Tuesdays with Dirty: I think I’m Addicted

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Due to my work schedule, I am fortunate enough to have 3 and 4 day weekends on a regular basis. This usually results in a lot of traveling and time away from home. This weekend I decided to force myself to stay home, catch up with friends, and ride some local trails that I haven’t given enough attention to lately. This almost worked.

Sunday found me with a great riding partner on a pretty sweet sunset ride up on the Black Canyon Trail. This trail never disappoints. 80 miles of trail with about a half dozen trail heads to choose from, and every one is a winner. Everybody should go there.

just your typical Black Canyon sunset.

That ride sent me to bed smiling ear to ear and I had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my days off. When I awoke on Monday I still couldn’t really decide. I was supposed to stay in town…But if I rode out of town and did an overnight, that still kind of qualifies. Right?

Might as well pack up the rig and hit the road. I grabbed my trusty Fargo, loaded up the sleep kit, and pointed it east towards Four Peaks. This is a nice little area about 40 miles out of town with some 7,500 ft summits that overlook the valley. There is a dirt road that goes up and over the little range and it seemed like a nice goal to get up to the pine trees from the desert floor.

The first 20 miles of the ride were the exact course of the Ironman which is happening this weekend. The road was swarmed with riders from all over the country preparing to test themselves. Not really my thing, but much respect. That is one boring and windy stretch of road. I think a little piece of me died out there.

heading to those hills.. and apparently I lost a bar plug

I made it out to the dirt by sunset and climbed in the dark for about an hour before making camp somewhere around 5,000ft. It was a chilly night but the coyotes rocked me to sleep just fine. In the morning I awoke to ice in my water bottles and a frozen chamois…whoops. Who needs coffee when your shorts are ice! The road seemed to go straight up, right out of camp, and I gave it some stick until I saw my first pine tree. Tired, cold, and looking up at some snow falling in the distance. I decided it was time to go home. No need to be a  tough guy on a Tuesday morning. I cashed in all my hard earned downhill dollars on the way down the hill, whoopin’ and smiling the whole way.

the desert is big.

When it was all said and done, it was nothing epic. Modest mileage, smiling the whole time, and minimal suffering. Just a nice couple of days on the bike.

I sure do have it bad for these bikes lately. I can’t remember the last time I have ridden this much, and I don’t see an end in sight. As for right now, I hear a recovery beer calling my name. So much for staying home, I’m off to check out some trails in Chattanooga, TN next weekend and see what the south has to offer. Until then…keep it dirty

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About dirty biker

I am a fan of singletrack, singlespeeds, single women and single malt. Currently in Carbondale, CO Follow on Instagram @dirty_biker

19 Replies to “Tuesdays with Dirty: I think I’m Addicted”

  1. Love the Black Canyon Trail…or as I like to call it, the “Snake will fucking eat your face” trail. So many snakes out there…

  2. yea, i fell into a cactus on black canyon trail, right? i have friends doing IMAZ this weekend, wish i could be there to cheer. you are livin’ the fuckin’ life dirty. somedays, i hate you. xxxoooo!

  3. Jesus loves you! Jesus loves Lone Pine and Four Peaks! Jesus loves goin’ by human power(well, Jesus Power in His case) to the top!

  4. Awesome Dirty!

    Just good times on a bicycle, nothing finer, you’re an inspiration.

    Off to Taupo next weekend for the 160km, seriously under trained but I’m so looking forward to this.

    It’s a total biking fiesta all week.

  5. …you’ve got yourself a seriously righteous habit these days, dirty b…

    …enjoy…

  6. thanks for getting me stoked about the southwest, Dirty. if you need someone to show you the best trails near Chatt town, just let me know!

  7. Making me jealous. The only thing that would make me feel better is a re-enactment of the dancing scene from RAD by Judi and Dom.