Colorado Trip Video

Andy on the Colorado Trail

Brooke on the Colorado Trail

Brooke and "The Wheeler Trail" at about 11,500 ish, above tree line.....

Lots of rain and not so much riding....

The monsoons have arrived and it seems like every afternoon the sky opens up and drowns us in water. I'm not complaining about the rain... but it does seem like it's always right around the time we want to go biking.

On Thursday, we were to bike. We get to our spot, get all of our gear on, the bikes unloaded and it begins to rain. We debated. To stick it out or just head home and hope that we pass through it, and ride in Chino. Oh no... that didn't happen...we passed through it, but not all the way. It was pouring on us all the way home. Once home it rained for another hour. No ride that day.

We did however go ride on Saturday. At 8am we went with Dan and Toby, and since we were going in the morning, we brought Jessi along. She was so excited! We told her to pace herself, but that really didn't do much good. She was off at full speed. By the time we were 4 miles in, the poor girl was tired! We of course, would slow down for her so she could trot. We did bring lots of water, but running for that long takes a toll. We came to a junction, I took Jessi through a shortcut to the lake so she could rest and get her feet wet while Dan, Andy and Toby took the other more difficult route down to Mint Wash and back up to the lake.

Once at the lake, Jessi didn't want anything to do with the water. Nor would she lay down. She did catch her breath and relaxed a bit. Once the guys met back up with me, we started back to the car. The temp was only about 85 but the humidity was up there and I don't think it was sitting well with Jessi. Most of the trails we did were in the shade of the trees which made a difference.....but in the sun, you could feel the heat.

We get back to the car and she drinks lots of water and gets in the back and lays down. She was a trooper and did 12 of 13 miles (shortcut)! That is her furthest so far. Once home, she drank a little more and ate a bit and then off to sleep she went. Today she is still tired! I guess we will have to stick to short loops around the house until it cools down more and we can take her out more on the trails. She loves to run and

Guess who has a lead foot??? ....

Last weekend there was a 12 hour mountain bike race here in Prescott. Our friend Steve entered it as a solo rider just to see how well he could do. It turns out he did pretty well... 2nd place. He did 14 laps in those 12 hours 126 miles total. Micki and I were his support crew, meaning we stayed up all night with a few naps here and there. Andy however, opted to go home and sleep in his own bed, but he did come back a 7:30 in the morning to see Steve finish his final lap. Once the race was over, we helped Sticki pack up the pop-up and then it was off to work for Andy and I. As we were coming down Prescott Lakes Parkway, which is a fairly steep hill to come down, there was a person in front of us going 47mph, and then there was a person coming up on our right. We have to make a right turn but the guy in front of us was obviously going too slow for Andy, so he sped up to pass to get back into the right lane and WHAM... there was a "copper" hiding in the trees. He throws his lights on, and Andy says a few choice words and pulls over. The "copper" was nice... he said "you know why I'm pulling you over right?"... and Andy says... "it was probably for speeding!" . He says "yeah... 53 mhp in 35 zone!" He says the "well, what do you think I should do" card. I am looking in the glove box for the registration and insurance and once he asked that question... I chime in and say ... "give him a warning!"... he didn't like that idea.

He asks Andy for his driver's license and the one day Andy doesn't bring his wallet was today. Andy recites off his DL number but, impressed as he was, he just needed his full name. So, Andy got a speeding ticket, and a warning for no drivers license and a license plate frame.

He hasn't been to driving school in the past two years so he opted for it. But here you can take the class on line.. but they don't tell you the little details about the on line class. His ticket was $105 plus $20 for the class and $9 for a processing fee and court costs, final tally $179.00. He then proceeds to take the 4 hour class on line and then another little details pop up... once you have completed the course online, you have to go to a Library and take a final quiz that costs another $7.00. He would have been better off just going to the class it would have been cheaper and less hassle.......and wait for it.............no quiz at the end!

