#followcamfriday Touring my Canadian friends and James Weingarten around an altered Vail classic. 

It had been almost two years since I had ridden with my Canadian friends Will and Mark of "The Free Radicals" I truly have missed these boys. Reuniting with old friends, post-Covid is truly special. Mr. James Weingarten also joined the party. Interestingly enough, James and the Free Rads had never met prior to this day, despite my huge amount of time and miles ridden with each of them on separate occasions. It's always special introducing best friends to other best friends. The circle is complete. 

Mark and Will were in town for a trail building initiative in Fort Collins. The dig culture in Canada is so advanced that these guys came to our country to help because clearly we need it;) Some of the trails that were burned near Fort Collins got some much needed love. Kudos boys. Love your work. 

James came over and met us in Vail for some park laps and some leaf peeping. After banging out six or eight laps, I decided to show the boys Cougar Ridge. This is accessed by a 20 minute traverse from the top of the gondola, and drops down to Minturn. I have been riding this for many years and was quite surprised how smooth things have gotten. This trend is really bumming me out. 

To be clear, Cougar Ridge was never a backcountry epic, but it definitely wasn't a carbon copy of the trails you would find in the Vail Bike Park. That was the beauty of it, stark contrast to the park.  I am sorry to report that the original character of this trail has been destroyed, and replaced with another flow trail. Just like the other flow trails, everywhere I look. Game Creek is currently receiving the same treatment. Making everything into a sidewalk is not the answer. These natural environments are forever altered. You can do better Vail. 

Rant number two. I am not against flow trails but if you want a flow trail, build a new one! Destroying natural trails that have been in existence for decades is completely unacceptable. Please stop. End rant. 

At the end of the day, bikes will always be fun and we are fortunate to have these places to ride and enjoy nature. Each trail has a certain feel and character, and the fun of riding bikes is experiencing that unique flavor first hand. Lets's strive for maintaining the unique story that each trail has to tell. The intricacies of each root and rock, each flat track turn, every rut and hole are important. A homogenized experience leaves us empty inside eventually. 

Mark wore his autumn ensemble to blend in a bit on this fine day. There is something satisfying about riding in the rain with the gray skies and vibrant colors that just does it for me. Adversity makes for a better story. Bluebird powder days aren't really my thing. Neither are flow trails. 

Despite being soaked, head to toe, and wondering where the roots and rocks went, we still had an amazing ride. Sometimes the ride is more about the people you are with than the trails or conditions. Colorado in the fall is truly something special to behold. Mother nature was putting on a show that will be remembered for some time. I just wish the trail could have told the tale that it once did. 

#followcamfriday on Upper Rio En Medio with Teddy Jaramillo. The Santa Fe jank tour continues. 

Is there really such a thing as too many helpings of jank? I think not. Rio En Medio is the logical continuation of the descent into town from Raven's Ridge. If you are a connoisseur of the jank like Teddy Jaramillo, this one will put a smile on your face. If you are not good at riding bikes, this one will make you hate yourself. The choice is up to you. Pats on the back or punches in the face. 

The way this laps works goes like this. Ditch a car in town and ride the free blue jank bus to Ski Santa Fe. Take great care not to vomit on the blue bus. Especially while wearing your maks. That would get messy, Complaining about free transportation isn't on my list of things to do, but let's just say that you may pay the price in another way if you have the unfortunate ability to get car-sick. Teddy took a nap on the bus ride. Maybe I will try that technique next time. You have been warned. Nothing is free. 

So, where were we? After you take the bus and puke a bit, you have the choice of Winsor or Rio En Medio as the two popular routes to the bottom. This was my first time sampling REM, and it offers a perfect contrast to the smooth and fast character of Winsor. It is worth noting that the bottom of REM burned in 2020 and still remains closed. You can descend REM to Aspen Ranch and then the best option is to take the dirt road back over to the middle section of Winsor. Hopefully the lower section will reopen next year and then I will have another excuse to come back and visit. 

