Crested Butte

We went to Crested Butte last weekend with some friends. It was beautiful as this is the time of year to see the colors changing.

Half of the group went biking while the other half, who were fighting off colds, did a little hiking. The bikers hit up Gothic to Schofield pass one day and the Upper trail and the Upper Upper trail (they couldn't think of a better name for the trail?) the next.

It rained one day, but it didn't ruin the weekend.


Dan had plenty "guy time", but then Thomas had enough of him so he decided to hang out with the rest of us.Doesn't look like we needed any more liquor, but we thought we would stock up on the mango rum.
Good idea or not? We thought so!

Despite the weather we had a great weekend and hope to spend more time there.

Tour de Seldom Ridden Trails

Jason, Rob, Ryan Chris (Jason's co-worker) and I left Friday afternoon on a mission to ride the Tour de Seldom Ridden Trails in and around Cameron Pass. We camped at the Craags Campground on the west side of Cameron.


Although we couldn't see the sun setting, the light off the surrounding mountains and trees was awesome. We set up camp, had a few beers and headed over to the Drifter's Cookhouse for some grub.
The food was good and I ran into my old neighbor Greg, who with his wife Anne, own Never Summer Nordic.

On our way back we needed to grab some firewood. Luckily just before our campsite there had been some logging operations, so we all grabbed some wood and stuffed it in the back of Ryan's Camry. Trujillo rode on the back bumper to keep the wood from flying out.


After some more beer drinking and whiskey shooting, Jason and Ryan rode their unicycles down some singletrack. I shot some video, but b/c it was pitch black and you couldn't see your hand three inches in front of your face the videos only have sound....funny sound.

In the morning we prepped and gathered for the start....there were a lot of riders.
The guy standing in the middle organized this great event. The objective was to ride 40 miles and climb approximately 8,000 feet. The first climb was to Thunder Pass (which boarders Rocky Mountain National Park). I was able to ride most of the climb...except this nonsense...


Towards the top you begin to get great views of the Noku Crags...


and then you arrive at Thunder Pass...


The descend ripped. Rob, Jason and I led the pack of 35 down singletrack that reminded me of the northwest....wet, loamy, thick shrubs/trees, etc. Obviously I didn't take any pics. At the bottom we regrouped and rode a few miles (through our campground) to the next climb. I can't remember the name for sure, but we were just north of Lake Agnes. In all reality this climb was hardly rideable (except for a few spots).


Finally we reached the top. What awesome views! Not sure of the pass name, but it was rather spectacular.



Just like the first descent I didn't take any pics. We rode the down the same trail we climbed. It was really rough, loose and tight. We were beat by the time we hit Hwy 14 and the halfway aid station. Because the pace was so slow and I was riding back with Rob, we decided to cut the ride short and head back to the Fort. Ryan also bailed at this time. Jason and Chris pushed on towards the last leg (Montgomery Pass). Haven't heard from them as of this post, but I assume it was an awesome climb/descent like the previous two.

Signal Mountain 9-07

The gang rallied for an epic adventure up Signal Mountain. The weather began looking really bleak as we rolled up to the White Pine parking area.


We climbed Monument Gulch and descended down to Pingree Park road. When we hit Pingree Park road, the sun began breaking through the thick cloud cover. By the time we got to the Signal Mountain trailhead it was all blue skies.


The climb up Signal Mountain is long, steep and rugged. Although very technical, you can ride most of the bottom 3 miles....although there is some hike-a-bike.

We came across an old rickety bridge which we took turns attempting to ride. I videoed all riding....which we all made.


About a 1/2 mile from the top you read this monolith.

Which is where we took this well deserved break.

Finally we reached the top of the trail...but not the top of Signal Mountain. That was another 2 miles to the South. We were heading to Donner Pass and Lookout Mountain.

934 is the trail that takes you from the Signal Mountain trail to Donner Pass. It's a technically challenging, undulating trail. After an hour of slow riding and pushing we took a break at an overlook of the Buckhorn Canyon. Although it was beautiful up top....it was a blanket of fog down below. After the break, we found our bikes in an odd spot.


At the Donner Pass intersection, Shawn and Rob decided to head down Donner, while Jason, Ryan, Joe Bagely and I climbed up towards Lookout Mountian to be able to descend Moody Hill. We only had to push 10 or 15 minutes to the trail that will take you to the top of Lookout Mountian.

After some of the most narly descending I've ever done...plus going over the bars pretty hard and dislocating two fingers, we make it back down into the fog and Moody Hill. I took it pretty easy down Mood Hill...not only because my hand hurt, but also b/c it was foggy, supper steep and extremely fast. Although there were a few flat or climbing sections....


we made it down alive...although Ryan almost decapitated himself.

Goofy Sofy

Just Sofy being cool.

White Pine

Shawn Brooks and I rode White Pine-E Ticket 2 weeks ago. White Pine is up Buckhorn Canyon, across the road from Donner Pass. White Pine is an old jeep road that takes you approximately 3 miles up to a saddle connecting White Pine East and White Pine West. The jeep road is the steepest road you'll never climb clean!

The road climbs through some aspen groves and then opens up into a meadow a 1/4 mile before the saddle. Here is a pic. looking south towards Donner Pass, Lookout and Signal Mtn.

At the saddle you pick up a wicked singletrack that drops you a few thousand feet down a narly, rock infested singletrack linking up to Old Flowers Road.

The E-Ticket continues following Old Flowers Road towards Pingree Park Road. At that juncture you jump onto Monument Gulch road which takes you back to the base of White Pine. It approximately 15 miles, and 3500 vertical feet of climbing. Brutal.

Anniversary Weekend

Tracy and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary a few weeks ago. On Saturday we rode in the Tour de Cure road ride in Longmont. Tracy dominated the 30 mile loop and I worked the 100 mile tour. It was a perfect day for riding.




The next day we gathered up some friends to help us celebrate our anniversary. Tracy and I, Rob, Ryan and The Trujillos rallied at the Haggard's for a Sunday afternoon pub crawl in Old Town. We all rode down to The Crown Pub for some drinks and food.

Our second stop was the Rio. What a mistake. After a few margs. and some nasty tequila shots we were all pretty much done. On our way to our next stop, Jason took us on a brief bicycle excursion near the Poudre River. Finally we made it to our final destination...The Town Pump. Money was flying all over the place, as orders for cherries, orange slices, jello shots and beers kept coming through. Finally we made it back to the Haggard's, but not before a late night neighborhood bicycle rally. It was an awesome day, capping an awesome weekend for our first anniversary. Here are some pics. from the remainder of the pub crawl.