I rolled over in bed around 5:30am to a gorgeous view into the valley. After a quick photo, I rolled straight back over. Anthony was gone by the time we woke up to get to his 6:30am photography workshop and by 8:30am most of the campers had cleared out. I used the porta-loos they had set up on the side of the road and after breakfast, we were ready to head into town.

Before we left, I noticed a helmet sitting on the ground not far from where we were parked. There had been a few people camped there last night but Dan said he’d seen it there before they arrived. He wondered if it would fit his head, but there was no chance of that. Luckily, there was a small pouch inside the helmet with the owner’s name and his emergency contact details. He hadn’t thought to put his own phone number on the small piece of paper, so I called his first contact. A lady answered and I asked if he knew the guy and she said yes and asked if I was in Crested Butte. When I explained the situation, she said she’d get right on to him and pass on my details. Five minutes later, William rang me and was on his way after I told him where we were. He rocked up in a small silver car with a fancy mountain bike on top. He was a happy man to get his helmet back and he explained the story of how he’d lost it before he left. It had a lot to do with him being inebriated the night before. I felt good about the good karma and wished him some happy riding before he set off.

Now we could start our day. I followed Dan into town where we parked in front of Big Al’s, a bike shop we’d walked past the day before that offered rentals for a decent price. Inside, we inquired about a four hour rental and found that for a dual suspension, it would only cost us $32. Not a bad deal! They had plenty of bikes to offer but Dan ended up with a Rocky Mountain XL dualie with way fancier running gear than I had. The girl who served us set the bike up for Dan’s height and weight and when we asked what trail we could ride in four hours, she straightaway suggested Doctor’s Pass and her colleague behind her backed it up with a huge nod. With two cars, we could even shuttle the trail and cut out most of the climbing. Sweet! We really wanted to do the 401 trail, but it was still snowed in at the top so this was our next best option. After a consult of the map they had in store and a few photos of it, we stashed Dan’s flash bike into his car and I followed him to the bottom of the trail. It took us a decent half and hour to get there but it was a pretty drive through fields of cows and it came to a river. There were plenty of other mountain bikers parked in the area so we knew this was a popular spot.

While Dan got his riding gear ready, I puzzled the Rocky Mountain bike into my car. It wasn’t easy with the 29” wheels and there was no easy option to take a wheel off because the bike shop had replaced the quick releases with hex bolts. After a few tries I got her in and we were set to go. Dan seated himself backwards in my car with Cleo at his feet and we drove up Spring Creek Road to the trailhead. People who don’t have a shuttle option ride up the seven mile road, but we were glad we didn’t have to. A dusty fire road, it wouldn’t have been a pleasant star to the ride, despite the girl the bike shop telling us it was a good warm up – one we didn’t need! It wasn’t steep, but it was constant and the riders we passed got covered in our dust. Twenty minutes later, we came to the trailhead where the creek over the road stopped us going any further. We’d been warned about this and had come to accept the idea that we’d have to climb at least a little ways.

There were a couple of cars parked there already but they were fishermen, not riders. There was only just enough room for us. Dan worked his bike out of my car while I put my pedals back on my bike and re-did the suspension and air in the tyres after I’d set it up for Dan yesterday. Ten minutes later after a good sunscreen apply and filling of water bottles, we were ready to ride.

We rode over to the creek where we took our shoes and socks off and made the crossing. It was only really knee deep, but it would have been too much for the Astro to cross with its minimal clearance. After crossing with the bikes, Dan went back for Cleo, encouraging her across the flowing water to the entertainment of the fishermen. Just as we put our shoes back on and started up the hill, a couple we’d seen riding up the hill were just crossing the creek. I’ll bet they were shagged already.

I clipped in, Dan called to Cleo, and we set off up the fire road. Cleo was in heaven, playing around in the small creek that ran alongside the fire road and chasing the chipmunks that were scurrying around. Shortly after starting, we had to go back down the hill a short way because Cleo had gone off somewhere. When we found her, she came bounding down the side of a huge hill, happier than ever.

We carried on and it was slow going. While we’d avoided most of the seven mile climb, we were now ascending the steepest part at the highest elevation. We played around with Cleo, yelling out “In the front! In the front! Up, up, up!” to see if she would listen to the commands and position herself on the trail. She was pretty bloody good at it, but mostly just wanted to run around and chase stuff.

