Throughout the trip we will have our pick of demo bikes provided by Lee’s and the Trek Factory Demo Van. Whether you are looking to test a lightweight race bike or a freeride sled, you will have your pick of the newest 2014 bikes.

On our first day we plan to meet up for an afternoon ride to shake out the legs after our drive from Fort Collins. A meet up at Moab Brand Trails for orientation and an easy spin will warm us for the days to come. After the ride we will enjoy a few of the imported beverages while discussing the days to come. We will take some time to consider the level of the group and develop ride options based on our riders skills and desires. We will then adjourn to the Red Cliffs Lodge, or your preferred lodging/camping for the night so we can be fresh for Friday’s ride.

Friday morning we meet up at Love Muffin Cafe, Moab’s recognized pre-ride eatery, to get fed and ready for the 10am shuttle. Have it all together so we can jump aboard for the days fun that could see us at one of several trail-heads. Easy and difficult options will be offered so don’t stress about getting dropped or waiting all day for slower riders. We should all be done by about 2pm and meeting up trail side for apres-ride beer and snacks courtesy of Lee’s. The evening is yours! Take a Hummer tour, go on another ride, relax and enjoy Red Cliffs Ranch or go petroglyph hunting. Our guides are from Moab and will be happy to make a recommendation of how to spend your off time.

Saturday morning we will have a delicious breakfast buffet at the Red Cliffs Lodge and head to our meeting spot to get outfitted on our Trek demo bikes and hop a shuttle to our days ride. There is still one more thing to look forward to, dinner out at Moab Brewery. As true Coloradans it is our duty to taste the local beer and food so we can see how the other half lives. You may be surprised at the quality of the food and drink in the Beehive State.

Once full of all that goodness you are going to want to get yourself rested for Sunday morning’s ride which will most likely be a trip to the good ol Slickrock Bike Trail. No trip to Moab is complete without it and if you think, “been there done that”, you may be surprised. We aren’t thinking about just following the dotted line here. There is so much to explore and features to ride that we know you will never look at Slickrock the same again. We promise to keep it on your level, but you will get the chance to ride new lines, and find your groove on the rock. That will lead us to the conclusion of our rides and many will pack up and head for home. Some may want to stay for an additional few days of riding at the Canyonlands Skinny Tire Festival, a road bike event spanning the next three days and well worth the extra stay.

By Cody Sovis

A wise man was once nearly run over by a truck while riding his road bike. The truck honked as it went by, and a middle finger was salute was noted grimly as the rusted out junk pile sped away. Just days later, a different trunk but of the same ilk went by, giving wide booth, a wave, and a thumb’s up. The wise man was on a fat bike, and the driver nearly broke his head trying to get a look at it.

There seems to be a inverse relationship between coolness and tire width. The wider the tire, the more approachable, the more friendly and the more enthusiastic the reaction. People flip out over a four inch tire. A Surly Bud or Lou? They almost pass out. Because it’s awesome. Why wouldn’t they?

But the really impressive part of fat biking is the people that seem to flock to it and stay true to it’s overwhelmingly positive culture. Ride whatever you have. Wear whatever you got. Go as fast as you want sure, but no one gets left behind, not ever. Even at fat bike races, the winner gets less attention than the person in the goofiest costume, or the first-timer, or the guy who took the most beer hand-ups or stopped to refill his or her flask.

A year ago, I arrived in a wooded parking lot with a few hundred other grown men and women in spandex. It was cool in the morning but getting warmer, and as the cars queued up on the road to turn into the lot, some tempers flared as riders, heading to warm up, ignored drivers coming in. I rode with a few teammates, but outside of the three of us, no one talked. There were a handful of nods and waves, but not hearty welcomes or catching up.

Welcome to the world of road racing. The atmosphere before the race is tense, awkward and mixed with an eery silence punctuated by nervous guys talking just a bit too loud. It’s uncomfortable. Then, the race starts and the fun really doesn’t start.

