Quiet Colorado Trail

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Waking up to a pretty sunrise
With Kenosha ruled out, we opted to head to BV and do some more vapor scouting with the ride. There was fresh snow, biting wind and cold temperatures that morning, so whatever we did, it would have to stay low. No high alpine trails today. That left the Colorado Trail. The second segment of the VT125 is on the CT from Blanks Cabin to the Narrow Gauge trail. We'd ridden part of that the last time we were out there, so now was the chance to ride the rest of it. We parked at Raspberry Gulch and quickly got organized to ride. The wind has just died down and it was surprisingly comfortable in the trees.

On the CT - Fall is in the air and the Aspens!

Another shot of the CT and the aspens
Ugh - this hill is steep and you're making me ride it!
We headed south on the CT and it was quickly evident that I was tired. Very tired. I was sluggish on the gradual climbs and struggling on the steep and rocky sections. And it seemed like we did nothing but climbing for the first hour. Everything from gradual false flats to straight up and filled with rocks. I had to dig deep and focus on my pedaling to make it through some of it. It didn't help that the trail had been chewed up by horses - normally tight and smooth single track was more like a sandbox, with hoof sized divots further messing things up. It's hard to ride or hike with trail conditions like that. Once we got past the main horse trails, the conditions improved. My spunk did not, however. I was still struggling and not able to accelerate after cresting the hills. It wasn't until we turned around at Blanks Cabin that I started feeling better. I think it helped that we were mostly going downhill back to the van! I rode more of the steep rocky sections then I thought I would and used all of the suspension on my Stumpjumper. 

And I thought the other hill was steep! Ouch!

What goes up....
Must come down! Made it!
But the scenery was enough to take my mind off the fatigue. It was a perfect day for a ride, albeit a slow one by our standards. Nick had plenty of time to stop and take pictures for me - even if he threatened to make a few of them of me walking. We didn't get the full time I was supposed to ride, but when we got back to the van I was done. I didn't feel like riding anymore. Besides, we'd accomplished what we needed to - some more info for the VT125 and had a good hard ride. And it was quiet. No one else on the trails except for us - such a pleasant change from the limited and very busy trails at home. After the ride, we did some more exploring, then settled on a campsite near the Arkansas River. We took a short hike down the river to one of the rapids and generally relaxed. Something we don't get to do that frequently!


Can't beat that for a view anywhere - Looking south off the CT

Sidel's Sinkhole - looks more impressive at river level


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