It was our first time to ride in Telluride. However, this was our second time to join Yeti Tribe Gathering. This year (2019) Yeti Cycles held it in Telluride, Colorado.
Friday August 2, 2019
On that day, we had to drop off Tsali in Ouray (a town not too far from Telluride) before we headed to 2019 Yeti Tribe Gathering in Telluride, CO. We had to do this because Lawson Hill, the area that hosted Yeti Tribe Gathering, is a designated wildlife corridor and does not allow pets on premise. Trent did a lot of research when we were in Atlanta and found Ouray Dog Company, which had a lot of good reviews.
We decided to have our lovely baby boy stay there for 2 nights. It cost $35/night. We also had him groomed right before we picked him up on Sunday. The total cost (2 nights + grooming) was $100. Not bad at all. We highly recommend this place. They were such professionals. The staff made sure to take Tsali for a walk while we were leaving the property, so that Tsali didn’t see us leaving and stayed calm. He was a happy dog and he smelled wonderful when we came back to pick him up.
We got to Yeti Tribe designated campsite area, Lawson Hill, around noon. Right away we started to make new friends, and met with our old friends from the last year’s Yeti Tribe in Snowmass, CO. Without wasting our time, we were getting ourselves ready to hit Telluride’s trails!
From Lawson Hill to Gondola Lift
You can ride your bike from Lawson Hill area to Telluride Downtown area, where you can take a gondola. There were several different trails you can take from Lawson Hill area. On that day, we took the bike path (paved bike path), which was approximately 3.9 miles. The path was pretty flat the whole way and the view was stunning.
Gondola Lift in Telluride
We spent $240 /each for the whole package deal for the Yeti Tribe Gathering. The package included 2 nights of camping at a designated location, 2-full day gondola/lift ticket, 4 meals (including beer), and showers at a designated location. When we checked in at the tribe check-in booth, they gave us a lift ticket that we could use for the gondola for 2 full days. A typical bike park day ticket costs $36. You can check for more information of the lift tickets there on Telluride Ski Resort website.
Bike Trails in Telluride, CO
No-Brainer Trail
We started off riding No-Brainer Trail, which was considered a blue/intermediate trail. It was the first time I rode at a bike park this year. I would suggested (if you can) to warm up on a green/beginner trail every time before you start to ride at a bike park. However, we did No-Brainer first. I was pretty nervous the whole time. This trail has a lot of switch backs, sharp turns, and a lot of loose gravel. (On the second day that I did it, it felt so much better and so much more fun..) We didn’t record it on a camera this time since Trent didn’t take our GoPro with us.
Village Trail
We did a second run back to the bike park on that day. By the time we got to the bike park, a lot of trails had closed for some reason. Therefore, we didn’t have many options. Village trail was the one that was still available. Village trail is considered a green to blue (easy to intermediate) trail. The trail made us feel like we were riding in a typical (non-bike park) trail,. You won’t go too fast on this trail but, still, it was really enjoyable. I think it is another good trail for you to warm up before doing more aggressive down hill riding.
Jurassic and Meadows Trails
Jurassic and Meadows trails are connector trails to get back to Lawson Hill area. If you ride toward Lawson Hill on these trails, you will be doing most of the downhill ride on these trails. Both trails are skinny like a single track trail. However, it is not directional. So you will have to be careful of another rider climbing from the different direction.
Hippy Outdoor Shower
We put water in our black bear canister and left it on the top of hood before we left for riding. By the time we got back to our campsite in Lawson Hill area, it was already at 6.30 pm. Trent and I needed to take a shower big time and it was kind of too late to drive to take a shower at the designated area. So I tried out our outdoor shower for the first time where we camp. It was a little bit of struggling but the water was warm. And we felt so fresh and clean after the shower. Outdoor shower rocks! We felt that we had so much more freedom. Now we could camp anywhere. This is another step up of our hippy lifestyle, which we love!
Hanging out with Yeti Tribe Friends
It was a taco night. However, Trent and I were too busy catching up with our friends. We talked about bikes, trails, life, and beer. We missed the food they served but luckily we were hanging out at our friend’s (Danny’s) Sushi bar and got a lot of sushi and booze there. It was so much fun.
Be the reason someone smiles, Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.
Roy T. Bennett