Bikepacking the Collegiate Peaks

by Brian · Published July 22, 2024 · Updated August 11, 2024

Janet and I decided to squeeze in a quick Colorado bikepacking trip that we designed based on a combination of the “Sage and Saddles” route as well as the “Vapor Trail” route – both found on bikepacking.com. All-in-all, our loop route was satisfying and it allowed us to see some new parts of Colorado. If I were to do this again, I would probably wait until later in August. Here is the map:

This is the map for the entire route discussed in this post. To Export GPX files, click on the three horizontal bars in the upper right hand corner of the map and select Export selected map data... To see full screen, click here (opens in new window)

My car reminds me a lot of my body: lots of broken stuff and mysterious problems… but both are still moving along. Yesterday, we drove across the Mojave desert, and as the temperatures climbed to 120F, Janet and I began to suffer - the R12-converted-to-R134a Air Conditioning just couldn’t keep up with the heat. But at least it won’t destroy the ozone layer … as much.. I apologized to Janet, and she replied that everything was fine. “When we were kids, my dad always turned off the air conditioner for hills.”

But then things got worse. The car was overheating. It turns out that while climbing steep hills in stop-and-go traffic when the temperature is 118F is too much for a car made in 1993. When I was a kid, I remember a handful of summer days when the temperature would reach 100F in San Jose. Perhaps the engineers in Japan figured the little Honda realistically only needed to handle a temperature ceiling of about 110F. Modern cars ought to be designed to operate in 140F temperatures, because that is probably coming soon.

Luckily, my car has an auxiliary radiator. It’s the heater. Janet and I blasted the heat whenever we got stuck in traffic or had to idle.

Fast forward to today, and we pulled into a shady spot to check under the hood. Either the curb was too high or my car was too low, but one of these factors removed the front bumper from my car. I muttered some expletives before zip tying it back on.

As I was doing this, a pasty, rotund, balding, self-proclaimed 64 year old man pulled up in his truck with a broken mirror. He explained that the trailer park where he lives is “full of Mexicans.” He later corrected himself, changing it to “Latinos.” He said they throw rocks at his truck and tell him to leave the trailer park. He said, “what can you do? Are you going to ruin their lives at a young age by getting them busted? I just ignore it. You can give yourself a heart attack if you get stressed out.”

Janet and I liked that he was easy going, even if I thought that maybe he should stop those kids from harassing him.

He saw me working under the hood and reattaching the bumper and asked what was going on. I told him the whole overheating story.

“Yes sir. When I was a kid my dad said, ‘No AirConditioning! It costs fuel and money!”

Our new friend stomped around, mimicking his father.

“Well guess what?” He continued, “he gave himself a stroke from not running that AC. One day he was driving and it was so hot, he started shaking.”

Pasty man began to shudder like someone having a stroke,

“and I said, ‘Pull over, dad, I am driving now!’ Guess What, he had a stroke and he can’t drive no more. And now he says to me, ‘I wish I had listened to you!’”

Our spirits were lifted by his funny pantomimes and jovial conversation, which lasted several hours until we unpacked the bikes and subsequently noticed that Janet’s cable housing had split! We were 5 miles into the ride, and I carry lots of spare parts - but not housing.

Tomorrow will be back to town for a repair!

**SSVT Stands for "Sage and Saddles Vapor Trail" - We kind of made a hodgepodge route which mixed up these two bikepacking routes along with some connections that looked good to me on a map.

Photos:

Strava Comments:

Ian G.

I grew up with same air conditioning logic. Always turn it off when it’s hot or hills 😬

brian W.

Auxiliary radiator. Ha. I've been there in my college student days. My Mazda GLC became an open window sauna.

mudworm ~.

What does SSVT stand for? You and Janet Wagner always pull through in the face of any adversaries , sometimes with your ingenuity, but oftentimes, just with your attitude alone!

J&K S.

My student car was a 64 VW. IIRC, 40 HP motor. They didn't even pretend it could support A/C!

DogMeat Q.

Omg! You should have taken a pic of pasty man! My AC isn't working right in my Honda FIT either, don't think it's ever worked right. We drove my car to the Trinity Alps and just made the best of it!

