Elizabeth Drolet

I WAS A LITTLE HESITANT about hitting the mountain trails with Aspen Pro Cycling, Dean Hill.

According to the Australian native he has been an “elite bicycle rider all of his life.” Now i’m sure he didn’t come into the world on a bike, but like most of the extreme and talented bicycle athletes this valley attracts (riding is more than just a sport; it is a way of life) I understood what he meant and well, maybe he could have rode his way out the womb.

As a first-time mountain bike rider, the thought of my first time out on the trail with such a beast of a bicycle man was, well, a little intimidating. In addition, I would be recording and reporting my entire trip and hoped that my ability to multi-task would be enough to keep me on top of the bike.

The start of the adventure: I met Dean at the top of the Skittles lift on Fannie Hill in the Snowmass Village Mall ready to get into gear. It is free to ride the mountain, however, it is not free to ride the lift. The lifts allow riders to enjoy the rush of the down without quite as much work on the way up.  Day and package lift tickets are available, see prices here. 

When I arrived, Dean, in addition to his own handsome bike, had a beautiful, coral, female bike, called a Yeti Beti, borrowed for the day from Aspen Ute City Cycles.

“This is for you,” he said with a smile. He then asked me if the color was OK.

Apparently, when choosing a female bike this is pretty important and is the number one deciding factor for many a lady rider. So of course, I immediately told him that it was not, and demanded a bright yellow bike. Reasoning be, that it would get me in a more cheerful mood for our downhill adventure. This of course, is sarcasm. I very happily rode my $6000 beautiful coral high-quality piece of equipment until the very end (a high-suspension mountain bike ranges from $2000 to $10,000+). Dean said you can usually tell a mountain biker by his $500 car and his $10,000 mountain bike.

Anyways, back to the important color aspect of this adventure. I had interviewed Ute City Cycles Evan Winn, earlier and had been asked the same question by him, so this color factor was worth the mention. Also, the girly side in me, enjoyed the fact that these epic, awesome mountain ladies who are serious about the previously male-dominated sport, (mountain biking is not easy and is inherently risky) still sincerely care, about the color of their bikes.

The Coach: From the moment our bikes met, Dean was the most pleasant, patient, and helpful bike guide, I could have asked for. Dean is a coach and guide for a bicycle coaching business he founded, called Aspen Pro Cyling. This is probably the perfect job for him, as at no time did I feel that my lack of experience was being laughed at or judged. This is especially noteworthy, as there tends to be a lot of ego in the sport, as well as, there seems to be a long-standing feud between road bikers vs. mountain bikers. Something about a passionate debate as to who is the cooler two-wheeler. The world may never know…

Dean is both a mountain and road biker and his attitude was, refreshing. He was just as helpful as he was knowledgeable, and made the experience fun, lighthearted and overall, a good time. Which is how every new experience, especially when trying a new sport, should be.

The RIDE: Dean, originally, only wanted to take me on the bunny hill of Fannie Hill. He said he wanted my first experience to be a good time, so I would want to come back. I told Dean I was there for a mountain bike trail and the bunny hill wasn’t going to give me the full experience. After a quick lesson on the Fannie Hill and a couple trips around the mall to get to know the gear shifts of the bike, he agreed to take me on my first trail. What’s wonderful about Snowmass is, that there are a variety of trails from beginner to advanced, so riders of every level are guaranteed a good time in the gorgeous setting of the Snowmass Mountain Resort.

Dean told me I would have to “earn my turns” and that it would be a little bit of a bike ride up the mountain, even after the lift ride up.

Dean, a pro “earner of turns,” made it up the mountain as cool as the slight breeze on our sunny day (rain is the worse condition for mountain biking and our sunny, dry conditions were prime). Dean breezed up the trail and made a comment about me going “radio silent” as I gasped for breath on the way to the top.

Being physically fit, is a huge bonus to mountain biking. The more fit you are, the more epic trails you can ride and thus, mountain bikers usually have awesome bodies of muscle.  According to Dean, to get a good ride, a 500 ft-1000 ft vertical climb is needed. Which he said, can be especially tough with altitude.

I can tell you the ride up was worth the ride down. Dean told me it was important to scan the trail before putting my gears into action. Even though it is a man-made trail, a rider is still out in the wilderness and many a hole, rock and stick can interfere with a good time.

Dean while scanning, spotted a particularly rough spot in my path, and immediately jumped off his bike and was willing to catch me, if I flew off. This was very commendable of Dean but I’m not sure if I had flown off, it would have been a promising Plan b for either of us.

I really enjoy road biking but this wasn’t at all the same. The mental game of how to get down and the challenge of knowing when and how to balance your body weight and manage the gears to break, was different and really made it fun. Mountain biking reminded me a lot of snowboarding and is actually similar in a lot of ways.

As Dean and I took our last lift ride up back to the Snowmass Village Mall, a group of girls and boys, no older than 10 years old,  waited in the line in front of us. I was amazed at what bad a** these little kids were, 3 ft. tall and ready to tear up the mountain. Dean said the sport had just recently become kid-friendly and that ten years ago you would have never seen kids out here.

He said the sport was overall changing, and a lot of riders are returning to the sport. More info LISTEN now.

My Review: Overall, mountain biking was the most surprising adventure. As it was a sport I never thought I would enjoy, yet really did like.

I guess because of the increased risk of flying off the bike, and the work of climbing the hills in the hot sun; the sport sounded unappealing at best. However, the challenge and the ride down made it fun and as it turns out I like it. I would recommend anyone to at least try the sport. The amazing views alone, are worth the try. Also, a great work-out and I especially appreciate the variety of skill level trails for every rider.

Dean said he currently has a ladies camp going on, which sounded pretty interesting…Until next time, Dean.

Find more information about Snowmass Mountain Biking here.

Demo your own bike: Learn more about demo-ing the latest and greatest bikes and riding equipment at the upcoming Snowmass Demo Bike Days event (July 25-26) here.