Hiking Pikes Peak with Seth 9/3 – 9/5 from Jaydude on Vimeo.

Untitled from Jaydude on Vimeo.

After a late night of finishing the build I got to ride my new 29er that has been in the build process for what sems like forever.

A couple days on the CT should be a great way to break it in.I cant believe its the first weekend of April and we are doing overnight ride on the Colorado Trail.

Finished the build at about Midnight on Friday

New Bike is done and I cant wait to ride it!

The next morning I drove out to the Platte Valley Trail head of the CT. Decided not to include Indian Creek since we were getting mixed info on conditions and if it was even open. Ran into ShortBus on the way out, that was cool.

Grab the pack and its time to go.

The climb out of the burn area is tough. Basically 4 miles of uphill.

We get to the “Top of the World”

and its time for a little break.

And throw down on a delicious tuna wrap in a jalapeno cheddar tortilla.

So we hauled ass through the BC area and did not take many pictures. New bike was super fun to ride on the smooth Buff Creek section of the CT. To many good things to say about how the first ride went on the new 29er.

A quick set up of camp.

And we head out for some more riding

Back to camp for some well deserved R & R

It was a windy night of sleep and woke up to a very cool morning.

We decided to throw in Green Mountain for the ride back.

Climbing

No snow

The temp drops about 10 degrees and you can feel a storm front moving in.

It starts to snow on us pretty good for the final hour or so of the ride.

It was a great trail to try out the new ride and the weather was crazy, Summer on Saturday and Winter on Sunday.

Gotta love Colorado and love my new bike!

I love to ride, live to ride, and ride to live, Only once in a lifetime will I ever get a chance to build a bike like this.

It all started at a Christmas party of 09′ and my buddy Mike had just got his custom built dirt jumper frame and brought it to the party freshly painted green, ole #3 we call it. It was a fun party lots of great beers and full of cyclist friends. Ben the builder was there and as I complimented him on the nice work on Mikes frame. I asked him to hold me a slot in the build que for a 29er steel frame of my own. Well fast forward Winter of 11′ and the frame is in process of being built!!!!!!

After a careful selection of parts a bike was born that not only was very fun to plan and see the build process, it turned out to be an amazing bike to ride. Fast nimble, responsive, smooth uber fun. All the quality’s you would love in a Mountain Bike. Well here is the story of my custom steel 29er hard tail being born, and a chance to share the experience with you.

Ben and I meet at Trinity Brewing to go over final plans of the bike over a tasty nitro charged Flow IPA . We had a great discussion of how I wanted the bike to ride and it seem Ben had given some deep thought into the geometry.

Ben zapping (should say brazing) some metal on the main triangle

Head Tube

Seat Tube

Bottom Bracket before brazing

The rear axle mounts are really cool nice choice Ben!

Front triangle all brazed up…now comes the cleaning

“cleaned” frame being fitted for rear wheel

Parts start to arrive! A lot of thought, research, and care went in to each and every amazing MTB component selected for this bike.

Industry Nine Enduro 29er Wheelset… BALLER!!!!

Fox F29 Talas

Truvativ Noir 1:1 Carbon Cranks

So the frame comes back from Spectrum Powder Works painted “matte black” and looks great really slick and stealthy!

More parts arrive

My favorite saddle of all time

xtr pedals

10 Speed XO shifters and Derailleur

couple of last little things…..

and…….

a late night build thanks with the precise hands of Chris the months of waiting are over and the bike is finally built!

Wow everything came together really nice and the bike fits perfect. There is something to be said about a bike that started as a dream and becomes reality made just for you. I look forward to all the adventure me and this bike will share.

Time to go RIDE. Now I just need figure out a name for it?????

