Free's Not Free

Bye bye Lefty

2012-01-28T16:32:00.001-07:00

The new backup aka guest ride.

2011-09-03T08:04:00.001-06:00

My morning view...

2011-09-02T21:40:00.001-06:00

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Looking Like a Natural

2011-08-05T23:29:00.005-06:00

Crank Worx Clip

2011-08-05T23:23:00.001-06:00

Fun Times...

Crankworx Colorado

2011-07-30T22:26:00.001-06:00

More later...

Sam Visits CO

2011-07-24T12:52:00.005-06:00

Glen and Sam came to visit towards the end of June. We got rained out on Monday, then the rest of the week was beautiful. We rode the USAFA on Tuesday with Fred, Buffalo Creek on Wednesday, and hit the chairlifts of Winter Park on Thursday. Lots of fun.

Click pix.

Moab 2011 Pix

2011-07-23T16:49:00.009-06:00

Pictures from the whole gang (Iowa Griz's Flickr site)

Stats from Griz...
136.4 miles
17hrs 30min ride time (bike moving)
26:22 trail time*
14,666 calories burned
*Since I was slowest, this may have been my actual ride time :)

Day 1...click here
Garmin GPS Map (Jacob's map)
We spent the night in Grand Junction then rode Klondike Bluffs/Baby Steps on Sunday. A few of bailed on the last part of Baby Steps, but Jacob, Jason, and Griz did the whole loop.

Day 2...click here
Garmin GPS Map
Monday, we shuttled north of town and dropped in on Mag 7 finishing on the Portal via Blue Dot. Note: The first 6 miles of this ride was downhill on gravel road and done in about 30 minutes. The next 5 hours we rode about 15 miles. GT bailed about mile 11 due to a pending mechanical problem and it was a good thing. You can walk 3 miles an hour. Puts the difficulty of this ride in perspective.

Day 3...click here
Garmin GPS Map (started the GPS late, a few miles into the ride, sorry)
Tuesday was the holy grail of trails...Porcupine Rim (too much snow to go above UPS) Hazard County will have to wait till next year. GTs knee needed a rest and he sat out this epic ride. Jacob kept the rubber side down too this year and his shoulders thanked him.

Day 4...click here
Garmin GPS Map
Wednesday, 18 Road...picture perfect day on the bikes. GT even said he liked Fruita. WOW!

Day 5...click here
Garmin GPS Map
Thursday morning, Loma Exit Trails aka Kokopelli Trailhead (Rustlers, Marys, Horsethief, Steves). Another great day and GT said he liked Fruia again!

Ride #2...click here
Garmin GPS Map
Thursday evening, Ribbon to Holy Cross. Lots of bike issues. Flats and broke rear hub, but was still a great time. GT bailed on the ride. Mike kept his hands on the bars and stayed awake the whole ride.

Day 6...click here
Garmin GPS Map
Friday, we opted to get a head start on the drive back, especially for the IA guys. We rode Centennial Cone outside of Golden. Couldn't do it as loop due to meadow was closed for Elk calving season but this is an epic ride as an out and back (and much harder too).

More pix from Rusty (but not as organized as Griz)...click here.

2011-05-05T21:01:00.001-06:00

Sunny Bear's Cave

2011-05-05T20:58:00.002-06:00

Jacob on the Ribbon

2011-05-05T14:40:00.001-06:00

The IA Griz on Horsethief

2011-05-05T13:08:00.002-06:00

Horsethief

2011-05-05T10:49:00.001-06:00

Rustlers loop.

2011-05-02T22:40:00.001-06:00

POISON SPIDER and the portal. Can you say vertigo?

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2011-05-02T20:04:00.001-06:00

2011-05-02T19:47:00.001-06:00

Buffalo meatloaf or elk stew? mmmmmm Bucks

2011-05-02T12:18:00.001-06:00

Lizards on the rocks. 10 Miles into Mag 7.

It's almost done...

2011-04-23T14:43:00.002-06:00

Ridgeline Update - Trails are still a little lose, bumpy, and some finish work to be done but it is starting to look great. About 1/2 of mile to go to connect the loop on the north west corner. My guess, with a little luck, it will be all roughed in soon, maybe 1-2 weeks tops. 10 mile loop and about 1000 feet of climbing, not bad for a "local" neighborhood trail.

