The Bear Creek section of the Rainbow Trail

I called the Silver Creek section bread and butter, but really that ride is more like bread and butter with a little jam on there. Bear Creek is bread and butter. It's doable in around 2 hours, but with all the exertion of the 3-hour Silver Creek section done from town. It's closer, our home-town race, the Banana Belt uses this section--it's really Salida's ride.

The pretty dirt road initial climb--it gets lots steeper and rockier

The big view down to Salida, on a day when it would be a good idea to get down there soon

Then our little Lost Trail down to the end