Backyard Trails Leads To Alexander

Having escaped the weekend's rain by heading to the Southwestern part of the state, we came back to tacky and perfect trails on our backyard (literally, the trails start .54 miles from the door) mountain trails. There are tons of trails and you can connect to the Divide Trail and head North to Wyoming, or South to New Mexico.

With the Sun staying around longer during the day, it opens up the post work hours for getting in some extra trail miles during the week. Of course you will spend the first hour and a half climbing 10 or more miles, then the next 20 minutes ripping down bermed, table-topped, doubled, and kickered flow/downhill trails. That is if you don't opt for the gondola ride up (lazy peeps with that suspension stuff) Braaap-titude!

Everything from exposed trail through mountain fields, to exposed rocky ledges, to lush Aspen forests. The mountain has it all and then some with ever changing light and views as you wind your way up and around the mountain peaks. Just watch out for the Moose. They'll getcha.

As the sun set, it was back to the homestead to chill until Alex and Krystal showed up. They performed the mega-drive from San Fran to Steamboat (well technically Sacramento to Steamboat as they "split" the drive into 2 days). At least "Bike Town USA" rewarded their Herculean effort by allowing them to "pahk" the "cah" for the remainder of their stay and offering ample bike-venturing.

In search of dinner post 9PM.

We kicked their visit off right with a bike ride to Freshie's for breakfast. (Winona's is the other spot, but for Veggiefornians, Freshie's is the jam (not jelly)). Followed up with a cruise along the core trail and Yampa river through town and over to a VIP tour at the Moots factory. A return trip with side trail jaunts and Howelsen Hill stops as well as a quick tour of the mountain and Gondola Square.

Everything close seems to close at 9PM on Tuesdays.

Then back to the condo for a bit. Krystal opted to nap and explore on foot with her camera, hunting flowers and rocks. While Alex and I suited up and headed out for a late afternoon spin. The monsoon season is here for a bit, meaning the occasional afternoon pop-up storm can happen. We were about 15 miles into our gravel and two-track ride when the storm started to hit us. When it rains here, the temps drop and drop fast. We paused to put on our windbreakers and continued onwards. Ripping down singletrack along Mad Creek.

Beer and Pizza it is.

The original plan would have taken us right out of Mad Creek  towards North Routt and over to Fly Gulch and the airport loop; all gravel and dirt roads. The storm however, had other plans. As the thunder, rain, sleet, and wind were continuing North, we turned left and made an alternate plan. Back up the two-track to the hot springs trail, up over the Strawberry Park climb, then back into town and home. 29.9 miles and about a bagillion feet of climbing all above 6800 feet for sea-level Alex. He'll thank me around mile 126 of Kanza.

Awaiting Pizza outside the local market.

It's one of my favorite loops ( airport gravel, up Mad House, down Mad Creek (or Red Dirt when not storming), up Hot Springs, up Lower Bear and back down to town via road and urban trails), especially fun on a cross bike. It showcases the myriad options of terrain and views Steamboat offers, all easily accessible from town. We didn't have the time or cash for a pit stop in Strawberry Park (the top of the hot spring trail) to enjoy a dip, but the relax time hanging out, chatting, and listening to music while watching the sunset from the German beer hall patio was worth skipping the dip. Recovery beer > sulfur water this time around.

Core trail photo-op.

Core trail photo-op-op.

Jazz hands along the Yampa.

Thanks for making the drive and letting me show you around this special little town. Best of luck to you both at Kanza. Keep you wits and finish before dark. You've got this.

Meta.

Enjoying a post pave-gravel-dirt-singletrack-killer climb ride at the backyard Brau Haus patio.

Meta Meta Krystal. Photog photoed.

Sangre de Cristo

Spent Memorial Day weekend across from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the Penitente Canyon. Amazing riding, climbing, and camping. If you're looking for one of those "local knowledge" only hidden gem kind of rad camp-scursions without the "locals only" attitude, put Penitente Canyon on your bucket list. Everything is easily accessible from camp be it mountain bike trails, great hiking, or challenging and fun slab wall climbing. Plus the sunset and its alpenglow are worth watching over a campfire.

