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Glamping & Riding the Gravel Roads of Gunnison County, Colorado: Part One, a Photo Journal

Gunnison Gravel Big VistasPhoto c. Emma Brophy
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Looking for a gravel adventure? Maybe one where you can experience the great outdoors without having to carry all your gear on your bike? Well, glamping (glamorous camping) isn’t just for celebrities and casual campers. It can also be a great way to set up base camp for epic gravel adventures.

In mid-September, I was invited to camp and ride bikes in Gunnison County, Colorado for 5 days. The trip was put together by polar explorer Eric Larson, his wife, and outdoor industry vet, Maria Hennessy of Smak Strategies, working alongside the Gunnison Crested Butte Tourism and Prosperity Partnership  (TAPP).

The trip was to highlight the amazingly diverse area of Gunnison and show off some of the stellar gravel riding that can be done there.

There are approximately 1200+ miles of unpaved and groomed gravel roads throughout Gunnison County.

The topography of the area varies drastically, from winding gravel roads through forests to summiting treeless, alpine passes then back down to the scrubby high desert and riding through huge valleys of hay fields.

All of which provided endless views and dramatic landscapes that were, quite simply, jaw-dropping.

Gunnison Gravel, Ron Frazelle- Photo c. Emma Brophy
Photo c. Emma Brophy. That’s me.

I took in quite a bit during the trip. I saw several new, up-and-coming companies that were local to Colorado. We used a lot of different gear that was supplied to us by many different brands, which I’ll touch on.

But, after going through what I’ve gathered and the photos I’ve taken, as well as going through all of the amazing photos that Eric and his assistant Emma took, I decided that first, we should let the photos do the talking. 

Gunnison Gravel Bill Plocks back side
Photo c. Emma Brophy
Gunnison Gravel Ron Frazelle
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Dat me.

This will be the first part… Part One: A Photo Journal.

Day One

Gunnison Gravel Flying over the Rockies
Flying into Colorado over The Rockies.
Gunnison Gravel getting the rockstar treatment
Gus, picking me up at the Gunnison airport
Gunnison gravel Campfire Ranch
Photo c. Emma Brophy. We rolled from the airport, straight to the campsite.
Gunnison Gravel Campfire Ranch Founder
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Campfire Ranch Founder Sam Degenhard.

Founded by Sam Degenhard, an avid cyclist, Campfire Ranch is a campground with a mission of helping people “create authentic experiences in the great outdoors while promoting stewardship of our shared playgrounds.” The campground offers potable water, vault toilets, and free firewood. If you don’t have enough gear, don’t worry, they’re there to make it easier for you to experience a great camping experience and offer gear rentals. That’s right… whether you need a tent or a stove, you can rent what you need to help make your camping trip great.

Gunnison Gravel Peak Designs Duffle Swag
My personal duffle…

After getting picked up at the airport, and taken to camp, I unloaded my stuff and was shown my very own Peak Design duffle bag. The bag was filled with gear provided by some of the sponsors of the trip, like GORETopeak, JackWolfSkin, and MPOWERED who provided some cool solar-powered Lucci Lights for the camp as well as front and rear lights for the bike.

Gunnison Gravel my SpringBar tent
Gunnison Gravel my home for 5 days
The inside of my SpringBar home for five days.

I assigned myself a place to lay my head for the next 4 nights. All of the tents for the whole crew were supplied by another sponsor for the trip, a 75-year-old canvas tent company called SpringBar Tents. They were really nice tents.  I’ll touch on the tents a bit more in Part Three, but for now, just know that my tent was really, really nice.

Gunnison Gravel IceLab visit 1
Gunnison IceLab meet n’ greet

Upon meeting the other writers, we then took off to Gunnison’s ICELAB. The lab is a joint venture with both Gunnison and Western Colorado University. They work within the community to develop ways to help small companies develop and grow. The goal is to build sustainable businesses in the area in order to rely less on tourism.

Gunnison Gravel Curiosity custom Bike Bags
Goodday Bikes and Curiosity Bike Bags

Here we had hors-d’oeuvres, and dinner while being introduced to some of the cool local start-ups hailing from Colorado. Like Goodday Bikes/Curiosity Bags, SheFly Apparel, First Ascent Handcrafted Instant Coffee, and PACT Outdoors Bathroom Kit.

I will be doing a deeper dive into these five companies later in Part Three, so stay tuned!

After the visit to the lab, we took off to go back to the camp and hang out before hitting the sack.

Day two brings the first ride!

But, before we move on to ride #1, let’s meet the other riders of bikes that are also writers of bike stuff.

Maureen Gaffney

Gunnison Gravel Maureen Gaffney
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Writer Maureen Gaffney from Colorado

Hailey Moore

Gunnison Gravel Hailey Moore
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Writer: Hailey Moore from Colorado

Jayson O’Mahoney

Gunnison Gravel JOM
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Writer: Jayson O’Mahoney from Florida

Laura Killingbeck

Gunnison Gravel Laura Killingbeckk
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Writer: Laura Killigbeck from Massachusetts

Bill Plock

Gunnison Gravel Bill Plock
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Writer: Bill Plock from Colorado

Day Two, Ride #1

Gunnison Gravel Ride One The Why Cycles R+ V4
My Titanium weapon for the trip. The Why Cycles R+ V4

Revel Bikes supplied their carbon gravel steed, The Rover for all of us to ride.

