 All right, the Colorado Trail Denver to Durango 539 miles 72,000 feet of elevation gain and a 9 out of 10 on the painometer Hi there, my name is Ryan Van Duzer. I'm born and raised in Colorado I love bikepacking, but I have never done my state's own premier bikepacking trail the Colorado Trail and that is all going to change Right after I pack all this crap on my bike That's my cold bear head snap for you. What do you think? So I've been on a lot of bikepacking adventures in my life, but this one is going to be very different Mainly it's going to be a lot harder than anything. I've ever done You know, I've done the Tahoe twirl which goes around Lake Tahoe There's a lot of single track on that and it's very difficult But this one is going to be a step above that on most of my tours even on the great divide when you're out in the middle Of nowhere on the wilderness you're on pretty groomed gravel roads and you go through towns Pretty frequently this ride is going to be a little bit different. It is pure wilderness It is high alpine. The average elevation is about 10,000 feet. It tops out at 13,000 feet I'm really excited about it because I'm a mountain biker at heart born and raised in Boulder I started mountain biking in the mid 90s And I just love it and I've been eyeing this route for a long time And it's finally happening my room always looks like such a mess before a big bike tour because I just kind of Spread everything out so I can visualize what I need to bring So the Colorado Trail is really a hiking trail, but they're nice enough to let bikes on it There are a few wilderness detours where bikes aren't allowed, but other than that. It's about 500 miles of pure single-track Awesomeness, but the truth is I don't really know what it's going to be like out there I've only done a tiny section near Durango and that part was definitely beautiful But I've heard from people that it's just very hard from all the videos I've watched on YouTube and the articles I read it's hard There's a lot of sections where you can't even ride you just got to hike your bike But you know what? I'm really excited about you know me You know I love those wildflowers, and I think there's going to be a ton of wildflowers out there And of course I'm bringing my signature bicycle the priority 600x a bike that I designed in conjunction with priority bicycles The heart and soul of this bike of course is the pinion gearing system with the 600% gear range the Gates carbon belt drive and The Wren inverted suspension fork I really love this bike, and I'm not just saying that because I designed it I truly love this bike So I'm going to go over some of the things that I'm bringing specifically for the Colorado Trail But this is not a full-on gear video where I'm going to list out everything that I'm bringing I have many other gear videos, and I will link them down below But for the most part my gear setup is going to be similar to what I always have on my bicycle But one of the main differences and because I'm going to be mountain biking for 500 miles I want to get some of the weight off my bicycle I want my bike to be a little bit more quick and nimble the pedaling is going to be very difficult over some of these steep Mountain passes, so I want to get the water weight off my bike And so I just went out and bought one of these bad boys I have not toured with the camelback or actually this is Osprey in many many years And we're going to see how it goes I usually don't like wearing backpacks because it just makes your arms hurt by the end of the day But we're going to give it a go another reason why I'm bringing this is because mountain biking is inherently bumpy Super shaky and a lot of times I have my drone and other camera stuff on a front bag here Which is usually fine for a tour on the roads or even the great divide where the you know It's smooth and things aren't bouncing around but I want to take those cameras off and put them into here So it's just a little bit more, you know sturdy and steady and they don't get rattled to pieces So this thing holds two and a half liters of water 85 ounces, which should be good But I'm also going to bring another bottle here just in case from what I've read There are plenty of water sources on the Colorado trail and check this out Look at this little handy dandy compartment right here and look what's in there my Mavic Mini 2 Perfect. I use a sterile pen to purify my water. It's pretty cool. You just dip it into a bottle It shoots out UV light kills most of the bacteria and viruses and it works really quickly Boom look at that. You can't go mountain biking without a dropper post traditionally on bike packing tours I have a seat pack that goes off right here connects to the seat post But you can't use a dropper post when you have one of those bags So I have put on a rear rack and I will put everything into a dry bag back here and this is a pretty cool dropper post It's the PNW coast and it actually has about 40 millimeters of travel So it goes up and down a little bit and it will hopefully you know Give me a little bit of cushion on those big bumps all of my food Which is all the heavy stuff will go in my frame bag right here And I like to keep the weight centered on the bike especially for mountain biking It just helps with handling over that technical terrain up here on the handlebar I'm gonna have a tent and some other little bags up here for bars and stuff that I want quick access to Other cameras. I have my navigation device up here the Wahoo Rome so as far as food goes I keep it pretty simple. I don't travel with a stove I just bring stuff that I can throw in my mouth quickly and get those calories I always have a pack of tortillas and beans and Nutella and peanut butter and dried fruits I also cram in as many bars as possible. There's a lot of calories in these little guys I also love these little shot blocks. These are like my Super Mario power pellets This is my new favorite bar a Nature's Bakery Fig Bar They just go down so smoothly and they taste really good for the most part from Denver to about Buena Vista I'll have options to buy food every day at gas stations or little grocery stores But from Buena Vista to Silverton. That's about four days 200 miles I won't have any resupply so I'm gonna have to