Eagle Ranch Loops

We picked up our rental bikes on Monday morning, a couple of K2 Zed-somethings. They were OK bikes, but the components weren't great for trail riding. In particular, my fork was extremely sticky. Most of the time, it was like riding a rigid. Next time I go on a bike trip, I'm definitely bringing my own. I did switch my brakes around (left for the back and right for the front) to avoid any emergency braking unpleasantness. I remembered to switch them back before I returned it to help someone else avoid some unpleasantness.

The first trail we picked to ride on was dubbed the "Eagle Ranch Loops" (lots of info on the Vail area trails is at Ecosports.com). It was supposed to be pretty easy singletrack without too much climbing. It ended up being pretty much as advertised. We stopped a few minutes into the ride after we found that the bike shop put way too much air in the tires, but otherwise the ride went without incident.

The terrain was very strange for me to ride in. It was very open, we rode mostly through sagebrush. It was nothing at all like riding trails in Michigan, which tend to be heavily wooded. Unfortunately, we left our camera in the hotel for this ride.

One other point, the bike I rented had a slightly longer top tube than I'm used to (I did this on purpose). I decided that I liked this setup. There was one steep descent on the trail, and I felt more stable than I think I would have on my bike. This also fits with a tip from Gene Hamilton on using a relatively large frame with a relatively short stem. I may have to see about making a switch...

Stock photo of the trail.

Elevation chart... pretty easy.