Sօʀƈɛʀɛʀ 🅅.

Actually the air conditioning in the Honda Fit works because we drove with the windows up during the afternoon. It's just not able to get the interior below 82° when it's 110° outside. I liked it! Your 600 mile 1993 Honda journey is exciting to read about. The Mojave Desert is no joke!

Sօʀƈɛʀɛʀ 🅅.

Just saw the pics. The snapped shifter cable right at where it goes into the frame is amazing. I didn't know a housing could snap like that especially with a cable inside. What sorcery is this? I'm with Russ, the Path Less Pedaled guy in preferring external cable routing overall. For sure I understand there are great benefits to the inside cable routing schemes though.

Ride Stats:

Elapsed Time	Moving Time	Distance	Average Speed	Max Speed	Elevation Gain	Calories Burned
00:51:29 hours	00:40:46 hours	8.98 km	13.22 km/h	30.82 km/h	21.00 meters	266 kcal

Last night, I discovered that Janet’s derailleur cable had snapped in two! I’d never seen anything like this; usually it breaks more slowly. Luckily, we had hardly left town, and Colorado has some of the friendliest bike shops around. We went to double shot bike shop, and they let us use a stand and borrow tools. Then Dan came out with two glasses of ice water for us. A major policy at any shop I have worked at has been - no loaner tools… but Dan didn’t seem to care (or maybe he didn’t want to deal with internal cable routing which required me to remove the fork and the bottom bracket)… anyway, Janet gave him a $20 tip for his kindness.

We left in good moods and can’t help but notice that people seem extra friendly in Colorado. We notice it each time we are here.

Miles came easily, so we stopped early in the day. Some tough sections lie ahead.

Photos:

Good name for a porta potty cleaner!

This is a petrified tent stake!

Strava Comments:

Janet W.

Day 2 seems like so long ago. We made a big partial looper, especially you, and are only 20 miles from where we started in Gunnison.

Ian G.

Broken cable blues 2. Random.

DogMeat Q.

Omg the turd herder! I've seen it all now😁

Sօʀƈɛʀɛʀ 🅅.

At first I thought the petrified tent stake was something that got away from the turd herder! And then if the crap was alive it would a turd murder.

Ride Stats:

Elapsed Time	Moving Time	Distance	Average Speed	Max Speed	Elevation Gain	Calories Burned
08:14:29 hours	05:32:53 hours	80.01 km	14.42 km/h	74.08 km/h	1,183.00 meters	2,802 kcal

Good dirt roads today. A highlight was Cathedral Cabins - a place fairly remote with a FULL resupply - including a mini bike shop. Wow! Annette and Brad took over from his parents and their other occupation is farming hay (a lucrative endeavor, in case you were wondering). Last year, they had 14 self propelled visitors by this time. This year: 76 (including us). Word is out.

We also met a guy named Jim on the e-bike (wearing white). He was friendly, and offered to tow us a couple of times. He had a large spare battery, and raved on and on about his e-bike. Janet isn’t convinced to try one just yet.

Many people come up to us and announce their age. Sometimes it seems like they feel guilty about what they are doing (using an e-bike for example)… but then they make the mistake of asking Janet her age! That must be a little humbling for some of these folks when they find out she is older! 😂

Photos:

Look at how well supplied these guys are at the Cathedral Cabins! A must go! Plus Annette and Brad were really welcoming.

Janet took this photo of Mark. He had been to Africa 6 times, so we had some good conversations. He and his wife are going to pedal Latvia and Lithuania next. He seemed a little worried it would be boring. Well, quite the opposite of the Colorado trail!

Janet took this photo of Jim. He was very friendly and even went back on his e-bike to check on Janet and try and tow her. Luckily, Janet only takes tows from me. ❤️

Janet might scream as she’s riding the steep descents…

Janet and I met Eric and Dave on the trail. They complained about 20 miles of bike pushing on Sargents Mesa. This started to shift Janet’s plan for tomorrow. Writing this from the future, I’m glad she opted out - it was hard.

Camp sweet camp! 🏕️

Strava Comments:

Janet W.

We’ve had a lot of “home sweet camps” so far, even though attacked by hungry mosquitoes at times!

