Sue's birthday hike

That was a cold night, the ground was frosted and Sue was cold – happy 40^th :)

We took the free bus to Wildernest and hiked forever up to Eccles Pass (it took about 2 ½ hours actually, but we nearly turned back, convinced we were still miles from the pass, but just in time we realized that the top was within reach, so we could complete our linear walk back to Frisco. At over 12000', above the tree line the scenery was (literally) breathtaking.

Stayed at the most expensive RV park ever (Tiger RV resort near Breckenridge) because we needed to winterize the RV before more freezing temperatures. Felt totally ripped off until we discovered there was a pool and a hottub on site. Except they were both closed for maintenance and the WiFi wasn't working so we felt bitter and ripped-off again Ho hum.

Frisco, Monday 17th - another almost rest day

It rained hard during the night and was raining it's arse off in the morning. No riding today, so we went shopping instead, we deserved it after all. It brightened up by lunchtime so I went for a run and Sue went for a walk. I bumped into her shortly after setting off by which time she'd already acquired a dog, a long haired black retriever. I offered to take the dog off her hands and he gladly followed me, outpacing me all the way even with a few swims thrown in for good measure. I decided to name him “Boy” and he seemed happy with that. All good fun, but I couldn't take him back to the RV so I headed into town intending to find a friendly Police station or something, but before that happened Boy had wandered into a Coffee Shop, behind the counter and into the kitchen. The owner didn't seem fazed and said she'd call Animal Control to get him collected.

We parked up just out of Frisco at the end of the peninsula trail and spent the night there.

Monarch Crest Trail

Monarch Crest had been billed as The Best Ride in Colorado by more than one person, so it was something that had to be done. Starting from Monarch pass you have a steady climb for about 5 miles up to 12000', before descending to Marshall Pass and a bit of climbing and contouring, followed by an almighty descent to Silver Creek. It didn't disappoint. On the shuttle with me was a group of 7 women from the Winter park area, a couple of guys and one old geezer. I kind of rode out with people for the first few miles, but after 5 miles or so at the shelter (Green Creek?) I decided to head on to Marshall Pass to get to the toilet first. I stopped to pee on the way, stopped again to check the map, slowed down when startled some deer, did the business at Marshall Pass, ate a banana and wondered when my colleagues were going to show up. I soon got bored of waiting for strangers and decided to press on. Wished I'd packed my iPod.

The descent to Silver Creek was of the yahoo variety – fast as you like and not too technical. Lower down it got a bit bouldery, then a bit loose, then there was the loose boulder section, then the drop, then the sketchtastic super loose stuff and before you could say “actaully my arms are starting to hurt a bit” I was at the bottom. Well, not exactly the bottom – there was still another 10 miles of undulating singletrack to enjoy. I got passed by a couple from Crested Butte about 3 miles from the end who had passed my shuttle bus friends much earlier, before Marshall Pass, not moving – I was glad I hadn't waited ;)

The Rainbow Trail singletrack spat me out on route 285(?) - 5 miles of downhill back to Poncha Springs. I assumed an aero-tuck and averaged 33mph back to the RV.

We then hit Walmart which was when the storm hit – it rained hard, making me really glad that I wasn't still on the mountain. With the food cupboard restocked we headed north to our next appointment – Mount Princetown hot springs. The only way to recover from riding Monarch Crest – OFFICIAL.

Then we drove north through South Park and Breckenridge and parked up in a car park off Tiger Road ready to hit the trails in the morning.

Rest day (almost) Saturday 15th

Overslept and felt too tired to ride Dead Man's Gulch as I'd planned so just did a short ride up Walrod's Trail instead, which was short and sweet with some lovely switchbacks on the way down. The whole ride took less than an hour. Sue decided to walk the same route so I had time to kill when I got back, so I took the bikes down to the creek to give them a clean.

We said goodbye to Crested Butte around lunchtime and set the controls for Poncha Springs near Salida. I booked myself a place on the next mornings shuttle bus to Monarch Pass and we stayed the night at the Heart of The Rockies RV resort, which was acceptable.

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.

Sea Kayaks, but no sea.

Sea kayaking on blue Mesa reservoir. It was calm as a millpond for the first 3 hours but when the wind picked up it created a bit of a swell to spice things up. The kayaks a had rudders, which I'd never used before – essentially you control the rudder with your feet and steering becomes trivial. That said, I'm not a fan of them for these reasons:

1. they work great in calm water, less well in a swell because the rudder ends up out of the water too much, where it is useless.

2. The paddling technique I'd been taught involves starting the stroke in your legs, so you push against the foot rests and develop a kind of peddling action. This isn't possible when your footplates control the rudder because as soon as you push against them you change direction. Thus, you're forced to use a paddling style that i think is weaker and less efficient.

3. It makes things dull, there's no technique to learn/practise/use/master.

4. If your rudder breaks you're stuffed because you haven't learnt 'proper' technique.

So there it is, just say 'no way!' to rudders.

We headed up to Crested Butte after that and did an early evening ride up upper lower loop and back on lower loop and woods walk trail to finish up in town for beer and pizza at the Brick Oven. Had 2 lovely pints of New Belgium Mothership Wheat Beer and rode back up the track o the RV by the light of a headtorch, talking loudly to scare off the mountain lions that had been recently spotted in the area. It seems that Mountain Lions are wary of people who talk too loud – sensible creatures.

Hartman Rocks - Gunnison

Lazy start to the day, helped by the chill morning temperature, so it was about 11ish when we started riding at hartman rocks. Let me confirm, hartman most definitely rocks (sorry!). It would have been even better if we'd had any idea where we were going – me and Sue split up to do our own thing, she had the map, I had the guidebook, neither of us could work out where we were, nor could we determine where we'd been after studying the even more bewildering map at the trailhead. Nevertheless, we both found some peachy trails. There was sweet sandy singletrack, technical rock steps, slabs, sand, everything you need for choice desert riding. Recomended.

Had a BBQ featuring a ridiculously large steak.