Crested Butte - Day 1

This year we made the lengthy trek to Colorado to do some mountain biking. With our bikes, our dog, and ourselves, the old van was packed and it was a long drive. Since we had some adventures on the way home, I've been a little slow to post details of the trip. The Diddiwahs were quicker about blogging than we were, so I'll refer you to the Diddiwah blog for a detailed write-up of the first day or two. I'll just add pictures and a little text as supplementary materials.

We met the Diddiwahs in Crested Butte and spent a few days in this rustic log cabin.



After some long hours of driving, we arrived after noon on what we'll call Day 1. Despite the not-so-subtle hint of rain from the soggy clouds, after a bite of lunch and some wandering through Crested Butte, we took the bikes to a trailhead just on the northwest corner of town. Peanut Lake Road took us past Peanut Lake, up the Slate River valley, eventually ending where the Lower Loop and Upper Lower Loop trails begin. Looking back from Peanut Road, Peanut Lake and the town of Crested Butte are just visible. That's my awesome Cannondale RZ 140 in the foreground!


If you were looking at the Diddawah story, you might worry that Abbey had become one with a cow. Just to let you know she survived, I'll provide this post cow encounter photo.

After a steep climb up the south side of the valley, the descent began. It must have been a challenge for Chris to pilot that small train down the rocky trail on the side of the mountain. At least he had Heather to help pedal it up the hills. Of course, this was just the beginning; that train went places that Adams Trail-a-Bike probably never imagined. Here they've stopped to make some adjustments to the caboose while Amos and then Abbey closed the gap.

The Upper Loop and Upper Lower Loop trails were very nice, with fantastic scenery. Since they were mostly flat, not too challenging, and close to town, these trails made a great intro to bicycling some real mountain single track. I wish we could go out and ride them -- or run them -- every night after work. In this final photo, Slate Creek flows toward the town with Mount Crested Butte standing tall in the background.