October 1, 2013
We headed up to Monument to try out the Mount Herman trail and see Monument Rock. The first part of the trail was single track and really fun through the trees. This trail paralleled Mount Herman road. Since this was the first time we had both been up to this area we weren't quite sure how to get to Monument Rock. We somehow ended up on Monument Road and headed that way for quite some time before deciding to turn around after climbing uphill. The downhill ride was super fun. On the way down we headed east onto a trail we found and wound our way around on another really cool single track trail. We ran into another biker, asked directions, and headed towards our destination of Monument Rock. We eventually made it there, ate our sandwiches and our special treat, and then found our way back to the original single track trail we had originally started on. We ended up biking 6.24 miles. I was so happy I had tracked our course on my Garmin.
Cheyenne Mountain State Park
October 8, 2013
We loved our first adventure at this state park. The trails were so well marked. We decided to try the purple Blackmer Loop even though there were signs warning riders about the occasional crossing over creeks and such. There were only a few parts that we had to carry our bikes across. The rest of the trail was awesome. The first half was mostly uphill so we got warmed up pretty fast. Once we got up to the split where the yellow Boulder Loop was we decided to see where that trail led. We didn't get too far before realizing we were on a trail that didn't go anywhere special. We headed back on the Blackmer loop and stopped up at the top to eat a snack and rest from all the uphill climbing. The view down into the valley was beautiful. The second half of the this trail was AWESOME!! It was so fun to go down but also to maneuver between the rocks and trees. I especially loved the south side of the loop with all the awesome downhill switch backs. This loop wasn't especially long (3.5 miles) but it was challenging with all the elevation changes.
Rampart Reservoir
October 10, 2013
Today Mike and I headed up to Rampart Reservoir to go mountain biking together. We just couldn't get over how beautiful it was today with the many aspen trees and their yellow leaves. It was a fall paradise. It was pretty crisp when we first started but we ended up warming up about 5 miles into the course. We had planned on riding the loop counter clockwise to the dam and then turning around and coming back the same way but decided to do the entire 14 mile loop. The second half of the ride after the dam was the hardest but most exciting part of the ride. We rode around all sorts of inlets with some great sections of ups and downs. This trail was not for the faint of heart. Being above 9000ft and riding on some pretty technical sections was enough to keep the heart racing. We really lucked out with the weather. It was sunny for most of our ride and didn't start to turn nasty until we were almost done. I can't wait to go back and do this ride again.
Here are some details about this course:
14.2 Miles
90% Singletrack
1,034’ Ascent
-1,027’ Descent
9,000’ Low
9,266’ High
Ute Valley Park
October 22, 2013
Today we rode some trails in Ute Valley Park. We didn't quite make it all the way around like we had intended and got lost going along side a creek bed that we thought would come out onto a trail. No such luck. We ended up carrying our bikes up the creek bed farther than we would have liked. The upside was that when we finally did emerge onto a trail we had the most beautiful view of the creek from the top. We sat on the big boulders overlooking what we had just climbed and ate our lunch.
Cheyenne Mountain State Park with Mike
October 31, 2013
I met Mike at lunchtime and we rode the Blackmer loop that I had ridden with Priscilla earlier in the month. Since Cheyenne Mountain State Park is right across from Ft. Carson it was really easy for Mike to pop on over. The trail was still as cool as I had remembered it. So glad I got to enjoy it with Mike.
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