Epic 4-Hour MTB Ride on the Indian Creek Loop

Introduction

Thursday, October 10th, we began by meeting at the Waterton Canyon Parking Lot to gear up and head into Waterton Canyon. The weather was absolutely perfect, with temps around 80 degrees in the middle of October. We left a little late in the day, a little after 2:30. The mood was great. Everyone was just itching to pedal.

Ride Details

The name of the full loop we were riding was called Indian Creek, located in the Pike National Forest, just southwest of Littleton, Colorado. The loop we rode was 32.6 miles and 4,300 feet of vertical gain. It’s is a moderately hard trail with lots of loose gravel, rocks, roots and is technical in various spots throughout the ride as well as being fast and flowy in others. It also has one of the best views of the Front Range of Colorado you can get and what’s really special about this loop is that it’s the start of the Colorado Trail which goes 300+ miles to Durango, Colorado, through the rugged Rocky Mountains.

Watch the 4-hour ride in 60 seconds on our YouTube Channel: Watch Now!

Personal Story/Experience

We met and geared up at the Waterton Canyon Parking Lot and headed to the trail which is about an easy 6 mile gravel road ride to the start of the loop. Once you get the start of the Colorado Trail, it’s 90% singletrack for the next 20 miles. The beginning of the climb to the Indian Creek Trail is a decently moderate climb but once you turn onto the Indian Creek Trail, that’s where it gets quite steep…steep enough to make it a hike-a-bike for 20 feet. I’ve cleaned the section before but it wasn’t my day that day. That seemed to happen throughout the ride; missing climbs or rocks that I don’t usually miss. Once that first big climb is out of the way, there’s a nice little flow downhill that’s super fun before continuing the climb to up the Ringtail Trail. So far, we are at about 2,500+ feet of vertical gain

Highlight of the Day

The highlight of this ride other than the amazing flowy downhills, the remoteness, the climbs and views of the foothills of Colorado, is the section of Ringtail Trail that comes around a corner and opens up to this spectacular view looking north along the mountains. Roxborough Park is in the foreground and beyond that is the Hogback, Red Rocks, the Flatirons, Green Mountain and the city of Denver, truly a beautiful view, definitely one worth riding for. After that came the rest of the Ringtail downhill and it was such a blast. Then reality set in, the 1,200 vertical feet of climbing out. That’s always a fun feeling being at 3,000 for the ride and 20 miles in, still having another 1,200 feet and 12 miles to go. It was about 5:30 so we had to get going. We only had about an hours worth of light and 6 miles and 1,200 feet of climbing and singletrack.

Gear Setup

I wore the APEX Mountain Bike Jersey for most of the ride until about 5:30 and the sun started poking behind the tips of the mountain peaks. In my bag, I brought the NTM Mountain Bike Long Sleeve just for  this part of the ride when I knew it would get chilly, especially in the trees and speeding down the downhills. This system of layering worked absolutely perfect. I didn’t even notice I had an extra jersey on and it’s a long sleeve so it keeps a you good to go during those late evenings racing back to the car.

Trail Etiquette and Tips

If you are looking to do this same ride here’s a few tips:

• Fuel up and bring extra, just-in-case. Make sure to bring plenty of water.

Bring extra gear incase of bad weather along the way. It’s Colorado, you never know.

• When it comes to being on the trail, trail etiquette is a very important aspect and treating other users, animals, wildlife and the trail itself with respect is a must. This is a privilege and we are so lucky to have what we have, treat it properly and respect it.
• Always yield to the climber and yield for hikers unless they wave you through, which a lot of hikers tend to do. Secondly, if you encounter and horses make sure to get off your bike and give them space to pass. The last thing you want to do is scare any horses.

Conclusion

We raced the sun back to the Waterton Canyon road and barely made it. By the time we made it back to the cars, it was pitch black. What a ride, with some great people. We pushed ourselves mentally and physically and it was well worth it.

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