Tim Does the Plummet

Tim in foreground, buddy in background. Little Pikes Peak in they way back.

Tim Schardt, RO Staff, has been a bike technician in Colorado Springs for years. His favorite ride in all of Colorado is the Pikes Peak Plummet. He’s done this 28 mile bad boy over 40 times! And this is how he does it:

Tim drives up the Pikes Peak Highway, getting to the toll gate around 7:30 a.m. He likes to drive to the summit for some photo ops. It’s one of the highest places in North America where one can take a bicycle!

Tim’s whip.

Then, he rides 2 miles down the toll road to Devil’s Playground and the Elk Park Trailhead. Fun facts from Tim!: From 1939 to 1984, Elk Park had a ski lift. And an old growth forest with 800-900 year old pine trees is nearby as well. Elk Park Trail goes for 8-10 miles before hitting Barr Camp. 

Tim likes to chat it up with the Park Ranger at Barr Camp and have a few leftover pancakes the Barr Camp staff make for campers each morning. 

From there, he hits the Lake Moraine Trail for 3 miles. The 1st mile is nice and flowy and the 2nd two miles have 1,200 feet of climbing. 

Then he hits Jones Park before hopping on the iconic #667 trail, also known as Captain Jacks. He takes Gold Camp Road before hitting up the famous upper and lower Chutes. Lastly, he winds his way through Stratton Open Space to his car chillin’ in the parking lot. 

It’s a 4-6 hour ride - depending how hard Tim hustles. A long but breathtaking day!

If you need someone to arrange a ride for The Plummet, give Tim a call. 719 641 9528   

Biking Oil Well Flats - Day Trip Series: Part 2

My mountain biking mentor, Bob, moved back to Florida summer of 2022. (Read story here). Before he left though, he had me hanging on for dear life down Captain Jacks and roughed me up on the Black and Blue Loop at Ute Valley. But some trails we didn’t get to and he assignment them for homework. One was Oil Well Flats near Canon City.

Since Routes is closed on Mondays for our cold-season hours, I made a day trip. It was a little over an hour to the trailhead and on a weekday in October, no other cars in the parking lot. The night before, I downloaded the MTB Project app. There was a detailed map at the trailhead, but heard from another Routes staff of a lot of turns and forks.

The trails were rated mostly blues and blacks. The blues were technical - both going up and coming down. I had to hike-a-bike on at least a few occasions. But it gave me an opportunity to stop and take in the views of the Pike-San Isabel National Forest in the distance. The route took me a little under 2 hours. I skipped most of the blacks, otherwise I might still be out there.

After, I drove into Canon City and had lunch at the Bean Pedaler, a coffee shop and bike shop in one. The huge brownie baked that morning was delicious. I sat and people watched other customers coming in - locals stopping in for a quick cup and tourists just finishing a rafting trip.

I walked around Canon City’s historic downtown and was pleasantly surprised by the old architecture, all the restaurants, and cool little shops. Come to find out it’s the 3rd oldest city in Colorado. And with The Royal Gorge and Arkansas River nearby, I’m sure they receive plenty of visitors.

Next time Bob is back in town, we’ll have to head down there for a ride and a brownie. I’ll show him I understood the assignment.