Mark the unofficial end of summer with a rockin' weekend bash at Lake Pueblo.  Miles of Fruita-like singletrack trails crisscross the South Shores of the reservoir.  Too warm to ride?  Then head up to the trails in the cool Wet Mountains, half an hour away.  Or hit the swim beaches and splash 'til you're all splashed out!  Or go tubing down the lazy Arkansas River just below the dam.  Or grab a kickin' margarita from one of the excellent nearby Mexican restaurants.  Options for endless fun abound!  Limit 12.  Minimal costs: $10 for one night, $15 for two, and $20 for all three nights.  Contact RacerX29er@gmail.com to sign up.

Thanks to COMBA and many hardworking volunteers, we are just a handful of workdays away from opening two new segments of trail in Buffalo Creek.  The first segment is a classic cross country climb to one of the best vantage points in Buffalo Creek, sitting atop a granite outcropping with sweeping view of the mountains surrounding the area.  The trail can be ridden as an out-and-back, or looped by accessing the new black diamond trail.  Neither of these segments is open and we need your help to get them completed this season.  We'll have an RV with hot showers available for workers to use.  Contact denvrdav@msn.com to join in this worthy endeavor.

We've not ridden at Indian Creek yet this season, but don't want the year to end without doing so.  For the uninitiated, this is a 14.6-mile loop that winds up and down through the woods on single and double track, with some significant climbs along the way.  The overall elevation gain is 2500 feet.  We'll ride the course clockwise this time, which allows us to go downhill on the steepest part of the trail and again at the very end.  There is a parking fee at the trailhead.  There is a 90 minute drive each way, so this will be an all-day outing.  Be sure to pack a sack lunch.  Sign up for the trip by contacting ginzndenver@aol.com.

Savor crisp air and fall colors while cruising through the woods on the miles of interconnecting trails in the West Magnolia area near Eldora, then excite your palate with some good grub and great beer at the Wild Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery in funky downtown Nederland.  Please get in touch with bykhed@gmail.com to sign up for this outing.

Prepare to marvel at the brilliant fall colors of southern Colorado.  As the days grow shorter, this will likely be our last weekend trip for the year.  Our destination: the small mountain town of Cuchara at the foot of the majestic Spanish Peaks, about 25 miles from Walsenburg.  We'll rent another deluxe vacation home and spend the days on the high mountain trails or visiting La Veta's famous Oktoberfest!  Cost of $120 covers three nights of lodging and most meals.  Please contact calbiker@live.com if you're interested.

All good things must come to an end.  And the 2010 season has been another grand adventure.  Please come and socialize with your clubmates at our last potluck for 2010.  Bring a food item to share and a drink of your choice.  As always, we welcome any ride or trip ideas.  Weather permitting, the trails should remain bikeable for several more weekends.  Or perhaps it's time to plan for skis, boards, sleds, and snowshoes!  Please contact webmaster@rmbb.org for location.

The trails in the Buffalo Creek Recreation Area are so much fun, we've just got to ride there a second time this season!  Swoop through the woods and across open meadows on a gravelly tread with moderate climbs and no technical challenges to speak of.  You can ride anywhere from 10 to 50 miles on the various connecting loops.  Bring a sack lunch and the expectation for a great day of riding.

This will be a casual ride of about 12.5 miles with a total elevation gain/loss of just under 1800'.  Picture ID is required to enter the Air Force Academy complex.  We'll meet near the golf course at 11:00 AM.  Trail ratings: technical - easy-to-moderate; physical - moderate.

With summer waning, there is precious little time left for camping weekends.  We'll pitch our tents under the stars and ride two of our favorite trails.  The Gold Dust trail, running mostly downhill nearly ten miles from Boreas Pass to Como, will entice us to ride on Saturday.  Come Sunday, we'll tackle the climb to 10,800' Georgia Pass from the Jefferson Campground, a 12-mile classic highcountry ride on the Colorado Trail.  Both are intermediate in grade and technical difficulty, but require good stamina.  Our base will be the Lodgepole Campground near Jefferson, where we have one site reserved for two nights.  The overnight component of the trip is limited to just eight people; but day riders are welcome to join in the fun.  Cost for the trip will be quite minimal - less than $20, not counting meals.

We will be riding 11 miles of mostly shaded, well maintained, easy to moderate trails through prairie, scrub oak, and Ponderosa Pine forest that provide a great variety of views and experiences.  The trails are mostly packed and firm, with only occasional rock outcroppings.  From the trailhead we will climb and descend a moderate loop trail, then cross over through prairie and pick up a trail with a moderate uphill climb leading to scenic overlook before descending a long, fun trail to the parking lot.  Our final stop of the day will be at Phantom Canyon Brewery, in downtown Colorado Springs, for food and drinks.

Our ninth and most popular (17 hutsters!) annual hut trip was almost the one that didn't happen.  Days of heavy monsoonal rains had drenched the grounds and threatened to wash out the weekend.  A last minute Forest Service road closure blocked the one good route to the Harry Gates Hut.  But then again, what's a hut trip without drama?!?  Luckily, a break in the clouds staved off the rains, and the quick, lead feet of the sag drivers broke through the roadblock!  The rewards were some of the most beautiful biking around, along sheer limestone canyons, jagged mountain peaks, lush rolling meadows, and black gaping sinkholes.  Nights were filled with food, drinks, games, and the typical warm camaraderie found by dodging another of nature's bullets in the great wilds.