Ear to the ground

“He was wearing a really short, pink negligee. It was really cool.”

-Local woman mentioning the inimitable Ralph Dinosaur’s choice of New Year’s Eve fashions

Armstrong takes a pass

Once again, Lance is skipping over Colorado. Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong had announced he would compete in this summer’s Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race. Similarly, he said he would compete in a Colorado bike race in 2005 and rumors speculated that he would be lining up at the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. However, the Texan never showed for the Iron Horse and recently pulled his Leadville 100 registration. The Leadville Chronicle quoted his manager Mark Higgins as saying “a scheduling conflict came up.”

Around the same time, 2006 Tour de France champion Floyd Landis announced that he had accepted an invitation to compete in this summer’s Leadville Trail 100, which would be his first mountain bike race since he began road racing in 1998. But Landis’ participation also hangs in limbo. The event carries a NORBA sanction, and allegations of doping are still swirling around the cyclist. Should he be suspended for his positive testosterone test at the 2006 Tour, he would not be allowed to compete at the Leadville 100.

The Leadville Trail 100 is an out-and-back 100-miler that tops out at 12,600 feet. The majority of the riding is on backcountry dirt roads with some short sections of paved road. The entire course is above 9,000 feet of elevation.

“Freedom Writers”

Durango is currently doing a little time on the silver screen. Jordana Glick-Franzheim, daughter of local activist Susan Franzheim, is basking in Hollywood’s limelight. Glick-Franzheim is the associate producer of the film, “Freedom Writers,” which has garnered critical acclaim and is currently showing at the High Five Cinema near the Durango Mall.

The film stars Oscar-winner Hilary Swank as a dedicated California teacher who unifies her disadvantaged, racially divided students by having them keep journals about their troubled lives. Variety Magazine gave the picture high praise, saying, “it takes the bold approach of being earnest, honest and unafraid to be called naive.”