Deer Creek

Had a nice ride in Deer Creek yesterday.....a park we don't use as much as we should.  This was only the 2nd time I have ridden down there and it is only a 15 minute drive from Golden.

We started in the South Valley trails and worked our way up to Deer Creek proper.  This is a nice way to start and get a warm up prior to hitting the main part of the canyon, which is really steep and technical.

Ten Four

10,400 feet on the bike on December 2nd.....

Been a really mild fall on the Front Range in fact it really has continued to feel like summer much of October and November.  This mild warm weather spilled over into December and some of the Colorado Springs locals organized a group ride that started in town and climbed up to 10,400 feet and descended some excellent trail back to town.

The long dirt road climb....about 17 miles of up.

Things you see at 10,400 feet in Colorado Springs while mountain biking.

The route.....pretty amazing day and even better it was December 2nd.

Riding the White Buffalo

The Front Range got a dose of winter this past week with a cold winter storm dropping a few inches of snow  or more in most of the riding areas.  Buffalo Creek ended up getting less and has dirt that handles moisture really well.....in fact riding there is prime when there has been some recent moisture.

Trails in the burn areas were in the best shape with little to no snow on the trail and really nice conditions.  Up higher in the Green Mountain area of the CT there was more snow; I ended up staying off the CT through there opting for the prime dirt in the burn area.

The recent snow and cool crisp air made for some really amazing scenery throughout the day.....

Chair Rocks

Mt. Evans in the background

Pikes Peak in the background

Pikes

Eagle, CO

Finally made it up to Eagle.....another large network of trails 2 hours from Golden and about 30 miles west of Vail.  There is a mix of desert riding with forested alpine riding all in the same network.  A really unique trail system in an area that has huge potential for more.  The riding was really fun rivaling the 18 Road network in Fruita.....I think Eagle is better.  Looking forward to riding more up there.

Day 1: 3rd Gulch > Pipeline > Firebox > Abrams > Scratch > Abrams Ridge

Starting the day out climbing 3rd Gulch.

Pipeline

 Top of Pipeline.

Firebox

Holy Cross wilderness in the distance.

Descending Abrams 

Scratch

Hermits....at least what the locals call the gypsum formations.....makes for some really fun riding.

Day 2:  Abrams Gulch > Catwalk > Easy Rider > Star Wars > Tick Alley > Elmer's > School House Rock

Starting the day out.

A few fall colors left.

Really cool landscape around here.

Catwalk

Easy Rider....good times on this one.

Working over to Tick Alley

 Elmer's

Finishing up.....

We both had a great time up there.....the trails are unique and diverse, with a lot of climbing.  We were both pretty surprised by how much as you are expecting desert riding, which typically doesn't have big long climbs.  Not in Eagle....we rode only 36 miles in two days, but climbed 6,500 feet.