A
Anthony Sloan
Guest
Quick Decisions
Twas an epic weekend in Durango, Colorado. We went up for the Ironhorse road ride, and whatever
else we could fit in. The road ride went well, I finished it out slightly faster than last years
time, and I beat the train. We grabbed a couple of Horse Gulch rides as well. Constant kudos and
thanks to Trails 2000 for the excellent work they have done there.
On Memorial Day proper I woke up with a sore throat, and realized that the funky feeling I had the
previous day was not due to the road ride, but was indeed the onset of a cold. Hermosa Creek was on
the books for that day. Decision #1, ride or bail.
Of course I rode. Even if you live in Durango, Hermosa is only good to go at certain times of the
year. I hardly ever get the chance to cruise this premier trail. I loaded up my system with
Emergen-C, advil and Chuck and I headed out the door. We met up with JD and Craig Brossman at the
Hermosa store, left a vehicle and drove to Durango Mountain Resort, nee Purgatory. Whats this? ,
you say, A shuttle? True. Usually I try to ride from the bottom, up, then back. But today we were
going to go for the gusto. It was only really half a shuttle, as parking at the ski area still
leaves a longish climb up over the ridge in to Hermosa Park. 8 miles later we were truly warmed up.
The day, the weather, the group. It all came together. At one point there were slated to be 8-10
people on board for this ride. But then there were 4. And it worked quite well. Craig, Chuck and I
had all done the Silverton ride, and JD was aboard a single speed, so we seemed to hang together
pretty effortlessly.
Some photos: http://www.anthonysloan.com/dgomay03/hermosa1.jpg Chuck and Craig zipping to the
trailhead.
http://www.anthonysloan.com/dgomay03/hermosa2.jpg Poorly composed and exposed pic of Chuck, but when
riding Hermoas, it is quite difficult to stop and pull out the camera and take photos, so it'll have
to scratch.
http://www.anthonysloan.com/dgomay03/hermosa3.jpg
http://www.anthonysloan.com/dgomay03/hermosa4.jpg Waders.
http://www.anthonysloan.com/dgomay03/hermosa5.jpg
http://www.anthonysloan.com/dgomay03/hermosa6.jpg JD and Craig.
The Blur was quite happy with Hermosa. The long descent holds an interesting challenge. I wasnt
pushing it hard, but I was letting the bike zip along at a decent enough pace. At that speed the
trail presents itself quickly. You have to survey the offerings, pick a line and roll it out, all
while planning your next move. This is a fascinating way to spend a morning. Jumps, teeny technical
sections, one or two creek crossings (one of which was quite deep...) unfurled under my wheels like
some sort of magic carpet.
Of course you pay for the descent twice with Hermosa. Once cranking up to the trailhead, and once
more at Dutch Creek. But despite that, and despite the puckish nature that Craigs rear hub was
exhibiting that day, it was a great, great day.
Even fighting off a cold, I had a very nice ride. I truly enjoy the feeling of being dialed in to
the bike. I dont view myself as any sort of biking expert, in fact I ran across a quote this
weekend that neatly sums up my view on my riding. I am not better than anyone else, I am as good as
anyone else can be. I was a good on the bike that day as I could be.
After, we regrouped at Old Timers for burgers n beer.
Good company, good food and well deserved barley juice.
After that I crashed out. I think I had about a 101 degree fever, and I needed to drive for 15 hours
the next day. I racked out for about 15 and managed to drag myself back to Texas in decent enough
order. Was it worth it? You bet your bippee.
Thanks JD and Craig for the company.
Twas an epic weekend in Durango, Colorado. We went up for the Ironhorse road ride, and whatever
else we could fit in. The road ride went well, I finished it out slightly faster than last years
time, and I beat the train. We grabbed a couple of Horse Gulch rides as well. Constant kudos and
thanks to Trails 2000 for the excellent work they have done there.
On Memorial Day proper I woke up with a sore throat, and realized that the funky feeling I had the
previous day was not due to the road ride, but was indeed the onset of a cold. Hermosa Creek was on
the books for that day. Decision #1, ride or bail.
Of course I rode. Even if you live in Durango, Hermosa is only good to go at certain times of the
year. I hardly ever get the chance to cruise this premier trail. I loaded up my system with
Emergen-C, advil and Chuck and I headed out the door. We met up with JD and Craig Brossman at the
Hermosa store, left a vehicle and drove to Durango Mountain Resort, nee Purgatory. Whats this? ,
you say, A shuttle? True. Usually I try to ride from the bottom, up, then back. But today we were
going to go for the gusto. It was only really half a shuttle, as parking at the ski area still
leaves a longish climb up over the ridge in to Hermosa Park. 8 miles later we were truly warmed up.
The day, the weather, the group. It all came together. At one point there were slated to be 8-10
people on board for this ride. But then there were 4. And it worked quite well. Craig, Chuck and I
had all done the Silverton ride, and JD was aboard a single speed, so we seemed to hang together
pretty effortlessly.
Some photos: http://www.anthonysloan.com/dgomay03/hermosa1.jpg Chuck and Craig zipping to the
trailhead.
http://www.anthonysloan.com/dgomay03/hermosa2.jpg Poorly composed and exposed pic of Chuck, but when
riding Hermoas, it is quite difficult to stop and pull out the camera and take photos, so it'll have
to scratch.
http://www.anthonysloan.com/dgomay03/hermosa3.jpg
http://www.anthonysloan.com/dgomay03/hermosa4.jpg Waders.
http://www.anthonysloan.com/dgomay03/hermosa5.jpg
http://www.anthonysloan.com/dgomay03/hermosa6.jpg JD and Craig.
The Blur was quite happy with Hermosa. The long descent holds an interesting challenge. I wasnt
pushing it hard, but I was letting the bike zip along at a decent enough pace. At that speed the
trail presents itself quickly. You have to survey the offerings, pick a line and roll it out, all
while planning your next move. This is a fascinating way to spend a morning. Jumps, teeny technical
sections, one or two creek crossings (one of which was quite deep...) unfurled under my wheels like
some sort of magic carpet.
Of course you pay for the descent twice with Hermosa. Once cranking up to the trailhead, and once
more at Dutch Creek. But despite that, and despite the puckish nature that Craigs rear hub was
exhibiting that day, it was a great, great day.
Even fighting off a cold, I had a very nice ride. I truly enjoy the feeling of being dialed in to
the bike. I dont view myself as any sort of biking expert, in fact I ran across a quote this
weekend that neatly sums up my view on my riding. I am not better than anyone else, I am as good as
anyone else can be. I was a good on the bike that day as I could be.
After, we regrouped at Old Timers for burgers n beer.
Good company, good food and well deserved barley juice.
After that I crashed out. I think I had about a 101 degree fever, and I needed to drive for 15 hours
the next day. I racked out for about 15 and managed to drag myself back to Texas in decent enough
order. Was it worth it? You bet your bippee.
Thanks JD and Craig for the company.