We didn't see any cows, but these cattle gates are all over the place. The only thing harder to ride than jank is jank with cows. Cows on track is never the preferred situation at speed. #cowjank

It won't be long until these hills are covered with snow. We shot this a couple of weeks ago when the aspens were just starting to show a hint of yellow. Maybe I should come down for a ski adventure this season. Rumor has it that Ski Santa Fe gets the best snow in the state. Tacos taste the same, winter or summer. 

If a jankier trail exists, I have yet to lay tires on it. Raven's Ridge in Santa Fe with Teddy Jaramillo. #followcamfriday

I was in Santa Fe this spring, and this trail was still covered with snow. Raven's Ridge starts on Deception Peak at 12,250 and descends back to the bottom of Ski Santa Fe. This one has always been on my bucket list, so while I was in town a couple weeks ago for a jump jam out at La Tierra, I finally made this one happen. Janker is a good tour guide. 

Nice and desolate, just how I like my trails. The absence of humanity is a beautiful thing. The top of this one is very similar to the terrain that I am used to riding in my neck of the woods. My happy place. Teddy approves. If you can't see the trail, it's because there actually isn't one in parts of the upper alpine zone. How nice. 

I can honestly say that Raven's is the jankiest trail I have ever ridden. There is absolutely no flow, and that is a beautiful thing. This one will inspire anger and frustration in the average rider, but this is my happy place. Making sense of the puzzle that is Raven's Ridge is very pleasing. Mental chess. 

This one isn't exactly a feel-good trail. It is hard to follow, littered with loose rock, steep, and not really designed to be ridden by a bicycle. A certain beauty lies in all of that. The monotony of the modern flow trail has left my soul empty. This one has filled my plate with rocks. The perfect lunch. I finished this one full. 

The bus ride to the ski area made me nauseous. I felt like puking the entire climb, but hey, the bus was free, so there's that. Better than driving my van up the road and having to retrieve later. If you ride all the way back to town, it is about 5000' of descending. All accessed off of a free, nausea inducing bus. Once I got up into the alpine I felt like myself again, so in the end, I guess it was worth it. 

After you ride Raven's, you can choose between Windsor or Rio En Medio to get back to town. It is worth noting that the bottom of REM is closed due to a fire that ripped through the area last summer. Sad times. I still need to check that one out once it gets some love and reopens to the people. 

There is something very attention-getting about riding an exceptionally rough trail that is bordered by a barbed wire fence. I wonder how many right arms have been sliced on this thing. Maybe get a tetanus shot before you attempt this one. Never a dull moment. If the rocks don't get you, the fence surely will. Yay sharp things. 

After riding this one with Teddy, I can see where he gets his nickname from. Janker is skilled at navigating this terrain. His jank roots show here. Honestly, if you can make quick work of this trail on the fly, you can ride just about anywhere in the world with confidence. Eyes up, heals down, Janker don't mess around. 

There is just something special about Lenawee Trail to me. #followcamfriday first lap with Janker Teddy Jaramillo.

There can only be one, Lenawee takes the cake for me. Colorado is littered with world-class alpine singletrack, but this one is somehow special to me. There is just something about Lenny that will always have a special place in my heart. Always a good feeling. 

Maybe it is the stunning alpine views. Maybe it is because of the death-climb required to access this one. Maybe it is the technicality. I have had numerous encounters with goats up here. For whatever reason, the alpine section of this one does it for me. On this particular day, we got a dusting of snow to make conditions absolutely perfect. 

Too add to the sheer magnitude of awesomeness that this trail is, this was Janker's first lap up here. Introducing Teddy to a trail that I hold dear and watching him dissect its nuances is hugely rewarding somehow.  Watching my friends have their minds blown before my very eyes will never grow old to me. That is what this game is all about. 

The rock strewn traverse at the top is reasonably technical. It has gotten some love over the years and is fairly easy to make it through these days, but the original charm is not lost. Dropping into this chunk and exposure above 12K and trying to ride loose is always a challenge. If you fall to the right, you are going to have a bad day. The goats will eat your mangled body and put on that needed weight to survive the harsh winter. And so the cycle continues. 

