Summer Road Trip Choices...

So the short list is down to the final 2.  Both are about 30 hours drive away which multiple ride stay / stops enroute.  6 weeks and counting to the final choice.

*** original pics from the interwebs ***

"There is no shortcut" in cycling, says Jens Voigt

I rarely post any commentary on here that is not directly related to a shitty bike product or a great cycling trip.  Twenty thousand plus hits later I have people emailing me mainly about the Castellano Silk ti 29 but more recently trip beta from all over the world.

Recently I was disappointed to read Mike Barry's admission of doping and remember the first BIG pro race I saw him do at the first Tour of Georgia when he was racing with Canadian MTB phenom Roland Green for USPS at the time.  Mike was one cyclist I believed would not be caught up in this systemic problem.  We have mutual friends from UCC days and The Donut Ride that were equally surprised.  The disappointment stems from the way doping has taken the soul of cycling and tainted it.  These guys love and live for bikes and for someone like Mike to get caught up in this given his career and results speaks volumes.  Mike never rode the tour, never really had a big win, had lots of crashes and if taken at face value this was attributed to the time spent on USPS.

Final lap at the 2003 World Road Championships in Hamilton Ontario. " Barry attacks"......

Still for me one of the most exciting moments I have seen in live cycling,  MTB or Road period.

The other rider that I have been hoping does not follow suit is Jens Voigt. Jens persona of the true cycling hard man never disappoints with his constant work ethic and attacks. Never a dull day so " Shut up Legs " When I saw this today I admit I got a bit nervous and though oh no here we go again. I was reading all 3 pages hoping for the best but expecting the norm. I hope this stays as is and hope the sport can recover learn and not repeat history.

Jens article can be found here: Turbulent Times by Jens Voigt 

A few more CB rides - Next stop Salida

1 Mile Wall

Yesterday was a good break from trails.  Went down to Almont to climb in the Taylor Canyon area.

The location was 1 mile wall and it had 2 pitches which translates to a few hundred feet up.  Enough of a workout to enjoy a few double stuffed tacos in town after.

This was the next step up from Mt. CB Guides ridge done on the last trip and surprisingly really enjoyed this.  Fear factor is there for sure but Jason has the highest climbing guide certification available so safety is not ever even a second thought.  The only part of this that was unnerving was the multi pitch approach as your climbing with Jason above insetad of below and you have to un-clip your line yourself as you ascend. 

I never really thought I would enjoy this sport but I would do this again for sure.  Tonight is the last night in Crested Butte and Tuesday means moving down the road to Salida.  Not sure how long will be spent there as the original shuttle / guide fell through so have to see what other options are available for the Monarch Crest trail.

Tour Time again...

No riding today but tried a summit hike to the peaks of Mt Baldy.  Did not quite make it to the top but the views once again are spectacular.

Another Marley moment.  Not sure if this is due to the legalization of " medicinal mary j " but niceness nonetheless...

Bob flavored drinks are found everywhere along with all current issues of High Times and Indoor Grower.

Have not been to any of the dispencaries yet dizzy enough with the altitude.  Tomorrow is climbing down at Taylor Canyon and a lower loop ride in the afternoon.

Wrapping up a killer week....

Picture postcard views in every direction.  Weather today was HOT again, so today's 50 km was well earned despite the deer fly attacks.  Thank you Bob ( see video ) and thank you Gothic....
 Just over 11,600 feet of vertical in week 1.  I am bagged with the big B.  Holy hell I forgot what kind of pain this place dishes out to you.  Worth it but tough.

401 on a Friday Afternoon....

It rained a lot last night and a few people said the ride up to 401 would be brutal given the dry conditions and in some spots several inches of dirt dust but it packed it down enough to not be a issue to us at least.  The general store in Gothic served up some cold bevvies and the day was done....

Doctor's Park

Well they got a bit of rain today.  16 km climb to the start of the trail proper on dirt road with a nice middle ring gradient.  This is the second time here that lightning shortened the ride.  That's ok though try to hit it again before splitsville rolls around.

The plan for Friday is Upper, Snodgrass, Lupine, Lower in the morning then going up to Mt CB to rent a Specialized Demo 8 after 4 pm since the chair lifts are free. $40 gets you 2 hours on this world cup DH rig and full face helmet and all the armor you need to get down in 1 piece :) Can't pass that up.

Hump Day.....

It's less than 3 hours away but the fires from all accounts are deadly. Over 40 thousand evacuated etc. I am glad it is not here in Crested Butte and the fire ban extends to smoking in public to no fireworks for the 4th of July. Today it rained for all of 15 min max so I don't expect that will pack down the trails any. In the meantime another stellar day in CB.

View from atop Mt CB

Lupine Trail

Trying out the K-Edge GoPro Big Mounts.  This is another killer from town ride day that Chris suggested we ride and the views and trail  delivered nuff grins. This trail was built in 2011 I believe so did not do this the last time but we had a blast on it yesterday.

Crested Butte's Bliss....

After a long drive, a Colorado State Trooper giving me a verbal warning vs. a $300 speeding ticket, hot hot temps, headed out on Tony's, Upper Loop and Strand Hill.  Did I mention hot temps.  The altitude adjustment is going o.k. as CB sits at just over 8' k to boot.

Colorado is under a state wide fire ban and they have a few trouble spots like Durango and Fort Collins but that aside it was over 88 degrees today and the trails are dry, bone dry.   Great for riding sucks for the environment.

Great seeing some familiar faces and I think I understand why they are all doing their rain dance....

Another Climb under the belt..

This one was a bit more than the hike to the Augusta summit. It was a tough route up to the peak of Mt Crested Butte.




The route started in the left of the pic below and went up along the spine to the top. Took the chairlift up to 11,300' then hiked through a boulder garden to the start of the final line.

Snodgrass Trail - Mt Crested Butte

The trailhead is less than 5 min away by bike. This is a good connector trail to do
before 403 or after 401 and has great views of Mt Crested Butte.


Snodgrass Trail from Philip Hudson on Vimeo.

Castellano Silk Ti 29-Blacksheep-Moots-Mavic-XTR

Mountain Bike Hall of Fame ~ Crested Butte CO

What a blast from the past this place was. It is neat to see the chronological road map of mountain biking as we know it.

Cully, Deaton, Chance, Bradbury the list goes on.
What I find truly impressive after riding some of the famous passes and routes on my ti 29 with discs and camel~backs is how utterly spoiled we are in comparison to the legends that did these very rides in jeans with 1 water bottle no suspension etc.

Castellano & Potts