Sourdough Solo

Ab and the kids went out to IA for a family reunion. Unfortunately, I couldn't go because I have some projects at work that I need to finish up on Monday. The good thing was that I would be able to take a long ride on Saturday. I had been wanting to ride the Sourdough trail after Dave posted this on the Redstone Blog. I decided to get up early on Saturday and try the same route from Peaceful Valley Campground.

The Sourdough trail has just about everything you would expect from a "Front Range" Mountain Bike Ride; Rocky technical, smooth flowing, bridges and even soft loamy sections.

One of several bridge crossings.

Above Beaver Reservoir. There was a fire up here when I was kid (20 years ago??). It's really regenerated nicely. Maybe there's hope for Summit County and the Pine Beetle kill.

Took a break at the Wapiti Trail Junction. I took Wapiti on the way back from Brainard Lake.

View of Brainard Lake before I headed down Little Raven.

The overall route of the ride was: Sourdough Trail ---> South Saint Vrain Trail (to Brainard Lake)---> Little Raven ---> Sourdough Trail ---> Wapiti/Baptiste Trail ---> Sourdough Trail back to Peaceful Valley Campground. Once again my camera crapped out on me in the middle of a ride. I really wanted some great pics of the new plank bridges that were just built on the trail. Here they are from the group that did all of the work (Little Raven Trail). It's a sweet trail. I'll ride it in both directions next time. The end of Little Raven kicks you back onto the Sourdough trail which takes you all the way back to Peaceful Valley. The ride was about 22 miles with 2000 feet of elevation gain.

When I got back to my car, I had a nice ticket from the campground because I parked in a 2 hour picnicking area. Fortunately it was just a warning not to do it again. Noted.

When I got home I really wanted to take a nap but my brother was hosting a Fantasy Football draft party in Denver. I motivated and made it down for the festivities: Football Draft, Beer, Whiskey and plenty of shit talking. A good way to end a great day.