With trail closures all around Durango making it impossible for mountain bikers to ride in town, former Fort Lewis College cyclist and current exercise science director at FLC Rotem Ishay, front, led the first Durango Dirt Derby event Thursday night around the track at Ray Dennison Memorial Field on the FLC campus. Ishay had planned the event long before the trail closures caused by the 416 Fire, but the timing of the first ride helped cooped up cyclists get on some dirt. “We have the natural resource of the dirt track over here, and if you want to ride that fast you have to have tires with knobs with a cross bike or mountain bike. Combining track racing and mountain biking, they are two total opposites on the spectrum of cycling. Mountain biking is all about climbing, force and strength, while track is all about speed, aerodynamics.”
The Durango Dirt Derby will be held free of charge on the track at Fort Lewis College all summer at 6 p.m. every other Thursday, with the next event to be held June 28. Workouts range from one fast lap to 12 laps in a points race format. The event is non-competitive and simply encourages people to get a good workout in on their bikes. “I wanted a group oriented thing for mountain bikers like we have Tuesday night worlds for the road,” Ishay said.
