Before I get
too far this week, I’d like you all to join me in sending out some good vibes to a couple fallen riders of the
Giro de Italia; Cristian Vande Velde and Pedro Horillo are recovering from some pretty serious injuries suffered in separate crashes during the Giro. I wish them both speedy and complete recoveries; but the race must go on, and the other contenders aren’t slowing down a bit.
At Stage 16, Team Astana is still leading the team classification with three riders in the top 15 in the general classification. Levi sits in 6th, Lance in 12th and Popovych 13th
places respectively. Deni Menchov and Danilo DiLuca gapped the field a bit in the mountains and are sitting in 1st and 2nd places.
Now, this week, as part of MY new training plan, I busted out a road ride this past weekend – can you guess from the picture where I went?
Due to a large cut I noticed in the sidewall of my rear tire on my road
bike, I was forced to use my mountain bike for the ride; a clear reminder to not only check your bike before you ride, but after as well! Time for a trip to
Lee’s for a tire or two! The route started innocently enough on the Poudre Trail from the
Raptor Center trail head and headed west to
Bellvue. As you may have guessed from the picture, I then headed up Rist Canyon. When I say “up” I mean
UP; ten miles,
3000 feet to the top and no bellhop! Although there is no shoulder to speak of, it is a relatively relaxed ride; the cars seem to give plenty of room when passing. Speaking of cars…..If you’re looking to buy a good mountain car may I suggest the Subaru wagon – it seems to be the car of choice of those living in this area and I presume the owners must know something. Say hi to Mr. Turtle on the way by but don’t dawdle — he may just try to catch you.
The climb peaked at about 8000′ and was roughly the half way point of the ride. A quick hello to another rider, an added jacket, a couple energy bars and I was on my way. After the top there is a quick, very quick, descent to the intersection of Rist Canyon and Stove Prairie Rd. I chose to turn south on Stove Prairie Rd towards Masonville, but turning right and heading down to Poudre Canyon Highway is a great ride too. From here the 3000 feet of elevation gained on the ascent quickly disappears and it was a good choice not to test my cut sidewall on the road bike. After passing through Masonville heading towards Horsetooth lake, I must have been passed by every Harley rider in Northern Colorado. There is a saying that “a loud motorcycle is a safe motorcycle”….and I believe it! They were plenty safe! At least the first fifty or so, the rest I have no idea. I’m glad to see boats back in the reservoir even if it means the return of afternoon showers. Like a horse heading to the barn, I chose the most direct route home — Horsetooth Rd to Ziegler. Total trip distance was 55 miles with all but the last five virtually non stop pedaling!
I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I did and I highly recommend it as a great ride for some sustained climbing and scenic views — just watch out for the turtle!
Finally, you can probably imagine that this week’s tip comes directly from my own experience -- that’s right, check your bike after each ride to ensure it’s road worthiness for the next ride. I myself plead guilty to not following this rule all the time but if I hadn’t quickly checked my tires could have proved costly out on the road.
Before I let you get away there’s a couple more bits of information I’d like to share. We’re looking for a blog from YOU. Nothing big 300 – 400 words about ”summer is here”, or soon to be. Oh yeah! it is a contest and to the winner goes a pair of sweet socks and the distinction of being posted on the site. Visit Leescyclery.com for more details. Also, there is a bike fest at Lory State Park this Saturday, May 30th you shouldn’t miss. Plenty of bike demos and other gear on display from a host of different bike shops. Guided group rides for all levels and abilities throughout the day are also on the agenda which I will be taking part in; first ride goes off at 10:30. I hope to see you out there and get the chance to ride with you.
Thank you Eric James 26 for the Rist Canyon picture
Steve Lacey
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Bike Fest, bike route, bike tour colorado, colorado bike ride, colorado bike routes, colorado cyclist, danilo diluca, deni menchov, fort collins, Giro de Italia, horsetooth reservoir, Lance Armstrong, Lory State Park Bike Fest, masonville, northern colorado, poudre canyon, Rist Canyon, road riding, Stove Prairie Rd, subaru, team astana
I’ve just got back from this week’s races at New Belgium Brewery and before going any further, I must clear something up. Last week I estimated the racer count to be 100. It was actually closer to 130 and this week 143 bikes showed up pulling their riders along! That’s quite a showing for a grass roots race!
Now for those not racing, if you own a bike and did not go for a ride last Sunday after all the rain we had during the week, you were definitely in the minority. I jumped on the road bike and took a spin up around Horsetooth Reservoir and had plenty of company! If you live in Fort Collins, I don’t think I have to tell you about the quality of our road rides from virtually every garage door in town… but that doesn’t even scratch thesurface of the biking we have at our disposal. No matter what your age or discipline, there is some place for you to spin your pedals around Fort Collins……OK, we may have to talk more about a velodrome but hey, they have my vote. Name your game– bike path, mountain bike single track, terrain park, jump/pump track, and even a nationally listed BMX track — they are mere minutes away from every household in town!
