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Dave Shively

Dave Shively's outdoors column appears Sundays in the Steamboat Pilot & Today. Contact him at 871-4253 or e-mail dshively@steamboatpilot.com.

Dave Shively

Dave Shively's outdoors column appears Sundays in the Steamboat Pilot & Today. Contact him at 871-4253 or e-mail dshively@steamboatpilot.com.

The long week of rain and snow put a premature end to another fair-weather outdoor exercise option. Lugging the mountain bike inside for late fall, I started thinking about Steamboat's unique mountain bike community.

I began suffering from acute bike envy during occasional afternoon rides up Emerald. I was amazed at the money spent by the average rider on set-up and accessories.

Not that I'm rolling on a Huffy. My bike's rideable. But I found the severe degree of its worn existence trying to fill a deflated tube at the quarry. Two riders I approached were comparing the differing handgrips on their identical Moots Smoothie bikes - frames alone worth far more than my car.

Even though they scoffed at my "old-school" Schrader valve that wouldn't fit their pumps, one guy dug a CO2 cartridge from his bag that blasted enough air to get me down.

Surprised by the help from strangers toward a rider who refuses to buy bike shorts, I saw the camaraderie again covering Town Challenge races this summer.

In the final series race, Mark Bosley ejected off his bike on the descent from Thunderhead Peak and his brake lever caused a deep puncture wound in his thigh. Numerous racers sacrificed their times to stop and help Bosley, including two men competing against him for the final point standings.

While the mountain bike community here is tight-knit, willing to invest in the best equipment and militantly fitness-oriented, it seems to lack one thing - the downhill element.

Steamboat local Gina Grether spent years racing on the NORBA downhill racing series. She estimates there are only about 20 downhill junkies in town.

Some of the reason lies in Ski Corp.'s mountain bike policy, which does not allow "extreme, high-speed downhill mountain biking."

Ski Corp. spokesman Mike Lane and summer activities coordinator John Kohnke said the ski area wants to maintain mixed-use trails available for all ability levels and that it's too hard to justify making concessions to a few downhill bikers from a business perspective.

This lack of a legitimate lift-accessible option for the heavier bikes stifles younger riders from picking up the discipline and forces any serious riders, like Grether, to make the trip to resorts like Keystone and Winter Park that have opened one-way trails and downhill features.

Steamboat's natural topography also plays a role. Perhaps with the steep natural terrain you'd find in the San Juans, throngs of face-masked, body-armored bikers would sway the resort to cater to the sport the way Silverton Mountain and Durango Mountain Resort have.

I can still find a few downhill spots for cheap thrills. On my last fall ride down Howelsen, I hit a steep pitch with too much speed, careened into a rut and did the Superman ejection into the weeds. Catching my breath and seeing that I was OK, I picked a clump of dirt out of my helmet visor, thinking that maybe I too should just embrace Steamboat's cross-country persona.

Call Dave Shively at 871-4253 or e-mail dshively@steamboatpilot.com