A day of B-days

Today, Saturday July 11, 2009, we celebrated 2 birthdays. One being my Mom's, because we were in Colorado at the time, the other, was our friend Steve O's birthday. His actually fell on this date. We took my Mom to Iron Springs Cafe in Prescott. It was as good as ever. Brooke had the Black and Blue of course, Blackened Catfish for myself and some Salmon for the Birthday girl. She turned ahhh......hmmmm......39 on the 28th of June. Happy Birthday Mom.

Andy, Brooke and Carol

Next up was Steve O's. He turned the ripe old age of 50. Brooke and I were stunned, we thought he was early to mid forties for sure. He stays pretty fit, he likes to run/jog and has done many 5K, 10K ,15K etc. with some half and full marathons. We try and take him out mountain biking when he is willing and able. The party was to be at his mother's house around 6'ish, we got there at about 7:30ish. Not to fear, we made it just in time for the opening of presents. Steve received a GPS/heart rate monitor, running gear. He also scored a "walker" and a "raised toilet seat" as gag gifts from his family.....but we know he'll use them. Won'tcha Steve!

Brooke, Steve, Toby and Andy

The Colorado Trip Begins Day 1 - Road Trip

Day 1 Chino Valley, Arizona

Departure Time: 7am June 23, 2009

We wake up early with anticipation of the big trip. We have been excited to go now for a while and it was time to get on the road and make it happen. The Forrester packed to the hilt and a full tank of gas and we are off. Since there was no traffic this early in the morning heading north to HWY 89 to I-40 we made good time. We hit Flagstaff and got some showers which was a sign of things to come on this trip. We hit Holbrook, AZ a short time later, we stop to fuel up just in case, because we are heading onto the "Res" and don't if there will be any gas stations on our quest to Colorado. Then out of nowhere.....

a T-Rex rears it's ugly head and starts to come after me. I yell to Brooke to get back into the car and lock the doors. I hop into the drivers seat as it comes barrelling after us and we blaze the all-wheel drive and light em' up like The Dukes of Hazzard. Sheesh! That was a close one. Back on the road, nerves calmed, we hook up the IPOD and jam out to some of our favorites and hit Exit 191 North through the "Res". Nothing much to see here, but it is kinda pretty in that desolate kind of way. Going this way was different, the speed limit was 65 but we all know that I, Andy cannot do the speed limit. Cruising through at 80-85 mph was not a problem, passing the occasional tribal police vehicle going the other way. They did not seem to care because of the influx of Casino money they are awash in. We did see a lot of "call in a drunk driver" billboards. The fire water still has a strangle hold on the natives. Sad really. I've seen Dances with Wolves. Ta-tonka!

Before we know it, we are at the Arizona / Utah border. We stop in Montecello, UT for some gas and a bite to eat and a driver change. Still traveling North on 191, we are headed strait for MOAB. It was 99 degrees and it was HOT. Some consider this to be the "end all be all" of mountain bike trails. Others, not so much. We've never been there and will have to come back to pass judgement on this bounty of trails. As we pass through, we take a couple pics that we can't seem to locate. The section between Moab and I-70 seemed to be the longest. We were stuck behind a big rig with a wide load, places to pass were few and far between. Finally, I-70, and we are on the home stretch. We cross the Utah / Colorado border and headed for Grand Junction, Glenwood Spring and then Glenwood Canyon....boy was that beautiful. The road seems to dance its way through the canyons steep walls and sheer cliffs. We text Sticki to see if we are too meet at camp or in Breckenridge for a quick bite to eat. They were doing "chairs" and would meet us in Breck.

Up next is Vail, you can tell it's expensive to live there, our house could fit in their garages.........at the guests houses. We hit the junction at Frisco and head South to Breckenridge.

Frisco at dusk.

