[simontac]

Hi,

I will be in Colorado Springs from Sept 22nd to Oct 9th, 2013.

I am from eastern Canada (Toronto) and I have never been to Colorado - and can't see being back in the near future - so I want to ride AS MUCH as possible (work 8-4 during the day). Evenings, and all day Sun 29th, Sat 5, Sun 6th. From what I can see - all the DH places (Keystone, Trestle, others - will be closed by Sept 29th...

Looks like only Angel Fire is open for DH during this time (Sun 29th) so I might rent a car and make the long trek down there... Any input on Angelfire?

Back to original questions. Colorado Springs - good riding around that I could hit up during the evenings/night. I am a capable evening/night rider (compete in several night races in the eastern parts) - but lets be honest - we don't have 'mountains' or elevation like the rockies!! We ride our best out here - but these are little hills to those in Colorado/west.

I'll probably bring my HD all mountain/6X6" bike.

Also - looking to do some 'EPIC' Colorado rides on the Sat 5th and Sun 6th.... I will be mobile with a car from Fri Oct 4th evening straight through the weekend - and have no problem driving good distances to find something EPIC like I have never done before. Like the 'Monarch Crest' trail - which sounds epic, if not too technically tough. High altitude alpine riding sounds incredible - problem is it sounds like high alpine trails might not be rideable come October??

So can anyone with ride time and experience in Colorado/Colorado Springs give me input.

I have found Captain Jacks, I-35, and a few others in Colorado Springs that sound good and great fun...

 

[Pesqueeb]

You'll be in town for the best part of the year. Fall is awesome.

Around town/evening rides are plentiful. Palmer Park, Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Ute Valley, Red Rocks, Cheyenne Canyon (Captain Jacks), Section 16, Air Force Academy, Mt. Herman, etc are all rides you could comfortably knock out in an afternoon/evening after 4. Hell, you could probably spend every afternoon just exploring all the different ways to get turned around in, and over head, in Palmer. All the a fore mentioned rides, with the exception of Mt. Herman, are in "town" and can be accomplished in the 2-3 hours before it gets dark.

I haven't been to Angle Fire since I was a kid, so I can't comment of the riding, other than to point out that its a solid 4 hour drive from here. If you're planning on spending the night or having a really long day it should be fine.

High country (Monarch Crest, Kenosha, any ride Full Trucker posted in Ride Reports) will probably still be open, but that could change before the afternoon is over this time of year. Most likely not, but you can never tell in Colorado. My biggest concern for you would be handling the altitude given where you're coming from. I assume you're reasonably fit, but altitude sickness is real and potentially deadly. If you find your having any sorts of issues riding around town during the week, I would skip any high altitude cross country riding.

I'll be happy to show you around some if I can get away from work/family. Feel free to ask any more questions or PM me. This particular board is pretty dead.

 

[Full Trucker]

Ditto what that guy said, fall is a killer time to ride in Colorado. Also ditto on the Colorado board being really dead here on RM... most Colorado forum folks post on MTBR in the Front Range forum. Watch out though, depending on people's moods over there you can run in to some asshattery. Myself included.

Like 'squeeb said, you SHOULD be able to get a high alpine ride in on that weekend, and the Crest would be a great one. It's kinda like "My First High Country Ride by Playskool" because there's no mandatory hike-a-bike, the views are incredible, the climbing is at a minimum (by Colorado high country standards) and the trail is really fun. Plus there's a shuttle service you can give $20 to, and they'll take you to the trailhead and you just ride back to your car:
http://www.monarchcrest.com/


More high country inspiration, there's TONS of good stuff here:
http://forums.mtbr.com/colorado-front-range/do-you-like-get-high-man-post-your-high-country-riding-photos-863775.html


Angel Fire is a special place, and is without question worth the drive down. It has a bit of everything—steep rough gnar, wide open fast, bike park-ish jumpy stuff, kind of a mixed bag. I really dig riding there for sure. Your Mojo HD will be fine, maybe a bit undergunned to go really fast in some of the rougher bits, but it'll handle most anything the park has too offer. Plus it'll be a blast to ride everywhere else, including the Crest trail. Speaking of EPIC rides, there's one down there called the South Boundary Trail, it runs from Angel Fire to Taos. Logistics would be a pain in the dick, but if you could somehow work it out to ride Angel Fire Bike Park one day and South Boundary the other, I don't think you'd be disappointed. South Boundary, like Monarch Crest, is a long point-to-point ride and is best done with a shuttle of some sort.

I live in Golden, so I don't know much about them Sprangs. But 'squeeb does and there's plenty of Sprangs riders over on MTBR if you wanna post up to ride with people. I've ridden with several of them that post there, and they're good dudes. If you like night riding, I believe they post a weekly night ride thread for the Sprangs, and we've got a weekly night riding crew up here as well. Sprangs rides on Wednesdays and we ride on Thursdays. Our weekly thread title always has the word TITS in it if you wanna join us while you're here. Example Sprangs thread:

http://forums.mtbr.com/colorado-front-range/springs-evening-ride-9-4-13-a-874028.html

 

[Pesqueeb]

Sprangs. Sprangs Sprangs, Sprangs Sprangs

Have you hit your head again?