New! Fall & Winter Tips for Cyclists: How to Stay on The Bike!
CYCLING, whether it be mountain biking, road biking, cruising on your townie or fixed gear, your comfort bike, or trike bike, is a fantastic way to slow down the world a bit and take in the incredible views of the Arkansas Valley and Colorado Rocky Mountains. There are trails throughout the valley for all levels of riders. We’ve included a short list of our favorite trails below.
Our full-service Trailhead Cycle & Ski Shop, with SRAM certified and Barnett Bicycle Institute trained mechanics, can surpass your needs for repairs, bike rentals, questions on biking in the area, current trail conditions, and tips for being a better rider.
Arkansas Valley Mountain Biking
In case you’re someone like me, who always brings along a map and sometimes a guidebook, you’ll be interested in a couple books written by Arkansas Valley locals. “Arkansas Valley Mountain Biking: Leadville to Salida (Including South Park)” is written by Mark Wolff, one of our former bike mechanics at The Trailhead. This book has been updated and will be available soon!
“From Leadville to Salida to Fairplay, here are 58 mountain bike routes in Colorado’s Arkansas Valley and South Park. With rides ranging from effortless rambles along quiet, scenic roads to hair-raising single-track, there‘s something for everyone.
Local's Guide to Singletrack & Tarmac
The second local authored book is “The Local’s Adventure Guide to Singletrack & Tarmac” written by Nathan Ward from Salida, CO. A full-length mountain bike and road bike trail guide to the Upper Arkansas Valley. Features rides in Salida, Buena Vista, Leadville, St. Elmo and Twin Lakes, also including six options for the famous Monarch Crest Trail.
The Trailhead has a great assortment of Trek & Litespeed Bicycles, both mountain bike and road, helmets, pumps, tubes & tires, gloves, baskets, mirrors, lights, and more. Stop on in to see us when you’re ready for your cycling adventure in the Buena Vista area and check out our website for more information.
Fourmile
Midland Bike Trail: This trail spans from Trout Creek Pass down to the the River Park in downtown Buena Vista for a one way length of 18.8 miles. A shuttle is highly recommended dropping you off at the trailhead on CR 311 off of HWY 285, where there is a parking area approximately 0.2 miles on the left. This is a mixed single track and dirt road trail crossing Chubb Park State Wildlife Management Area and other seasonal closure gates, so be sure to stay on the designated trails. Generally this is considered an “easy” ride with few technical areas, easily walkable, and being in the mountains there is both elevation gain and loss. This trail gives you beautiful views of the Sawatch Mountains, the heart of the Arkansas Valley. Visit us in Buena Vista and pick up USGS Quadrangles: Antero Reservoir, Marmot Peak, Buena Vista East. Also you can print a copy of a non-topographic map of this area provided by the Friends of Fourmile here.
Other trails from or near the Midland Bike Trail include: Midland Railroad Grade, Gentleman’s Loop, Lenhardy Cutoff, Shields Gulch Loop. In additon to the Friends of Fourmile’s map, for a topographic map of this general area I recommend the National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map #129: Buena Vista, Collegiate Peaks, note that parts of the Midland Trail are not shown.
Monarch Crest Trail
Monarch Crest Trail: Mark considers this to be one of the best trails in the Arkansas Valley, besides being “critically acclaimed as one of the finest trails in all of Colorado” and also “regarded as one of the best trails in the United States.” This ride spans along the Continental Divide Trail between Monarch Pass and Marshall Pass for an out-and-back ride of 20.8 miles. In addition to the out-and-back option there are also several descent routes for one-way rides and spur trails ranging from moderate to difficult. A shuttle is recommended for this ride. Riding at such a high altitude can make even the best riders seem a little challenged therefore this ride is considered to be a moderate level with some technical spots. Visit us in Buena Vista and pick up USGS Quadrangles: Pahlone Peak & Mount Ouray or and National Geographic Trails Illustrated Maps #130 and #139 for specific route info.
Raspberry Gulch Trail
Raspberry Gulch Loop: A great introduction to single track on a 4.5 mile loop in Nathrop near Mt. Princeton and the Chalk Cliff area. A portion of this trail is along the Colorado Trail where there is impeccable scenery with no serious climbs or steep descents. This is considered an “easy” ride with few semi-technical spots regarding sand and rocks. For further information call us, The Trailhead, at 719.395.8001, pick up one of the guidebooks and the National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map #130: Salida, St. Elmo, Mount Shavano off our website.
*Biking photographs provided by Mark Wolff.
