The excitement of a new season stretches from the mountain townies all the way to the weekend warriors. The conditions are finally right to open the first run and hundreds desperately await their first lift ride to the top. People start counting the days they will get on the mountain this summer.
That’s right, summer.
The snow finally melts off Colorado’s ski resorts and a different breed of downhiller is primed to hit the trails. Boulder-based Nick Simcik said downhill mountain biking has spiked in technology and interest in the past decade to the point where many Colorado resorts are keeping their lifts open with and without snow.
“It is an entirely different beast than it was 12 years ago, or even five years ago,” Simcik, a 25-year-old slopestyle professional rider, said. “The bike park terrain is crazy. The things riders are doing would have been deemed impossible 10 years ago.
“I ride bikes because it is my job, but people who have barely ridden bikes can go too. There is something for everybody.”
Downhill mountain biking got its start in California during the mid-1970s when riders used bicycles that resembled beach cruisers with coaster or back-pedal brakes. The technology of the bikes evolved from the cruiser into a technical full-suspension bike built to handle all nature and man has had to offer.
According to Bob Holme, manager of Trestle Bike Park at Winter Park, Trestle’s annual rate of downhill riders has skyrocketed 500 percent in five years, making Trestle the fastest-growing bike park in North America and on track to be the second-busiest park in the world behind Whistler, British Columbia.
As new riders head to the hills, Simcik said that pride must be kept in check.
“Work to stay within your limits. The mountains are never going to go anywhere,” Simcik said. “Don’t be ashamed to starting out on easier trails and rolling down everything. You can always move up the line as you gain more skills.
“When you start to ski, you take the lessons. But with bikes, by the time you are 6 or 7 you have already learned how to ride a bike. There are so many skills to properly riding a bike off-road that you don’t just automatically know. Take a lesson.”
The chief differences between cross country mountain biking and downhill are the bikes and gear, and the start and finish lines.
Downhill bikes can cost thousands of dollars and often take more time and money to repair because of the riding style.
Riders should also be prepared to don a suit of armor, including a helmet that can protect the entire face, before they take the plunge down a trail. Renting the bike and protective gear can ensure most riders a positive trip down the mountain.
“Once you do it once, you easily become completely addicted to biking,” Simcik said. “The first day out, I ended up coming home with my T-shirt torn in half and an enormous grin across my face.
“That first big crash will determine if you are a mountain biker for life or it’s just not right for you. It could happen your first ride or a year later, but that was the turning point. Once I did it and realized how much fun it was, I was absolutely hooked.”
Dressed like a person going off to war, riders put their bikes on a ski lift to tote them to the top of the mountain. Keystone boasts a summit of 11,640 feet for downhill mountain bikers to start from, with a vertical drop of 2,360 feet and 55 trails. The ease of access to mountain tops provides downhillers a fast- paced ride with the opportunity to take in multiple runs per day.
“You can approach a trail in a million different ways, and that’s what allows you to have that personal expression when you are riding,” Simcik said. “It is tough to beat the feeling.
“There are 6-year-old kids riding bikes with their parents and experiencing the same feelings I have while riding totally different trails. It really allows for anyone to do it. They always say that it is as easy as riding a bike, and it is.”
From the rock gardens and tree roots to the man-made wooden bridges and jumps, people are flocking to resort towns to try a unique way to fly down the mountain . . . and there is no snow needed.
