Ohh it's Phat Baby!!!

by Ned Overend

The Steamboat Springs snow bike race was a blast! I won the 50km event and got an extra prize for beating all the skiers. Last year the skiers had the overall fastest time, but this year the snow conditions favored the cyclists.

The course was a tough one - up on Rabbit Ears Pass at between 9,500 and 10,000 feet altitude, with 2500 feet of climbing and 15-20 mph winds. My Strava GPS showed top speeds of just over 40 mph on the downhills and with some turns at the bottom and low knobs on my 4.7 "Big Fat Larry" tires, the bike was drifting and it got a little sketchy.

http://app.strava.com/activities/46581825

The course was soft on Friday during my pre-ride, but by Saturday morning it was frozen solid, then got softer and rougher as the skiers and cyclists wore it down. For sure, having a fast rolling tread was an advantage. Some of the fastest guys out there were on conventional 29er's with 2.3 tires, but they had to hold back on the descents. The 3.8 BFL's that some racers had were probably the ideal tire for that course. Choosing the right tire width and air pressure is the most important factor in snow bike racing.This sport is blowing up! Especially in the midwest, where they have some events with 200-300 riders competing. Its going to be interesting to see how the equipment evolves over the next few seasons.

Vern, God of the Equinox

The Vernal Equinox

2013 March 20, 5:02 AM MDT (11:02 Zulu Time)

And this is what we have to enjoy on the first day of Spring in Durango, Colorado.

Photography by Lisa Bourey

Bicycle Friendly Colorado

Colorado Ranks Fourth in 2012 Bicycle-Friendly State Rankings
League of American Bicyclists move Colorado from 22nd to 4th Place!
From BicycleColorado.org

Colorado ranked 4th this year, joining the top states for the first time since the rankings began in 2008. Colorado climbed from 22th place to where we sit now in just a few short years! The rankings are based on a number of key indicators, including infrastructure and funding that provide on-the-ground bicycle facilities; education and encouragement programs that promote cycling; and passage and enforcement of bicycle-friendly laws that make it safe and comfortable for people of all ages to ride.

The League's release stated, “Colorado exemplifies many of the qualities the League looks for in a bicycle friendly state, including a bicycle commuter mode share that’s more than double the national average, a bike-friendly department of transportation, and a top-notch statewide advocacy group.”

Bicycle Colorado and our members are honored to be highlighted as a factor in making Colorado a great place to ride! Praise also extends to the Colorado Department of Transportation and our Colorado Legislature for actions that have resulted in improved bicycling.

Read more at Bicycle Colorado:
http://bicyclecolo.org/about/2012-bicycle-friendly-state-rankings-pg1282.htm

Some Good Advice

Courtesy of Copenhagenize.com
Bicycle Urbanism for Modern Cities. Since 2007.

40 years ago Copenhagen was just as car-clogged as anywhere else but now 36% of the population arriving at work or education do so on bicycles, from all over the Metro area. 50% of Copenhageners themselves use bicycles each day. They all use over 1000km of bicycle lanes in Greater Copenhagen for their journeys. Copenhagenizing is possible anywhere.

Copenhagenize.com started in 2007, highlighting the cycling life in Copenhagen.

The Little Crocus That Could

First Flower, First day of March 2013

Photograph by Lisa Bourey

Winter Warriors

Zen and the art of winter bike commuting

Celebration draws 103 hardy commuters

By Jim Haug 

From the Durango Herald - February 28, 2013

Charles Shaw’s family bikes to ski, carrying their skis on racks, at Chapman Hill from their home in the Smiley Building downtown. Their trips to the grocery store are by bicycle, too, packing a grocery-cartload of food into four panniers. Charles and Lisa Shaw’s 3-year-old son, Raleigh, named for the bicycle brand, has been riding on two wheels since he was 2. “It’s good for our son. When we’re going somewhere, he goes to get his bike. He doesn’t think about it. He’s grown up that way,” said Charles Shaw, developer and manager of the Smiley Building, an office and arts space converted from a former junior high school.