For those endurance racers, come on out to CO, and treat yourself to some brand new fresh trails and what will surely be a very tough 60 mile race in early June.
http://ridgelinerampage.eventbrite.com/

Porc from the Top

2011-04-16T10:05:00.006-06:00

You ever riding Porcupine from the Top? No walking, the whole enchilada? Not me, but I have done everything except the "Notch".

End of Jackass Canyon, Moab, UT from Rustycar on Vimeo.

Don't know the "Notch"? I'll never try. Think it looks easy? You've never been there.

New SPYs for my Eyes

2011-04-06T19:17:00.005-06:00

So when your good buddy says hey check out SPY's new sport frames, I do what I am told.

I liked them so much that I had to get a pair. What do you think?

Check out at the sport frames at SPY (click here) or see your local dealer.

2011-04-04T10:43:00.001-06:00

Sunday the temperature fell 42 degrees in the matter of a few hours. Beautiful in the AM then by around noon Mother Nature dropped the hammer. I wonder how my riders didn't look at the forecast and got caught off guard? Tis April on the front range.

2011-04-04T10:38:00.001-06:00

Nothing special about Saturday's ride. I headed out for a quick lap around the big green hill. The ride was hot and windy up top. The legs and energy were not spirited. 6 Rides in four days and the dieting has me not all that energetic. Set a record high temperature on Saturday of 84 but the bottom fell out on Sunday.

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New Resistance Training

2011-03-28T08:53:00.001-06:00

Saturday was spent hauling around the Bug. Loaded up the Chariot trailer and rode to downtown and back. Total was 35 miles. The resistance of pulling the trailer shelled out my legs. Bug quickly figured out the Camelbak which is a good indicator she won't be a roadie.

Fruita Moab Accomodations?

2011-03-27T21:43:00.001-06:00

GT can you pull some strings?

Ridgeline After Work Ride 032411

2011-03-26T12:17:00.006-06:00

The training plan continues. Weight is slowly dropping with commutes at least two time per week. Also trying to squeeze in a couple off road rides per week in the hopes of surviving a mancation with a few very fast midwesterns in Fruita and Moab the end of next month.

I had two great commutes but the winds this week have been Husker like. The weather has been dry dry dry. Numerous wildfires are burning on the front range. The high country though continues to get record snow fall.

Both the Franktown fire and the Indian Gulch fire were visible from Thursday evenings ride.

Franktown (photo from the Denver Post)

Indian Gulch (photo from CBS)

Another 1 mile new section of trail completed at Ridgeline. They did a nice job of cutting it into the hillside. They will continue to build until about June 1 expanding the loop and hopefully reducing some of the 2 way traffic.

Check out my ride at Garmin Connect...click here.

Saturday's Ride

2011-03-21T11:17:00.002-06:00

Saturday's ride had it all. Some rocks some smooth. Some trees and some prairie. Big 20+ mile loop with some nice climbs. Another beautiful day.

Check out the loop on Garmin Connect...click here

Note, I didn't start my GPS right away so the mileage is short about 1.2 miles and some climbing. There is also about 3-4 miles of additional trail that we didn't include this first go around.

Marshall Mesa 031911

2011-03-21T11:11:00.001-06:00

Saturday's ride.

Ahhhhh That Felt Great

2011-03-16T18:43:00.001-06:00

First after work ride of 2011. Could not ask for a nicer day. 74 and sunny when I finished up riding Ridgeline.

2011-03-14T11:33:00.001-06:00

Look out Roxz, she will be coming at you like a spider monkey...

Happy Why?

2011-03-11T17:22:00.004-07:00

Commute in this morning and wore shorts, and my 12 mile ride home is mostly on this!

Now if I could lose the 23 lbs backpack (no kidding I weighed it). And the 20 lbs frontpack too :)

Bear Creek and New Rear Triangle

2011-03-06T12:52:00.002-07:00

Made it out for a short ride on Saturday afternoon. Thought the best chance of dry dirt was still at Bear Creek. Did a section of trail that is "new" to me that turned out to be very fun. I can probably get this loop up to 17 miles now once the remaining mucky sections dry out. The new section added a nice 1.5 mile downhill (and of course an equal climb).

