Thursday, September 30, 2010

An Unofficial Epic

A really amazing aspect of living near a bunch of mountain bike trails is the ability to piece together multiple trails and trail segments to create your own epic ride. Colorado's Front Range is a great place to do this, as you can typically find at least a few quality trails within easy biking distance of cities. This is definitely true of Boulder, and with that said, here’s the skeleton of an epic ride, so check this one out, but don’t feel locked in – get out, explore, and create your own!

The rough outline of this ride will take you from Boulder to Lyons and back, primarily on singletrack. The different trails mentioned here cover a range of technical and physical difficulties. Again, this is just a basic framework, so there will be many ways to change, alter, lengthen, or shorten the ride depending on what you’re looking for. There are also maps that correspond to each segment of the ride included below. Enjoy!


1. From Boulder (28th and Iris), pedal north on Highway 36 toward Lyons for seven miles. Turn left on Lefthand Canyon Drive. After .7 miles, turn right onto Geer Canyon Drive. You will see a big brown sign for Heil Valley Ranch. Follow the dirt road until you get to the parking lot. Follow signs to the Wapiti Trailhead and begin a gradual climb on singletrack.


2. The Wapiti Trail very gradually rolls through some nice wooded areas, gaining 822 feet over 2.5 miles. At the top, stay to the right to merge onto the Wild Turkey trail. Enjoy a brief descent before intersecting with the Picture Rock Trail. Again stay right and pedal down this 5.2 mile trail. At the bottom of Picture Rock, take the small dirt path which juts off to the right past the high school and into Bohn Park. Head through the park and into downtown Lyons. Now would be a good time to stop at Oskar Blues for a drink or a bite to eat.


3. Pedal through Lyons and turn onto Highway 36 West, heading toward Estes Park. After .6 miles, turn left on Apple Valley Road, and follow this to Antelope Drive. Again turn left and this will take you to the Hall Ranch trailhead. From here, begin climbing until meeting with the main Hall Ranch trail. Go past the Bitterbrush Trail to complete the Nelson Loop. Now that the loop is finished, turn right and head down the Bitterbrush Trail – enjoy the super fun, technical rocky descent!


4. After completing Hall Ranch via Bitterbrush Trail, you should be back at the parking lot just off Highway 7. Turn left on this highway heading back toward Lyons, but before making it all the way back to town, take a right onto Old St. Vrain Road. Make one more left onto Red Gulch Road, and you will be back at the bottom of Picture Rock Trail. Climb up into Heil Valley Ranch and use the signs to map out your return to Wapiti Trail and the trailhead.

5. Now that you’ve pedaled your way back through Heil Valley and Wapiti, you’ve returned to the parking lot. All you have left is the ride back into Boulder, at which point it’s time for a little reward – you just finished an unofficial epic! Go get a drink, a burger, a veggie burger, a hot tub, or whatever you need to relax.





Note: The route outlined here makes basically a giant lariat with Hall Ranch providing the distant loop portion. The actual overall length of the ride will depend on your own variations and choices of directions to take – there are many options to lengthen and shorten the ride, especially at Hall Ranch and Heil Valley, but the total distance of the ride, as listed, is 47 miles. Hope this gets you started on creating and riding your own epic trails!


Maps:

1. Heil Valley Ranch

2. Hall Ranch

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

I Can't Get No Respect


I often consider putting some horsepower between my legs and joining the motorcycle world. What a feeling it must be, zipping the highways, wind in your hair, girl on your back. But where did the biker image come from; did it emerge when Bob Dylan burned down Highway 61, or maybe right after Hunter S. Thompson crossed the line in Hell’s Angels? Hard to say, for now I’ll remain pedal-powered, but how can we (cyclists') elevate our image and promote ourselves as “cool.”

Should we all make vrummmm vrummmm noises while speeding down mountains (something I already do)? Maybe we could have our own bars, gangs, and “turf,” a place to gather and reassure ourselves that we’re cool cats on a two-wheeled mission. I feel we need to cultivate a badass image, instead of the 40 Year Old Virgin portrayal; because let’s face it, the bicycle gets around.

