Ear to the ground

“The forecast looks so good that it’s making me nervous.”

– The director of the Iron Horse commenting on the current weather outlook for the notoriously unpredictable Memorial Day weekend

Face planting  

The finish line at one Iron Horse event is attainable for nearly everyone. Steamworks and Ska Brewing are again hosting the annual “Face Plant” on Frid., May 27. A series of parties and wobbly rides are set for the annual brouhaha.

Ska and Yeti Cycles initiated the Face Plant on Memorial Day weekend way back in 1996. Steamworks opened in the fall of that year and joined the team in 1997. “The Face Plant Ale collaboration was one of the first, if not the first, collaboration in Colorado’s microbrew industry,” said Dave Thibodeau, co-owner Ska Brewing Co. “We started what is now trendier than fixie bikes and side-swept bangs.”

The 16th annual party starts rolling with a pre-party gathering at Ska Brewing at 5 p.m. After some light lubrication, the pedal parade points for the “working stiff’s rally,”  at the Durango Cyclery at 5:30 p.m. The squad will then promenade to Steamworks, where the co-brewed, signature event beer, “Face Plant Ale,” will be tapped at 6 p.m. Net proceeds from the sales of the specialty beer will be donated to the IHBC’s nonprofit beneficiary, Mercy Health Foundation.

Ska head brewer Thomas Larsen teamed up with Steamworks brewers Ken Martin and Spencer Roper to create the 2011 Face Plant Ale, an unfiltered, amber hefeweizen.  

 “The Face Plant Ale is poured in honor of the potential mud and blood to be spilled during this weekend’s Iron Horse events, and an apt reward for all those athletes who make the trek to Silverton, pile down the mountain bike trails or cruise the downtown criterium,” said Brian McEachron, Steamworks co-founder.

Celebrants will get a commemorative glass and beer for just $7 and can take in $3 refills of Face Plant all weekend long or “until we run out.”

Slight spillage

An epic spring does not necessary make for an epic Dolores River boating season. Despite the fact that the San Juans’ snowpack is sitting at 139 percent of average, most of the Dolores’ run-off will be going to the beans this year. A short nine-day spill starts this weekend on the nearby river.

The water masters opened the flood gates on McPhee Reservoir on May 25 and started ramping up flows for the weekend. The plan was to have 800 cfs leaving the dam by the morning of May 27 and 1,000 cfs by that afternoon. That water will join the approximately 300 cfs that is in the river now to make for boatble flows all Memorial Day weekend. The flows will be brought back to 800 cfs early in the week and held there through the following weekend.

For more information, visit www.doloreswaater.com.