Check out my ride at Garmin Connect...click here

Big snow is in the forecast for early this week...tis spring on the front range. This will screw up the bike commute for sure.

Can't wait for some after work rides at Ridgeline. Come on Mr. Time Change.

2011-03-04T17:25:00.002-07:00

Better Than It Ever Was...

2011-03-04T17:19:00.003-07:00

Back In Business

Things Don't Always Work Out Like You Plan...

2011-02-19T14:46:00.002-07:00

I drove to CO Springs, met up with Fred and Derek, for a ride at Palmer Park. 65 degrees, sunny and dry trails. It looked like it would be a beautiful day. Then just riding along my wheel started to drag. I thought I picked up a stick or something, but no it was much worse, a broken rear triangle.

Hopefully Yeti is generous since this is well past the warranty period, but regardless, as L.A. recently said, "It's been a good ride". Dropped it off at Bike Source this afternoon, talked with Bob the shop manager (relations of Mark M/from Omaha) He recognized the Bike Way name on the bike. Small world sometimes. I am grateful that it didn't cause me to wreck and very grateful it happened with an easy escape route back to my vehicle. I am supposed to hear the verdict on replacement options early next week.

A Beautiful Saturday....

2011-02-19T14:43:00.001-07:00

Time to Put Away the Shorts

2011-01-30T21:08:00.001-07:00

I guess it was good while it lasted.

Green Mountain 012911

2011-01-29T14:52:00.005-07:00

Looking west, Dakota Ridge in background with C-470 below.

Shorts in January!

Check out my ride...click here.

2011-01-02T11:49:00.002-07:00

PUEBLO...chain down.

Here's our ride on Garmin Connect (click here)

TNR

2010-12-03T22:39:00.002-07:00

I was able to get another ride in during my trip back to the Midwest. This time it was the old Thursday Night Ride. About 12 rides or so, out for a few laps at Swanson. Great to see some many friendly faces. RF, Martin, Meister, and Larry to name just a few. A cool night, but not too bad for December. Meister's bad luck with Turner frames continued on this ride. His seat tube snapped right in half between the bottom bracket and the seat clamp. Looked almost like a percise cut rather than a break. Very strange indeed. Hopefully Turner stands behind their warranty on this one.

We hit up Lil Burro post ride and GT and Shim joined up with us for the food and drinks.

Really good to be back in Omaha and see the crew.

Check out the ride details at GarminConnect

Pals

2010-11-27T11:46:00.002-07:00

L and C

New trails and reroutes...good stuff but different.

Good stuff, beautiful day, like old times...wait where was Shim?

Check out the new route at L and C...click here

2010-11-25T09:01:00.001-07:00

He's Still Got It

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2010-11-25T08:59:00.001-07:00

Happy Turkey Day

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Ridgeline Open Space

2010-11-21T08:11:00.004-07:00

I was able to get out for a very nice ride on Saturday. The metro area was in a temperature inversion today. When I left the house it was 47 and cloudy. At the trailhead a about 900 feet higher and 20 minutes away, the temperature was 63 and it was sunny.

This was the first time I rode Ridgeline Open Space, just outside of Castle Rock. This place is a great cardio ride. Nothing to tough, lots of flowy trail, and the best thing about it is there are 4 more miles of trail being constructed as we speak. The new stuff is scheduled to be open by spring of 2011. I will definitely be riding here more. It is only about 10 minutes from work too. I have been hunting for a place like this for 3 years. BINGO.

Check out the ride details....click here.

Therapy

2010-11-02T18:21:00.006-06:00

Therapy of the mental type. Work has been tough lately, and I have another round of nightshifts coming up. That is life in IT management. So with the transition from days to nights I was able to get out for a Tuesday afternoon ride.

I had these beauties to myself for the most part.

A beautiful day to get out and blow off a little steam and relieve some stress. Leave behind the worries of the big city. I decided on a long ride with lots of climbing and some very technical sections. Tough to worry about what is on your plate at work when you are trying to survive a tough climb or even tougher downhill.