Hard to believe that tent is going on 11 years old now. 

 I do not miss the Southeast or Midwest's oppressive humidity one bit. Plus the lack of mosquito and other pests make camping such a pleasant activity here in the arid West. If only I could bottle this weather and take it with me everywhere. Crazy to think that out here, shade actually works. Whodathunkit?

Taking in the Sangre de Cristo mountains at sunset.

Alpenglow.

Luckily J.D. doesn't cut trail.

 Tubeless recommended, and I wouldn't go flip-flopping off any trails or around the campsites at night without a light. Cactus abound and are seemingly everywhere. Make sure your pets stay on trail and don't wander. Also, I recommend carrying a pair of tweezers with you on your rides, just in case.

We escaped with only an incident or two of dogs stepping onto cacti, but really only the first bit we were there. They quickly learned not to wander off the dirt.

 

Steep ups. (I made it)

So much radness. The trails there embody everything I love about Pisgah (without the dampness and slimy moss), Sewanee, North Georgia/Ocoee, Northwest Arkansas, and Moab trails all packed into a convenient area at 8,000 feet of elevation. Rocks, drops, gravity defying climbs, roots, trees, grins and shins. One of those trail systems that has something for every rider and ability with technical yet bike-flow-minded trails. Follow the cairns and rock guides though, else you can end up with an unexpected 100' to flat or so drop or two..

Rock and drop roller coaster of fun.

   

 

 

 
As we drove back to the 'boat, we stopped for a local burrito lunch along the river park in Salida and enjoyed some coffee and baked goods in Leadville. These small mountain towns definitely add a unique charm to the myriad road trip options available out here. Can't wait for this weekend's adventures already. Thank you BLM land, you make living an active outdoor lifestyle a lot more affordable and practical.

Riding the Ridge

Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships are taking place Iron Mountain in Arkadelphia, AR this year and Moots is sending a small team of racers and a van of bikes down to play in the dirt. CNC Machinist Evan will be aboard his new custom Moots Farwell and welder MattyP aboard his trusty Moots MX RSL singlespeed. 

Having just built the bike up this past week, we headed out to the Ridge to perform a couple shakedown rides this weekend. 2.6 x 27.5 Maxxis Recon tires, 140mm Fox 34 fork, Magura Vyron Elect Dropper post, and 1x XT/XTR drive train round out Evan's Farwell build.

Having traveled and ridden so much lately in the desert and front range, it was a nice switch to be back in the grand views of Steamboat's alpine trails. The day was mostly sunny and warm, but with rain and snow encroaching the surrounding mountains, the temps frequently dipped and the wind picked up as we rode. Reminiscent of a recent exploration of trails in the La Sal mountains, we enjoyed dry and fast sections, tacky with fresh snow melt sections, all the way up to the snow cap. 3 season riding in one ride. Best to wear wool and pack a wind breaker.

You can tell spring is just around the corner as more and more riders are heading out to the available dry dirt among the snowmelt (it's not called mud-season for nothing) as we ended up running into 4/5ths of the welding crew, most of the local bike shop shoprats, and other locals who are trading in ski poles for knobby tires.

North Routt adventures are queued up for the next few weeks and this past weekend's rides have fired up my impatience level. I'm so ready to get back out in the mountains. The temps are perfect right now: 50-60's during the day, mid 30's-40's over night. I'm awaiting a couple key new pieces of gear to arrive before taking a bikepacking trip from North Routt to Wyoming. Pretty stoked on the new items. They will greatly reduce the amount of gear needed, remove the need for another pack, and allow for a lighter weight pack overall. Meaning ripping the rocky gnar singletrack will still be a blast, despite packing a light load of gear.

All in preparation for a couple of over seas bike excursions. Minimal, yet comfortable. Doing more with less. Adventure 2017.