A normal 3 day weekend turned into a 4 day with the addition of a day to celebrate work, by abstaining from it. I had already been planning a trip back to Crested Butte for a couple weeks after getting a quick taste of 401 with Cam back in July.
As good as 401 is, there is no comparison to the Deadman's Gulch Loop. On Sunday I arrived at the trailhead with one route in mind, but then watched 8 riders head up the road instead of up the singletrack. Thoughts of btrails.com came to mind and I remembered that the route they posted started by going up Reno Divide, i.e. follow that set of 8 tracks. Well finished the prep on me and machine and I was off - for an hour of going up, up, up. This is the way most of any good ride starts out here and this behavior is always well rewarded.
Descending through meadows, check. Climbing rocky, loose, steepness; check. More meadow descents leading into spruce forest descents, hell yes check. At one point on of the eight caught up to me on a descent, I had passed them on the climb and he caught me while I was stripping of a bottle cage, and screamed something as he blew by me similar to "Holy f***ing sh** man, I hope this doesn't end." Couldn't agree more - exactly the reason I wonder why 401 gets all the press. The only reason I can fathom is that upper 401 is easier to shuttle - I say earn the turns.
A crash on Bear Creek left me sore after I finished the ride. Too fast on unfamiliar trail and a non-limbed downed tree yields bad results. Limped the entire day today and the ear is a bit sore. All worth it though.
As good as 401 is, there is no comparison to the Deadman's Gulch Loop. On Sunday I arrived at the trailhead with one route in mind, but then watched 8 riders head up the road instead of up the singletrack. Thoughts of btrails.com came to mind and I remembered that the route they posted started by going up Reno Divide, i.e. follow that set of 8 tracks. Well finished the prep on me and machine and I was off - for an hour of going up, up, up. This is the way most of any good ride starts out here and this behavior is always well rewarded.
Descending through meadows, check. Climbing rocky, loose, steepness; check. More meadow descents leading into spruce forest descents, hell yes check. At one point on of the eight caught up to me on a descent, I had passed them on the climb and he caught me while I was stripping of a bottle cage, and screamed something as he blew by me similar to "Holy f***ing sh** man, I hope this doesn't end." Couldn't agree more - exactly the reason I wonder why 401 gets all the press. The only reason I can fathom is that upper 401 is easier to shuttle - I say earn the turns.
A crash on Bear Creek left me sore after I finished the ride. Too fast on unfamiliar trail and a non-limbed downed tree yields bad results. Limped the entire day today and the ear is a bit sore. All worth it though.
Back at it for 3 days and then off for 5 14'ers next weekend. Maybe some riding on the Wheeler Trail too.
2 comments:
sweet! very sweet!
So beautiful and so glad you have that camera. Take care of the owies. Be careful out there.
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