Best Bike Fixer 2005 | Jenn Dice | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Bike Fixer

Jenn Dice

Everyone knows about the pernicious effect of money in politics: Fancy-cat lobbyists use gobs of cash to sleaze their evil corporate agendas into sweetheart legislation. That's exactly what Jenn Dice, the government liaison for the Golden-based IMBA, does...not. In place of the regular cocktail-party circuit usually plied by Beltway lobbyists, IMBA dispatches Dice, 33, to introduce legislative staffers to its bike-friendly agenda by convincing them to get outside and on a mountain bike. Each year, the organization sponsors spring and fall rides in Riverbend Park in Fairfax County, Virginia. A literal breath of fresh air, the muddy gatherings give the desk-bound policy wonks a saddle-side opportunity to see what mountain biking is all about. And it doesn't suck for Dice, a former lobbyist for Colorado counties, either. "It's really cool," she admits. "It lets me combine what I love doing with my government experience."

Best Biking Alternative to Moab

Fruita Fat Tire Festival

For years, Fruita was known for its orchards filled with fat peaches. Gradually it became know for its intoxicating vineyards. Not surprisingly, this heritage has fostered a love of fat-tire biking. Every spring, the town hosts the Fat Tire Festival, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. The fest kicks off with a marathon eighteen-hour ride on April 29, with single-trackers grooving in Highline State Park. Road-bike tours, prizes and other surprises make this event -- more than a week's worth of stuff -- a fat load of fun. Though Fruita is still a haul, it's closer than Moab.

Best Biking Alternative to Moab

Fruita Fat Tire Festival

For years, Fruita was known for its orchards filled with fat peaches. Gradually it became know for its intoxicating vineyards. Not surprisingly, this heritage has fostered a love of fat-tire biking. Every spring, the town hosts the Fat Tire Festival, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. The fest kicks off with a marathon eighteen-hour ride on April 29, with single-trackers grooving in Highline State Park. Road-bike tours, prizes and other surprises make this event -- more than a week's worth of stuff -- a fat load of fun. Though Fruita is still a haul, it's closer than Moab.

Best Bikeway in Progress

Sand Creek Regional Greenway

Slowly but surely, the pieces for this thirteen-mile route that cross the old Stapleton Airport site are filling in. Eventually, the soft-surface trail, which is open to non- motorized vehicles only, will connect part of a fifty-mile loop of urban trails, going from the High Line Canal Bikeway in Aurora to the Platte River Greenway. Riders have to adapt to some construction sites, but backers insist that there is light at the end of the tunnel -- and plenty of room to roam in the future.

Best Bikeway in Progress

Sand Creek Regional Greenway

Slowly but surely, the pieces for this thirteen-mile route that cross the old Stapleton Airport site are filling in. Eventually, the soft-surface trail, which is open to non- motorized vehicles only, will connect part of a fifty-mile loop of urban trails, going from the High Line Canal Bikeway in Aurora to the Platte River Greenway. Riders have to adapt to some construction sites, but backers insist that there is light at the end of the tunnel -- and plenty of room to roam in the future.

Best Website for a Mountain-Bike Groove

www.trailcentral.com

Founded by Colorado college buddies in 1999, trailcentral.com has evolved into a multi-faceted portal for riders throughout Colorado and beyond. Whether it's the reviewed Ride of the Month or a lively chat triggered by some flatlander looking for advice, the site gives savvy cyclists the goods to stay in gear.

Best Website for a Mountain-Bike Groove

www.trailcentral.com

Founded by Colorado college buddies in 1999, trailcentral.com has evolved into a multi-faceted portal for riders throughout Colorado and beyond. Whether it's the reviewed Ride of the Month or a lively chat triggered by some flatlander looking for advice, the site gives savvy cyclists the goods to stay in gear.

Best Skatepark

Southside Park
Trinidad

A former coal-mining town in southern Colorado is probably the last place on earth that skaters would expect to find a world-class skatepark. But ever since 2003, when this 14,000-square-foot concrete masterpiece was carved into a gravelly hillside above the city of Trinidad, skaters from all points of the compass have come to pump through its meandering snake run and vertical bowls. The Seattle-based skatepark construction outfit Grindline, which designed and built the creation, once again demonstrated how only a skateboarder's touch can master the subtleties that make a skatepark both fun and challenging. Some of the most engaging obstacles are the unassuming mogul-like bumps and the small spine ramp -- where both experts and amateurs can find a line.

Best Skatepark

Southside Park
Trinidad

A former coal-mining town in southern Colorado is probably the last place on earth that skaters would expect to find a world-class skatepark. But ever since 2003, when this 14,000-square-foot concrete masterpiece was carved into a gravelly hillside above the city of Trinidad, skaters from all points of the compass have come to pump through its meandering snake run and vertical bowls. The Seattle-based skatepark construction outfit Grindline, which designed and built the creation, once again demonstrated how only a skateboarder's touch can master the subtleties that make a skatepark both fun and challenging. Some of the most engaging obstacles are the unassuming mogul-like bumps and the small spine ramp -- where both experts and amateurs can find a line.

Best Soon-to-Be-Finished Skatepark

Westminster Skatepark

Over the past few months, local skaters have been skeptically monitoring the progress of the new concrete skateboard park being constructed behind the Westminster Recreation Center at 10455 Sheridan Boulevard. They have good reason to be wary: The park's architects, Architerra Group, are responsible for the wonky designs of parks in Federal Heights and Littleton. Luckily, Architerra was aided by some knowledgeable skateboarders, and this park appears to be shaping up nicely. The street course, while a little cramped, has a great-looking pyramid along with some well-angled rails, stairs and ledges. The bowl, which features a loveseat, an over-vert section and a spine transfer, should please the most advanced pool rider. Gnarly. Props to the contractor, American Civil Constructors, and Architerra for a nice addition to the skatepark scene. Here's a tip for both companies: Hire those skateboarders on as real consultants for future projects -- and this time, pay them.

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