The snow is falling outside, and winter seems to want to hang on here in the high country. Monday the temps were near the ’60s, and I had a chance to take the mountain bike out on our rec paths. If you are new to Credible Cyclist or new to Summit County, we have an extensive range of rec paths that stretch between Breckenridge, Keystone, Dillon, Silverthorne, Copper, and over Vail Pass and into Vail. It is not uncommon to go out for 25-to-50-mile rides, including the Reservoir Loop up to Keystone and back or Vail Pass and back. This early in the season, the Ten Mile Rec path up to Copper and Vail Pass is closed, and the underpasses under highway 9 have ice and should be treated with care.  If you are interested you can see my write up for the route around the Dillon Reservoir here.

If you are local and looking for current conditions, we will get to that, I promise!  For now, I want to welcome you all to some of the best high elevation rec paths I have ever experienced as you gain some insight behind the scenes of Credible Cyclist. Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy what I have to share with you.

I spent the weekend with my brother down in Colorado Springs, and the Wednesday before that, I returned from working nights for 2 weeks straight.  I have a crazy schedule!  I am a heavy equipment electronics tech working out of state on a two-week ON and two-week OFF schedule.  I also switch between days and nights every two weeks when I work.  The time off is an excellent benefit, and I am excited about the time I can make Credible Cyclist an authority in this space.  If you like this content and want to see where it goes, subscribe to my newsletter; if you are already subscribed, thank you for tuning in. You Are Awesome!  I am also working on providing you all with notifications on new routes and trail stories when they publish.  It will always get better from here!

My brother and I spent Sunday hiking the Columbine Trail to Helen Hunt Falls from the Strasmore Visitor Center in North Cheyenne Canyon with his son, my nephew.  It was an interesting trail in which the reviews we read lead us to believe it would be different from what it was.  The waterfall was just a trickle when we arrived, so we weren’t so excited about that.  It’s the trail that was the defining piece of the hike.  At 10 miles out and back with 2000 feet of climbing recorded on 2 GPS’s, it was a long way away from the 7.6 mile-1600 foot climb the interweb told us it would be.  I would also consider it to be on the difficult side of the scale.  This was our first hike of the season, and we managed it well enough.  The steep grades, the up and down switchbacks through the canyon, and the 80-degree temp made for a strenuous workout. Epsecially early season!