Abandonment at Picture Rock Trail (Lyons, CO)
Over the past four weekends Katie and I have been neglecting our mountain bikes; I spent a long weekend fly-fishing, we fled our mold-infested apartment (part of the wall in the bathroom literally fell down), and we have been preparing for Katie’s Alaska backpacking adventure with a backcountry trip in Rocky Mountain National Park. I cannot remember what happened with the fourth weekend, but it was undoubtedly equally awesome… We woke up to a brisk morning in the high 50s, which could be considered brisk given the normal summer temperatures in Boulder, and decided it was time to resume mountain biking. Unfortunately, after such a long break and moving, it took over an hour to find and load my truck with all of our bikes and gear. Eventually we said bye to our bulldog for the morning and headed north to the Picture Rock trail in Lyons, CO.
The trailhead parking lot was only about half full – rather surprising for a weekend however we suspect a lot of people were either at SPAN the Rockies or the Muddy Buddy. We unloaded our bikes, my Trek Fuel EX 8 and Katie’s Specialized Epic, and headed up. The trail was pretty awesome (assuming you are not in need of bombing the downhill and have healthy respect for blind turns), particularly after a break from riding. The beginning section is flowy, placid singletrack through high mountain prairie grasses. There are a number of rocky turns mixed in; just enough to keep you from staring off too much at the cliffs and mountains in the background. After you have ridden a few miles and started wishing you were riding a cyclocross bike, the trail reminds you why suspension and fat tires are quite desirable. The second part of the ride can be defined by tight turns and lots of rocks. A few sections are somewhat technical, and require some momentum, but nothing is remotely comparable to the rock garden at Hall Ranch. Like the lower section there are a number of blind turns that ensure you are paying attention to avoid oncoming riders; thankfully there were very few people who passed us on their way down. After topping out and feeling nowhere near tired, Katie and I tacked on the Wild Turkey loop. Quite a bit smoother than the latter section of Picture Rock with a significantly lower grade, we flew through the trees on the trail. There were a few switchbacks mixed in, but nothing too tight as to lose all your speed.
Katie Mocking Me On Her Descent
After returning to the top of Picture Rock we ran into a guy with a pretty new titanium Moots YBB resting on the trail sign; I am still uncertain if he was just showing it off or actually riding. The bike had been converted into a single speed rig, though the gentleman had an internal rear hub in at the time. It looked so smooth, simple, and shiny – I drooled a little. We chatted briefly; apparently two weeks ago he broke his handlebar and subsequently smashed his crank, frame, and massive amounts of skin. Without a bike and the SingleSpeed World Championships rapidly approaching, he bought the YBB as an emergency replacement. Unsurprisingly his wife was incredulous when he told her the price; I am uncertain if that is good or bad.
After leaving the Moots guy, Katie and I headed back down where we quickly learned all of our handling skills had evaporated; it was possibly one of the slowest descents I have ever made. I would like to blame it on my legs being exhausted from speedskating on Saturday but I suspect that was not the case. Thankfully everyone who was headed down on our climb appeared to have turned around for another lap, allowing us to pull off frequently; however it gave pause to consider our drastic decrease in skill as the riders passed, again. Maybe next week’s awesomeness will involve less falling.
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Looks like a pretty nice downhill trail, how long did it take all in all?
Round trip was a bit shy of two hours – including a chat with other riders at the top. If you are looking to bomb the downhill there are better trails in the area; otherwise it is a fun ride!