Castle Rock, CO Outdoor Activities

Former professional motorcycle racer and 20-year veteran street rider Jason Curdy dedicates his company, Full Throttle Riding Academy—a state-sponsored school and recognized training provider of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation—to teaching motorcyclists to ride safely and respect the road. Starting with the two-day Basic Rider Course, students learn to safely maneuver their vehicles on an off-street range and study riding regulations within the classroom. By the end of the course, they’ll have the knowledge and command of their bikes necessary to start riding. Riders can also brush up on their street skills in the half-day Experienced Rider Course, which incorporates more advanced riding techniques, showing them how to optimize lane position and how not to read a book at the wheel.

A year after Scott Kerkmans created the role of Chief Beer Officer for the Four Points by Sheraton hotels, it began to get around that Denver was the "Napa Valley of Beer." As NPR later reports, the rumor is a culmination of a life spent steeped in beer culture. Before creating Colorado Beer Week and beating out more than 7,000 applicants for the title of CBO, Kerkmans was on the production side at Alaskan Brewing Company. He’s since authored articles for Draft Magazine, taught at Cook Street School of Fine Cooking, and judged burped renditions of the Pledge of Allegiance at the Great American Beer Festival. He shares his taste in microbrews with more than 140 hotels and restaurants worldwide through the Four Point's beer program, but keeps his feet planted firmly on his home turf during his nine-day spring festival, which highlights the finest pours from Colorado breweries including New Belgium, Oskar Blues, and Ska Brewing Company.

When Hungarian road cyclist Frank Barvik immigrated to America in the late 1950s, he laid the foundation for his American dream by opening his own bike shop. Inspired by their patriarch’s love of bicycles, his descendants opened up a bike shop of their own in 1984. Adventure Cycling still welcomes cyclists today, with a carousel display near the entrance inviting customers to scrutinize new models of Orbea, Yeti, and Specialized bicycles. Stockpiles of cycling shoes, helmets, air pumps, and other accessories line the vivid red and blue walls, competing for attention with posters, vintage photographs, and the childhood height chart of Greg LeMond. The shop’s in-house bike mechanics repair and replace worn-out parts, getting wheels ready for guided rides on Saturday mornings and Monday evenings.

Shoppers at the Southlands can take a break from gift buying by taking a turn on this icy outdoor skating rink. Families and friends can lace up rented hockey or figure skates, then take to the ice to enjoy the crisp, cold air as they practice spins and backward maneuvers or fine-tune impersonations of a baby deer learning to walk. The rink's opening also coincides with a visit from Santa, who parks his sleigh at Southlands Town Square on Tuesdays–Sundays, starting November 17.

Designed by adrenaline junkies specifically for Speed Raceway, each eco-friendly electric XLR8R kart can thrust racers at speeds nearing 50 mph through Speed Raceway's quarter-mile track. With 2 inches between you and the track below, the karts revolutionize the wind-resistant, frictional foundations of modern physics, proving once and for all that all physics is theoretical, especially gravity. Each 12-lap contest pits white-knuckled drivers against one another, and the entire field against a smug, unrelenting clock. Soon, licensed members can view an online database of their best times anytime, anywhere, and always in the presence of a disbelieving trackside crush.

With the help of Shakespeare Golf, bunker-dwelling wedge-wielders and rough-slashing excursionists can finally bring balance to their game without the use of a 15-foot tightrope-walking pole. As a former Nationwide Tour professional, Greg Shakespeare draws on more than 30 years of steady-handed golf expertise to iron out swing kinks with the devastating energy efficiency of a solar-powered steamroller. By working with scores of current pro and amateur players alike, Greg has developed an efficient instruction regimen that molds loose-swinging players into taut, ball-launching bazookas. Students will benefit from effective practice drills that help them uncover their own game-changing swing, plus a video analysis that lets them see for themselves exactly what point in their follow-through elicits a sad trombone sound. Finally, instruction on proper practice methods and the psychology of golf will help ensure continued success, as well as nurture the ability to psych out opponents with casual quips about their outfits.