2022 was my biking year. I did more biking than paddling. A lot of biking on paved trails in the Fort Collins area and northern Colorado. 30 years ago I was biking a lot in the Horsetooth Mountain area, but recently those trails become somehow steeper and more rocky. So, nowadays, my favorite biking destination is Red Mountain Open Space and Soapstone Prairie Natural Area north of Fort Collins with more gentle and uncrowded trails.
In 2022 I covered all trails accessible for bikes in Soapstone Prairie. I used two bikes: Salsa Mukluk fat bike and Trek Checkpoint SL6 gravel bike. I wondered how a gravel bike would do on those trails.
My gravel bike performed very well on most trails in Soapstone Prairie. There were of course a few challenging soft or rocky spots. However, I wouldn’t like to ride a gravel bike on one particular trail. First couple miles of the Cheyenne Rim trail starting from the lower parking lot and going around the bison field are pretty rough and rocky.
Many sections of single track trails in Soapstone Prairie are rutted and deep. If there is any snow it will be blown into those trails making them challenging to ride. It’s when you really need a fat bike. It is interesting. You may not see much snow in general scenery, but all snow, pretty deep in places, is caught on trails. Actually, I really like snow there for photography purposes.
I also did some riding with a gravel bike in Red Mountain area. You will find more soft gravel there than in Soapstone Prairie, so I would prefer a fat or mountain bike there.
Soapstone Prairie and Red Mountain are closed for winter now, but I will back there in early March.
I am posting some video clips on my FitOver67 youtube channel. Please visit and check the biking and skating playlist.