backcountry monday

I got together today with a couple of friends to ride a backcountry route that I've been eyeballing for several years. The plan was to ride/hike/crawl from 7000' up to a 10,200' pass, 2000' down the other side, loop back around, then back down our original route. I've been up to the top of the pass several times, but never down the back side. There's a 4 way junction at the top, but I always ran out of time. Today did not dissapoint. 9+ hours in the back country was all good. Hard to say if it was xc or all mountain or what. The climbing was heinous and the descending was ass behind the saddle steep and technical. Good stuff. I had a Tracer VP, ssperl had a Spider 29er and bstiff was on his Voodoo hardtail. The ride did not dissapoint.


The climb started off nice and sweet. It sucked us in with beautiful trail and great views before the hiking started.


The view back down the drainage from which we climbed.

3 hours to the top! Finally, and we made our self imposed noon cutoff time. That meant it was time for lunch.

Lunch was up and it was time to descend. None of us knew what we were in for. I miss exploring. Kids and bike shop leave little time these days for all day getting lost affairs. The initial descent was great. Super loose, tech, and steep. Of course, pics don't do it justice.

more descending

Finally at the bottom (40 minute descent, nice) and no idea where exactly we were. Thank god, we found some elaborate trail signage to show exactly where we were. About 5 hours in at this point.


It was time again for more climbing. This was a grunt from 8000' or so up to 10,500'. It was a nice road.

Lots of hiking was involved. We were on hour 6? I was tired and starting to lose track of time. At least it hadn't rained on us yet.


My legs were cramping up something fierce by this time. More descending then. That seemed to do the trick for legs that were tired from turning over the granny gear slowly.


and finally more descending
9 hours and 10 minutes later we were back at the car. That's what I call a ride. It ended up being 5,600' of climbing in 28 miles. Most of it (up and down) was rocky, loose, technical and tough. Glad I got that one crossed off the list. It's going to take me another year or so to forget about the pain. Then, I will return.

Thanks for coming Jesper and Brian, the ride was fantastic!

Intense Tracer VP pics

I've had a lot of folks inquiring about detailed Tracer pics. Here goes. After spending the last 9 months on this beautiful machine, I can say without a doubt that it is one of my favorite bikes ever. Easily on the top 3 list. I'm off to a Turner 5 Spot next, I think. We'll see if that bike can break the top 5. :)

Tuesday at Buchanan Pass

Thanks all for a great Tuesday nighter this week. We rolled up the always rocky and always wet Middle St Vrain road and down Buchanan pass. As always, the ride took more time than it should and we squeaked 'er out right before dusk. Also, as always, BP did not dissapoint.

The singletrack is as good as the views.
Chad on the waterfall drop.
World famous Breck Epic solo woman gold medalist Jen G came out to sample the technical front range backwoods.
You know it's a good one when Chad has to take an on trail bag inventory. Jen says "yardsale."
See you next week as we line up a shuttle and attempt to recreate the most carnage filled Tuesday Ride ever. Lights mandatory!

road ride today

I haven't been spending much, no any, time on my road bike lately. I rode the crosser a few times this winter, but the last time I dilligently hit the roads was last August. Guess I haven't felt the pull of those skinny tires yet. Alas, it is Tour time, though. The Tour always gets me jonesing for a road ride.

So I went for a road ride today. When I got there, I saw that the road was closed.
The road was a long one.
The trees were dense. No bushwacking would be done here.
Despite the wind and grumbling weather, my gamble paid off and I successfully avoided all of the micro cells and squalls.
See the road here? Nope, me neither. Guess I was going the wrong way on this one. Fortunately, not a long hike out.
It's Tour time after all. Get some road riding in.

sore dough 50

It was big ride Sunday today. Haven't been on the bike since the Coulson Gulch Tuesday night ride. Since then I've been on vacation sort of... considering I had my kids and my parents over at my house for 7+ days. Would escape temporarily from the madness by seeing how the Breck Epic was going for Jen G and Chad. They both kicked ass and it got me thinking about a big ride out of the backyard cause needless to say I was chompin at the bit to get out. Lee's been talking about a Lyons to WP ride so I thought I would scope it out to get a feel. See my track from topofusion -Camp Dick on the right and Nederland at the left.
Elevation profile

Stats for the day. Was stopped in Nederland for quite a bit to recover from leg cramps before heading home.

Love sections like this if I take a breather before attempting

My Turner Sultan is still treating me good. It was good therapy to be out there today- weather was great... nice cloud cover for the nasty ascent out of camp dick. Appreciating a lot of things, but bike related - loving the sultan, this thing is staying together good. It is nice to not have dealing with fiddling with something before, during and after every ride. It was eating up the baby heads. Two Nine or die.

