Crested Butte’s Singletrack Has A Story To Tell
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When professional mountain biker Claire Buchar visited Crested Butte a few seasons ago to sample some of the finest trails in the area, it brought her back to her roots and reminded her of why she dedicated her life to riding bikes in the first place: it's simply good for the soul. The trails she encountered were the perfect mix flow, tech, and high-speed adrenaline and really showed off that anything is possible on a bike in Crested Butte. When the days were getting shorter and the leaves changed color, Buchar took some time to explore the trails winding through the famous aspen groves and the high alpine and re-connect with nature. That experience was only possible thanks to the never-ending work of the area's trail builders and community.
Claire Buchar tackles one of Crested Butte's famous high-alpine climbs. Bruno Long photo.
Last time we checked in with Crested Butte's trailbuilders was nearly two years ago, as they were putting the finishing touches on the Baxter Gulch trail, a route into the high alpine just south of town. It marked the completion of a unique 20-mile loop ride that was the culmination of years of integrating and legitimizing moto and hiking trails into the area's massive trail network. Since then, that same crew led by the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association (CBMBA) has been busy further expanding and refining the network they and the community have spent years building.
David Ochs, Executive Director of the CBMBA, tells us that after spending the last year or so building another eight miles of trails, including the Red Lady Connector, a beginner trail at the bike park, Teddy's trail on Snodgrass, Baxter Gulch, and a redesign of Middle Cement Creek, their focus now lies on improving what they already have. "Trails require maintenance, and we want to improve our existing network instead of focusing on those dream trails," Ochs says.
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Crested Butte's community-based trailbuilding includes camp-out work weekends during the summer. Robby Lloyd - Lucid Images photo.
The nature of the terrain around the area means that many of the best trails are a long way from town, and pedaling there has required riding along highways and dirt roads. Why do that when there could be singletrack right next to them? That focus, part of CBMBA's Riders off the Road initiative has been integral to making the trail network what it is today. Finding ways to get mountain bikers from town to the trails like Cement Mountain without having to ride on asphalt is part of the dream of turning the area in the most interconnected trail network possible, and small projects like Middle Cement Creek and connecting trails closer to town make that possible. Looking to the future, Ochs is optimistic about their efforts, even given the fact that all their scheduled community workdays have been canceled due to COVID-19, which hit the area particularly hard. Alongside finishing the Cement Creek project, Ochs shares that the plan is to add 1.5 miles to the GB loop trail near the super scenic Oh Be Joyful waterfalls.
Claire Buchar among the aspens. Bruno Long photo.
With such an amazing network to get deep into the mountains at her fingertips, it's no surprise that Buchar felt right at home in Crested Butte. Even after all these years, any bike ride feels like an escape for her. Whether it's pitting herself against the clock, chasing friends through the bike park, or just getting out for a soul-feeding pedal, any time spent on two wheels is quality time, and that's what riding in Crested Butte is all about.
