Bikepacking Trip 2025 Report - Day 3

After a punishing day 2, we were slow to start and eager for a break. Today's original route took us from Basalt to Glenwood Springs, then up on top of the flat tops North of Glenwood and back down near Dotsero. This was an ambitious route that had a really intense climb in the middle. 

Outlined Route

Outlined Elevation

In universal agreement, we decided to skip the climb and enjoy the Glenwood Canyon bike path instead. It meant a slightly shorter day, but no one was complaining. 

We started off riding down the Rio Grande Trail from Basalt to Glenwood Springs. There was a fire going on near Rifle, do we were also contending with some poor air quality. 

The Rio Grande bike path

Isaac's wonderful wife left him a change of clothes and some tea in a drop car, and we enjoyed a morning cheers to help our ragged throats from the smoke. 

A more adult, refined cheers

Once we passed through Carbondale, we took a short elevator ride to the bridge over the Colorado and we were in the canyon!

No reason to climb the stairs

I hadn't ridden in Glenwood Canyon in a long time, and it was really amazing. It's a combination of looking at the towering canyon walls and the engineering feat of the highway.

Along the Colorado River

After that, it was into some bike path along the I-70 frontage road. We'd ridden some of this road a couple years ago, and it is an interesting way to experience I-70.

Picked up a guy riding from Steamboat

In a departure from the previous day's death March, we took the opportunity to stop at the Eagle River Brewing Company for pizza and beer. This got us thinking and talking - do we like really remote sections, or do we like a little Euro tour with amenities? Hard to beat pizza and beer.

Delicious beer on a hot day

Due to the shortened day, we rolled into Eagle about 4 with plenty of time to hit the shower, don the cutoffs, and check out the local scene. It was a lot of fun to have some beers and dinner when the sun was up!

Checking in to the Best of Westerns

Headed to dinner

We ate at this awesome place in downtown Eagle that served us some excellent Coors and burgers. I actually ate here a few years ago when I was in Eagle for the Enduro race series, and it was just as good. 

The Brush Creek Saloon

All in all, we made the right decision - shorter day with a lot less climbing and a fun last evening in Eagle. 

Bikepacking Trip 2025 Report - Day 2

Day two saw us starting out early from Mt Princeton Hot Springs and heading west toward Aspen! We left early this day, as it was going to be a lot of climbing. 

Outlined Route

Outlined Elevation

We started out a beautiful canyon up Chalk Creek Drive, named for the white cliffs to the North. 

A paved start is always welcome

We rolled into the town of St Elmo and the general store after the paved canyon ride. This awesome little town had some cool stuff, but no food or snacks.

Ready to go up Tincup Pass

We were barely outside St Elmo when the suffering began in earnest. The trail went from reasonable gravel to horrible, steep rocks immediately. 

A welcomed rideable part of the Tincup climb

This part of the ride was beautiful, and it was hard. We ended up hiking for a lot of it, and riding some intensely technical sections. Once above treeline you could see all the way back to Buena Vista where we passed through the day before. 

The valley approaching Tincup pass

The top of the pass had this great sign indicating that runoff would go to two different oceans!

East and West coasts

The ride down was equally rough, but at least gravity was working with us. There was even a lady in a jeep that cheered for us wildly, which was greatly appreciated. 

One of a few water crossings

We rolled into Toncup and then pressed on to Taylor Park and the Nuggett Cafe. This was lunch. We were initially concerned about it not opening until 9 - boy that was a mistake as we didn't get there until 230. This was an early indicator that the day was going to be long. 

Line 'em up

The next few miles and hours were totally different and totally challenging. The road we were on was sandy, which meant it became a game of 'find the packed part' and 'avoid the sand'. Also, headwind. This is a prime example of how I would rather ride uphill than deal with a headwind. 

Charging into the wind

Once we got to the bottom of Taylor Pass, it was like deja' vu. More hiking, more rocks, and more water. At this point in the ride I remember all the Colorado Trail Race, Continental Divide Race, and other various suffering I'd envied through my computer. I was living my supposed dream, and after a brief pep talk from Jesse, I had a great change of attitude and really started leaning into the suffering. It became a lot more fun when I considered I could be sitting at my desk or whatever. 

A walk in the woods

We had some water crossing, some hiking, some reflecting, some more climbing and then finally the top! it was great to see the top of the last climb in the light.

A great chance to clean the tires off

Not even a little beleaguered

This climb was followed by a wild descent. As tends to happen when you're holding on for dear life, no one captured pictures of the ride. If you took and mapped the pictures taken and then the progression of miles, you'd really see how things get hard = pictures get fewer.

A merciful paved road down the highway to Aspen

Eating quickly in Aspen (9pm)

We rolled into Basalt at about 11pm, and immediately hit the sack. The topic of conversation became, "Let's take the shorter option tomorrow." While this was an awesome, adventure of a day, it is not something I'd want to repeat very often. 