We are in just after 7 pm. 12 hours of driving and sight seeing brings us to our destination. We meet Steve and Micki aka "STICKI", along with Eric, Danielle and their 6 year old daughter Natalie for dinner. We eat at Downstairs at Erics', they serve pasta, pizza and salads. Everything you need for a ride the next day. The waitress was dull and boring and had no time for our sense of humor. Lame! Our bellies full and eyes primed for the pillow, we head to camp for the first time. It was dark and a very poor road at the end, and Brooke was driving, not a good combo, she sent us flying over every rock, into every mud hole, and over a cliff. No, not really, but the first 2 are correct. This isn't single track!! We get to the "Sticki Hilton" and it had all the amenities. Running water, a bed, a roof and a fridge we never got to use. Bummer......thanks though. Mousse was super excited to see us. She's a good dog. It made us miss our girls. Brooke and I unloaded what we needed and retired for the night. It'll be daylight soon and time to ride.

Glossary of terms:

Sticki = Steve and Micki combined

Mousse = their faithful dog

Flowy = a trail that flows really well

Fierce = totally cool, awesome, most fun

Considerable = Steve's meaning of "really really long or difficult

The Res = Indian Reservation

Singletrack = a single track of path only wide enough for 1 bike

Fire road = a road in the mountains to access the forest lands for fires and maintenance

Down hill = Downhill trail, little or no pedaling required, occasional brakes

Chairs = doing downhill ski lift style, ride the chairs up and then bomb down the hill

Bomb = Let er' rip

mojo = you balls or guts

Breck = abbreviated form of Breckenridge

Natural stuff = no chemicals or by-products included in said products

technical = needed mtn. bike skills to maneuver through obstacles, or terrain

rock gardens = gardens of rock in the path that you are about to travel

Indian Trivia = something to do between fellow texters in separate cars while driving on the res to keep us occupied

Andooke = Andy and Brooke combined

Sticki Hilton = Sticki's pop=up trailer

WTF - What the Fuck

machine - like the energizer bunny

carving - Hitting all the trail lines just right

cake - easy to do or easier to do

Go Pro Camera - Camera device mounted to the rig or persons

shuttle trip - leaving a car at the end and one at the beginning if not a loop or out and back

Colorado Trip Day 2 - Carter Park / Sally Barber Mine/ NOB / Bakers Tank

Day 2 - Carter Park - Sally Barber Mine - "Bad Dream on Mount Baldy"

and Bakers Tank

14 Miles total 3 Hours

Riders A B S M D

Rise and shine and it's our first full day in Breck, Colorado. Man was it good to be off the road and have a good nights sleep. Today we are meeting up with Danielle at 8am downtown and then we will head out to Carter Park on the bikes. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with us since the area has seen a lot of rain this year. Everything is really green and the temperature is just right at about 70 degrees. We meet up and head towards the trail, Steve used to live here long ago in a place far far away......um yeah. He used to live here and knows quite a bit about the area and was our personal tour guide at no extra charge, thanks Steve. We're almost to the trail, we can see it and head down the street and no..........can't get to it. We go back and turn down another side street and no........can't get to it, the elementary school put a fence up along the property so you can't access it though there any more. At this point we are glad Steve is free of charge. But alas, 3rd time's a charm, we find the entrance to a poorly marked trail head parking lot. This is it, 30 second and we're mountain biking in beautiful Colorado..........

Carter Park Entrance

We hit the trail and we are..............climbing.....???? Switchbacks for days. As you can see from the picture above, this is how the trail starts, but what you can't see is more switchbacks hidden in the trees. I didn't keep track of the number, but there were a lot. After the 425th switchback, the trail finally levels off and winds through the forest with beams of sunlight shooting through the canopy of pines above. A hint of morning rain still in the air, take a deep breath................. because my lungs are burning!!!! What the hell, this place doesn't have any oxygen, up in these here mountains. Good lord!!! I can feel my body going into survival mode. Taking deep breathes does not help at all, I can only get a 70% return on what I'm doing now, oh man, this is going to suck. Brooke looks at me and her eyes say it all. O-M-G!!!! Everything else feels real strong-mind, body, soul! After taking a short break so everyone could regroup and find their lungs, we set off again. The area is rich with mining history, Steve is pointing out sections of the trail that miners used to run water down to help wash away the rock on the mountain sides for gold.