Starting from the east end of Drake Road, the Poudre Trail is a bike path that winds itself north west for 12 miles or so to the town of Bellvue. Most of this trail parallels the river for which it is named and if you ride far enough, you can ride over a bridge that is pretty impressive. The Spring Creek trail forks off of the east end of the Poudre trail and brings its riders 8 miles to Spring Canyon Community Park and the Pineridge Natural Area. You’ll have to guess where this trail got its name but you can bet there’s a slight grade in one direction. The Mason Trail and the Power Trail then both run north and south and aren’t as rider friendly as the Poudre or Spring Creek Trails. One has to be willing to cross some pretty major roads when using these trails, but they both offer access to the other trails and when linked together, can make for quite a relatively motorist free ride. The Cathy Fromme Trail on the southwest side of town is also a nice ride and once it’s linked to the Mason Trail and Spring Creek Trail, it will make quite a nice loop. For a detailed trail map go to
http://www.fcgov.com/bicycling/bike-maps.php or
http://www.fcgov.com/parks/trails.php for distances etc.
Now for my bread and butter……If you have not been mountain biking on the trails around Fort Collins you are missing out on some of the best mountain biking in the state. Yes, I know there are a lot of people who say that Fort Collins isn’t in the same league as Fruita or Grand Junction, never mind that other place called Moab (UT by the way) but if you can ride the trails in FC, you can ride any trail anywhere short of Whistler. People from here can travel, key word is travel, west and have such a good time on the trails there because of our trails. From super easy and flat to super technical and steep, you can find it within 15 minutes of town. Those just beginning to get their tires dirty would enjoy time spent in and around the Pineridge Trail System, Blue Sky Trail and the Valley Trail in Horsetooth and Lory Parks. Those riders
with a few scratches on their bikes would do well with some time spent at Coyote Ridge, Maxwell, Shoreline, Devil’s Backbone and depending on their lung capacity, perhaps head up into
Horsetooth Mountain Park or
Lory State Park. Yes, now we start talking some elevation and doing some work for the privilege of coming down.
I use “expert trails” a bit loosely to describe the next group of trails because even Pineridge can be made into an expert trail depending on how fast you want to go. Bobcat Ridge is a great intermediate expert type trail but being in Masonville, it’s a bit farther to go. Wherever you park to ride at Horsetooth Mountain Park or Lory State Park, you will have a pretty good climb to be able to enjoy some great down hill rides on Wathan, Spring Creek, Mill Creek, Timber, Howard, Kimmons and Sawmill Trails. I wouldn’t call these trails expert level, but they do have some expert level technical sections to challenge even the most seasoned veterans.
Is that it?…..Nope. A perfect place to polish your technical skills is in the terrain park in Spring Canyon Park. The park has logs and ladder bridges and raised skinnies, not to mention this crazy track sling to test your skill and your heart. Spending an hour in the park is like spending four days on the trail trying things over and over. Hopefully you build your confidence each time you make it just a foot farther on a given obstacle.
For those seeking some air time, the pump/jump park in Lory State Park can certainly lift your spirits. For those of us whose wings aren’t quite developed there are different size jumps to keep us closer to earth. The biggest are for the frequent fly-er travelers. You say you don’t care for air……the pump track and other man made obstacles in the park can keep you plenty busy. Goat heads used to be a problem at the track but thanks to volunteers they are now on the endangered species list. Just bring a tube or two… just in case. Finally, don’t forget the Epic BMX track just down the hill from the Epic Center and part of the American Bicycle Association. This is a great family venue and is host to many races throughout the summer. Abilities of all levels are welcome and the different classes make everyone feel like they belong on the track. For more information about the ABA or the Epic BMX track visit
ABABMX.
Now for this week’s tip — Play a tune!! Your wheel that is…Your spokes must be kept at the proper tension to keep your wheels spinning true. An easy way to check is by playing a tune on them (if you’re still a fan of Andy Gibb, you may want to skip this method). To get started – turn your bike over so the wheels can spin freely. Using the valve stem as a guide, tap on each spoke with a screwdriver or something held loosely in your hand. Each spoke should make a ‘tinging sound’ when tapped. When you tab a spoke and it makes a dull thud, it needs to be tightened using the correct sized spoke wrench. Tighten the loose spoke in small increments while checking for the ‘ting’ sound. Once you hear it, stop and keep checking the others. All the spokes should sound the same. Alternatively, stop by the shop, we would love to help out.
So that’s the news for this week! Hope you are out soaking up the sun and we’ll see you on the trails!
Steve Lacey
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: ababmx, andy gibb, Bike trails, bikes, Blue Sky Trail, bmx, bobcat ridge, cathy fromme trail, cycling, Epic BMX, Fort Collins bicycle trails, front range, fruita, grand junction, Horsetooth Mountain Park, horsetooth reservoir, jump park, Lory State Park, loveland, mason trail, moab, nbb, new belgium brewery, northern colorado, pineridge natural area, Poudre Trail, Pump track, riding, spoke tension, spring creek, Spring Creek Trail, timber trail, ut