A river runs through it

Got to the Sourdough trailhead at Rainbow Lakes Rd. and then took Rainbow Lakes rd to 505 Caribou rd. You can see it's a nice wide 4wd road. I don't mind riding roads especially this one- scenery was great and the flowers were abundant. Smelled like pine sol out there.

Highest point on Caribou was 10500. Most of my riding today was around 9000 - 9600. Breck epic got up to 12000 big difference - that high it zaps you.
There's eldora

Another splendid view

The descent on 505 to Eldora was steep and rocky- a lot of fist sized loose rock. I was thinking how much it was going to suck riding back on this.

Barker res furthest back as I stop the 505 descent to take in the views

Originally thinking I was going to go to Jenny Creek via Ned High School trails but as going up near singletrack near high school my leg started to cramp up and it started to rain. Exit plan was developed -not the best plan but would ride the peak to peak to rainbow lakes rd. then I could get back on the sourdough and avoid some tough climbs. The 6 mile road ride would let my legs recover but it was hot. I was fatigued - it may have been less tiresome and cooler to ride 505 back in hindsight.

I had been going at an all day pace but things definitely slowed up from here. At about the 8 hour mark was definitely feeling it and starting to make mistakes and I've ridden this trail dozens of times- 1) I took the upper saint vrain about a mile up before realizing that it was not the sourdough or wapiti trail. My gps was showing the beaver creek trail as a possibility but it's wilderness. No dice.

Upper st. vrain is noticeably different from sourdough. It is a tough descent and ascent.

Mistake #2 came in the form of riding with my head down- not only affecting line choice but this tree got me good. Good thing I did have my head down because the helmet took all the impact.

Shots as the sun dropped


This bike is tired but did well no mechanicals or flats.


So what I learned today is riding these type of distances is tough. When fatifgue sets in it is easy to make poor choices. My legs are tired and I only did one day. Hats off to the breck epic riders for doing this day after day.

Tuesday Ride 7/14

Be at Redstone Cyclery at 5:30 and ready to caravan. We'll be driving 1/2 hour or so to Peaceful Valley and riding there. The ride will be Middle St Vrain (or Coney Creek, we'll see) to the wilderness boundary then down Buchanan Pass trail.

This ride will be:
A)wet, I mean really wet. Potential drivetrain wrecker. Lots of water crossings and some mud at the top.

B)really technical. Technical climbing on wet jeep road rocks, then down one of the most blissful and technical trails around.

C)high. We'll be riding between 8 and 10 thousand feet.

D)trouble. something will inevitably go wrong and we'll probably get back to the car after dusk. If you have a light, you should bring it :)

big wheeled singlespeed goodness

Check out this baby we put together recently for Art. Art sent Redstone the frame and said build 'er up. Sweet!

Picture Rock trail day Tuesday Ride

Thanks for all that came out for this weeks Tuesday Ride, trail work edition. We were able to contribute 30 hour of labor on PR - great job! We had a good crew that rode in to the worksite from Lyons. There were/are a couple of spots by the silo on the PR trail where springs had sprung this spring and muddied and rutted up the trail. Our mission tonight was to go in to help Open Space staff armor those sections of trail. If you've seen the sidewalk pavers at Heil, then you know what I'm talking about. I now have a much greater appreciation for all of the work the county puts into armoring. Big flat pavers with vertical pitched rocks in between are definitely easier to ride over than to build!

We were working on 3 sections tonight. One was finished right after we arrived, one we finished about 75% and the 3rd got mostly doug out.

We shut 'er down around 8:20 so we'd have enough daylight to ride out. The descent was smooth and swoopy fun all the way. The dirt was perfect too. A short but great ride.

This is an intersection that I've become super familiar with in the last few months. I love the addition.

The sections we worked on were all on the brief part of the trail between the quarry/old car and the silo. We are welcome to feedback, too. We want Picture Rock to be used by many for long times to come. If anyone is interested, we'll be doing another 2 or 3 of these work days this summer. Stay tuned.

Buchanan Pass next week!

The Breck Epic is Underway

and friends of Redstone are racing. So far after the prologue and stage 1, local favorite lady and Dale's/Spot racer Jen Gersbach has a 7 minute lead over 2nd place in Women Solo. Chad from Dale's Spot and Brian Riepe from Mountain Flyer already have a 20 min lead in the relay division.

If you want to stay abreast of what's happening, check MTB Race News for the scoop or CJ Timing for up to date stage and GC results.

