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I awoke on day 7 of my trip and was left with the decison of what to do having completed the Jeep Jamboree. I brought my mountain bike with me to Colorado and was itching to take it out, but wasn't sure where to ride. I ultimately decided to ride through the Yankee Boy Basin I spent the weekend exploring. Since I would be riding alone I decided it would be best to ride somewhere I had some familiarity with and I was pretty familiar with the basin having driven through it multiple times over the weekend.
The Plan
My plan was to ride through the basin to Twin Falls and return. I reattached my bike carrier to my hitch and loaded my bikes that I had been storing in my room during the weekend. I drove down Main St to the Back Street Bagel & Deli and had them pack me a sack lunch to throw in my hydration pack (CamelPack Mule). After I had lunch secured I headed out for the trail. I jumped in my Jeep and headed towards the basin.
Mountain Biking
I decided to park near a small camping area near Thistledown, CO and start biking towards the falls. As soon as I started riding I was startled by a mule deer hiding in the trees right next to me. I was glad it was just a deer, but part of me wanted to see (but not touch) a mountain lion.
I began pedaling and was immediately surprised by how much steeper the trail seemed on my mountain bike than in my Jeep. I was routinely encountering 18% grades, which combined with a rough trail and 8600 feet of elevation pretty much ensured there was no way I would be able to make it to the twin falls.
I ended up riding a little over a quarter of a mile from my Jeep which included 231 feet of climbing. I finally decided to turn around in order to drive a little closer to the falls. It was a very humbling experience and I was afraid that my flat lander legs wouldn't be able to reach my destination.
Shame Drive
I got back in my Jeep and started driving further up the trail and began to get my second wind, which as it turns out, is very difficult to find in such thin air. I ended up driving approximately another 700 vertical feet towards the Yankee Boy Basin and parked at the bottom of a small cliff that was lined with aspen trees. The drive and scenery renewed my energy, but mostly my determination.
Mountain Biking Reset
I once again set out to conquer the mountain and was again hit with insanely steep climbs. The elevation was really wearing on me, but I just took my time, riding when I could and pushing when I couldn't move fast enough to keep the bike upright. I was occasionally passed by ATV's and 4x4's and had a few conversations with passers by. The one thing; however, I did NOT see were other mountain bikes. One of the trucks that stopped to chat had an old man in it that inquired into the recency of my last head exam which I thought was pretty funny, but only added to my determination to reach the falls.
Luckily I dressed in layers, the higher altitudes brought cooler temperatures, especially when in the mountain shadows. After an hour in the saddle I finally reached my destination! I had ridden 3.2 miles for a whopping average speed of 3.2 mph, but I had also climbed over 1700 feet of elevation! Even though I had driven very slowly through the same route multiple times in my Jeep with the top off the previous days, there were so many details that were overlooked. I felt as though the Jeep provided a macro view of the basin, but the bike allowed me to look at it, as if, through a microscope. When traveling under hanging rock on the way to the basin I could reach out and rest against it on the bike and feel the water seeping out of it. The pace in the Jeep was slow, but on the bike it was much slower (riding up hill).
Twin Falls
I was overjoyed to finally have reached the falls. There was a truck parked above them that had a couple of farmers from Iowa enjoying the view. As with pretty much everyone on the trip they were very friendly and were kind enough to take my picture and I returned the favor. After chatting with them for a few minutes they offered me a beer that I declined and they were on their way. I had already burned over a thousand calories and made short order of my lunch. I packed all of my garbage into my sack (don't forget to Tread Lightly!), turned around and headed back down towards my Jeep.
Ride Map
View Larger Map
Terror Ride
For people who are familiar with mountain biking they know that there are many different types of mountain bikes, such as Downhill, Black Diamond, All-Mountain, Trail and Cross Country. My bike, a Giant NRS 2, falls into the cross country category and is a very nice bike in its element, but this was definately not its element. It did hold its own, but the ride was at times pretty scary. Particularly the outside turns with loose gravel were hair raising since losing control would mean flying off a cliff. What took me an hour to climb took me about 15 minutes to descend, my computer says I hit 30 mph at one point. Luckily for me the disc brakes on my bike were powerful enough to keep me on the trail (imagine stopping a 240 pound wheel rolling 30mph down a hill).
I think a Jeep is one of the fastest way up the mountain, but a mountain bike is definately one of the fastest ways down the mountain. I made short work of the ride back and in no time was passing the farmers I met at the top of the falls. They eventually passed me one last time when I was packing up back at my Jeep.
Summary
Eventually I made it back to my Jeep and ended up making it safely off the mountain. It was an amazing ride and definately unlike any ride I had done before.
Ride Stats
I used my Garmin Edge 305 GPS to track my ride. Here are some of the ride stats:
Total Distance: 6.92 mi
Total Time: 1 hour 24 minutes
Total Calories: 1200
Total Ascent: 1943 ft.
Google Earth File: View ride in Google Earth
<< Day 6 | Day 8 >>
Location: San Juan Mountains - Yankee Boy Basin
Date: September 15, 2008
Bike: Giant NRS 2
<< Day 6 | Day 8 >>
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