Photo Essay: Colorado High Country Riding

In the middle of the summer, sometimes it’s tough to get motivated to ride around our home base of Boulder, CO.  Yeah, I know- it’s hard to comprehend (first world problems, anyone?)…  but when the sun is beating down and it’s close to 100 degrees, riding a mountain bike on trails with no shade can be a daunting task.  That said, we always have options, and yesterday morning a few of us headed up to a favorite high-elevation ride that’s close to town, and always seem to be empty.  We love the high-elevation riding in the Colorado high-country so much that we’re always trying to duplicate the experience of riding in places like Crested Butte, Park City, and Durango.

Golden Gate Canyon State Park is a hidden gem on the Front Range of Colorado, and offers riding for everyone.  One of our favorite loops is Mule Deer, a ~9 mile loop that gives you a little bit of everything: high meadow riding, technical rock gardens, and some lung-busting climbs that put the hurtin’ on you real fast!  We prefer a couple of loops, which makes it an 18 mile ride with just under 3,000 feet of climbing.

Yesterday we made the 45-minute drive, unloaded the bikes, and went for a 3-hour ride to have fun and take pictures.  Photography is one of our favorite things to include with a good ride, and we try to take out the camera for a handful of shots on all our Chasing Epic trips- especially the private/custom trips when we can capture moments you’ll look back on for years to come.