by Hayden Mellsop It is 4:30 a.m., July 4. Like moths to a flame, mountain bikers converge in the predawn darkness in a home on a quiet backstreet of downtown Salida. Ahead lies a journey that will take them from Salida to the top of Monarch Pass, south across the Continental Divide to Silver Creek, then traversing the Rainbow Trail to Bear Creek before closing the loop back to Salida. In its 23rd year, this mainly locals ride is an 80-mile odyssey involving over 10,000 feet of cumulative vertical gain along some of the most renowned single track in the ...
