A while ago some people from this parish helped us plan a once in a lifetime trip to Colorado. To all those who offered advice, thank you.

As requested by those at the time here is a video of what we got up to. If anybody else fancies going please get in touch, it was absolutely incredible.

Any recommendations for where to go next? 😀

[video]http://vimeo.com/106749286[/video]

Fantastic, loved that.

Interested in a trip back to the US next year. I went to Colorado 11 years with a company, but would organise myself this time.

Any hint, tips, or recommendations about trails and logistics would be appreciated.

As for where next, how about Peru?

Great vid !,did ya see any bears whilst out ridin ?,& where did ya stay ?.

We stayed in Mt. Crested Butte itself in a place called Peach Tree Condo (Watchdog properties) which was pretty nice but really only for 2 people. They were happy for us to keep our bikes on the balcony which was good, although bike crime there seems to be so low that you could probably leave them anywhere you wanted! There is a youth hostel in CB itself that is bike friendly, does smaller rooms and is at the posh end of hosteling.

We had originally planned to stay there for a week and then move on but it was so great in CB that we decided to stay for another week. There is so much riding that it would take many trips to start to get bored.

In terms of trails I’d travel back to ride again the 401 (did it twice while we were there!), Doctors Park and Teocali Ridge are at the top of the list but we didn’t ride a bad trail the whole time. I though Monarch Crest was OK but not as good as the hype. The view from the plateau is spectacular but only a 3 mile hike from where you park. For the first few days of acclimatising either get a lift pass for the bike park (meh, but they do it for free on friday evenings) or ride the local trails – Upper loop, Upper upper, Tony’s, Whetstone vista, Snodgrass and Lupine are particularly good

There is an excellent local guide by Holly Annala (ISBN 978-0-9723050-4-4) that covers Crested Butte, Gunnison, Salida and Buena Vista and has everything you need trail wise. I think you can get it from the CBMBA website. Singletracks was also pretty useful. All of the trails are well marked and signed, and with the book descriptions we didn’t go wrong once.

Be prepared to suffer though and take the first few days easy (stay off the beer!) and drink lots of water. All of the rides start above 2500m and you have to pedal your way up at least another 600-1000m, often more than once when you take into account all the uphill you will do for most rides.

We ended up going for a mid-sized SUV as well. Glad we did as it meant getting the bike bags in was easy and transporting them between rides only required the front wheel coming out and a $5 tarp to keep the boot clean. Plus the big engine coped better with the altitude.

Food in CB ain’t cheap but there is a big supermarket 30 minutes away in Gunnison to stock up in on your way up.

Didn’t see any bears (boo), mountain lions (thank fU*k) or snakes. Did see lots of chipmunks, humming birds and the odd coyote.

Great video! Good to see you did Reno-Flag-Bear and Monarch Crest. So much good riding in CO and a place everyone so go riding in if they get the chance.

Lovely.

*Packs bags.

Forgot to add:

1. Dropper posts are ace and pretty much essential unless you want to spend half your time adjusting your saddle height. OK maybe not essential but they do add to the fun. If you need one the main bike shop keeps a stock of reverbs and they are one of their best selling lines to outsiders!

2. 1x drivetrains may be OK for some of the less dramatic parts of the UK but for folk who live at sealevel and then try riding in Colorado having a 1x drivetrain pretty much guarantees that for most uphills you will have a very expensive 2 wheeled walking stick. Doubly so if your wheels are 29ers.

The local shops only sell 1x under duress and the locals don’t fit them to their bikes. The only guy who does is an ex national XC champ turned guide (and even he admitted that he regularly pushes up hills that others manage on 2×9). Swallow your enduro pride and go 2×9/10, it sure as hell beats walking to the top.

Looks absolutely amazing!

Amazing doesn’t even begin to cover it. Given the chance i’d go back in a heartbeat….

Great little video and information

FYI I did 401 on a rigid 26 inch wheek bike. I don’ think i touched the seat clamp 😕

But it did have proper low gears 🙂

Have you been to Moab? I thought it was amazing from every point of view

Did want to go to Moab but it would have been way too hot at that time of year. Just have to go back I guess.

Yes Moab needs the correct time of year. This may or may not be an issue for you in terms of work

For me MOAB was very exciting place to be. Perhaps the most exciting place I’ve been

Looks like we may be heading back that way then. It certainly looks like a one of a kind place for riding and scenery. When is supposed to be the best time of year to go?

We went in the autumn and had perfect riding conditions, but still on the hot side. Mid October I think. I’ll try and check the dates later

But I have heard spring is good as well

Some pictures too, I’m in a sharing mood.

View from the top of the Monarch Crest trail
[url=https://flic.kr/p/pskXSL]Monarch crest[/url] by 10000 rivets, on Flickr

Having fun on Strand Hill
[url=https://flic.kr/p/pqkybo]Strand[/url] by 10000 rivets, on Flickr

Doing speeder bike impressions on Snodgrass
[url=https://flic.kr/p/psnzdr]Snodgrass[/url] by 10000 rivets, on Flickr

Looking the other way on the Monarch Crest
[url=https://flic.kr/p/pskZKU]Monarch crest 2[/url] by 10000 rivets, on Flickr

Lower loop trails rolling back to town at the end of the day
[url=https://flic.kr/p/paSZvJ]Lower[/url] by 10000 rivets, on Flickr

Kiebler pass – the Aspens on the far mountainside are all one big clonal group, supposedly the largest single organism on the planet by some measures
[url=https://flic.kr/p/psnKcK]Kebler pass[/url] by 10000 rivets, on Flickr

This fella kept me company while I changed a tube
[url=https://flic.kr/p/psm959]Humming bird[/url] by 10000 rivets, on Flickr

The 401 trail, possibly one of the best rides I’ve done…..
[url=https://flic.kr/p/paTXSD]401-3[/url] by 10000 rivets, on Flickr

More 401
[url=https://flic.kr/p/ps6GdM]401-1[/url] by 10000 rivets, on Flickr

The trails are all well signed, even if it is done with crayon……
[url=https://flic.kr/p/psnZYZ]401 bike[/url] by 10000 rivets, on Flickr

Needs more tail whips or slo-mo…

Only kidding, looks stunning, great vid 🙂

Don’t do tail whips. Not for want of trying mind.

I also thought we did slo-mo quite well without having to resort to camera trickery 😕

Excellent video, really enjoyed that – another place on the list to visit.