The Buena Vista area is starting to get its props when it comes to road cycling and mountain biking in the Upper Arkansas Valley. The Four Mile area alone provides many miles of single track and double track mountain biking. The Midland Trail is the best known but it offers access from downtown Buena Vista to a much wider array of mountain biking. Newer trails like the Broken Boyfriend trail, the 6034 trail in the Spaghetti Western area, and the reconditioned Davis Meadow trail (you may have heard it referred to as the Davis Face trail because Davis Meadow is atop Davis Face – our local big wall climbing area), in addition to the Midland Trail, offer intermediate to advanced mountain biking challenges. The Four Mile area’s many miles of double track jeep and ATV trails offer beginning mountain bikers (and those just arrived at Buena Vista’s 8,000 foot elevation) a mountain biking experience unequaled in many parts of the country – so even if you aren’t an expert mountain biker, you can make mountain biking part of your Colorado outdoors adventure vacation in beautiful, affordable Buena Vista.
We’ll keep talking about mountain biking and road cycling in the Buena Vista and Collegiate Peaks region as the season progresses. Please visit here and TheTrailheadCO.com to current, and sign up for our monthly email bulletins.
One of the great things about living in Buena Vista is the ability to commute and run all your errands by bicycle. With all the great mountain biking and road cycling around Buena Vista and throughout the Arkansas Valley, some people lose sight of the fact that BV is just a great place to ride. Bicycle commuting, running your errands, going to church, the library – one of the many great things about living in Buena Vista!
BTW, we’ve ridden all winter long for the past two winters. All it takes is the right equipment and clothing (most of the clothes we wear to and from The Trailhead aren’t highly specialized – after all, we need to work in them). We have Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded snow tires, Princeton Tec Switchback 3 headlamps and Swerve taillights on our bicycles and helmet mounted EOS Bike lights. We have Pearl Izumi show covers and gloves, neoprene face masks, reflective cuff straps, and the normal array of beanies one collects in the outdoor and cycling industries. Other than that, we don’t have any really special equipment for winter bicycle commuting. We often wore regular Patagonia, The North Face, or Mountain Hardwear jackets. With the “invisible hill” – the wind – we often have in Buena Vista acting as a training aid, we’re in much better shape to begin spring road riding and mountain biking. And yes, we’ll keep going by bike all summer long!
Bicycle Commuting can be fun, and it’s actually easy. Once you start reaping the fitness benefits and spending less on fuel, oil changes, and even insurance, you’ll wonder why you ever made short trips in your car or truck. If your commute is kind of long, check into public transit. You can transport your bicycle on train or bus in many transit systems.
I recommend carrying a small repair kit of a pump, tire levers, a spare tube or two, a patch kit, and a versatile multi-tool. My kit lives in its own little pouch that I can take with me when away from my bicycle when out on errands.
Depending on your setting and the kind of payloads you carry, you may opt for various basket or rack and pannier (bag) combinations, a backpack or messenger bag, or even a small cargo trailer.
We’ll talk about al these in more detail as time goes on. We are committed bicycle commuters here at The Trailhead and Trailhead Cycle & Ski, so we’ll get to them all. Buena Vista is a town made for bicycle commuting, so we do it to some degree every day.
One of the latest arrivals at Trailhead Cycle & Ski is Trek’s 69er 3×9. I was so impressed with this bike’s performance and feel on Trek’s mountain bike test track during Trek World last year I just had to bring one to Buena Vista.
What’s a 69er?
Well, just about everyone has heard of a 29er, but a 69er is for those truly in the know. A 69er is for the rider who wants the benefits of a 29-inch wheel size – great angle of attack, good rolling momentum, confidence-building beefry feel – but still retain the tried and true attributes of a 26-inch wheel – quick spool-up, shorter wheelbase, agility and flickability.
Summarizng the ride of a 69er is easy – the confidence of a trail bike with the speed and maneuverability of a race bike. It’s a party in the front but all business in the back.
Many types of riders can fall in love with a 69er’s “reverse mullet” technology – big in the front, small in the rear. Racers, trail bike riders, weekend warriors, endurance athletes, and general mountain biking enthusiasts should find true trail nirvana astride a Trek 69er.
The one we have is a geared 3×9 – three chain rings in the front and a nine speed cassette in the back, like a conventional geared MTB. The 69er also comes in a single speed version. Trailhead Cycle & Ski will have a Trek 69er SS in the near future.
The trails of Buena Vista and the Collegiate Peaks region will rise up to meet the Trek 69er!
The BV Cruiser Club had a great and fun ride this evening around our happy little mountain burg. We cruised through and around the neighborhoods on the west side of Collegiate Peaks Boulevard (a.k.a. Hwy 24), then crossed over onto the newly-refurbished East Main Street to enjoy the smooth surface and beautiful improvements. Then we cruised on to the South Main neighborhood via Marquette Ave and Arizona St. After some bocce on the square, and a pint in the new Eddyline Brewpub for a few of our intrepid riders, it was back to McPhelemy Park via the fantastic new East Main Street roadway and streetscape for some food and fun.
Thanks to all who came out and for those who couldn’t or didn’t, please try to come next time. The more the merrier! Find the BV Cruiser Club on Facebook for the easiest way to stay abreast of events.
“Share The Road” signs with a bicycle icon underneath are going up on US Highways 24 and 285 in Chaffee County. A big “THANK YOU!” to CDOT Region 5 personnel for making this happen – and so quickly!