It’s a secret we don’t normally share with out-of-staters but one of the things we love most about Salida is its mellow climate. Typically in winter, while the mountains — the mountains we can see from our living room window — are getting buried in snow, down here in the valley we’re basking in sunshine. Don’t tell anyone.
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Despite the great winter we’ve had in Colorado, here in the central mountains the snow has mainly stayed at higher elevations. In town, it’s been mostly dry. I’ve been riding what has felt like dusty, dry August trails for the last month.
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Back in February I posted this video of a guy bikepacking the Kettle Valley Trail in British Columbia. I thought it was a particularly beautiful, touching look at what it means to ride in the snow.
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So I was thinking of going to Leadville. Back in November when I bought my fat bike, the guys at Cycles of Life made a point of telling me about Leadville’s groomed winter trails, “One of the best places to ride snow in the area!” A couple of our neighbors cross-country ski and they also mentioned the Leadville trails to me. I figured it would be a good idea to make a trip up to the Cloud City before the snow gets melted out for the season.
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After my Fooses Creek ride a couple of weeks ago I began thinking of other places in the area where I could get the fat bike back into the mountains in snow. Preferably someplace with a well-packed trail that goes a little deeper into the woods.
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With the in-town trails mostly melted out and muddy I decided to take the fat bike on an adventure a little farther afield in search of rideable snow. I wanted to try segment 15 of the Colorado Trail which runs south from Highway 50 just above Maysville to the top of Continental Divide.
Continue readingI’ve spent the past couple of weeks alternating between skiing and fat biking, depending on the weather in sunny Salida versus up in the mountains. No complaints here, not a one. I found this nice little video about riding the Kettle Valley Railroad trail in British Columbia. And while I have no intention of camping overnight in the snow or riding to Argentina like this guy (check out his other videos if you want to be amazed), I think this video captures the feel of fat biking in the snow as good as any I’ve seen.
Whoa, two posts in one day! Our snowshoe adventure in the previous post actually happened yesterday but I just got around to organizing photos and posting it. This happened today. I will be returning to my regular haphazard “schedule” starting in 2021 so don’t go getting used to this twice a day thing.
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