For over two hours, a throbbing mass of eighty riders jockey for position, whining, complaining and making fun of the riders on the front. Never mind that the same riders shooting insults forward are the same ones saying the pace is too slow, too uneven. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone yell “Stop surging!” I’d actually make more than most professionals. First, I ignored them. Then, I told them to stop whining. Now, I have gone through entire road races of over two hours without saying a single word to anyone, save perhaps one teammate.

Road racing is dying. Fat biking is thriving. It’s only partly to do with the bikes and the gear. It’s only partly to do with where they can take you. It’s just as much to do with the atmosphere of fat biking with friends. In the past two years, fat bikers have become the most friendly, welcoming segment of cycling, and it’s only getting bigger.

You can show up to any fat bike event and immediately have a dozen new friends. I’ve meet more great people in a single day at a leisurely fat bike ride than at every road race I’ve ever done. I’ve also had more beer, more whiskey and more fun, and I suspect those libations may have played some small role.

Everywhere there’s a fat bike, there is the opportunity of some new story, some new adventure, even if it’s just around the block. Somehow, the sport has escaped the non-stop muscle-flexing of other cycling genres. Some of the fastest racers in our area are somehow, magically, capable of going slow. It’s strange, but it puts these folks in a different light. They’re humans, they’re nice, and can carry on conversations that go beyond telling others how to ride bikes or to go fast.

Here’s your challenge. Wrangle up a fat bike and take a friend who has never ridden before to a fat bike ride or race. It doesn’t matter. They’ll have more fun than sitting on their couch watching TV. Plus, you might make yourself a new riding partner.

This is what cycling needs, especially in the US. More than a new Tour de France “champion”, or celebrity endorsement, or mid-life crisis, cycling needs bikes, friends, and the ability to welcome everyone with open arms and hands stuck deep in bar mitts.

Reprinted from Velo News.

ARVADA, Colorado (VN) — Jeff Hammond could be anyone.

Any bike racer in America, anyway. You have no reason to know his name. He’s never won a race, and he probably never will, by his own admission.

But you know Jeff Hammond, or someone like him. He’s lined up next to you at a race a hundred times. He’s the guy who loves racing, loves being a part of something; the guy who gets dropped, but doesn’t mind.

Because he isn’t racing to beat you — he’s racing to beat himself.

“I’m a cat. 4. I’m mid-pack, if lucky,” Hammond said. “I never did any sports in high school. The only position I played on the football field was the bass drum in the marching band.

“But it’s something I always wanted to do. It was a bucket-list type of thing.”

Hammond, who lives on the outskirts of Denver, was always interested in cycling.

“I was on the Wall watching Greg LeMond battle the big bad Russians in one of those classic Morgul-Bismark races,” he recalled.

Finally, nearly 10 years and 45 pounds ago, he jumped in, buying a bike for $300 on eBay, “an old aluminum Cannondale ass-hatchet with down-tube shifters,” he said, somehow fondly.

Before he knew it, he was a 50-something racing for a small Colorado team, afflicted with the same sickness that keeps husbands from telling their wives how much their bikes actually cost, or keeps college kids eating rice dinners, paying for race weekends with ones and fives and tanks of gas.

“When I get out on my bike, I don’t have a mortgage payment. I don’t have bills. I don’t have career worries. It’s that kind of freeing — and I think I’m not really a religious person at all — but I think it’s the most spiritual thing that I do,” Hammond said.

“In fact, I remember the first time I ever rode up [Golden’s] Lookout Mountain without stopping. I’m sure it was painfully slow, but it was one of the greatest memories that I ever had.”

Hammond is handsome in the way lots of older racers are: lean, graying temples, faces that show the miles in the legs below. You’d be hard pressed to know he had any medical troubles at all.

But he does — conditions that deplete his testosterone levels and nibble away at his bone density. He pieced it together after years of feeling tired, though he never really knew the cause of his fatigue when he worked odd hours in broadcasting.

