Rubber Side Down

Picture Rock trail is opening this month!

Here’s the skinny right now:

Picture Rock Trail Grand Opening

September 22, 4pm in Lyons

Come join the Boulder County Commissioners & BCPOS Staff for a ribbon cutting ceremony, and a ride immediately after.

Park at Planet Bluegrass
Ride to the NO PARKING access point along Red Gulch Road.
After the ceremony and ride, return to Planet Bluegrass for a catered party provided by Oskar Blues… BCPOS is going to to this right!

Keep your eye on www.bouldermountainbike.org for any changes to the plan.

Yes, that’s a Monday, but see if you can’t get out early and make this. It should be pretty darn rad.

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Man, every time I go there, I learn more incredible trails, and I can’t figure out why this place doesn’t get the headlines. It’s only 3 hours away, the town is fun, the weather’s good, it’s not at mind-melting altitude, and it seems like you’d have to ride for weeks to see everything. It’s the complete package, baby.

Rob and I hit a quick weekend up there and planned a big epic for day one. We grabbed the gondola up the ski resort (after having our wallets emptied by said ski resort…ugh!), then still had a considerable climb up Storm Peak. At the top of that, we jumped onto the Mountain View trail, connected it to the Wyoming Trail and made our way to Buffalo Pass. From there we descended the road until we could slip onto the Spring Creek trail. This route is seriously rad! The trails offer great variety, from the rooty fun of Wyoming trail to the smooth ride on rails down Spring Creek. Plus the views are great and there’s a lake to skinny dip in, if you dare.

The next day, we met up with some pals who knew the trails on Emerald Mountain. Holy moly, I hope I can even do justice to this experience. It’s a jungle at 8,000 feet! The dense trees and foliage grow from the edge of the skinny singletrack to way up over your head, hemming you into a wall of green. You can’t even see the trail around the next corner. You can both climb and descend like this, and it’s such a strange sensation for Colorado natives like myself who have never ridden in places that look like this. I couldn’t stop laughing out loud.

I waited for a slightly more open spot to shoot pictures, and my pal Brad can’t quit grinning, either.

Go check it out, you’ll love it.

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It’s easy to get geeked out on traveling to great locations and then forget the little gems at home.

Betasso Preserve is still a great place to squeeze in that after-work ride.

Now, who’s racing the Winter Park Super D this weekend??

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Don’t even bother going there. It’s ugly, with crappy trails and boring views.

But if you feel you must make a trip there, try the Deer Creek trail. It was a new one for me; I’ve always bypassed it to ride 401. But that trail is still closed due to snow, so Deer Creek was the option for seeing the valley from above. Outstanding! The wildflowers are pretty awesome, and the weather is balmy perfection. Just be sure to take some bug spray. The mosquitoes are enjoying the place as much as everyone else.

The Reno/Flag/Bear/Deadman’s loop is also not rideable, at last reading. Apparently it’s been pretty torn up by motorcycles while still wet. Bummer. I’m busy planning a return trip to hit that and 401 later this month; hopefully the buff smoothness will be back by then.

We also rode the Dyke Trail, which is pretty great. Lots of fun downhill paired with some steep, tough climbing. (Wait, that describes every trail in Crested Butte.) But I recommend parking at the bottom of the singletrack and getting all the yucky dirt road climbing up Kebler Pass out of the way first. It involves a bit more driving, but I suspect it would be more than worth it.

Strand Hill, Upper/Upper Upper, etc. and Snodgrass are also in good shape. Doctor Park is ready to ride, but word has it that the Spring Creek crossing is burly. Bring a life jacket! Lastly, Teocalli Ridge is still closed. Those of you who really like to suffer will just have to wait.

I’ll post some CB video here soon…stay tuned.

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Okay, folks, you have to add the Rainbow Trail to your list, if you haven’t ridden it. It is STELLAR. It’s great to ride whole thing, or even tack it onto the fabulous Monarch Crest ride. But you can also just ride sections of it, which is what Rob and I did on our pass through Salida earlier this week.

On Monday we drove up County Road 101 to the pullout before the cattle guard, then continued on our bikes. Unfortunately, we were not warned that this was a long-ish, rocky, climb that demanded a lot of effort to ride up in the loose conditions. The information we’d gotten made it sound like the singletrack was just a “little way” up the road. Uhhh, not exactly. We nearly lost patience after about 50 minutes of this, when finally, blessedly, the Rainbow Trail sign appeared. We stopped for a snack and to admire the columbines, then ripped along the narrow, forested trail, which undulates along the top of Monarch Crest. It’s mostly smooth but has lots of twists, turns and exposure to keep things interesting. We eventually turned around to head back to the car, and as we did, the heavy clouds parted and the late-day sun came blazing out. It was gorgeous.

Then on Wednesday we took on another section, this time driving past Poncha Springs to park along Hwy. 285. There’s a trailhead sign at the pullout, which is about four or five miles out of Poncha. This section is pretty money, folks. Do this loop, now. Drop what you’re doing and get in the car. After you park, you start up County Road 200. Stay left to get onto County Road 201, and keep going until you get to the Rainbow Trail, which is clearly marked. The dirt road portion is very pleasant, easy climbing, with nice views of the valley as it narrows down to a final homestead. There are eight relatively short miles of this, and then when you get to the singletrack, you have eleven miles to look forward to. And whoa nelly, are they nice. They flow and undulate with no heavy climbing; there’s just a handful of short, steep hills out of gullies. Then you get to descend or contour for long stretches, all with nice views of Poncha Mountain. Ahhhh. A few rocky bits follow, then a loose, steep descent back to your car. I have to say it’s one of the nicest trails I’ve ridden in a long time. Kick it!

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I use that word pretty loosely.

