Ear to the ground

“We call them janitors.”

– A Californian referring to the local verncaular for stand-up paddleboarders

Inroads for bicyclists

Colorado continues to receive high marks for bicycle friendliness. The League of American Bicyclists’ recent Bicycle Friendly States ranking put Colorado in the top spot for adopting bicycle-friendly legislation; sixth for bicycle education efforts; and 14th overall for bicycle friendliness.

However, the state still has a long way to pedal, according to Bicycle Colorado. With an eye to reaching the top 10, the advocacy group is continuing efforts with law enforcement education and ensuring continued bicycle access to public roads. In addition, a statewide bicycle plan and complete streets policy are currently in the works.

Duke City World Cup?

The drone of vuvuzelas has barely died, but FIFA is already looking ahead. Way ahead. This Monday, a FIFA inspection committee kicked off a whirlwind tour to 12 countries vying to host the World Cup in 2022. The tour started with a visit to Japan, which will be followed by trips to Qatar, Australia, South Korea, and the United States. (Britain, the U.S., Russia, Australia, Belgium/Holland and Spain/Portugal are bidding for 2018.)

Southwest soccer fans may be in luck. Among those U.S. cities vying to host the illustrious monthlong series of games are Phoenix, Albuquerque and Denver. Other contenders include Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

Chicago, Detroit, Orlando and San Francisco were among those that did not make the final cut.

According to U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, there is a possibility of 5 million World Cup tickets available for a 2022 tournament. That would be 33 percent bigger than in 1994, when fewer games were played.

However, it’s not guaranteed every city would host a match, as the FIFA requirements stipulate that up to 9-12 stadiums would likely be used. A final decision on the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup will be made in December.