The parking lot was busy, filled with like-minded mountain bikers, trail runners, and dirtbikers. If someone told me it was October, it wouldn’t be hard to believe. Conditions were incredible- every trail is rideable and the short sections of snow have been ridden enough that they’re barely noticeable. If this winter stays like this, I’ll be back. Here’s a short video, with a few photos mixed in as well:

Biking was fun and everything, but I’ll still be thinking snow:

First, some background on the riding in Paonia. A dozen years ago, while returning from a trip to Fruita via Kebler Pass, I looked around the Paonia area and wondered “Why isn’t there any riding here?”. Then I proposed a business idea- why not charge a local chamber of commerce/ town to build new trails/ clear out abandoned ones/ and get the word out via internet and print to transform these towns into the next MTB Mecca. Fruita is a great example of a town that mountain biking has greatly helped, as anyone visiting over the last 15-20 years can certainly attest. I never really looked into it, but maybe someone should. Meanwhile, the handful of riders in Paonia 10 years ago are probably lamenting the loss of their well-kept secret riding area. But that’s a different story.

We met our friends Jason Trimm and Alison Gannett, who recently made the move from Crested Butte to Paonia (a move that a number of Buttians have made in the last few years). After riding from their farm to the trailhead at the end of Pan American Ave, we got on our first singletrack of the day, a roller coaster of a ride aptly named Elitch’s, followed by a nice climb up Slant’n'dickular.

This reaches a high point under Jumbo Mountain where most of the riding can be seen. Both ridges in this photo have trails descending them, and some trails descend the valley as well. If any of this reminds you of 18 road in Fruita, you’re right- it is a lot like that area.

The Paonia folks have it going on- want to chill in a hammock and stare at Lamborn and Lands End mountains- no problem, they’ve got it covered. The trails are largely on BLM land, which tends to be pretty open to trail networks. Similar mountain bike trail netowrks on BLM land include Hartman’s Rocks near Gunnison and Fruita’s 18 road trail system.

We descended Jumbo Ridge, which is the left-hand ridge in the photo above. While technically easy, it did have some exposure and was a ton of fun.

From the bottom of Jumbo Ridge, we rode a number of other trails whose names I cannot remember (nothing is marked here), but eventually we made it to a trail named for a local dentist who built many of the trails here. This trail was probably the highlight for me.

Final thoughts on the riding in Paonia… It’s good here, and it’s definitely worth the trip, possibly in conjunction with Fruita and Grand Junction. The riding is really easy from a technical standpoint, but that doesn’t make it that easy as there is quite a bit of climbing and the navigation isn’t straightforward right now. We’ll probably be making it into an annual fall ride, since it’s pretty close for us. Keep in mind that the dirt here is clay- if it’s wet, it isn’t rideable. Inquire with Galaxy Bikes for current conditions and maps of the area. For the ladies, consider checking out Alison’s bike camps: Rippin Chix.

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The problem, of course, with hike-a-bike is that it’s rather unpleasant with stiff bike shoes that often have slick plastic treads. My Lake shoes at least have a Vibram sole, but they are still stiff as can be, so hiking in them tends to be best suited for a ballerina, which I am not. The Pearl Izumi X-Alp Seek shoes, however, have quite a bit of flexibility in front of the cleat, as well as a nice grippy rubber sole. They seemed like the perfect answer to rides when we knew we would be hiking, but how did they perform…

The Pearl Izumi X-Alp Seek shoes:

The answer is that they performed every bit as well as could be expected. While hiking, they were just as comfortable as any other hiking shoe I have, despite the cleat on the sole. You can walk on a tile floor with these shoes without the clickity-clack of most bike shoes. Their hiking abilities didn’t surprise us. What did surprise us was how well they rode. Despite just being lace-ups, and obviously much less stiff than most bike shoes, they actually transfer power admirably well. they aren’t the shoe of choice for a NORBA race, perhaps, but for every day riding few will notice their shortcomings.