Green Mountain, Dakota Ridge, and Matthews Winter combo ride:

Saddle time was 3 hours and 13 minutes, 18.26 miles, and 2800 feet of climbing.

I felt really good on the climbs and there was 4 major climbs. I am pretty happy because looking back at a post almost 2 years ago, I barely finished this ride and almost couldn't even walk up the last section on Dakota Ridge, let alone climb it. Click here for my post in January of 2009.

Today, it was different and I had no issues. A hint of fitness coming back? Perhaps. Not race fitness, but just good all around fitness. Nice to do a ride over 3 hours which is considered fairly difficult and feel good at the end of it. A lot of this has to do with a very understanding wife who knows I "need" to ride and helps me get out on the bike.

The ride details can be found on GarminConnect...click here.

Bug's Weekend

2010-10-31T21:00:00.003-06:00

Another beautiful weekend on the Front Range and I took Friday off of work.

To ride you ask? No, to spend 3 days with the Bug.

D had a girl's weekend away to do crafts and whatever gals do, just a short drive away, up in the mountains. She did have a prior commitment on Saturday afternoon, so she came back in town for a few hours, we high-fived, did a quick baby exchange, and I got to sneak out for a short ride on the big green hill. My weekend with Bug gave me even more appreciation for how hard D works 24x7.

I parked at the Florida/Alameda parking area, headed west and north around the lower section of the mountain on the Green Mountain trail, climbed UP "Box of Rox" (I did say UP), wrapped around the east side of the summit, descended down Rooney Valley, to the high traverse back to the Florida parking lot. I haven't done this combo before and I really liked. Some new sections of trails make the climb up BOR a little more doable (if 22% is doable). I am going to have to reverse this route though some time soon, just to see if the climb up Rooney is any easier than BOR.

Packed up the bike and headed home. D was waiting with Bug. Another high five and she was gone again till Sunday evening. It was a great weekend with my Bug, not what I would have imagined just a few years ago, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

View my ride details...(click here)

Rampart Reservoir 102310

2010-10-24T21:45:00.003-06:00

Fred, Derek, Brian, Jason, and I headed up to Rampart Reservoir. This was a first time ride for me. I highly recommend this ride if you are down near the Springs, especially for you hardtail-wheeling Midwesterns. It's a fun, flowy trail, with very little extended climbing. We hit plenty of snow on the drive up, but the trails were clear when we arrived at the 9,300' trailhead. If the weather forecast this week holds true, this will be the last weekend for rides on trails above 9,000 feet for the season. Plenty of snow on nearby Pike's Peak reminded us winter is right around the corner. The temperature was right around 50 for the duration of the ride. The dirt was nice and tacky. Tacky as it gets here on the front range with decomposed granite scree.

Ride details....click here.

Chimney Gulch Apex Ride Saturday 101610

2010-10-17T08:58:00.002-06:00

More info later, but I got out for an excellent ride up Chimney Gulch.

Detail ride info...(click here)

2010-10-09T08:43:00.001-06:00

Bear Creek Reservoir

2010-10-04T10:10:00.002-06:00

I had to work the night shift this week but i managed to get in a couple of days commuting plus a ride up Evergreen Mountain. I did some bike maintenance preride and the bike rode terrible and I am glad I was riding by myself. I did see some of my friends on the trail, pictured here.

Still hot out here in the mountains and will it ever rain?

Mt Herman Limbaugh HZ Ride

2010-09-26T21:48:00.004-06:00

Derek, Fred, and Jeff rode Monarch Crest on Saturday, but I had other commitments. Bummer because they said it was a beautiful day and a great ride. Sorry I missed it guys.

Derek and I hooked up on Sunday for a ride. We both wanted to add a trail we had not done before so we decided to the ride the backside of Mt Herman (Limbaugh Canyon). It turned out Derek had done this part of the route before, but they rerouted numerous sections including the final couple of miles. The 3 hour 20 minute ride totaled out with about 15 miles and 3,300 feet of climbing. The final section of the trail before entering back in to the "Preserve" in called "HZ" not sure what that meant, but could be HZ=hazard, and it would be fitting. The first part of HZ is pretty technical with a few hundred feet of climbing in a mile. The climbing was "unexpected" since we were thinking we only had downhill left, so it hurt a bit more than it should have. The remaining miles were then all descending. It showed that these trails were hand built by skilled workers who ride. Towards the end of the day Derek seemed to fade a bit, but he hammered about 4 hours of riding on Saturday (that will teach you to go with out me :). Or it could have been the near 90 temperatures and lack of water for the last 30 minutes of the ride. Or he was just making me feel good.