Glenn O.

What an awesome find for a camp!

Corrine L.

Same thing happened to Eric when riding. He ran into a couple about the same age as us on e-bikes and they kept telling him why they were using e-bikes as if they needed an excuse to ride them. Weird but maybe they feel a little guilty when others their age aren't using them?

Corrine L.

What I meant was why do people feel they need to have excuses about why they ride e-bikes. I think whatever makes you happy and makes you want to get on a bike is fine. I have a 40 year old friend who loves to mountain bike on his e-bike. It makes it more pleasurable for him. I'm all for that. But it seems like some people try to explain why they are using an e-bike. No need to explain. I get it. Go out and have fun however that is. No reason to have to explain why.

Ann L.

Great pics. Janet “might scream” on rough terrain 😂

Brian L.

Corrine Leistikow - yes, yes, YES! And by the way, Jim did seem like a really happy guy. Thanks for your comment!

Sօʀƈɛʀɛʀ 🅅.

A different way for everyone really. It is good to see people making it out for rides any way they can.

Ride Stats:

Elapsed Time	Moving Time	Distance	Average Speed	Max Speed	Elevation Gain	Calories Burned
09:11:03 hours	06:57:04 hours	87.82 km	12.63 km/h	47.10 km/h	1,402.00 meters	3,490 kcal

Sargent’s Mesa… maybe the toughest section of the Colorado trail. Janet intelligently opted out. My FOMO got the better of me, and now I can tell you that you might as well skip this section. There is some nice scenery, but the cost of bike pushing is too high for the couple of meadows you get to see… not too different from other parts of Colorado. Don’t get me wrong: there are some fun patches in there… but you pay for them.

So, right before beginning, I met two women getting ready to backpack. People are often eager to tell me their life story, and this woman unabashedly downloaded the last 5 years of her life. She had broken both of her legs - in separate incidents. I was congratulating her on being back out on the trails so soon, and she explained that the reason her bones were weak was from the stage 4 colon cancer treatment. Yowsers. She is 4 years out, and so far so good. Makes me happy to hear survival stories and to see her out on the trail again.

In other news, Janet and I sat down for burgers at Tomichi Creek. A man at the bar started cheering, “oh my god, wow!” I figured something good happened, so it was a little surprising when he said, “there was a shooting at the truck rally! See, we were just taking about that,” he said excitedly to the waitress.

I tried to look it up online, but got lost on Google. Too many articles with the word “shooting” in just the last 24 hours to find the one he was talking about. Sigh 😔

Photos:

Strava Comments:

DARIO !.

Sargents truly sucks, maybe the only shitty part of that route though!

Janet W.

I see you are happy that FOMO got the best of you, and that you conquered Sargents Mesa today! Also, very thankful that you made a much easier route for me today. Now we’re friends with everyone at the Tomichi Creek Trading Post.

Greg M.

Legit

Carol D.

Quite a haul of trophies. Good thing you weren't burdened down on the bike with real

Ian G.

Your time shows how truly hard that section is. And also how gnarly the fast CTR racers are. 28 miles in 6 hours with only 2k climbing 🫡

Brian L.

Update: saw the news this morning. The guy in my story didn’t say “truck rally,” he said, “Trump rally.”

DogMeat Q.

I fondly recall the skinny trails through the Aspen trees there!

Sօʀƈɛʀɛʀ 🅅.

When I was ridingy Garmin flashed a little blurb about a shooting and I was thinking that was so weird and I shouldn't have a computer on my bike that blurts stuff like that out while I'm riding.

Ride Stats:

Elapsed Time	Moving Time	Distance	Average Speed	Max Speed	Elevation Gain	Calories Burned
08:39:27 hours	08:06:00 hours	85.16 km	10.51 km/h	49.51 km/h	2,136.00 meters	3,843 kcal

If yesterday’s ride was a 1/10 for scenery and fun riding, today was the inverse. The Monarch Crest trail was the most fun riding of the trip so far.

Many months ago, our friend Mark Glenesk had tipped us off about a cyclist named Jon Herman who was riding the Baja Divide. Janet and I followed his Strava fervently, seemingly feeling his pains and elations as if he were some sort of doppelgänger Voodoo doll bumping down the sandy peninsula. That is how we came to know him.

