Ear to the ground

“They call it a spirit hole, but it’s just a hole.”

-A Texas tourist trying to explain the Sipapu to his bewildered wife.

Pedaling to China

Todd Wells got his ticket to Beijing this weekend. The local cyclist clinched his place at the starting line of the 2008 Beijing Olympics following another strong World Cup finish in Italy.

During the June 22 race in Trentino, Italy, Wells scored a 15th place finish, which automatically qualified him for a berth in the Olympics. Luna Chick Georgia Gould, from Fort Collins, took home sixth place and also made the cut.

Wells, ranked 11th on the World Cup circuit, finished 8:09 behind Christoph Sauser, of Switzerland, the race winner. Adam Craig turned in the next best American finish with a 45th place. Nonetheless, Wells had a difficult race. “It was hard,” he said. “I had a tough start and had to recover. My fourth lap was bad, but I was able to come back strong. It’s hard to move up when you start toward the front. I was shooting for a top 10, but when you leave it all out there you have to be pleased.”  

With the finish, Wells became the American with the best cumulative placing in 2008 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup events and automatically qualified for Beijing. His sixth place at the World Cup in Vallnord, Andorra, on May 31 also marked the best result by a male American in World Cup competition this season.

The U.S. has two start spots each for male and female mountain bikers at this summer’s games. The remaining one female and one male rider will be selected through a discretionary nomination process by the U.S. Olympic Committee. The decision is expected by July 1.

Tickets to Taj

After a summer entertainment schedule highlighted by a rain-soaked “Surfing U.S.A.,” big names are returning to Durango’s biggest stage. Tickets for two shows at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College – Texas-based Western Swing band Asleep at the Wheel on Aug. 13, and blues legend Taj Mahal on Aug. 14 – will go on sale July 1.

In reviving the freewheeling, eclectic sensibility of Western Swing Godfather Bob Wills, Grammy winning Asleep at the Wheel has earned enthusiastic critical praise throughout its nearly 40-year musical career. The Taj Mahal Trio, led by Grammy winner Mahal, has been playing together for more than 30 years, blending sounds of folk, jazz, zydeco, gospel, rock, pop, blues and soul.

Tickets are available on the web at www.durangoconcerts.com, by calling 247-7657 and at the Downtown Ticketing Office located behind Magpies.