|
Bruce
& Betsy Blais |
|
Mountain Biking - Special Trails - HALL RANCH, CO. Bruce rode Hall Ranch on July 19, 2014 with the Not-Over-The-Hill-Yet mountain biking group from Denver. The park is located just west of Lyons and Northwest of Boulder and has several trails with a wide range of skill-levels needed to ride them. The most common ride starts with the Bitterbrush Trail at the parking lot on SR-7. This trail starts with a smooth climb and quickly transitions to a challenging, technical rock garden that only fit, expert riders can clear all the way up. However, it is quite an experience for intermediate riders on the way down. The group ride the lower and upper sections of Bitterbush, and the Nelson Loop. Below is a map showing the track, profile and statistics for the Hall Ranch ride. The trail has a "lollipop" configuration with a stem up to a loop. This track and profile is for the clockwise direction around the loop. You can right-click on the image below and use the "Save Target As" option to down-load a 1MB 11x17" PDF version of the map. You can also click on the image and zoom up to 200% for a detailed view in a separate window. Right click here to down load the GPX file for this ride. The file may want to save as an XML file, so if it does, change the extension to gpx before you save it. The file is a high-resolution track created on the Delorme PN-60W GPS.
The distance ridden was 9.7 miles and the ride time was 3 hr. and 9min. Climbing was 2,081 feet and was spread out across the entire ride. The average grade was 8% and the maximum elevation was 6,701' AMSL. This is the kind of trail on which you will use all your gears, and spend a lot of time in 1-1. The grades are not impossibly steep, but the amount and size of the rocks on them making walking the bike a reality in many spots. The photo below Janet, Sandy, Bruce and Jon. Monti is behind the camera and can be seen in later photos in a purple jersey.
The photo below shows Sandy clearing one of the many rocky climbs on the way up. This trail gives you a good impression of why they call these the Rocky Mountains.
Right behind Sandy on the climb was Janet. Most of the photos are of Janet and Sandy since Monti was usually the first one up, and Bruce, who had the camera was usually second.
Here is the group taking a break mid-way up Bitterbush near the junction with the Antelope Trail.
At the end of Bitterbush, the group took a "nutrition break" before riding the Nelson Loop.
The Nelson Loop was far more "civilized" than Bitterbush. Below is Sandy about to cross the only bridge on the trail. Shortly after crossing the bridge, Bruce heard screams. It seems Sandy saw and rode by a small snake beside the trail.
After riding the Nelson Loop, it was time to head back down. Below is a photo of Janet clearing one of the many rock gardens on Bitterbush.
Right behind Janet was Sandy. Both of these women "rocked" the trail.
This was a fun trail, and Bruce will do it again if he gets the opportunity.
|
|
Version 0.1, July 20, 2014 |