Bikepacking Trip 2025 Report - Day 1

 This year, for the Big Bikepacking Loop™ we went hard, we went harder, and we went long! I'm going to go through each day with a new post and share the victories and defeats of this amazing ride. 

This year's route started in Leadville, took us through Buena Vista, Aspen, Glenwood Springs, and Eagle. It was a combination of ambitious, leisurely, remote, and urban. Here is a look at the planned route:

And this is what we ended up doing:

Some slight modification on day 3 and 4 took place due to a horrific day 2 and some smokey air. Let's get into day 1!

Outlined Route

Outlined Elevation

We started by getting some traditional Safeway breakfast burritos in Leadville and then hit the road from at the tubing hill.

All Smiles at the Start

We started on pavement heading down HWY 24 for a few miles until we hit our first gravel and rode over Weston Pass. This gentle pass climbed up a nice valley with lots of dispersed camping to the top of Weston Pass

Riding up Weston Pass

The views at the pass were amazing! We passed the Weston Pass huts and treeline a bit before the top.

Geoff near the top of Weston Pass

Some top-of-the-pass whiskey, thanks to Aaron. We did this at several passes and it was great, even when the pass was not great.

Isaac Enjoys some Pass Whiskey

Next we took a reasonable descent through the valley to hook up with Highway 285, which was a miserable, windy experience. But it got us back on some fun dirt roads to take us into Buena Vista. THese roads were mostly rideable, but several sandy spots got the best of us and ended up walking a bit. 

Dirt Roads into Buena Vista

In BV we grabbed food at a food truck, had a beer, and saw a couple cool dogs, 

Food Trucks and the Buena Viking

Forklift Certified Collie

Suspicious Great Pyrenees

Last thing in BV was to stop at Safeway to restock on food, and get talked at by a nice, strange lady. 

We rolled the last 10 paved miles to Mt Princeton Hot Springs where we soaked in the pool, and then chilled in the creek. Cold water provided some great therapy to prepare for day 2.

Negotiating how cold we wanted to get

Details of the ride:

Map

Elevation Profile

Strava Activity

Total Miles: 75.04 mi

Total climbing: 6,384 ft

Moving Time: 7:43:05

Revolution Series #6 Powderhorn Race Report - All that bike park time paid off

This weekend was the last stop of of the Revolution Enduro series at Powderhorn resort near Grand Junction. This was a fun one for me because Powderhorn is here I learned to ski, and worked for a few years as a ski patroller. Since then, they've put in a great bike park and host a stop on the series.

Let's get down to it!

Total ride time: 3:30 hours
Total ride: 19 miles
Total Vertical: N/A due to lift access
Strava

Stage 1: The day started with a ride all the way up the mountain via service road. It had rained for about an hour that morning so the road was a bit of a mess. Luckily, it cleared up and the trails were in pretty shape all day. Stage 1 had us going down a long-ish blue with some big, fun berms. I was happy to fall into a groove fairly quickly and had a couple corners that felt absolutely on the edge of control. Towards the bottom definitely wasn't attacking as arm pump settled in. One thing about this bike park is someone really likes doubles! I have been spending more time at the local dirt jumps with my son and that has paid off as I was jumping everything out there. 

Tires gathering mud on the first transfer

Stage 1 start

Stage 1 Place: 8/16

Stage 2: This stage had us riding into the back country for a short but intense section. The transfer was pretty wild as well, taking us through boulder fields and up some pretty steep sections. The stage itself was rough with no obvious line choices, with a few spots where just staying upright was success. There was one feature I was worried about in practice, but at race speed I barely noticed it. The ride back to the top of the resort was pretty relaxing and enjoyable (more than the stage).

Stage 2 Walk-a-bike

Stage 2 place: 8/16

Stage 3: This was the most fun for me, the top was pretty flowy and there were a lot of fun, very ridable jumps. It opened up into a fast section with two big doubles and then ended in a really tight section. Because of the length of this stage, I tried to open and close my hands in the middle so I wouldn't get as much arm pump. The problem was I got caught right at the open section and the guy was confused about the end of the course, and in the confusion (me: "THIS ISN'T THE END GOOOOO!") I was unable to hit the jumps and lost what ended up being precious seconds. 

Riding the lift up on stage 4

Stage 3 place: 8/16

Stage 4: This was the most technical stage with 2 rock gardens and plenty rocks. I had preridden this twice and was comfortable with everything. Luckily, I had noted to stay left on everything for my preferred lines. There were a few good opportunities to pedal int here as well and I did what I could in the last stage of the day. I also noted, "don't try and jump the big jump at the bottom just go around it." Coming up to that - the last jump of the series - during the race I built up some nerve and jumped it and it was really not that big a deal. And as a bonus my parents, brother, and his fiance' were waiting at the end to cheer me on!

