IdahoCycling.com
Title
Idaho Cycling Enthusiasts Bicycle Club
Description
ICE Club Information
History. Idaho Cycling Enthusiasts (“ICE”) was founded in 1997 “to encourage bicycle riding, to promote a healthy lifestyle, provide recreational opportunities and demonstrate that cycling is a practical means of transportation.” ICE is the current incarnation of what over the years has been a sequence of bicycle clubs in the Pocatello area. Cycling has a long history in Pocatello, and the roots of current club activities, rides and members date back at least 30 years. Chris Stuart, one of our young, up-and-coming racers, is the son of Doug Stuart, a well-known Pocatello racing star from the 1970s. So, ICE is now officially home of the second generation of Pocatello cycling stars. Not far behind is the third generation, who right now participate in our youth races for kids under the age of 10. Landry Walker, daughter of Pocatello racing legends Bob and Kris Walker, leads the third generation. This will probably make Bob and Kris feel their age, but both are still in peak form, as Kris won the national criterium championship in her age group in 2005 and Bob’s sprint and savvy is still respected and feared among his racing peers. The question Landry will answer for us is, “what do you get when you cross a burly sprinter with a lithe climber?”
Dave Balé, ICE’s first president, started the Holt Arena criterium series on the Idaho State University (ISU) Campus in 1997, meaning that the 2006 edition, hosted for the third year in a row by the ISU Campus Recreation and Intramurals program, will be the 10th anniversary of this popular club event. A year later, Jay Anderson, one of ICE’s founding members, established the Tour of Marsh Valley, which has grown into southeast Idaho’s premier touring event. Sadly, Jay passed away in 2002, shortly after his retirement from ISU. However, the tour lives on as the “Jay Anderson Memorial Tour of Marsh Valley,” and is held every year in conjunction with the Portneuf Greenway Foundation’s annual riverfest. The Tour raises hundreds of dollars each year that are donated to the Greenway Foundation in Jay’s memory. In addition to founding the Tour, Jay was ICE’s first cycling advocacy director and was responsible for many of the bike lanes, pathways, and street improvements we all use and enjoy every day in Pocatello. Kirk Hendricks has ably assumed Jay’s advocacy position and continues to represent cyclists in transportation and community planning in southeastern Idaho.
David Gates took over the club a few years after the its formation, and his energy and enthusiasm spawned the club’s premier competitive event, the Gate City Grind Stage Race, in 1999. Held in early- to mid-July each year, the Grind has become a well-established favorite on the regional calendar and draws between 150 and 200 riders each year from 8 western states. The 2006 edition will expand to a three-day event and include a prologue time trial to kick off the weekend.
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