First, you eat your bowl of Wheaties because you’re in for a big adventure. The way this route is described is the reverse of the first portion of the Wheeler Stage, the crown-jewel stage, of the Breck Epic, regarded as maybe the best mountain bike event in North America. — Ben Ferrante

Start by cruising up Peak 9 Road — a pretty nice doubletrack road through the ski resort with lovely views of Baldy across the valley. Once you get to The Overlook Restaurant, the road is going to become less maintained at that point and will get bumpier with medium-sized rocks as you start to get up toward 11,000 feet or so. The climbing will get more difficult, but the views also will improve the higher you go.

Once you intersect the Wheeler Trail from Peak 9 road, descend south to the left, toward Blue River. A less-traveled, fun, chunky descent will follow. There are some floral areas and some big old growth forest for the next 3-4 miles until the end of the Wheeler Trail proper.

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From there, take a right on Spruce Creek Road and pedal up about another mile or so until you can start the descent for Spruce Creek Trail. A variety of routes allow the rider to choose their own adventure, but there are a lot of routes and hikers on this trail.

Cyclists are advised to take full advantage of the good sightlines and be mindful of their surroundings. At the end of descending Spruce Creek, pedal slightly back up Spruce Creek Road to Burro Trail’s fast, classic singletrack, and descend to the parking area at the Beaver Run Conference Center.

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