The holiday season keeps giving gifts of unseasonably warm temperatures to help extend the riding season on and off the road…

Team riders Kurt Ireland and Jim Fu represented Peloton-Specialized at the inaugural Monster Ride hosted by Team Topeak-Ergon pro athletes Jeff Kerkove and Yuki Saito.

ERGON Monster Ride 2010 from Yuki Saito on Vimeo.

2010 Ergon Monster Ride from ergon on Vimeo.

Jim Fu and friend, Bill Wheeler, of Epic Endurance Racing, catching up at the start of the Ergon Monster Ride 2010. Photo: Jeff Kerkove

Kurt Ireland and Fort Collins single-speed compadre, Andrew Carney, of Team Big Wheel Racing, spin up before getting spun out on the Ergon Monster Ride

A total of 11 experienced riders drawn locally and from the Denver area turned out for this MTB tour which offered but a sampling of Fort Collins’ extensive and accessible network of trails for the dirt devotee.  All of the riders, most of whom are Ergon-sponsored, were equipped with Ergon product, including grips, packs, and gloves, which are available at Peloton Cycles of Fort Collins and Loveland.

Ergon grips and accessories are available at Peloton Cycles of Fort Collins and Loveland. Featured here are the GX2 Leichtbau Carbon in Grey and Team Green.

The group met on a balmy autumn morning of Halloween weekend (hence the ride’s “Monster” namesake) at Spring Canyon Park.

Yuki Saito puts "Monster" in "Monster Ride" by implanting a spooky tarantula on Jeff Kerkove. Curt Wilhelm and Jonathan Davis, in the background, approve.

A jack o' lantern screams from the cockpit of Jim Fu's 2010 Stumpjumper Expert Carbon 29 hardtail equipped with Ergon GX2 Leichtbau grips

The Ergon Monster Ride promptly struck out westward into Pineridge Natural Area for a hot lap to warm things up before crossing into Maxwell Natural Area, and up on the climb behind Hughes Stadium.

Ergon Monster Ride 2010: Spring Canyon Park Ride Out from Jim Fu on Vimeo.

The Ergon Monster Ride hits Pineridge Natural Area for a quick warmup

Ergon Monster Ride 2010: Maxwell Climb from Jim Fu on Vimeo.

After dropping down Shoreline Trail, the tour continued along the Foothills Trail, and dropped again back down the hogback via the Reservoir Ridge Natural Area.

The Ergon Monster Ride winds along Shoreline Trail

Kurt ascends a familiar road section on the Ergon Monster Ride under a gorgeous autumn sky

Ergon Monster Ride 2010: Descending Reservoir Ridge from Jim Fu on Vimeo.

Moving on to Lory State Park with a requisite stop at the ranger station to pay the entrance fee and to top off water bottles and hydration packs, an energetic climb of Timber Trail ensued, chased by an exhilarating descent down Kimmons Trail.

Kurt mixing it up between trails with MTB Coach Curt Wilhelm and Jeff Higham of Vitamin Cottage-Natural Grocers. Photo: Jeff Kerkove

Anthony Thornton of Epic Endurance Racing gets a hand with the water pump at Lory State Park from Kurt

The Ergon Monster Ride makes its way up Timber Trail in Lory State Park

Ergon Monster Ride 2010: Traversing Timber Trail from Jim Fu on Vimeo.

Given Kimmons’ knife-pointed and razor-edged flint substrate, it came as no surprise that Kurt punctured his front tire about halfway down, which was quickly resolved with a tube insertion assisted by Yuki who rode back up Kimmons to check on things, and in so doing received the bonus of taking another crack at the compelling descent.

Flats. They happen.

The group then dialed into some flow along the hardpack of the Lory trail network which included sections of the West and East Valley Loops, meeting up with the infamous Tower Road/Towers Trail climb which took the group into the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space network to explore sections of Stout, Carey Springs, Soderberg, and South Ridge trails.