Durability? As you can see in the photos above, taken after at least 200 miles, the shoes are holding up nicely. Most MTB shoes fail in the toe area, but these haven’t shown any wear and tear there.

Our only complaint- the mesh uppers, while being very breathable, also soak through very easily- much more so compared to shoes with leather uppers.

In short, 14erskiers gives these shoes 2 thumbs up- way up!

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It was a beautiful fall day. Even with the leaves gone, the land was basking in beauty. Susan and I making our way up the road.

Susan approaching the end of the road.

The gang- Frank, Ralph, Susan.

Ralph making his way through the stark forest.

Me.

Frank making his way through the gnar.

I like steep trails

Frank likes a bit of air time on the bike.

Me.

Ralph.

Frank.

Frank also caught a bit of video from his chestie Go-Pro. I edited it here. Hope you enjoy!

Though biking season is winding down, I was psyched to find myself on this fantastic fall ride with fun friends! Thanks y’all

‘Tis a beautiful sight to see:

Brittany killing it:

Our regular camera died pretty quickly, so most of those shots were with the GoPro, which I actually think takes pretty good photos of the fisheye variety. I shot video on the descent, and it was pretty hard to edit out much of it. Doctor’s Park is so good from top to bottom, so which part of the descent would you eliminate- the top fast section?, the techy middle?, the Ewok descent through the forest?, or the tech finish? So I left it all in- perhaps too long, but a good reference for the bike guide for those who have yet to ride it. Enjoy:

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So, here’s a few pictures from our colorful day on the Dyke.

Kriste.

Changing trees.

The geological dike for which the Dyke is named after.

The majestic Raggeds in the distance.

Frank.

Frank and I met our friend Adam at the Swampy Pass trailhead and began our ride from there. Glowing gold greeted us immediately. Me.

Frank.

Frank riding with the Castles in the background.

Note the sweet couloir behind Frank. We couldn’t help wondering if it collects enough snow to ski in the winter…

It was hard not to admire the stunning scenery that surrounded us.

The aspens had spent some time decorating the pines with gold.

Adam.

Frank and Adam traveling the yellow-leaf-road.

Me.

Frank.

Adam.

Me.

The rose higher above the valley below, the scenes kept getting more and more beautiful.

The Castles.

The Anthracites.

Frank shredding the downhill.

Our route took us from Swampy Pass to Mill Creek Road via Lowline Trail (438). Mill Creek is about 15 miles down the road from where we began so we finished our ride with a longish road ride, uphill, with a headwind. Though one of the most scenic rides I’ve ever experienced, there are some things to be warned about. First, it can be boggy and full of cow pies and horse manure. It’s best to go in the fall, after it hasn’t rained in awhile, in order to minimize the mud and manure. Also be prepared to be lost. Even with a map, we spent probably an hour and a half being “lost”. Signs are few and far between and those that exist can often be confusing. Lastly, if you are expecting your uphill pedaling to get you to the top of some nice long rad downhill, you’re wrong. It’s largely a cross-country ride. A true downhill didn’t happen until the very end and only lasted for about 5-6 minutes. Unfortunately, we lost most of our elevation going down Mill Creek road. If I do it again, I’d like to park at Mill Creek and ride the reverse direction because I think a more significant downhill would exist. Despite some of the frustrations involved in this ride, it’s well worth it if only for the views. They simply can’t be beat

We started our ride just past the Conoco gas station at a parking area on the paved Summit-Vail bike path. From there we got on a two-track heading South until it intersected the Colorado Trail, which then skirted the Copper Mountain Parking lots and finally crossed Highway 91 near the East side of the ski area. This section was entirely unnecessary, since the trail climbs and then descends to the ski area base, but it was a pretty good section of trail in this direction and I’d probably do it again (although Brittany had the right idea on the way back- going straight to the parking lot through the base area).

