I forced myself out of bed at 6 AM on the official last day of summer and drove down Highway 285 in order to ride from Kenosha Pass to Georgia Pass and back on the Colorado Trail. This 24 mile out and back ride has been touted as one of the best singletrack MTB rides in the Front Range (if you count driving west for an hour part of the front range). Since this weekend also happened to coincide with the peak of the fall foliage along that portion of the trail it was naturally crowded. Even with all the hiking and biking traffic, it was still a phenomenal ride.

The first six miles wind and roll at around 10,000 ft before dropping down to a road and creek crossing. It’s relatively smooth singletrack with the occasional tree roots. There are several openings in the trees on the left with fantastic views towards the South Park Valley and the Ten Mile Range. This portion of the trail is on par with any ride I’ve done in my ten years exploring the trails of Colorado.

The 8 mile climb up to Georgia Pass was quite rocky for about a 2.5 mile stretch but still pretty enjoyable. Having been a slacker for most of the summer when it comes to getting out on the trail, my breath became shorter and my front tire began to wobble a little on the final mile approach up to Georgia Pass, which sits at nearly 12,000 feet. The views west towards Breckenridge and Keystone were slightly obscured by an incoming storm and the wind made it feel downright arctic. Perhaps next summer when I can talk other people into riding with me we can make this ride a shuttle all the way into Breckenridge.

I may have been a little ambitious with this ride as I pretty much an out of gas at mile 21 or 22, even getting off my bike to walk it for a couple hundred yards just to give my quads a break and use some other leg muscles. As tired as I was there’s still nothing like flying through an Aspen grove on windy singletrack as yellow leaves are being blown off the trees by the first chilly wind of the season.

I started this blog with the intention of writing about winter skiing adventures in the mountains of Colorado and elsewhere. But with trails this beautiful and still a few months to go until the lifts start turning, I may have to rename the blog to Colorado Cold Spoke for the time being.