After he started working normal hours as a professor in media at a nearby university and didn’t feel any better, Hammond went to the doctor. The diagnosis was hypogonadism, and now he takes supplemental testosterone to raise his levels to average for a man of his age, 58. He also takes the medication to combat low bone density.

The recovery was slow, and Hammond says that now he only feels like a normal version of himself. But since starting the testosterone therapy last spring, he hasn’t raced in a USA Cycling-sanctioned event, which most races in Colorado are.

“It was heartbreaking. It really was,” Hammond said. “But that was the right thing to do. If I wanted to, I could have just not told anyone. I could have continued to race, and truth be told I probably never would have been tested. But there was a chance.”

On a table in front of Hammond on this rainy, monochrome Colorado afternoon are stacks of papers — articles he’s printed and researched, sections of World Anti-Doping Agency code, letters from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

“Testosterone is an anabolic steroid and has been shown scientifically and medically to improve muscle strength, recovery, and performance. As such it is included on the WADA Prohibited List as a substance prohibited at all times,” reads a letter Hammond received from USADA, explaining why he wouldn’t be given a therapeutic-use exemption, or TUE.

He’s highlighted the parts he finds important: “Justification for the use of testosterone must meet the standard of demonstrating an organic cause of androgen deficiency/male hypogonadism. A diagnosis based simply on a functional disorder does not meet this standard … rather, functional diagnoses often focus solely on low testosterone levels and generalized symptoms.”

And so, the very medication that keeps him healthy now prevents him from competing, from earning mid-pack finishes in category 4 races. He was formally denied that honor on April 18, 2013.

The TUE process

USADA has the unenviable chore of reviewing medical conditions and their treatments, analyzing causes for diseases, and — in some cases — telling athletes that they won’t be granted exemptions to compete while taking certain substances.

According to the 2012 annual report, the anti-doping body received 409 requests for TUEs last year, either directly or though athletes’ federations. Just 218 were granted. One hundred and forty eight required no action, meaning the application was for a permitted medication, the athlete withdrew the application after the submission, or the athlete was not actually required to obtain a TUE due to his or her competition level. Thirty-nine applications were denied, and four were listed as pending.

Fifty-two of the applications for TUEs were for anabolic agents like testosterone. The greatest frequency of requests came for stimulants, at 115. Forty-three percent of the calls USADA received in 2012 were related to medications, and 32 percent had something to do with therapeutic use exemptions.

It’s clearly a topic on the minds of competitors nationwide. But why?

USADA science director Matthew Fedoruk says athletes have simply become more aware of the anti-doping rules under which they compete.

“As a consequence of that, I think we’re seeing more athletes that are at that masters level realizing that they were perhaps taking a prohibited substance, and that they need to go through legitimate channels in order to get that approved, if that’s what they want to do and continue competing in sanctioned events and not risk testing positive,” he said. “I think it’s a product of overall greater awareness, not necessarily contributed to one particular substance, per se.”

USADA cannot comment on specific cases due to medical privacy laws and therefore could not discuss Hammond’s case specifically. Asked if it’s difficult to enforce and apply TUE standards when medical conditions themselves can be inherently subjective, Fedoruk said it was largely not, because his agency takes its cues from WADA, the world body. Applications go through independent panels of physicians and specific endocrinologists, Fedoruk said.

“Our bar is naturally set very high. And so despite what the rules may be in specific sports that maybe aren’t under the WADA code, the bar that we have delineates very specifically what’s acceptable and what’s not,” he said.

There is little flexibility in that regard, as Hammond has learned.

His doctor, Michelle Cassara, sent VeloNews an e-mail confirming Hammond’s need for treatment.

“It appears he has been accurate and forthcoming with regard to his issues and need for therapy,” she wrote.

But in some cases, that’s not enough.

For hypogonadism and androgen deficiencies, there’s a document USADA uses to ensure consistency across applications, and it “applies equally to a 20-year-old as to an 80-year-old,” Fedoruk said.

