July Mountain Biking in Crested Butte
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July is admittedly a very busy time in Crested Butte. This year has been no different, and perhaps even magnified from previous summers. In the course of a day, I went from the flurry of traveling to ski 3 days a week to the fury of working – nearly every day. Yes, of course we got out to play. But that was very much in between work.
And then there was the thumb. Ah, yes, the thumb… On a beautiful evening, I was pedaling furiously back into town from the Lower Loop. It was quickly approaching dark and I clipped a rock on my pedal that I did not see. In an instant, I laid on the ground, all fine except for a throbbing thumb. Yes, I had one of the worst crashes I’ve had in years on one of the easiest trails in Crested Butte. Such is the way of life.
I’ve done this before, except in the previous incident, after the fall I could not hold on to anything without my thumb flopping backwards. No joke here. It was obvious a ligament was missing. Many years later and one UCL reattachment surgery complete, I reinjured the same thumb and the same ligament, but this time, just a sprain. It will be fine in the course of weeks, but in the meantime, it’s putting a small damper on my riding. The uphills are fine, but the downhills have proved challenging. Holding on to my bike while braking is a difficult task for a dysfunctional thumb. But, it’s healing, and I’ve still been riding.
The fact is, we have been riding, even though we don’t post about it all the time. Sometimes, we take the camera too. Below is a collection of photos we deemed worthy from our July mountain biking in Crested Butte.
Enjoying Wildflowers on Point Lookout
Frank and I headed up Point Lookout to enjoy the scenery and wildflowers.
After riding Point Lookout, we descended via 409.5 and tacked on Strand Bonus at the end.
We watched rain clouds glaze by Mount Gothic as we remained dry on our trail.
Riding 401
My friend Sonya and I rode 401 one weekend and avoided the majority of road traffic (Gothic Road can be really bad this time of year, especially on a weekend) by ascending via Washington Gulch and over Paradise Divide.
The Beauty of Teocalli Ridge
The Teocalli Ridge Trail simply isn’t the same since it’s closure a few years back and reopening last year. Though the re-route is considerably less technical and less flowy, the Ridge is still fun. And what it lacks in flow is definitely made up for in scenery. I found it to be a great ride for my dysfunctional thumb, since the descent is more or less smooth and has very few technical sections.
Frank.
Me.
The one technical section on the descent.
It’s August, but the riding is still great! So, get out on your wheels and enjoy!
- Mount Buckskin (17 May 2020) - May 28, 2020
- Horseshoe Ski (14 May 2020) – The mountain whose journey nearly killed me - May 27, 2020
- Sayres X-Rated Ski (10 May 2020) - May 19, 2020
