South Saint Vrain Class V kayaking video, The Narrows

Cool video of the Class V drops and rapids of the South Saint Vrain River, Lyons, Colo. World champion kayakers will be racing down this river at next week's Lyons Outdoor Games.

Dig & Ride - Dirt Jump/Skills Park this SUNDAY

The Lyons Bike park is nearly done!

Come out this Sunday and help put the finishing touches on the Bike park up in Lyons, and don't forget your bike! Digging, riding, and refreshments are all on the agenda. Call Glenn with any questions: 303.823.8100

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Our efforts to build a world-class bike park in Boulder have encouraged other similar parks, including our neighbors to the north in Lyons.

The Lyons Bike Park design is approved and ready to build. The park, located very close to the Lyons end of the Picture Rock Trail, will feature a pump track, natural terrain loop, BMX rollers, tabletops, jumps, and more. The budget is tiny, but the fun factor promises to be huge.

The team will need volunteers for final shaping, including a handful of experienced rider/builders to lead work groups. Construction is set to begin in the next couple weeks, and the park should be rocking for the Lyons Outdoor Games, June 12-14. For more information, check out www.lyonsoutdoorgames.com

Getting down to the wire

The Lyons Outdoor Games is less than two weeks away, and the town's dozens of volunteers are cranking along. The Lyons Bike Park (new public pump track) is nearly finished, and the other sites are being readied.
In addition to the tons of sponsors we already have on board, we are pleased to announce Whole Foods is donating fresh fruit for all volunteers and competitors. Plus, we've welcomed Elevation Outdoors Magazine on board as our media sponsor. They are bringing tons of mags to the event, as well as goodie bags and donations for the auction.
Check out the blog next Monday for a complete list of all the fantastic auction items we will have at the Games. Also check in the next few days for the South Saint Vrain video, an article on World Champion kayaker (and Lyons local) Scott Shipley, as well as other news of the Games!

This blog sponsored by Lyons Outdoor Games

Lyons Bike Park, Boulder County's first public pump track

Boulder County to get its first mountain bike/BMX pump park in Lyons, Colo.

With significant help from local sponsors, designers, and a lot of volunteers, the Town of Lyons, Colo., is building Boulder County’s first pump park in time for its 7^th annual Smith Optics Lyons Outdoor Games, presented by Oskar Blues, held June 12-14. The three-day event includes various extreme biking and kayaking competitions, as well as demos and comps in other sports, from skateboarding to fly fishing.

“The new pump park will add an exciting mountain biking component to the Games,” stated Lyons’ Parks and Recreation Director Dave Cosgrove. “Now bikers will be able to go really big. The jumps will send them flying. It should be thrilling for both competitors and spectators.”

The pump park will also open the door for local and regional bikers of all skill sets to hone their skills prior to hitting the nearby open space trails, he added. Located within town limits in Bohn Park, it will combine aspects of dirt jump riding, skills riding, and a pump track. Parts of it, including the practice loop, will be rideable year round because it will incorporate the native Sandstone of the area, donated by Lyons-based Blue Mountain Stone.

Lee McCormack, founder of Pump Track Nation, designed the course. “This kind of park hasn’t been done,” he stated. “The inclusion of natural terrain and materials makes it unique.” Parks in other areas of the country often utilize bridges, but in Colorado riders must contend with riding over rocks.

“This park is being created specifically for fun’s sake, but also to help people enjoy the local riding,” McCormack explained. He has spent hours actually recreating some difficult sections of local trails, utilizing his own experiences on those trails and measurements he took.

The pump park, says Glenn Bell, owner of Lyons-based Bitterbrush Cycles and one of the course’s main advocates, will be a boon to the town’s recreational offerings. “We can have more competitions other than the Lyons Outdoor Games, generate a lot of fun, and maybe get people to stay in Lyons and shop.”

Bell initiated the creation of the pump park soon after opening his shop. He soon got the Town on board, enlisted the help of McCormack, and less than a year later, it is now a reality.

“It’s going to be a place anyone can ride and have a great time,” Bell said, enthusiastically.

“It’s just another great collaborative effort in Lyons that truly highlights what our parks department is capable of accomplishing with very few resources,” Cosgrove added.

The town will be holding bike clinics at the park, as well as competitions. For more information, please visit the www.LyonsOutdoorGames.com, or contact Dave Cosgrove at davec@townoflyons.com.

