BOULDER, Colo. — A cow charged a woman on the South Boulder Creek Trail on Monday afternoon, knocking her down, officials said.

The woman was riding her bike on the trail when she encountered the cow, and she stopped to let the animal pass, said Pete Taylor, a ranger for Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. The cow knocked the woman over and walked on her legs, he said.

He said the woman — whose name wasn’t released — wasn’t seriously injured, and she refused medical treatment.

She didn’t appear to do anything to provoke the animal, which witnesses said appeared to have an injured leg, he said. The cow had left the scene by the time rangers arrived, but hikers coming down the trail were warning others about the rogue bovine.

Marshall Mesa open space is leased by livestock owners and used as grazing land. Taylor said the cow’s owner was notified.

In 2003, a woman was rammed three times and her pelvis fractured by a grazing mama cow when she accidentally ran between the animal and her calf on the South Boulder Creek Trail.

Jason Vogel, vice president of the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance, called Monday’s attack “odd, rare and random” and said he hasn’t heard of any other cows going after cyclists. It’s not even common to come across cows on the trails, he said, though they often can be seen nearby.

“It’s not something people should be concerned about,” he said.

Welcome…President Barack Obama!!!

Today during a morning inaugural ceremony, Minister T.D. Jakes told the president-elect that he will face many critics,

“but you are all fired up, sir, and you’re ready to go.”

We are fired up as well!!! Today is a great day!

Trying To Stay On The Saddle When The Snow Is Flying.

Snow Biking Love!

Years past I would just laugh off the idea of sitting on a bike trainer. Why torture myself that way when I can just ski powder all the time? The winter of 2008 was one for the records here in Jackson Hole…right?. I did not sit on the bike trainer once. But, I did however, suffer in the Spring when the time came to really start training. Oh and those first few races…yeah, killer.

Even though I spent the summer sore I still told myself, “who cares, I skied nose deep powder all winter and LOVED every minute of it”. I told myself I would not change a thing this winter of 09 if the snow continued to dump. Well, that was until I started Cyclocross racing this past fall. The Victor Moose Cross is where the addiction began. OMG…the best time ever! What beats racing as hard as you can for 45 minutes, jumping over barriers, maybe even crashing sometimes, cow bells, plowing through mud and snow, and then drinking beer when it’s all over. I must say it is a dead even to my powder addiction. I know, crazy!! This format of bike racing is so much fun. I felt that the sense of pretentiousness that “sometimes” goes along with more traditional cycling competitions does not exist. Perfect for the recreational racer. Don’t get me wrong, the sense of good competition is in the air, but it has a lighter feel.

Cyclocross Love!

Once the Cross season ended I was really sad! I admit I was not looking forward to winter. I could have kept riding my bike all year. At that realization I knew what I had to do to be stronger next Cross season. Yup, spend time on the saddle this winter…yikes. I guess you would say that the start to the winter of 09 in the Tetons has helped with the “bike training” inspiration and discipline. We went from NOT being able to ski from low snow, to NOT being able to ski from extreme avy danger. I had to do something to keep up the endorphin rush. The heated arguments Scott and I were having from being cooped up in a house WAY overheated from our wood burning stove…for days…was just not doing it for me…or him. The time has come…the bike trainer it is. Well, and of course…the snow bike!
Ways to stay in riding shape over the winter:

1. Traditional Rear-wheel indoor bike trainer: Here you can spend as little as 175 on a rear-wheel magnetic trainer such as the Blackburn Mag Trainer or as high as $1600 for the Racermate Computrainer Pro, a rear-wheel trainer that hooks up to your computer and simulates training rides. The Computrainer shows you all the training stats you would ever need such as watts, cadence, spin scans and such. There is an awesome 3D program where you actually race against a computer generated rider…good times. Racermate is doing a $200 off program this entire winter so come by the shop if you are interested. In between there are a number of great trainers such a fluid trainers (Kurt Kinetics) and trainers with fly-wheels and rockers which all add to a more “real” road feeling sensation. Nice thing about the rear-wheel trainers is you can just turn the brain off and pedal. You can even pop in a DVD for inspiration, I suggest the Nine Inch Nails, Beside You In Time, that will really make you CRUSH IT! Stay away from romantic comedies…you tend to realize that you have been going through the motions for a couple of hours but not really sweating…maybe just sweating from your eyes. Boo Hoo.

NOTE…Fitzgerald’s ICC is up and going strong. If you want to gather a group of friends and come down for a ride be sure to give us a call.
CC Operating Hours are: Monday- Friday at NOON, 4PM, and 5:30PM
Please EMAIL us, info@fitzgeraldsbicycles.com or call the shop at 307-734-6886 to make an appointment.

Kurt Kintetic Road Machine $370

2. Rollers: Rollers come in handy when you are trying to work on form, balance and spinning workouts. Interval training is possible but you better be sure you are comfortable on the rollers and feel at one with your balance. Otherwise, you will end up across the room or better yet with your handlbars sticking in your dry-wall (oh yes, this has happened to a friend…the name rhymes with MEYERS.). Rollers require concentration so this makes it a bit more intense.

3. Snow Biking: Now this is a perfect balance for the person who does not want to spend too much time indoors, but needs saddle time. Snow bikes such as the Surly Pugsley (approx $2000) is created around a wheel platform where the rims are about 4 inches wide and you run around 8-12 pounds of pressure. You can ride these bikes on snow/ icy roads and they crush it. The greatest thing about these bikes is that they love groomed snow-mobile trails (The Big Holes/Togwotee Pass). You can go for hours in good conditions. This a perfect tool for those high and dry days where the powder skiing is not much good. The snow bike is also the ultimate approach vehicle for skiing some of those “out of the way” secret stashes! Shhhhh.

If you are looking to get into “winter” bike training mode, be sure to head down to Fitzgerald’s and look into the best options for your frame of mind. Your body, butt and mind will thank you come Spring. Have fun.

New for ’09 Part II

Lake Shoes ARRIVAL at Fitzgerald’s

The CX330 C - $290
Carbon Soles, Kangaroo Uppers, Boa Retention System

The CX235 C - $190
Carbon Sole, Full Grain Leather, Three Straps

The MX170 - $150
All Leather, All Boa, All Affordable MTB Shoe

Lake’s Motto: “FOCUS ON THE RIDE”.
I know with all this new snow piling up it is probably REALLY hard to focus on the “bike” ride. You probably find yourself “drifting” in and out of biking consciousness and “focusing” on the powder turns, but we still want to let you know about LAKE Shoes. We are really excited about the arrival of the 2009 Lake shoe line up here at Fitzgerald’s. Aside from the great design, comfortable feel, advanced materials, light weight and durability, the company in general has been great to work with as new dealers. LAKE has been in the shoe biz for the past 25 years and they continue to move forward with new innovations in design and fit. We were able to try on and check out each model that we will be carrying. If your are looking for some new and improved footwear this upcoming season and do not want to break the bank…any further than it might be this year, come try on some LAKE shoes.

New World Record for Bicycle Tightrope Riding