I’m also a bit disenchanted with this hipster business. To me, hipsters will stop riding bicycles when the next fad comes around, my guess, Razor Scooters. Though they surely promote the bicycle, the hipster flag flies directly in the face of what the bicycles all about for me.

I observe the bicycle being about non-attachment, slowed agenda, and reckless abandonment; not cardigans, scarves, and gourmet coffee houses. The hipsters muddy the waters, showing main-stream that the cyclists’ still a nerd.

I don’t desire a world of Mad Max bicyclists’; I’m just looking for a little respect. The bike deserves a fair reputation. So what we lack a motor, that doesn’t mean cyclists’ should be represented as wimps. I’ll die happy when a kid turns to his or her mom and says,”Mommy… when I grow up, may I ride a bicycle.”

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Encouraging Visions

Boulder, here’s a big thumbs up! You deserve it. One of the greatest and most amazing things about this little city is the fact that (at least when the weather’s warm) there are actually enough cyclists out riding at the same time that we create bike traffic – yes, traffic of bikes.


Cruising down Folsom and seeing lines of cyclists stretching back from the red light ahead of me is a beautiful sight. Beautiful to the brink of tears . . . well if not that far, at least to the point of providing brief glimpses of the biking world to be. Truly, these little bicycle traffic jams of promise give me encouraging visions of what our world, when driven by legs and two wheels (or I guess also one, and maybe even three), could look like:


Cruising down Folsom and seeing lines of cyclists in front of me, there are no colored lights. There are no traffic lights, only smiling rolling people. They are singing. Music is always playing like a soundtrack in a movie about cities filled with bikes. The lightning bugs are everywhere, and on the corner, that dog is dancing the merengue. It is always dancing the merengue (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc9xq-TVyHI). The music of the dancing dog is not interrupted because there are no more squeaky brakes or grinding jumpy derailleurs. There are only greasy chains and brightly ringing bells and lightning bugs and sunshine. Plenty of mustachios blowing in the breeze and bike-blended smoothies for everyone. The whole earth is blue and green and the shooting stars are brighter than the fireworks. Cruising down Folsom and seeing lines of cyclists stretching out in front of me, there are only people and bikes.


Bicycle traffic is inspiring because it shows, in a literal, physical way, that biking on a daily basis as a mode of transportation is not only possible, but that it’s happening – people really do get around this way. Keep up the good work right here in Boulder, as well as in any other city, town, village, or hamlet you happen to ride through. Your bicycling presence shows us all what’s possible. Ride smart, ride safe, and pedal hard!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

How's this for a retirement plan?

Step one: go to www.43bikes.com

Step two: be jealous.


This website was started by a bike mechanic from Tucson, Arizona, who goes by the name of "Mookie" to showcase his 43-strong bicycle collection. Currently, Mookie makes his residence in Boulder, Colorado.


Staff pick: the Bowden Spacelander (1960, reissued 1997).




"Mookie" makes an honest effort to ride all of this bikes, when they're not in storage. Otherwise, he "reluctantly" sells them, but his latest project has been to find space for display of the "Mookenheim Bicycle Collection", which has been in progress for pretty much his entire life.

When asked "Why 43?", Mookie replies, "it's my favorite number". There you have it!


Some other staff picks:

The Custom Pegoretti (2000):





The Schwinn King Sting Mountain Bike (1981):



The Walton (1987):

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Protection!

Bike theft in Boulder is unfortunately quite common. I guess the fact that cycling is popular in Boulder equates to – in the messed up minds of the creepers who actually steal bicycles – an abundant supply of bikes to swipe, as well as a large market with a high demand for bikes and/or bike parts to re-sell the stolen goods to (and this on top of the always plentiful online market).

News of bike theft seems to be ever-present here in Boulder. Earlier this summer, the Daily Camera ran a story about the arrest of two guys suspected of stealing 65 bikes. While the article mentions that “bike theft in Boulder is down 36 percent so far this year from last year,” last week's antics seem to disrupt this optimistic outlook. Last Tuesday (September 7), “the University of Colorado saw an unusual spike in bike thefts” as seven bicycles were stolen from racks across campus. This is “an exceptionally high number” of bicycle thefts in one day. These thefts continue to haunt campus as this story, printed Tuesday September 14, in the Colorado Daily demonstrates.

