This was my 2nd ride of the year on the trail and I was really looking forward to it. With the uncertainty of the trail being closed to mountain bikes (looks like it will stay open for now) I wanted to get perhaps my last ride in ever on the trail. Winter is coming soon to the high country and I have a lot of busy weekends so this was going to be the one shot time I could squeeze a free weekend in with permission from the boss.
When I booked the reservation there were only 5 people on the trip so I was surprised when I get there and it was going to be a pretty booked out group. All the bikes got loaded onto the trailers and we loaded all the bodies into the vans and up the pass we went. As we were going up we saw this Hummer H1 that looked like someone had chopped off the top half of the vehicle, sort of like in the movies when something goes under a semi truck an gets it topped wacked off. Very weird.
So we get to the top and unloaded all the bikes and everyone seems to be just milling around. I jump on my bike and just start motoring up the trail. For some reason I get into a spinning mode and just start flying along. I stop here and there to take pictures since the last time out I didn't get as many as I wanted. Every time I stop to take a picture I expect to be over taken by the usual group of faster bikers. I can do anything technical up or down but I am not a XC racer type and when it comes to downhill I am slower then most anyone. One of the reasons I got a 180 mm brake was so that I could feather the brake and go real slow downhill and not for slowing myself from going extremely fast speeds.
So pretty much all day long I was taking pictures and motoring along like a mad man with the entire trail to myself. I never saw a soul except for a motorcyclist at the very beginning of the trail.
I am not going to go to far in depth with the various portions of the trail and I will just give some brief thoughts.
The first part of the trail is pretty mellow singletrack and is mostly a fast middle chainring cruiser. Then the trail breaks out onto a brief section of doubletrack and it gets very steep and loose. Back to little gears for us mortals. Due to the altitude its a lung buster. It goes back to singletrack and still stays about the same until rolling back in steepness and going back to the middle chainring again.
The trail is mostly on the side of the hill and just traverses along with some occasional forays onto the top of the hills. It spend most of its time in tree line but towards the start of the ride you get to be above tree line for quite a long time. Thats where the trail is magically. The beauty and immenseness when you are above tree line is incredible. Its mostly packed dirt with rock and sometimes loose rock. Here and there and depending on what the weather has done of late the trail can get muddy in spots, especially in the forested sections.
After riding along some great singletrack that uses all sort of gearing combinations you drop down a short loose downhill. This section to me seems to have gotten more then its share of use and seems much looser and more chopped since I was on it earlier in the year.
Towards the bottom it is a fun fast downhill section rolling through the trees. A total blast. Then out of the blue it starts a slow grind up again and then heart rate goes screaming up. This one always seems to me to be one of the harder climbs cause you starting to get tired and its just plain steep and long at high altitude. More mini gears for me.
Then it rolls around a corner and does some more fun singletrack rolling through the gears. Next thing yah know it time to start the downhill to Marshall Pass.
This is a great super fast blast through the trees, bouncing over roots and rocks.
Part way through is a nasty talas field. Its a short technical romp and you got to be careful cause a crash would hurt. Pretty fun.
Then some more roots and rocks and then the whoop de dos when you get to the doubletrack. They are pretty fun to fly off. Last time I was coming down that were a lot of hikers so I had to be careful, this time I saw no one at all.
At the very bottom of the road by the bathrooms I saw a bunch of ATV types, there were 2 brothers who looked just like Larry the Cable Guy and it made me laugh of those two riding a mountain bike instead of an ATV.
NOTE: Work In Progress, More to be added
So I got up early on Sunday morning (well as early as my lazy butt could muster) and headed out the house to the Gold Camp Road parking lot. When I got there it appeared they had a major blowout kegger, there was blue plastic cups everywhere and it smelled like a beer next to my truck.
We had some major rain most of Saturday afternnon and evening and I mean major. Cats and Dogs and huge amounts of lightning. Lots of rocks and gravel were on the Cheyenne Canyon road when I drove up. Yes I am to lazy to ride all the way up the Canyon. Same with starting at Bear Creek park and riding Gold Camp. In fact last time I did Bear Creek up Gold Camp to Stagecoach to Jones Park my friends truck got broken into. They stole my wallet, keys and spare clothes. But they didn't take my Crocs?
Aired the tires up and started the ride over to St Marys. Once I got up into the forest and started to get soaked. All the trees and bushes were wet with dew and from the rain so it did not take long for my gloves, pants, shoes and shirt to get drenched. Since it was also humid out it didn't take long to sweat on top of it all. Ugh. At least the traction was good! I did almost wack myself on a couple tree roots since they were very wet and so was the tire. From then on I watched how I hit the roots. Not something you get real used to in Colorado!
Next the hike and bike portion of the trail started. Although it is some work doing the hike and bike I much prefer it to the Gold Camp to Stagecoach grind. I hate long boring grinds like that, would rather grunt up some short steeps on foot. It starts off with a couple of sections on the normal part of the trail. You can ride sections and then you can't Sometimes you can ride the section but its just not worth the effort, easier to just walk. After a bit you get to the switchbacks. I remember years ago actually riding most of them but now they are more eroded and/or I am lazier. It does seems like those switchbacks never end!
Finally it levels off and you can start to spin again and next thing you know it opens up and there is even some downhill sections. Just before the doubletrack starts (next to the fire ring/campsite) is where the newer singletrack is. Its a pristine and gorgeous single track that follows the creek in the woods. Its very quiet, cool and has a nice flow to it. There are a couple of spots where it crosses the creek and you have to hike and bike but for the most part that is it. Just a long slow grind. Of course the altitude starts to pick up so it keeps getting harder to maintaining that easy spin cause the aerobic capacity gets hit hard. Just before the end of the singletrack there is a quarter mile long rock garden. You might be able to poke you way up it but why bother, easier to just hike and bike (looks like fun going down!!!!). Then its back to a slow grind and next thing you know you are up out of the trees and close the to 4x4 roads.
One of these days I am goin gto just turn around and got back down that trail. It would be a total hoot, not sure what the St Marys switchbacks would be like but it would be just plain fun crsuing and bopping through the forest on that pretty singletrack. Can you tell that I really like that piece of trail!
Next you just go along the doubletracks going around Mt Rosa. Not much work required on the section of the trip. Got to watch out for the road. It likes to pull you down into the deep gravel sometimes, especially when you are not paying any attention. You can ride up on the sides out off the trough but it likes to slide you right back down! Watch it, slip. Eventually you come to the singletrack turnoff for trail. Look for the steel stand up poles.
The singletrack winds along the side of Mt Rosa and drops you onto to FS road. Its a pretty fun singletrack with just a couple of ugly sections. The road is boring but at least its a short crank to the drop off to Jones Parks.
Now the first portion of the downhill starts. A bunch of loose whoop de doos take you to a creek then wraps you around to another creek with one loose dirty rock section beforehand and then once more. Now the long uphill grind starts. Seems like it goes on forever. I thought this was a downhill? We'll it does end on a nice rest picnic spot. Now the long and very fun downhill starts.
This is day one of my trip report blog. This will be a place I try and gather my thoughts on rides. It may contain pictures of the rides, a topo map, a satellite map and other statistics.