Every patch of shade I came to I stopped so Dan could catch up and we could both have a break. This was hard work for me and for Dan it was the first time he’d ridden uphill on a mountain bike and he was on a bike more tuned for downhill just to make it harder for him. At least the views into the valley were amazing and we were happy to be staying ahead of the older couple that were behind us.

We carried on, panting and sweating and having to walk a steep section at about the halfway point. I kept consulting the map trying to reassure Dan that we were near the top. Thankfully after halfway we were past the steepest section and we could see the top! It was much easier riding when the trail flattened out but unfortunately we saw about three false summits before we actually reached the trailhead for the single track.

Cleo was panting and got into some shade quick smart while Dan and I pretty much finished off the rest of our water, giving some to Cleo so she would survive the next seven miles. Having already covered about 3 miles of climbing, this was the most trail work she’d ever done and we still had plenty of distance to cover.

The older couple approached the trailhead just as we were ready to hit the single track so we were off. I was excited to be off fire road and onto a narrow trail into the forest. We didn’t get very far before we came to an intersection and I consulted the map to decide which way to go. The older couple came up to us just as I was trying to figure out the direction and after a bit of debate, we decided on the path leading us up a hill because we all knew we had a tiny bit more climbing to do before the descent.

The older couple led us on and we started climbing up some narrow rocky single track. I stopped under the shade of a tree to consult the map and make sure we were on the right track and I discovered we’d taken the wrong turn. I yelled out to the couple and rode up to them to show them how we’d gone the wrong way. They got their map out and concurred that we’d taken a wrong turn. Back down to the intersection, we rode in the right direction, navigating a few roots over the trail before dipping down into a small exposed meadow before going back into the forest. Once there, I checked the map again and we were right. We let the older couple pass us by, then carried on. Only a few minutes later, we came to the peak. It was time to roll downhill.

Cleo was panting hard, but she stayed on Dan’s back wheel the whole time while I rode ahead and bombed down the beautifully narrow trail. We started out on forest style track with roots and few rocks but when the forest opened up into sections of meadow, the track narrowed to barely more than a tyre’s width and turned into smooth, flowy goodness. This was a brilliant track.

I stopped regularly to let Dan and Cleo catch up and was impressed to see Dan hitting all of the technical stuff, if a little slowly. Cleo was still happily running along even though she was panting like a champ. Dan’s biggest complaint was his hands. Every time we stopped, he shook them out to try and loosen them up from all the braking.

We had seven miles of beautiful single track to descend and I enjoyed every second. I couldn’t help but go fast, I was so happy to be on the bike after such a long time away. It meant a lot of waiting for the rest of the family to catch up, but it made for great photo opportunities. Dan said he could here me yipping and yapping all the way down the trail whenever I hit a jump or got a bit loose around a turn.

Past the halfway mark, we got into more rocky stuff with some serious techy descents. Still, Dan hit everything and shook his hands out fiercely whenever he came to a stop by me. After a few tight rocky switchbacks, the trail smoothed out a little and Cleo was riding in front of Dan. When we came to a rocky obstacle, I told Dan to go straight over it as he approached. He was sceptical at first, but I assured him I wasn’t bullshitting and sure enough, he rolled right over. Pretty damn good for a noob!

When we came to a flowy section that wound its way through tall green grass littered with wildflowers, I stopped to get a photo of Dan getting air over a jump. He rolled on afterwards and Cleo stopped by me. She rode behind me for a while, but I got too excited and started going way too fast for her. When I eventually came to a stop and called out to her, after a good thirty seconds, I turned my bike around to start riding back, but after a minute or so, I could see her ears popping up and down out of the grass, trotting along the trail. She just couldn’t do 20-30 mph.

Thankfully, only a few more meters down the trail, we crossed a small creek. It was just what Cleo needed. She got straight into drinking and then lay herself down in the water while me and Dan splashed the top of her body with the cold water. Even Dan sat down in it to cool off. We were all grateful for the short break but didn’t stay long because time was getting on and we had to get the bike back to the shop by 2pm, which was looking tight.

