Crested Butte’s Petunia Festival

While Crested Butte has had its world renown Wildflower Festival since 1986, we think it should be renamed Petunia Festival because we made our mark on that place. Visiting a July weekend on the backend of the Festival, we covered a lot of ground. On Day 1 we rode the blissful 401 Trail. You know it’s a good time when your hands hurt from handlebar-high flowers whacking your knuckles! On Day 2 Reno-Flag-Bear proved that hiking-a-bike can be as thrilling as riding it – just kidding on the sarcasm, the push UP was worth the 29 switchbacks DOWN. On Day 3 we collectively decided that the Quad Squad’s legs needed a break and we pivoted the plan to Lupine and Gunsight. This blue-level trail is perfect for a weekend warmup, cool down, or chill ride in between. Thanks to our teammie Diane S. for hosting an apres ride happy hour on her lovely deck!