I was prepared to ride the carbon Rover, like everyone else, but to my surprise, my pal Chris, at Revel/Why Cycles made sure that there was a  WHY Cycles R+ V4, titanium bike available in XL for me. What a guy!

I guess he knows I prefer to ride metal!  

Don’t worry, we’ll definitely be diving into the details of both the Revel Rover and the Why Cycles R+v4 in Part Two.

First up for the day on the bike is 46.8 miles ride that starts and finishes at the campground if you wanted. The ride route was dubbed the Spring Creek to Taylor Canyon ride.

Gunnison Gravel the start of Ride One Laura Killingbeck
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Laura was the first to leave for ride one.

Out of the 6 writers on the trip, 3 of them were from Colorado, and I imagine, were acclimated to riding at altitude. I am not. But I still had a blast riding at my own pace.

Gunnison Gravel Ron Frazelle inspects pedal
Photo c. Emma Brophy. My bike was loaded for a partial ride on the first day of riding. Standing there, geeking out on bike stuff…it’s kinda what I do.
Gunnison Gravel Eric Larsen and Ron Frazelle
Hanging and chatting with Eric was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

Riding a partial route granted me the unique privilege to hang With Eric in one of the support vehicles for a good bit. We chatted about the good ol’ days and ended up having quite a bit in common, and I got to learn a bunch about some of the polar adventures he’s gone on. They’re insane. Ask him about them if you get the chance.

Gunnison Gravel Maureen Gaffney on Ride One
Photo c. Emma Brophy
Gunnison Gravel an amazing view
Dropped off at the top, starting to go down.
Gunnison Gravel Ride One
The Why Cycles R+v4 and the valley…stunning views!
Gunnison Gravel Laura Killingbeck and Ron Frazelle
Photo c. Emma Brophy. The gravel roads on ride one were amazing!
Gunnison Gravel Laura Killingbeck pulling away
Laura starting to pull away…
Gunnison Gravel Resivoir on ride one
Photo c. Emma Brophy
Gunnison Gravel Heated Tree Shower
A heated shower was available to those that wanted one.

Then we ate, chilled, sat around a fire, and chatted. It was such a pleasant group of like-minded people. The campground was perfect, the founder and host of the campground came and sat with us as did the owner of the tent company.

Day Three, Ride #2

Gunnison Gravel Ron Frazelle Ride 2
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Pushing the Why Cycles R+ V4 to the van.
Gunnison Gravel bikes on the rack
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Bikes being unloaded for ride two

Ride number two, loaded and ready to go. This ride is a rollie-type ride that is approximately 41 miles in length. The ride route was dubbed Sargents to Middle Quartz. And upon rolling to the starting point, it looked pretty amazing!

Gunnison Gravel everyone ready for ride two
Some of the crew are ready for the start of ride two…

Joined by Bill n Gus in the van, Bill and I decided to pick up the ride at a later point in the route.

Gunnison Gravel Hailey Moore and Eric Larsen
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Hailey and Eric
Gunnison Gravel Ride Two
Photo c. Emma Brophy
Gunnison Gravel bombing ride two
Photo c. Emma Brophy

Gus, Bill, and I got a little lost but eventually caught up with everyone later, at the top of a sweet-looking downhill section. Yatzee!

Gunnison Gravel Hailey Moore
Photo c. Emma Brophy
Gunnison Gravel Big views
Photo c. Emma Brophy
Gunnison Gravel Big Views w-Jayson
Photo c. Emma Brophy
Gunnison Gravel Hailey Moore and Ron Frazelle
Photo c. Emma Brophy
Gunnison Gravel-Me, Jayson and trees
Photo c. Emma Brophy
Gunnison Gravel end of ride two at Pitkin
Pitkin, elevation 9242′

After we all arrived in Pitkin, we loaded up and headed back to camp.

Gunnison Gravel post ride unwind
Photo c. Emma Brophy

Once we got back to the camp, some rest and relaxation were in store.

Gunnison Gravel campm after ride two
Photo c. Emma Brophy.
Gunnison Gravel making dinner after ride two
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Eric is cooking dinner after ride two.
Gunnison Gravel event food was delish
Photo c. Emma Brophy

All of the food for the entire trip was very, very good!

Gunnison Gravel Spring Bar tent warm tent
Photo c. Emma Brophy
Gunnison Gravel Watching Eric Larsen's presentation
Eric shares some of his adventures with us in the cozy heated tent

After dinner, we all hunkered down in the heated tent and watched a slide show of a 70-day polar expedition of Eric’s…that he did on foot… while pulling a 400lb sled. And, oh nothin’…the sled only weighed around 400 lbs carrying everything he needed for the 70-day journey. That was pretty crazy to see.

