One of the premier mountain bike trails at the Lunch Loops is known as the Ribbon. Even from a distance of over 10 miles away, the trail can be seen wrapping its way down the cliff near the Colorado National Monument. The largest open slickrock area in Colorado offers a fantastic opportunity to speed downhill at alarming rates over buttery smooth rock that only enables you to go you faster. Once you ascend on this rocky plateau you're presented with the otherworldly vision of flatness as the striking gray rocks come into focus.
At over a half mile in length, this giant slab of rock sits over 80 feet off the canyon floor. If you've never had the experience of riding such grippy rock, you are in for a treat as you descend nearly 1,000 feet of pure joy. There is no marked trail here and keeping your speed in check is very important as people have been seriously injured on this trail both hiking and biking. The cliffs come up quickly and drop off into a void.
After descending the giant slab of rock there's a large series of sandstone dunes to navigate, and the final and largest one is called the Toilet Bowl. Moving through this area requires skill and excellent bike handling abilities, and only the most adept riders should attempt this feature. On the last parts of this ride, before finishing up on Andy's Trail, the route is characterized by narrow canyons with steep walls. While racing down the slot canyon there are several natural features on the side trail to jump if you know where to look.
This amazing ride can be ridden as a shuttle or as an out-and-back loop, though probably only for the most hard-core bikers. If you ride a shuttle down you will be begging your friends to turn around and do it all over again as many times as you can before the sun sinks below the horizon.
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