This course focuses on developing fundamental mountain biking skills. It is designed for riders with little or no mountain biking experience, or for those with riding experience who would like to become better technical riders. In this course, the rider's current riding level will be assessed, and instructors will teach skills that they deem important to elevating each participant’s riding ability.

The skills taught in this course are designed to make each rider safer and more efficient on the trail to make mountain biking a more fun experience. This is a full-day course and will include basic skills practice as well as on-trail skills application. The day will be completed with a short tour of trails in the Summit County trail system where students can practice their new skills.

In this course, riders will learn, practice, and hone the following skills:

• Pre-ride bike inspection
• Mountain biking trail etiquette
• Body position
• Braking
• Shifting
• Foot position
• Bike/body separation
• Climbing technique
• Basic cornering

Itinerary

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We will meet at the CAG office or a convenient rendezvous point, gear up, and head to the field. We will spend the day in field instruction where we turn the backcountry into an experiential classroom where you will learn and hone your mountain bike riding skills.

Trip Package Includes

• CAG professional mountain bike guide
• 5:1 maximum instructor to student ratio

Trip Package Does Not Include

• Mountain bike (rentals available, including helmets)
• Insurance (trip or rescue)
• Guide gratuity

Area Info

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Colorado Adventure Guides is permitted to operate in a variety of terrain in Summit and several adjacent counties, which allows us to access a variety of zones for courses. Typically we confirm our destinations about two weeks before the actual course to make sure we have the most appropriate terrain for the course. Some of our favorite mountain biking areas include:

Breckenridge Trail Systems, Breckenridge Colorado

Experience flowy downhills, grinding climbs, and historic mining roads. Tucked in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain’s Tenmile Range is Breckenridge, a small town with big mountain biking trails and terrain. At an elevation of 9,600′ with 800 miles of track — it is also a Gold Level Bicycle Friendly Community, awarded by the League of American Bicyclists. Mountain biking and cycling are a huge part of Breck’s backbone. From adrenaline downhills to relaxing cruisy trails, the town’s incredible network of trails all boast easy access and will take you up and down Colorado’s famed terrain. Get ready for alpine singletrack, loamy forest trails, and fields of wildflowers as far as the eye can see.

Soda Creek, Frey Gulch, Horseshoe Gulch Trail Systems, Keystone Colorado

Mountain biking in Summit County is more than flumes, pine forests and mine tailings. When you get away from the Breckenridge area — home to the county’s most popular trails — things open up to reveal rolling meadows and faded ranch buildings. It’s the other side of life in the Rocky Mountains: Alpine ranching, the High Country’s last, great industry before the rise of ski tourism. On the west side of Keystone Resort is a system of trails that weaves past the fairways of Keystone golf club and then north into Frey Gulch or south into Horseshoe Gulch/Soda Creek. The systems eventually connect with the wooded routes many mountain bikers know and love — Blair Witch, Gold Run Road, the Colorado Trail — but for a few short-and-sweet miles, it’s a taste of riding not often found in these parts (unless you want to pedal high above tree line, that is.)

Frisco Peninsula Trail System, Frisco Colorado

Frisco is surrounded on three sides by national forest (75% of Summit County is public land.) It takes locals years to bike it all, so you will never be bored! The good news is that you can learn to mountain bike or fulfill all your dreams of gnarly mountain biking achievement all right here. We’ve got it all. One of the county’s most popular, early-season mountain bike trail networks is the Frisco Peninsula. For many Summit County residents, the peninsula trail system is the first place to go when the snow melts in the spring. Typically the first to thaw out, it’s a great place to warm up for the season, get used to the altitude, or just enjoy a beautiful trail ride next to Lake Dillon at any time during the summer. The network includes short interconnected trails, so get out there and explore. This is a classic lunch hour ride with incredible views and waterside riding along Dillon Reservoir. There are a lot of trails in this system, and they are perfect for exploring with little chance of getting lost on this peninsula.

Salt Lick Trail System, Silverthorne Colorado

Right out of the back door of our office in Silverthorne lies the Salt Lick Trails System. This series of trails pass through stands of lodgepole pine and aspen where you are greeted with amazing views of Lake Dillon, the Continental Divide, and surrounding areas. The Salt Lick Trail System offers intermediate routes for more novice mountain bikers, and includes Ute trail names such as “Nah-oon-kara,” the Ute name for the land where blue water meets the sky, “Too-pwech” which means rock, and “So-ov” which means aspen tree. You can take the Summit Stage to the top of Salt Lick and ride the trails down, or pedal from the bottom up to different types of loops and plenty of rolling terrain.

About Your Guides

Colorado Adventure Guides and Colorado Rafting Company, based in Silverthorne, CO, deliver four-seasons of outdoor adventure and education. With operations in seven USFS and BLM ranger districts, we serve a dynamic and growing population of outdoor enthusiasts spanning Summit and Eagle Counties to the Denver Front Range. Our all-season, guided operations include:

• Rock Climbing
• Mountaineering
• Hiking/Peak Ascents
• Mountain Biking
• Whitewater Rafting/SUPing
• Backcountry Skiing
• Backcountry Splitboarding
• Snowshoeing
• Ice Climbing
• AIARE Snow Safety

We have been providing incredible experiences to visitors of Summit County and surrounding areas for over 20 years. Whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned expert, let us take you on your next unforgettable outdoor adventure!

FAQs

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How physically fit do I need to be to participate in this course?

Colorado Adventure Guides’ priority is keeping our patrons and students safe. Our instructors are trained to recognize potentially hazardous situations in the backcountry. This can be a physically demanding activity, and your ability to enjoy the adventure depends on your health and fitness, thus it’s recommended that you are in good physical condition.

What kind of bike do I need?

All of our mountain biking trips will be operated on dirt trails with varying length and difficulty. We strongly encourage that all participants are on full suspension or hard-tail style mountain bikes with disc brakes and flat footed pedals.

Are rentals available?

We partner with local mountain bike rental shops, and the rental cost is $80 per bike. We take the stress away and get the reservation all set up for you. Mountain bike rentals are typically full suspension bikes with flat pedals and disc brakes, and are sized to the individual.

When is the best time of year to go mountain biking?

The best time to go mountain biking in Colorado is whenever you can get out! Our biking season can vary yearly and by location, but here in the high elevations of Summit County, our biking season typically begins mid to late May and lasts through September and some years into October.

Should we tip our guide?

Our guides make a base wage similar to a bartender or wait person. General guidelines for tipping would be the same as for a bartender or a waitperson (15-20%). If you do believe in tipping, and the guide has proven to do a great job, it is a nice way to express your appreciation but only if you feel you had a safe, fun, and informative experience.