One of my favorite mountain biking pictures I have ever taken was just posted on Bikerumor.com’s Pic of the Day. The picture features Tim riding through Chantry Flats. A slow shutter speed + some panning action… voila.
Let me know your thoughts.
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Though Tony, Tim and I went to the U.S. Nationals in support of Kim Finch on her XC efforts, you didn’t think we weren’t gonna ride did you? Oh, also Johnny D was in attendance for a bit of work/play. Sol Vista is a lift accessed mountain bike park with several DH and XC routes available. They use the same Murray-Latta bike trays as found in Whistler, so you know they’re good! Though they only have a single-chair lift, the “Sheriff” does a good job of packing everybody on and keeping the line moving. If you take into account the fact we were there during the weekend of nationals and still got plenty of rides, so you know the line is not an issue.
The Trails: Sol Vista has a variety of terrain, from rocky descents to fast flowing DH with a couple drop descents thrown in. Unfortunately due to Nationals, Cougar was closed as was a section of Drifter. As far as difficulty is concerned, there was plenty to be enjoyed by a beginner and to push an average expert rider. Beyond that skill level, I figure you’re going/gone/ or at Whistler while reading this. Check out videos of the Sol Vista Trails!
A clip of Tony, followed (filmed) by Tim
The Location: Granby CO (2 hours NE of Denver) is idyllic, with beautiful scenery around every turn.
It was actually a little difficult to sleep at night due to the quiet! Granby and the surrounding communities all have a small town feel and are a wonderful escape from city life. You’re surrounded by streams, lakes, ponds and trees. It really makes you feel at one with nature.
Things to do: Eat! Seriously though, being a small town, the night life is not strong. You don’t come here to go hit the clubs, that’s for sure. Instead this has more of a circle of friends around a camp fire, sharing stories and brews feel. Besides, you’ll have plenty to talk about. In addition to mountain biking, there is a plethora of fishing, camping and white water rafting nearby to fill your days. Don’t forget, Crankworx CO at Winterpark is also nearby, though I didn’t get to sample the trails there, Johnny D vouches for them being pretty good and worth the trip.
Gear: There are several full-service bike shops nearby ready to fulfill your needs. It’s funny going from So Cal to CO. In So Cal you’ll find huge Specialized, Giant and Intense presence in most shops. In the three shops I visited in CO, the strongly represented brands were Yeti and Rocky Mountain with a little of everything else sprinkled in. Sol Vista itself has a basic service bike shop with a large rental fleet. I took advantage of a Santa Cruz V-10 the first day and moved to the lighter Bullit the next. Tim tried the Yeti 303RDH and Tony rode a Commencal Racing Supreme DH. All the DH bikes run Fox 40 forks and a variety of quality builds, everyone with a bashguard/chain guide and crank bros 50/50 pedals. If you run clipless, bring your pedals!
A clip of me on the Bullit, I’m not mad! I’m looking at the camera thinking “did the red light turn on or not?”
Would I do it again? Yes, but only if I was going to mix in more than just riding Sol Vista. If I go again (and I’m sure I will eventually), I’m going to make sure my trip includes an event like the U.S. Nationals or Crankworx. Perhaps some fishing or camping. If I lived within an eight hour drive of Sol Vista, I’d be there regularly; flying from LA makes this trip prohibitively expensive for a just for fun weekend getaway. But hey, your budget is your budget and if you want to check out a great bike park in a great place to visit, Sol Vista could be right for you.
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Taking a quick break to scope out the smooth rock descent
Khoa, Steve, Tim & I got out to El Moro near Newport Coast for a loop. The beauty of El Moro is that it is right next to the beach which makes El Moro a great place to ride when it is hot out. Although there is not much tree coverage, being closer to the ocean reduces the temperature and boy was it hot in Southern California with temperatures reaching triple digits farther inland where I live.
Tim taking it with ease
El Moro started with some fun singletrack which led to a short fireroad descent that led to the most overgrown singletrack I’ve ridden through to date. The weeds were taller than me and the other plants we rode through left scratches on my arm including one that was deep enough to bleed. One section required a continual “ducking? while pedaling manuever to avoid getting my faced whipped by the weeds. Khoa made the comment that sometimes being short has its advantages. At that moment, I couldn’t agree more. By the way I performed a quick tick check afterwards. Highly recommended when riding through areas with bushes and other vegetation inundating the trail.
Some of the best parts of this ride didn’t even involve riding. It involved being at the top of a climb and looking back on the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Khoa’s camera phone pictures, thanks Khoa, do not do justice to the magnificent ocean. Yes, that’s the Pacific behind us and no, it did not just turn turquoise. haha. We took a detour just to get a better look at it (well worth the detour, I might add).
Turquoise Pacific Ocean
The ride ended on a slightly sour note as I grazed a cactus leaf on the way back to the car. It left a few thorns in my shin and flatted my rear tire out about 200 yards from the car. I was too lazy to change it so I just hoofed it out. No worries though the bike is ok. 
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