Mountain biking outside Boulder

My dispatcher had a couple of days off, which meant that I was on office duty up in Boulder. It being my favorite time of year in the Foothills and emboldened by my recent return to mt. biking, I brought the fatty tire bike up both days and took advantage of being next to some great riding.

On Thursday, I cut out of the office a bit early to catch the 4:40pm bus up to Nederland and got in 2hrs of really fun trails in the West Magnolia zone. My most recent trail day up here ended up with me in the hospital, so it was a victory of sorts to revisit my old trail haunt that I've ridden so many times since moving to Boulder--- 8 years ago. Sadly I forgot to pack the camera, and that's especially sad because it was perhaps the most electric and vibrant neon aspen colors that I've ever seen in my life! Sections of these trails duck through full canopies of young aspens, and it felt like a Disneyland ride to pedal through a fully encompassing tunnel of screaming neon yellow.

Friday I pedaled out from the office up to the Batasso Loop just a couple miles up Boulder Canyon, eager to check out the newly built Benjamin Loop addition. Got a late start, rode slow, and found the new spur to be longer than I'd expected. Luckily I had packed my lights and ended up pedaling the last hour in the darkness. This was my first proper singletrack in pitch black with only a headlight, and it was kinda fun. Kinda nerve wracking as well....


Started off well enough with a nice sunset ride outside of town....

But the last hour turned into this....  (Boulder city lights way down below in the distance!)
Made it home safe and sound, very very carefully.... ~4mi in the pitch black, a mile or two on technical singletrack.