BUILD LIST
Frame: Custom Samadhi Cycles 29er Steel
Fork: Fox F29 Talas 95mm – 120mm
Wheelset: Industry Nine Enduro Wheelset Pewter
Tires: Specialized Captian 2.0 Rear Purgatory 2.2 Front
Crankset: Truvativ Noir 1:1 32t ring
Cassette: Shimano XT 11-36
Stem: Thomson 80mm
Seatpost: 27.2 Gravity Dropper
Seat: SDG Bel Air Ti Rails
Handlebars: Sunline V1 762s
Headset: Crank Bros Cobalt C
Brakes: Shimano XT
Rotors: Shimano XT 160mm Rear 180mm Front
Pedals: Shimano XTR
Bottom Bracket: Truvativ GXP
Seatpost clamp: 33mm Flip lock
Rear Derailleur: Sram XO 10 Speed Short Cage
Tubes: 2 Scoops-Stans Notubes Sealant
Chain: KMC X9SL
Grips: Odi Ruffian
Shifter: Sram XO trigger

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So after a Arctic air cold-spell and a hefty snow storm last week the nice high altitude trails we have been riding are let buried in snow and ice. It was time to migrate down to Pueblo for some dry trail and rocky shale technical goodness. Its been close to a year since I have been down to the South Shore Trail system so I was really excited to ride some of my favorite routes.

I ended up eating it going down the wooden ramp on Freeride trail. What are the chances that the first time I hit it the wood is covered in a nice slick coat of slushy ice? I knew as soon as I went over the rock I was in trouble and had no idea how I was going to slow down. The video below shows the means I ended up using to stop my self.

After dusting myself off I carried on and still got a great day of riding in.

The day started with some of this.

And rode past a few of these.

After taking in the views its time to descend some crazy trail!

I rocked Hooters Canyon!

FAIL ON FREERIDE TRAIL!

WIPEOUT VIDEO!

Fail on Freeride Trail from Jaydude on Vimeo.

Here you can see the lovely coating of ice that caused me to go down!

A quick mending and Im back on trail…..

I cant believe how I have it made.

Ran into a few others on the trail

I zipped along the singletrack despite my earlier flail.

Looking behind Im leaving some great trail.

Waterfall/Logdrop from Jaydude on Vimeo.

Video of Waterfall/Logdrop

Outer Limits Time Lapse from Jaydude on Vimeo.

1min time lapse video of Outer Limits Trail

This December has been amazing for riding this year. Today it was sunny and 50deg riding with some good friends!

The new camera is working great. Not bad for a first time try.

Here is a fairly good first attempt at video editing. Looking good. I like this vid!

Good Times Mule Trail from Jaydude on Vimeo.

What goes up…

Untitled from Jason Moyes on Vimeo.

Must come down.

Mule Trail Monument Co from Jason Moyes on Vimeo.

Little Mark~

First Go Pro xmas 2010 from Jason Moyes on Vimeo.

My first time lapse!

Untitled from Jason Moyes on Vimeo.

It had been a long time since I have raced Mountain Bikes. Just coming off the 5 day colorado Trail trip I thought I would be prime for this race. Not the case. If you have never done a 24 hour race there is no way to really prepare unless you have done a race.

Heare are some key things I remember.

~It was cool to Camp and Race
~ Eddie and Kat were way more experienced than us and their pit rocked.
~ Getting up in the middle of the night to “do your lap” could be one of the hardest things I have ever done.
~ Dont blow your self on the first lap.
~ 6in travel 30 pound bikes are not ideal for 24 hour racing (duh)
~ 24 hour racing is a huge challenge and a BLAST!

We came in last and my breaks went out on my last lap at 4:00am in the morning. But am ready for more 24hr racing.

The pits

The Townie bikes were hilarious and Eddie Miller gave up his belt this year to John Hurley! Rumor has it they had a secret meeting at midnight up on top of the hill.

The line up for the start of the race.

Mike looking for his bike.

And he is off. Mike passed about a 100 people this lap it seemed like!

Here I am nervous and getting ready for my first lap.

We were camped right next to the course.

