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Chihuahuan Desert Dirt Fest set for Feb. 16-18
A little over a year ago, I spent four days under the big skies of West Texas, shredding the skin on my legs and blasting my quad muscles on a four-day bike ride through Big Bend Ranch State Park.
That trip made one thing obviously clear: Big Bend Ranch boasts some seriously awesome mountain bike terrain, and there’s no better camping sites than the ones perched atop mesas bristling with cactus in the wildest state park in all the land.
Tarantulas? Bring ‘em on. Coyotes? Howl all you like.
I loved “The Ride to the Other Side of Nowhere,” and everything that went with it, from gathering around a campfire each evening to snuggling into my sleeping bag under all those stars every night.
I’m not the only one, either. The International Mountain Biking Association designated the Fresno-Sauceda Loop Trail through the park, which we overlapped on our trip, one of only two “ epic” mountain bike rides in the Southwest.
Want to experience it for yourself? On Feb. 16, 17 and 18, the park will host “The Chihuahuan Desert Dirt Fest,” with riding opportunities for all levels of cyclists.
Staff from Desert Sports Outfitters, members of the Big Bend Trails Alliance and Big Bend Ranch State Park rangers will lead rides through the park each day. Riders can also ride any of the trails without guides at their own pace.
Trust me, you’ll be whooping with glee as you spin up and down gullies, past old mining structures and alongside cliffs where big horn sheep now live. Pick from challenging single-track or flat double-track ranch roads.
Park entry fees will be waived during the three-day festival.
To pre-register for Dirt Fest, go to www.bikereg.com. For more information about the event, call Desert Sports toll-free at (888) 989-6900, or go here.
To make reservations to stay at Big Bend Ranch State Park’s bunkhouse for $35 per person per night, or to reserve one of three rooms at the original ranch residence for $100 per room, call (512) 389-8919. For information about having bags shuttled at the park, email park superintendent Barrett Durst at barrett.durst@tpwd.state.tx.us.
For more information about Big Bend Ranch State Park, go here.
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By Thad
January 13, 2012 9:06 AM | Link to this
We’re doing the Epic 50 on Saturday. Not sure which rides we are doing on Friday, but we’ll probably hit the one that overlaps the least with the Saturday ride.
See you out there
By 10 time participant
January 13, 2012 4:23 PM | Link to this
It is a good time. Come on out. I thought if you stayed in the State Park you would not be close to where the rides start, in Lajitas. We stay at a private campground near FM 170.