Two months ago we landed in Colorado and began the process of Unpacking and Setting Up The House. I haven’t been on my bike since October at this point – so long ago TrainerRoad knocked my FTP down to a level I have never seen. (To be fair, I only have a power meter on my trainer, so while I may have been at this level before, I’ve never *seen* it)
Our new location is stupid convenient to everything, so I decided to buy myself a dedicated About-Town bike. Look at this beauty!
(For fellow bike nerds, she’s a 2025 Surly Ogre in Orlock’s Shadow with a Surly first-gen 24-pack front rack. I recently added a Waald 139 half-basket. Why a first-gen? Because I can move it to my Wednesday for bikepacking, should I find a suitable fatbikepacking route locally)
Anyway, we are deep in a Climate Change Winter here. We had a cold snap a bit ago, but overall it’s been very pleasant. Sunshine, blue skies, jeans-and-a-t-shirt weather. Yesterday, the temps were expected to be in the upper 60s, so I decided to try a route I found on Gravel Bike Adventures – Dirty Chatfield & Waterton Canyon. Waterton Canyon has been on my To Do list since I moved to New York and discovered a love of dirt roads.
(full disclosure, the two lonely routes in New York are mine)
Within 3 blocks, I was on the local multi-use trail. The one thing I – didn’t really forget so much as haven’t had the ability to take advantage of – are the abundance of off-road multi-use trails. In the Denver metro area, it’s very possible to bike 100 miles – maybe more – without meaningfully being on a road with cars. This also means not a ton of hills in the traditional sense. Noting I’ll need to seek out hills to regain my climbing prowess.
Being a beautiful day, the trails were busy with families, people on bikes, people walking their dogs, and plenty of anglers in the Platte River. As I got closer to Chatfield Reservoir, more roadie cyclists appeared.
I climbed up the dam, a gentle half-mile at slightly-higher than railroad grades, and crossed the top of the dam. Another thing I didn’t really forget so much as didn’t have to deal with was the wind. You can see a million miles – and the wind will always find you. As I headed southwest, the headwinds and sidewinds prevailed – so I reduced my speed to avoid burning through energy on the flats.
Dropping into the southern trails in Chatfield was a treat. I didn’t see another person for several miles and enjoyed the rustic Western beauty. The route took me southwest onto the High Line Canal trail, winding its way through the plains and into new housing developments south of the park before pushing back into working ranch territory.
A right turn onto a road led me to the Waterton Canyon trailhead, which was swarming with people of all ages and abilities. Notably no one had their dogs, which is prohibited due to the wildlife in the area. Sadly, I did not see any big horn sheep – but I did see a pack of mule deer!
The climb itself is very, very accessible. The lower portions were more heavily trafficked, and the farther up the canyon, the fewer families and more cyclists, hikers, and anglers. 6.5 miles at a steady 1-2% grade on a wide, hardpacked road. Around every corner was another stunning view of the soaring mountains surrounding the valley. There were also plentiful pit toilets, picnic areas, and trash/recycling receptacles. Literally no reason to not Leave No Trace.
The hardest portion of the canyon is the final 4/10 mile past the dam, which takes you to the Colorado Trail. I took a short break to catch my breath and have a snack before gliding back down the canyon and heading towards home on the western trails in Chatfield. I ended up leap-frogging with a group of groadies (gravel roadies, a term for gravel riders on high-end, aero gravel bikes meant for racing with a background in road racing).
As I descended the Chatfield dam, and noticing all the roadies and groadies, and wondering if I’d find my people. I was on my Cutthroat with my bottle mounted out on the fork – a decidedly Not Aero position for them but highly convenient when bikepacking – just noodling along when I saw …
Tall, thin guy, tattooed arms and legs, old-timey mustache, flared bars … and bottles on the front fork.
My People.
I pedaled the remaining miles up the multi-use trail smiling, feeling seen, and that I will eventually find my people. I’m already in contact with Front Range Overnighters to get more involved in the local bikepacking scene, my goal being to not only figure out bikepacking Out West for myself, but also help lower the barriers of entry for others to try bikepacking.
Thank you to Gravel Bike Adventures for the core route – it was very enjoyable! Looking forward to exploring more of their routes locally.
wife. mother. awesome girl. 