So just returned from a week of riding single track in Colorado on my KTM500 XC-W. Ran lots of video this year, so I thought I'd try a 'mostly' video ride report. I have to work for a living, so the video will be un-edited. But most is single track, and should give you a good idea of what the trails are like in Colorado. Rode 2 1/2 days in Taylor Park, and 2 1/2 days in Sargents. Covered close to 550 miles in the 5 days of riding. Used many gravel rode connectors to the trails, which were not filmed. I'll get videos loaded and the posts updated over the next couple of weeks. I'll try to Answer questions along the way if you have them. My companions were ProDirtDale, Fredo, and KTM Mikey. For background, I'm a 54 year old rider with over 40 years of dirt/street riding experience. I'm not particularly fast, would rather finish the ride in one piece. (see next sentence) I broke two ribs 6 weeks before the start of this ride, so I wore a kidney belt up on my ribs all week like a bra. it worked! We started the ride with 5 bikes, ending with 6, more on that later. We rode from 8000 ft up to 13,000 ft elevation, thru light rain and even hail. We ate like kings, and drank like fishes. The riots were happening back in The Lou, we never turned on a TV. What a sweet week it was indeed! The trip started with us leaving Warrenton Mo about 7pm Saturday night. We drove all night, stopped for breakfast and groceries, and arrived in Taylor Park about 1pm Sunday. We went out for a short 25 mile test and tune ride to Tincup and returned on Timberline trail. No video that day. On Monday, we hit the trail about 9 am. First up was the switchbacks up the Gunnison Spur, eventually heading towards Lily Pond. http://youtu.be/XM_1h1W1qYw?list=UUjwqzORPQ5XoVjwVNy1Kc4Q Then a quick video past Lily Pond http://youtu.be/4NGQl5wlNpI?list=UUjwqzORPQ5XoVjwVNy1Kc4Q Then onto the great single track of Lily Pond Trail http://youtu.be/X2oIeq4niR4?list=UUjwqzORPQ5XoVjwVNy1Kc4Q and the 2nd half http://youtu.be/NGAn6QUwP60?list=UUjwqzORPQ5XoVjwVNy1Kc4Q Next up, climbing the trail to Mt. Tilton
I'm in Bill. Nice videos! Looks like the single track has fewer rocks than Tin Cup (on the Tin Cup side) we just rode that a few weeks ago. We came down it, where you guys went up. Those rocky sections would be a challenge going up. (For me anyway ) How'd you break your ribs? Keep it coming.
A tree jumped out in front of my 500 riding single track in MO. Luckily I was wearing my chest protector at the time, hate to think what could have happeed had I not been:eek1 Thanks the best is yet to come, with the very challenging Star trail and scenic Continental Divide and Crest trails.
Hope you guys took the small trail to the very top of Star. Can be challenging but worth it for the 360 degree view of the surroundings.
We had met some Colorado 500 groups on Lily pond, so knew there were lots of riders in the area. As we came to the next junction where we would start a long 4-5 mile climb towards Tilton, we met a single rider waiting. He said he was a 'rookie' that was at the front of a large CO 500 group, with the rest still hug up getting down the trail we planned to go up. Seemed odd, as rookies don't lead CO 500 groups, and, how did he get down, and the 'vets' hung up? http://youtu.be/9DOmqFVK7XQ So we stopped and snacked, and waited for 20 min or more, and still nobody came down. Just so you know, this is a pretty technical off camber climbing section, and trying to squeeze by one rider is hard enough, much less a group. After a few more minutes of waiting, another group of 6-7 came up from the same way we had come, wanting to go up the same trail. They had a couple women with them, which is unusual to see out on the trail BTW. They also stopped and waited. After more waiting, we decided to take a different trail up, off to the left rather than right. This takes you to a different side of Tilton, and is very steep but doable. Much easier when not raining, as it was last time I rode it a couple of years ago. http://youtu.be/P0iCKfYSSBw That's all the video I had from Day 1, we rode over to Crested Butte and got gas and ice cream, and took a Cement Creek route back. Tomorrow is Star trail and 360 degree views from Flag Mountain
We got a late start getting on the infamous Star Trail, do to a loose cap on one of the bikes forks, which caused us a trip back to the cabin to fix. This turned out to be somewhat of an omen for the rest of the trip for one of the bikes, as the last 6 months dialing in the suspension was now back to square one. We spent the next 5 days dialing in suspension on 3-4 different bikes, as KTM Mikey is an outstanding mechanic and rider who can jump on any bike, ride it briefly, and make suspension recommendations. He rode mine, which I considered in a 'no touch zone' because it worked for me, for 5 minutes while we were on The Rainbow Trail, and recommended backing off rear rebound by 2 click, and adding 2 clicks of compression on the forks. I did the changes , and it was spot on and made the ride even better for me. Thanks Mikey!! BTW Mikey is the youngster in our gang by almost 30 years. he is the fastest rider and by far the most accomplished mechanic amongst us. On to Star . . . as usual the GoPro does not do justice to the elevation change and steepness of some of these trails. But do know that Star Trail has a reputation for good reason, and will give you arm pump and gasping for breath before you know it. http://youtu.be/kDT4pC29pl4 It start off relatively easy, but before you know it, it gets nasty. By the time you get to the end of this clip, you are gasping for air! http://youtu.be/RMfqVT6ths8 The climb goes on and on . . . http://youtu.be/jud0FNgZiIc You have now climbed for about an hour, not including break time. It is time for the payoff at the end, Flag Mountain. I'll try to add some pics from prior years, took very few this year, all video. http://youtu.be/aXHkhRWZhyQ
CamelBill thanks for posting the uncut videos. I can't believe how good the trails still look. I lived in the Aspen area from 95-04. Back then 2 strokes where the weapons of choice, light and plenty of power for the 2nd and 3rd gear trails. Glad to see you guys didn't run into the afternoon rains that are common during the summer. Those roots and climbs get nasty after they've been rained on. I still have my trusty YZ 250 revalved and sprung for the rock gardens and log hopping fun.
