• Home
  • About

A Runner's Story

A Runner's Story

Tag Archives: Canyon Drive

Betasso

14 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Boulder, Canyon Drive, trail running

Betasso LinkGadget Girl told me about the Betasso Link Trail off Canyon Drive a few weeks back.  Today was my first chance to get up here.  The trailhead sits just before and to the right of the tunnel, three miles from the edge of town on the drive toward Nederland.  You can drive another mile further to Sugarloaf Road to reach a trailhead at the top if you want to skip this rugged 1.3 mile climb.  I wanted the climb.  It rises over 600 feet, the steepest part in the first quarter mile.  That’s just about the limit of grade I can handle without walking.  When Gadget Girl’s husband rides with her, they start at the top but Dave rides this link trail down.  She picks him up on the drive home.

The trail is hard and slick, with intermittent boulders.  A biker started out before me and I figured I would pass him.  I find that I typically pass mountain bikers uphill but this guy was unreal.  I did finally catch him once after he dismounted for a particularly steep rise but he passed me back quickly.  Really, I was just right behind him the entire climb.  And we passed several others.  While slower, they were still extremely skilled.  This black diamond trail is technical for bikers in both directions.  For runners, it’s gorgeous.  I thought of Keith’s face after he completed the first loop last weekend in the Snowmass trail race.  For anyone who finds running burdensome, try running a mountain trail.  Trails like this turn workouts into a rapturous experience.

Betasso PreserveThe top of the climb empties into an open meadow and links to the Canyon Loop Trail – a 3.3 mile loop.  A sign instructs bikers to ride counterclockwise.  I read this direction alternates monthly.  There are no similar guidelines for runners but commonsense implies that running clockwise is optimal so you can see bikers coming.  There are also signs (you can see one if you click on the trailhead picture to enlarge it) that state no bikers on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Good to know, although I didn’t find this morning overly crowded.  The bikers were all courteous and skilled well enough that we could both usually pass by without surrendering momentum.  In fact, the first mile of the Canyon Loop was double track, and much of the remaining loop was still wide enough for passing.  On occasion, I even yield for bikers, when it seems fair.  Hate to see a biker topple over on these sharp hills.

Running was softer up top on the loop than on the link trail.  Dry and not nearly as supple as the soil in Snowmass.  Those trails were dreamy.  My trail flats gripped those paths near the Maroon Bells like leather gloves on the steering wheel of a muscle car, accelerating through turns.  The Canyon Loop contains several similar sections where the trees were thick enough that moisture clung to the dirt to turn its color black.  And there were a half dozen streams which were fun to hop across.  The loop was never flat, rather rolling and twisty.  I took the first mile to recover from the climb but then found my legs and enjoyed some speedier running where the trail allowed.

After a single loop, I returned back down the link trail to my car.  I found the descent more technical than the climb.  My year old trail shoes slid a few times.  Manufacturers tell you to buy new shoes every 500 miles.  I tend to log over 2000 before shodding a new pair.  Traction is certainly a critical criteria in trail shoes so perhaps it’s time.  To survive this descent, I focused on form.  The trick to avoiding slippage is to never let your feet touch the ground.  Since I can’t actually fly, I begin raising my feet before they fully touch down.  Very, very, quick, short steps.  Allowing your heel to fully flatten is courting disaster.  Running downhill like this is seriously exhausting and difficult to maintain for much more than a mile.  The other technique is to walk, but even then it’s wise to avoid putting too much weight into your landing.

