Ear to the ground

“No worry. It is all coming from the ice melt.”

–A visiting German woman after ignoring giardia warnings and lapping from the Animas River

Horsing around

The Iron Horse is fully loaded and ready to leave the gate. That’s right folks, the Memorial Day Weekend Citizens Race sold out in record time this year. However, there is still hope for a handful of riders hoping to make the tour to Silverton.

About 20 spots are still available on the 2011 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic Fort Lewis College Centennial Team, a 100-person team that will ride in the 50-mile IHBC McDonald’s Citizen Tour. Qualifying for the team is pretty easy – the squad is open to Fort Lewis College alumni, current students, faculty/staff, their families and FLC supporters. Participants will ride to both celebrate FLC’s 100th birthday and raise money for the College’s Centennial Scholarship Campaign.

The fee to join the team is $195 ($145 for students) and covers the entry fee and the cost of a commemorative jersey. Plus, fifty bucks of each registrant’s fee goes to the scholarship campaign.

Durango’s Jim Morehart was one of the first to sign up. “When I saw the alumni were putting together a team, I thought that would be a good group to be part of. It gives the FLC alumni positive exposure, generates donations and,” the local businessman added, “I wanted a jersey.”

For more information, visithttp://www2.fortlewis.edu/centennialihbc.  

There’s still a little room for non-citizens in the 40thannual running of the Iron Horse. Vacancy remains in most of the Coca-Cola Road Race categories; the Quarter Horse to Purgatory is still accepting riders; and there is availability in the Morehart Murphy Criterium and the Alpine Bank Time Trial. In addition, mountain bike racing makes its long-awaited return to the Iron Horse this year, and the IHBC is currently accepting registrations for knobby tires. Log ontowww.ironhorsebicycleclassic.com.

Telluride pride

Gay Ski Week schusses back into Southwest Colorado this weekend. The Telluride Ski Area will host “T-11,” the 8th annual edition of the celebration, this weekend. Beware of imitations. T-11 was recently ranked as the “Top Gay Ski Week” in the country by Gay.com.

“The experiences you will have here will be flavored by the ambience of the charming yet upscale Telluride, and the hip more urbane and European-style town of Mountain Village,” reads the promotional material. “We offer an unpretentious FUN week including an incredible array of events that will leave you with a smile on your face, new friends that have been made, and ready to return for more!”

T-11 kicks off on Feb. 26 and runs through March 5. For more info, visitwww.telluridegayskiweek.com.