Few things are more inspiring than the high country during summer’s peak. Snow recedes, trails re-emerge, and for a glorious window of time, we ride high. The experience is about more than sucking thin oxygen and muscling through: we love the surprises. While riding the Government Trail from Aspen to Snowmass, we entered a dense aspen grove and were surprised to find ourselves ripping through a patch of Jurassic-ly proportioned Queen Anne’s Lace blossoms. We were surprised to discover that Monarch Crest, when socked into a dense fog bank above the tree line, has an eerie beauty not previously noticed under bright blue skies. You will not, however, be surprised by the level of adventure in the following three suggestions for Riding High this summer:
Tackle a 14’er
It’s been three summers since Ian Fohrman and Whit Boucher proposed to mountain bike all of the Colorado 14’ers legal to cyclists. There are eighteen. The Bike the 14’ersproject spurred plenty of dialogue about trail use, like this 2015 article from Bicycling.com. The Adventure Sports Network, around the same time, offered this well thought out advicefor tackling a 14’er with your mountain bike. The Barr Trail on Pike’s Peakis an excellent (almost) backyard trail for tacking your first 14’er.z
Shuttle a point to point
Compete in an iconic race
The Breckenridge 100 has been raced for 13 years, with the 14th annual running scheduled for July 14th, 2018 in Breckenridge’s Carter Park. The Breck 100, once an anchor of the National Ultra Endurance Series, features 100 unique miles, and touches over 12,000 feet on the stunning Wheeler Pass during the first 30 miles. Choosing either the Breck 68 (Marathon) or Breck 32 (XC) distances will take racers to 11,000 feet at Little French’s Flume and the top of the West Ridge on the Colorado Trail. However you choose to participate in the Breck 100, it’s a riding high bucket list item.The straightforward way to visit the high country, if you’re interested in small-a-adventure, is simply put your bike on the car and travel to any number of Colorado mountain towns. Find a trail head and point your bike uphill. Crested Butte, Steamboat Springs, and Vail are all riding destinations with outstanding single track winding through fields of wildflowers. Boulder’s Sacred Rides published this blog post with a great set of tips for easing discomfort while riding at altitude. Surprise us, if you wouldn’t mind, with a report from your experiences Riding High in 2018. Keep in touch via marketing@sportsgarage.net.