TDF got nothing on the Breck Epic!

Trailwork on Tuesday!

Here's the details for this weeks Tuesday Night Ride...

Hello Trail Stewards with Redstone Cyclery,

Thank you for volunteering with Boulder County Parks and Open Space. Following is a project information outline for the trail maintenance volunteer project on Tuesday July 7th. You will be working on the Picture Rock Trail along with County staff.

Trail Maintenance Project at Heil Ranch:

Overview: Your assistance will help improve hiking and multi-purpose trails at Heil Ranch. Due to the recent precipitation that we have been receiving, multiple natural springs have been developing. In order to mitigate the moisture we will be armoring sections of the trail that are impacted by these springs. We will be using hand tools to complete this work, and will be several miles away from the trailhead.

Schedule: Please arrive at the Picture Rock Trailhead at 5:30 (see directions below). You will then bike up the Picture Rock Trail to the silo where County Staff will greet you. We will work on the trail until 8:00 - 8:30, giving you enough time to make it back to the trailhead before dark.

Directions: To the Picture Rock Trailhead
Travel through the town of Lyons to the intersection of Highway 36 (Main Street) and Highway 7 (5th Ave.) Turn south onto Highway 7 (towards Allenspark). Travel 1 mile and take a left on Old St. Vrain Rd. You will then take a left on Red Gulch Rd. (about ¼ mile); the parking lot will be on your right about ¼ mile after the turn.

Weather: Weather in July is usually warm and sunny and afternoon thunderstorms are always possible. I would suggest checking the forecast before the project at www.noaa.org and search Lyons, CO. Even if the forecast predicts bad weather, please plan on attending. We will try to work in slightly inclement weather (light rain, wind). If we do decide to postpone this project, I will contact Dave as soon as possible.

What To Bring:

What You Should Bring-
Drinking water (2-3 liters)
Small backpack
Snack
Sunscreen
Work gloves (if you have them)
Sturdy shoes/boots
Layers of clothes
Rain gear
Binoculars or camera (optional)

I will bring-
Light snacks
Work gloves
A jug of water
First aid kit
All necessary tools

July 5 musings

I was going to go deep and type up a big ol post regarding the internet, narcissism, annonimity and cowardice. But I decided against it. After all, here it is, the day after our own Independence Day. Our country was founded not on annonimity, but knowing exactly who we are. Not on narcissism, but the need to help others to a better life. Founded not on cowardice but on bravery. Redstone followers, I hope all of these characteristics can be found in you. That is all.

Enjoy your independence as well as your Independence. I'm going riding.

Intense Tracer VP for sale

I have absolutely loved my time with my large Intense Tracer VP but the time has come to part ways. It is an absolutely fantastic bike. In many ways, it's been the holy grail that I've seeked for many years. It climbs like a billy goat on crack and descends like a hot rock on a buttery slope. Without a doubt, this bike has made me a better rider.

Why move on, you ask? I dunno. Time for something different. Got my eyes on a 5 Spot now as I'd like to see how it compares. We shall see.

Give me a call or email (dave@redstonecyclery.com) if you're interested. I'm happy to part with this bike as a frame plus a few parts (frame/shock/headset/Thomson seatpost, XTR front der - $1675), or the whole shebang, XTR build and all ($3100). The frame will have the standard Intense warranty as well.

long way in

This morning, I took the long way to work. I rode down the hill a bit, then hung a righty on Apple Valley Road. Destination Hall Ranch. I had about 45 minutes - just enough time for me to do the "up and over." Up Antelope to the junction, then left to the top, down the rock garden, and back to town. I wasn't feeling too hot but it did not dissapoint. Antelope has some nice erosion on it now. The rock garden always did have erosion but it's even better or worse now, depending on how you look at it. Tougher, for sure.

Sure is green, though...
And the commuter sandals handled Hall alright, too.

Yay commute.

Some Tuesday for Thursday

Here's a few shots from this weeks Tuesday Night Ride in the forest. Good riding, good scenery, smiles, and good beers.




Remember, next week is Trail Work on Picture Rock. We'll be leaving the shop around 5. If you can't make it on time, just ride up - we'll be doing some work right by the silo, just over 2 miles in.

stars and bars baby. Or star and argyle

This Friday is Independence Day, July 4, as well as the first day of the Tour De France. To celebrate, our friends at Pearl Izumi (sponsors of the Garmin/Chipotle team) have come up with this sweet David Zabriske special red white and blue ltd edition jersey. We got a very limited amount in for the 4th. Get some!