Today was the Monarch Crest Trail. 35 miles of riding, 3,500 ft of climbing with most of the climbing above 11,000ft and
almost 7,000ft of descending! It's a really gorgeous ride with some phenominal views and even a little East-Coast style riding. One of these days I'll tally my observations between Colorado and Virginia riding but for now I'll just say it was nice to ride in the trees a little bit and railing corners. I was quite surprised that a good bit of the ride was actually shaded. It didn't feel like hot, exposed CO riding until the very end.
If you are thinking about doing this ride I have a few thoughts.
- It's awesome, do it.
- It's quite fun with a group.
- Even though there's 3,500ft of climbing it's all very mellow. Nothing too steep until you reach the last 10 miles where there's some short gut busters.
- Get on the trail early to beat the heat and afternoon thunderstorms.
- A shuttle is necessary, plan accordingly.
- A map is a good idea. Absolute Bikes in Salida has an excellent map.
My recap from a non-trail perspective
- The King hub performed flawlessly, even missing a ball in one of the bearings
- I overpacked.
- I do not like Ergon grips at all. My hands were both numb and in pain at the bottom of a 5 mile descent.
Oh, if you've gotten this far and you are wondering what the hell the title is about. This song was playing when I went into the restroom before the ride.
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