Bad Ride

We went to the basin again this last weekend. Grandma and grandpa got a new computer and our services were needed again. Lucky for me the she geek of the family was responsible this time. Of course I couldn't pass up the chance to try some new trails. After talking with the guys at Altitude and buying a map I headed to the Red Fleet area to ride Jazz/Chrome Molly, Three Amigos and Cabin Boy. Red Fleet is beautify, lots of slick rock, rolling terrain and, of course, the lake. Well the trails offered no slick rock, didn't really have any breath taking views or were all that fun. That's not completely the true, in some sections Jazz was fun. The guys at the shop said another entity was responsible for the trails in this area and they didn't want any outside help creating or maintaining the trails. "Sometimes the trail is a little obscure" is what I was told. After an hour of backtracking and searching for trail on Three Amigos I said the Hell with it and started taking dirt roads back toward the lake. Did I mention it was 100 degrees again. I had planned for a two hour ride, when finally saw the lake I was shocked. The trail head is a couple miles North and West of the lake. I was at the North East corner of the lake! Almost an hour of grinding up and down the road finally got me back to where the trail split from Chrome Molly to Three Amigos. I sucked down the last of my hot water and hopped back on the trail hoping to finish the ride with some fun single track. It wasn't fun, it was mostly a cow trail with a few ups and downs.

Because I couldn't find the trail or was pissed because my planned ride didn't work out doesn't make the other trails in the area bad, unless you compare them to those at McCoy Flats. There is a pretty cool down hill trail, Jumps and Ladders. If I wasn't completely dehydrated and had a few inches for travel I might have attempted this one. I can't decide if the it's worth giving this another shot. Linking the three together is the only way to make it a decent ride time and distance wise. The same group that built up the McCoy Flats area trails is responsible for some toward Lapoint. Maybe I'll try there next time.

Not Much

It's been awhile but not much has been going on. My buddies have been training for Leadville, so I've been left to ride alone. Which isn't a big deal, my bike has been out of commission since the last race. It was the last one in the ICU series. I didn't do too bad, second behind Tim, despite crashing going up hill. Yes, up hill and not just tipping over but flat on the ground, twisted bars, broken shifter and shortness of breath. During the post race cleanup I decided it was time to replace some worn out parts. Red Shield kicked in and took care of a new chain, cassette and chain rings. To top things off, I finally put tires on my Stan's wheel set.




Hopefully I can remember how to ride in the dirt and the grass has stopped growing. I really miss the trails above the race track. Or maybe I'm just sick of South Fork and Squaw Peak. Any way, I've missed riding my mountain bike and look forward to tomorrow.

Follow up: I rode my mountain bike today for the first time since the race. I missed it! It really makes me wonder why I ride my road bike, why I put up with cars?