Rubber Side Down

So, last week I left the house like this:

The grand plan was to meet Josh, drive the fat-tire bikes up to the Peak to Peak, ride down on singletrack/dirt roads, then ride the skinny tire bikes back up for the car. You know, a little something-different adventure.

We got off to a rocky start, with Josh already having brake problems when we’re barely out of sight of the car.

Damn roadie. He looks great in lycra but his mtn bike always needs work.

And I was doing no better — even though I brought two pairs of socks, I managed to leave them both in Josh’s car in Boulder. Great. Nonetheless, we set out with a positive attitude that the day was going to be fun.

After stopping every ninety seconds to consult the map, we found our way to one of the rad singletracks we were seeking.

It was a great little slice of trail, narrow and hardly worn in some places. We also found some sections that were rutted and washed out, in that way that semi-secret trails aren’t always sustainable.

At the bottom of this, I just couldn’t handle the sockless riding anymore. It’s truly horrible — your feet start sweating and sliding all over the place inside your shoes, and often mountain bike shoes are a little rough inside. Not cool. So I started digging around in my pack to see what I could do to salvage the situation. It so happens that I keep my spare tube in an old sock, so I pulled that out and put it on. Ahhhh. Very nice. But there was the other bare foot to consider….hmmm. A bandanna! That’s the ticket. I keep one in my pack for various uses, and once tied around my foot, it made my life much more pleasant.

Just look to me for the latest in functional fashion trends.

So now I’ve learned a good lesson: I will continue to keep my spare tube in an old sock, but I will also throw its mate in there so I always have a complete pair in case of emergency. Don’t tell Tony Torrance that I have spares, though. His emergencies aren’t the kind I mean.

At any rate, we found a dirt road to take us lower, where we spotted some really cool old ruins and mining relics. I can’t believe that I’ve lived in the Boulder area for 20 years now and I’d never been along these roads. It’s super cool up there. Eventually we got to our next singletrack, beckoning us along:

This whole area was awesome. We saw lots more cool stuff:

There was a chilly wind blowing out of this old mine…ahhhh

It’s really hard to imagine surviving a winter up here.

More skinny trail to explore

It’s so secluded. Very nice.

But like a lot of good things, this came to an abrupt end. At someone’s private property, they put up signs and rock walls to keep bikes out. Which is their prerogative, of course. It’s just a little galling to see a sign saying “No Bikes! Hikers Welcome.” So, only certain strangers can trespass on your land…? When I get rich and buy a huge piece of property in the mountains, I’m going to build a bunch of rad trails and hang huge signs that say “Bikes Only. Hikers Will Be Shot in the Kneecaps On Sight.”    Anyway, it’s no biggie, we had heard rumors that this area was only partially ridable, and now we know.

In the end, though, we ran out of time, so there was no ride to be had up the canyon. We had to dash up the hill in Josh’s car to retrieve the Red Rocket. However, it was still a super fun day in the saddle, and we got to see a lot of Boulder County history. It’s always refreshing to try something new, even if it’s not a 100% predictable outing. I’m always up for that.

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This trail’s name is a little deceiving, I think. Anything with “Pass” in it sounds like some kind of high alpine, skinnier-than-a-runway-model strip of grippy heaven surrounded by aspen trees in air so fresh you wanna slap it.

This trail would not be like that. And I’m not sure what the hell I was thinking. It’s just outside Camp Dick (heh heh), heading toward the Indian Peaks Wilderness. And duh, anything up in that area is just frickin’ rocky as hell. So, yes, I admit, I didn’t really do my homework; I was just bent on riding something new.

So in the same dude-like “I think that stripper really likes me!”sense of mindless optimism, we embarked onto the Middle St. Vrain Trail that starts just east of the Camp Dick (heh heh just one more time) campground. This trail eventually crosses the creek and connects to Buchanan Pass, allowing you to bypass the campground.

I was ready to rock out, and it’s a damn good thing. One big-ass rock garden followed another in a parade of pedal-slamming, wheel-jamming opportunity. Luckily I was in the Zone and so was Rick. We cleaned probably 90% of this stuff, dodging dogs and hikers, without incident. You don’t even really get that out of breath, because the trail is so incredibly gradual for most of the four-mile stretch to the wilderness boundary.

Rick pondering the preponderance of babyheads.

One of the more mellow sections. Doesn’t that rock look like a face?

Same spot, different view.

The ride is totally doable by riders with decent skills, but the crux is whether or not you really want to. If you love slow, techy riding (both “up” and “down”) then this trail could be one of your favorites. It certainly has some nice views of the water.

Cool place to dip your feet

And the return trip back down has some fun bits.