“There’s not an ability to kind of do age-graded evaluations, or different, based on … specific competition criteria,” he added. “The rules are, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on what side of the fence you’re on, applied equally.

“There has to be more than just generalized symptoms, or a single low blood test, a single low value. They have to be able to show a diagnosis and pinpoint a reason for why they have hypogonadism. So without that, it’s impossible for us to grant a TUE. Then you would be opening up, essentially, a Pandora’s box if you lowered the bar on the TUE criteria.”

Treating patients vs. curing a sport

Part of the problem is that while physicians are focused on treating their patients, USADA is charged with ensuring a level playing field in sport. And as the racing population ages, situations like the one in which Hammond finds himself could become more common.

“I think there’s a real cultural shift that we’re going through in our society around aging and well-being,” said Fedoruk. “And I think it’s our job in sport to make sport fair to all athletes equally.

“What may be acceptable outside the realm of sport is different, because these substances are performance-enhancing. They build muscle. They increase hematocrit and hemoglobin, which allow an athlete to work harder. And so there’s a potential for these athletes to go beyond what may be bringing them back to a normal state of health and go into that realm of performance enhancement.”

When USADA receives a request for a therapeutic use exemption. Fedoruk said, the agency relies on strict criteria and trusts its TUE committee members, “with their medical and professional judgment, to look at each athlete’s application individually, and within the criteria decide if it’s appropriate.”

And when a request is denied, as Hammond’s was, it’s often just the first step in a process.

“I feel very strongly about allowing the athlete to come back with more medical information,” said Fedoruk. “And they’re provided very extensive commentary on the reasons for denial as well, if their application is denied … it’s a denial letter with a very detailed opinion as to why the athlete doesn’t meet the criteria.”

But Hammond thinks there may be some flexibility in the WADA code that USADA is missing, noting minute differences in the wording the two bodies use in some of their rules.

“They’re treating us the same as they treat 20-year-old Olympians,” he said. “Something that’s considered a performance-enhancing drug for an 18-year-old may be a necessary … life-saving medication for a senior athlete. I think it’s very unfair.”

Hammond knows that a group like USADA is necessary.

“I think they probably do more good than bad. I don’t think they’re bad people … I’m sure their intentions are noble,” he said. “I just think that in some ways they have tunnel vision, and they paint every athlete and every substance with the same broad brush.”

Racing ahead?

Hammond clearly has not become Superman as a consequence of the therapy. He thinks he can recover faster, but it’s hard to tell — he’s used to not sleeping much, and is better rested now than in the years before he began treatment. His time for a long local climb did drop, but only by a minute.

“I didn’t feel like Jens Voigt,” Hammond said. “I felt like me.”

He’s reached out to public officials, lobbying for support in his case. So far, nothing has changed — except, perhaps, his desire to continue testosterone treatments.

Hammond is considering going “off the gel” next season so that he may compete, or even attempting to go through an anti-doping agency outside the U.S. in hopes that one would look upon his condition more favorably.

His doctor doesn’t think he should abandon the testosterone, due to his bone-density issues. But not pinning on a number gnaws him down, maybe more than fragile bones ever would.

“I’ll probably never stand on a USA Cycling podium regardless of whether I get an exemption or not. [But] in racing there are all sorts of these little victories that you look for,” he said. “Maybe you did a little better than last year. Maybe you beat a guy this year that you noticed was ahead of you in the standings last year. And it doesn’t matter if it’s for 10th or 30th or 50th place for me. It was those little victories.”

One thing he won’t do for those little victories? Cheat.

“If I can’t race, I won’t cheat. I just won’t. I’ve thought about it and I won’t. My health is too important. The reputation of my team and our sponsors is too important, too. I’ll try to find alternative ways of riding my bike, live with it, and move on.”

And it has been my new home for nearly four weeks.