Even though we never met, Jon was one of the first to donate to the puppy reacue fund, and this past month, he began rising the Tour Divide route from Banff to Mexico.

Between long bouts of work, i had been slowly catching up on his Strava posts (in order, to keep up the suspense), and although I was over a week behind, it occurred to me to look ahead. Sure enough, we were going to just barely overlap! We met Jon in real life, along with his touring buddy Misha - the brother of Jon’s fiancée. Both of them are exiting Salida (which coincidentally means “the exit” in Spanish) to visit friends (Misha) or fiancée (Jon). They plan to return in a few days to resume their tour to the Mexican border!

Photos:

Monarch Crest - much better than yesterday!

Janet, Wendy, Angie, and Sue. They were ripping this trail on unloaded bikes. and we might see them because they will bikepack the same route as us in a few days. Angie invited us to stay in her tiny house.

Greens Trail. Janet accidentally cut her calf on her pedal while descending this route. Luckily, we had antibiotics thanks to Mark G’s encouraging.

Misha, Jon, Janet, and me.

Strava Comments:

DogMeat Q.

Epicness!

Ann L.

Glad you had a good day with that amazing scenery!

Jon H.

So glad it worked out in Salida. Hope we go on a bike tour someday!

Judy I.

You are meeting all kinds of doppelgängers! Love all the blond braids on the adventure women.

Janet W.

The Monarch Crest! That was great fun with you and all the cool new friends we met. Thanks for running back up Greens trail over and over to ride my bike down. I finally gained some confidence riding down once we got past the big rocks.

Mike J.

When I rode the Great Divide route, I stayed in Salida and rode the Monarch Crest Trail twice and the Rainbow Trail all in a 5 day stay. Some of the best trails I've ridden.

Ride Stats:

Elapsed Time	Moving Time	Distance	Average Speed	Max Speed	Elevation Gain	Calories Burned
12:35:42 hours	09:30:47 hours	79.83 km	8.39 km/h	56.16 km/h	1,378.00 meters	3,287 kcal

Early thunderstorms took us by surprise. This region reminded me of Zermat for some reason.

Photos:

Strava Comments:

Scooter R.

Looks like a beautiful place to ride!

Judy I.

😍

Gary M.

Lovely photos

Janet W.

Riding the Colorado trail is a good challenge, and extra fun with you!

Ride Stats:

Elapsed Time	Moving Time	Distance	Average Speed	Max Speed	Elevation Gain	Calories Burned
07:33:34 hours	06:25:22 hours	51.40 km	8.00 km/h	39.58 km/h	1,595.00 meters	3,258 kcal

Janet and I separated routes twice. Both times I took the high single track route. Both were challenging… but rewarding in scenery and fun riding. 3 thunderstorms today.

Photos:

Well at least Janet can sit here.

Start of the Tunnel Creek trail. It was 100% rideable to my surprise.

At the top of tunnel creek, I had to do some hike-a-bikes, but it wasn’t too bad.

God threw gravel at us a couple times.

Williams pass road.

We heard from the 3 mountain bike chicks that Williams pass was sweet and rideable. Uh, not by us.

We had been informed that Williams pass was closed - but not to bikes. That was true (only to motor vehicles). However, once you get to the other side, all the trails are truly closed. We got informed about the $5000 fine by a couple of workers. No one enforced it, thankfully. In retrospect, St. Elmo to Hancock Pass to Tomochi pass wild have been easier and legal.

Tomichi pass.

Hiding from hail.

Hancock pass from Tomichi pass.

The top of the canyon creek trail. Lots of suffering here - including a one mile stretch that took me 45 minutes. But there were a lot of sweet flowy sections to make up for the pain.

Strava Comments:

Ann L.

Very dramatic scenery. That’s a lot of climbing!

László P.

Janet W.

Nice title ‘God’s Gravel’. I’m glad we got enough nice weather breaks to make it to camp before more rain.

Carol D.

No jerks allowed- 😂

DogMeat Q.

Loving it!!!

Boris F.

epic!

Judy I.