One of the smoother areas

But there is not a lot of buffed flow, by any stretch of the imagination. And there’s no real destination, I don’t think. I’m pretty sure you just hit the wilderness boundary and turn around. I’m not entirely sure, because we got a bit tired of the struggle and turned back, especially after a hiker told us the Coney Flats area above was a muddy mess. We’ve had a lot of rain lately, so that’s not a surprise.

At any rate, it was still a fun adventure. Boulder County doesn’t have a lot of trails like this, so if this is your bag, get up there and get some. But it is definitely in a hiker’s trail, if you know what I mean. Nothing about its character was truly intended for bikes. We only saw three other mountain bikers. So, if you like to haul the mail over smoother stuff or have high-mountain views, this trail’s probably not for you. And avoiding the weekends will surely bring more solitude.

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If you find yourself up in the Red Feather Lakes area outside Ft. Collins, go check out the Beaver Meadows Resort.  It’s free to mountain bike there, and the very nice folks at the gift shop (where you can pick up a map) were extremely friendly.  The guy actually said, “Welcome, we’re glad to have you.” It blew my mind a little.

Try not to make beaver jokes too loudly, there are probably kids around. (“No thanks, I’ve got one already!”)

At first, I feared that the trails were going to be a bit on the boring side. We left the resort offices on this:

Rick is already searching for the singletrack

But once you get in a bit further, things start looking more interesting. For one thing, there’s some water.

It’s rideable if you pick the right line…

And then there’s some more water.

Not so rideable.

As we worked our way deeper into the trail system, we found some singletrack.

Woo hoo! There’s real trail here!

And soon we got to the heart of the loamy goodness.

We appear to have little choice but to do what he says.

And it’s good we did…the trail eventually got rocky, skinny and fun.

And we didn’t see a single other person. Anywhere. Rick could have killed us and wheelied around all the trails, cackling with diabolical laughter, and no one would ever find our bodies.

And then it started raining. Big Time. We were completely soaked within minutes, and it was a terrifically muddy splash-fest back to the cars.

After decimating the resort’s restaurant bathroom, we slurped hot chocolate and left muddy ass-prints on the barstools. All in all, a pretty good day.

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So I know things have been a bit quiet here at Rubber Side Down, and I apologize for that. The problem is that I’ve mostly been riding the same old stuff, and when I do hit something new, I haven’t had a camera (my point-and-shoot camera is living in Europe this summer, and there’s no way I’m carrying the big SLR on rides). But I finally rounded up the cash to buy a new P&S, plus I put my phone to work on a recent ride, so let’s catch up.

If you have not ridden Commando Run/Two Elk in Vail, drop all your plans for this weekend and make it happen. The trail is hardly being ridden — it’s so skinny that it almost disappears in places. And the wildflowers are going off up there, it’s incredible to see.

I clearly don’t have an iPhone, but this gives you the idea.

Doing this ride as a shuttle is the most fun option, but if you’re a hard (wo)man, you can make a humongous loop out of it. I recommend doing it like this: Call on one of several bike shops in Vail to reserve a spot on their shuttle. Park your car in Minturn, then get on your bike and ride back to Vail. Catch the shuttle up to Vail Pass, where you will be dropped off. Climb Shrine Pass Road until you see the right turn on Lime Creek Road. A short distance up that, make the obvious right turn onto steep, rooty singletrack. Keep climbing up that until you top out in a beautiful alpine meadow with eye-popping views of the Gore Range. Stand around looking at this until your mind is blown, then continue on Bowman’s Shortcut to the four-way intersection with Two Elk.

Make sure you turn LEFT at this intersection. Straight will take you down into the resort, which is probably fun, but you miss out on the rad descent into the back bowls. Turning right will take you down what is probably a very steep drop to I-70, which means you just end up on the highway.

This is where the trail disappears a little, but you’ll be able to see where it’s trying to take you. Soon you will emerge from the trees to the view seen above. And if you keep going, you will drop into Mongolia Bowl, where you can see the Two Elk trail winding off into the distance. You will probably not see another soul…I didn’t.

When you arrive at the dirt road just above the Orient Express lift, you may be confused as to how to proceed. Cross the road, and look to the right along the creek. You’ll see the continuation of the singletrack, still taking you downhill. Jump on that and it’s about four or so miles of narrow, occasionally rocky trail down into Minturn. Booyah!

If that wasn’t the awesomest thing you’ve done all month, you obviously have a better life than me.

(This ride took me about 3 1/2 hours at a moderate pace with a couple of stops. If you were crazy enough to leave your car at the top of Vail Pass, you have a number of options. You can ride into Vail and get a shuttle or a friend to drive you back up for it. Or you can use a huge variety of trails/roads to get back there, but you have a SERIOUS frickin’ climb — and several more hours of riding — on your hands. Since I have never ridden it that way, I can’t recommend the best route. I would get a map of the area and start exploring.)

