Crested Butte

Drove up to Mount Crested Butte first thing in the morning and set off to ride Upper Loop, which was fun. Sue took the easier descent down Whetstone Vista while I did the Upper Upper Trail, which was just some brutal climbs followed by a forgettable descent, Sue's route sounded much better – there you go. We then headed out to do Strand Hill which had been recommended by several people. It started with a fierce climb up a rough jeep track, but it was all doable, I was coping fine with the steady climbs where you just sit and spin, but as soon as things got steep and you needed to put some power into it I was gasping for breath and pushing – that's altitude (at least that's my excuse).

We split again, Sue opting for the easier Strand Hill Bonus Trail, while I did the Strand Hill Standard. It was a hoot. By the time we got back to the RV we'dd been out for about 6 hours and were feeling beat. Created Butte doesn't do RV parks or camp grounds but we found a great dispersed (free) campsite down Cement Creek road and stayed there for a night of thunder storms.