One of the easiest “mountain biking” trails in Boulder county has to be Marshall Mesa; it has three purposes in my life:
A) Introduce new people to mountain biking without killing them
B) Recover my confidence on a bike post crash(es)
C) Go fly fishing in a ditch when the water is exceedingly high
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A.
Chris's first mountain biking adventure
I have friends come to town from time to time and want to experience biking in Colorado. Sometime to see me. Or in this case one of my friends flew to visit her mother in Denver. Obviously Katie and I rank far behind her mother, so we settled for an afternoon mountain bike ride and beer. Now I like Chris. She is fun, amusing, and only slightly annoying. However she is not a bicyclist (she showed up wearing sandals, thankfully I had extra shoes) , opening the question where should I take her for the first attempt. Marshall Mesa is obviously the answer, the trails are relatively flat, have minimal rocks/technical sections, and can be as short or long as you want. We took Chris on the Marshall Valley, Cowdrey Draw, Community Ditch, and Coal Seam trails; that seams like a lot but in all it is only a few miles with virtually non-existent hills. Why do I keep mentioning hills? Well, out of towners generally are not used to the elevation and can really suffer. Which while occasionally fun to watch, does not lead them to continue biking. Usually. My Trek Fuel EX 8 is definite overkill for the trail, alas. However the Boulder Trek Store has great bikes for rent that are appropriate.
View from Coalton Trail
B.
I have been crashing on my Jamis Supernova cyclocross bike during races. A lot. Sometimes I just need a confidence booster. Katie and I went out a few weeks back on one such ride. As I mentioned above, Marshall Mesa can be extended to just about any distance you want. We created a long loop (made longer by the 20 mile per hour in your face winds on the return half), starting on the Greenbelt Plateau, continuing on the Community Ditch and Cowdrey Draw trails. After running into 66th, we took a right to a short trail before jumping on McCaslin Blvd. Another right and a hill took us to the Coalton and High Plains trails, thus returning to the start. Confused? Check out this map. The Coalton trail has a decent hill on it and when the wind is coming straight off the mountains, it hurts. I didn’t fall, so overall it was a success.
Dan's Community Ditch Rainbow
C.
This has nothing to do with mountain bike. Too bad. Marshall Lake is private and maintained by a fishing club. They stock a lot of trout. And when the water gets high, the rainbows run up the Community Ditch to spawn. I wrote about fly fishing in a ditch; it is an interesting experience. Even more interesting when a club member comes and yells at you, even though you are on public property. Alas, it was not my fault that the water runs high in the spring.
First Ride on Marshall Mesa
Marshall Mesa
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