The Granby Bike Ranch, which is what the Granby Ski Resort becomes during summer, has designated downhill trails and others called cross-country trails. The latter are open to riding and hiking, uphill or downhill, pretty much any time. The downhill trails are only open when the ski (bike) lifts are open, and the trails are limited to bicycles going down hill.
Our goal for the morning was to ride down the hill from the townhouse, past the ski resort, and up the hill to the ridge where the Fraser-Granby Trail (FGT) crossed road. We would then take the FGT south and just see what we found. I was hopeful that we could connect with the Granby Ranch cross-country trails, but hadn't yet located a trail map of sufficient detail to be certain it would work. Pedaling south on the FGT, we found ourselves on a firm gravel trail that was much dryer than expected. Maybe it rained less than I'd thought. We crossed a wide area of dirt where it appeared that some resort-related construction was occurring, and then a few open areas that would be ski runs in winter.
The trail climbed gently for about two miles, with nice views out across the valley and ski resort, then dropped down to connect with gravel roads that access some homes and yet-to-be developed properties. Signs along the roads kept us on the FGT. Eventually we found a cut-off allowing us to climb steeply up a rough trail that connects with the Grandy Ranch Cross Country trails. At first the little connector trail was very rocky, so most of our group had to push the bikes up, but it eventually leveled to a more broadly rideable state. After stopping to regroup and make a plan, where I made my usual promise we'd climbed the worst of it and the grade was leveling off, we continued up the rocky trail. Abbey took the lead and set off at a strong pace, showing the boys her power and technical skill -- until here brake hose came loose.
I heard a loud exclamation; Abbey shouted that her brakes had broken. Sure enough, the hose had pulled out where it inserts into the lever body. I put the hose back in place, but the few drips of fluid that had spilled left air in the lines, so the brake was useless. After some consideration of options, Cindy and Abbey headed down the trail planning to follow the gravel roads back through the resort and back to the townhouse. I continued up the trail with the Q&D. We climbed for a while and then descended back to the resort. The descent was fun, but once again the rain had begun.
Here's a link to our morning route: Sunday morning ride.
Since it was Sunday, I was afraid I might have trouble getting Abbey's brake lines refilled and bled that day. I had brought neither fluid nor a bleed kit with me. Fortunately, the Granby Bike Ranch has a pro shop to go along with their bike rentals, and they were able to service the brake immediately. This particular brake line was one I had installed myself when I set up the Nickel, so I probably had not tightened the compression fitting adequately, which eventually allowed it to pull out. So I hung out in the bike shop, watching a steady, heavy downpour outside, while the bike shop guy did a very thorough and by-the-book bleed of Abbey's rear brake. I felt we lucked out there.
The McKims arrived while Abbey's brake was being serviced. When the brake was done, I pedaled my bike back to the house while rolling Abbey's along beside me. After waiting out the rain for a while we decided to try going for a ride. I thought that we still had a chance of riding on the FGT since the trail surface was a coarse gravelly material rather than a fine dirt that might turn to mud. I was sort of right: the trail itself wasn't too bad, but it crossed an area where it appeared the resort was putting in a road -- or maybe it was just an access road. Either way, as soon as we tried to ride on the road, the mud stopped us in our tracks. Sticky clay wrapped our tires, clogged our pedals and shoes, jammed our chains, prevented our wheels from turning. We had to drag the bikes back to the trail and scrape away the mud just to turn around and ride back to the trail head. Yuck.
Here's a link to our afternoon route: Sunday afternoon ride.
On the way home, we stopped at the resort and used the bike cleaning station so that next time we tried to ride the bikes would actually function. Once we got back to the townhouse, we had a whole lot of muddy clothes to wash.
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