On Saturday, I made the venture from the mountains down to 65 degree weather in Castle Rock to test out the new 16-mile Ridgeline Rampage course. I also wanted to see how the new construction of Phillip S Miller Park was going, as this is our new, and exciting, home base for Ridgeline Rampage this year.
The park is nothing short of an amazing project. The Town of Castle Rock has truly made a huge investment and it seems to be paying off. There was a flurry of activity going on including soccer games, zip line tours, people climbing the challenge staircase, hikers, and of course mountain bikers getting ready to ride the new trails.
Alright, enough about the park and on to the trails. The new trail system around Phillip S Miller Park is fun, fast, and flowy. I started off riding the looped trail system clockwise on the Red Loop. I immediately had a perma-grin on my face as I was encountered with a smooth, dry trail filled with Gamble Oak. After a short climb, I was rewarded with a ripping downhill and connected with the Green Loop. The Green Loop is very similar to the Red Loop and I soon came to realize that the loops offered a short and challenging climb with fast downhills filled with berms. After the Green Loop, I connected with the Gold Loop. This is where I started to get even more excited to see how the new bridge connecting the PSM trails to the Ridgeline Open Space Trails over Wolfensberger Rd. was coming along.
Alas! We now have a bridge to connect the two trail systems allowing us to create our new Ridgeline Rampage course. Truthfully, it wasn’t open yet but it will be very soon! Either way I crossed the road and was excited to see what the Ridgeline Open Space Trails had to offer. I began riding clockwise and was immediately greeted with the punchy challenging climb that that tested my early season legs. This was my first time riding these trails and they did not disappoint. All I could think about was how I wished I wasn’t going to be working during the event so I could race this awesome course! The views weren’t bad either (unfortunately this picture doesn’t do it justice).
My legs were definitely getting heavy but the smile on my face did not go away as I made the 10-mile clockwise loop around the Ridgeline Open Space Trails. I eventually crossed Wolfensberger Rd. and jumped back on the Gold Loop at the Phillip S Miller Park trail system and continued riding clockwise. After a short climb, I connected to the Purple Loop. I was giddy riding this home stretch trail that leads you back to the main parking lot and the finish area for Ridgeline Rampage. It is definitely going to be a fast finish to say the least!
I’m going to post a link to my Strava Activity. Please be warned that first, it’s early in the season and I need to get my biking legs under me! Second, it was a scouting ride so there are a number of turn-arounds and re-routes, hence the total of 17 miles.
Finally, I have to remind everyone that our Early Bird Registration pricing is good until April 1st, that’s only 17 days away. I hope you all come out and enjoy this race course as much as I did. See you out on the trails!
Cheers,
Ernest
