U Lazy S Ranch Recap
Gnarly Routes: Texas Ride
By: Russell Bobbitt
Location: U Lazy S Ranch
Date: March 22-26
Images by Cole Kirkpatrick / Kirkpatrick Digital Cinema
Our first ride is over and done! Over 12 hours of ride time and 175+ miles of technical and flowy terrain were covered during the 3 days of riding. Our two guests were both intermediate riders in their 50’s that were seeking a challenge and good times! We were happy to deliver some of the best Texas has to offer.
The first two days consisted of riding on a private ranch in Post, Texas where our guests had access to some awesome singletrack that isn’t open to the public. After the initial pickup from the airport, the riders set up their bike controls to their preference. Our lodging was based out of Hotel Garza, a historic hotel built in 1910 and full of Western character. We all stayed there for the full duration of the trip.
Day 1 We eased into the rocky and loose terrain of the U Lazy S Ranch, as West Texas had been in a drought for some time. The drifty conditions were a riot and after a little bit of open riding and dodging junipers our group warmed up and got comfortable. After a sag adjustment and a few compression clicks the riders felt right at home on the bikes and we began to dive into some canyons and wind around all the moonrock laden landscape.
This ranch offers up an incredible playground covering 2800 acres! The views atop the technical climbs were rewarding as you could look off the caprock and see for miles. We were lucky enough to come across some large aoudad sheep that quickly disappeared off the bluff and out of sight.
We looped back to camp for lunch at the truck and trailer where we topped the bikes off with fuel for the afternoon route. More varied terrain followed and we stopped in a couple difficult spots, where Russell Bobbitt covered some useful techniques that would help in the sticky situations. Toward the end of the day, real hunger had set in and we were all ready to chow. We were in for a treat as mesquite fire-grilled steaks were piping hot and ready! The rest of the evening was spent bench racing at camp and hanging out enjoying the outdoors.
Day 2 consisted of some more extreme bits and exploring some old enduro trails from the 70’s! We came across some old stone washes and made new routes in search of natural obstacles. There was no shortage of that with steep hills and narrow chutes around every corner. The sand washes made you work for it and kept you on your toes.
We took a break and ate burgers for lunch at camp before finishing the day up. A final flowy rip on a plateau was welcomed as we all could use some wind in our face. The temperature was warm and rising into the 90’s. A spring fed waterfall was calling our names and we capped the day off with a refreshing swim to cool down and wash off. We retired to the hotel with full stomachs a little earlier than the night before, as we had a full day of riding in store for the next day in a new location.
Day 3 we moved 30 minutes south to ride some really fun trails in Red Canyon at the Parks Ranch. Races have been held on this property and the trail network here was a little bit more open and consisted of less softball sized rocks than the previous days. The ravines were a lot of fun to ride with some really tight and twisty trail that made you wiggle through with your bars at full lock. We took some breaks on the trail to let everyone catch their breath as fatigue had set in pretty well. Cole Kirkpatrick went ahead down the trail to capture the riders in action on camera. He was also really helpful in assisting the riders with their GoPro cameras. Some of the highlights were caught on film and the ride recap video will add tons of perspective from each of our riders to really show our adventure.
We all had an amazing time riding together and it was nice to ride for 3 consecutive days and put your worries out of mind. We are already looking forward to our next ride!
Ride. Live. Explore.
Gnarly Routes