Here is my story of Ft. Collins from the outside.  It is mostly about bikes.

Bicycles brought me here.  While there were some other forces acting on my movements in the last year, bicycles brought me to Ft. Collins.  In at town with no less than 12 bike shops, and twice that many bicycle related businesses it is a good place for a bike guy to land.  One where things make sense.  Where you know just what to expect and what is expected of you.  The bike shop; a refuge for bike guys.

I’ve been pretty busy getting my life together since arriving in Ft. Collins.  I have the good fortune to work for Lee’s Cyclery, a place that is as much a part of Ft. Collins as the fort itself.  As many of the others who have come and gone here in the service of the two wheeled public, I am getting to know Ft Collins one ride at a time.  I am now in search of Ft. Collins best rides.  I’m hoping to get suggestions from the readers here.  I’ll try the rides you suggest and write my impressions about them as I get to know the best ones and the worst ones.  Ill also try to tell you the story and feel of each ride and just what it is that makes it special.  So please write to me with your suggestions.  Tell me where to go.

Via USA Pro Challenge

As the USA Pro Challenge streaks its way across the Northern Colorado landscape, here are some interesting tidbits about pro cycling that Training Peaks co-founders, Gear Fisher and Dirk Friel discovered while hanging out with European pros in Mallorca, Spain at the Team Sky winter training camp  via blogs.trainingpeaks.com.

1. Riders eat meals at separate tables from the team staff which allows the riders to decompress in a “pressure-free” environment and gives them a break from coaches and directors.
2. Riders have enough on their plate and therefore have certain things taken care of for them, such as laundry. Riders put their clothes in a bag outside of their hotel door to be taken care of every night.
3. Bike mechanics wash and prep bikes every day and spend a large portion of their days during training camps building bikes for use later in the season.
4. Each rider has 3-6 bikes and use 1-2 for training, 1-2 for time trials, and 1-2 for road racing. They ride a different bike for racing than for training.
5. The team “director” is the racing manager while the “coach” is the training manager. Responsibility for the riders’ welfare is taken care of between these two.
6. Follow vehicles are used for every training ride, even on recovery days. One is used for protection and supplies and the second so that riders know where to go, especially on confusing European rides.
7. If a rider flats during a ride, the group doesn’t stop. Instead, the wheel is replaced and the rider is motor paced back up to the group.
8. Riders have the choice drinking either water or “mix” (Gatorade) during a ride and are typically designated with different colored bottles or drinking nipples.
9. During training rides, each rider will maintain their own effort during climbs to maximize individual performance. This takes into account the different racing schedules of the riders.
10. Riders are usually put into two groups, “classics” and “stage” riders – those that excel at super hard one-day races and those that excel at winning or supporting the team leader during the 7-21 day stage racing season.

According to the Coloradoan, Fort Collins Bike Program Manager, Tessa Gregor, presented her recommendation that Fort Collins adopt the Stop-as-Yield concept to the Bicycle Advisory Committee’s August meeting.

So what exactly is the Stop-as-Yield concept?

Stop-as-Yield, otherwise known as the Idaho Stop Law allows cyclists to treat a stop sign as a yield sign and a red light as a stop sign. Under this law cyclists still have to obey right-of-way laws and stop when required; however, a rolling stop is allowed if a cyclist approaches an intersection where no traffic is present.

This Idaho Stop Law passed in 1982 and a number of Colorado communities abide by it, including Breckenridge, Dillon and Summit County. Aspen is currently in the process of drafting its own Stop-as-Yield law.

At the meeting, Rick Price, A League of American Bicyclists cycling instructor and supporter of the Stop-as-Yield concept suggested that the Transportation Board recommend a three-year pilot program for the concept.

“We need to define accurately what yield means and conduct a thorough study on how this ought to be implemented,” explained Price.

On 9News.com Price goes on to explain, “If we allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs with all the responsibilities incumbent on a vehicle yielding to pedestrians and to other vehicles, we will create scores of bicycle boulevards in Fort Collins overnight, without spending a dime on signage or infrastructure.”

