Adirondack Sports April 2024
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Adirondack Sports April 2024

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20 Adirondack Sports THIRD ANNUAL RAPID RIVER FONDO Rick’s Bike Shop and Rick’s Outpost Sunday, June 23 – 9am Warrensburg Fish Hatchery, Warrensburg Three gorgeous rides of 33, 48 and 62 miles all meandering southern Adirondack waterways All include support and rest stops at The Hub Register: BikeReg.com To benefit Adirondack Cycling Advocates to promote safe and quality bicycling in the southern Adirondacks Women’s Bike Clinic & Group Ride Sat, May 11: 8-11am Gurney Lane, Queensbury Summer Time Trial Series – 6:30pm Charlton Rd, Ballston Spa: Wed, 5/29, 6/12, 6/26, 7/10 West River Rd, Fort Edward – 6/4, 6/18, 7/2 Bike's Gear And Service Ricksbikeshop.com Queensbury NY (518) 793-8986 WWW.RICKSBIKESHOP.COM 368 RIDGE RD, QUEENSBURY, NY MORE SMILES PER MILE 2024 EVENTS ADK WOMEN’S WEEKEND//JUNE 28-30 RIDE FOR THE RIVER// SUNDAY, JULY 14 WEEKENDER//AUG 2-4 PAT STRATTON RIDE//AUG 24 GREAT CAMP SAGAMORE EXPERIENCE// SEPT 8-11 HANDLEBARLEY// SEPT 14-15 BIKE THE BARNS// SEPT 21 REGISTER TODAY AT BIKEADIRONDACKS.COM

ATHLETE PROFILE APRIL 2024 21 ON TANK TOP WITH MONTANA. PEOPLES PERCH WATER TOWER. Ian Klepetar By Dave Kraus “I understand that I’m not the traditional athlete,” says Ian Klepetar in an email about his interview for this story. And he’s right. Ian’s upbringing near Saratoga Springs included some kids team sports including Little League baseball and youth soccer. But by his senior year in high school his outdoor upbringing and pursuits had turned him on to mountain biking, skiing, and the outdoors. His father took Ian and his three siblings on hikes and multiday canoe trips in the Adirondacks. But the local turf near his family’s home north of Saratoga also offered the perfect playground for a youngster loving the outdoors. “We grew up in a rural area, so we always had the benefits of natural space right out the front door,” he remembers. “We used to live on a mountainside, so in our early teens we were already jumping off cliffs with our skis on. It’s rocky back there and there’s a lot to play on and lots to get hurt on and we liked that. Any way I could move through space outside was my mental therapy.” Other circumstances helped shape the course of his outdoor future. In high school he worked at a local alpine sports shop three days a week where free skiing was part of the pay and another chance to fuel his love of the outdoors. Today Ian calls himself an “athlete by default,” continuing his outdoor athletic life. “I’ve chosen to live a car-free lifestyle, so I try to engage and interact with the surroundings I have available to me nearby. My ability to run a marathon or AGE: 45 HOMETOWN: Saratoga Springs FAMILY: Parents; three siblings; partner, Montana SPORTS: Backcountry/Free Skiing, Climbing, Running, Road/ Mountain Biking, Triathlons OCCUPATIONS: Full-time Bicycle Advocate with Bicycle Benefits HOBBIES: Assembling jigsaw puzzles on top of mountains ride a century is not through training, it’s though my commitment not to drive a motorized vehicle.” Ian is also an avid short and long-distance runner whose endurance achievements have included running from Boston to Portland, Maine, across Vermont, and from Seattle to Portland, Ore. He’s also gotten into competitive cycling at different times, doing mountain and road bike races, a few triathlons, and riding whenever he can on “whatever bike I can get my hands on.” The hiking bug has also continued to bite him long after those childhood outings with his dad. Today he combines hiking with what he calls “adventure puzzling” to indulge in his jigsaw puzzle hobby. He carries a table and puzzle with him to a mountain top and tries to complete the puzzle before it gets dark. He admits he gets a kick out of encountering other hikers who aren’t quite sure what to make of him. “They get on top and you’re casually sitting up there with a cup of coffee working on a puzzle and you invite FREE SKIING. them to put a few pieces in. It’s my kind of summit!” His bicycle and his feet take him almost everywhere he wants to go, and he also loves climbing, claiming “I climb anything.” That includes the old water tower he purchased in Baldwin, Maine, in the fall of 2020 where he goes to practice his climbing skills. He and his partner Montana and their friends have dubbed it the “People’s Perch” and are working to turn the 120-foot landmark near Portland into a community hub with a garden, payit-forward cafe, seasonal farm stand, and the largest jigsaw puzzle collection in the world: peoplesperch.org. Ian’s quest for education and the outdoors led him to attend college in Montana, then “bounce around for a little while” as he calls it. During his travels, he witnessed both a cyclist and a pedestrian being hit by drivers. The young cyclist was killed, and the severely injured pedestrian was in a crosswalk. The two incidents left a lasting mark on him and ended up shaping his professional life as well. “It still makes me emotional thinking about it,” he remembers. “I couldn’t grasp how we can just get in our vehicles and carelessly take another life. When you have that experience, the way you start looking at vehicles changes dramatically.” His voice breaks as he finishes speaking. He pauses for a moment, then continues. “From that day on my path was kind of set for me. I started working to do what I could to change that. Maybe it was being in the wrong place at the right time. Once you experience that… For me it changed everything. I knew I had to do something.” In 2005 he got the opportunity to act on See ATHLETE PROFILE 23

20 <strong>Adirondack</strong> <strong>Sports</strong><br />

THIRD ANNUAL<br />

RAPID RIVER FONDO<br />

Rick’s Bike Shop<br />

and<br />

Rick’s Outpost<br />

Sunday, June 23 – 9am<br />

Warrensburg Fish Hatchery, Warrensburg<br />

Three gorgeous rides of 33, 48 and<br />

62 miles all meandering southern<br />

<strong>Adirondack</strong> waterways<br />

All include support and rest stops at The Hub<br />

Register: BikeReg.com<br />

To benefit <strong>Adirondack</strong> Cycling<br />

Advocates to promote<br />

safe and quality bicycling<br />

in the southern <strong>Adirondack</strong>s<br />

Women’s<br />

Bike Clinic &<br />

Group Ride<br />

Sat, May 11: 8-11am<br />

Gurney Lane,<br />

Queensbury<br />

Summer Time Trial Series – 6:30pm<br />

Charlton Rd, Ballston Spa: Wed, 5/29, 6/12, 6/26, 7/10<br />

West River Rd, Fort Edward – 6/4, 6/18, 7/2<br />

Bike's Gear And Service<br />

Ricksbikeshop.com<br />

Queensbury NY<br />

(518) 793-8986<br />

WWW.RICKSBIKESHOP.COM 368 RIDGE RD, QUEENSBURY, NY<br />

MORE SMILES<br />

PER MILE<br />

<strong>2024</strong> EVENTS<br />

ADK WOMEN’S WEEKEND//JUNE 28-30<br />

RIDE FOR THE RIVER// SUNDAY, JULY 14<br />

WEEKENDER//AUG 2-4<br />

PAT STRATTON RIDE//AUG 24<br />

GREAT CAMP SAGAMORE EXPERIENCE// SEPT 8-11<br />

HANDLEBARLEY// SEPT 14-15<br />

BIKE THE BARNS// SEPT 21<br />

REGISTER TODAY AT BIKEADIRONDACKS.COM

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