This is what we came to at the top of Sally Barber Mine trail, an old mine shaft 364' deep with various arterial shafts running off of the main. Lots of old equipment, one, a very crude manual brake set up for lowering men and materials down the shaft. Here is a pic of the grate with the massive lodge poles acting as the fulcrum. The metal grate that covered the shaft was bolted and welded but it still felt erie walking up to it and standing on it.

After that Steve had talked about "Nightmare on Mount Baldy", (NOB) that was our next climb on the trail. A trail so hard and tough, that the locals can't or have a hard time doing it. Great, make me go into cardiac arrest my first day out, get the paddles ready. So we climb a little more and much to Steve's dismay, the trail has been altered! The section called "NOB" had been closed due to several deaths! We all look at each other in astonishment only to realized........Yes, I am bullshitting you! The trail had been diverted to a new section that was more ride-able. There were loads of rocks and logs thrown down into the old trail (NOB) to thwart any trail breakers. Steve was bummed, so was I. We really wanted to have a shot at this infamous trail, to give it our all and see if we could conquer this NEMESIS. I was also thinking, I might live to ride another day. The paddles could be put away now, no need for them here.

The new section was "cake" compared to NOB, but it was really nice and "flowy." We all commented on it. After that, Steve had to go trail seeking. The exit of the "new trail" had left us on a part of fire road not familiar with "Sticki". Steve found the trail again and we were off....climbing a fire road that was full of "baby heads" and loose rock, but if you pick your line, totally doable. Once we got to the top of the fire road we headed down to the next section of single track.

Down the fire road to single track.

We hit the next section of trail, Bakers Tank. It was awesome. There were rolling stretches of "fierce" down hill. Swooping curves, drops, throw in a couple of rock gardens to keep you on your toes.....and your brakes if need be! Pick your line and make good decisions or you could be off and into a tree, or 10 feet down the hill.....before you hit land again. Then the trail became more tame. Rolling hills and subtle downs. It was nice just like the beginning. We traveled through the pines and came upon more old building. Looking at them, you can just picture what it used to be like in the "old days", every bit of lumber, nails, tin, was hauled up by hand or by donkey. Truly amazing. The trail keeps on descending and before you know it we are in a huge canopy of Aspen trees. Bright green, it's almost as if they are glowing in the day light.

Towards the end, after the Aspens, came the tailings pile. Tons of loose tailing material left behind from mining. The trail splits. Option 1: You can gather your mojo and follow the trail as it drops off the face of the Earth for a moment, or Option 2: be a puss and take the easy way down on the side as it gently lowers you to the bottom where the trail joins back together. We all pick option 1, except for Danielle, she picks #2. Her loss. It was a killer drop. Much like a roller coaster ride. You crest over the top and it seems like the singletrack disappears right in front of you. Then you hit the bottom and you're hauling ass in a flash. I needed every bit of the 75 feet to come to a stop so I could go back and watch the ladies pull it off. The pics don't do it justice at all, but if you look at the trees to the right and the angle of the trail, it's pretty steep. Brooke's facial expression agrees, it's a 9.5 out of 10 for steepness.

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

After that we popped out of the woods on the south end of town, we could've done another section of trail but the group took a vote, and majority wins. We cruise back into town for a bite to eat at RASTA PASTA. There's one in Fort Collins as well, my old stompin' grounds. It was pasta dishes with a hint of Jamaican flair. Fruits, veggies and curry to make spice it up a bit. Very good indeed. We sat creek side, it runs the length of "Breck", reflecting on the first ride, wondering if I should go to the ER to get some oxygen or a shot of epinephrin for the next ride.........Just kidding............. No, I'm not!

