Crested Butte rides: 401 Trail, Reno Flag Bear Loop

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2011_08 Crested Butte Mnt Bike Trip

A 3-day weekend in CB with Dan. Camped up above Gothic in our favorite spot again, same as last year with Rachel. Got in around 9pm after a full day of work. Dan drove, nice to just sit and take in the views. Tent camping is a bit different from our can bit fine with such good weather.

401 for Friday's ride. Schofield Pass Road was still closed near the pass in the narrows due to a huge snow drift. Won't be opening this year, I don't think. Same beautiful trail with flowers and views galore. Just amazing. Done by noon thirty back at the car for a beer and chips. Off to town to check out the mountain's disk golf course. Waited until 4 to get the $12 twilight ticket by taking the time to do the Lower Loop trail right out of town. Great single track! Must be the locals' favorite lunch ride. Had pizza before heading up to the mnt.

Hit the mountain right at 4 and did the full 18 hole course by 6pm, in time to do a downhill run too! The course was tough to complete without losing disks! Lots of thick brush and trees. I only got par 3 on 2 holes but didn't lose a disk. Dan can wing those things and managed a few more at par (but lost 2 disks). The downhill riding was a blast! Gotta do that again. We stuck to a blue run, Luge, for most of it and a short stretch of black at the bottom. Scary to see the blacks with structures and rocks, not for me, I like my clavicles in one piece.

Skipped town and headed back to camp to enjoy the sunset and a fire.

Reno/Flag/Bear/Deadman Gulch loop on Saturday. Swung by Roxie's house on Journeys End Rd on our way south of town. Beautiful place with grand views overlooking town. Then off to do the Killer loop! Lots of climbing, 3000 ft, over 20 miles. Great views, single track, wide double track, drops, swoops, sand, views, creek crossings, views, etc. Loved it! The dirt bikes have torn up bits of it but the overall ride was awesome.

Hit town by 5 or so and had a burger and beers at the Eldo. Roxie swung by and spent the early eve with us, giving us the run down on her family and local happenings. Lots of preparation for the upcoming Pro Cycling Challenge race and Cadel Evans. We were cooked by 8 and headed up to camp for a fire and some downtime with the stars coming out.

Mellow Sunday am with packing up camp then of to town for breakie. A car show was already going on by 9, making Elk Street the place to be. Fun people watching and great food at McGills. Walked the market for a while, ran into Jack Hughs, the fisherman from Alaska that I met on a Ladore trip years ago with George K. Then off to Gunnison to visit with Chris Klein for an hour on our way to the 24 Hours in the Sage finish line where Dan's bro and friends were wrapping up their 2nd place effort on single speeds. 13 mile lops at arond 1 hour each from the KOA up into Hartman Rocks and back. Fun folks! I Want to do one of those!!

A great weekend with good rides, good socializing, good beer, Dan driving, no stress.

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