Sunday Bike Ride - With a Vengeance

Route: Prairie Vista/Flatirons Vista North loop, then High Plains Trail/Coalton Trail out-and-back (Marshall Mesa and Doudy Draw area)
Distance: 15.01 miles
Time: 1:45

I started off at the Greenbelt Plateau trailhead and crossed the highway to do Prairie Vista/Flatirons Vista North loop first, which is really easy singletrack.  It's great for beginner mountain bikers.  I wouldn't recommend going counterclockwise for beginners, though, because Flatirons Vista North is actually a gravel road and it has a really steep section with loose rocks right near the trailhead, which is much easier on the descent.  Other than that section, though, the Flatirons Vista trails are really just fun singletrack that require little to no technical skills.

This is the tricky section I mentioned, looking down.  The worst of the hill actually drops off where you can't see it in this picture, but since this is literally right by the trailhead, it's easy to decide if you want to tackle it or not.

Then I headed back across the highway for the out-and-back on High Plains and Coalton.  High Plains has a couple extremely rocky sections right at the start of the trail, but then it really does smooth out into mostly hard-packed dirt.  High Plains is definitely more challenging than the Flatirons Vista trails, but it is still a fun, easy cruiser, with only one hill where you really need to be on the small ring.

 I hadn't done Coalton Trail before and it had a surprise hill on it, which you can see in the distance in this shot.  Well, it wasn't that much of a surprise, since I first hit it going downhill, so I knew I'd have to come back up.  But it was really a steep bastard, and the road bed is kind of loose, so I was weaving around trying to find a solid line up that I wouldn't skid out on.  I had to stop and gasp a bit when I got to the top.  (Still not as bad as Olde Stage, though.)

I don't know if I'll do Coalton again, since other than that hill it's really kind of boring, but I still like the Prairie Vista/Flatirons North/High Plains route.

As for how I felt, for breakfast I had scrambled eggs with red peppers and cheese, and two pieces of toast with butter.  I think there was too much protein/fat and not enough carbohydrate, because I totally bonked coming back on Coalton.  I had shot blox with me but I should have eaten them earlier in the ride.  I was kind of feeling crappy already on Flatirons Vista, not bad enough to stop, but really only about 70%.  But these are really fun trails that are nice and easy, good for a quick workout without getting too far out into the wilderness.  They are pretty popular and have a decent amount of traffic, mostly other bikers but also hikers.  Also, the Flatirons Vista trailhead is now a fee parking area, unless your car is registered in Boulder County.  Greenbelt Plateau is still free parking, though.