New Loop to Add Three Miles of Trail at Betasso

Submitted by David on

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From the Daily Camera:

A new loop opening at Betasso Preserve next month will add more than three miles of multi-use trail to the popular Boulder County recreation area.

Open to mountain bikes and accessible from town by bike, the Benjamin Loop is expected to be a draw. The trail, which will extend the Canyon Loop trail, opens May 19 to bikers, hikers, runners and horses and will add 3.1 miles to the five miles of trail now open at Betasso.

Hwy 36 - Lefthand Canyon - Olde Stage Road

Submitted by David on

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View 2011-04-21 16:11 in a larger map

Hwy 36 - Lefthand Canyon - Olde Stage Road

This is another Boulder "quickie", from North Broadway in Boulder you can get up, over and back into Boulder in about an 1 hour and get some decent climbing. The ride starts at the corner of Broadway and Lee Hill Drive in North Boulder. You can ride this loop in either direction but I prefer going counter clockwise. This way you get a little more of a warm up on 36.

Head North on Hwy 36 for about 5 miles. Look for the Green Briar restaurant on your left and that is the beginning of Left Hand Canyon. Turn left. The first part of your warmup is complete. Phase two begins here with a gentle climb of Left Hand Canyon.

Follow Left Hand Canyon for about 2.5 miles and look for the left hand turn of Olde Stage Road. Turn left on Olde Stage Road. The climbing now gets steeper. A short steeper section followed by a false flat section will follow. You will now see in the distance the "real" climb ahead (see picture below). The last part of the climb is steep but short.

Once you have reached the top of climb its all downhill back to Lee Hill and Broadway. Coast down and finish the day.... You just did Olde Stage Road in Boulder Colorado! (For a variation and more climbing try Bow Mountain

- Difficulty:
- 12.5 miles
- 1164 feet of climbing
- Most of the climbing is gradual until the last .25 mile to the top of Olde Stage

Walk and Roll is coming to a School near you Friday!

Submitted by Kris Thompson on

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Friday is Earth Day and for kids in the Boulder Valley School District it is Walk and Roll Day! and for some schools this is a week long event with Friday being the big day. If the name doesn't say it all, Walk and Roll is a day/week where kids are encouraged to learn a life skill and find green/healthy options to arrive at school, like by bike. Heatherwood Elementary school has been running a Walk and Roll campaign for the last 4 years and every year they have seen substantial growth in the number of kids participating.

For the Heatherwood kids and some other schools in BVSD, Walk and Roll is one day out of the entire school year for walking and biking and many schools tie this into their already running school year long Safe Routes to Schools program. Kids at Heatherwood Elementary receive recognition and awards for 5, 30 and 100 days of walking or biking and over 40 kids have already logged 100 days of biking or walking! Have you commuted by bike half as much since September? Who is really the teacher here?

This year Heatherwood Elementary received a Safe Routes to Schools mini grant to help kids with Autism join in on the Walk and Roll week. To make this possible they will be teaming up will Assisted Cycling Tours who has a fleet of tandems specially equipped for people with autism and they are located right here in the Denver area!!!

Book Review - The Complete Guide to Climbing by Bike

Submitted by Kris Thompson on

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As the weather begins to show stronger signs of Spring we can return to the hills! For many riding uphill is that perfect moment where you are alone in the beauty of nature.... it's the roadies version of that perfect single track. For others climbing is the true measurement of strength. Whatever your reason is for riding up, now is the time and this is the book you may want to get!

The Complete Guide to Climbing by Bike in Colorado is a great simple reference guide to all of the major cycling climbing routes in Colorado showing great important and basic information on all these routes like

  • Distance
  • Total Elevation gain, average % gain and max % gain
  • Directions on arriving at the ride
  • Climb rating (think Tour de France style almost)
  • General information, traffic, sights, tips, etc.

But one of the coolest thing about this reference book is it's lists, they have:

  • Climbs with Greatest Length of 10%
  • Fastest Decents
  • Most Scenic
  • Steepest Climbs
  • and many more!