On Thursday, the city celebrated its third annual Winter Bike to Work Day to get more people into the habit of cycling every day, frigid temperatures or not. People were hopping in place and gulping Italian roast outside Durango Coffee Co. to stay warm in temperatures that ranged from 14 to 20 degrees, but all agreed cycling to work is the way to go. “I can’t see driving my car two miles (to go to work). It just drives me nuts,” Alan Morris said. “Once I started commuting (by bicycle), I can’t stand getting in my car in the morning.” Morris teaches second grade at Needham Elementary School. His colleague and fellow bicycle commuter, Nora Stafford, a first-grade teacher, said she has not driven to work in six years. “The kids think we’re crazy,” Stafford said. “I started doing this as a challenge. I told the kids, ‘I’m going to see if I can do this.’ It’s to save gas, for future generations. Then it became such an easy thing. We talk about the eagles we see in the morning, the muskrats.”

Stafford, who takes the Animas River Trail from her home on Riverview Drive, said her commute is her “moment of Zen.” The cold does not seem to bother them. When they start pedaling, their bodies warm up. “I’m from South Dakota. It’s not cold here. I just bundle up,” Stafford said.

John Gadbois, an economics professor at Fort Lewis College, said, “The coldest I have ever ridden is minus 22, and that was fun. You just plug along.” Gadbois bundles up in Gore-Tex and wears snow pants for his ride uphill to FLC. He thinks riding in the summer is more of a challenge “because you get sweaty.” The economics of bicycling is far from a dismal science. “It cracks me up every time I see on the news, ‘The average family spends $3,000 a year in gas.’ I spend $40,” Gadbois said. “So I can take that $3,000 and do some pretty cool stuff. That’s the way I look at it.”

Anna Hendricks commutes four miles one way to her job at the Southwest Conservation Corps in the Commons near Albertsons. “I used to be an outdoor person, but now I sit at a desk,” Hendricks said. “So (commuting by bicycle is) a great opportunity to make sure I get up and move every single day.”

Hendricks would encourage anyone to take the plunge. “Durango is really a bike-friendly town. So they should just get out and do it,” she said. “It’s a little bit intimidating at first, but compared to big cities, it’s a great place to ride your bike. The drivers are really aware of the bikers.”

Durango is a gold-rated bicycle city by the League of American Bicyclists. According to the U.S. Census, 7 percent of all Durango workers commute by bicycle, which is 11 times more than the national average of 0.6 percent.

The third annual Winter Bike to Work Day attracted 103 area cyclists Thursday. Amber Blake, the city’s  multi-modal director, said she hopes more people think about commuting by bicycle year-round.

The longest commute reported was 26 miles from Ignacio. Altogether, the cyclists said they commuted a total of 347 miles. If conditions are bad, cyclists said they put studs on their tires, take mountain bikes or walk to work. They might take their cars if the roads are especially slick, but it’s a decision they often regret. “When it’s cold, you jump in your car, (then) you see somebody riding their bike. (You think) ‘I knew it, I should have ridden my bike today.’ Now I feel lazy,” Hendricks said. “Once you get into the habit, it feels inadequate to travel any other way.”

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Winter Bike to Work Day

Winter Bike to Work Day is this Thursday, February 28th!

Come visit the crew of Durango's Multimodal Department in front of 

Durango Coffee Company from 7 - 9 am.

Be sure to sign in when you come by for
a chance to win an Osprey pack!

A Winter Guide for Staying Warm

The American Man's Scotch Pronunciation Guide

From Esquire Magazine

*Scottish Attire and Leather Chair Optional

Brian Cox, esteemed actor and proud Scot, sips his way through more than 40 brands names to help you out at the bar, the liquor store, and beyond.

Ned’s Secrets

From the pages of:

Ned Overend’s Secrets to Riding Forever

At 57, Overend is still one fast rider. The Energizer Bunny of mountain biking tells you how he keeps going, and going, and going...

