Top five ways to break out your bike this weekend

Get the lead out! Will he? Won't he? As of this writing Lance Armstrong hadn't yet tweeted his intention to compete in the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race on Saturday (he pre-qualified by winning the Crested Butte Alpine Odyssey on July 31), but one of the gnarliest events in Colorado...

By Colin Bane

August 12, 2011

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Get the lead out! Will he? Won't he? As of this writing Lance Armstrong hadn't yet tweeted his intention to compete in the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race on Saturday (he pre-qualified by winning the Crested Butte Alpine Odyssey on July 31), but one of the gnarliest events in Colorado will be plenty gnarly with or without him. Registration is closed for competitors, but go up and check out the spectacle anyway: The race, and ensuing carnage, starts at 6:30 a.m.

More two-wheeled stoke, after the jump...

The Raisin Hope Foundation Criterium (25-60 minutes, depending on the category) on Sunday at Table Mesa in Golden, 15055 South Golden Road, benefits the traumatic brain injury and spinal chord injury programs at Craig Hospital. Race day registration is $35, plus a one-day American Cycling Association license for $10 for "citizen" racers. Going downhill, fast! Local ladies ages 13+ looking to make the most of Denver's new Trestle Bike Park at Barnum Park North will want to head straight to the source this weekend for Winter Park's Gravity Goddess Downhill Camp at the original Trestle Bike Park. Registration begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday ($169 for the two-day camp and lift ticket, $229 with downhill bike rental package including full-face helmet and leg and arm protection) or call 800-729-7907 by 2 p.m. today to pre-register. Watch the left hook! Speaking of downhill mountain biking, SolVista Bike Park at Granby Ranch is hosting its first annual Suckerpunch! Downhill Challenge on Sunday, with all-mountain races starting at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m., depending on the category. Riders will duke it out in a mass-start down a yet-to-be-announced mystery slope, then scramble all over the mountain in a race to complete a punch card of every trail in the Bike Park. Hit the streets! LiveWell Colorado and Bike Denver are conspiring to close a two-mile stretch of 23rd Avenue to automobile traffic on Sunday, from City Park to Stapleton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., paving the way for pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders, etc. to run wild during the Viva Streets! ciclovía celebration.

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