Why yes Teddy, that is the correct line. Very nice to see Janker interpret this carve on the fly. It has always been obvious to me, but I have rarely seen others pick up on this one. Good eye friend. 

We shot this a few weeks ago in late August. Yes, that is snow in the shadows. Yes, if you are going to ride in the alpine, you should always bring a jacket. I can't count the times I have been snowed on up here in the middle of summer. Its 70 in Keystone and snowing up here. Man I love Colorado. 

This has been quite the summer of riding around in the high country. There is no place I would rather be honestly. I do enjoy some bike park laps and tons of dirt jumping lately, but the alpine is where my heart lies. The leaves are just starting to fire this weekend and fall is in the air. Make the most of your time before the snow flies. It won't be long now. 

In an increasingly smooth world, it's comforting to know that there is still a place to ride your Downhill bike. Vail Bike Park with Teddy Jaramillo #followcamfriday

The current trend of sanitizing trail is growing old to me. There are fewer and fewer places to ride DH rigs at speed. This isn't true everywhere but certainly applies in Colorado. Not to sound like a jaded local, but keeping the rocks and roots on trails is all that separates them from a sidewalk. If you can't ride your $12,000 carbon dream machine over some bumps, you should take up road biking perhaps. Damn kids, get off my lawn!

As technology gets better and bikes become more capable, there is less of a need for DH bikes in general. The perfect storm of capable bikes and dumbing down trails equals a lack of necessity for a DH rig. These are sad times. I raced DH for ten years and there will just always be something special to me about riding a big, heavy smash wagon. It just feels good. 

There are fewer and fewer places to ride these machines lately, but fortunately Vail is one of those rare exceptions. Not all of the trails, but the good ones are still faster on a big bike. Thank you. End rant. 

The beauty of riding DH bikes with improper gearing and no dropper post is that you can't even try to climb them. Momentum is your friend, so it is mandatory to eat ice cream at every opportunity. Fat kid delight. Who ever consumes the most ice cream wins the race. Janker was buying, I made it a double. 

Every time Teddy comes to town, we basically ride until we can't feel feelings. DJ, DH, Trail, all of the bikes, all of the day. After doing laps all day on our DH bikes, we grabbed our trail bikes and caught last chair to do a bonus lap to Minturn. After that we went to Frisco and hit dirt jumps. 10 hours of riding later, we drank beer and ate tacos. A life well lived. Thanks for the motivation Janker!

The hardest part of my day was choosing which flavors to put in my cup. 

Teddy wishing he had gone for round 2 of gelato. 

Vail is actually quite special. The place has such a strange vibe with the affluent tourists and dirt-bag locals. This mix works well to keep the levels right. Throw in some proper trail and a tight crew, and this place becomes legendary. There is rarely a lift line over here, quite the contrast to Winter Park. Maybe that extra 45 minute drive is scaring the Denver crowd away. A diamond in the rough, no doubt. Let's hope it stays that way. 

#followcamfriday wandering around in the alpine high above Silverton, Colorado with Colin Pickett

Lately, I have been spending much of my time above 12K, riding bits and pieces of world-class singletrack. The harder to access and more raw and natural, the better. Boulder Gulch, high above Silverton, Colorado ticks off those boxes nicely. This would be considered type-2 fun by most. My happy place. 

Yes, this one is hard. No, it is not everyone's idea of "mountain biking", but this is exactly what I am looking for in my life. Boulder Gulch starts just above 13K, before descending almost 4K in 4 miles. "Brake burner" is the understatement of the year. Throw in some microwaves and toaster ovens on the side of a cliff, and things get even more interesting. 

To make this one even better, there is no easy way to get to the top. This involves a huge hike a bike to access the top. Not big on carrying your bike? This may not be for you. Fortunately Colin Pickett is one of the fittest humans in existence, so our alpine adventure team was strong. 

We filmed this in July when abundant moisture was contributing to rapid flower growth and perfect dirt conditions. I would imagine that these hills are starting to show their fall colors as we transition seasons. The trail was barely discernible in spots from lack of use. A delicate game of follow the cairns and try not to fall off of the side hill. 

