Dave and I have been eyeing this one for a few years now. Finally found a weather and PTO window to get it done. Kevin joined with his full suspension Yeti MTB. Dave was sporting his Trek Domane SL5 loaner (due to biblical seatpost issues with his brand new SL5) with 32’s and then myself breaking in my brand new Canyon Grizl CF SL7 with beefy 45’s.
We parked at the free parking structure right on the east end of town where the gapers pick up the shuttles to go up Trail Ridge. Picked up Fall River by the Stanley and soon enough were at the entrance station. You don’t need a reservation, but you do need to pay. It’s $15 per rider. Keep Reading….
The White Rim Trail is a 100-mile long dirt road that carves out a massive loop around the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park. The route weaves and winds through some of the most dramatic canyon country Utah has to offer and has slowly but surely evolved into one of the more famous “century” mountain bike rides in the U.S. Parties oftentimes take two to four days to complete the loop, camping at various locations along the way, but it’s also become a popular option to ride the entire thing in a single day push, which is what we decided to do. Read more…
It took me 4 ultras and around 5 years to realize that running just isn’t for me anymore. So I spent the rest of the summer of 2021 searching for a road bike. Not the most ideal time in history to be browsing the used bike market, but I wasn’t really in much of a hurry. One day after casually scrolling through Craigslist, I found a fleet of Lemonds on sale up in Loveland. At first, I thought it was a scam given there were so many available under $1,000. But I decided to give it a shot and made the voyage up north to check out a few in my size. I’ve always rode Treks growing up so I figured Lemond would ride similar. Plus they are classics with some sex appeal. The outfitter was “I Know a Guy Bicycles” and he runs his refurbished bike shop out of his garage. I tested out a 2006 Lemond “Alpe d’huez” and it fit like a glove so to speak. To be honest, I didn’t have much to compare to at the time, as I had been riding a steel REI urban commuter I had bought 10 years before, so I didn’t have anywhere to go but up. Keep reading…
I convinced a couple folks to sign up for the Copper Triangle this summer. 80 miles and 6,500 feet. Seems attainable and as a loop, doesn’t involve a complicated car shuttle. One of the training rides was the ultra classic Lariat Loop, one of the 25 Scenic Byways in Colorado and the crown jewel of the Front Range as far as cycling loops are concerned. There’s more history packed in to this one than quite possibly any other Byway in the American West. You could spend an entire weekend fully immersing yourself in the sights, sounds and smells – but we were just interested in the training this go around. One thing I love about cycling is it makes what seems like otherwise mundane trips more interesting. Keep reading…