Went back to camp and hung out, shot the shit until the mosquitos came out. Boy did they love me. I must of had some good "stink" up on me. Out comes the DEET. Kill'em dead. All chemical here, no messin' with that "natural stuff." Had some grub and broke out the tile rummy game from when I was a kid. I vaguely remember how to play it, but Brooke and Micki decided, " No, you play it like this." My ass, "you play it like this." I still have to get clarification from my mom as to how "we" used to play, as there are many versions of it. Good times, but I did almost go kung-fu on them for messing with my game. Just kidding. In the "female version" of the game, Micki won, of course, Steve and I looked at each other in total WTF. That game did not see the light of day the rest of the trip.

Off to bed and ready for Day #3

Colorado Trip Day 3 - The Colorado Trail

The Colorado Trail - Breckenridge - 14 miles - 3 hours

The Peak Trail - Breckenridge - 9 miles - 2 hours

Riders A B S M C E

So today we are up @ 6:30 am. My cousin Curt is supposed to ride with us today, he is from the Castle Rock area just south of Denver. We met him and Eric at the "Dredge boat" carcase in the parking lot that you see below. It was used in the late 1800's for mining for gold in the rivers and streams near Breck. It would tear up the river beds and deposit the rock and debris along the banks. So today all you see are the piles of rock. This is the boat that did the damage.

We pick up Eric and Curt and leave 2 vehicles behind for a shuttle trip and take them back to our camp as hostages. This part of the Colorado Trail starts about 1/2 mile from our campsite but winds it's way all over the state and this is our leg. The trail is nice single track that starts out rather tame but turns into quite the climb. There has been a lot of rain this spring and the trails are nice and packed with some mud here and there. The weather was nice and cool with a chance of showers looming.

Starting the climb we quickly make our way up above 10,000 ft. The air is thin and a lot of us are finding it hard to catch our breathe. This being our 2nd day of riding, I felt really good and was able to keep a relatively good pace behind Steve, but as always, he is "the machine" and loses me. Micki is close behind me and then Brooke, Curt and Eric bringing up the rear. Brooke is really impressing everyone, of course she is a good rider, but we were setting a really good pace and she was right there. Awesome job. We finish this long climb only to find Steve near the top taking a break, this must be the 1st rest point. We took advantage and fueled up to get ready for the next ascent. With some thunder in the area, we gotta move on. This one wasn't as bad though, it meandered through the woods and wound around to the north side of the mountain so we could reap our rewards. One last quick stop to make sure we still had everyone......time for some fun downhill action!

Steve asked me to go ahead so he could get me on his Go-Pro camera. So I tear down the trail, carving it like it was Thanksgiving. I know Steve is behind me and is on my ass. He tells me to watch out for some sharp switchbacks that come out of nowhere, yeah he was right, I missed one, but just barely. Time for a switch. Brooke is up next. Brooke's downhill is the where she is most cautious. Steve is behind Brooke and she is all over the place, I think it made her nervous that she was being filmed. As soon as Steve passes her, she starts lightin' it up. What the fo shizzle! Everyone lets it all hang out on the downhill, long smooth stretches of fast trail. Here is Curt in action with his angry face on. Grrrrrr! And Brooke!

Later on as we clear the trees, regroup and looked back at what we just rode. All agreeing it was a very good ride. We head to the cars waiting for us and back to camp we go. We had some lunch and talked about the good ole days in Fort Collins and other rides that we have done and plan to do in the next couple of days. We also talked about bacon. yes, bacon. Curt is quite the connoisseur of bacon. He talked of sausage stuffed bacon-wrapped in bacon. That had Micki making faces. She prefers all natural stuff, or wholesome foods if you will. Not her cup of bacon grease. After catching up and having a good time, it was time for Curt to make his way back home to his family. It's a 2 hour trip and was going on 3pm. Thanks for making your way to Breckenridge and spending time with us.