I mean, I put a number on. And got on the start line. Then rode for about three minutes with the other Expert ladies before I began my solo trek through the woods. But, that’s okay. What was important is that I got through the race with pretty minimal back pain, which to me is a huge victory.

And the downhills were a freakin’ blast. My Maverick really is a unfair advantage in that regard. (Bully kid from the Simpson’s voice:) HA HA!!!!

Of course, I quit laughing abruptly when I saw my finish time for the day. But hey, luckily I’m not staking my ego on that kind of thing. It was fun and that’s all I care about.

Huge thanks to my man Rob for helping me out and sunburning himself waiting for me at the finish line. Here’s our rig at the expo area, as the Subaru guy checks out Rob’s bike. Rob had a fun time with the Expert men as well, so we chalked it up to a great day.

Now we are driving on to Salida for a couple of days’ riding and then on to Crested Butte, to join 40 other crazy people for four days of riding over the Fourth. Awesome! And yes, I hope to post some drool-worthy photos of Crested Butte.

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Hey racers,

it seems that Winter Park has finally decided to initiate an upgrade policy, which is a great idea. Not only will it keep people moving along through the categories, it will stop the endless whining from riders about “all the sandbaggers.” Hooray! Race number two in the series, with a redesigned course, is this Sunday — head up there and kick some boo-tay, my friends. I will actually be there, believe it or not, trying to ease my just-healed spine into the racing season. Don’t heckle me too hard for how slow I am, or I will get in front of you on narrow singletrack and refuse to let you pass.

Secondly, and this seriously gets my knickers in a twist of anticipation, Winter Park is going to have a Super D race. SICK! I can’t wait! (okay, let me stop hyperventilating over here.) It’s Sunday, July 20, during the Crankworkx event, and that probably means it’s extra rad. Get it on your calendars, my fellow gravity lovers.

(photo courtesy Winter Park website)

P.S. I’ve been putting this off, but I can’t hold out any longer. I publicly apologize for the lameness of my “events calendar”. It used to be awesome, showing every cool race, festival or trailwork day in the area, and now it’s just a pathetic square of inoperable crappiness. Our blogmaster here, Nick, tells me he’s searching for a new calendar plugin that will put the smack-down on the old one, but it’s not happening overnight. Please bear with me while we find a solution, or if you’re a hardcore blogger and know what’s up, send me an email (located in the About section). Thanks!

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(Photo courtesy BikeParts website) (Yes, even I forget my camera sometimes. Fire me.)

It’s really a cool place to go explore. I’m on a mission this summer/fall to try to see everything our northern neighbors have to offer.

I started with Lory State Park, checking out the cross-country trails while the man honed his skills in the dirt-jump/pump track park.

(photo courtesy Lee McCormack)

Due to a minor setback in the seemingly never-ending back-pain journey I’m on, I needed to keep the riding mellow….and Lory definitely delivered. With frequent views of people partying on Horsetooth Reservoir, the narrow singletrack of the East Valley Trail cruised and rolled with no real elevation change to speak of, until it delivered me to the Nomad Trail in the adjoining Horsetooth Mountain Park. That trail was pretty chill as well, and there I ran into another rider who showed me how to connect to the Blue Sky Trail, a long, mostly-easy meander down to Devil’s Backbone. I didn’t have time to fully experience Blue Sky, but I got a 15-minute taste of its real singletrack section before I had to head back to meet Rob at Air Central.

I think a return trip to Lory, to explore the five other trails (which include moderate and difficult terrain, according to the map), is definitely in order. And a full jaunt down the Blue Sky Trail will be a must, as well as the much-lauded trails in the mountain park. I’ll report back as soon as I can. In the meantime, if you’re a beginner mountain biker or you have friends who are just getting into the sport, take them to Lory. They’ll love the mellow, scenic ride. And if you follow your instincts through the campground just south of Nomad, you’ll figure out the Blue Sky connection. I can’t promise what lies further along there, but I bet it’s pretty cool.

(photo courtesy Lory State Park)

P.S. There’s a $6 park fee per four riders to get in (see the comments for details). Don’t forget some cash!

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No, not the altitude…the amount of Picture Rock Trail that got built by the hardworking 225 people who showed up for National Trails Day this morning. Sweet!!

This part of the trail, a mile or so above where it drops out onto Red Gulch Road in Lyons, undulates in and out of gullies as it descends, which makes it look seriously fun to ride. Plus, the soil is nice — there’s none of that cake-mix silty stuff you see on the Wapiti/Wild Turkey side of Heil.

Here’s the Delta Force Crew hiking in:

When they hiked back out, the grassy earth was now a trail. That’s what happens when you bring 200 people and Pulaskis.

Rob Love expands his Circle of Death:

Now the rumor is that only 1200 feet remain to connect the two ends. And then you add on some finishing work, and who knows — we could be riding the Heil-Hall connector by late July?? Outstanding.

Huge props to everyone who showed up today. I can’t wait to see the finished product.

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Check this out: Buffalo Creek has some new trails, with more on the way. Schwing! There’s a new loop (well, new since last summer when it was built) off of the Colorado Trail, called Buffalo Burn. Locals call it the Beginner Loop, but even experienced riders seem to enjoy it. Then there’s Redskin Creek, which provides a singletrack option connecting the Colorado Trail to the bottom of Gashouse Gulch, removing the need to ride some of the crappy service road I kvetched about in a previous post. (What can I say. Everything’s coming up Marty.)

Rumor has it another 27 miles are on tap for the area, making it even more worth the drive than it already is. Camping, here I come!

Here’s a map for your edification and workplace fantasizing. I’m headed down there with some friends on the 14th, and I’ll try to get some photos of at least one of these new trails to show you. Better yet, someone beat me to it and send ME some photos.

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