Beyond the official news, I’m sure we all have our personal bike theft anecdotes as well. Within three months of moving to Boulder, my mountain bike was stolen. It was locked up on my front porch, along with my other bikes, with a big cable lock. When I got home that fateful Friday night, the cable was cut and my bike was gone. Similarly, in the few short weeks of this fall semester, I have talked to numerous people who have shown me their cable locks cut halfway through, and for them, it’s a lucky miracle that whoever was trying to steal their bikes quit before chewing the rest of the way through their locks!

Cyclists! We must protect ourselves and our two-wheeled friends! Here’s some tips:

- Cable locks, despite sometimes feeling more convenient, are out – too insecure!

- Use either a U-Lock or a metal chain with a hefty padlock or smaller U-Lock on the ends.



- When locking a bike, lock as much of it as possible to the rack (i.e. a wheel and the frame), but ALWAYS get the actual bicycle frame securely locked.

- The best security is simply to bring your bike indoors overnight.

- Finally, click here for a video demonstrating some other ideas for secure bicycle locking.


Thursday, September 9, 2010

"You'd Look Hotter . . ."


One of the greatest stickers to grace the top tubes of bicycles around the country reads simply, “You’d look hotter in a helmet.” To realize the truthfulness of this statement, just think about how seriously "hot" a bike helmet, all by itself, really is: so smooth, so strong and firm, and O so curvy!

Really though, after the bike itself, a helmet should be the most important thing to a cyclist. Whether you’re mountain biking, road riding, touring, commuting, jumping, running from campus cops after dropping walls and staircases, or simply out for a cruise, helmets should be top priority.

As a kid, I remember going to Cub Scout day camp, where every year they terrified us with stories, movies, and pictures of other kids who were in bike wrecks, or who had been hit by cars, and who weren’t wearing helmets. These stories – and their horrifically tragic endings of brain damage, paralysis, and death – definitely served their purpose. Helmets have already saved my life twice!

According to the most recent data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (released in 2010 and reporting on data gathered in 2008), there were 52,000 cyclists injured in traffic accidents that year. 716 of them died. Colorado suffered 12 cyclist fatalities that same year. Despite these numbers, however, it is reported that less than half of all cyclists regularly wear a helmet. The numbers aren’t adding up – it makes no sense to not wear a helmet.

I know that back in the days of backwards adjustable baseball hats and really awesome jean jackets, helmets just weren’t cool. But come on, neither is the ER, so put on that beautiful helmet, strap it up, and pedal, knowing that you really do "look hotter in a helmet!"

- Here’s a guide to getting the best fitting helmet you can:

- Some helmet-related stats:

- And the people who brought you the “hotter in a helmet” slogan:

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Go, Speed Racer, Go

Have your morning commutes become drag races? If you’re like me, the trails resemble a place for high gear competition. You may be familiar with the impromptu races I speak of, but if not, listen up. Townie races happen whenever and wherever, they’re about personal pride and dominion of the trails. Yet these battles have guidelines, safety still takes precedence; so don’t let competition blind your best judgment.

The first rule to any race is that both parties wish to compete. Nothing’s worse than someone riding your tail for miles. If you don’t want to accept the nod, gesture for the person to pass. Don’t tease the other rider. When you’re not in the mood, don’t false accelerate or quick start at stop lights, this only perpetuates an uneventful/one-sided race.

As well, recognize the environment. If the trail is crowded, call off the dogs. Live to race another day, running into grandpa on a recumbent won’t boost you’re stats; it only raises Medicare taxes. Also, take note of the weather and lighting conditions. Rain=Pain; don’t be silly, save it for the sunshine. You can race at night, but be sure you have lights, and no, your flip phone doesn’t count as a front light.

Townie racer would rather endure lactic acid fermentation and a heat stroke than hear “on your left.” Once you give the nod, it's on. A helpful tip; let the other rider lead the race, they’ll think they got it, then drop it to third and make your getaway.

Finally, leave your ego at the door. So what, you beat a roadie on a mountain bike, that doesn’t mean I want to hear about it all week. The townie race happens on the trail; don’t relive the glory in your living room. Good luck and Godspeed.