The itinerary for our final day of the ultimate spring break mountain bike road trip included two rides in Cortez, one familiar and famous, the other unfamiliar and obscure. The first would be the rightfully touted Phil’s World trail system on the west edge of town. Mtbikerchick recently gave us a good article on this route so I won’t go into much detail about this one other than to point out that, if you haven’t done Phil’s in a while, an option for another two miles has been added near the end of the ride. This was my third time at Phil’s and it was everything I remembered it to be. As for Miniskibum, it was his first go at Phil’s and he seemed to enjoy it even more than I expected he would. What a great way to start our final day!
The second Cortez stop would be the less well known, and as it would turn out, the far less ridden, Chutes and Ladders. I’ve ridden Chutes and Ladders in Fruita, I live right next to The Chutes in Colorado Springs, and we had just completed The Chutes in Tucson on this trip. So sizing up Cortez’ Chutes and Ladders seemed only natural.
After finding the trailhead, however, we were quickly steered away from our original intent. By all appearances, the trail doesn’t get much traffic and had apparently seen zero traffic so far this season. The surface was very soft and yet there was not a single knobby print to be found. We started out only to find the pedaling on the soft (not muddy, just a bit “cushy”) surface was inordinately taxing for the amount of fun the trail was delivering. What’s more, the lack of use made the trail very difficult to follow in places as any sign of the trail disappeared completely. After about a half mile of this unsatisfying riding, we made the decision to skip the next five miles. This may be a good route later in the season, but for the last week in March, we declared this one a lemon.
So, when life gives you a lemon… you just drive on to Durango. I hadn’t originally planned on a Durango stop, fearing it was too early in the year and all the good stuff would be snowed in. However, the folks in the local bike shop informed us that, with the exception of the north slope at the far end of the ridge, the Telegraph Trails were all dry and in primo condition, so we set out to the trail.
Telegraph wasn’t particularly high on my wish list because I thought it was just where you went in Durango when you couldn’t get to the high country where the real rides are. This prejudice would soon be debunked as this network proved to be highly worthy of its own accord, regardless of its proximity to the great high country rides. Again, mtbikerchick covered this area in her article, so I won’t go into great detail, other than to point out we stayed in the northern portion of Telegraph where you’ve got to start with a significant climb up a rocky doubletrack before you get to the good stuff.
Once at the start of the singletrack options, you’ve got the Meadows Loop on the east side, which is buffed and fast and the ridge on the west, which is where the techy bits are. We rode the Meadow loop and then proceeded onto the ridge, which proved to be far more fun than I expected. Riding the ridge from north to south, you’ve got spectacular vistas on both sides and a great variety of technical goodies under your knobbies. As you approach the south end of the ridge, you’ve got a number of options for descending. The one Miniskibum and I took couldn’t have been more fun and we ranked it with the best descents of the entire trip. Although fairly short, it had rollers, ledges, sudden corners and tons of transitions. This ended up being an exciting and most fitting way to end our knobby-tired adventure and we finished with yet another perma-grin on our faces.
Here are our stats from the Ultimate Spring Break Mountain Bike Road Trip:
Trip Duration: 10 Days
Miles driven: Almost 2,000
Days spent riding: 10 Days
Rides on itinerary: 20
Rides expected to actually be completed: 8-12
Rides actually completed: 16
New rides added to my list: 14
Miles Ridden: Approximately 180 (about what Greg does in a single weekend, but it was a big 10 days for us)
Flats: 9
Major Mechanicals: 2
Endos: 5
Dislocations: 2 (both on the same finger)
Cactus spines embedded in flesh: somewhere between 103 and 105
Smiles, giggles, and killer endorphin rushes: Too many to count!
Rides rank ordered by our combined ratings:
Skibum Miniskibum Total
South Mountain 4.5 5 9.5
Highline 5 4 9
Alien Run 4.5 4.5 9
Chuckwagon 4 4.5 8.5
Gold Canyon 4.5 4 8.5
Phil’s World 4 4.5 8.5
50 Year Trail 4 4 8
Telegraph Trails 4 4 8
Granite Basin 4 3.5 7.5
Fantasy Island 4 3.5 7.5
High Desert 4 3.5 7.5
Airport 4 3 7
Sweetwater 3.5 3 6.5
McDowell 3 2.5 5.5
Starr Pass 3 2.5 5.5
Trail 100 2.5 2 4.5
Most rides left some kind of enduring impression on us. In that vein, here’s our list of awards:
The Most Ridiculously, Relentlessly Technical Trail Award: South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ
The Best Scenery with Wicked Exposure and Insane Technicality Award: Highline, Sedona, AZ
The Best Scenery without all that Exposure and Technicality Award: Chuck Wagon/Mescal, Sedona, AZ
The Best Ride in the Middle of Nowhere Award: Alien Run, Aztec, NM
The Best Ride on the Edge of Town Award: Gold Canyon Trails, Gold Canyon, AZ
The Best Local Quickie: Fantasy Island, Tucson, AZ
The Ride Where You’re Most Likely to Get Blown Right off Your Bicycle Award: High Desert, Gallup, NM
The Most Stunning Saguaro Forest Award: Sweetwater, Tucson, AZ
The “Are You Sure We’re Not Back in Colorado”? Award: Granite Basin, Prescott, AZ
Skibum’s I Wanna’ Go Back and Do That Again Award: 50 Year Trail, Oro Valley, AZ
Miniskibum’s I Wanna’ Go Back and Do That Again Award: Phil’s World, Cortez, CO
The Wow, That Was a Pleasant Surprise Award: Telegraph Trails, Durango, CO
In the end, this proved to be far and away the best bike vacation I’ve ever had. Only once in the past had I ridden 10 consecutive days, and most of them were quick, local, after work rides. More directly impacting the joy of the trip, was the fact that Miniskibum has grown into a perfect riding partner. While only 13, he’s physically strong enough to keep up with his aerobically challenged old man. Technically, he can ride anything I can, often more smoothly and efficiently. Most importantly, he has the perfect attitude, always eager to ride, willing to try anything, and not too timid to shame me when I’m slacking. Huge thanks to my wife for genuinely allowing us this indulgence, guilt-free. I can’t imagine living a more blessed life!
