Hey Everyone, welcome back! After Riding Segment 6 of the CT from Kenosha Pass to Breck in the last episode, we had originally planned to ride up the paved road and take segment 7, miners creek, back in to Breck for this one. It became quickly obvious that two days like this in a row would have been killer, so we decided to drive back to Vail and ended up having an unexpectedly phenomenal day of bike park laps.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:39 Vail in Winter
01:11 First Trail: Fred's Lunch
02:52 Big Mamba
05:18 Radio Flyer: A must do
07:39 Mane Lane
08:40 PMT
10:17 Magic Forest
11:49 Sittin' up
12:11 Conclusion
Vail Bike Park on Trailforks:
www.trailforks.com/region/vai...
Vail is much more well known for the winter season as one of the largest ski areas in Colorado. I don't post much to KZfaq, but if you follow on Instagram, you know that skiing is the sport I wish I had more time to do. Vail has some of the most awesome and easily accessible terrain during winter, with everything from steeps, to bumps to nice gladded runs. But enough of that, you're not here for skiing, the point is, I had always found it surprising that it isn't as regarded for summer, so I didn't really know what to expect.
One thing that makes Vail super cool to ride is that you get A TON of vert each run, for reference Fitzsimmons express which is the main lift at the worlds most well known bike park, Whistler, takes you up 1138ft. The main Gondola at Vail, Eagle Bahn, takes you up almost double at 2215ft. This means runs down feel like they're eternal, in a very good way. Additionally, the builders here rarely use fall lines, so millage is also quite high each run, but it doesn't feel flat. The real downside is that in comparison to Whistler which has too many runs to count, or even Keystone which is a short drive away, Vail only has a handful of dedicated bike trails, and about 15 multi-use trials.
I've now made my mind up on what I think about this bike park and I think I know why its not as well known as some other places. If I had to convey it in just a few words, this is a trail riders bike park, not a downhill bike park. What I'm trying to say is whether it makes sense for you to come here or go to Keystone for example, is not about whether Vail is good or bad, because its really really good, but about what your expectations are. Yes, there's a few jumps here, but its not a jumping place, yes there's some chunky downhill stuff, but its not DH bike worthy. Instead, everything seems to be though out so it can be ridden with your trail bike without any issues. To me, its a phenomenal place, specially if you're not too fond of huge jumps, I know I'd come back, but if I wanted to get some DH rig experience, I'd probably go to Keystone or Winter Park instead.
Well everyone, that's all I have for you today, I hope you had fun coming along for a day of riding at Vail and that if you're considering going yourself, this video helped you see what to expect. In the next video, we're hitting the big one for the roadtrip, conquering Mt. Elbert, the tallest 14er in the state of Colorado. I'll see you for the next one and happy riding!