Riding front range trails on a beautiful Saturday afternoon is usually a test of patience for obvious reasons. That said, it is not often that a new trail of any significance opens in these parts so, despite the inevitable crowds that would surely be testing their skills out on the new trail from Heil Ranch to Lyons, CPM and I decided to utilize it to do a long ride from my place and combine a few different local trails..
Backing up a bit, I originally was hoping to get out of town this weekend to ride but Jessica has been very busy getting ready for open studios and nobody else seemed up for a journey. GITA was calling me but needless to say, I decided to stay up here and enjoy the incredible weather and leave the car parked.
I had no idea how long it would take and we knew we would be stopping quite a bit due to heavy rider traffic so I was hoping for 5hrs or so. A quick handlebar change and a noontime shot of espresso and we were off to see what the new trail was all about. After a short shot on the Wonderland trail, we climbed over Old Stage Rd to Lefthand Canyon and down to Heil. We rode under the fringe of a storm that was briefly concerning us but the thunder soon rolled off into the distance leaving beautiful Indian summer skies for us to ride beneath.
On the edge of the storm.
We took the long way up to the start of picture rock. This trail is in it's infancy and has only been open for 5 days. It was interesting to see the transformation that is already starting to take place as the trail gets worn in. Eager to make short work of inner tubes, copious amounts of healthy cactus lined the trail making veering off course something to think about.
heading into lyons
The trail flowed "fairly" well for that area and climbs slightly better than it descends. There was quite a bit of rock just as there is on Heil and Hall, making the whole ride a wrist numbing workout. Linking the whole thing to Hall is a solid ride if you are going out and back from town.
52 miles with an elevation gain of 7632ft. Moving time was 5hrs10mins some of which was due to being new to the trail and the abundance of riders we shared the it with. I was actually pretty impressed that the BMA had the resources and fortitude to get through all the red tape involved with building a new trail in boulder county. I know this was in the works for several years and appreciate a 50+mile mtb possibility from my house with minimal road. It may not be epic trail we are talking about but it's right in the backyard and will be a good option for early and late season.
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