I decided to sleep in until around 8:30 and then go for a ride at the Walker Ranch Loop. Got a little lost along the way, but eventually made it. Take Baseline west right past Chautauqua Park and up into the mountains. You'll eventually get to the top and reach a clearing; it's on the left. You'll see the sign.
The next two pictures are the views from the parking lot.
The first mile was a downhill section over which you drop 600 feet in elevation. Nothing too special or all that technical. It's all double track at this point and while the book says it's technicality is 4 (of 5) I don't remember anything too hard. There were a couple of rocky sections but nothing too hard.
These three photos were not even .5 miles into the trail. Beautiful landscape along the double track running throughout and along the South Boulder Creek and a couple of small streams running across the trail.
According to the book it's right at the 1 mile marker that you cross the South Boulder Creek (you WILL get wet) and then ride alongside the creek as it runs on your left. It's still double track at this point and nothing technical yet here either. You have however started climbing and won't stop before you climb before you ride 700 feet in two miles.
Since the trail is a multi-use trail and many climbers use it as well as bikers there were several break places like this off of the trail. It'd be nice to have a picnic next to the Creek.
After breaking away from the creek it gets...thigh-burning fun. It stays double track until the 7,200 feet mark; 500 feet after the ascent began. It wasn't very much fun to say the least. Most of the trail was rutty, rocky, and short steep sections. It was killing me. It was hard for me to stay on the bike at this point; most of it was un-rideable (to me). Every time I got to what I was the thought was the top of the trail it just turned the corner and kept going upward. I've never been more exhausted riding a bike than on this trail. Here are some pictures from the seemingly endless ascent to the top. Some are from the bottom looking up while others are at the top of sections looking down (obviously).
I'm supposed to ride up this? Right.
Once I reached the top I was pooped to say the least and I knew that while I had a nice downhill section I still had another uphill section back to the parking lot left. You know you reach the top when you come out of the woods and into a clearing. This will begin the descent of 1000 feet in 2 miles. Almost the whole descent is single track (only the last ~.2 miles is double track). The first mile or so of the descent was nothing too technical. A few rocks in the trail, but nothing overwhelming. Here are some pictures of the trail at that point.
After you reach the bottom (you'll know when you get there) you will then have to be very very very very very careful as you descend down a set of steps that takes you to South Boulder Creek. There is no way to ride down so don't even think about it; I don't know why you would. Just walking down carrying my bike it was a little intimidating. Here are some pictures of the steps down and then the creek itself.
After crossing a bridge at the bottom the double track climbing begins again. Some sections were easier than others especially at the beginning, but the farther up the hill you went the rocky the sections became. Definitely shift down as far as possible and keep cranking or expect to have to get off and start walking your bike up. And walking doesn't really make anything any easier. Here are some pictures from the bottom looking up and top looking down. It was definitely something that killed my legs. Probably all uphill for about a mile and then began a series of uphills and downhills; emphasis on the uphills though as they were longer than the sections of downhills that lead to the uphills. All of these pictures are what I climbed or will climb taken from the bottom.
This is the point in the trail where I took a wrong turn; actually I didn't turn when I needed to. Before you get to this point after climbing this ridiculously long and rutty hill...
I needed to turn left when I saw this sign, but I never saw it and rode right past it. As you begin climbing the before section turn left at this sign...
I should have just ridden the road back to the parking lot because I thought the climbing was done and over with at this point, but I couldn't have been more wrong. It's a very tight section of singletrack. The book says "it's no sin to walk this stretch." Oh, thank God, because I must have walked most of it. There was more climbing and it was like the first section of the trail with rocks and ruts spread throughout. I was dead. I just wanted to be done with the trail at this point. I had nothing left in me. I wanted to keep going because it was a good workout, but I had a hard time focusing and thus a hard time picking a good line and staying on it. Here are pics of the ascent.
iiiiii was really tired.
climbed/walked (mostly walked) up this too
stupid lens was half-closed
After reaching the top it was fairly easy squeezy. It was all riding out in the open with one short steep climb and then a fun winding and technical semi-descent of .6 miles back to the trailhead. Here are the ending photos of the scenery at the top.
ride up this to start the hilly/rocky section
that last one was one section of rocky downhill that was toward the end. Overall I thought it was a fun trail but definitely one of the hardest rides I've ever done. It wasn't as spread out like the other trails are. It's all about the short steep strenuous sections and that killed me. Hope all of this is paying off to keep me in shape. No riding next week as I will be in D.C. with Invisible Children. Check out www.howitends.tv to see exactly what I'll be doing. I just might be changing the world.
This. Looks. Brutal.
ReplyDeleteBut have a great time in DC!