By Brian Fiske

The Expert: Ned Overend (Specialized) has been winning races since the ‘80s, and even though his travel schedule keeps the 57-year-old from racing as much as he used to, it doesn’t keep him from winning tough events: “Deadly Nedly” won the Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb in 2011, and is the current Masters World Champion in Cyclocross. We caught up with Ned—a guy who won his first National Championship 26 years ago—on his way to Brazil for aSpecialized dealer launch (he does marketing and R&D for the company, as well as racing) to learn his secrets to staying passionate for the long haul.

Drop the Obsession: “I love to train hard and race, and I’m still passionate about riding,” Overend says. “And I think that’s because I’m not obsessive about my training.” According to Overend, a lifelong passion for riding can be hard to develop if you constantly push yourself to the limit, and then continue to push even when your passion starts to wane. Keep it up and you’ll put away the bike and take up golf.

Listen to Your Body: Rest makes you stronger, and your body will tell you when you need morerest. Your job is to listen. “Let’s say Tuesday is an interval day,” Overend says. “You can judge your rest by how you feel. Not on the first interval, because that’s always a shock to the system, but on the second, if things don’t start to improve and you still feel terrible, pull the plug and go for an easy hour-long spin.” The worst thing you can do, Ned says, is continue to push when your body’s not recovered—and that means no two-hour “easy” rides, either. “With that, you aren’t recovering, and you aren’t getting intensity,” Overend says. “You’re just getting more tired.”

Eat Well: Overend admits to liking healthy foods—he eats a lot of salad, pasta with red sauce, and lean meat—though he also has a sweet tooth and a taste for beer. Regardless of your personal preferences, though, Overend says the trick to staying energized is simply to keep your body supplied with the right balance of nutrients. “I’m not that strict, but I make sure I get the right things,” he says. “High-quality protein, fruits and vegetables, and I take a vitamin and mineral supplement, too.”

Do Something Else: “Back in the day, I used to cross train in the off-season to rebuild—trail running, swimming, and gym work ,” Overend says. “Now that I’m older, I do it throughout the season, too.” Why? Bikers tend to have overdeveloped quads and weak…well, most everything else, especially the upper body. And that makes us prone to injury. Overend’s gym routine consists of situps, back raises, pull ups, dips, bench press, curls, and lateral stability work—basically 15 exercises with lots of push and pull, in a workout that he can get through in 30 to 40 minutes. During riding season, it’s mostly maintenance work with lighter weights (strength development is for the off season). “You can’t get your ego involved,” Ned says. “A 100-pound woman gets off the machine and you’ve got to drop the weight down a couple notches. Yeah, that happens.”

Work with Your Body: Older cyclists aren’t necessarily slower cyclists—Overend is proof of that. But certain things do change, and you need to work with the change. One example Overend gives: His eyesight. “I bring reading glasses with me when I ride,” Overend says. “If something isn’t right on my bike while I’m riding, I like to fix it right then. I can fix a flat without reading glasses, but if I’m trying to see derailleur screws, I know I need the glasses.”

Long Live the Queen!

From the Durango Herald - September 22, 2012:

City Takes Top Honors at Transit Conference
Durango’s Multimodal Chief Earns Transit Employee of the Year Award
By Jim Haug, Staff Writer

Increased ridership, commuter incentives and a new Multimodal plan all propelled Durango’s transit system to top honors this week at the fall conference of the Colorado Association of Transit Agencies in Grand Junction.

Durango earned the Medium Transit System of the Year award, which goes to systems with 10 to 25 buses. The city’s multimodal administrator, Amber Blake, also was honored as the Transit Employee of the Year.

Amber Blake was recognized for completing a new Multimodal Transportation Master Plan, which was adopted by the City Council in July, and for her management skills and success in getting state and federal grant funding. In her 3.5-year tenure, Durango has received nearly $5.2 million in grants.

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