Berthod Cyclist attacker avoids Jail time

Submitted by Kris Thompson on

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From the ReporterHerald of Fort Collins

It is being reported that the Berthold cyclist attacker will be avoiding jail time. His attack on a group of cyclist July 18th of 2010 around the town of Berthod with a baseball bat left the group terrorized one bike destroyed. The attacker, Bryce Barker, was found guilty of criminal mischief charge to $500 to $1,000, making it a Class 1 misdemeanor. The menacing with a deadly weapon charge is a class 5 felony.

Berthoud resident Bryce Barker will spend two years on probation but no time in the county jail for an attack on cyclists near his home – an incident surrounded by differing perceptions.

.....

“You totally misperceived the situation,” the 8th Judicial District judge said Tuesday while sentencing Barker for felony menacing and misdemeanor criminal mischief.

“You perceived a threat that just wasn't there ...You are guilty of these offenses as the jury found. You reacted inappropriately.”

Bouncing back from an Injury.

Submitted by Kris Thompson on

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Tough Girl Melissa Marts

Melissa Marts, Tough Girl Cycling

It will happen to all athletes sometime in their life. You are feeling great, racing well, and then BAM, you are suddenly out with an injury. Making the transition back from being injured can be a long, slow, frustrating journey, but here are some tips for making it easier for you and those around you.

Coming back from an injury is mentally a tough thing to do.  The first thing to work on is not beating yourself up for being injured. If you can learn something on how to prevent this injury in the future, then note it and move on. It doesn’t do any good to dwell on what would have happened if you had taken the other line, or maybe braked just a little before the razorback sandstone while racing at night (uh hem). It happened and the best thing to do now is to look foreword.

Once you have come to peace with your injury, work on the steps to get yourself healthy. See a physical therapist as soon as you sense something is wrong. In some cases this may be quite obvious, but chronic low-grade pain can often develop into something more serious without the proper care.

Often the hardest thing for most athletes to do is to take time off of training. Don’t feel guilty about not riding my bike every day. When you are healthy this is a productive feeling, it keeps you motivated and helps you reach your potential. While injured, however, the guilty feelings we often have about training can be destructive. Instead of feeling guilty about not training, concentrate on performing the correct PT for your injury. Consistency (and often icing) is the key to a quick recovery.

Interview - Walt Wehner of Waltworks

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Waltworks Logo

If you are into mountain biking and have been in Colorado for a while or into 29ers you probably have heard of Walt Wehner of Waltworks Custom Bicycles. 303Cycling caught up with Walt and asked him a few questions.

[303cycling] Give us a little background on Walt Wehner.  How did you get into bikes (i.e. building, racing etc.)
[Walt] So I got into bikes (and by "got into" I mean "rode bikes recreationally") starting in 1998 when, believe it or not, some weirdo was stalking my girlfriend, and showed up as we were getting ready to go climbing at a crag in Los Alamos (my hometown). So we bailed on the climbing, got out of there, and she suggested a mountain bike ride instead. I took out her father's beat-down rigid mountain bike from about 1985 and crashed it about 20 times on the technical trails behind her house. Horrible, horrible experience. But in order to keep up appearances, I told her that I'd had "fun" and that I'd love to do it again. Fortunately, she held me to that (thanks Alisa!) and the second time was actually enjoyable. From there I was hooked.

I got into racing because all my friends told me I should, because I didn't get tired riding up big hills like they did. Did my first race in 1999 at Sandia Crest in New Mexico. It was hilarious - I lined up in black dress socks, cutoff sweatpants, and one of those 1980s helmets that looks like the bastard child of a styrofoam cooler. My idiot friends had told me to do the expert/pro (categories are combined at a lot of NM races) race, so I was so intimidated it was ridiculous. I waited until everyone had gone to actually start riding, figuring I'd just try to keep up with the slowest of the shaved-leg/team kit dudes.

As it turns out, I passed all of them on the climb (it was a long climb) and was briefly winning the race, but then the trail turned downhill - and in my excitement I didn't even *see* the first switchback until I had sailed off of it into a ski run. Where I promptly crashed, separated my shoulder, and gave myself a concussion. Needless to say I did not win that race.

Message on Motorist/Cyclist Working Group Boulder

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From Brandon Smith
Bicycle Planner/ Employee Transportation Coordinator
Boulder County Transportation Department

Motorist/Cyclist Working Group,

As the new Bike Planner for Boulder County, I’d like to introduce myself and say thanks for all the time and hard work that you have already put into improving relationships between motorists and cyclists in your community and on the roads. I have read through the information I could find of your past efforts and now would like to set up a meeting where I can meet you all, gauge the success of the implemented programs, talk about upcoming efforts, and ask for any additional ideas you all may have.

In a brief summary here is what has been implemented so far:

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!!!

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