Stage 4 place: 7/14

Overall finish: 6/13 (one freakin' second behind 6th)
Final results

I also ended up with a 4th overall in the series. I was pretty happy with that, although I was pretty far from third. 

Series results

Season Podium

I was pretty set on this being a one and done season... until I was forced to watch the podium for that day. It really made me start thinking about what I'd have to do to be more competitive next season. But that is a conversation for another post!

Revolution Series #5 Snowmass Race Report - Big field, big features, big fun

Nearly closing out the 2023 Revolution Enduro series was a stop in Snowmass. Coincidentally, I'd been to Snowmass during an enduro race several years ago and thought it looked like fun, so it was great to come back here and race. This stop featured 4 stages Saturday and 3 Sunday. I pre-rode Friday, so it made for a full weekend of riding. Overall, the stages were solid, if a little hard on the body.

Preride:

Friday I had a chance to ride a lot of the trails. It was great to get a feel for the type of riding they have in Snowmass. The resort hasn't seen much rain, so it was pretty dry conditions with dusty, soft corners. I wasn't able to preride stage 5 or 7. Stage 5 had a series of jumps that would have been great to be able to take at speed. Stage 7 was so bumpy and ridiculously steep no preparation would have helped me go much faster. It was so dusty I got some alcohol wipes and cleaned my rotors and pads between race days, which really helped.

Preride strava

Cleaning the pads and cassette

Day 1:

Total ride time: 3:30 hours
Total ride: 25.5 miles
Total Vertical: N/A due to lift access
Day 1 Strava

Stage 1: We started out on a pretty fast stage with some roots at the top, a short chunky rock garden in the middle, and ended with tight corners that felt pretty good. It definitely took a bit to get into the groove, but I felt fast at the bottom and my position reflected it!

View from the top of the chairlift

Stage place: 13/27

Stage 2: The top of this stage had some fun jumps that you could just absorb and take fast. In the middle there were some rocs that were so covered with dust from the dry conditions that it was hard to tell where the dirt started and the rocks ended. There was also a lot of opportunity to pedal at the bottom. I had a GD bug in my helmet for about the first minute that was distracting. While I came out slower than I'd hoped, I was feeling great.

Stage place: 18/27

Stage 3: This was s full mountain stage that started out with some really loose corners at the top that required a lot of braking. My forearms were pumped up 2 minutes into the stage. I felt pretty good in the corners and din't blow any of them. Once we got past mid Mountain the trail became really under developed with flat, slick corners and brake bumps everywhere. My arms were on fire by the time I got to the end. I finished that stage wondering how to make my front suspension more supple.

Stage place: 14/27

Stage 4: I'd preridden this stage and was expecting the 3 or 4 big features. There was a big drop in the middle with a ride-around that I ended up taking and didn't feel like I lost a lot of time. At the bottom was a big double I was able to clear and felt pretty good about. Unfortunately, my time was the worst of all the stages.

View from the transfer to Stage 4 and 7

Stage place: 19/27
Day 1 place: 15/27

Day 2:

Total ride time: 2:50 hours
Total ride: 20 miles
Total Vertical: N/A due to lift access
Day 2 Strava

Stage 5: Stage 5 started out with a series of jumps that it would have been really cool to be able to jump fast. I hadn't preridden this stage, so I didn't take the jumps as fast as I could have. The bottom was more fast and loose corners and a little chunk mixed in. I had a couple corners that felt on the edge of crashing and made me think I should take all corners out of control and see what happens.

Lined up for the first stage of Day 2

Stage place: 15/27

Stage 6: This was a stage of 2 blue trails that were a lot of fun and had an overall higher top speed. Had one corner I locked up the rear wheel and saved a fall. Came off feeling like I finished in a higher spot than I actually did.

Last gondola ride of the day on the way to Stage 6

Stage place: 17/27

Stage 7: This stage I did not preride but it wouldn't have mattered. It was fast, loose, and chunk with some steep loose corners. It ended in this really steep chute that was just a brake-fest. This stage was not a lot of fun. I rode back to the base knowing I'd lost a lot of time and feeling pretty dejected. 

Stage place: 17/27

Overall, this race was an exercise in not being able to tell how I was doing stage by stage. The stages I felt good in were the ones I finished poorly. At the end of day 1, I was in 15th and the guys around me were also very close. I had an opportunity to overtake 14th, but a similar opportunity to lose a spot. Which is what I did. I did finish stages 2 and 4 really excited since I took on some big features and pedaled a lot. I just need to combine that excitement with the technique to go fast on the rough stuff and put together some better times.

Lined up for Stage 7

Results after Day 1:
14 - 27:40
15 - 27:43 (me)
16 - 27:46
17 - 27:50

Results after Day 2:
15 - 45:01
16 - 45:18 (me)
17 - 45:26
18 - 45:51

One more race to go before the end of the season and some serious, "Do I want to do this again next season?" conversations.

Garmin Battery charge was on point