However, many motorists as well as bicycle advocacy groups contend that if cyclists wish to be respected as road users, they should respect current traffic laws and abide by stop signs and stop lights. Many also fear that this may widen the gap among road users.

It’s a debated issue for sure but it is causing meaningful discussion amongst many.

Considered one of the four friendliest places in the country for bicyclists do you think that Fort Collins is a logical spot to pioneer the Stop-as-Yield concept or do you think it’s only going to widen the gap among road users?

A climbing regimen created by Carmichael Training Systems coach Andy Applegate and originally published in Bicycling.com will put power in your peddles and help ensure that you make it to the top with breath to spare. And the best part? Start today and you’ll be able to see results by the end of the month.

Mind Mastery

When climbing hills it’s important to direct all energy to your legs rather than your face. In order to stay relaxed, Applegate suggests something called “Qigong climbing” which is a kind of moving meditation. When approaching the big climb, think happy and light thoughts such as clouds, birds, angels, your upcoming celebratory beer, whatever. While in the midst of the climb, progressively relax your body from the top down. Start with your eyes, moving to your mouth, jaw, shoulders, chest, back, arms and hands. Also, stay light on the pedals and keep your legs moving rhythmically with the goal being to erase every ounce of unnecessary tension.

“You’ll feel better, ride smoother and have more energy to keep riding strong after you’ve crested the climb,” explains Applegate.

Power Position

What exactly is a power position? It’s a position that allows you to pull maximum air into your lungs, keep your back straight and chest open. In order to get to this sweet spot, position your hands on the brake hoods and relax your arms to ensure that your elbows are sitting wider than your hips. If you’re “vertically challenged” try sliding back in the saddle to generate more force through the top of the pedal stroke. If you’re tall, slide forward and position your hips so that they are close to lining up with the bottom bracket to generate maximum muscle force.

Also, when you’re standing, click into the next larger gear and stand when one foot reaches 2 o’clock to minimize loss of momentum.

“Avoid leaning forward as you stand, which tosses the bike backward,” explains Applegate. “Stand with your butt over the saddle and keep your weight centered over the bottom bracket.”

Steady State Intervals

Applegate continues, “The cornerstone of climbing fitness is being able to generate high speed and power at lactate threshold or LT.”

To improve yours, slip in LT (or steady state) intervals at least once but no more than twice a week.

Practice, Practice, Practice

As we all know achieving something like this takes practice and lots of it. You’ll improve by merely choosing a hilly route at least once or twice a week. Here are some drills to implement to your climbing designated days to improve even faster.

Uphill Spring 20’s – Find a hill that takes 10 to 15 minutes to climb. Start climbing at your lactate threshold. After two minutes, stand up and go at just below your all-out sprint intensity for 20 pedal strokes. Then sit and go back to climbing at your LT. Repeat every one to two minutes all the way up the hill.

Rock the Rollers – To achieve ultimate strength through tough terrain, practice two minute attacks. Find a short climb or series of climbs that take about two minutes. Wind up before you hit the climb so that you’re at lactate threshold as soon as the climb starts. Climb at LT for 90 seconds, and then go as fast as you can for the final 30 seconds all the way to the top. Repeat four to six times.

Peak Force Intervals

Practicing climbing in big gears will help to strengthen your legs and put more power in your pedal strokes. It’s essential to build pedal force to help fight off fatigue. To work on pedal force, find a long gradual hill and start climbing normally. After a couple minutes, click into a harder gear and slow your cadence. Maintain smooth pedal stroke and a low heart rate. Climb like this for two minutes and then shift back into an easier gear to recover for 10 minutes. Rinse and repeat.

By following these simple you can master that huge climb you’ve been eyeing. Lee’s Cyclery is Northern Colorado’s favorite bike shop and your partner in achieving your ultimate cycling goals.