Wheel Club charts a new course

The Durango Wheel Club started down a new road this month. Concerns about dangers to cyclists and impacts on other travelers have led the local cycling club/advocacy group to reconfigure its weekly training rides.

Originally formed as an advocacy group for better roads in 1895, the modern day Wheel Club has largely been a vehicle and advocate for competitive and aspiring cyclists. In this spirit, weekly group rides have grown into a Durango Wheel Club mainstay in recent years, with dozens of riders taking part at various levels. However, Tuesday night rides’ increasing popularity and timing was also making them more and more of a safety concern.

“What prompted the changes was a growing concern about the size of our group rides and the fact that we were going out a peak rush hour right around 5:30 p.m.,” said Spencer Compton, DWC president.

With the rides drawing as many as 200 riders, safety was not the only concern. Impacts on motorists traveling home from work were becoming more and more significant. A backlash against road riding was beginning to take shape, Compton added.

“The Wheel Club steering committee knew that this was a growing problem with regard to the safety and an ongoing annoyance to many members of the public,” he said. “It was becoming a mounting problem that needed to be addressed.”

As a result, the Wheel Club has shifted group rides to Saturday morning. In addition, the club is being more proactive  about safety, using chase cars and signage to warn motorists and actively educating cyclists on group ride dynamics.

“Now that the group rides are established and big, the riders themselves expect a certain type of rider,” Compton said. “They want to know that people understand group riding dynamics and etiquette. It makes for a much safer group and better group riding dynamics. We’ve gotten to that place where we can’t just have it open to everyone all the time.”

The Wheel Club is also getting more proactive in terms of requiring membership from club ride participants. Compton noted that the club has required participants to be members for the last three years. In 2009, the club will work diligently to keep nonmembers out of the pack.

“It’s a liability issue,” Compton said. “Durango Wheel Club is covered under U.S.A. Cycling, and the directors and members are covered if there is some type of big accident. It becomes a legal gray area if we were to have a big accident and we knowingly had a number of nonmembers on the ride.”

The local road riding community is already responding well to the Wheel Club changes. Last Saturday, more than 75 riders turned out to ride the Breen Loop, and Compton said he expects momentum and ridership to build every week in the lead-up to the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic on May 23.

With the group rides off to a smooth start, Compton added that the Durango Wheel Club is turning its efforts to bigger advocacy challenges. The club has unveiled a new junior cycling grant and is awarding $100 grants to young Durango riders to cover equipment or racing costs. In addition, the Wheel Club is partnering with groups like the Safe Roads Coalition, Trails 2000 and others in beginning to tackle road safety issues. The club is currently pushing for better spring sweeping on routes regularly used by cyclists along with improved striping and bike lanes on major cycling/transportation corridors.

“We’re trying to get involved in anything we can in terms of cycling and perceive where the needs are,” Compton said.

In the meantime, the Wheel Club’s group ride will go out again this Sat., March 28. Various groups and levels will leave the Durango Recreation Center for Haviland Lake at 11 a.m.

Earth Week looks to the community

Innovation is the theme of this year’s annual Earth Week celebration at Fort Lewis College. Between March 26 and April 5, and students will be looking to the local community to help seed environmental solutions.

“With the economic crisis and everyone on edge, students want to focus on possibilities,” said Marcus Renner, Fort Lewis Environmental Center coordinator. “The students aren’t throwing their hands in the air and waiting for others to solve the problem. They want do something, and they want a community that supports people who try to get new ideas off the ground.”

“Earth Week 2009: Seeding Solutions” begins March 26 with a presentation by students who attended the recent Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit in Boulder and the Powershift

To frame the week’s conversation, students are bringing Sarah Ruth van Gelder to campus for the Earth Week keynote address on March 31. Sarah is co-founder and executive editor of Yes! magazine, a publication of the Positive Futures Network. Her talk, entitled “Reasons to Believe: Top Innovations for Sustainability” will highlight positive trends on issues of the environment, social justice, sustainable agriculture, health care, democratic reform, arts and media, and cultural understanding.

At the end of the nine-day observance, students will host a “sandbox symposium” to discuss how the community can embrace innovation and support entrepreneurs and risk-takers seeking to improve the quality of life in La Plata County. Additional events during the week include a dance party, greenhouse tours, and a community garden training.

For more information about Earth Week, including details about all the events, visit http: //envcenter.fortlewis.edu or call 247-7091.

Best in local building honored

The best in local bricks and mortar was honored recently. On March 9, Thomas Berry, chairman of the Durango Design Review Board spotlighted Durango’s best building projects by presenting the 2007 and 2008 Design Awards.

Tom Caver accepted the 2007 award for “New Construction Inside the Central Business District” for The Lofts at 1201, designed by Feeney Architect/Builder. Tom Duke took the 2007 award for “Building Renovation Inside the Central Business District” for the remodel of Backcountry Experience. The Tile/Light Art building on North Main won the 2007 award for “Building Renovation Outside the Central Business District.”

The 2008 award for “New Construction Mixed Use Building” went to Tracy Reynolds and his building at East Third Avenue and College Drive. There was a tie for the “2008 Building Renovation Inside the Central Business District Award” between the Duthie Building, 1010 Main Ave., and Wildflower, 532 Main Ave. Glenn Murray designed the façade changes to the Duthie building and accepted the award. And Nature’s Oasis, designed by Janet Wiley Architects PC, won the “2008 New Construction Outside the Central Business District Award.”

DHS culinary team wins state

Durango’s up and coming chefs took their ingredients on the road last week and were judged Colorado’s best. The Durango High School ProStart Culinary Competition Team earned 1st place at the state competition held Denver on March 17.

Team members – Alex Schweitz, Will McLaughlin, Alexa Andrews, Alex Max and Bailey Younger – cooked up a winning menu consisting of Japanese Sushi Shots, Sumac Encrusted New Zealand King Salmon, and Ruby Port Poached Pear.

Fresh off the victory, the team will travel to San Diego to compete in the eighth annual National ProStart Invitational on April 24-27.

– Will Sands