Mountain bike fans rejoice. This weeks trail-of-the-week is Boulder's Heil Valley Ranch Trails as featured in the new Everytrail guide.
Heil Ranch may be one of the best intermediate mountain bike trails around. Technically, there is no trail called Heil Ranch Trail. It is a series of trails including Wapiti Trail, Ponderosa Loop trail, and Lichen Trail.
The reason I have such high praise for this trail is the thought and planning that went into it. As I have mentioned before, I'm not the mountain biker that I used to be. About the same time I realized I was mortal, my knees started complaining about the stresses of rigorous hill climbing. The combination of those two factors caused me to rethink my frequent forays into the tortuous roller-coasters of the hills.
But every once in a while, I like to explore a mountain bike trail or two. And that's exactly what I did this weekend. I rode one trail on Friday and another on Sunday. And they were both awesome; I never went over the handlebars once.
Check out the Heil Ranch Everytrail Guide to see some pictures of the ride and directions to the trailhead. I'd like to hear what others think. Am I just a sentimental old fool who remembers taking my students on this trail a few years ago or is it actually as awesome as I perceive it. If you've ever ridden Heil Ranch, send me your thoughts/comments.
Heil Ranch may be one of the best intermediate mountain bike trails around. Technically, there is no trail called Heil Ranch Trail. It is a series of trails including Wapiti Trail, Ponderosa Loop trail, and Lichen Trail.The reason I have such high praise for this trail is the thought and planning that went into it. As I have mentioned before, I'm not the mountain biker that I used to be. About the same time I realized I was mortal, my knees started complaining about the stresses of rigorous hill climbing. The combination of those two factors caused me to rethink my frequent forays into the tortuous roller-coasters of the hills.
But every once in a while, I like to explore a mountain bike trail or two. And that's exactly what I did this weekend. I rode one trail on Friday and another on Sunday. And they were both awesome; I never went over the handlebars once.
Check out the Heil Ranch Everytrail Guide to see some pictures of the ride and directions to the trailhead. I'd like to hear what others think. Am I just a sentimental old fool who remembers taking my students on this trail a few years ago or is it actually as awesome as I perceive it. If you've ever ridden Heil Ranch, send me your thoughts/comments.
4 comments:
Thanks for including a mountain bike trail in your guides. I love rail trails, but it's fun to ride on a mountain bike trail for a change of pace.
This one sounds like fun.
Kevin,
Heil Ranch is a good trail for sure. I'm just back from France. We actually did a cool rail trail while in the Burgundy region. I don't have too many pics, but I can get you the info if you like.
Kevin,
Heil Ranch is a good trail for sure. I'm just back from France. We actually did a cool rail trail while in the Burgundy region. I don't have too many pics, but I can get you the info if you like.
Thanks for including a mountain bike trail in your guides. I love rail trails, but it's fun to ride on a mountain bike trail for a change of pace.
This one sounds like fun.
Post a Comment