Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/513510
Big Wheels Keep on Turning New all-level mouNtaiN bikiNg trails cemeNt aspeN as the cycliNg mecca of the west. by tess weaver strokes In Aspen, road bikes have been to summer what skis are to winter. Think of the routes available: There's the nine-mile climb to Maroon Lake—a pictur- esque pool of glacial-cold, turquoise water framed by the world-famous Maroon Bells—via a winding valley filled with lush aspen groves and crystal- clear streams. There is the 19-mile, 4,200 -foot elevation ascent to Independence Pass, the fourth-highest paved road in the state, which offers stunning, panoramic views of the surrounding, snow-capped Elk Mountain Range. There's even the mellow Rio Grande Trail, which meanders along the riverside, tracing the valley f loor from Aspen to Glenwood Springs. While road cycling has reigned during summer, town's burgeoning moun- tain biking scene, which takes riders off the road and into the woods, is redefining Aspen's two-wheel culture. The formerly fragmented network of biking areas—unmarked mining and game trails and steep, rocky jeep roads—often left visitors lost and were unsuit- able for beginners. Long, sustained climbs—like the double-track road up to the top of Four Corners, high above Aspen and Buttermilk Mountains, just west of town—turn legs to Jell-O. And steep, uphill pitches, like the Lollipop and Hobbit trails, in the Hunter Creek Valley require intense bursts of energy. Gasping for air and spinning out legs filled with lactic acid is all part of the experience, but so is the pure joy that results from finding a rhythmic f low down Snowmass's Tom Blake Trail, the sweet sensation of carving on tacky dirt down nearby Rim Trail, or the trancelike state one achieves following a friend's wheel as it churns up a rooster tail of yellow aspen leaves. The Roaring Fork Valley's newest trails are helping to democratize these two sets of experi- ences, meaning the nirvana that comes from coasting down a narrow trail is no longer limited to locals and biking veterans. continued on page 32 aspenpeak-magazine.com 31