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Idaho Family Touring

By Dan Shryock

Here’s a way to take the family on a Tour of the Basque Country and never board an airplane.

This Basque Country is not the remote northern corner of Spain known to cycling fans for its week of racing each April. This is Boise, Idaho, a bastion of Basque culture and tradition in the Pacific Northwest.

Much like the Basque homeland, cycling is woven into the community fabric here. There are hundreds of miles of mountain bike trails in the nearby hills.

There’s the Boise Goathead Fest, a fun ride on cruiser bikes. There’s the Twilight Criterium, a professional race on an eight-block city street oval in front of the Idaho state capitol building.

And, for family rides there’s the Boise River Greenbelt, a network of paved trails linking the vibrant downtown area with Boise State University, neighborhoods and the countryside.

Father's Day Gift

By Mick Klasson

I have a picture. The actual photograph is tucked away in an album on a shelf high in a closet, but the image is fixed in my mind. On a day so heavy with gray that the bellies of the clouds sag to the ground, my dad and I face the camera. We’re clad in faded green chamois shirts and jeans. We’re also sporting clunky Bell Tourlite helmets and big grins. Our grins are because we are together, of course, but they are also sparked by anticipation.

The anticipation involves the bicycles we hold upright at our sides. Twin black Schwinn High Sierras, each sporting 15 speeds, chromed bullmoose handlebars, and cantilever brakes pulled by thick and wide Diacompe brake levers that are only one step removed from the motorcycle levers they were modeled after. At the time, these bikes were solidly respectable specimens of the state-of-the-art production mountain bike.

On the trail of... Good News!

While most of the mountain biking world sheltered in place, Marin Municipal Water District’s (MMWD) Board of Directors authorized $150,000 in funding to help launch construction of the Azalea Hill/Liberty Gulch trail project on April 7.

Bike Events in the Age of COVID-19

Well, October 2020 is shaping up to be a very busy bike event month as many events move from their Spring dates. All the better to leave time to get in bike riding shape!

We will add to this list as we hear of other event changes — check back frequently for updates.