Check out the route at EveryTrail.com (click here).

Lair of the Bear

2010-09-25T00:15:00.002-06:00

I was able to squeezed in another ride Friday afternoon. I always wanted to try the lower part of Lair of the Bear. I've done the upper part that climbs up the backside of Mt Falcon as an outback previously, but was never able to ride from the main parking lot. I knew it would be a short little loop, but that was okay as my time was limited around an hour plus. I just wanted to explore some and see where the Little Park trail stopped. I found a good alternate parking spot at the far end of Little Park and was pleasantly surprised with the trail along Bear Creek. Not a technical ride but a good warm up to the climb that awaits if you do the full thing. My guess if you did the full ride, it would be close to 16 miles total out and back.

My ride can be found at Everytrail.com (click here) and click here for the park map.

Mt Falcon

2010-09-23T00:46:00.006-06:00

I took a week of vacation to short up my "to do" list. I also wanted to get in a few rides. Today's weather was questionable but after a very hot summer (some 70+ days above 90 degrees this year) the cool, drizzly weather was a welcome change. I headed out to Mt Falcon. Haven't been to this park since Shim and I rode here probably 10+ years ago. The bike and I are about 35 lbs heavier and I ride far less. All things considered the climb felt pretty good and the descent back down was a lot of fun. There's more trail up top but I had to keep it short today as there were things on the "to do" list calling my name. Oh well there's always tomorrow.

Check out my route at EveryTrail.com (click here)

Deek Creek

2010-09-02T07:17:00.003-06:00

Finally was able to map out the full loop at Deer Creek. This ride has alluded the GPS multiple times and tried very hard again this past weekend. Also had a chain break on the climb. This place is hard and a great place to test your fitness progression.

Ride #3 Colorado Trail (CT) Tiger Section

2010-08-25T10:12:00.002-06:00

Ride #2 Flume Trails

2010-08-25T10:10:00.001-06:00

Ride #1 Peak Trail (PT)

2010-08-25T10:04:00.002-06:00

Breckenridge Rides

2010-08-25T09:54:00.004-06:00

Simbo rides Bear Creek Reservoir on Saturday 8/14/10. Photo by Rusty.

2010-08-15T11:34:00.001-06:00

Simbo at Monument Rock at the Preserve. Friday 8/13/10. Photo by Rusty.

2010-08-15T11:34:00.000-06:00

Friday Night after work ride at The Preserve. Looked who showed up for the ride.

2010-08-15T11:32:00.000-06:00

Dakota Ridge...8/2/10

2010-08-07T17:45:00.000-06:00

Dakota Ridge... 8/2/10

2010-08-07T17:35:00.000-06:00

Monument Preserve Thursday Night Ride 6-17-10

2010-07-18T00:13:00.003-06:00

McG, Fred, Rick, and I hooked up for a rare after work ride at the Preserve in Monument. Good Times.

Buffalo Creek 071710

2010-07-17T23:59:00.004-06:00

Long, hot ride today at Buffalo Creek. Temps in Denver reached in excess of 100. The Mrs said the home weather station was reading 103.6 in the shade. Temps in the mountains were in the upper 80's. Jeff, Derek, and I rode 4.5 hours and over 3100 feet of climbing. This literally cooked me. This is probably one of the most fun riding areas around, at least in the top 3 for me. Note the wrong turn 3/4 of the way through. I really didn't need that.

Big Bike Season is Finally Here....

2010-06-18T23:33:00.003-06:00

Hi Ho Hi Ho....off to Winter Park we go....

Bear Creek Reservoir 5-29-10

2010-06-18T19:47:00.000-06:00

Thursday Night Ride at the Preserve

2010-06-18T19:37:00.000-06:00

Why Trail Work is Considered a Contact Sport...

