First Mtn Bike ride in Breckenridge, CO

While visiting a friend in Breckenridge, I got to ride a mountain bike for the first time. I thought a hybrid was fun--but the mountain bikes were a blast. I figured between the altitude and the hills I'd be ready to bail after 10 minutes. On the contrary--the first day was a ride through town on the Rec path--fun but the path was flooded so we there was a detour--and then construction so another detour. The bike shop recommended parking at Boreas Pass trailhead and riding up to water tower (halfway--3 miles) or all the way up to the cabins at the top (6 miles). We climbed approximately 1000 ft total--and even though we had driven this road the day before, the views from our bikes were spectacular. I think our average moving speed was about 3 mph :eek:

My friend's SO just passed away a few months ago. She was excited that I loved his bike so much and he helped me to the top :)

Wow- gorgeous pics! Amazing views and scenery. Ahh...
We just returned from Rocky Mtn. National Park. I miss the mountains already... I gotta figure out how to work and live in the mountains in the summer and work and live in a temperate climate in the winter. I LOVE Colorado. :)

:eek: That makes Western Australia look freakin flat :o Gee, what we call mountain biking must be called flat biking in other parts of the world!

Cool adventure & glad you enjoyed the view!

I give you much kudos for doing something so strenuous at that altitude. When I went to Breckenridge a year ago I was incapcitated with the worst migraine of my life for the first 3 days. Walking up with my snowboard to the top of one of the mountains at Breck was one heck of a workout!

So I can't imagine how tough that must have been, and how amazing your lung capacity and endurance must be!

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Originally Posted by badger

I give you much kudos for doing something so strenuous at that altitude.

So I can't imagine how tough that must have been, and how amazing your lung capacity and endurance must be!

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ditto
Altitude messes with my lungs and head. You're a tough chickie.

How was descending on the dirt roads? Scary or not so much? We rode our road bikes at RMNP, and the climbs were tough, but the descents were terrifying (got my top speed ever at 45 mph coming down one). Are dirt road descents as scary or scarier?

Descending was a little stressful. We'd had the bikes at the shop, so I knew the brakes were good. I quickly learned the "mtn bike pedals at 3 & 9 and hover over the saddle" technique. My front brake squeaked a lot, so I had to cycle my back brake, and then stop at the flats to catch our breath and let the brakes cool. There were some really rough parts in the road, so the mountain bike tires were essential. I thought going up was the hard part, but after the descent--I decided going up was more fun.

My friend had an oxygen sensor at the house and it said our oxygen level was 88 :eek: apparently that's LOW! Guess there is something to the oxygen bars in town.

My legs were never even remotely tired, it was ALL gasping for air! I did have one quick chest pain, after lunch (margarita) I bolted up a short/steep hill in town (I always forget we are at altitude there until I stop to gasp for breath) and that hurt!

I am glad you had a fun time. Congrats on dealing with the altitude. CO is great and I love living here. There is always something to do. As for the winters, they are not bad at all. Pretty mild compared to where I spent the first 26 years of my life...NW NY.