Colorado "Mountain" Biking Trip day 1 and 2

Day 1

Drive 13 hours from Iowa to Keystone, Colorado. Crash!

Day 2

The original plan was to drive to Aspen and get ready for a hike. Afternoon rain in the forecast made plans change. Instead, lots to see around Keystone, Dillon and Silverthorne and its sunny!  

What shall we do?  Ride, of course. Found a 15.5 mile loop trail, Keystone Gulch to Soda Creek Loop. It sounded fun and looked good on paper!

An hour in and it started to rain, so we hung out under a big Pine tree. See the snow in the background?

Well, the rain didn't last too long and so we began riding again. Uphill. For about three hours, walking through snowdrifts, tight turns and sometimes riding. Maybe we didn't allow ourselves enough time to acclimate?  Isn't overnite long enough?

We waited for the top of the climb to eat lunch. What a gorgeous view. 

This is what we encountered going down. How long before hypothermia takes effect?  Add to this a few creek crossings and the sum is wet, cold feet!

As we came upon mile 12, Chris looked over and said, "we've been here before." And I gave him that look I always give him when he says something stupid so he continued and said, "No, what I mean is every single time we go riding on the first day we overdo it.  And here we are again. We still haven't learned the lesson."  And so we continued on , dreaming of a warm shower, hot tub, beer and food. We can do it!  And we finished!  Maybe 15.5 miles of high altitude mountain climbing is a bit much on day 1.  Oh well, no biking planned for tomorrow, doesn't that count as a rest day?  It's a hiking day instead. 

Now, onto that shower, beer, food and hot tub!

If this isn't nice, I don't know what is!

August 1, 2014 Bradbury Mountain

Woke up to partly sunny skies and dampness. The trail maps are great(I had printed them off from home) with lengths and descriptions. As we started on the trails we realized that all junctions are signposted with a number on the map. Sweetness!  This should be so much less frustrating than Bear Brook yesterday.

But alas, I spoke too soon. I sort of complained about the big roots from the big trees in New Hampshire, they are minuscule compared to the arteries of roots. Add to that rocks and muddy bogs and you have the recipe for massive frustration. Though the trails wove through the trees with tight corners, there was no fast flow. How could there be when you are bounced off roots , rocks and occasionally even trees, but maybe that's just me?

I believe that these trails are fun, in their own way, but they weren't for me today. We managed about 10 miles on the East side only. I'll save the West side to the summit of Bradbury mountain for hiking tomorrow.

So the afternoon was spent on the "beach" Maine style. 

And an evening of fresh lobster and steamed clams. 

July 23, 2014

Brown County day 2. 

It's thundering this am so the thought is to get on the trails before the rain hits, which the forecast says is at 10am. Awesome temperatures and no Mosquitos!  Is this normal for Brown County Indiana in mid July?

You know how when you are a pet owner and they tell you that you have to limit the amount of food that you put in your pet's dish because it will just keep eating and eating anything until they are fat and die?Well, that's what biking with us was like today. 

So today's ride started much like yesterday's.  Everything seemed downhill. We even turned around and went back on Walnut trail and it still seemed like it was downhill. Our major dilemma today was indecision.  When we exited at Hoosiers nest we had to make a decision. Do we keep riding or head back to camp?  We headed to Hesitation Point and wanted to ride Aynes Loop, one of the few trails we hadn't ridden. Remember, the bowl is still full.  Indecision had led to backtracking some and so the intermediate and advanced trails seemed more uphill. Or was it just because it was day 2 and we already had over 10 miles logged this morning?  The rock gardens, roots and log overs today were an added challenge. Doable perhaps,but not all today. 

Digger fell (hence the name). This time the 29 inch wheel didn't roll over everything. No blood. 

Map my ride said our route was over 18 miles, but we took some park blacktop due to the rain so I don't think it's accurate, probably closer to 15 miles. Riding done, time for lunch, pool and Big Woods Brewery in Nashville!

At 7 pm, as we lay nearly motionless in our tent, we make a promise to each other that just because there are more trails on the map, it doesn't mean that they have to be ridden in one go!

July 22, 2014

Day 1 of the New England mountain bike adventure. Can two amateurs mtb some of the best trails the northeast has to offer for 13 of 18 days?

Only time will tell. Day one finds us 6.5 hours east of home in Brown County Indiana at Brown County State Park. The weather is 88 and sticky. We arrive at the campsite at 5 pm and of course have to hit the trails. There is a chance of rain tomorrow so supper can wait. 

We started at the North Gatehouse. Everyone was exiting as we were entering. The green beginner trails seemed like a good way to stretch our road weary legs. We road about 10 miles in an hour and a half. Talk about fun!  How do they make the trails so it feels like any way you ride it is mostly downhill?  Can't wait for riding tomorrow!