As with most other sections of the Colorado Trail, the trail was well-marked and well-maintained and the climbing was fairly gradual. This section (closest to Copper) is notorious for heavy horse traffic, but it sounds like the horseback riding tours are generally routed away from the CT these days.

While generally technically easy, the CT on this section does have its moments, as on this log bridge:

Or this rock armoring:

Once we got into the sub-alpine, the scenery levels quickly spiked:

Janet’s cabin in in this high group of trees, and our first goal of the day, Searle Pass, is easily visible beyond:

We had a great view from the pass of the “fun part” of the Mosquito Range- peaks like Arkansas, Pacific, and Drift which are all peaks with nice steep ski descents.

Meanwhile, this marmot checked us out while we checked out the view in the other direction- the Gore Range.

The CT stays high from Searle Pass towards Kokomo and I can never really get enough of this type of riding (Mark):

Brittany:

Mark and Brittany decided to start heading back before Kokomo Pass, but there was another rider just ahead so I decided to continue on for another 15 minutes or so to the high point. In this direction, the CT actually reaches a high point and then descends to Kokomo Pass from there. Kokomo:

The other rider, Clay, also turned around here and together we headed back to catch up with Mark and Brittany. Meanwhile, Brittany took this shot of Mark descending the difficult terrain near Searle Pass.

Brittany:

Mark heading downvalley. 10 mile canyon can barely be discerned far off in the distance (it’s a big, long downhill):

The trail twists and turns and is incredibly playful with lots of rock and roots to keep a rider smiling. In short, we all agreed that this was the finest ride any of us had done within a couple of hours of Denver. Brittany riding:

Once we re-entered the ski area, we encountered an obstacle none of us are likely to ever encounter again. Work crews were stringing up a new cable on a ski lift, which meant we actually rode over a moving cable. I have to admit it was a little bit freaky. Two thumbs up on this one, give it a go if you’re in the area. Ride stats: 28.7 miles, 4hours 10 minutes ride time. Meanwhile, it’s coming:

While accessing Timberline from Cottonwood adds almost 5 miles and 20 minutes of riding, it’s totally worth it since the Timberline trail is a rockin’ downhill from Cottonwood down to Texas Creek. Unless I expect Cottonwood to be extra busy, this is probably the way I will usually go to get to Texas Ridge. One of the Texas Lakes near the junction of the Timberline Trail and Texas Creek road:

Sydney:

From Texas Creek, the Timberline trail climbs steeply- very steeply before the downhill starts again. Still, most of the trail is barely rideable and a good challenge if you’re up for it. A couple shots of the climb:

Once the descent on Timberline, and then Texas Ridge starts, the fun levels spike on what at least one member of our party openly wondered “might just be Gunnison County’s best ride”. High praise indeed, and completely warranted. I was shooting video with my GoPro, but unfortunately the lens got splashed early on and it wasn’t worth using any of the footage. So, just a couple shots of the descent:

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As you can see, there are a lot of options in this area besides the Colorado Trail, perhaps some of our Summit county readers can chime in on some of their favorites in the area. It appears that there’s an interesting discussion going on regarding the gray area in the middle of the map as well. The trail here really reminded me of the local riding in Taylor Park- but blissfully free of the moto damage that the Taylor Park area generally has. Not to mention it’s the Colorado Trail- so it gets plenty of trailwork.

You end up closer to Keystone than Breck near the highpoint of the ride.

The forests of Summit county, like much of Northern Colorado, have been decimated by the pine beetle. With so many dead trees, preventative measures have been taken and the dead trees on the margins of the trail have all been cut down. I wonder what kind of shape the less-popular trails will be in as the years go by and the dead trees all start to fall. Rough situation, for sure, and not particularly scenic, either.

This is a great section of the CT- and how many aren’t, really? Fast and flowy, we would ride it again without a doubt. Summit definitely has some of the best riding near the front range.

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