Jim hanging out at the Carey Springs and Tower Road intersection on Horsetooth Mountain. Photo: Jeff Kerkove

The Ergon Monster Ride included some of the routes on Horsetooth Mountain which offered a diversity of trail styles

At the south trailhead of Horsetooth Mountain, several of the Denver-based riders then broke off to make their way home at points south, while the remaining riders forged onward to Bobcat Ridge Natural Area.

Once at Bobcat Ridge, the group decided to reach the Mahoney Park-Ginny Trail fat-tire playground via the nefarious Powerline Road climb whose one-way uphill otherwise expedited during a heavily-trafficked weekend their ascent to bliss in the unusual lunar-like post-fire landscape.

The hard way up. The foot of the Powerline Road climb at Bobcat Ridge.

At this point, Jim reluctantly turned back toward town, as the cold he came down with a few days prior that hobbled him on pretty much all of this ride really began to take its toll.  ”I’d have pressed on just to hit Ginny for the first time this year and finish out the entire ride, but I was pretty wasted from the cold as it was, and cutting things into the bone would have been counterproductive to getting better for rides to come.  Still, I was really happy to have come as far as I did, and was really happy to share some of the epic trails we’ve got out here. I’m looking forward to having these guys and their friends come back soon,” comments Jim.

Kurt traverses the desolate Ginny dome at Bobcat Ridge on the Ergon Monster Ride. Photo: Jeff Kerkove

A break on Ginny during the final leg of the Ergon Monster Ride. Photo: Jeff Kerkove

After some well-earned basking on the Ginny dome, the crew rode the return to suburban Fort Collins.

Back at Spring Canyon Park, happily exhausted after an epic ride. Photo: Jeff Kerkove

Plans are already in the works for next year’s second annual Monster Ride!

The stats:

Hours in the saddle: 6.5

Distance:

Elevation Gain:

Making use of the fantastic fall weather, team rider Jim Fu went out for a training ride with friends Sonya Looney and Jeff Kerkove of Team Topeak-Ergon.

Fall Freeride from ergon on Vimeo.

Freshman team rider Jim Fu and his coach, Yuki Saito of the Topeak-Ergon Racing Team, recently spent a day keeping it fresh on an epic MTB tour of Jefferson County.

Jim Fu ascending one of the many climbs on his training tour of Jefferson County trails with his coach, Yuki Saito

The ride lasted over 6 hours (over 7 hours for Yuki, who rode to the Apex trailhead from his home in downtown Denver), and included over 7000′ of climbing across the trail network that featured Chimney Gulch, Apex, Mt. Falcon, Lair o’ the Bear, and Red Rocks.

It was Jim’s first foray on those routes, who as a newcomer not only to the area, but the sport as a whole, found the ride “stunningly inspiring and profoundly positive” to his experience and development as a competitive cyclist.

Yuki Saito: Team Topeak-Ergon athlete and coach to Peloton-Specialized rider Jim Fu

Jim adds, “In addition to all the support from the Peloton-Specialized team, I really owe it to Yuki, as well as all of the phenomenal athletes and individuals I’ve also met through Yuki, who continue to inspire, teach, and motivate me to keep my head down, chin up, and butt on the saddle.  The thought of wearing a team cycling kit, let alone being invited to ride with pros, was a concept that a few years ago was not even remotely one that would have entered my consciousness.”

Below is video of the ride shot by Yuki with his helmet-mounted Epic HD camera:

Tour of Jefferson County, Colorado 10/14/2010 from Yuki Saito on Vimeo.

Product and equipment used by Jim and Yuki on this ride include:

Specialized ’10 Stumpjumper Expert Carbon 29

Ergon GX2 Leightbau grips with barends

Camelbak XLP hydration pack

WTB Silverado Saddle

Clif Shot Bloks – especially Margarita flavor with triple sodium (from natural sea salt) for electrolyte support

PowerBar Energy Gel

mix1 – 4:1 carbohydrate:protein ratio specifically formulated for optimal recovery

FRS Chews – Formulated with quercetin, a powerful antioxidant that supports recovery

Homebaked chocolate chip cookies from the loving kitchen of Sonya Looney