Ear to the ground

“Somehow, my husband managed to roll up the tent on Saturday with a full, open beer inside.”

-Local woman the morning after an outdoor wedding reception last weekend

Front page Fruita

Fruita has landed on the front page. Long a mountain biking getaway for Durangoans, Fruita is now on the national radar.The New York Times recently profiled the cow town-turned-mountain bike mecca in the feature story, “Where Mountain Bikers Carved Their Dream Terrain.”

The story opens with a white-knuckle journey down “Zippety Do Da,” one of Fruita’s finest and steepest. “People in Fruita – the ones climbing out of full-size pickups in wide-brim cowboy hats and snakeskin boots – tend to call this God’s Country. That’s fine, I thought. I could use the good vibes,” the author wrote prior to the descent.

Following a hair-raising, brake squealing trip down Zippety, the story eventually switches into the “how to,” detailing the direct flight from New York to Grand Junction, highlighting the need for a rental car, and pointing the way to bike shops and lodging.

“Fruita (FROO-tah) has all the thrills and geological magic of Moab without the crowds, Jeeps and neon signs that have turned that place into a sort of amusement park of the Western landscape,” the story lauds. “It has managed to preserve a feeling of community and authenticity.”

That feeling of community was relatively absent following the publication of the story. A post on an internet forum said simply, “So, who talked?”

The ‘grass’ is greener

Partying might just be good for the planet. The now sold-out Telluride Bluegrass Festival, which returns this weekend on June 21-24, is being hailed for its environmental ethic.

TheRocky Mountain News’ John Lehndorff recently explained that the “greening” of the festival has accelerated in recent years. A salient year was 2002, when New Belgium Brewing Co., the sustainability-charged maker of Fat Tire, signed on as a festival beer sponsor. Water bottles made from cornstarch were introduced in 2004. In 2005, travel by artists was offset by purchases of wind-powered energy credits. In 2007, the offset was increased to cover travel by staff and audience, too. In addition, the number of water taps has been doubled so fans will fill reusable water bottles, instead of tossing plastic ones. Festival-goers are also encouraged to bring their own beer cups.