2023 Bikepacking Trip Report!

Hello faithful follower! Last week I took a few days off and rode my gravel bike on a great loop around Colorado. This ride had it all - gravel! highways! trespassing! hiking! 

Full Map of Ride

This is the fourth year for this ride and this time I was joined by 4 friends. Here is the day by day breakdown:

Day 1: Copper Mountain to Leadville - 40 miles - 3,400' vert - Strava Activity

Day 1 started out climbing out of Copper Mountain to the Climax Mine site where we hooked West over to Camp Hale. We then climbed (literally) up to what we thought was a road but was actually train tracks. After that we hooked up with the highway again into Leadville. 

Hiking up to the next 'road'

A Tunnel on the way to Leadville

Day 2: Leadville to Basalt - 64 miles - 3,000' vert - Strava Activity

The second day of the ride was the most remote! Starting in Leadville we headed west past Turquoise Lake over Hagerman pass, peaking at 11,925 feet. Even crossed a snowfield. Once we got down a somewhat technical descent, we stopped at the Meredith general store for a snack, passed Ruedi Reservoir, and then rolled into Basalt for dinner at the Tipsy Trout.

Crossing snow on Hagerman

The top of the Pass

Resting the legs in The Roaring Fork River

Day 3: Basalt to Vail - 68 miles - 4,500' vert - Strava Activity

Surely this whole ride wasn't all snow fields and hiking! Day 3 was much more mild, taking us over Cottonwood Pass, which was beautiful. After that climb, we started our Euro Tour, which included stopping at several places to hydrate. The Wolcott Yacht Club is open again!

I met a dog in Eagle

Wolcott Yacht Club

Beers in Edwards

Day 4: Vail to Copper Mountain - 33 miles - 5,700' vert - Strava Activity

The last day of the ride was the most adventurous. We started off with a pretty burly climb into the back bowls of Vail ski resort. From there we connected the Easternmost Vail road with the Westernmost forest road leading to the top of Vail pass. This was a true adventure and provided the most beautiful views of the ride. The whole thing wrapped up on the Ten Mile Canyon National Recreation Trail into Copper.

Climbing up the Service Road

Connecting the ski resort and Vail pass

Some hike-a-bike

All in all, it was an amazing trip! Around 200 miles total, saw some really cool parts of the state and we're already talking about next year.

Taking a Break from Enduro to... Bikepack?

 For the fourth year in a row I am headed deep into the Colorado back roads to ride my gravel bike and explore some new roads with some friends. Starting in 2020, we started riding a multi-day trip focused on dirt roads, back roads, and beautiful views. 

Top of Old Fall River Road in 2020

For this year, I wanted to share my set up and how it's evolved. This year I am riding a new frame with some time tested bags. Here is my set up:

Let's go through the bike! I have been refining this set up over the years and I'm really happy with it.

Bike setup:

• Unicorn Ti gravel frame
• Replacing my Cannondale Topstone
• DT Swiss c1800 wheels
• 21mm internal width, not a wide as some but perfectly functional
• 40c WTB Byway tires
• SRAM Rival / GX AXs
• New for this ride, 44t x 11/50t, trying out the 1x
• Cannondale SAVE seat post
• This seat post takes a lot of the buzz out of the road
• Easton EC 70 AX bars
• Nice flat top and complaint carbon flare bar

Hot Sulphur Springs in 2021

On this trip we have riders using a few different kinds of gear storage from panniers to full frame bags. Below is what I'm riding with. I am trying to keep things even over the length of the bike and reasonably accessible.

Storage:

• Tail bag: Revelate Shrew 3L 
• Down jacket, rain gloves, helmet cover, flip flops strapped to outside
• Frame Bag: Revelate Tangle
• Lights, chargers, food, misc
• Top Tube: Revelate Gas Tank
• snacks
• Bar Bag: Revelate Egress
  
• Evening wear, cold weather stuff, rain jacked strapped to back
• ***New this year*** Evoc 1L Hip Pack
• Phone, snacks, misc
• Wolf Tooth Components tool roll
• Tube, multitool, tire lever
• Tool can
• Emergency tools, misc tools

Outside Meeker in 2022

In addition to all that, here are some of the select things I'm bringing.

Notables:

• Ass Savers fenders are light and functional
• Profile Designs fork mounted water bottle cages keep weight low and out of the way
• Custom handlebar bag mount to keep bar bag off hands
• Voile straps are a life saver
• Oversize water bottle cage for Nalgene
• A very bright headlight for emergencies
• Garmin InReach GPS Communication device

Here is a look at the 2023 route:

Once the ride is over I'll share the route debrief!