Fly Fishing in Lyons

Water levels in the St Vrain are still pretty high, so past advice still holds: fish the soft water on the edges and behind midstream obstructions using nymphs such as the Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear and Copper John trailing a pink or purple San Juan Worm. While hatching insects may be rare, you may see Blue Wing Olives or Pale Morning Duns- match the hatch with an appropriate pattern or a Parachute Adams.

Lyons Bike Park Is A Go!

Thanks to everyone that showed up to make the bike park build day such a success. We had about 40 people show up to help get this thing whipped into shape. We managed to get the pump track in place and burned in, two of the table tops formed and the second ramp for the big jumps built. Not to mention all of the fun we all had riding the park. Thanks so much to Lee McCormack, Lefthand Excavating, Dave Cosgrove, BMA, Yellow Designs, Hatrock Excavating and everyone that showed up!

Lyons Outdoor Games to be 90% Zero Waste event

The Smith Optics Lyons Outdoor Games, sponsored by Oskar Blues, to be zero-waste event in 2009

Working with Boulder-based EcoCycle, Scott Young of Lyons-based Blue Sky Mortgage and the Lyons Outdoor Games organizers are running a zero-waste event in 2009.

“These days, financial incentive causes individuals and businesses to begin to notice and take part in green efforts, but it is secondary to the critical need for all of us to make the paradigm shift to a green way of living,” Young explains. “My personal and business philosophy is to make as small a carbon footprint as possible, and sponsoring the zero-waste component of LOG ties in perfectly with that philosophy.”

According to Dan Bruckner, co-owner of the catering company A Spice of Life and the man who spearheaded the zero waste efforts at the Games in previous years, “Composting all the waste from events like these is just as important as recycling. When you put organic materials into landfills it’s creating not just carbon emissions but also methane emissions, which are even worse for the environment.”

After applying zero-waste efforts successfully at his own business (reducing the landfill waste he produced by 90 percent), Brucker approached Lyons Outdoor Games organizers with the idea. They started out with a successful zero-waste breakfast in 2007 and then a zero-waste BBQ and movie night in 2008, during which all cans and bottles were recycled, and all foodstuff (bones, meat included) and corn-based cups and potato starch based cutlery were gathered for composting. Local volunteers manned stations to ensure people discarded their items into the proper containers.

“Between all the beer cans we picked up, food waste, plates, forks, etc, we had a 98 percent diversion rate from landfills,” Bruckner stated. “That means out of all the waste generated by 250 people in Sandstone Park during the barbeque, only two percent went to landfills, and the rest was recycled.” Once collected by EcoCycle, the materials are turned into soil within three months and then sold.

Composting and recycling isn’t just good for the environment, Bruckner added. According to a ground breaking Wasting and Recycling in the United States report published in 2000, "On a per-ton basis, sorting and processing recyclables alone sustains ten times more jobs than landfilling or incineration." And according to EcoCycle, zero-waste events “herald fundamental change” in the way governments subsidize wasting, manufacturers design products and packaging, and people manage resources in general.

This year, landfill waste will be eliminated from 90 percent of the event.

“Really it’s all about creating as little landfill waste as possible,” added Bruckner. “If you can do that you’re really truly doing good for the earth.”

Adds Young, “If we strive for zero waste in our day-to-day consumptive activities, then we set our sights on perfection. If we set a high goal, then we will achieve a greater level of success. Wouldn't it be great if we could close the garbage dumps?”

The Lyons Outdoor Games are a multi-sport extreme sports competition held every summer in Lyons. Events include kayaking races and trick comps, mountain biking and BMX events, as well as skateboarding, fly fishing, chainsaw carving and other demos. The event also includes live music throughout the weekend, outdoor industry booths, BBQ, and plenty of beer.

For more information, please contact the Lyons Parks and Recreation at 303-823-8250 or emailrecreation@townoflyons.com.

Scott Young’s Blue Sky Mortgage Group works with first time homebuyers and seasoned investors to develop sensible, intelligent mortgage solutions based on current needs, with a view to the future. Their goal is to play a part in guiding our clients along the road to financial success.

Dan Bruckner’s A Spice of Life Catering is a full-service event company providing ‘a fresh approach to a memorable event’ since 1987.  They combine exceptional cuisine, years of experience, and a dedication to details that will add the right spice to any occasion.