There were more jumps through the grass and more super flowing sections of trial that I enjoyed and Dan took at a moderate pace so we didn’t lose Cleo (that’s the story he was sticking to anyway). The trail just kept getting better and better and all of a sudden, we were out of the forest and on the exposed edge of a mountain. Here we could go really fast. It was about this time that we drank the last of our water, sure that the end was in sight. Cleo kept up as best we could as we descended the mountain.

The last section of trail was a collection of tight switchbacks that were built up with concrete blocks but was otherwise sandy. I did the entire section then waited near the bottom for the rest of the family. Dan had a huge smile on his face as he navigated the last few u-turns and Cleo looked happy to be at the end too, cutting every switchback to make a shortcut for herself.

At the bottom, Dan told me about his only scary moment when his front wheel washed out on one of the switchbacks, but he’d made it without a scratch. We were mostly proud of Cleo. Having not run a single trail in her life before today, she’d just run 10 miles! We rode slowly out of the campsite we’d come out to and along the dirtroad towards Dan’s car. Cleo kept it at a very slow pace so I stayed behind to keep her company. She navigated crossing the highway perfectly, staying near my front wheel and we were shortly back at the car. It was 1:50pm, so we had no hope of going back up the hill to get my car before returning the bike so we got ourselves some water then quickly shoved the bikes into the car before driving back into town.

As I drove, Dan looked through the tourist magazine I’d picked up to find the phone number of the bike shop and as soon as we got into service, he called them to let them know we’d be fifteen minutes late. I drove as fast as I could as we talked and laughed about the ride we’d done, Dan pretty much convinced that he would be taking up mountain biking, especially when Flagstaff (a mountain biking mecca) was so close to home.

I parked it around the corner from the shop at 2:20pm. They had no issue with us returning the bike late. I put that down to the good karma I’d earned this morning by returning the lost helmet. We were both almost shaking from lack of energy and badly needed sustenance, but thanks to our lack of planning I didn’t have a shirt and we weren’t in any mood to make a plan to eat then drive out of town and find camp. Instead, we just drove back to the trailhead to collect my car, then drove back into town. We stopped at a servo on the way where Dan planned to get himself a tall beer (which I couldn’t imagine stomaching) but settled for an ice tea and a Gatorade for me since they didn’t serve grog.

Back into town after picking up my car, I’d been in touch with Anthony and he was hanging around in CB so we met up with him for a late lunch/early dinner. We parked behind main street and left Cleo in the cool of some shade to sleep off the recent activity. After a bit of back and forth messaging, we met up with Anthony and we strolled the main street until Anthony suggested a cheap Mexican place to eat at. Happy with that, we got some beers and super-loaded burritos that filled us up and then some.

Dan and I were happy with our day’s activity and so was Anthony so we were all happy to head to camp. Since Anthony’s wildflower camp was only a temporary deal and ended last night, we went back to our bug-infested spot. The cloud’s gathered as we drove in formation towards our usual spot. I was in the middle and stopped when I saw a few abandoned pallets sitting by the side of a paddock just off the road. I indicated to Anthony to carry on while I did a u-turn and grabbed the three pallets. They only just fit through my side door, but they were such a sweet find for some firewood.

When I got to camp with my load, Dan was impressed and after being confused at first about why I’d turned around, firewood had been his first guess at why. He unloaded for me and we set up camp. Just as Anthony finished putting his tent up, it started to sprinkle so the boys got right to getting the fire going while Cleo and I huddled inside my car. Cleo was being a sook, but I was setting my car up as a double bed. I’d been absolutely plagued by bug bites, enough so that it warranted us buying some itch cream to ease the pain. Because of this, we were determined to set a bug bomb off in Dan’s car overnight and sleep in mine while it did it’s work.

The rain persisted so we set up my tarp at the side of Dan’s van and spent the rest of the evening underneath it. It was great except for the smoke tunnel it created from the fire. We all drank and the boys smoked, talking riding and Crested Butte experiences in general. I blogged a little under the tarp in between conversation and we all admired the showers lighting up in the afternoon sun light. It was a gorgeous sight being nestled in the valley of such grand mountains.

We all called it pretty early thanks to the rain, despite the sky never really getting dark thanks to the late sunset and nearly full moon. Dan set off his bug bomb before he and Cleo got comfy in the Astro. It was weird to be sleeping inside of it again after such a long stint out, but it was a nice night to fall asleep listening to the sound of rain.