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And it wouldn't be perfect without Stu's thumb of approval.

We take a slight detour at the start to ride the Buffalo Burn trail. We built this two years ago with hopes that it would be a great beginner trail. It would, if people new it was there.

The next 30 miles are nothing short of perfect!

Through the burn on the CT.

A detour to Chair Rock,

Down to the South Platte.

What to do with dead trees.

Climbing back up to the top of section 1.

A look back on where we came from.

It's easier than walking.

Jason rocks the waterfall.

What happens when you screw up the waterfall?

The group says good-bye to summer.

The big picture.

The curse had been lifted and the result was a stunning blue sky and 360 degree views.

It was crowded. but there seemed to be good spacing between riders. No problem with some rip roaring fun!

What a different experience this is when it is not raining. The first climb was over before we even knew it.

Of course, there is always just a little bit more of climbing to do at Monarch. The cool weather made easy work of it. I don't think I even drew a sweat.

Keith rips it on the incline!

It's great when you ride with people who take the time to pause and reflect. No need to hammer through this.

These are some of the best people in Colorado, heck in the Country to ride with. I am very thankful for my friends.

I don't think it gets much better than this.

Nasty old Foos's trail. Something to try in the future.

Zoom! Zoom!

The Birthday Boy on his Birthday ride. Yup, that's the way to spend it!

Just another set of people having a good time.

Did I mention that the sky was blue? I guess I didn't jinx the ride after all.

The Colorado Trail and the Continental Divide trail come together for a little while. It's cool to see how important this area is to Mountain Biking.

Just a cool old log.

It's all about the bike!

From this point we head on by Marshall Pass and onto the Silver Creek trail. It added a little more bump to an otherwise smooth ride. We opted out of the Rainbow trail so we could be a little fresher for tomorrows ride.

We had a great dinner in Salida at Me Casa. Great food and the Tomatillo Salsa is unreal! We saw Ed going by to register for the Vapor Trail ride (125 miles, 10,000' of climbing, and it starts at 10 PM) and gave a shout out. We stopped by Absolute Bikes after dinner to check out the chaos.

Sunday morning started with an even clearer sky than yesterday. Wow, two days in a row? I'm going to owe someone big time.

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Today we started the same jaunt up the Crest to the Agate Creek Trail. When we got to the trail head, we had the opportunity of catching some of the Vapor Trail riders go by, including Ed on his single speed (though not in this pic)

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I have to say that Agate was one of the more physically demanding trails I have ridden. Thoroughly chewed up by motos, it was a non stop beating from the start. I only took one spill when I got caught on a baby head, but I did clean the entire 1200' initial descent, which surprised the crap out of me. That trail was way too much fun! That's probably why I didn't get a lot of photos.

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There is a reason it's called Agate Creek. You cross this puppy about 20 times. and you will get wet!

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I think this was the only "smooth" section.

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The water was cold. Very cold! Especially, if you didn't make it all the way across.

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Dorri rocked this one!

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But not this one.

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Some of the crossings were a little too deep and slippery.

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But, even wet smiles are better than no smiles. We smiled all the way to the final climb out!

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