The Goat's Weeee Little Fall Foliage Ride

50 miles, almost 10,000 ft of climbing all at elevations above 10,000 ft.

Scenic singletrack can only be a summary of this ride. 45 miles of singletrack and 5 miles of dirt road grinders made this ride as Home Grown described, "the one that takes the cake."

Drog, Slow and Home Grown joined me for the adventure. We started earlyish, around 7:45 am at the Kenosha Trailhead.



We ran into a few riders on the trail and when they asked where we were going and I told em French Pass, they were baffled. Some knew the pass but couldn't figure out my mostly singletrack route, others didn't know the pass at all and later both Drog and Home Grown commented they wouldn't be able to find the route unless they rode it a couple of times. Ah, I like these types of rides.



Kenosha Pass> Georgia Pass> The American Flume> Little French Gulch> French Pass> Georgia Pass> Jefferson Creek> Kenosha Pass



Breaking treeline, the weather was perfection all day.





Mt. Guyot serves as the backdrop and is the mountain that we would eventually circumnatigate



the Talas of the American Flume clinked and shifts as Drog makes his way across the traverse



Looking back down the Breckenridge side of French Pass



and dropping down the South Park side











From the bottom we climbed up a 4 mile gravel road to the top of Georgia Pass and another 200 ft or so of elevation gain got us to the tip top of what most mountain bikers call Georgia Pass on the Colorado Trail.



The snow drifts on the top of Jefferson Creek never dissapear before the next winter's storm buries them again. A quiet reminder of how little a year we get to ride the fine trails of the high country.



Within a mile or so Jefferson Creek drops into the forest canopy and becomes an east coast style downhill full of roots and rocks, mud, and creek crossing with log bridges. This is my home style turf and even after 40 + miles I was ripping through this fine piece of trail



Back to the Colorado Trail where we zipped in and out of the aspens..too much fun



and finally our day ended with just enough sun to light the empty trail



with that, I leave you with a week of blog silence. Big Ring, Curvy Boy and Dicky all fly in tomorrow night and I'll give them Wednesday to build bikes, acclimate, and ride some local terrain while I work and Thursday morning we leave for the "Mancation". 1st stop will be in Vail to ride Two Elks and from there we head to Moab then to Fruita and eventually back to Golden where the final stop will be determined by how much we fry our legs and the weather. It's gonna be a rad trip. Weeeeeeee!!!

Late Season

Seems the last couple of years I've yoyo'd between 195 summer time pounds and 210-215 winter blues pounds. This year I've managed to get down to 202 give or take a few pounds depending on how many pounds of M&M's I've managed to inhale that week.

That's ok though. I'm feeling fit, wouldn't say the strongest I've ever been but the fitness is there and the legs are feeling good. 30-50 mile weekend mountain bike rides have been a norm along with 3-4 lunch rides a week and the regular Thursday Night Intervals.

This coming weekend is my "Goat's Wee Little Fall Foliage Tour". Fall colors are here and the high country is calling so I gathered a group of friends for a 40ish mile or more tour of Kenosha Pass>Georgia Pass> Some old flumes>French Pass>Back to Georgia Pass>down Jefferson Creek and finally back to Kenosha. Yeah, that should keep some sated on the high country for some time.

Next week, the Big Ring comes back for more Colorado goodness and he's dragging Dicky and Curvy Butt along with him. Last year we hit the yummy goodness of Crested Butte and as tempted as I was to go back there, I wanted to expose the famous Canadian to the Desert of Moab. It won't all be desert riding though as we'll try to hit Two Elks and maybe Meadow Mountain in Vail on the way out and Buffalo Creek as the week closer. Six days should equal around 200 miles or so of riding if all goes the way I plan.

Downhilling

This past weekend our friend Tanya came to town for a work conference. She gave us a shout and asked if she could stay with us a few days before and of course, we welcomed her with open arms. A rider herself, Tanya wanted to go riding and see the big mountains but was afraid that climbing at altitude may have undesired effects. She's a relatively new mother and living at sea level which I thought was a good excuse and I gave her a little break. So I did what any good friend would do...take her to Winter Park for some lift served downhilling at Trestle Bike Park. Of course, a trip like this needs a few extra bodies and I was able to rustle up Lubes, Guacamole and The Mad Scientist to zip up the mountain in the 4runner.



Me and Tanya
Me...the xc kid, all mountain rider...bah, I don't care for labels.
Tanya, the black knight...all dressed for war and still gets a nasty little puncture on her knee on the 1st run of the day. Silly pads, I guess they were just for looks. Like a true champ though, with some doctoring from the bike patrol and maybe a margarita, she got out for a few more runs





Lubes all dressed for war with some silly big suspension too...will he sell the singly speed and go big bike...inquiring minds want to know.



The Mad Scientist said the views sucked.



Even Guacamole got all speedy



this ride was all about flow

and....

I usually don't like to fly but when I do, its with Dos Nueve's



Weeeeee!!!!

French Pass

Originally cut as a wagon road and later abandoned when better passes were found, it leaves with us a good place to kick back and enjoy the views.



Following the route of the Breck Epic...It took some time to get there



Next time though, I think I'll do it my way...less mining roads, more old flumes, and it'll include Kenosha to Georgia and Jefferson back. Maybe around the 23rd of this month to maximize the Aspen's...hmmm



Don't get me wrong though, we still had fun and enjoyed the route, I always enjoy a good pot to stick my bum on



Little French Gulch is fun as always and is it me or did a major gully washer get it since early July?



Climbing up to French Pass







The lone post marks the top



and bombing down the backside



Where there was a snowdrift to cross, I ended up sliding about 20 ft on my back









and then a few miles of climbing



brought us back to the familiar...The CT on Georgia Pass



a super fast n fun descent and a super hard climb brought us back near the start where we chased dirt roads and kept chasing them



and finally we ended back where we started, Minnie Mine