Our roving reporter Tim Wild heads across the Atlantic Ocean and tries to cram an entire state into a week’s riding on a Colorado road trip to die for. And fails.
Size is important. The bigger the mountain, and the more mountains there are, the more fun you can have. Colorado scores pretty high on both counts.
In a week, my photographer Birdie and I rode in Fruita, Grand Junction, Palisade, Salida, Durango and Delores, on everything we could find – skatepark-smooth whoops, ice-crusted loam, downtown jump parks, spine-chilling exposure and more.
Words by Tim Wild, photos by Kelli Abel.
Better get comfy
You absolutely need a vehicle. We have wisely procured a bright red RAM 1500 Rebel X, which I think is cool, and Birdie thinks makes me look like I enjoy dogfighting, but screw her – it can fit 5 bikes, it’s got a display screen bigger than my telly and she can hitchhike if she doesn’t like it. We’re going to cover 700 miles in less than a week with 4 bikes, and I want to do it as fast and comfortably as possible.
Passion Fruita
Fruita is tiny – just 13,000 people, one main street, a couple of cafes… But there are three world-class trail systems minutes from town – 18 Road, Lunch Loops and Kokopell – and the brand-new trails at 18 Road are the first stop. It’s breathtakingly beautiful – just riders, a dirt road to the trailhead, and layer upon layer of tempting hills. We start on PBR, named for blue-collar beer Pabst Blue Ribbon, and it’s just a joy.
These trails are the perfect intro to desert riding – hard-packed dirt on sparse, treeless rock spines that rise and fall like sound waves. It’s mellow enough to excite a novice and fast enough to get a seasoned pro’s heart pounding too. After a couple of fast laps, we move on to Zippity Doo-Dah. This is the spine ride you’ve been dreaming of – one singletrack wide, with steep rock falling away either side, and dust clouds rising from your rear wheel.
We reluctantly let the fading light call time, and head into town for excellent pizza at Hot Tomato and cold drinks at Copper Club.
The Palisade Plunge
This trail is divisive. It’s 32 miles long and all its hardest features are in the last four miles. A rider died of heat exhaustion here a couple of years ago, and rescue teams often help riders who struggle to hit its lower features when they’re hungry, tired and dehydrated. Buyer beware.
I ride like I’m self-employed. So Birdie and I take heed from our local hosts Scott and Jeff, and opt for the version that does just 17 miles.
It starts on a mild, flowing singletrack through yellowing aspens, with the open canyon visible through the trees. We’re nearly 10,000 ft up, and the Grand Valley floor spreads tantalisingly out below us, with stream crossings, rock gardens and plenty of lumps to keep your eyes on the trail.
The lower we plunge, the more serious it gets. The exposure requires every bit of concentration you have, lest your grip on the narrow singletrack slips and you plunge hundreds of feet into the canyon. I love this tightrope feeling, but it’s not for everyone.
There are off-camber traverses, steep rolls, slickrock undulations and exposed switchbacks – all with a stunning but sobering backdrop of exposure. The jokes get fewer, the chatter subsides and everyone focuses on not dying. The last mile is the most technical – steep rolls, janky rock gardens descents and jagged ledges abound. It’s a relief to get to the end, not least because we have to rescue some poor bastard who tried to do the whole 32 mile in trainers on a rented hardtail with just two bottles of water. Please ride responsibly.
Lunch Loops
Back in nearby Grand Junction, we’ve got just enough time for a quick Lunch Loops session.
The climbs are steep, stepped and rocky – you need every tooth in that big cog and plenty of balance – but it gets you some memorable rewards. The trail slithers in and out of rock chutes, over huge boulders, and across dusty desert traverses. The sheer amount of features is overwhelming.
Rocks hops. Sudden drops. Step-ups and bracing hucks. We only have time to do a short loop that includes Lemon Squeezer and Holy Cross, but what a ride. After way too long messing about in the sun, we finally acknowledge that time waits for no-one, and reluctantly say goodbye.
