Guest Post: Colorado Downhill and Cross Country Trip, by Mark Tingwald

Wallride on the Valhalla Trail in Snowmass, Colorado

Last summer my brother and I took a trip to Snowmass, Colorado to ride at the ski resort and in the mountains around Aspen. The plan was to drive down to Los Angeles to pick up some friends, then road trip straight to the resort and get a hotel room for a week of riding and fun. I was excited to take on some more challenging, rocky terrain that we don't have here in the Bay Area and test out the new Rohloff hub the Cycle Monkey crew installed on my Felt Virtue Ltd. My plan was to ride the Felt at both the downhill-oriented bike park and on a longer cross country loop, and I was looking forward to seeing how it would perform on both.

Our trip started in Berkeley, where my brother and I loaded five bikes into my van. After getting the bikes packed we made the trek down to L.A. to pick up two more friends and four more bikes, and then went straight through to Snowmass.

Riding a drop on the Valhalla trail.

Our first day was spent riding the resort’s downhill tracks. I logged about four hours of downhill the first day, which made me unbelievably sore. This was my first experience at a bike park, and I wasn’t used to how much of a toll the intense rock gardens, drops, and jumps can take on your body over the course of a day.

My two favorite trails were called Vapor and Valhalla. Valhalla is based on the main trail line at the famed Whistler bike park, and consists of a few miles of consecutive 15 foot long tabletop jumps with very well-built berms to snake you around the mountain. Vapor trail was slightly more technical - full of loose turns, some roots, and lots of rutted-out rocky fast sections. Vapor didn't have as much flow as Valhalla, but was still very fun.

Another Valhalla drop.

We rode the bike park for two days, mostly sticking to the Vapor and Valhalla trails, before turning our attention to an epic, all-day cross country ride on a famous route called Government Trail. The ride was a 30 mile out-and-back from Snowmass to Aspen; very technical and slow rolling. The entire ride took close to five hours, which included stops to check out the scenery, two flat tires due to the sharp rocks that covered the entire trail, and some cruising around in Aspen to grab a bite to eat. The trails were challenging enough to keep you on your toes at all times, but never so challenging that you were forced to get off your bike and walk. The Government trail was one of the most exhausting rides I've ever done, mostly due to the toll that the 13,000 foot elevation took on my body, which is used to riding near sea level.

The Government Trail was 30 miles of exhausting but fun singletrack.

All in all, riding Colorado on my new Rohloff hub felt amazing. Intense downhill trails with jumps, drops, and high speed rock gardens can really take a toll on your bike’s drive train. But the Rohloff felt so solid that I didn’t have the fear of breaking my derailleur in the back of my mind, allowing me to focus on just ripping down the mountain. The same went for the cross country ride. If I had broken part of my derailleur in the backcountry, I might have had to hike 15 miles back to town, but the hub’s internal shift system didn’t feel like it would leave me stranded.

After our week was up, we loaded our bikes and drove back home, a little sad that our week was over, but satisfied at how it had all gone. Taking a road trip to ride some of the country’s best trails is an incredible opportunity that only comes around once in a while, and we had made sure to really make the most of it. I’m already looking forward to the next trip!

-Mark Tingwald

We'd love to hear stories and see pictures of your Rohloff and Schlumpf equipped bikes in action! Send them to adventures@cyclemonkey.com