Ear to the ground:
“If we’re gonna fight seriously, you’re going to need to trim those nails.”
– Setting the ground rules for a friendly sibling cage match
There’s an app for that
Visiting Durango and not sure how to get from Point A to Point B on two wheels? Or maybe you’re new to town and stymied by the vast network of trails and pathways. Or maybe you’ve lived here your whole life and you’re still stymied. Well, help has arrived in the form of the latest smartphone app, Durango Bikes.
Sponsored by Velorution cycles, the app is now available for download on Apple or Android at www.mycitybikes.org.
“This app is obviously not meant so much for long- time locals or people who have been riding bikes forever, but for newcomers to our fair burg, or cycling in general. It’s pretty damned handy!” Velorution Owner Joey Ernst wrote on the shop’s blog.
The app includes commuter-friendly routes through town, basic MTB trails and popular road riding routes, among other handy bike beta.
Durango is one of several cities that so far have signed up for the program, which also includes San Francisco, Ventura, Milwaukee, Phoenix and the up-and-coming biking mecca of Tampa, Fla.
My City Bikes is a nonprofit public health program aimed at encouraging cycling, whether for fitness, fun or transportation. According to mycitybikes.org, the average passenger vehicle produces 1 pound of pollutants per mile. But pounds of pollutants aren’t the only thing biking will remove. With one in three adults and one in five children in the U.S. obese (as per the CDC), cycling can also help remove pounds from the waistline.
And if for no other reason, do it because May happens to be National Bike Month.
To hell and back
While many Iron Horse riders are tapering this week and heaping a little more pasta on the dinner plate, one prospective contender is kicking it into high gear.
Last Sunday, Paul Jaramillo, 26, left his home in Denver for his former hometown of Durango. Via bike. For the second year in a row, Jaramillo is opting to ride the 336 miles from Denver to Durango. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Once in Durango, he will jump back in the saddle for the 47-mile journey to Silverton. He will then head back down the hill before riding the 336 miles in reverse, back to Denver.
If it sounds crazy, this is nothing new for Jaramillo, an (obviously) avid cyclist and chef at Denver’s Euclid Hall. He made the 336-mile trek last year in four days. This year, he is planning to cut his time in about half. As of Wednesday, no word on whether he was successful on making his two-day goal to town. But if he did, we hope he at least takes a few days off to rest the legs and wash the old chamois.