Later that day we found the need to do some more biking. We hit the Peak Trail. It can be a loop/out and back or shuttle. Since time and weather were of the essence, we did the shuttle. We parked our Forrester at the end and took Sticki's car and went to the beginning in "Breck." This was a bit of a technical trail due to the rain earlier and the amount of roots and mud along the route. It also had a lot of wooden bridges out and about to cross some streams. It flowed really nice, ups and downs, nothing too hard since we rode earlier in the day. Near the end, there was a wooden bridge about 300 ft long to cross a marsh, very cool. See Videos. Once back to the car, it started to sprinkle. Lucked out again. Brooke and I went to the new "Rec Center" so we could take a shower and clean up a bit since we were muddy. Came back to camp, had dinner and reflected on the days events. Another great day of riding with friends and family.

Colorado Trip Day 4 - Wheeler 9.5 miles 2.5hrs climb 20 mins down

Andy and I near the top . A group photo before we turned around

Riders: A B S M

Today was the big Wheeler Ride day . This ride is all about the climb. You start at the bottom of a ski hill where the chair lift starts at the resort. You ride your bike up, up, up and up even more. Once you get to the top of the chair lifts, we still have more climbing to do. I tell you this ride was very hard on me, not really on the body, but mentally.

We start off, we are doing good. Of course Andy and Steve are ahead then Micki and then me. We are about 1 mile into the ride and headed up a long steep section. At this point I am out of gears, I'm in the granny gear that is suppose to be "easy" and well, it was not easy. I am pushing and pushing and then.... I just break down. "I can't make it." I had to blow my emergency whistle. Micki hears it and yells to the guys that something is wrong. Here comes Steve, in his head he is hoping that my bike is broken or something technical had happened, but when he arrived, his worst fear.... I was crying! "I can't do this". Poor Steve didn't know what to do. He pats me on the back and says, "it will be ok this is a hard ride, but he wouldn't take me on something that I couldn't handle." So he talks me back into the game and we start riding again. A little bit up the trail, I say it again... "I can't do it. I will go back and you guys can go on." Steve says "no! I will get you up this mountain." So he actually starts pushing me up a ways. Finally I get into a groove and we are going again. I just was not in the right state of mind for the climb.

We get past the top of the chair lift and there is still more climbing to do. A short time later we are above the timberline. We come to a section that still has snow on it, so we had to hike a bike through the snow to get back to the trail. We continue on and we get to a stopping point and it begins to sprinkle. We are now around 11,500 feet. We have been climbing for 2.5 hours so far and we still had about 45 minutes to another hour left of climbing before we hit the down hill trail. We start again and we see this massive storm start rolling over the mountains coming our way. I get half way up the next switch back and say "that's it...I am done" .....mental break down #3 ... everyone was ok with it this time, because of the storm, so we decided to head back down. At least I hope so.....!?

We start our decent and before we know it we are at the bottom... 2.5 hrs climbing for 20 minutes of down hill. We get down and in the parking lot of where the car are. An MG club was having a car show and had a car wash. So Andy decides to rinse our bikes off. They were very dirty from yesterdays ride and then today in the rain. We go by town to get some soup then back to camp for a nap and relaxation. We were all disappointed that we could not finish the Wheeler ride but, it gives us something to aspire to for next time.

Here is Andy doin' the hike a bike! You can barely see Breckenridge on the left. Top of the world ma!!!

Colorado Trip Day 5

Well today it is time to move from Breckenridge to Crested Butte. We decided not to ride today and instead do some disc golf. There is a course just outside of Breck that Steve and Micki play at when they are there.

We packed up camp making sure not to leave anything behind. One last trip down the super bumpy road back to town.

At the disc golf course Andy shows off his professional disc skills by winging the frisbee a super long distances. Steve was also able to throw it pretty far, but Andy out threw us all. The rest of us had to make one to two more throws just to get where his first throw landed. The course was fun and fast. There used to be more trees on the course, but they had a problem with bark beatles.

