Taken for a ride/ Think Lance would let a reporter tag along? No, but

Alison Dunlap is the reigning world cross-country mountain biking champion. I'm the best pistachio eater who ever lived. On a bike, she's grace personified. On a bike, I'm lucky not to fall off.

So the polar opposites thing is firmly established.

But for one glorious April afternoon at Palmer Park, I rode - and mostly kept up - with Dunlap, giving hope to 8-hour-a-day, anything- for-a-paycheck slobs everywhere, that you, too, can hang with an elite athlete.

Actually, the part about keeping up is a stretch. Dunlap drank maybe 8ounces of water, never broke a sweat and rarely shifted gears. She took it easy on me. The pistachio thing? I've got the 34-year- old hardened arteries to prove it.

First things first, though. The whole ride-along thing was my idea, not some cruel punishment from the higher-ups here at Action Central to test a new newsroom employee health insurance package. I mean, there's not much more to say about Dunlap, a year-round Springs resident, two-time Olympian and central figure in arguably the greatest cycling moment on U.S. soil when she won the world title at Vail last Sept.16 draped in an American flag.

The bizarre thing is Dunlap, knee deep in preparation for her dueling domestic and World Cup race seasons, said yes to the story pitch. But if you know her, or even know of her, it's not such a shock. She's about as likeable as it gets.

So armed with weekend riding buddy Christian Murdock, who doubles as a staff photographer at The Gazette, we took on the trails at Palmer Park with the queen of fat tires.

"Where do you guys feel like riding?" Dunlap asked in the parking lot next to the Mark Reymer Stables upon her arrival at the park. Needless to say, we let Dunlap decide.

She took us around the perimeter of Palmer, letting Murdock cruise ahead with his 15-pound Nikon hanging from a strap on his neck to shoot photos. I brought up the rear, extremely nervous and anxious to watch Dunlap ride.

The funny thing is, Murdock and I wondered a couple of days before the ride if Dunlap would be good at climbing or tackling the technical obstacles Palmer offers. It never crossed our minds she'd be good at both. She was. Dunlap, 32, cruised up the tough stuff effortlessly. And while Palmer is no one's idea of a lung-busting workout, she didn't spend much energy taking on the steep sections, either. OK, so we're idiots for wondering.

The best part of the ride, not including swearing at Murdock for taking my picture while I tried to twist my seatpost back into place after a tumble, was just shooting the bull with the best women's mountain biker on the planet.

Dunlap, a Colorado College graduate, is smart, candid and funny. Her family is spread out over the state. Her husband, also in the biking business, is her riding and training partner. Sorry, dudes, this attractive, extremely fit (5-foot-6, about 120 pounds), and extremely cute biking studette is definitely taken.

She said she spends more than 20 (yes, freakin' 20) hours a week pedaling her Santa Cruz-brand race machines in and around town. And, if all goes well between now and then, she's leaning toward competing in the Olympics at Athens, Greece, in 2004.

She also asked me questions about family, etc., but failed to seek training or riding advice. Go figure.

She said hello to everyone at the park. Her trail etiquette was exceptional (duh), and she never seemed to get bored with our slow pace, caused in part by Murdock's need to get ahead to do his work and helped along by my lack of skill.

Surprisingly, I'm pretty sure only one rider we came across recognized Dunlap, who was decked out in the rainbow race jersey she'll wear all season as the current world champ. Hello, people, this is the female Lance Armstrong, albeit with a much better personality, living in your back yard. And those in the cycling "know" will tell you it's even cooler to have Dunlap to call our own than that dude down in Texas. Go ahead, pick up any cycling rag and they all rave about how nice Dunlap is, in addition to her talents. You know what? They're all right. Think Lance would let a reporter tag along on a training ride? I don't think so.

After about 9 miles of riding, Dunlap said she had to get home, Murdock had his son's band concert to attend, and I had pork chops to grill, which were tough to eat 2hours later with that huge grin plastered across my face.

- Tim Spencer may be reached at 636-0250 or tspencer@gazette.com

DUNLAP'S 2002 RACE SCHEDULE

NORBA EVENTS

May 9-12 Snow Summit Resort, Big Bear Lake, Calif.

June 13-16 Alpine Valley Resort, Wis.

June 20-23 Snowshoe Mountain, W.Va.

Aug. 1-4 Durango

Aug. 15-18 Mount Snow, Vt.

WORLD CUP EVENTS

May 19 Madrid, Spain

May 26 Houffalize, Belgium

June 30 Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec

July 7 Grouse Mountain, British Columbia

July 14 Telluride

Sept. 1 World Championships, Kaprun, Austria

Sept. 8 Les Gets, France

Copyright 2002
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