The Dirt Divas: A little Steamboat Springs in the middle of July!

We decided that it would be a very cool thing to mix things up a bit and go mountain biking somewhere a bit different -- a little off the beaten path, so to speak. We decided that instead of going to Monarch Crest or to Crusty Butt (Crested Butte) like we normally do, we'd hit the trails up near the Colorado Trail north and west from Golden.......way north and west of Golden. oh, like 3 hours north and west of Golden.

Traditionally, Steamboat Springs is a bit cooler at the higher elevation and to be honest, not one of us had ever been there to mountain bike! Can you believe that? Trails that are only a few hours away and none of us had been there in the summer. hmmmm......

So, off I went to scout out the campsites, find one sorta close in, but not; talk to a local bike shop or two to determine which trails were open, which were worth riding, skill levels needed, length of rides, any forest hazards to consider, blah, blah blah. First stop was the USFS Visitor Center in Steamboat Springs. To my surprise, several knowledgeable mountain biking rangers were right on hand to give some helpful information. After determining how to get where, off I went to secure some campsites. As I followed directions to a possible campsite that sounded like it would meet the Dirt Divas needs, all I could think was, "Dang, this is the longest friggin 3 miles I have ever driven." It was a sentiment echoed by each driver as they pulled into the campsite. However, once at the campsite, all we could talk about was the beauty.......

and the bugs....lots of bugs....actually more like mosquito type bugs and those nasty biting black flies. Apparently, Dry Lake Campground got its name from a lake nearby that "appears" to be dried up -- but not really. I don't know about the others, but I wore my insect repellent like it was the best body moisturizer ever! And I STILL got bit -- like a gazillion times. But, honestly, the beauty of the surrounding woods totally made up for anything else!

I paid for three sites, set up camp at one and got out my yellow & purple ribbons to mark "the spot" so to speak. As I was finishing up, one of my cohorts in mtb crime joined me. We finished ribbon marking the way to our campsite, made a trip into town to email everyone directions, checked out the hot springs and went back to camp -- totally excited for the weekend!

Next morning found us up and excited to explore the trails that we would be sharing with the group once they began arriving. Unbelievably, a trail head was right across from our campsite -- I mean, seriously? How lucky is that? And, what a totally fun, fast downhill trail it was. Beautiful -- flowers everywhere, with the trail winding down through the forest enchanting us with a fast swoopy downhill at that!

Then on to Emerald Mountain to explore the trails there. We had a full day of riding fun -- fast, hard riding, with lots of exploring thrown in with it! We finally got back to the campsite to welcome the first arrivals for a weekend of fun!

There were 13 of us -- all ready to ride new and unexplored territory. Luckily, we are all ladies (and gents) who are slow to rise in the morning -- except that we did have the help of the locals..........woodpeckers that is. It seems that a mother woodpecker had a baby she was feeding in a tree very close to our campsites.

Look closely and see if you can spot the baby woodpecker. So, I repeat, we had a relatively slow start to the day on Saturday. However, we were out on the trail by 10 ish and ready to roll down into town and then over to Emerald Mountain for a day of fun in the sun and shade in the tropical woods!

Video is coming, however let me tell you that the ride into town was probably one of the most eventful rides I have ever experienced!. So, to give you an idea about this fun, fast swoopy trail -- it has lots of sand on it because it is a main drainage point for melt-off in the spring. Because the trail is deceiving, one tends to pick up a bit of speed as you descend. Well, actually, quite a bit of speed. Despite the warnings given, I knew it was going to be an entertaining ride when I rounded a swoopy turn in the trail to find the rider in front of me looking totally baffled as he gazed at me. He and his bike were totally OFF trail and into the high growth beside the trail. Of course, snide remarks were exchanged. Because of the speed and sandiness of the trail, tires were sliding out on turns and there were lots of hoots and hollers as people realized that uh-oh -- bike and bushes were being introduced! At one point, we had a spectacular multi-bike pile-up caused by one person sliding out and as each biker came around that corner, each would slide into the first rider. Luckily, no one was hurt -- but it was indeed, extremely comical!

Then, on to Emerald Mountain with lots and lots of climbing. And as we climbed, the trail began to change, the air became cooler and the plants more lush. There was a definite feel of being in a tropical jungle! So enchanting -- so surreal!

Our day and ride ended with playing at the skateboard park on our bikes and a mad dash to the river to cool down after a long day in the saddle!

Sunday came all too soon! Some of our group had to leave early to get back home, another small group decided that they were going to go for an epic 25-30 mile ride on some trails that they had heard about that were about 30 miles NW of Steamboat and the rest of us decided that Rabbit Ears Pass might be a great place to explore!

So off we went -- all in different directions. For our group, it was a stop at Dumont Lake Campground with a discovery ride of the Continental Trail. We rode 11 - 12 miles round trip, with a real desire to just continue down into the town of Steamboat. However, that would be a ride requiring a shuttle back to our vehicles (or a climb back UP everything that we descended) which none of us had prepared for. However, even as it was, we were greeted by amazing beauty and climbed our way up to an elevation of about 10,900.