West Bench Mountain Bike Ride, Grand Mesa

Well I’m a bit behind on this post as my ride is actually from the 5th of July 2009. I’m a relatively new mountain biker and this was one of my first “real” rides. This ride is on Grand Mesa and takes you to the top of the Powderhorn ski area, past a couple of the chair lifts. It was pretty challenging for me as a newbie but a ton of fun. To me, it was a great mixed ride. Some technical challenges, a few water crossings and some nice views. The trail is single track for most of the way so expect to ride single file if you go with others. The trail is shared by hikers as well, so keep your eyes open for them.

Meadow on West Bench Trail

I parked at the Mesa Lakes recreation area, paying a $5 fee to get in. I’m guessing you can park out on the main , Groad for free and find your way to the trail head, but this was my first time here so I thought I’d take the easy route. Picking up the trail from the parking area I was in was farily straight forward, just riding down past the lake overflow you pick up the trail. It started a bit rocky, literally, but I soon fell into the groove and found a good pace. Some of the hills were a bit steep for me and I wound up walking the bike up them. There were at least a dozen downed trees that I had to navigate over and I got more confident on my way back and was able to bike over a few of the medium sized ones without losing the saddle.

West Bench Trail, Ski Lift 1

I only ran into a handfull of people on the trail and only one other group of 3 bikers who were coming down. Views from the ski lifts were quite nice but I wasn’t able to capture them very well with just the iPhone camera along. Several water crossings added to the fun as well as a fall into a bog on the way back. I stopped at the fence boundary not too far past the second ski lift and decided to turn around, figuring I should save some of my mojo for the ride down. The mosquitos were definitely out in force and stopping left you open to their hungry attacks. I think this would definitely make a great late summer or fall ride. Beautiful, excellent ride!