Mike coming in from his first lap.

Me coming in from my first lap. It was a fast lap but blew my legs already. It was a painful rest of the race fighting of cramps and dead legs.

Hartman Rocks Area

Mike putting in some more miles by the Notch.

Very fun course. Hopefully I do this race again some time.

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Here we are getting ready to head out for the hike. Seth got to drive the 4 wheel road up and it turned out to be a bit hectic for a new driver!

I made a trip to Lower Sand Creek Lake in Sept of 2008 and could not wait for an opportunity to go back. The hike is fun but not to strenuous and the views and camping are about the best it gets. Seth and I were in full swing with summer and up for the challenge. It was the longest and toughest backpacking trip that I have taken Seth on to date and he did extremely well outdoing his ole man on several of the steep parts of the hike. All in all it was a blast and a great time with my son. I was really proud of him on this trip.

Here we are starting to get the hike going. Probably about a mile in.

Here is the view at the top of Music Pass. One of the best out there! Music Pass is about 3 miles in from the hike. Its hard to see but to the left is the basin the Lower Sand Creek Lake and to the right is the Upper Sand Creek Lake. I have not been to the upper lake yet but looks tempting.

Seth

Me

We descend on the valley below Music Pass and cross Sand Creek. Sand Creek flows all the way to the Great Sand Dunes!

After hiking up for about another 3 miles you get to the lower lake. Seth takes a minute to take in the unbelievable views.

Here is the view of 13,604ft tall Tijeras Peak

As we arrived at the lake we were greeted by a heard of Mountain Goats. It was a big highlight of the trip to see these guys scurry up the side of the mountain.

Our campsite was awesome and we spent a good bit of time and effort cleaning up the area and making a cool, comfortable camp spot. Cant wait to go back and enjoy it some more!

After a great nights rest and some good times chillin around the lake and at camp we start to pack and get ready to head out.

Seth leaping over logs

One final look at Tijeras Peak. Killer View

And we cross the Sand Creek again

Taking a look back at the Peak and Basin we were just at.

Seth kicked my butt badly going up the hill to Music Pass.

And here we are back at the trail head. We did not get any good photos but while we were taking a break on our way down from Music Pass back to the Jeep we came across a Amish Family of about 10. They had the works, Bonnets, suspenders, pants that pulled up to their chest. One guy even had a corn cob pipe. No Joke

Bishops Castle.

On our way back we stopped by Bishops Castle. I have never been there and Seth said it was worth checking out so we did.

An old model of the castle on a trailer.

Children playing by fire.

We explore and wind our way up the spiral stair case. I kept bumping my head.

Interesting Art laying around the castle.

Hey whats up Seth!

No way in hell Im going up there. All the wire scaffolding scared the crap out of me. If you look up in the globe you can see a kid playing up there.

Kings of the Castle!

What a great weekend with my son!

The top of Searle pass on Day 5 and my favorite picture from the Journey. To me this one says it all.

Wow what can I say about this adventure. Well it was one of the best experience of my life! I was in the best riding shape of my life. I had my best bike ever and rode what seem like endless incredibly buff single track trail for 5 days straight. It all started in ’05 when my dad bought me The Colorado Trail Official Guide Book and spent may days and nights studying the sections and dreaming that one day I could ride a multiday adventure on this amazing trail system. The Colorado trail spans 500 miles from Denver to Durango over the best parts of the Colorado Mountains. We chose to ride the first 9 sections of the trail from Denver to Leadville. These first 9 sections are considered some of the best for Mountain Biking.

The Colorado Trail had it all. Long descents grueling climbs, high alpine meadows and plenty of buff single track. There were several occasions where I caught myself gasping at the amazing beauty of the trail and the scenery surrounding it. I was in love!

Mechanical
Believe it or not we rode 180 miles without a single mechanical. Not a flat tire, broken spoke or chain. Hats off to our Mechanic Chis Kuhn for setting our bikes up perfectly for the ride.

