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As in, I'm looking for ideas on one.
Myself and a few friends have been doing multi-day self-supported singletrack tours the last few summers. We start by finding a good, long, singletrack loop, trace the route as best we can using TopoFusion, upload the tracks to our GPS's, then we load up the bikes and packs and head out. In this fashion we've ridden the Colorado Trail (and many, many derivatives/alternates from the main clapped-out CT) as well as hundreds and hundreds of miles of high-alpine track in Colorado, Arizona, Alaska, and Utah.
We camp out almost every night, typically just stopping and dropping wherever we are after the sun is down. Typical leave-no-trace fashion--no fire rings, nothing more than some matted down grass (at worst) when we pack up in the AM.
We're a long ways from exhausting the supply of rideable trail near our homes, but we're also very interested in seeing some totally new country. That's where y'all come in.
We're looking for some route ideas.
Our ideal tour would include:
*~300-500+ miles total distance, with as much singletrack as possible. We consider ourselves expert level XC riders both fitness and skills-wise.
*We're not looking to huck ourselves off mondo drops, nor do we want to hike-a-bike if it can be avoided. Just looking for some fun, fast, techy trail. In the modern lexicon, we're looking for something ranging from techy XC to light-AM. Dude. Our packs and kits are light enough that if most riders can clean a steep climb or a gnarly descent on a day ride, we can clean it while touring.
*Pavement sucks. We accept that it's necessary to ride it into and out of towns, but are willing to go to great lengths to avoid it if at all possible. "Great lengths" includes throwing our bikes on our backs and hiking through Wilderness if need be...
*Dirt road doesn't suck as much as pavement, but it is still pretty low on the list of desirable places to ride. Singletrack is what we want, the higher quality (funner) the better.
*Ideally, we'd hit a town every third or fourth day to check in with the spousal units, restock on grub, and maybe even have a meal or get a shower, depending.
If you've got an idea for a big loop, please chime in here. Would love for it to include mucho high alpine, some hot springs, and we're considering adding a few folding fly rods to the kit to supplement our meager trail fare. But that's getting a bit ahead of itself.
We speak .gpx, .tpo, .kml, etc... and would LOVE to see tracks if possible.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
MC
P.S. A few pics below to give you an idea of the kit/setups we're using, and the kind of terrain we're looking for.
Myself and a few friends have been doing multi-day self-supported singletrack tours the last few summers. We start by finding a good, long, singletrack loop, trace the route as best we can using TopoFusion, upload the tracks to our GPS's, then we load up the bikes and packs and head out. In this fashion we've ridden the Colorado Trail (and many, many derivatives/alternates from the main clapped-out CT) as well as hundreds and hundreds of miles of high-alpine track in Colorado, Arizona, Alaska, and Utah.
We camp out almost every night, typically just stopping and dropping wherever we are after the sun is down. Typical leave-no-trace fashion--no fire rings, nothing more than some matted down grass (at worst) when we pack up in the AM.
We're a long ways from exhausting the supply of rideable trail near our homes, but we're also very interested in seeing some totally new country. That's where y'all come in.
We're looking for some route ideas.
Our ideal tour would include:
*~300-500+ miles total distance, with as much singletrack as possible. We consider ourselves expert level XC riders both fitness and skills-wise.
*We're not looking to huck ourselves off mondo drops, nor do we want to hike-a-bike if it can be avoided. Just looking for some fun, fast, techy trail. In the modern lexicon, we're looking for something ranging from techy XC to light-AM. Dude. Our packs and kits are light enough that if most riders can clean a steep climb or a gnarly descent on a day ride, we can clean it while touring.
*Pavement sucks. We accept that it's necessary to ride it into and out of towns, but are willing to go to great lengths to avoid it if at all possible. "Great lengths" includes throwing our bikes on our backs and hiking through Wilderness if need be...
*Dirt road doesn't suck as much as pavement, but it is still pretty low on the list of desirable places to ride. Singletrack is what we want, the higher quality (funner) the better.
*Ideally, we'd hit a town every third or fourth day to check in with the spousal units, restock on grub, and maybe even have a meal or get a shower, depending.
If you've got an idea for a big loop, please chime in here. Would love for it to include mucho high alpine, some hot springs, and we're considering adding a few folding fly rods to the kit to supplement our meager trail fare. But that's getting a bit ahead of itself.
We speak .gpx, .tpo, .kml, etc... and would LOVE to see tracks if possible.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
MC
P.S. A few pics below to give you an idea of the kit/setups we're using, and the kind of terrain we're looking for.
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