Stay tuned for info from Beaver Meadows, near Fort Collins.

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These trails never fail to plaster a smile all over my face. And since there’s some new singletrack down there, you’ve got no reason not to go check it out.

My friend Josh and I did a big loop encompassing the Colorado Trail, Redskin Creek, Gashouse Gulch, Baldy, Morrison Creek, Shinglemill, and then back to the car on the Colorado Trail. And there’s still plenty of stuff we didn’t ride. A two-day camping trip is a great way to see this area.

Bring plenty of water and snacks since there’s no conveniences in the immediate area — but that’s a good thing.

http://www.vimeo.com/12296109

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Hey all, I apologize for the internet silence here at Rubber Side Down. It’s just little old me trying to keep this going, and sometimes life, job, travel, riding and all that other stuff gets in the way. You know how it is.

At any rate, I rode Hall Ranch this morning, and found the conditions quite good considering how much rain pummeled this place while I was out of town the last couple of weeks. But I didn’t just take my chances — I scoped out Boulder Bubble Sheet on Facebook first. You, too, can friend the BBS and check it out for regular updates on trail conditions.

If we have as wet a spring as I think we might, this will be a page I’m hitting up often.

And I personally can’t wait to get down to Buffalo Creek. I think those trails are going to be ready very soon. Let me know, anyone, if you’ve been down there!

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Since the weather’s getting better, I’m sure we’re all totally jonesing to get onto the trails, but in general, they’re a mess. It’s a bummer to see nice singletracks get trashed and widened, so like all of you, I’m grinding my teeth in annoyance while I try to be patient.

The good news is that you can check out the conditions on this website rather than rely on word of mouth or driving there to see for yourself. Check it out.

UPDATE: March 8:   As commenter JDub so kindly provided below, you can follow/tweet to @boco_trails on Twitter, with even more timely updates. Cheers!

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Sometimes a ride is awesome in every way, but it takes too many words to really explain it. This time, I’ll just let the images speak for themselves.

Big thanks to Stuart for a great time in his hood!

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There’s a trail there….somewhere

Once more, Stuart told work to stick it, and we made a repeat trip to Corrales — this time with a good chunk of daylight to work with.

We hit the super-tight singletrack we’d skipped two nights before because of mud. You can see above that it’s overgrown to the point where you can barely see where to put your wheels.

Right after I took this picture we stopped, and we could hear a suspicious rustling in the underbrush. We stood quietly, craning our necks in the direction of the sound. Finally, a chubby critter waddled out into sight, heading away from us. We peered at its rotund caboose for the three seconds we were able to see it, and we were pretty damn sure it was a porcupine. We tried to find a way closer to it that wouldn’t scare it off, but there was no way through the punji stick hell of the bosque. We figured a porcupine would be the only animal to feel at home in this brambly mess where you are instantly perforated if you go off the trail.

And speaking of punji sticks…one took Stuart down as we were trying to get close to the river to stare at cranes. As he was trying to unclip and get a foot down, his ankle got trapped between the crankarm and a bunch of cut-off, pointy sticks right at the edge of the trail. He toppled over into the brush, slicing open the back of his thigh, tearing through both his jeans and his lycra shorts underneath. It looked pretty freakin’ painful, if I do say so myself. Thank god those punji sticks weren’t smeared in human feces, or he’d really have something to be unhappy about.

Here he is denying the pain.

He shook it off and we headed out to the “racetrack” area, a fast loop that you can do in something like thirteen seconds if you’re Stuart, who has ridden this area over 100 times.

Here he’s doing it really slow so I can ride one-handed behind him. Check out the cheapskate’s helmet cam.

We made another detour out to the river, along a trail that’s underwater in the summer. It was just getting dark, and we watched Vs of geese cruising in to land. If you’re into birds, like Stuart, there’s an awesome waterfowl refuge near Albuquerque. Thousands of sandhill cranes and arctic geese roost there in the winter, and it’s pretty damn cool even if birds aren’t your bag, baby.

After awhile of this, we fired up the lights and kept on rocking. Corrales has just over 20 miles of riding to be had when you go out and back, and we pretty much hit it all. It was much warmer (a balmy 39 degrees), so we were stoked to be able to ride and still maintain feeling in our feet and hands. Stuart’s damn lucky to have this area right near his house. I wish we had something like it.

At any rate, today’s plan is to rest (since I also hit the gym yesterday afternoon, I’m feeling a bit blown). That will have us ready to rock White Mesa on Saturday.

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