Food
Our food planning has gotten really good. Although we were running low on day 4 prior to getting to Breckenridge to resupply. My favorite would be the tuna wraps I have been bringing on my backpacking and bikepacking trips. It consists of a packet of albacore tuna, tortilla wrap, and mustard/mayo packet. Mmmm good stuff!

Camping
My favorite camping spot was in Lost Park. Such a beautiful valley tucked away next to the Kenosha Mountains.

Best Day
By far day 5. I felt like superman this day. Somehow everything was clicking and the riding was phenomenal this day. There was a 4 miles stretch of alpine riding from Searle Pass to Kokomo Pass that was to die for.

Worst Day
By far day 2 when we made the choice to disassemble our bikes and strap them to our backs to cross a 6 mile wilderness section. It took 5 hours to cross this and was one of the most painful experiences in my life!

Most Memorable Moment
Before Kenosha pass I remember zipping through this aspen grove that was lush with thick green ground cover all over. There was mist floating along the ground. It almost seemed almost supernatural.

The Gear

I really feel like I got my gear dialed in. Most bike packers these days are running bike bags to carry most of their gear. Personally I feel bike bags are going to take away from your bike handeling. By using backpacks and a small seat bag I could rip the descents like no other. Also since we had two people we could divy up the gear between the two of us. In the past we each had a stove, waterfilter, tools etc. Now we share and just bring one of what we need. This really lightens up the load.

Packing List:
REI quarter dome 2 man tent minimalist set up. This means just the rainfly and footprint.
Katadyn water filter
Jetboil Stove
Jacks Quilt with a Thermolite liner (awesome warm comfy combo)
Big Agnes Insulated aircore pad
Maps Tools and Headlamp

Day one Waterton Canyon to Buffalo Creek

Here we are at the official CT Trail head. We left the day before the closed Waterton Canyon for a reclimation project. We were pumped!

One of our few wildlife encounters on the trip. This scraggly looking goat needs to eat!

I have never ridden section 1 of the CT. We finished riding the 6 mile dirt road though the canyon and started the singletrack. Good stuff!

The Colorado Trail was marked ok. I had brought my GPS and downloaded the official waypoints that corresponded with my map. Turned out to be very handy and made navigation a breeze.

Here overlooking the South Platte Canyon. Off in the distance you can see the burn area which we hit at mid day. I knew we were in for a hot climb.

Indeed it was hot. And the heat was taking its toll on both of us.

Still some really nice trail. The climb through the burn area was about 4 miles.

Mike taking off his helmet to try and stay cool.

After what seamed like forever we reached the top of the world area and we were making a good pace again.

Here we are at the day one campsite in buffalo creek. It felt good to rest after battling the heat all day. Next time I will plan the ride differently so we don’t hit the burn area at the peak of the day.

Day two Buffalo Creek to Lost Park

It rained non stop the first night. For the most part we stayed warm and dry. Our gear ended up a bit damp but no biggie. Here I am filtering water for our next segment.

Buff single track that seemed to run forever.

Les Grills says “A positive mental attitude is key to survival”

Being minimalist bikepackers we used our cell phones as cameras.

We stopped for a minute to let our gear air out and prepared for what turned out to be the most difficult part of the journey. We are at the Lost Creek Wilderness boundary and you cant ride a mechanized vehicle in the wilderness. So we took the wheels off our bikes, strapped the frames to our pack and hiked for 6 miles over some tough terrain. This turned out to be a bad idea and we should have taken one of the suggested detours from the guide. Our packs were not designed to carry the weight of the frame and the straps dug into our shoulders with excruciating pain.

This is how it went for 5 hours. Walk 100 feet. Stop and lean forward to shift the weight off your shoulders because they were screaming in pain. Rest for a minute then repeat.

This picture shows how beat down we were. Talk about suffering. But looking back you forget about the pain and remember the adventure.