2010-04-11T14:35:00.001-06:00

I hadn't thought about body armor for trail work, but a full face helmet could come in handy...

Full story on Iowa Griz's site, click here.

Bear Creek Reservoir Rides

2010-04-11T07:24:00.005-06:00

The foothills have been seeing periodic snow followed by 70 degree days, so in my opinion conditions can be spotty. Even though I haven't been posting, I've been out riding, staying in town where it has been dry.

Shim and I rode this trail years ago. They have add some connectors to make this a nice loop since my first time here back in the late nineties. It's a good cardio fitness trail or a good place to bring a novice rider. It's also a nice break from the typical front range trails that hurt so good.

I started my GPS a little late. The actual loop is about 13.6 miles. You could work to make this loop close to 15 miles if you really wanted. The loop has only about 1,200 feet of climbing and it is pretty smooth too. Lots of sun exposure, so beware if you plan to ride it mid summer in the heat of the day. This ride is worth a look, but there is also 20+ miles of quality dirt trails within a short pedal from here at Green Mountain, Dakota Ridge, and Matthew Winters.

Download the actual GPS file at Everytrail.com (click here)

2010-04-10T17:35:00.002-06:00

Mmmmmmm....post ride beverage

No Riding Again This Weekend

2010-02-27T13:22:00.013-07:00

(Photo by Dickmeister, Omaha, NE)

Call me a wimp, but old man winter is still hanging tough here on the Front Range. Trails are in bad shape. Things here aren't as rough as in Omaha, where good buddy Dickmeister and best friend Cody are out riding in this stuff.

Looks like he should just invest in a dog sled.

Sunrise Ride on Green Mountain

2010-02-11T15:36:00.016-07:00

I knew conditions would get sloppy in a hurry with the quickly rising temperatures predicted for today, so I headed out for a pre-dawn ride. What I wasn't counting on was the drifting on the trails that occured over night. The lower portion of Green Mountain was crusty, but rideable. S-L-O-W, but rideable. Once I hit the climb up Hayden, it was tough going. I spent about 40% of the time hiking up instead of riding. I then turned the handle bars downhill and busted crude through Rooney Valley. I am still glad I rode this morning, but my legs are trashed. Would I recommend it to somebody else...NO WAY.

Green Mountain 021110 on Vimeo.

Monument Preserve

2010-02-06T12:00:00.011-07:00

I definitely give this ride a "thumbs-up". I take my hat off to the group that built and maintains these trails.

Monument Rock

I think this is called Flying Dog, regardless, a very fun downhill.

High up on "Black Pearl", looking down on the Preserve from the base on Mt Herman. Very sweet section of trail.

Mt Herman

Rode Monument Preserve with me and myself. Did a little prep work at home using TOPO and mapped out a 14 mile loop. Lots of trails in this area and it could be very confusing to a newby. I was able to put together a nice route for myself to follow. Trail conditions were a mix of dry, snow, ice, and very little mud. Overall pretty good, but could use a little more sun and drying time.

Started off by climbing to the south end of the park working through the middle, then to the north, then headed west up the eastern slope of Mt Herman before heading back east and finishing up at the trailhead. Rode pretty slow, but no extended stops. I printed out some maps to help with route finding, but a leaky Camelback on the drive down ruined my hard work. Lesson#1 learned...use a ziplock bag if your ink is not waterproof. Thankfully, I also had the route plugged into my Garmin, but ran old batteries and it died on the last leg of the route. Lesson#2... bring a back up set of batteries when you are depending on your GPS on unfamiliar trails. Just a bit of bush-whacking to get back on course at the end. No biggey.

Ran into McG's buddies (Rick and a couple of others) on the trail. Rode with Rick at BC last year. Wierd to cross paths again with someone out in the middle of no where.

Saddle time was 3 hours 15 minutes. Guessing mileage was 14+ with 1,600 feet of climbing and 1,600 descending in the loop.

My GPS batteries died and I wasn't happy with my post for final route on Everytrail.com so I will try again next time.

USAFA Snow Ride

2010-01-30T17:54:00.002-07:00

Fred and I hit the academy for about 2 hours. Conditions were near perfect for the front range in January. Note Fred's attire.