After the presentation, it was off to bed, putting another great day in the books.

Day Four, Ride #3

While sleeping the night before our last ride, I heard some sprinkles that eventually gave way to a pretty steady rain. It was a little bit expected, and a little disappointing. We all woke to wet tents and a slightly soggy campground, but no rain for the moment and scattered clouds that didn’t look too ominous.

Because of the possibility of rain in the forecast, we had made a plan as a group the night before, to be on the road no later than 9am. The goal was to try get some riding in before the sky opened back up on us.

Here we are, ride number three, the final ride of the trip.

The ride was called Cochetopa Dome to Blue Mesa it was approximately 60 miles and beautiful. I was experiencing a smidge of knee pain and opted out of the ride and stay in one of the support vehicles to snap my pics.

The landscapes on this ride were amazing, enjoy!

Gunnison Gravel Unloading for ride three
Unloading for ride three.

The weather at the point of unloading the bikes was still pretty unpredictable. But everyone was eager to get started! And there was no rain yet…

Gunnison Gravel Ride Three Both sides
Gunnison Gravel Gus ride three
Photo c. Emma Brophy
Gunnison Gravel Ride three JOM
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Rain/almost rain kinda ride for ride #3
Gunnison Gravel Ride three fields
The dramatic skies were amazing on the day of the third ride
Gunnison Gravel Ride three JOM, Maureen and Laura
Photo c. Emma Brophy. (L to R) Laura, Maureen, and Jayson
Gunnison Gravel Ride Three Maureen and Laura
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Maureen and Laura
Gunnison Gravel Ride Three Maureen big climb
Photo c. Emma Brophy. Maureen, climbing.
Gunnison Gravel Ride Three Some of the gang, Laura, Jayson, Hailey, and Maureen
Photo c. Emma Brophy. The crew, minus Bill Plock. (l to r) Laura Killingbeck, Jayson O’Mahony, Hailey Moore, and Maureen Gaffney.
Gunnison Gravel Ride Three valley views
Photo c. Emma Brophy. The views were breathtaking.
Gunnison Gravel end of Ride Three views
Photographer extraordinaire, Emma Brophy off to the right, waiting for the shot.

Near the end of the ride, the view of the ancient mud cliffs above the Blue Mesa Reservoir was magnificent!

Gunnison Gravel big cliff views ride three
Photo c. Emma Brophy

Everyone had made it down to Blue Mesa safely. Eric, who had been driving one of the support vehicles, however, was not there yet.

He ended up rolling in…without his car. He was on my bike, which we just so happened to have loaded “just in case” I decided to ride. He seemed unphased by the fact that his car was sitting up on the trail and wouldn’t start.

My guess is that the man that has walked for 70 days straight up on the North Pole, pulling a 400 lb sled, almost dies while doing it… probably looks at a car that won’t start as a “minor inconvenience” and nothing to stress over.

And, you know what? More power to him.

Gunnison Gravel getting ready to stuff everything in the van
Attempting to dismantle and stuff everyone’s bikes and gear in the van after Eric’s car broke down.

Being down to one car to get us back to camp meant we needed to fit everything in the 15-passenger support van. So, we proceed to start removing wheels and turning stems to get everything in.

We did it.

Gunnison Gravel crew stuffed in the van
The entire crew stuffed in with bikes and gear…

After the ride, we all went to the Gunnison Community Center and grabbed showers, changed clothes, then headed back to camp to unload the bikes and gear. We then got back in the van and headed to Crested Butte for our farewell dinner.

Gunnison Gravel Gang
Photo c. Our Server. The Gunnison Gravel Gang (l to r): Emma, Laura, Maureen, Ron, Jayson, Eric, Hailey, Gus, and Bill. What a great group of people and what a great time.

The dinner was really fun. We all shared our favorite parts of the trip and the rides. Told stories, talked bikes, and laughed. Eric gave a great,t heartfelt speech and then handed out fun parting gifts to the writers. It was a great way to end an amazing trip with such stellar people. Seiously.

Gunnison Gravel Jayson's parting gift
Jayson’s parting gift. 🙂

We didn’t stay late. After dinner, we all said our goodbyes. Laura and I were headed back to camp but had to be at the airport super early the next day. Maureen drove back home to Carbondale from dinner. Jayson also left from dinner and drove to a hotel in Denver to catch a butt-ass early flight back to Florida. Hailey also came back to camp but instead of leaving the next day, stayed on to do a bikepacking overnighter the following night before heading back to Boulder.

I will be back to ride that area again, without a doubt. A shout-out to all fo the other writers and cyclists, I really enjoyed all of your company!

And a special thank you for the invite and the opportunity to Eric and Maria!

Next up is Part 2… the bikes!

GunnisonCounty.org

GunnisonCrestedButteTAPP.com

SmakStrategies.com

EricLarsenExplore.com

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Laura Killingbeck
Laura Killingbeck
1 year ago

Roooooooon great article, you captured it perfectly!

Rad Anzulovic
1 year ago

Is each caption of the participant photos supposed to say “rider” instead of “writer”?

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