I made it down safely.  And really, I didn’t rush down overly fast.  I played it safe.  I can’t believe this was my first time up on this hill.  Next time I intend to run two or three loops up top.  I’ll be back to Betasso.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Search this blog

Categories

Buy Full Spectrum Cyberwar at Amazon

Buy Cyber War I at Amazon

Buy on Amazon India for ₹99

Buy on Amazon U.K. for £2.27

English Edition on Amazon Germany

Buy on Amazon Brazil for R$11.29

Archives

Blog Stats

  • 130,727 hits

Girlfriend Cult

Recent Comments

Ed Mahoney on Boulder Marathon Training…
georgeschools on Boulder Marathon Training…
georgeschools on Boulder Marathon Training…
Ed Mahoney on Boulder Marathon Training…
A lo Hawk on Boulder Marathon Training…

Recent Posts

  • Boulder Marathon Training – Week One August 7, 2022
  • Mount Sanitas July 30, 2022
  • The Trail and Me July 23, 2022
  • Mount Zirkel Wilderness July 13, 2022
  • Full Team Hike July 4, 2022
  • Village to Village July 3, 2022
  • Beaver Creek July 2, 2022
  • Summer is Here June 12, 2022
  • Birthdays May 22, 2022
  • Fall River Road March 25, 2022
  • A Tale of Two Gerasimov’s March 11, 2022
  • The Hero February 26, 2022
  • Full Spectrum Cyberwar February 24, 2022
  • Run Nan, Run February 20, 2022
  • Running Sunrise to Sunset February 13, 2022
  • Cyberpunk Runner February 5, 2022
  • A Winter’s Run January 15, 2022
  • Turkmenistan January 2, 2022
  • Counting Families at Christmas December 26, 2021
  • Austin Boardwalk December 23, 2021
  • Like Christmas for the First Time December 19, 2021
  • Restoration November 27, 2021
  • India Kinks November 15, 2021
  • Run a Little, Write a Little November 6, 2021
  • Horizons October 30, 2021
  • The Vitality Kick and other Abnormal Obsessive Behaviors October 19, 2021
  • The Ten Week Plan October 11, 2021
  • Pearl Street Marathon October 10, 2021
  • Confidence Builder October 2, 2021
  • Margot Faye September 25, 2021
  • Due Day September 12, 2021
  • Beats per Minute September 6, 2021
  • Reality and Running September 5, 2021
  • Training Weekend September 4, 2021
  • Time & Pounds August 29, 2021
  • Stratton Open Space August 21, 2021
  • The Broadmoor Hotel August 20, 2021
  • Red Rocks August 15, 2021
  • Blue Skies August 14, 2021
  • Air Quality August 7, 2021
  • Never Summer August 1, 2021
  • Collegiates West, Day 1, Out of Austin and Over Lake Ann Pass July 18, 2021
  • Southbound June 27, 2021
  • Feel Good June 12, 2021
  • Eldorado Canyon June 6, 2021
  • Walker Ranch Loop May 22, 2021
  • Muscari Neglectum May 2, 2021
  • Finishing my Fifties April 24, 2021
  • The Ups and Downs April 18, 2021
  • The Crew Chief April 10, 2021

Colorado=Security

Blogroll

  • Alohawk's Blog
  • Barbie's Blog
  • Boggy Creek Lumpster
  • George Schools Blog
  • I, Cringely
  • Prostate Chronicles
  • Shut Up + Run
  • Sustainable Sunrise
  • The Rogue Botanist

Web Sites

  • Amazon Author Page
  • Austin Marathon
  • Bolder Boulder
  • Brit's YouTube Songs
  • Colorado Marathon
  • Colorado Runner Magazine
  • Colorado Trail
  • Girlfriend Cult
  • Lobo Media Ltd
  • My YouTube Site
  • Race Pace Calculator
  • Shoes & Brews
  • Trail Runner Magazine
  • Zaremba Graphic & Web Solutions

Goodreads

Top Posts & Pages

  • The Crew Chief
  • Foot Fetish
  • Performance Enhancers
  • Magnolia Road
  • Defying Age

Top Clicks

  • flotrack.org/coverage/252…
  • bedandbreakfast.com/co-si…

RSS Feed

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • A Runner's Story
    • Join 384 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • A Runner's Story
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: