Gettin that single track fix...

Clock goes off at 5:30am...its Sunday, and what is this, the ground is all wet, its socked in, and kind of chilly. The husky dog wants out, so much for sleeping in on the weekend. It is not that bad I tell my self walking around the neighborhood, we can still ride (I think?). I make some waffles, eat a banana and get dressed anyway. Toby calls at 7am--he is out front ready to go, so yes, we are going riding.....

And an awesome ride it was! Could not believe the conditions on the trail Sunday. We headed up to Devil's Backbone in Loveland--a place I have spent some serious time playing on and even building trail over the years. Pulled up in the parking lot and there are only a few cars and it looks like rain any second. We both completely over pack clothing not knowing what will happen and head off down the trail to see how things are.

The trail starts out with a nice few short climbs and then a gradual climb for about a mile. You turn a corner and bam, you climb 300 feet in 0.7 miles--nice warm up! Several serious switch backs to boot, with rocks, and more than the eyes want to look at while climbing.

Toby almost at the top
Cresting the top of the first big climb. Clouds still looked a bit iffy here.

One thing DBB has--techy as can be, plus swoopy buffed out single track you could pave.
Yep, techy for sure, but all very doable...with the right set of gymnastics crash pads appropriately places! We both gawked at this and decided to move on. ;)

Here Toby and I are just after the North side of the DBB park entering the Blue Sky trail.

This is looking North to Horestooth Mountain park. The Blue Sky trail follows this valley all the way there for about 7 miles.

Some great trail work was done here to sustain this great connector!
We opted for the Indian Summer loop about half way between the DBB and Horsetooth which climbs to the west on a nice Mesa and then drops back down. Toby topped out here--all smiles.
Crazy blue birds on the trail--neither one of us can identify them.

Then sun came out! We dropped into Horsetooth and the camp ground and stopped for some food. Chatted it up with a runner and then headed back to DBB. There are sections of the Blue Sky trail that have these large boulders the trail weaves in and out of. Great terrain, both directions and super fun.

Hero dirt today--best I have ever ridden up this way--not one bit of dust, amazing traction on the steeps and just perfectly tacky--plus again, no one on the trails! The rocks were a little slippery here and there, but again, amazing conditions!

Toby railing through some more rocks. It was hard to stop smiling and laughing here.

A few nice water bars and drops to climb back up and over on the way to the car. That chain ring is mighty close!

Just after the above section, there is another little tricky spot.....keep cranking...keep cranking

Well..almost, half crank more and it was all there--maybe I will clean it next time!

Yeah, that was fun!


Our ride from the sky, Blue Sky that is.

20 miles later, 2K of climbing, and 3+ hours, bikes and riders were all content all before 1pm! We ended the day with a short visit to Larry at Mountain High Cyclery in Loveland before trekking back to Longmont. Single track fix, CHECK!!

I've just started my third year as a BSV member and I have yet to contribute to the blog. I have been included in other blog postings, thanks to John P, and I'm trying to emulate his discipline here in the New Year, not just by contributing to the team blog but also by having my own as well (which has a lot more about this patricular ride at http://nohosing.blogspot.com/). So here's my first contribution, a fun solo ride I did this Saturday just before we got hit by another blast of winter weather. Speaking of John P I tried to coerce him into joining in but he had ski plans. I would have of course extended an invitation to all of BSV but this route was a last minute decision. I really need to get better about planning things more in advance... A winter day with highs in the 40s is a good day for a canyon climb. It's always good to get some climbing in occasionally throughout the winter, so it's not such a shock when you make that annual spring trip to Fruita. So with Saturday's great weather, it was just a question of "which canyon to climb"? Four Mile canyon and Sunshine canyons were the choice for today. Starting and ending in Boulder with Gold Hill as the mid-point, this is a great ride with good views, little traffic, and some reasonably steep sections. I call this ride the "super Poorman", borrowing from the colloquial phrase "super Walker" (another awesome ride) which involves riding Walker ranch starting from Boulder, climbing Flagstaff to get there. In this case, climbing Four Mile, connecting to Sunshine by way of Poorman Road, and dropping back to town is a popular loop, but Gold Hill is a much longer alternative to the same basic concept. The ride started with a gradual climb west up Boulder creek trail, dodging peds, dogs, and patches of ice. Here's the end of city maintenance, things get more fun from this point: Finally, something more interesting than pavement and crusher fine: Then begins the long climb up Four Mile canyon. This climb is all asphalt though the end of Salina, then it changes to dirt which is typically snow packed this time of year, and fun to ride. I had forgotten about the fire that happened in this area last year until I started seeing the damage. I realized I hadn't been this way since this happened. Here's just one small sample: Just below Salina, here's where we turn off onto Gold Rim road: Passing through Salina: Except perhaps for "Cold Beer" this is the best sign you can ever see. But where's the snow pack typical for this time of year?? Guess it really has been dry here on the Front Range lately: Just past Gold Hill, near the high point of the day looking backwards to a nice view of the Indian Peaks. A great view is all the sweeter when earned: At the top, a good place to pee, put on a coat, balaclava, and dry gloves. Oh, and double check that my quick releases are on tight and take a gratuitous shot of the rider and bike. Perhaps I should pick a more level rock next time for the camera: I was too busy enjoying the downhill and avoiding sand to take many more pictures, but here's one. The fire damage appears to have been the worst here at the top of Sunshine canyon. My thoughts go out to all those who lost their homes, and the heroic efforts of the fire fighters who saved so many others: Done! Time to scare up some food: Here's a map of the route and some ride stats: Distance = 25.7 miles Total ascent - 3380 ft. Max elevation = 8492 ft. Moving time = 2 hr. 41 min. Total snot rockets blown = 27 (what, your GPS doesn't measure this?)

Weld County Tour!

A group of us from the MTB group headed out to Weld County for some dirt road riding today under the leadership of David S.
Phil M. and myself met up at David's house first and then off to a nearby park to meet some others. It was a little cool but the sun was attempting to peak through the clouds and warm our souls. We headed out just after 9am.
A few last minute checks before we left...
Phil warm and ready to go the distance.
Michael B. was waiting for us at the park nearby and shortly after Cindy cruised on in. Nice group of 5 of us to head out North/East a bit and be social.
Just a few miles later Cindy's seat started giving trouble. The binder bolt would not tighten enough due to a new cable support bracket that had been installed so she had the true low rider! Not very fun for 40 plus miles!
And then there were four....
The dirt was spectacular and tacky. No mud at all.
A few short road sections pieced the loop together. Not much traffic either which was nice.
A large dairy North of Longmont. Cows found us interesting.
Then Michael B. broke off from us and then there were 3.....
Pickett Dairy--David made good on the smells of Weld County for sure!
Heading Easy towards Milliken. David and Phil leading the way.

Phil still happy and enjoying a day off from cross racing.
Local Motor Cross track and a youth race going on--Phil and I recalled our younger days on 80's and 250's.
Heading South on the way back home. Then there was 2...well just kidding, Phil was still here, just did not make the picture. The three of us finished back at David's house happy riders. What a great day!
Elevation profile--only about 500 feet of total climbing today but mostly all dirt riding.
Our big loop. Ended up about 42.5 miles and we averaged about 10mph with our total time. Great day out and had fun hanging out with everyone. See you next time. Thanks David for putting it together!

Sourdough South MTB Ride 11072010

Toby and myself headed out Sunday am to ride a loop on the North Sourdough trail out of Peaceful Valley and the Hwy 72.

The cool part about the Sourdough trail is it goes through some very diverse terrain.



Summer like weather and perfect trail conditions. (TF)
Aspen trees with pine (TF)
(TF)
(TF)

Gropple starting to fall here a bit. You can see it on my bag.

Toby topping out on the Wapiti loop
This one was off camber, icy, and snowy, decided to walk it for sure to keep rubber side down.
Started Snowing on us out of no where. Wind picked up. We were way back on the Wapiti Baptiste loop, no where to run, no where to hide.


Descending in Snow...there is an art to it! (TF)

Fresh tracks too. (TF)
Fresh deadfall that has been cleared--the trail crews have done a lot of chainsaw work to keep this trail clear (for now!). (TF)

WHEEEEEEE Around the switchback. (TF)

DOUBLE WHEEEEEEEEE! We only rode about 12 miles I think but had a blast. This week could be it for a while up there. Have not loaded the GPS track yet. Most the trail is at 9500 to 9800 feet I think though.

Marshall Dirty Biz Loop 10282010

Headed out for a nice night ride in the Marshall Mesa area. Sun was starting to set nicely over the peaks.
Sun setting just after Mayhoffer/Singletree
Dirty Biz loop plus trails on west side of 93. 2:26 and just under 22 miles.
About 1200 feet of climbing on the loop. Not much at all which means faster speeds and ability to push a little on the short climbs. Back side of Spring Brook loop is highest point.