Ok, it’s been busy since I got home from CB – my teammate, Emma Mackie, flew in for a few days before she flies back to Australia on the 1st. I’d been telling her she’d be missing out if she didn’t make it to CO before leaving and lo and behold she made it! So between New Belgium beer tasting, New Belgium’s bike-in movie, hiking in Poudre Canyon, the last mtb race in Lory, lunch at Lucille’s and swimming with the dogs it was a busy couple days.
But now, here I am at the Denver airport waiting (I’ve already been here for 2 hours) for my flight to Binghamton, NY via Cincinnati AND Detroit. This will be one of the longest travel days of the year…all for a one hour crit. It is a fun crit and it is the last race of the year but still….
At least all this sitting around gives me time to finish my write-up from Crested Butte. On Saturday Ben and I chose to do (with advice from the good folks at Big Al’s bike shop) Reno Flag Bear, a ride that after all was said and done for the weekend ranked 2nd in my book. As it seems many of the rides in the area do, it started with a long gravel road climb and felt like it heaved and pitched upward forever. Tired legs made me a little grumpy to be climbing that much, especially when it wasn’t even on single track, but it wasn’t long before the smile came back and I was happy to be on my bike again as we crested the top and were situated among some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen. And finally, there was the single track just taunting us to go fast – fast and flowy. Because this trail is open to dirt bikes, the trail has turned into one long pump track – it was littered with whoops that made my arms tired. I wanted to go faster and faster but those damn whoops get me all flustered. One or two here and there and I’m fine but one after another after another and I start to lose control. The only (sensible but rookie) thing to do was to back off a little bit while Ben just left dust clouds for me to follow. There is a certain technique to riding whoops and I did get better at taking them with more speed but not as fast as I would have liked. Fun nevertheless so I’m not complaining.
When the guys at Big Al’s recommended this ride they mentioned that it was the longest 20 miles you’ll ever do. I’d forgotten that part until we were out there and realized that every bit of the trail was either up or down. The descents were incredibly fun, like I said, and the climbs were hard, very hard. Riding up a steady climb is slow anyway and adding whoops makes it even slower. On top of that some of the climbs were steep – I mean, sitting on the tip of the saddle so the front wheel doesn’t pop up kind of steep. Ouch, those hurt bad, but every time I made it over one successfully, huffing and puffing like I was a life long smoker, I gave myself a gold star because they were damn hard.
And then there were the cows we rode up on which were standing right in the middle of the trail like they didn’t have a bother in the world that people were out there “trespassing” on their territory. The fuzzy calves got a little spooked but the mommas just kept a close eye on us and casually guided their babies off the trail. Funny thing is, we were more spooked than they were, afraid that the mommas might get a little angry about us being so close to their babies, but we passed without getting a kick in the shin.
The last several k’s of the ride ended with these swooping, rocky switchbacks that were wicked fun. On the technical scale they were on the mid to upper end (at least for me) of difficulty but I let loose and probably had my best descent all weekend. It was one of those descents when you look up at your riding partner at the finish and realize you’re both grinning ear to ear and for a split second almost think about going through all the painful climbing just to hit the descent again….but then the tiredness in the legs sets in and you realize it’s time for lunch and a beer.
Last day out we hit Dr Park, thinking this would be the ultimate way to end the trip because of its reputation of having some of the funnest descending around. Of course that which goes down must start by going up so once again we started the ride by climbing up another gravel road. Luckily, it slowly gained in elevation while it meandered along the slithering Spring Creek River which made it a much more pleasant way to start the ride – more gradual climbing made my trashed legs happier and the views along the river made me ooh and aah.
Once we crossed over the river, though, the heavy climbing picked up. I think, if my memory serves me correctly, I might have even stopped a couple times to take in the views because, as it was every other day, the sky was a perfect blue and the mountains were crystal clear. Really though, it was a ploy to catch my breath while at the same time making sure my numb legs were still attached to my body. Eventually we made it to the point where that which goes up must go down. At this point the trail left the wide open, rocky meadow and shot us into rooty, pine and aspen covered forest. Then we popped out into a meadow again, rode along the ridge for awhile, and then slipped back into another section of trees, roots and mud. The trail did this for awhile until it we hit the part that everyone gushes about – the wondrous descent. It has fast, perfectly banked turns, whoops, and little brake is needed. As the ride description says, “Luke, use the Force”. The tall grass shooting up on either side of the trail keeps the path only about as wide as your pedals so you’ve got to be careful about not using your foot as an auger (as I almost did a couple of times) as you bust ass along the snaking trail, but minimal pedaling is needed anyway. Get up off the saddle and ride the wave. Then, before it’s all over, grab the back brake, sit waaaay off the back of the saddle and carefully ride the last rocky, steep switchbacks to the end of the trail. And then smile and high five when you are done.
Four epic rides over 4 perfect days. Ride in the morning, fly fish in the afternoon. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend a long weekend in Salida and Crested Butte. Some might argue that the winters offer the most fun because of the skiing these places have to offer, but I much more enjoy the warm summer breeze and fresh smell of flowers from my bike.
Now I just have to hone my fly fishing skills so that I can actually catch a fish one day!
Go to the Source – meredithmiller.missingsaddle.com
