Vapor Trail 125
Within the past several years, I had this race pop up on my radar. It was far from here, in Colorado. It was much higher than here, coursing through and above the high alpines of the Rocky Mountains. It sounded really hard. And it just seemed a bit out of reach. It was the Vapor Trail 125. And now I know it was just what I was looking for! The Vapor Trail, in Salida, CO, is put on by a seemingly awesome human named Mike Franco. It's 125 miles of largely single-track riding with a mix of easily ridable railroad-grade dirt roads and blown out rocky roadbeds rich with gold and silver mining history in the late 1800's, as well as several steep, technical hike-a-bike sections. And the climbing is served up on a giant-sized platter as the elevation gain totals a little over 17,000'. The course takes you through sections of the Colorado and Continental Divide Trails, over Hancock, Tomichi, Monarch, and Marshall Passes, and up and over Canyon Creek Trail with a 45-minute hike-a-b