Skip to main content

Gravel Grind #3 - Short and Single


Distance - 5.1 miles
Climbing - 520 feet
BGR (Brad's Gravel Rating) - 45
CRF (Cage Rage Factor) - low
Scenery - good
Location - Monument / Palmer Lake - west of I25
Parking - Pothead Corner (Schilling Ave and Lindbergh Rd)


General Description - This is the good stuff. A short loop through the Monument Preserve, consisting of fire road, doubletrack, and singletrack. Wander through the nice ponderosa pine and gambel oak forest. Mostly non-technical, with some loose sand, rock water bars, some roots, and one rock ramp thrown in for good measure. Loads of more technical riding around the area if you want to challenge yourself or come back w/ your mountain bike. Explore and have fun. Easy to lose the trail, but hard to get truly lost.

Detailed Route Info
Head west from the trailhead past the green gate.
Continue to the Memorial Grove, where the road winds up and right.
Continue til you can veer left up the skinnier trail (Wishy Washy).
If you hit a gate, you've gone slightly too far.
Continue up Wishy Washy til you can veer left, then right, taking you up to Mt Herman Rd.
Near the corner of Mt Herman Rd and Red Rocks Dr, take the singletrack that heads north.
Take a right at the sign for the Watkins Memorial Trail.
Head down hill on the twisty singletrack through scrub oak.
Keep an eye out for the downhill rock ramp, which is totally rollable on a gravel bike.
Shortly after this keep left and continue 'til you hit the left turn into the Maze.
Take this left and wind through the rows of trees, eventually popping out into a more open area.
Head east and take a right at the 3rd row of giant trees.
Head over to MHR and cross into the Preserve on the dirt road heading towards the Hot Shots area.
At the gate (sometimes closed) across the road, take a right at the singletrack and head West.
At Monument Rock and the small pond, head south and re-cross the same dirt road.
Bend left and ride this singletrack through the meadows all the way back to Nursery Rd.
Take a right on Nursery, stay right on Schilling, and arrive back at the trailhead.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What do we have here? My planned race bike, the culmination of a lotta work and planning. Looks like a Redline Monocog 29er singlespeed, but its not quite that simple. Frame: Redline Monocog 29er Forke: Manitou Minute Absolute 80mm Handlebars: Jones H Bar (yes, more expensive than my frame) Brake levers: Vuelta's (nice, long, and light) Brakes: Avid BB7's Front hub: DT Hugi / Onyx Front rim: WTB something or another Rear hub: here we go...Shimano Alfine 8 speed interally geared hub Rear rim: Stans Arch Cranks: AC Lo Pro XT Seatpost: Ritchey Tires: Specialized Fast Trak Pro Now, the reasoning behind this build. First of all, the Jones H Bar is awesome. Bars with a sweep like this one and the On One Mary are the only kind that I can ride for long periods of time without elbow pain. The multiple positions on the Jones are sweet for long rides. The Monocog...well, I like it. It is heavy as a pig, but the ride is nice. This is my first 29er, so I don't know if its wheel si
1 comment
Read more

Yuba Mundo...Schwing!!!

It's been a while... I'd say the knee is almost 100%, but wouldn't wanna hex myself. :-) I've managed to get out for the occasional ride the past 6 weeks or so. Most of my biking focus has been building up the new kid hauler / cargo bike. The Yuba Mundo V3. Nearly fully sorted, just need to come up w/ something for the kids feet. I installed a carbon fiber stoker bar with matching grips...stylin'. I've had the bike out for a few test rides, including a 19 mile, sub-zero night ride on trails. Worked fairly well. Some chain length issues to sort out and disc brake tuning, but otherwise...smooooooth. Riding on the back deck while hanging onto the bars is fun. :-) Specs: Mundo V3 frame - blue Mundo V3 fork (threaded) Shimano STX headset (threaded) Nitto Albatross handlebars Kalloy adjustable stem Oury Mtn grips - blue Shimano LX M581 brake/shift levers Avid BB7 185/160 disc brakes Deore/Ditchwitch wheels w/ 14mm adapters 2.4" Mutano Raptor tires XT sha
9 comments
Read more

Yuba Mundo V3 Upgrades

It's been a while since I posted about the Mundo. It has been pretty cool for toting around 70ish pounds of kids. After some riding, I decided to invest in a few upgrades. I put on a deflopilator, a double-legged kickstand, a front rack (just because it was laying around), and figured out the 185mm rear disc brake. The 185mm disc brake requires a 203mm adapter to clear the rack frame member. Seems to work fine with that setup (at least on the stand, I haven't taken a real ride yet). 185mm rotor with 203mm rear disc brake adapter Cheapo 2 legged kickstand (big improvement)
6 comments
Read more