Jessica Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 So, I accepted a verbal offer for my next job and since my start date is in two weeks, Barry suggested I take a solo bike trip. Can't believe it didn't occur to me. After doing a bit of research, I think the Aspen area is a place that I could keep busy riding all the blue trails and camp at trail heads. The weather isn't Austin hot there and promises to be comfortable riding and camping. Anyone have any car camping hacks that you learned from the school of skinned knees that you care to share? Camping Options Found this nifty website that allows the user to view National Forests with biking trails and campsites together. https://www.fs.fed.us/ivm/ While some campsites can be reserved, quite a few are first come first served. These campsites are ideal due to price and bathroom/shower situation There are regular camping sites in the "city"- but I think finding an open FCFS by the trails is better - bringing the telescope. Food When Barry and I travel we eat a mix of fast food and restaurants. Since I want to keep this relatively cheap, I am bringing a small burner I got at Hana Market (thanks Hanjing). Breakfast: Egg-cheese sammies, french press, maybe instant grits/oatmeal Lunch Since I will be riding through lunch (at a higher altitude these rides will take me the better part of the day with photo taking and daydreaming) it seems like Perpetuum is the way to go with some gels. Dinner Canned chicken creations- Pad Thai, Knorr Pasta Sides, Stovetop, and some Ramen. Easy to make after a long day of riding and doesn't take up room in cooler Maybe beanie weenie, whatever I can get in a individual serving that is shelf stable. Biking I was originally going to do a hiking and biking trip- but soon realized I would not feel comfortable with my bike locked to my car while I went to check out pre Columbian Architecture. I also wanted to minimize the time I spend driving and get the max benefit from the altitude training. Since I am riding alone- nothing more challenging than a blue trail with a black feature. The Goal is to ride as many of these trails in no particular order: Aspen https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7005156/sky-mountain-park-loop https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/3633466/lincoln-creek-road-to-ruby-ghost-town (not single track but cool ride-good views recovery day) https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7054374/crown-tour https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7018198/the-up-n-over-aka-rock-bottom-ranch-aka-crown-cruise https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/951198/rim-trail-loop with this one https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7020270/seven-star-trail Buena Vista- way back home stop possibly https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/3733565/buena-vista-singletrack-loop Bike Tools/Spares This is where things get internet dependent. I will need to video chat with Barry if I need to do a serious repair or YouTube. Barry's list for me Extra tires and tubes. Lube. Multitool. Extra bacon. Extra quick links. Shop rag or 2 Silver floor pump. Derailleur and Derailleur Hanger Now to finish that new hire paperwork. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBaron Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 20 minutes ago, Jessica said: So, I accepted a verbal offer for my next job and since my start date is in two weeks, Barry suggested I take a solo bike trip. Anyone have any car camping hacks that you learned from the school of skinned knees that you care to share? https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/951198/rim-trail-loop with this one https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7020270/seven-star-trail Congrats on the new gig! I'm hoping to be doing the same here before too long. Me and my boys rode Rim to 7star last summer. It was very good. We did not loop it back to the beginning (because we road back to the hotel). Seven Star was an amazing decent. https://www.strava.com/activities/3951413139 When are you leaving? Cheers, CJB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 5 minutes ago, CBaron said: Congrats on the new gig! I'm hoping to be doing the same here before too long. Me and my boys rode Rim to 7star last summer. It was very good. We did not loop it back to the beginning (because we road back to the hotel). Seven Star was an amazing decent. https://www.strava.com/activities/3951413139 When are you leaving? Cheers, CJB That is quite the ride for those boys!! Best of luck with landing- manufacturing hiring went from 0 to 100mph in a week. I figure that I will have all of the pre work paperwork done by Tuesday or Wednesday. I hope to leave by Thursday the latest. Cheers to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBaron Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 They did very well all during our trip. It helped that this ride profile was generally downhill. But make no mistake there was real climbing. The initial climb up was legit. I'll try to drop in a few nuggets of info here before you leave. I've got a project I'm working on right now -CJB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throet Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 In the food department, put a cajun spin on the beanie weenie by substituting Hoppin' John Black-eyed Peas mixed up with a health serving of diced andouille sausage. Very cheap and easy complete meal to make at the campsite with only a small pot and something to cut the sausage up on. Any leftovers are easily kept in a tupperware container. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 1 hour ago, Jessica said: bringing the telescope. ^^^^ This ^^^^ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinned elbows Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 I just got back from there yesterday, rented a stumpy from aspen bikes downtown and with no way to tow bike we just rode the two mountains by rental...smugglers mountain and sky mountain. I know you like to climb since your with Barry and smugglers is a climbers dream.. You can park at the base of smugglers and begin the 3mile accent to top, it was brutal for me and took an hour, I don't like climbing or cardio ha. Once at the top which is around 9k feet there is some sweet trails with nice techy flow and big aspen trees ..I liked tootsie roll and lollipop trails the best. Around the lake at top of smugglers its more open and grassy I didn't explore much on that side. There is a cool river crossing and an old mining house to check out. We took hunter creek trail on the way down, lots of hikers, and hit the only rock garden on whole trip. It was a fun downhill.After lunch we hit up sky mountain...you can park near base there too across from airport. It was about a 2mile climb up airline trail but smoother dirt and less crowded with tighter switchbacks on the way up. Easier climb than smugglers but still tough. At this point I was pretty smoked so just turned back and bombed down Airline..that was the best downhill..so damn fun. It was more brushy with sage and dusty on sky mountain and seemed like would be more flow trail from what I could see at the top. The two mountains had totally different scenery.Pics all from smugglers..Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinned elbows Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 Heres a pic of near the top of sky mountain ...you can tell the difference in dirt and plants...its wild how that area can have mountains of red, green and brown all next to each other. Carbondale looked to have some nice trails on a red mountain i didn't check those out though.Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 12 hours ago, skinned elbows said: I just got back from there yesterday, rented a stumpy from aspen bikes downtown and with no way to tow bike we just rode the two mountains by rental...smugglers mountain and sky mountain. I know you like to climb since your with Barry and smugglers is a climbers dream.. You can park at the base of smugglers and begin the 3mile accent to top, it was brutal for me and took an hour, I don't like climbing or cardio ha. Once at the top which is around 9k feet there is some sweet trails with nice techy flow and big aspen trees ..I liked tootsie roll and lollipop trails the best. Around the lake at top of smugglers its more open and grassy I didn't explore much on that side. There is a cool river crossing and an old mining house to check out. We took hunter creek trail on the way down, lots of hikers, and hit the only rock garden on whole trip. It was a fun downhill. After lunch we hit up sky mountain...you can park near base there too across from airport. It was about a 2mile climb up airline trail but smoother dirt and less crowded with tighter switchbacks on the way up. Easier climb than smugglers but still tough. At this point I was pretty smoked so just turned back and bombed down Airline..that was the best downhill..so damn fun. It was more brushy with sage and dusty on sky mountain and seemed like would be more flow trail from what I could see at the top. The two mountains had totally different scenery. Pics all from smugglers.. Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk Thanks for the ride report! The climbing at altitude is no joke. While it is true, I do enjoy a good climb- the higher altitude I get out of breath and my legs are fine. Thanks for the time benchmarking for the climb- I don't expect to get much better timing. Those photos are awesome! Seriously thought about starting out in Telluride with the gondola assisted downhilling until I got adjusted a little, and then I recalled the million dollar highway. Hard pass on driving that road. Were there any sketchy drives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 21 hours ago, throet said: In the food department, put a cajun spin on the beanie weenie by substituting Hoppin' John Black-eyed Peas mixed up with a health serving of diced andouille sausage. Very cheap and easy complete meal to make at the campsite with only a small pot and something to cut the sausage up on. Any leftovers are easily kept in a tupperware container. Where can I find these? Did my first pass at HEB and didn't see this. I'm delighted that I found a chef boyardee cheeseburger mac in the can. I didn't find any Pad Thai that was simple to make. Found some interesting instant mash, ramen and stovetop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throet Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 3 hours ago, Jessica said: Where can I find these? Did my first pass at HEB and didn't see this. I'm delighted that I found a chef boyardee cheeseburger mac in the can. I didn't find any Pad Thai that was simple to make. Found some interesting instant mash, ramen and stovetop. I used to get them at Walmart but unfortunately it looks like they are no longer available in-store - darn! I do see that they can be ordered online for delivery. I love doing the Zatarain's Dirty Rice Mix as well for camping, but instead of using hamburger, I use a combination of ground breakfast sausage (like Owen's Hot) and diced link sausage. Gives it a a much better flavor and texture than hamburger. I'll use more meat than it calls for too, just to make it more of a complete meal. I'll make that at home, and then store it in tupperware or quart baggies for the cooler. For breakfast I always pack whole-grain or multi-grain english muffins with either peanut butter or almond butter to spread on top along with some sliced bananas. Nice for those days you don't want to full with cooking breakfast. I'll bring a pack of flour tortillas too, and roll up some of that same spread / banana mix to pack out on the trail for a mid-ride snack. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Bug Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 Don't know how it would be trying to find camping (campground or dispersed) near Aspen in the summer. Could be crazy busy. Hipcamp could be an option. Forest service campground spots are usually reserved through Recreation.gov 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 HEB had these rice and bean dishes that were pretty good. I don't see them any more but I think the Zattarain brand are the same. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinned elbows Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 Thanks for the ride report! The climbing at altitude is no joke. While it is true, I do enjoy a good climb- the higher altitude I get out of breath and my legs are fine. Thanks for the time benchmarking for the climb- I don't expect to get much better timing. Those photos are awesome! Seriously thought about starting out in Telluride with the gondola assisted downhilling until I got adjusted a little, and then I recalled the million dollar highway. Hard pass on driving that road. Were there any sketchy drives? No sketchy drives on our route but we flew in to Denver and just hit 70 over to Glenwood springs and stayed in Carbondale...both cool little towns by the waySent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted June 16, 2021 Author Share Posted June 16, 2021 So it seems that the new hire process may be a little longer than I thought- looks like I will make use of the Santa Fe thread and wait to do this trip when it makes sense. I would also lose my precious little heat acclimation. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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