Mountain biking in Vail
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We’ve just returned from four days in Vail. This trip was to celebrate my birthday, but the theme was mountain biking. On Sunday, we took the gondola up to the top & rode our bikes back down.
We stayed in Vail Village, which is a short bike ride from Lionshead, where we caught the Eagle Bahn Gondola up to Adventure Ridge at an elevation of 10,350 feet.
The system they use to get bikes to the top is pretty cool – the seat in each gondola cab flips up to reveal a bike rack large enough for two full-size mountain bikes.
View from Eagle Bahn Gondola
The bikes are set into the cab (two each) and off they go. We rode in the next cab & headed to the top.
At the top, there are a couple restaurants and other attractions, for example a trampoline bounce rig (you strap into a harness that is hoisted up 15 feet & you perform wild acrobatics as you bounce), as well as the convergence of many trails. It is here that we caught the start of the Village Trail.
Beginning of Village Trail
Village Trail is “the longest and most pleasant route on the mountain” (from the 2009 Vail Summer Trail Map). It is a 7 mile gravel road that winds down the mountain in broad, sweeping arcs. This isn’t a technically challenging trail, but worked very well for our different skill levels.
One advantage to using this trail is that it allowed my oldest son & I to pull ahead of my wife and youngest son and just go fast. At one point, I know I was traveling at nearly 40 mph down the trail. This was both awesome and a bit terrifying, as neither of us was wearing any safety gear other than a standard biking helmet.
Snowmobiles parked in meadow
Near the top of the trail, we saw a slightly curious sight: dozens of snowmobiles parked in a meadow. This is where the Ski Patrol’s snowmobiles are parked off-season. Notice how many of the sleds have orange-flagged whiptails – this provides additional visibility in deep snow.
It was really cool riding down the mountain & passing alongside (and underneath) so much of the lift equipment. The signage that guides winter skiers is less useful to bikers, but still provides cues about where you are on the mountain.
The Northwoods Express ski lift is just off the right of the trail at this point, as you can see here.
Signage on the trail
We all met up here & had a water and snack break before continuing down the rest of the trail.
Jen and the boys
This is also where the trail took a large, sweeping turn and then went more or less straight downhill for approximately 1/2 mile.
Keeping in mind that this is a beginner’s trail, the angle of descent wasn’t crazy, but it was definitely the steepest part of the trail. This is where we picked up our greatest speed, mostly because the trail was hard-packed here and visibility was so good.
From here, we continued down and took a short single-track cut-off to connect to Windisch Way, which led us straight into the Village. Quite by luck, we pulled into just behind Los Amigos (400 Bridge Street, Vail CO), a wonderful Mexican restaurant with excellent food & service. Just as we arrived, it began to rain. We enjoyed our lunch while waiting out the storm, and then rode back to the condo.
If you get to Vail in the summer, you really have to check out the trails on Vail Mountain. There’s something for everyone and I highly recommend it.
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