Ear to the ground

“Dude, I totally thought I was going to get laid last night, but then homegirl got arrested.”

– A hungover Durango man relating one of the pitfalls of the local dating scene

Second chance for Lance

There’s hope for Durangoans suffering from yellow jersey envy. Lance Armstrong rides into Durango next week for the Oct. 20 global premiere of “Race Across the Sky,” a documentary about the Leadville 100, and tickets for the Community Concert Hall event sold out in a staggering 13 minutes. Due to incredible community demand, Trails 2000 and Maria’s Bookshop have added two events to the local calendar.

Maria’s Bookshop will host a 3 p.m. booksigning with Chris Carmichael on Tues., Oct. 20. Carmichael is best known as Lance’s personal coach, but also road on the U.S. National Cycling Team (1978-1984) and competed in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.

In addition, a second screening of “Race Across the Sky” has been set for 5 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 25, at the Smiley Theater. And while Lance will have pedaled out of Durango by that time, the film will include video from the global premier and interviews with Armstrong and Durango riders Travis Brown and Matt Shriver. Tickets are available at Maria’s.

“We feel so fortunate that Lance chose Durango for the viewing,” said Mary Monroe, executive director of Trails 2000. “When the event sold out in 13 minutes, and with Durango being such a bicycle friendly community, we wanted to offer it a second time.”

In addition, two lucky Durangoans still have a shot at attending the Oct. 20 global premier. Coca Cola of Durango and Mountain Bike Specialists have teamed up and are giving away two tickets to the event. Each purchase of FRS energy drink (one of Lance’s secret weapons) at MBS includes an entry into the drawing. The winners will be announced at the store at 5 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 16.

All of the local events, as well as the sale of Special Edition Rocky Mountain Chocolate bars, benefit the Fort Lewis Cycling Team, Trails 2000, Durango DEVO and the Winter Sports Foundation.

Season kick-off

The winter games officially began last week. Colorado ski season bounded to one of its earliest starts ever on Oct. 7, when Loveland Ski Area fired up the lifts at 9 a.m. Boasting an 18-inch base, Loveland became the first ski resort in North America to open for the 2009-10.  

Snowmaking teams at Loveland took advantage of cold temperatures and ideal humidity conditions over the past several weeks. In addition, natural snowfall led to packed powder conditions for opening day.

But don’t load up the car quite yet. The area is currently offering skiing on only one top-to-bottom run.