This past Thursday, I decided to head up to Buena Vista to check out what they have to offer in the way of mountain bike trails. I had never ridden in BV but I know they have a network of trails in the Arkansas Hills similar to Salida’s. The trails are the creation of the Buena Vista Singletrack Coalition and their website has maps and information to help you orient yourself. The Midland Hill section on the south end of the network looked promising and I plotted out an eleven-mile loop for my introduction to BV mountain biking.
The Midland Hill area is accessed via the Collegiate Peaks Recreation Site off highway 285, southwest of BV. The view of Mt. Princeton from the parking lot is pretty dang spectacular.
The first ride on any trail is always interesting. You never know what to expect. Since the BV trails are in the Arkansas Hills, they look like they should be very similar to Salida’s: high desert, pinion forest riding. And while that much is true, riding tells a different story. Salida’s trails are rugged with lots of imbedded rocks, loose rocks and gravel. Undoubtably fun, but on the rough side.
The BV trails are something altogether different. Buttery smooth singletrack covered with a layer of crushed granite like you might see on a city park walking path, except this crushed granite is natural. It hisses softly under your tires as you ride along.
In between smooth sections, the trail is punctuated with outcroppings of smooth granite slabs and huge rounded boulders that you have to ride over or around. Sort of cross-country with trials sections thrown in. I had never ridden on such large slabs of rock before. The first couple were intimidating because of their steepness but once I figured out they provide something like infinite traction, I got more comfortable with powering up them.
Because some of the slabs are so big and because bikes don’t leave tracks on solid granite it was sometimes hard to tell where the trail comes out on the far side. A couple of times I found myself at the edge of a slab looking at a drop off only to look around and notice the trail several feet to my right or left.
The trail names lean toward a certain Quentin Tarantino movie…
old Clint Eastwood movies…
and, inexplicably, cured meats.
And because some of the downhill lines on those slabs are steep and highly committing, in numerous places they offer an easier “B” Line. Nice touch.
Super fun riding. I do believe I’ll be going back to BV.