It's all downhill with Pikes Peak biking trips

It's all downhill withPikes Peak biking trips
Get a Lance Armstrong experience without pedaling uphill. Challenge Unlimited, a Colorado Springs-based adventure travel company, is in its 12th season leading mountain bike trips down Pikes Peak Highway. Participants of all skill levels are transported to the 14,110-foot summit of Pikes Peak. Guides provide helmets, all-weather clothing and instruction. The 20-mile ride down the mountain takes cyclists through five vegetation and animal life zones. From June to August, two trips a day are offered. Once-daily trips are run in late April, May, September and early October. The 6 a.m. ride costs $95 per person and includes transportation, breakfast, lunch, 27-speed mountain bikes, helmets, gear, guides and a souvenir water bottle. The 2 p.m. ride is $85 and includes a light snack.
For more information, visit www.bikithikit.com on the Web.
Tours take visitorsthrough historical lodge
Tours of the historical Thunderbird Lodge on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe are being offered through early October. After its inaugural, sold-out season, the lodge is again allowing visitors to glimpse Tahoe's colorful history and life that the 1930s high society enjoyed. A 600-foot-long tunnel that ascends nearly three stories underground connects many of the buildings and is the most popular feature of the tour. Guests can visit the lodge by land or water, and ticket prices start at $25 per person, depending on tour type. For land departure information, call (800) 468-2463 or visit www.gotahoe.com; for water departure information, call (800) 553-3288 or (888) 867-6394.
Winners announced in parks photo contest
When Tana Beus from Bellingham, Wash., snapped a photo of a mountain goat in North Cascades National Park, she captured the reflective and fragile mood of the national parks. She also captured the grand prize in the third annual National Parks Pass Experience Your America Photo Contest. Beus' stunning photo wins her and three companions a trip to the national park of their choosing, a Kodak camera and accessories and a personalized National Parks Pass. But best of all, her winning photo will be featured on all 2004 National Parks Passes. The $50 passes allow one year of unlimited entry into all national parks. The park pass may be purchased online or at (888) 467-2757.
Combined dispatches