First Dirt of '10

2010-01-24T11:52:00.007-07:00

First offroad ride of 2010, Palmer Park. 45 degrees and warming.

Post Ride Report:

Riders: Fred, Derek, and Rustycar

Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Distance: Unknown

Conditions: Dry on the southern exposures, spotty ice on the northern exposures. NO MUD! (Disclaimer: Fred knows the park well and was able to keep us on the dry stuff)

Most memorable moment: Derek's sweet line descending down a very technical section on Templeton Gap that looked unrideable. Runner up memorable moment...Fred wearing shorts in 45 degree weather with his pasty-white legs.

USAFA Falcon Trail

2009-11-07T18:38:00.004-07:00

Over looking Falcon Stadium. Falcons kicked the snot out of Army.

Met up with Fred and Jeff Saturday afternoon at the USAFA. ESPN Game day and the USAF Army Game were drawing a huge crowd at Falcon Stadium. The weather was a perfect 70 degrees. None of the fans were any the wiser that the trails were in perfect shape for a ride. They didn't know what they were missing. We got to see the fly-overs too. God bless our Vets.

Up north in Denver the front range is still melting off from last weeks storm, but the Springs saw barely any snow. We rode the loop in reverse direction from what I am used to and I really liked it. It was a whole new trail in the opposite direction and it flowed well. The one really long climb is now a really long downhill. Legs felt pretty good after 2 weeks off of the bike. Maybe I will try a ride out at Green Mtn on Sunday.

More Snow Pix

2009-11-07T18:14:00.001-07:00

Oct 28-29 2009 Denver Snow Storm

Monarch Crest from Last August

2009-11-01T18:42:00.002-07:00

I finally up loaded my GPS info and mapped out the Monarch Crest Trail from this past summer. This is one of the "bucket" list rides that I checked off this past year.

Monarch Crest ride profile and map (click here)

Looking out my office window.

2009-10-28T20:44:00.002-06:00

Earlier in the Day...

I kind like the winter weather but man this is early. Average highs are still supposed to be around 62. This weather man here in Denver needs to go back to Omaha or Cleveland or something.

2009-10-28T20:40:00.001-06:00

Yes I Busted Out the Snow Blower

Space Savings Idea...

2009-10-27T19:21:00.002-06:00

Sunday's Project.

Dedisse to Evergreen Mtn via Adelfer

2009-10-24T15:20:00.002-06:00

Ponderosa and Silver Fox about 45 minutes into the ride.

Looking North from the summit of Evergreen Mtn.

Looking west towards Mt Evans in the back ground.

Happy camper with grit in my teeth.

Saddle Time - 2:25pm to 4:45 pm
Evergreen Lake - 7,072

Evergreen Mtn - 8,536

Probably 2,000+ feet of climbing

Weather - 63 and mostly sunny.

Not sure on the exact distance, some where around 14-15 miles. I will have to map this ride at a later date. This may be one of my new favorite rides. I began at the lake, with some climbing and a descent through Dedisse Park. I then crossed Upper Bear Creek Rd and up the Dedisse Trail. It's a moderate climb for about another 20+ minutes. I descended down Hidden Fawn and then climbed up Ponderosa to Silver Fox to the west parking area. Crossing Buffalo Park Road and climbing again up Evergreen Mtn Trail West to the Summit Loop. After a short break at the summit, I completed the summit loop then retraced my route and descended the same trails I had just climbed up. The descent had a lot of mud spray through some slushy areas of snow on the north slopes. A small price to pay for a very fun and fast downhill. The rest of the trails were bone dry. After crossing Buffalo Park Rd, I descended down Ponderosa to Sisters to Dedisse. I finished with a short climb and descent through Dedisse to my truck. I highly recommend this route to anyone passing through the area. You can easily make this a 3 hour ride with additional loops in the area.

Simbo Visit - Day 2 - Green Mtn

2009-10-11T21:20:00.004-06:00

The weather man lies...
He said sunny and 46 today. Does it look like it hit 29 today? The answer is no.

Simbos Visit - Ride 1 - Adelfer

2009-10-11T21:14:00.004-06:00

No skiing today but how about 19 degrees and first tracks ?

