Don’t Do Anything Stupid

Famous last words! As I picked up my new mountain bike Lou – the wise man who runs Pedal Montclair told me “Don’t do anything stupid.”

So I got a new mountain bike in July 2018 – a Santa Cruz 5010 aluminum frame “C build” from Lou at Pedal Montclair in NJ, packed it up and took it to it’s new home in Colorado. There is tons of trail riding around my vacation home in Conifer Colorado. A half hour away is the renowned Buffalo Creek trail system. The closer to home trails at Staunton State Park are fantastic, too. There is probably more trail riding around Conifer than road routes.

So what did I do soon after arriving and assembling the bike?

Something stupid.

Flying J Ranch

I did ride a few easy trails to get a feel for the bike: Flying J Ranch has a nice loop, Meyer Ranch Open Space has some slightly more challenging trails.

 

Then I headed to Staunton State Park and had a super ride.

Looking happy, huh?

Feeling confident, huh?

 

 

 

 

next stop Buffalo Creek…

I did research and found a route that didn’t look too tough – up Mt. Baldy and back down via Charlie’s cut-off. Well, it was more challenging than I was expecting. The climbs were tough for me because of the altitude and weak legs. The downhills were my downfall: 2 crashes and some broken ribs. I was able to ride back out, but it humbled me and I remembered Lou’s advice too late. Here are some shots from a later and easier ride the following year – no broken bones!

The Buffalo Creek trails go through an area which was devastated by a wildfire in 1996. Because of the arid climate regrowth is a very slow process.

interesting distortion of the bike and wheels from the phone camera!

I look happy because this ride was accident free!

My goal for 2020 is to get back out on the trails and regain confidence.

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