The San Juan remains largely unspoiled due to its proximity to a major city. This place is hard to get to and the riding is hard once you are here. These two factors will always be appealing to me. As the old adage says- "nothing worth doing is easy", and this certainly rings true in this rugged and remote terrain. 

#followcamfriday revisiting Purgatory Resort after 16 years with Joey Schusler and Carston Oliver.

I raced DH in Purgatory in 2005. This was my first trip back to ride the resort since then. Back in the day, the DH track here was regarded as the best in the states. This was the track that everyone wanted to race when downhill was still figuring itself out in Colorado. The perfect blend of raw speed, drops, jumps and steeps to keep racers engaged. World Cup was truly an amazing track. I broke my back a little bit on that track. 

The tracks have always been there, whether the chair was running or not, occasionally ridden and maintained by locals. In recent years, Purgatory has been maintaining the original trails and making drastic improvements to the existing tracks. It was quite a pleasure to revisit this place and see trail work being done and the scene starting to grow again. 

,Joey Schusler, Carston Oliver, myself and 450 other Yeti freaks were in town for the event now known as The Gathering. After missing last year due to the pandemic, everyone was in great spirits and rightfully so. It was truly enjoyable to drink beer, ride bikes, and eat good food together after the last year of chaos. There was definitely a collective feeling of relief at the party, people just being content hanging out with other people. How refreshing. 

I had the pleasure of racing the Big Mountain Enduro event last week on these tracks. This was my first race, post-covid. I definitely have missed the scene and the people, the things that have always made bike racing so special to me. It was great to catch up with people I had not seen in a couple of years. It is worth noting that BME did an amazing job with the race. The tracks were proper scary, as they should be. There was enough pedaling on the transfers to keep people honest and make for well-rounded racing. Kudos. 

What a legend Carston Oliver is. We had not ridden together since we spent 10 days bikepacking in the Bolivian Andes in 2016. An experience like that makes people life long friends, and it was great to ride with Carston again after 5 years. Carston is a pro skier and basically rides for "fun", but is one of the strongest and most skilled athletes I have ever known. Joey Schusler "hasn't been riding much" but still somehow seems to be able to ride faster than everyone, despite spending most of his time holding a camera or editing in a cave. 

So there you have it. To summarize, bikes are fun, Purg is rad, racing is cool, and most of all, being able to hang out with people I have not seen in many years is very special. I spend a ton of time staring at my computer and real human interaction is increasingly important to me. This place and the people involved will always be a special one for me. History shouldn't be a mystery. 

Riding Deer Creek in Silverton, Colorado with Alex Petitdemange. #followcamfriday raw dog. 

If you have been following me for a bit, you may know that my prefered riding type is jank. Although I do enjoy hitting enormous jumps on smooth trails, I am in general searching for the trail less ridden. Flow trails can die a fiery death. The character of a trail that is less obvious and makes my brain work a bit more is somehow more interesting to me. Mental chess, on the fly is the appeal. I fell asleep on a flow trail once. 

Deer Creek is special. Narrow, rough an as raw as it gets. You will get bloody fingers on the flowers. You will catch that sniper rock hiding in the bushes. You might even break your bike. But if I am being honest, I wouldn't have it any other way. If you can't see the trail right in front of you, you are doing it right. Basically like riding with a pair of pants on your head. Live for it.

This was "first lap" for Alex and second for me. It is always a pleasure watching my friends dissect trail on the fly for the first time. Alex flows like water over rough, unseen terrain. He may actually be faster on trails that he has never seen before. What a legend. 

While I was riding this section a week prior, I came up on a group of locals clearing winter deadfall and improving the corridor. As a man who also does a ton of this on my local, I truly appreciate this sort of thing. Those who choose to donate their time and energy in this direction never get enough credit. Please consider a donation to the Silverton Singletrack Society. They are doing wonderful things in the area and need support. 
DONATE TO THE TRAILS HERE

As I type these words, I am sitting in my van at Purgatory. I am racing the BME event this weekend. I haven't really raced in 2 years now and I truly have missed the community that Big Mountain Enduro has built. The vibe at the races is something that I have been missing in my life. So many old friends and good peeps. Wish me luck. I definitely haven't been "training", but I have been riding my brains out, so we should be good. 