2009-08-21T15:16:00.002-06:00

Indian Creek to Waterton Canyon. Shorter window to ride so we did this as a point to point ride. Little under 2 hours.

2009-08-20T22:40:00.002-06:00

More Dakota Ridge.

2009-08-20T22:38:00.003-06:00

Red Rocks/Dakota Ridge. Quick ride before dark, well..., we almost finished before dark.

1.5 hours with stops.

2009-08-19T21:09:00.002-06:00

Buffalo Creek

Mc G and Rick met Simbo and I in Pine . We did a 4 hour loop. Started with a long climb (maybe 2 miles or a bit under). Then we had a great down hill run down down Charlies bypass, an unnamed trail, then Sandy. A++. We climbed back up Baldy and back down Strawberry to the TH. Best cross country loop I have been on to date. This is my new top ride.

2009-08-17T14:51:00.002-06:00

2009-08-17T14:49:00.001-06:00

2009-08-17T13:18:00.001-06:00

2009-08-16T14:36:00.001-06:00

aaaaaaaaa

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2009-08-16T14:10:00.001-06:00

2009-08-16T09:01:00.001-06:00

Simbo and I headed up to WP for some chairlift action. Bit chilly for a Texan.

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Crest Video

2009-08-10T21:38:00.002-06:00

Team Topeak Ergon's JK was up riding the Crest this past Saturday also. They shot this great video of the ride. Small world, I guess, a couple of mid-western's up in the high country (don't know the guy personally but he's a legend in Iowa).

Topeak-Ergon at the Crest Trail (Colorado) from Jeff Kerkove on Vimeo.

Bucket Ride - Monarch Crest

2009-08-09T20:14:00.006-06:00

I will post all of the pictures and a full write up later including a GPS map/profile, but wanted all my avid readers to know that we had a great time. We only lost one out of ten riders. Had 2 flats. And the weather was picture perfect but the temperature did read 31 degrees as we drove to the trail head. This is an epic ride and truely should be a bucket ride of anyone who considers themselves a mountain biker. Plenty of climbing to make a roadie happy. Enough downhilling to make a shuttle monkey smile. 10 out of 10 on my scale.

Weekend Ride Update

2009-08-05T20:34:00.002-06:00

Sorry folks to disappoint but I never got on the bike last weekend, but it will be different this Saturday. Saturday is a bucket list ride! Monarch Crest. I have dreamt of doing this ride for over four years since Fred first told me about it. August 2008 was canceled due to snow (think about that for a sec). The weather this year should be great. Will have plenty of photos this year, so stay tuned.

2009-07-27T09:35:00.001-06:00

Spent the weekend playing catchup after a very long week of work . Managed a decent ride at White Ranch on Saturday. I don't think there is a easy ride in that place.

Riders of Summer #2 of 6 Pathra

2009-07-23T21:12:00.002-06:00

Ride Updates

2009-07-18T21:25:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posts (Simbo). But you're the only guy who reads this any who. Last weekend Derek, Fred and I spent the weekend in the high country. We hit Keystone on Saturday and Winterpark on Sunday. We met up with a bunch of friends of all abilities on Saturday. Spent some time with some newbies and they had a tough time hanging, and we were to slow for Cole and Jen so it ended up just being the 3 muskateers ( or 3 stooges, depending on how you look at it). We got a solid 6 hours in on the big bikes at Keystone then the rain hit. We were done any ways, so we bee-lined over to Winterpark for round 2 on Sunday.

WP is building a lot of new jump trails. They lack the technical steep trails of Keystone, but make up for it in fun factor. The Keystone stuff really makes you pucker, but WPs trails are getting better everyday in my opinion. They are doing the right things. The new trails they have built this year have a good flow to them. I like the jumps they have put in and it is helping my confidence to hit them repetively. I rode on Sunday till I couldn't go any more. Both arms and legs were equally tired.

Two days commuting into work this past week to keep the legs moving and burn off the ice cream. Then...

Today, Fred and I hooked and rode the Indian Creek loop again. This time we cranked it out in 2.5 hours. The conditions could not have been better. I consider this one of my favorite rides now. Not sure where Derek was today. Something about a monkey and a can of wax.