I left for a two week trip to Colorado in mid-May to pick up our youngest monkey, Xan, from college and do some epic riding along the way. The plan was for me to drive to Colorado Springs solo, meet up with Xan at Colorado College and ride the Front Range area for a few days, then road trip to through the mountain bike meccas of Colorado and Utah. I took my Oxide Cycles Battleaxe, and Xan would be riding his Ventana Zeus, both Rohloff SPEEDHUB equipped.
On the first day of the trip, I left Berkeley in the morning heading east in Interstate 80. My first stop was in Sacramento to provide some follow-up service for a customer. Afterwords, I continued on to the Boreal ski area exit to ride Hole in the Ground, a fun trail that flows through evergreen forest and over classic Sierra Nevada granite. Unfortunately, spring conditions meant snow was still present in places, and I ended up spending about an hour alternating between walking and riding through intermittent snow patches as I attempted to reach the trailhead. By the time I was at the trailhead, there was far too much snow to make riding worthwhile, so I bailed on the ride and hit the road, getting to Elko, NV for the night.
The next morning I continued driving across Nevada, taking in the views of barren desert mountains. At the Nevada/Utah border, the Bonneville salt flats begin. The smooth, whitish desert landscape offers a unique view, extending as far as I could see on all sides, and has become a destination for vehicles looking to set land speed records at the Bonneville Speedway. The salt flats continued all the way to Salt Lake City, a couple hours away. There, the Wasatch Mountains start and Interstate 80 climbs up Park City, where I stopped to visit Walt from Walt Works. Walt showed me some of Park City's seemingly endless miles of smooth, flowing singletrack. Despite there being some snow left on the upper trails, the riding conditions were great on the lower ones.
Fortunately, the highway had re-opened during the ride, and I was able to continue to Rawlins, WY for the night. Earlier, signs in Salt Lake City had warned of a closure at the Wyoming border, and the clerk at the motel that night confirmed that a late season snow storm had closed the interstate for two days across the entire state. It seems that every time I drive to or from Colorado, there is a snow storm. I had assumed that I would be safe this time being late in the snow season, but mountain weather is unpredictable. This was the best possible scenario though, with no delays for me and the roads having already melted.
The next morning, I made it to Colorado, with pretty, snow-covered scenery along the drive and classic Colorado bluebird skies. My first stop was Black Sheep Bikes in Fort Collins to talk to James about the details of a frame for an upcoming customer build. Then I headed to Boulder to pick up a care package from friends at Skratch Labs and to check out the Valmont Bike Park.
I was very impressed by all the park had to offer. There were two pump tracks, a few cross-country loops, a dual slalom run, and multiple jump lines designed for all levels. There was something for every skill level and riding style, and this showed when I looked around to see the diverse crowd that was enjoying the park. Families with kids of all ages were riding together and having a blast, while more experienced dirt jumpers were riding the park's more aggressive terrain. If only Berkeley had a park like this...
I arrived in Colorado Springs the next day to meet Xan at Colorado College. It was the day before everyone had to be moved out of the dorms, so the inside of the dorms was in chaos. I gave him a bit of time to make progress on packing, and then we hit some local trails. The riding was awesome, and I was more than glad to be out of the car after about 20 hours of driving!
Stay tuned to the Cycle Monkey Tales blog for Part Two of our MTB road trip soon.
-Neil
We'd love to hear stories and see pictures of your Rohloff and Schlumpf equipped bikes in action! Send them to adventures@cyclemonkey.com
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