travel really heavy on those days And yes, I'm fully aware that cans of beans are heavy, but I don't leave home without them I just put on these tires and they're pretty burly. I'm excited to try them out. They're 2.6 inches wide And yes, they are set up tubeless Also, I'm going with flat pedals for this adventure with obviously platform shoes And the reason is is I really expect a lot of hiking out there So I just want to be able to just get on and off my bike quickly. Usually I do SPD But for this I think it's gonna be more comfortable to go with the flats Look at all my toys So if you follow my channel, you know that I film all of my bike adventures If you're new to my channel, check it out I have hundreds of bike packing videos from all over the world But filming this adventure is gonna be a little bit more of a challenge Mainly because the terrain is so bumpy and technical and hard I'm not gonna be able to film like I usually do, you know on the great divide or any tour on the road I you know, I'm on smooth road So I'm not bouncing around I can use my GoPro to hold it up here and get an angle here and Point it backwards and point it to the side and hold it and talk to it But I'm gonna be on really rough trails And I don't know if I'm gonna be able to do that because it's gonna be so bouncy so I imagine I'll use the GoPro more mounted to my helmets and To my chest because I'm really gonna be able to I'm really gonna need to be paying attention to the biking It was just too dangerous to ride one-handed and use the GoPro when you're mountain biking same goes for the drone I know you all love the drone shots and so do I but I fly this thing manually and whenever I do I pick a road That's flat and smooth so that I can pedal While holding the controller in my hand and get these nice cinematic shots Well, that's also gonna be hard on this trail because it's bouncy So I imagine I'll be using the drone more for beauty shots when I'm not actually biking and believe me There's gonna be plenty of beauty shots. This series is just gonna look a little bit different than my typical series And then finally I use this camera the Sony RX 100 mark 7 and this is the beauty camera This is the flower camera This is the camera that gets those cool shots with the depth of field and the backgrounds that are out of focus This is also the camera I use for interviews when I meet interesting people which I always do this camera has a little microphone So the sound is a little bit better than the GoPro and yes I'm fully aware that I am totally Sweating out my shirt I have closed all the windows in my apartment because I live on a busy road And it's hard to film when it's so loud and so it is hot up here like a sauna haha sweaty armpits I win so another challenge to the filming will be batteries and keeping them charged on a typical tour I go through towns all the time where I can plug into cafes and restaurants and hotels And there will be a little bit of that on the Colorado trail, but not as much so I just went out and bought one of these This is an anchor power bank. It has the most power of all their models It has like twenty six hundred milliamps or something I don't know exactly what it's called, but it can charge a phone like eight times So this hopefully will keep everything charged so I can get you those beautiful drone shots And of course I'm bringing an extra belt. It would just be completely irresponsible not to All right. I'm in a bit of a hurry. My mom is coming to pick me up in about an hour I need to pack all this stuff put it on that bike the trailhead is about an hour away in Waterton Canyon and from there I will spend the next ten days of my life Riding the beautiful Colorado trail and I'm feeling so Incredibly grateful that I get to do this and very grateful that I get to share these videos with all of you This is an absolute Dream job and if my videos bring value to your life if you love them Please consider joining my patreon. It certainly helps keep this channel moving forward All right, let's do this. Okay It's all packed up The next trick is getting a heavy bike Down my stairs. There we go. This is gonna be what it's like on the Colorado trail Up and down steep sections hike a bike Might as well get used to it now Looks pretty steady Hey, mom, how's it going? Look who you brought little two weenie. You've been on the channel in a while. How you been doing real quick? All right, everybody loves mama. There's more than one cute little dog you back here. Hi guys Thanks for coming and seeing me off. He definitely wants to cut bike back Yes, he does you're a lot smaller than mirror you could fit. Yeah, you could fit my little front bag You think you could scare off any bears? Oh, I know. No. Yeah. Yeah Goodbye beautiful boulder flat irons My mom was also sweet enough to bring me some hot burritos I am leaving boulder in style today. And yes, I'm a 42 year old man that has his mom drive him around How do you feel about that mom? All right, so here we are in the beautiful Waterton Canyon Trailhead mom Yeah, I can't thank you enough for driving me. This was my pleasure. You just be safe. That's the tradeoff It's the tradeoff. I promise I will be safe. I will come back in one piece. Okay, I'll come back a better man Okay Contact me as much as possible. I will I'll let you know I love you so much And it's not just my mom here But I have a friend a new friend named Baylor who saw that I was starting today on Instagram said I want to come Ride with you. So this is Baylor. How you doing, buddy? I'm awesome today. I'm five So, why do you love riding bikes man? It's awesome pedaling Everything feels good. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, and you're gonna come with me for a little bit All right, he's gonna follow me for the first however many miles Let's do it. I like it. It's fun to start an adventure with a new friend And how old are you 15? 