Fraser Valley Life
Before #VanLife was a thing, we lived it, not knowing any better. I had a 1985 Chevy K-5 Blazer with the back seat removed and stored under the stairs at a random Valley condo, Chris had a VW Vanagon with a bed built into it, and Doug, well, Doug had a tent.
Many a morning, we would wake from our slumber well above the Town of Fraser as the sun beat down on our vehicles and turned our cold metal boxes quickly into smoldering greenhouses. Then, as we'd head into town, most days, we would travel down through the clouds to a much cooler temperature and head to the coffee shop where Chris would open the doors and quickly brew a fresh pot.
Many things have changed since then, but a few remain constant. Number 1 is the coffee at Rocky Mountain Roastery, and Number 2 is Doug, a long-time staple of Grand County and the Fraser/Winter Park area. Doug may no longer have the red, white, and blue mohawk, but he still has his finger on the pulse of Grand County riding, so this is where I start my day since Doug's shop; Totally Wired Cyclery, conveniently adjoins Rocky Mountain Roastery.
By the way, Doug is possibly one of the best mechanics in the state of CO and stocks a complete line of Yeti Bikes. Talking to Doug over my morning coffee, I mentioned that I'd be riding the Tipperary Creek trail, which quickly gets shit-canned and thrown to the curb. While not a bad ride, Doug has a better route of classic Fraser trails mixed with a few new ones, which may or may not be officially open to the public quite yet. Plus, the grinding climb of Tipperary is off the books. So after a quick chat and a few hand-drawn Sharpie additions to the map, I head up the road to the Creekside trailhead, where the fun begins.
After a quick tire check, I'm on my bike and heading up the Creekside trail toward St Louis Creek campground. Creekside provides an excellent warm-up of a gentle climb as you weave back and forth through the woods along St. Louis Creek. You're not going to encounter anything mind-blowing or technical through here, but Creekside is a great ride and a Fraser Valley classic. In fact, if you're in Fraser and don't have a lot of time, the Creekside/Flume loop is a classic. So after riding up Creekside for a couple of miles, you'll hit Forest Service Road 159, take a left and ride up the road a short distance to the Flume Trail. This trail was a bomber back in the day and still puts a smile on my face.
More or less, you will parallel Creekside and the creek for a little over 2 miles. A majority of this is a downhill cruiser with a few overlook spots along the way. As you get closer to the bottom of Flume, there are a few punchy climbs that can sneak up on you. This little loop is a great one if you're sporting the family and have a few little ones tagging along because, at the bottom of Flume, you're just a quick spin away from the trailhead. But I didn't drive an hour to Fraser just for that. At the bottom of Flume, I take a right onto Chainsaw and start my first actual ascent. Chainsaw isn't necessarily a lung-buster, but it's also no walk in the park. I climb Chainsaw through a forest of pines until the scenery becomes ablaze with changing Aspens. Everywhere I look, there are yellow, orange, and red aspens with a ribbon of singletrack running through them.
Continuing up Chainsaw about 1 1/2 miles, I find the trail Doug drew on the map for me. Just as he told me, there's a sign on the left marking Creekside and Zoom and the newly built Broken Spade on the right. Again, just like Chainsaw, I start climbing through pines only to become washed in the colors of the aspen trees. Through parts of Broken Spade, my elbows are brushing past young aspen sapling as I thread my way through the tight singletrack.
At the top of Broken Spade, I hear the "wap-wap-wap" sound of dirt bikes coming down the trail. It turns out it is Cat and Ben from Tony Boone Trails. Ben is responsible for a good portion of what he describes as "the most fun trails in Bentonville," while Cat has done a fair amount of work on the rippin' trails down in Salida. The day before, they had just completed the connector trail I was on between Broken Spade and the new super flowy trail known as Iko. It looks like these two put in a tremendous amount of work on these trails. Cat and Ben tell me to look for the hard hat just down the path and take a follow down to Iko.
Iko may be one of the best trails I've ridden this year. Practically 2.5 miles of flow with hardly a pedal stroked needed. Great views, if you feel comfortable taking your eyes off the trail and 2.5 miles of fun. At the bottom of Iko, turn left onto CR 72 for a short distance and then back onto Chainsaw. It's here where I found the trail sign that says Broken Spade but marked by the Forest Service saying "coming soon."
I rode Chainsaw back up to Zoom as recommended by Doug to hit Broken Spade in the downhill direction. Climbing up Zoom, it's apparent this trail has been here a while. Rutted, rooted, and often washed out, and I pick my way up Zoom to find an enormous bull moose along the trail. Quickly sneaking by, I make my way to the top of Zoom, take a right onto FS 159, and a quick right to enjoy the downhill of Broken Spade. As time goes on and this trail gets worked in a little more, it will be a fast slight descent. Cruising down Broken Spade, a left onto Chainsaw continues my descent back to the Creekside trail leading back to my truck where my cold beer awaits.
But before returning home to Breck, grabbing a bite to eat at Sharky's is not something I'm going to skip. Set just off the highway in Fraser, it's been through a few owners since I lived here, but Sharky's is still serving up some darn good dishes. Overall, I'd say Doug nailed it on this route. A total of about 17 miles and 1700' was perfect on this beautiful autumn day. It had been a few years since I'd returned to my old stomping grounds despite only being about an hour from home, but next time won't be so long. Thanks, Doug.