I saw the whole thing when that tree jumped out in front of Bill! Was right behind and almost got me but I dodged it while it threw branches at me! Looking forward to watching all the Videos Bill a few of us head that way in 2 weeks! Did you hear Hell Froze and Paul bought a 690? So did John must be contagious!
Yes the trails have help up amazingly well. I've seen some deterioration in the 10 years I have been riding them, but not bad considering. The US Forest Service spends some quite a bit of time out there, and makes a difference. We see them out there working every year. Thanks guys! Glad you ae enjoying the vids. It was a fast tree, I always thought they got slower as they got older Looking forward to riding with the new 690's. You guys enjoy CO!
Thanks for nice comments guys, it is beautiful out there. Some pictures from the top of Flag <a href="http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/grossbh/media/DSCN2597.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/g/grossbh_DSCN2597.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSCN2597.jpg"/></a> <a href="http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/grossbh/media/DSCN2600.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/g/grossbh_DSCN2600.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSCN2600.jpg"/></a> <a href="http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/grossbh/media/DSCN2596.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/g/grossbh_DSCN2596.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSCN2596.jpg"/></a> and a short 360 degree video Lots more to come, including the Rainbow Trail over near Sargents
Didn't we run into you in Salida at the gas station? My bro and I were riding two 950 Adventures one orange, one black.
CamelBill, Fantastic videos! I'm planning on taking my son to Colorado next summer to hit some of these trails. Last July, I rode my R1200GS ADV up and down Rollins Pass outside of Winter Park, had so much fun that this June I bought a 350 XCF-W. There is a clicking noise in your audio, which could be the result of not having the "white rubber thingy" GoPro attachment pushed into the helmet mount? Not complaining, mind you - the clips were JUST the type that I love to watch! Keep em coming! Regards, Bill
Thanks for the tip! I have always been mildly annoyed by the clicking, but never new the cause or fix. So I'll try the little white thingy next time, I've never tried to use it. I promised the story of how we ended up with 6 bikes for 4 riders, so here goes. Bike #5 is a spare we bring along. No sense in ruining a week's vacation due to crash or catastrophic break-down. Came in handy two years ago when Mikey's radiator met a big rock pile up close and personal Wednesday was our move day from Taylor Park to Sargents. We mostly packed up Tuesday night, for a quick get-away Wednesday morning. After a quick breakfast at The W in Gunnison, supply replenishment at Wally World and City Market, we moseyed over to the KTM dealer. Looked around there awhile, and most of the group headed a couple doors down to Gunnison Motorsports. A was buying some nice Klim socks, feeling slightly guilty for paying the high price, but it is quality gear. As I walked down the street, All three of the guys were googling over a bike, a very nice bike. It was a 2011 Husaberg FE570, tricked out and set up to the max, including the big under seat tank, steering dampener, massaged suspension, the works. Low miles and hours, not a scratch on the wheels. Looks like it had never been off-road. And this is the cool model with the laid down horizontal engine. This was KTM's proving ground during the years they owned Husaberg, and most of the parts and part numbers are KTM. Mikey was putting the hard sell on Fredo, who had the oldest bike of the group, an '04 ringdinger 300. Plus Fredo is a 'Burg fan, still has a '97 Hindenburg 501 back in the garage at home. Fred was warming to the idea of a modern four stroke, could even be used for some dual-sport. (We are not getting any younger, ya know) What was the price? Time to find out:eek1:eek1:eek1 Turns out it was a smoking deal, the price barely covered all the extras on it and the fresh meats on the wheels, so a deal was struck. We convinced Fredo it was easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission, so did the deal and a call home was not made until we were driving away. Needles to say, Fredo was while Mrs. Fredo was hotter than a Now we got 6 bikes! So after a later than expected arrival at Sargents, we headed out to Daily Gulch for a start of a good half day ride up Tomichi Pass. http://youtu.be/cY9pgKCf4yg Then onto Quakey Trail, a fast and very fun single track heading towards Black Sage Pass http://youtu.be/ER7AW6FxK_0
After the Quakey Trail, there is a rood section topic up some nice single track along a creek bed. THIS is some FUN single track! http://youtu.be/IKrl1CTbULc and some more heading to the Horse Camp http://youtu.be/Z8LhPhZjwC8 Then we start the beautiful single track climb to Tomichi Pass. We take the hard way up (and down), we are on dirt bikes after all, we left the dual sports at home http://youtu.be/0R18ge_sDBo I ran out of GoPro battery so had to change it on the way up http://youtu.be/IuxX3Z6anKQ From the bowl to the top of Tomichi, well above the tree line with fantastic views. One year wer were fogged in up ther, couldn't see twenty feet in front of you. Not today! http://youtu.be/R3ORfF-v3II I'll try to add some pics from up there, before we get to the unbelievable decent:eek1:eek1:eek1:eek1:eek1
Hey Camel great video ride report. Timmy Time and I are heading out to Denver next Wednesday, dropping Momma off at kids apartment in The river north district. Mounting up on the WR and KLX 0 dark thirty and heading to Leadville to hook up with TCourdin and the Arkansas SLAP crew. Riding north on the COBDR. Your videos got the blood pumpin for sure.