The part where they are working on the road reminds me of a time we led a tour on the coast of Turkey. It was a similar situation but the workers let us through, only to find out they were actively using explosives to clear boulders a little further on! (I guess they didn’t like tourists!)

Paula G.

If it was hard for you, it must have been very hard! Now you can add 'law breaker' to your list.

Ride Stats:

Elapsed Time	Moving Time	Distance	Average Speed	Max Speed	Elevation Gain	Calories Burned
09:44:16 hours	08:41:25 hours	62.51 km	7.19 km/h	32.88 km/h	1,927.00 meters	4,152 kcal

Just a short day to camp. Trying to enjoy being in the mountains and relax at camp. This is different from our typical itinerary. I still get enough exercise, though. I pull Janet at zone 4 using a tow rope on the climbs.

Photos:

Kids fishing pond - loaded with fish! Wish my niece and nephew were here for this one.

We have been paying to camp, which is also a deviation for us. Forest service spots are not expensive with our passes, and it is nice to have prepared tent pad. The price we pay are all the motorheads running every type of engine around camp - rolling around on ATVs or side-by-sides… or using generators to power their satellite TVs. Yes, people carry satellite dishes on their rigs. It’s a crazy world we live in.

Strava Comments:

Janet W.

I’m glad we like to “keep it simple” on bike packing trips! Even with your strength it would be difficult to tow a satellite dish up a hill. Thanks for all your toe rope assists!

Mark G.

Gunnison - cool that's the route area for some of the routes in the BTC (Bicycle Tour Colorado) days. I'm back in the States so I'm happy to be able see your travels in closure to real time.

Ann L.

Do you hire out your towing services 😉😂 asking for a friend.

Brian L.

Ann Luce - 😆. That is funny. 😄

Mark G.

Ann Luce in Amsterdam I saw A LOT of cargo bikes with a large and comfortable front seat for passengers. I think that'd be fun and Brian Lucido would enjoy it too

Nicholas R.

Hello Brian Lucido, as someone who visits the US to bikepack and spends a lot of time camping (mostly dispersed, but also at USFS sites), I was wondering what passes you use for discounted camping at FS campgrounds.

Ride Stats:

Elapsed Time	Moving Time	Distance	Average Speed	Max Speed	Elevation Gain	Calories Burned
10:28:14 hours	04:37:28 hours	43.40 km	9.39 km/h	49.69 km/h	808.00 meters	1,771 kcal

Another short towing day. Lots and lots of Side-by-sides and motor sounds. Colorado is much better in April, September, and October if you’re coming for the more natural experience. Regardless, we snagged a nice site by Mirror lake by arriving early.

Photos:

Janet on the last bits of Cumberland pass.

The town of Tincup in Colorado. I like visiting these tiny little towns with alluring names.

Tent by the lake! A happy place - not even cold at 11,000’.

Janet about to fetch some water.

The tincup pass (that I went partway up a few days ago) just opened now that the water is shallow enough for vehicles to drive across. Nevertheless, I saw a motorcycle rider drown his engine. Then the bike fell over in the water. This pretty much ruins the bike where you need a complete overhaul. Better to turn off the engine and push your bike across rather than suck in the water. Ugh. 😩

Strava Comments:

Judy I.

Short days. fantastic scenery and quaint towns; there’s a lot to love in this post. ❤️

Jennifer G.

Gorgeous country!

Ride Stats:

Elapsed Time	Moving Time	Distance	Average Speed	Max Speed	Elevation Gain	Calories Burned
08:11:19 hours	04:36:54 hours	39.73 km	8.61 km/h	47.52 km/h	1,160.00 meters	2,281 kcal

We had breakfast at a small cafe; all around us, side-by-sides were revving their engines. Inside the cafe, it was quieter, and the young guy behind the counter was friendly and polite. The signs said “no substitutions,” but he practically suggested an alternative breakfast for Janet when she asks for “just eggs”. Janet and I are both always so pleased when young people are so polite like this guy. Janet mentioned this twice because in a previous store we had a similar experience with some kids volunteering extra information to help us out. Considering how busy it is up here at this time of year, they get additional bonus points from us.

