The International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA)
has posted a list of its top rides around the country, what they
call their “Epics” or great rides.
It is a nice list that you might prints out and add check boxes to so you can count them off as you do them. From
Alafia River Epic (part of
Alafia River State Park) in
Brandon, Florida to The Womble Epic in Hot Springs,
Arkansas, the list of epics covers numerous states and (oddly) one ride in Italy.
Lance “The Juggernaut” Armstrong did it. He won his seventh tour de France, an epic, unprecedented effort that will quite likely not be duplicated in our lifetime…or at least a few years.
Here is a very interesting story on NPR about bike science. It goes surprisingly deep. They examine Lance’s physiology, and ponder what is it about Lancenator that makes him such a superior athlete (does he process lactic acid quicker than the average pedal-pusher?). They look at the new bikes that dominated the Tour (hint: these aren’t your grandmother’s bikes), and they examine what forces of gravity allow you to keep a bike upright in the first place. Bike fans and neophytes will find this a fascinating listen.
Summer is a great time for music. All around the country music
fans can experience the best in rock, bluegrass, country, classical and blues…to name just a few. I used to be a
regular attendee of several events like the Telluride Bluegrass
Festival, which offer the opportunity to get outdoors and to watch the country’s best musicians in a live
setting.
Keeping with this theme, I offer a link to the
10th Annual Mammoth Festival of Beers and
Bluesapalooza. Mammoth is known as a ski area, but in the last five years or so,
Mammoth has really taken off as a killer place to head for the
summer. Fishing, mountain biking, hiking…Mammoth has
it all. And now they are also putting on some of the better music fests around. The Mammoth festival happens this year
from August 5 – 6 and will feature some of the best microbreweries and blues bands around. You can
catch the “Acoustic Blues BBQ” just before heading up the hill for an epic ride down the mountain.
Some of the big names playing are The Tommy Castro Band and Rod Piazza and
the Mighty Flyers. Check out the site for more
info.
A biking rec for you. Salida, Colorado is a mountain bikers
Mecca. The town lies in a valley on the banks of the upper Arkansas River just 2.5 hours southwest of Denver and
features some of the best single-track trails around. The weather is great all year round, such that you can pedal push
at 12,000 feet, and then let gravity take you down to 7,000 feet for a beer and snack in town.
This article at Mountain Zone takes a close look at
the biking around Salida, pointing out some of the finer trails like “Heartbreak Hill,” a gnarly-sounding two mile
section of trail that climbs 1,700 feet. One word: pain.
The author laments the lack of single track for beginners, but for intermediate and advanced riders who have never
been there, this might be a destination to consider.
And while we’re on the topic of bikes, there is also
a great article in the Times about the
conquest of American-made professional bikes. Once the domain of European-makers, the world of high-end bike
manufacturing has largely been dominated as of late by American manufacturers like
Cannondale and Trek
(Lance’s brand of choice…and a key sponsor).
Changes in bike technology have been huge over the last few years, with American models doing the most to bring fast,
light-weight models to market. Even European teams today use mostly American-made bikes, a fascinating fact that most
Americans, even bike fans, probably didn’t know.