Monarch’s Crest
The motel clerk claims it’s the inspiration for The Shining. I’m a skeptical man, but if this place isn’t a haunted building, it’ll do until one arrives. Sleep tight everyone…
Crisp morning sun dispels the gloom, and we’re soon chowing down on eggs, biscuits and home fries in preparation for a big day. We’re joined by Paige Turner, a pro mechanic for Giant and Liv XC racers, a formidable rider in her own right, and contender for The Nicest Person in MTB. And thank God she’s here, because we’re planning on a little-used descent off the top, and the altitude inhibits my already piss-poor navigation skills.
We’re on Monarch’s Crest, a legendary trail in the Western Rockies above Salida. It’s epic – swathes of spruce and pine, a dusting of frost at the trailside, and peak after peak disappearing into the distance. The full trail is a 56 km epic that descends over 2000m but we don’t have the time. Instead, we opt for Starvation Creek, a descent that takes us back to Paige’s car so we can give her time to get back to work.
This is pure, unadulterated singletrack heaven. It’s not super-techy, but if you don’t like this kind of smooth forest plummet, we can’t be friends. I’ve never ridden so fast, for so long, in my life. Every twist and turn, every jib and root, every rise and fall just urges more speed, and 45 km disappears in minutes. We rendezvous with the vehicles, get Paige on the road, then wander into sleepy hipster Salida for affogatos, vintage clothes and enough Thai food to sink a battleship.
Durango
You might have heard of this place. It’s been part of the US MTB firmament for a long time – great bike shops, home to a lot of riders, generally the kind of town where a visiting Brit with a bike might be made to feel welcome. As if to prove the point, a friend of a friend has hooked us up with Jarod, a local shredder, filmmaker and owner of clothing brand MTB Jibs – so we head straight to Horse Gulch trails without delay.
If this was in your town, you’d probably get a tattoo done. Horse Gulch is a beautifully-built network of progressive jump lines from Blue to Black, all easily accessed in less than ten minutes’ climb from town, with stunning views of the surrounding mountains.
I’d love to say my jumping skills were on par with Jarod’s, but I’d be lying. He gamely rides jump after jump, trying to stay positive about my efforts and downplay his own, but there’s no getting around it – he’s a beast. Tailwhips here, lands to manual there… But even for a timid jumper like me, this place is pretty special. You could session this all day without ever getting a wheel off the ground and have a whale of a time – the trail speed is perfect, the berms smooth and wide, and there’s so many different ways down it’s hard to do the same run twice. After one final attempt to make me look cool jibbing off a rock, we call it a day and head to local punk bar Anarchy Brewing for three chords, a lot of shouting and some seriously delicious ales.
Last leg
We should really stop riding. We’re knackered, sore, and I have an 8 hour drive to Nevada. But Birdie’s house is a few minutes drive away from Phil’s World, a legendary local trail, and I can’t resist.
This isn’t the biggest or most epic trail in CO by a long shot. Not that steep, not that technical, not that long. But it is very, very fun. In contrast to the rocky, steep and technical riding we’ve been doing, this one feels like a trail in a computer game. It’s as smooth as butter, with roller coaster ups and down all the way – plunge into g-outs one second, before flying up and over the lips into smooth landings the next. And it’s sessionable – we do it over and over all morning, getting faster and happier at every turn.
Pick your battle
If you’re going to leave the UK with your bike, cross the Atlantic and have the MTB trip of a lifetime, it can be hard to choose where. There’s Moab, of course, and BC. There’s Sedona in Arizona. Or the steep wooded wonders of Bellingham in Washington State. But Colorado might have more variety, more volume, and more proximity of trails than any other state in the US. You can fly to Denver directly. Hire a cheap truck off Turo. Stay in motels and AirBnBs. And have the USA road adventure of your dreams. Think it over.