My favorite part of the day was when we got to the bottom of the famous “Doctor Park Trail”. I had heard about this trail from the MTB magazines I would scour as a youth. This was not part of our planned route, but I decided to go for it and Janet would descend the dirt road instead. Janet cited that she didn’t have confidence to ride these kinds of trails anymore.

I headed to the river crossing, and spent some time adjusting my bags… when Janet showed up! “You’re going to do it?” I asked excitedly.

“No! But now I have some time to kill,” she replied.

I walked across the river where a young couple was getting ready for the 1,200’ climb. The woman said, “we already did a bike ride this morning… and now we are doing this. That is how good this trail is!”

A few more questions, and I relayed the info back to Janet. She decided to go for it! The trail definitely had some chunder up top, and a techy section at the end… but the smooth single track in between put a smile on our faces. Glad we did it!!

Photos:

Ghosting. The disadvantages of HDR photos on a moving object.

In the morning, the first gradual climb had us on dirt - with all sorts of RVs and motors. I realize that I’d rather ride in the off season than be around the motors everywhere!

Taylor lake reservoir back there.

It is beautiful, but don’t forget that there were these nasty and aggressive flies that bite hard! Luckily, when we escaped to the next valley, they were gone - but they were worse than mosquitos!

On the dirt ascent to Doctor Park trail.

Single track goodness.

Strava Comments:

Stan H.

Way to go Janet!

Samantha H.

That's so beautiful

Gary G.

Look where you are now! We are just back from a fantastic SuperTour. We just booked a trip to Crested Butte August 8 - 15. We'll be there for our 25th anniversary.

Sօʀƈɛʀɛʀ 🅅.

Congratulations Gary Gellin and Holly Harris have a great trip there. Janet Wagner you look great in Brian Lucido 's pics!

Judy I.

Doesn’t she look great? Totally agree with Sorcerer! Love those fuzzy focus with flowers photos! 😍

Brian L.

Gary Gellin - woot! Glad to hear Supertour was… super! Tomorrow, Janet and I celebrate 20 years! Great place to celebrate. Wish our trips overlapped!

Brian L.

DogMeat QueenⓋ & Paul - we might copy your Ruby Mountains trip! I’d tag Sorcerer, but he is practically untaggable!

Deb J.

Happy anniversary!!! What a beautiful spot to celebrate! We’re going to Gunnison in September with our camper. That area looks very inviting. Love all the photos of Janet making it look easy!

DogMeat Q.

The Ruby Mountains are so worth a visit!!!!

DogMeat Q.

Oh and 20 years!!!! Wow, congratulations!

Donna K.

Great photos of Janet - she’s a rock star!

Ride Stats:

Elapsed Time	Moving Time	Distance	Average Speed	Max Speed	Elevation Gain	Calories Burned
09:50:14 hours	06:45:07 hours	75.72 km	11.21 km/h	44.61 km/h	1,158.00 meters	2,727 kcal

Last day! Last week I had ordered a radiator to be shipped to Gunnison.. and we relaxed the radiator in a shady parking lot. I didn’t flush the entire system because I couldn’t get the engine drain bolt off.. but did drain about half of the fluid, flushed once with DI water, then a second flush with coolant mix. Even after a 15 minute air purge, there were still bubbles coming out of the bleed screw,,, but the car no longer overheats on idle. Also, it has passed every “blown head gasket test,” no exhaust gasses in coolant, no oil on water, no water in oil, no white smoke from tailpipe. So maybe the car is ok? It has been Running like a champ and got 45 miles per gallon. Reminds me of old 26” wheel bikes. Still perfectly good.

Photos:

Strava Comments:

Scooter R.

Finding out you don’t need a new engine is a nice way to finish off a trip 🙂

Henric M.

I had an old Volkswagen that was easy to keep going forever. Now my new car can’t even change the plugs.

Mark G.

Pretty sure you'll be at 300,000 with the car

Judy I.

Is there anything you *can’t* do Brian? Extra kudos!

Paula G.

I’m sad that you are leaving my favorite vacation state. Super proud of you for fixing the car though. I firmly believe the old saying, ‘they don’t make ‘em like they used to’. Honda/Acura have made me a believer. I’ve owned my first ever car for 42 years, so don’t let anyone give you a hard time!