This was our first time here. We did a quick lap here on The Big Cheese, Splinter, and Speedy Gonzales trails. The trails were so fun. There were still so much more we could have explored!
Thursday August 1, 2019
Trent drove from Atlanta to Colorado with our bikes and Tsali on the prior weekend. I flew from Atlanta to meet with Trent on Wednesday (the day before) to the airport in Montrose, Colorado at 10.30 pm.
After Trent picked me up at the airport, we went to stay at Super 8 by Wyndham Montrose. If you are traveling with your dog(s), this is a good hotel for you. It is a pet friendly hotel. One night stay there was $130 + $10 (pet fee).
All of us got some good rest, therefore on that day we didn’t wait! It was our time to ride and I was so excited. Trent did some googling and found that there was a trail system not too far from us.
Ridgway Trail System or Ridgway Area Trails (RAT)
We got to the trail around 10.30 am. At the trailhead, there was a portable restroom and there were only a few cars. At 11 am, we started to ride.
RAT Quick Loop: The Big Cheese – Splinter – Speedy Gonzales
Distance 7 mi, Elevation 877 ft, Moving Time: 1:07:14, Energy Elapsed Time: 1:35:25
More information of this trip on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/2582351801
All 3 trails are considered as intermediate trails on mtbproject.com. Both of us agreed and thought that they are really fun intermediate trails. Even when we were climbing up on The Big Cheese, we still felt that it was not that hard of a climb. The trail builder really know what they are doing. The trail has really good flow.
When we got to the top, the view got prettier and prettier. Splinter trail was the most scenic trail of all 3 in my opinion. There were many good overlook spots we could stop and enjoy the view. The air here was so clean and dry. No humidity like what we have in Georgia. It felt really nice to not get socked every time after the ride. We enjoyed riding here in Colorado a lot.
However, there were so many cactuses along side of the trail, which our Georgian dog (Tsali) was not quite used to. Tsali loves to take shortcut when possible. Therefore, we were trying very hard to keep him staying on the trail so that I won’t step on those and get hurt. We tried but it still was quite frustrating because we were worried about him.
On Speedy Gonzales, there were a lot of fun rolling hills and good sections of burms. I felt that the second ride for us will be so much more fun after we have learned the flow of this trail.
After Speedy Gonzales, we got back on The Big Cheese again to head back to the parking lot. It was a good first day for me! Time well spent!
What to eat after the ride?
We met some locals at the parking lot and asked them for a good place to eat. They suggested us to go to Gnar Tacos back in town. OMG! The food was SO GOOD and the price was reasonable. (Spoiler Alert: We went back there a few more times during our trip.) When in doubt, ask locals!
I wanted to end our blog post today with something that has really been in my thoughts lately after I watched Joe Rogan’s episode with Elon Musk; my favorite episode. Don’t let anyone fool you that their life was perfect. Everyone has up and down time… and no one’s life is perfect. Be happy now… be happy today.
Comparison is the thief of Joy.
Theodore roosevelt
Happiness equals Reality minus Expectations.
Tom Magliozzi