ways with Ken Hanes on his ElliptiGO. Maybe next year my daughter will want to ride it again.

Here are a few photos and there are more that I took here.

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June Peak Region Cyclist Cover Photo

June 8th, 2011

Peak Region Cyclist Cover June 2011

The June 2011 issue of the Peak Region Cyclist is now available. You can view the online version here.

Peak Region Cyclist has again used one of my photos on the cover. It’s of Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski at the Sand Creek Series mountain bike race at Palmer Park on May 15th. If you missed them, you can see more Sand Creek Series Palmer Park Race Photos here.

The next Sand Creek Series race is at Bear Creek Terrace today and the final is on Sunday, June 19th at Cheyenne Mountain State Park.

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Hotel employees, guests go for a ride

May 27th, 2011

Denver Bcycle

A Denver company has announced a partnership with Denver B-cycle, a bike sharing program.

Sage Hospitality, which employs 600 people fulltime at six downtown Denver hotels, including the Courtyard at Marriot, The Curtis, and the Oxford, will purchase annual bike sharing membership for all full-time employees.

Denver B-cycle has 500 B-cycles located at 50 stations throughout the city. Users can check out a bike at one station and check it in at any of the 50 stations throughout the city.

And hotel guests can check out B-cycle, too. Starting on Memorial Day, guests at the six downtown hotels can purchase a discounted 24-hour Denver B-cycle access pass at the front desk, and explore Denver by bike.  Free access passes will be a part of several summer promotions, too. 

The Oxford Hotel’s Spokes and Suds package includes accommodations, in-room microbrew upon arrival, overnight valet parking, an all-day B-Cycle pass, picnic lunch for two, and luggage storage.  For more information, go to The Oxford Hotel, Sage Hospitality and Denver B-cycle.

-Deb Acord

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2011 Ride of Silence

May 16th, 2011

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

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

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

Colorado Springs Ride of Silence

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

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

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

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Sand Creek Series Palmer Park Race Photos

May 16th, 2011

Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski Racing in Palmer Park

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

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Mountain Biking Position to Avoid

May 15th, 2011

Endo in Palmer Park during Sand Creek Mountain Bike Race

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

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

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

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

Palmer Park Sand Creek Mountain Bike Race

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Sand Creek Mountain Bike Series Kicks-off this Weekend

May 11th, 2011

Hell on a Hillside Mountain Bike Race - Sand Creek Series

Photo Courtesy of Sand Creek Sports

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

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

Series Schedule

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

See the Sand Creek Sports site for all the details.

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

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

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How Not To Give Mountain Bikers a Good Reputation

May 5th, 2011

Illegal Trail Building in Garden of the Gods

Photo courtesy of Allen Beauchamp

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

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

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

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

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

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

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2011 100 Miles of Nowhere

May 5th, 2011

100 Miles of Nowhere

The Fat Cyclist is once again putting on the 100 Miles of Nowhere to raise money for LiveStrong. He announced yesterday that he had convinced Johan Bruyneel to ride it too. Official entry had closed but he has opened entry again until 6:00 PM EDT today (Thursday May 5th). This time though the money will go to World Bicycle Relief.

The 100 Miles of Nowhere literally means riding a bike 100 miles no where. Fatty though wants to include everyone so it’s OK to ride less than 100 miles, ride around the block instead of on a trainer or run around your back yard for a few hours. The official ride day is Saturday, June 4 but you can also pick a day. You can find all the details on how to register and ride rules here.

I’d also say if you don’t want the t-shirt and number plate or miss the registration cut-off, just donate directly to LiveStrong, World Bicycle Relief or a charity of your choosing. However you do it you’ll be in good company since over 500 people signed up the first day registrations was initially open. Just accept the challenge of going no where.

Although I rode 100 miles in my garage on my Computrainer in 2009, I plan on riding outside this year somewhere near downtown Colorado Springs. I’ve been too busy this year and haven’t done a ride over 30 miles but I’ll try to make it 100 miles. If you’re in the area, come join me for all or part of the ride.

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Leadville 100 Qualifying Races Announced

March 30th, 2011
Lance Armstrong at Leadville 100 Start

In January Life Time Fitness announced that in addition to the lottery to get into the Leadville 100 mountain bike race that they were going to have 3 qualifying races this year. By 2013 they plan to have 8 qualifying races. At the time, the race locations weren’t announced.

Now the race locations for this year have been announced. They are

  • June 19: Wilmington/Whiteface 100K, Wilmington, NY
  • July 10: Lake Tahoe Trail 100K, Lake Tahoe, NV
  • July 31: Crested Butte Alpine Odyssey, Mt Crested Butte, CO.

Registration for these qualifying races goes on sale Thursday, March 31. All races will be approximately 100 kilometers and have been vetted by Leadville Qualifying Series Technical Director Dave Wiens, a six-time LT 100 champion and member of the Mountain Biking Hall of Fame. The events are fully supported with aid stations and mechanical support, and are chip-timed.

I don’t find it surprising that the race entry fee at $125 is at the high end for that length of race. With the number of people that want to get in to Leadville, I expect they’ll get plenty of racers doing the qualifiers.

Each of the races will have 100 Leadville 100 race spots up for grabs. 50 spots will be weighted per age group for the top age group finishers. The other 50 spots will be a drawing at the race event for all other finishers under a designated cutoff time. The cutoffs will be determined per qualifying race and will be set so that those that make the time cut will have a good chance at finishing the Leadville 100 under 12 hours.

According to the Leadville Qualifying Series website riders qualifying or getting drawn will need to be present and sign up after the race.

Qualifying spots for the Leadville Trail 100 will be awarded on race day, approximately one hour after the time standard has been passed. Riders must be present to receive their Leadville spot. Racers cannot have spouses, friends, family members, colleagues or other stand-ins accept their spots. Riders must be prepared to pay in full the $275 LT100 entry fee on-site.

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