#followcamfriday on Haflin Creek in Durango with Alex Petitdemange. Long live the jank!

Ah, Haflin Creek. Since I rode this for the first and only time about eight years ago, I have always wanted another run down this gem of a trail. What can I say, it left an impression on me. The perfect blend of jank, speed and exposure that ticks all of the boxes for me. No berms, no flow, just natural, raw goodness. Exactly what I am looking for in life. 

Haflin drops 3000ft in about 4 miles. There is a slight amount of rolling traverse in the middle, but is is basically a DH track. It is unbelievably overgrown right now and if I am being honest, I think I like it that way. This adds to the technical nature and really makes you focus on the task at hand, which is not catching a pedal and exploding. 

If you are not big on exposure, this is not your trail. More and more lately,  I gravitate towards this type of riding experience. There is no place I can attain this level of focus and precision in other parts of my life. There is just something different and more engaging about riding these trails that have zero margin for error. This is not most people's idea of a fun trail, but this is exactly why Alex Petitdemange and myself ride bikes. If I am riding a flow trail with 180 degree berms and traverses in between, I basically turn my brain off and take a nap. When one mistake results in a trip to the hospital, my senses are heightened. 

Alex again, blending into the foliage. The recent continued moisture has left the dirt in amazing shape. Everything is vibrant green and the flowers are popping. Huge props to anyone who maintains this thing and trims the underbrush. Clearly that is not an easy undertaking by any means. If this thing doesn't continue to see some traffic, it will surely be overgrown by the end of the summer. Again, that is part of the charm. Keep those feet up. 

The switchbacks above significant exposure are tight. You better have your nosepick as dialed as Alex if you want to survive this one. It is amazing to watch Alex's spacial awareness unfold. Nose-pick to tire tap on the rock pictured, rewards him with a proper exit. I followed suit. It made me giggle like a little girl. Precision when executed properly is very gratifying in exposed terrain. 

After spending a bunch of time in the high country between Silverton and Durango, Haflin was a nice change of scenery. The desert riding in Durango is truly special. When combined with the high-country access, this place is looking more and more appealing to me, the more time I spend down here. There is a reason so many national and world-level champions have come from this place. 

#followcamfriday picking up where we left off last week on the Colorado Trail outside of Silverton, Colorado with Alex Petitdemange.

There is just something special that riding in the alpine surrounding Silverton that will never get old to me. Part of the reason I ride bicycles is to escape the crowds and the chaos of the path frequently traveled. I find solace in these remote backcountry routes that involve work to access. 

I do enjoy all types of cycling from dirt jumping, to road, to smashing laps on my DH rig in the park. That said, there is something a bit more rewarding somehow about accessing some of these hard to reach areas that just make you feel small and humble. These places give me a much needed reset and reminder of how pure and amazing riding bikes can be. Spending a couple of weeks in the San Juan was just the reset I was looking for to put everything back into perspective. 

Natural trail gaps never cease to put a smile on my face. Alex is the master of interpreting trail on the fly and knowing just where and when to jump over things. His background in gymnastics becomes evident quickly while chasing his wheel on trails that neither of us have ever ridden. A delicate balance of flow, agility and aggression and efficiency make riding with Alex and absolute pleasure. 

Graysill Creek has been recently worked on according to the internet, and judging by the photo above, the builders clearly have a sense of humor. If you carry a chainsaw all this way, you better have a sense of humor, and a strong back. Kudos to the locals, because this one is a gem. Just the right amount of flow without ruining the original nature of the trail. Many of the turns appeared to have been opened up, without changing the raw nature of the original trail. This is a delicate process and the builders have truly left this one rough and natural, while increasing the speed and feel. Kudos! An amazing bit of track. 

If you need me, I will be hanging out in the alpine, eating as many calories as I can jam down my pie-hole and riding my bike until my legs refuse to spin circles. As long as the moisture continues, it would basically be a crime to do anything less with my life currently. As the farmers say " make hay while the sun shines"