2011 - Haystack Time Trial - Results - Photos

Submitted by David on

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Tom Zirbel (303Photo)

One of the ACA's largest events took place today. The Haystack Time Trail and Team Time Trail once again had large numbers. The weather was a huge change from Thursday morning. Today was sunny and windy.

With the wind coming out of the west the riders had to deal with a nice cross wind on Hwy 36 and then they flew down Nelson road with the wind at their backs. Another cross wind on 75th and finishing up with a head wind on Niwot / Neva Road.

Tom Zirbel also set a new course record and won by almost two minutes.

Results

Photos

Flagstaff Hill Climb - A Boulder Classic!

Flagstaff (Boulder, CO)

View Flagstaff in a larger map


Click to enlarge

Classic must do climb for fit cyclist visiting Boulder! The climb starts right at the base of the beautiful Chautauqua Park but don't start your watches just yet, most folks start the clock right as you pass over the stone bridge just feet before the road really kicks up. The first few miles of the climb is very hard but the views can be inspiring to those who are not use to riding in the mountains. Once this section of the race was part of the prologue for the Coors Classic race starting at the park and finishing at the Flagstaff restaurant. Next section until the amphitheater is kinder with many riders turning up to the amphitheather and calling it a day but for those who want bragging rights don't stop now, finish it up at the top which is less than 5 miles. If you can make it through the "snake" section without stopping or dieing and the next half mile will kill you, make it through that and is "smooth sailing" the rest of the way. Good Luck!
Flagstaff to the Amphitheater
- Difficulty:
- Gregory Canyon turn off (Baseline Rd.) to Amphitheater Road junction
- Course Record Scott Elliott 11:59


Super Flagstaff (Boulder, CO)
- Difficulty:
- Gregory Canyon turn off to the mail boxes
- Course Record Tom Danielson 22:10
- 2142ft. of climbing in a little over 5 miles!
- Average grade 11%
- L'Alpe d'Flag
- MayMyRide (Not the exact starting location)

Who is the new ACA Executive Director Chris McGee?

Submitted by Kris Thompson on

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I had the luxury of riding with Chris about 3 weeks ago in Golden up Lookout and around roads I have no clue where we were but Chris could probably recite the route and alternative routes like rain man dropping numbers. I learned that studying maps is one of his many hobbies so that guy knows every route! Above all Chris is a funny guy who likes to talk to you, about anything, especially football if you happen to be a Steelers fan.

Below is a bio I got from Chris, because I could never get it together and do a interview of him... darn day job keeps getting in the way. Thanks Chris for sharing

1985 started riding and racing at 14 in Pennsylvania. We couldn't drive, so created our own stage race "The Tour of Visette". Don't really know where that name came from. We made leaders jerseys out of white t-shirts from JC Penney.

We found somebody who could drive, and got to the Tour of Somerville, where I got crushed by the 7-11 junior team with Jonas Carney. Wow - a serious eye-opener.

Started working at Klein Bikes in Chehalis WA in 1987, did my first mountain bike race in Ashland Oregon - The Revenge of the Siskiyous. Then went to Crystal Mtn, WA - the Specialized Rockhopper series. Greg Herbold was racing XC at the time. Got 7th in juniors, and got beer poured on my head by the Klein family. Was 16. Worked at Klein after high school and summers in college until 1992. Did my first century at Seattle to Portland with Gary Klein.

I raced both mountain and collegiate road while I lived in Pittsburgh - talk about awful racing conditions. We did a lot of 3 stage omniums: tt, crit, rr. One tt we still call "the Blizzard time trial" because it was snowing so badly that nobody warmed up, we just sat in the cars with the heat on. Then we got out and raced, and everyone fell down at the turnaround - it was so slushy. We raced the Month of Mud cyclocross series in western PA. One race had a creek crossing, and at registration they would always post the water temperature so you'd know what to expect. 38 degree water is cold on racing legs!

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