Oct Mnt Bike Trip: Day 2 Deer Creek via Upper Upper Loop

-

Saturday October 1

Deer Creek via Upper Upper Loop
Slept like a baby in the van, slowly stirring around 7 and waited for the sun to crest the colorful ridge to the east before easing out of the sleeping bag to make breakfast. Bill is such a mellownite, pleasant and easy going to hang out with. No pretenses, no awkward silences, no need to impress or otherwise get you on edge. We enjoyed some good coffee while the sun warmed things up then headed down the road a few miles to park near Gothic and to start the loop ride around Mount Crested Butte and along Deer Creek Ridge.

Yet another classic ride!!!! Incredible. We warmed up by taking the road up to to the ski town then it The Upper Loop Trail off of Hunter Glen Rd. That stretch of trail is awesome: technical, but just a touch, killer views ross the valley and town, loads of yellow Aspen, not too strenuous.
From 2011_09 Crested Butte Mnt Bike Trip
It traverses along the base of the moutnain all the way over to Brush Creek Rd. So cool. Along the way are some incredible boulders fit for chalk and shoes. Big momma rocks that must have come rolling off the moutain in the not too distance past. The last stretch of this connector, the Upper Upper Loop Trail, was a lot of work with lots of short, technical climbs before a swooping drop down to the road. But despite the work, the aspens and blue skies made it all OK.

3 or 4 miles of easy dirt road brought us to steeper and narrower dirt roads for 3 more miles of climbing before the 10 miles of single track along the ridge.

From 2011_09 Crested Butte Mnt Bike Trip

Many calories were burned to gain the 2000 ft from Brush Creek up to Deer Ridge. Sagey meadows and bright yellow Aspen woodland made it all worth while. Even the steep stretches of hike a bike were OK in these beautiful settings.
From 2011_09 Crested Butte Mnt Bike Trip


Location: 956-968 Gothic Rd, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA

Popular posts from this blog

Great Divide Mountain Bike Route 2020 - Gear List

-
Image
The summer of covid, the summer of people avoidance. Thus we spent July riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) from Boulder to Helena, Montana. Here's the route we took: (view the route details on RideWithGPS) It was super fun to start from home and catch a bus up to Nederland to kick off the ride. From there, a big ride up Rollins Pass and a day of dirt roads heading west from Winter Park brought us to the GMBDR near Ute Pass. A mellow pace, 1,152 miles and 82,373ft of elevation gain got us to Helena over 28 days. We spotted bears, moose, golden and bald eagles, a couple of badgers and a couple dozen fellow GDMBR riders along the way (all heading the opposite direction, north to south). And loads of wildflowers everywhere! We're so very privileged to have so much open space and beautiful landscapes to explore - and the time and health to make it happen. Here's my gear list: Bike Salsa Fargo Apex 1, 2020 edition ( details ) 1x32 with 11-42 in rear for me and 1...
Read more

New bike: 2020 Salsa Fargo Apex 1

-
Image
With the world closed off by corona, it's a good year to stick to the Rocky Mountains and ride the Divide. So we bought a pair of matching Salsa Fargo's to handle the dirt riding. Should be a good replacement for the old Vaya for future world travels. Wish I would have had it for Patagonia. More specs at  https://www.salsacycles.com/bikes/2020_fargo_apex_1
Read more

Bikepacking gravel roads around the Cloud Peak Wilderness in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming

-
Image
Here's a 7-day gravel ride we rode in early August, 2021. Yet another fine escape from the crowds! Stout climbs, smooth gravel, diverse ecosystems, undeveloped camping for all but one night.  We started and ended in Shell, Wyoming, parking on a side street after getting the OK by the cook at the Trapper Creek Lodge to leave our van there. The route took us all the way around the Cloud Peak Wilderness in the Big Horn Mountains. This mountain range is surrounded by fairly dry, high desert sage country. We yo-yoed up and down, into and out of the dry sage to the piney alpine three times over the 250 odd miles. Big, stout climbs and long, steep descents!  75+% of the route is on hard-pack dirt and gravel. There's a short 6 miles or so of more rugged riding past Medicine Lodge Lake on Forest Service Road 344, which is more of a motorcycle/ATV trail. And a mile or so of sandy single track just before dropping into Medicine Lodge Archaeological State Park. Both of these stretches wer...
Read more