Tired and weary we set up camp in lost park. Here we are inside our tent. It was roomy and often we cooked inside because it rained every night.

Day 3 Lost Park to Middle Fork of the Swan River

So we woke up to one of the most amazing views. Lost Park was beautiful. Day 3 was off to a great start. We aired out our gear, ate some breakfast and got ready for another day of adventure.

Right off the bat we had a sweet descent.

We exited the trail briefly to detour a short wilderness section.

A quick check of the GPS and we are back on trail.

The Section of CT on the East side of Kenosha pass was really nice. We were running a bit behind schedule and was hoping to make it to Breckenridge this day. Judging by our pace we were not going to make it. We were worried about the amount of remaining food we had. Lucky we met a very cool thru hiker named Tony that was kind enough to part ways with one of his dinners. The extra food turned out to come in very handy. Tony if you ever read this Thanks!

We hit another really good descent before crossing Kenosha Pass. Zipping through aspen groves is one of my favorite things you can experience on a bike.

We crossed Kenosha Pass and came upon the “real South Park”

Here we stopped for some lunch. Spagetti!

We are climbing again. This time up to the 11,800ft Georgia Pass.

The air was getting thinner and we crossed treeline. A little hike a bike never hurt anybody.

Ahhh! Nothing feels better than reaching the summit of a high alpine climb.

We descended a few miles on the backside of Georgia pass. It was getting dark so we found a cool campsite and got some rest. Day 3 was great. Lots of great trail and I recall 3 amazing descents all in one day.

Day 4 Middle Fork of the Swan River to Breckenridge

Here is a shot of our Campsite. It only rained a couple of hours that night. Not bad compared to the nonstop rain we were used to. For the most part we were lucky and the rain would hit us as soon as we would crawl in the tent.

Getting some much needed water.

So we had one good climb before getting to Breck that took us over 11,000ft. We ate the last of the food that Tony had given us the day before and were very anxious to get into town for a real meal.

The descent down to Horseshoe gulch was one of the best. You could tell this section of the CT was ridden frequently and there were lots of fast buff sections of trail with nice banked corners. We both had huge grins on our faces during this section.

Finally! Heading into Breckenridge for some much needed R&R. I couldn’t peddle my bike fast enough on the 4 mile bike path into town.

After eating a plate of nachos and a huge hamburger in Breckenridge we found a hostle to stay in for only $31 a night. An easy choice after A cold front had moved in and it was rainy and quite chilly. A warm dry bed sounded to good to pass up.

The folks at the fireside in were very nice and even washed our clothes and let us use wear some comfortable threads while we stayed. We grabbed a six pack of PBR’s and relaxed in the hot tub for for a few.

Picture of our room.

Day 5 Breckenridge to Leadville

So we skipped Segment 7 of the CT and took the 10 mile bike path detour to Copper Mountain. It was nice. Here we are starting to ascend the first part of the Copper section.

Here we stopped for some water before climbing some more.

The climb up to Searle Pass was really chill.

Dank Trail!

The Carins were huge!

We crossed tree line and were feeling the anticipation of reaching Searle Pass.

Alpine Time!

We had reached the top of 12,040ft Searle Pass and celebrated a bit. Also we made a furry friend! We knew from here the hard part was behind us and were going to make it to Leadville this day.

After Searle Pass we were treated with about 4 miles of smooth Alpine riding to Kokomo Pass. Mikes having such a good time his tounge is sticking out!

After what seemed like a quick descent we stopped for a rest at a waterfall by Camp Hale.

Mike contemplating his life on one of the CT bridges.

Some final Single track before reaching Tennessee pass.

Hy 24 off in the distance

And here we are at our finish line. Completing one of the most amazing journeys of my life. After this we rode about 10 miles of highway into Leadville. We stopped at the Pizza Hut and waited for Mikes girlfriend to pick us up. 180 miles total!