15. I love it. Bye, cutie, Cheweenie. Bye Bye Lobo. Bye. Bye. Bye. All right. There it is the official start Colorado Trail Dringos that way You ready Baylor Let's do it. Bye mom. I love you. Let's do one more hug. All right I love you so much. I love you too. You be really safe. Thank you. Okay Love love That'll be the theme of the ride double love. Bye mom. I love you Bye Cheweenie and Lobo All right, you know what we're supposed to say now, don't you? No crashies, no flaties, no whammies Love it. I have a little personal guide. He's been here before right? Yes many times. This is your backyard. Yeah, it is nice So I know that I won't get lost at least for the first six miles because I have Baylor here Feels so good to be starting another adventure All right, we're climbing and climbing. It is hot. And now we are jumping on to the official Colorado Trail There it is This is that Single track that I was promised Whoo, it gets deep fast, man You want to switch bikes? Yours looks a little lighter Big switch back here. It's hard chasing a 15-year-old. Oh Here's a technical spot. Oh high five buddy Bam Baylor, so you're not going the whole way with me. Not to Durango. No That's okay. I get it man. Maybe next time. I appreciate you joining me this far It was really fun to meet you and I wish you all the best. Yeah, keep riding your bike man Keep it and if I have any advice for you, you know when you turn 16 next year Don't get a car when you turn 17. Don't get a car when you're 42. Don't get a car deal Never get a car So I was about to say goodbye to Baylor here. He's like wait wait I have something for you. He just gave me a Chipotle gift card so I can get some beans Thank you for laying me ride with you today. It's been awesome. Oh, man. It was really special for me, too It's so hot I've only gone like eight miles And I'm already burning up a lot of water feels amazing Whoo Felt this hot in a long time It was nice to cool off the boy This is tough There's no doubt about it I'm very thankful for these trees It's cooled things off quite a bit made it to my first hike a bike Maybe you could bike this but Man, it's steep and it's loose. I have not Breathed this hard in a long time This is a challenge jungle Going through the Colorado jungle here Yeah, I would say this is definitely hike bike Noted out about it I'm so excited to be here and grateful To be on this trail, and I'm just so glad that this trail exists an hour from my house Crazy that I haven't been here before All right, I stopped because I want to show you something. I've climbed about 2,300 feet my elevation is about 7,500 feet and I'm getting to the top of the trees and I have some views look at this Look at that beautiful mountain across the way That is pretty sweet. Okay, buddy time to go downhill So I'm flying down this hill and I see a hiker in front of me And she has a bag of Fritos on the back of her backpack, and I'm like mmm Fritos And who is this? It's Karen. Hi, it's Ryan. I'm like, oh my gosh I've been watching your videos and it was so awesome to run into you and I don't look as good as you do But I'm out here and just hike in the Colorado trail. You're gonna do the whole thing. We'll see Yeah, that's the goal though. I know I'm just doing the probably the first seven segments Yeah, and what do you love most about being outside in nature? Um, I love just the beauty of it the people I've met on the trail Well, it's always fun to meet people on the trail, especially people who actually watch my videos You said you watched them during the pandemic. Yes. Yes My husband I watched them and we enjoyed all the videos and all your different adventures even going back in history So yeah, it's been a long few years watching you. So I appreciate it. That means the world to me I love it Well good to meet you on the trail. Totally good to meet you too. Best of luck. Thank you. Same deal and we'll see you down the road All right, sounds good. Bye-bye There's the Platte River Pretty cool. I've been sucking down water because it's so hot today. So time to filter with my stereo pen So I just looked at what's ahead of me on the map and it's a lot of incline and it's still hot. So I'm gonna cool off And that is how you cool off on a hot summer day. All right, I've replenished my water I've replenished my soul by jumping in the water and it's time to go up So just to give you an example of what I'm dealing with here I'm the little triangle and it is up up up And that's what the trail looks like up up up Pedal pedal pedal that's been my mantra ever since I started riding bikes even when it's hard just Pedal even if you're going super duper slow You're moving forward and then sometimes walking is the best option and that's okay, too but man It's a little easier to pedal when it's so beautiful. Everybody told me how stunning this ride would be and it's already Stunning and this isn't even supposed to be the spectacular part Huh, I love my state The expanse these mountains and it's not even that far from Boulder and I've I've never seen these mountains. They're incredible It's almost enough to bring tears of joy This beauty is just off the charts I'm very happy to be here and there it is My camp spot for the night Looks nice and flat What a day I think I'm finishing just in time. There's a little bit of thunder Happening right now. I went 28 miles. I feel pretty good about that little half-day action. It is 7 30 p.m. It's Friday night, you know big things are gonna happen tonight like sleeping I'm a little bit tired But what a great first day tent harness quick release activated. Oh, yeah I love it used to be so much harder to Tie this thing under my handlebars and out just falls right out. Okay, you're going right here, buddy. I Look totally ridiculous. I'm just rocking my boxer shorts in my little shoes But I don't want to put clothes on it's still hot and my core is hot from today, so I'm just gonna Walk around like this for a while and hopefully I don't scare anybody, you know, it's for dinner Another burrito and I'm very excited about it. I'm hungry What a day what an amazing day and Again, I've said it so many times I'm so happy to be here so grateful and fortunate and so cool that Baylor came and met me and rode with me for a While what a great young man, you know, good good guy And I'm so happy that my mom could actually hug me as I was starting the trip That's never happened before usually have to fly somewhere and I give my goodbyes to mom long before I actually start pedaling But this one was hug and go and so I felt fueled by the mama love and Yeah, that might rain a little bit, but that's okay Day one Colorado trail in the books