Once done with frisbee golf we headed to Silverthorne where we did some outlet shopping. Here we found some nice riding items at the Pearl Izumi store. Andy and I both got a riding vest and I got some shorts.

On our way to Crested Butte we went through and old mining town called Leadville. It reminded us of Bisbee in a way. With all the small mining shacks and the old buildings. We also went up through Cottonwood Pass. Very pretty, but it started to rain half way up. Some spots were a little hairy since there were no guard rails. At the top of pass was the Continental Divide, 12000 Feet! Very pretty drive.

Once we were close to our camp site we see a flashing sign that says "Cows in Road" we were like, "what the heck... why would there be cows in the road".... but as soon as we turned the corner... Holy COW... there were tons of cows. They mostly stayed out of the road but still, there had to have a couple hundred cows walking up the road... and they just kept coming and coming. Very strange site.

We set up camp had some dinner and then just relaxed. Tomorrow we go into Crested Butte to ride 401 Trail. Should be a fun time!

The Colorado Trip: Day 6

Day 6 - Crested Butte - Trail 401

Riders Trail - 4 hours - 14 miles

Riders A B S M D

Today was our first full day in Crested Butte. Upon arrival, the Fat Tire Festival was winding down but still plenty of

mountain and roadies left over. We stopped at a local bike shop to see if

the pass was open to access the top of 401. They said there was some considerable snow on top and there would be

some hike-a-bike. Out and back it is.

Once we passed through the resort we were greeted with a lush green valley floor surrounded by snow capped peaks on all

sides. Waterfalls spilling over cliffs from snow pack high up on the mountain side. Once at the trail head, we embarked on one of the most beautiful and punishing rides I've been on. About 20 minutes into the ride, Steve is just hammering his Salsa up this steep grade on the trail....then out of no where

pa-ching!!!!! His freewheel hub takes a dump. in other words.... Steve's got no pedal power. Steve is pissed, but handles it well by throwing his bike down into the woods. We are all bummed at this point, what do we do? Steve decides he is going to walk his bike as far as he can and then turn around. The trail was nothing but climbing, so much so that Steve was able to keep up by walking

and then coasting down what little down hill there was. The trail wound through Aspens, wild flowers and Skunk Weed up to our

handle bars. At this point you can barely see the trail in front of you. Then came the switchbacks. Climb, climb, climb and then a small break to recover and then climb some more. We took some breaks along the way to

fuel up and get ready for the next section of trail. Oh wait! who's that? That is Steve walking his bike up the trail. Most impressive. Up towards the top there were a couple of water crossings. One was pretty tricky, we all walked it except for Steve, because he's a professional....and he did it with no pedals.

Here is Micki up ahead near the top of the climb crossing some snow melt. She is a climbing machine, she just keeps on toughing it out. Not far behind is..........you guessed it, Steve. He pushed his Salsa 6 miles up to the top. That is perseverance folks. Once on top, we all took a breather and fueled up and took some photos, had some laughs and got back on our trusty steeds for the descent. Steve has the honors of going first, since he walked up from the valley of the shadow of Crested Butte...and he is very skilled at the downhill. Not to far into the bomber run, Steve encounters a problem with his navigational skills, he wanted to go strait and the trail said hell no, go left. In short, Steve stacked his bike into the same crossing you see above. It makes a left turn just before you hit the water run off. So Steve is down and dirty, bike jacked up even more, handle bars all cockeyed, front rim is tweeked, GO PRO camera is all fugged up........in short, Steve is not having a good day. He calmly breaks out his tool bag

