Another epic ride today - Monarch Crest

Today, I took on the Monarch Crest Trail, rated #7 in the world.  Yesterday, I used the term epic to describe Trail 401, but, in my defense, so do most.  There is simply no comparison between the two,  Monarch is truly an majestic and epic ride that is at the brink of being a spiritual experience.

A group of us shuttled up to the Monarch Crest ski lodge, at roughly 11,200ft elevation.  We signed the book, and were off to enjoy what we thought would be over 6,000ft of downhill bliss.

The trail starts off with a gentle roll for the first mile, and rips out your lungs for the next two miles as you climb to the crest at 11,976ft.  At this elevation you can encounter [slight] oxygen deprivation just standing, and here I was trying to peddling a 30lbs bike up rocky single track.  My lungs officially signed the donor paper work to be immediately transferred.

The fool hardy thing that all of use noobs had thought was after the crest the next 30 or so miles would be a bombing downhill free for all.  We were surprised that the trail is actually a generous mix of downhill and uphills with over 2,200ft of climbing to do through out the ride.  There is nearly every type of terrain and obstacle:  flowing downhills, technical climbing, rocks (boulders to babyheads to loose shale), roots, technical drops/shoots, stream crossings, mud, leaves, hard pack to lose dirt, trees, and oh-so much more.  I simply can't do this trail justice with any description that I might blog here.  This trail is simply majestic in every sense.

This was by far the furthest I have ever ridden, and took almost 5 hours to ride the full 35 miles.  There were cliff bar and a lunch break on the mountain included in that.

I have to thank Greg, who couldn't make it out to join me, for suggesting this trail as it wasn't originally on my radar.  This ride alone was worth the trip.


Tomorrow, I have no clue if my lungs, legs, wrists, shoulders and back will allow me to get out of bed, and will have to see what is in store.

Lastly, I have provided a short video compilation of the ride below.  However, there is some bad news that goes along with it.  The video quality is no better than the one shot yesterday, and, after taking with tech support, they have concluded that the light sensor is bad.  The unit has to be sent replaced.  So...the rest of the trip videos won't be getting any better.  Hope you can still enjoy them.