UP & AWAY ON THE COLORADO TRAIL
Stefan Mostert tackles a monster that covers 782km over eight mountain ranges, with an average elevation of 3km
‘Cookie Monster,” he says and, probably prompted by the frown on my face, explains that it’s his trail name. “Through hikers and bikers usually have one. But you can’t name yourself, somebody else has to”. I’m not convinced but soon after this I meet Raven and Freebird. This is real and now I’m jealous. There’s a secret club in the mountains and I’m not part of it. It’s about time I started handing out the frowns, I thought. I have received a good number of them since I started my cycle adventure southwest of Denver on the Colorado Trail. The serious mountain bikers — those on the bikes with stripes — frown at my bike. My “adventure bike” has racing handlebars on a steel frame with a rigid fork.
On a single track at almost 13,000 feet (4,000m), it does seem a little out of place, I guess. “You’re riding the Colorado Trail with that?” they’d say, and leave me with a mixed feeling of stupidity and pride. The bikepackers — those with the ultralight gear — frown at my load. My traditional cycletouring bags are wide and puffy and probably not best suited for the overgrown paths that I find myself on.
But these bags are light. After a warmup loop around the Rocky Mountain National Park I was back in Denver and, sort of, acclimatised. Here I found a post office and dumped about half my gear in a box, wrote my address in Arizona on it, and handed it over with nervousness and excitement. I was now able to pick up my bike. I had a feeling that this would be an important feature on my tour.
SO MUCH OPEN SPACE
The Colorado Trail runs from Denver to Durango covering almost 800km over eight mountain ranges along an average elevation of 10,300 feet. Almost the entire trail runs through National Forests. As a South African expat, I admire this most about the Southwest: so much public land, so much nature, so much space.
A 20-minute ride gets me to Waterton Canyon, where the trail officially starts. That all-too-familiar set of emotions — anxiety and excitement — start to build up. For me, it’s the best way of knowing that a good adventure awaits.
With the trailhead at Waterton closed for maintenance, I have to find an alternative way in, through and over Roxborough State Park. After about three hours I stumble into the canyon with a white face. That was too steep, too rocky and definitely not for cycling. But it’s not part of the Colorado Trail, I try to comfort myself. A group of college student hikers, who also just made use of this alternative way in, are all lying on the side of the trail smoking cigarettes without breath. The sight of somebody coming down this path on a bike stokes their admiration. Please don’t be impressed, I want to tell