and fixes the damage so we can resume our descent. He has the crash on video, I hope he will share, the quality is excellent. We finish the downhill portion of the ride, even Brooke did a great job considering that the right side is her "weak" side on the downhills. We get down near the bottom and we come to a 14'creek that is flowing pretty rapidly. Steve has already crossed it and is waving me to the other side. So I go for it. Half way across the front of my bike just sinks into the water like Red October. The water comes up to my steer tube and down I go into the icy cold water. All of my senses go into shock, it felt like I was under for at least 5-7 seconds. Everyone said that I just jumped out of the creek like the Matrix. Boy was it cold, but it felt real nice after a long climb. The ladies walked across............in the shallow section.............where Steve was trying to direct me. But I wasn't paying attention. Everyone is safely across and we pedaled up to the road that would take us back to our vehicles. But having wet riding gear on was no fun, it was actually kind of cold. So I took off my shirt and rung it out and traded it for my riding vest that I had just purchased at the Pearl Izumi store just days before. I looked like the Techno-Viking and did the dance for my buddies. They all laughed at me, but I was cool;). We had about 2 miles to get to the cars and Steve had no pedals, he could coast on the slight downhills but the ups were going to be a pain. Techno-Viking to the rescue, I had to drag Steve's ass almost all the way back to the car by pulling on his Camelback. Thank GOD I have the moxie to pull off a vest and drag Steve back to the car or it would've taken forever. Just kidding Steve, good times. After we got back into CB we at Teocalli mexican restaurant. Very good stuff. After that we headed back to camp and did some bike repair (we'll Steve did, I just watched) and did some group crossword puzzles and went to bed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1nzEFMjkI4 <---- Technoviking copy and paste

The Colorado Trip: Day 7-8

Day 7 Crested Butte - Deer Creek Trail 568

14 miles - out and back

Riders- A B S M E

Today we all decided on a trail that was foreign to all of us. The Deer Creek Trail starts roughly 1 mile shy of Trail 401 but heads south along the range. The terrain was a mild ascent from the rolling valley floor up through the pines and Aspens then popping out into lush fields of shrubs and flowers.

A very pleasing trail at first glance.....then out of nowhere a steep climb rears it's ugly head, then another and another. It levels off for a bit and then another climb. Out of all the trails,

this had the steepest climbs. Some were short, some were long, but very challenging. Throw in a couple of water bars to keep it interesting and we're havin' fun. Then came the "skull gate". We passed through without any interference from the locals hiding in the tree line, time to move on before there's trouble.

There was one section that was very intimidating at first....it was a descent down to a creek and then back up the other side.

We all were gassed at that point and wondered how much of a pain in the ass it was going to be to come back up. The vote.....let's do it! So on we went, rolling along the mountain side. Views for miles and climbs for smiles. The last steep climb was through a super lush canopy of Aspens. It had a number of turns and lots of roots trickling across the trail to make it that much harder. Once at the top, we took a much needed break to fuel up and cool off. The descent was quick and fierce, no need to ride the brakes on this one. Then came the up hill that we had taken a vote on earlier. Much to our surprise, it was long but not nearly as tough as it looked from above. (see vid at the bottom) After it was all said and done, 3 hours up and a half and hour to get down. Nice ride to end the week full good fun with some great friends. A great experience to share with great people. Thanks Steve And Micki for the invite and the accommodations.

Day 8 - The return home - 12 hours of fury

8 a.m. We broke down camp and headed out of Crested Butte and headed toward Montrose, Ouray and then on to Silverton so Steve could get his highly desired sweet potato french fries. Yes, they were worth the trip. Plenty of switchbacks and mountain passes. It was a very scenic drive through Ouray. Waterfalls, sheer cliffs and canyons cut by millenia of water and ice. On to Durango. Spotted lots of trails and mountain bikers as we passed through, I can see why it's a good place to ride. Through the "reservation", that was boring drive, but played Indian Trivia on our way through to keep the mutany at a minimum. Went through Farmington, NM (armpit) and hit the I-40 to take us back to Flagstaff and onto Chino Valley. We arrived @ 8:45 pm and did some loving on the girls and they were happy to see us. Jessi was a little miffed by our "vacation" and was pouting a little, but she couldn't resist the belly rub. That always gets her.

Looking back down on Ouray