The adventure has just begun.

The Colorado Rockies surrounding Vail are blessed with spectacular vistas and aspen groves that glow like the vaults of Fort Knox each October, and there's nothing quite like hopping on a mountain bike on a cool, fall weekend and heading out deep in the woods to soak it all up. The golden beacon pulls you up the mountain in the hope of acquiring greater riches, or at the very least, a few lucky rounds of hand-to-hand combat with Lara Croft.

But like the original gold rush that brought early frontiersmen to these rich Rocky Mountains, there is too much to take in to spend all your time in a single locale. The majesty of autumn's wealth surrounds us, and our lone golden friend serves as a signal that it's time to hit the highway. To truly take in autumn's splendor, we gathered the troops and piled into the SUV for a high country triathlon of hiking, biking and camping in some of Colorado's most majestic aspen groves just as golden boy was joined by his friends in a fiery blaze of glory.

The tour actually began in our own back yard. It's not for nothing that the easternmost flank of Vail Mountain is called Golden Peak, named after the aspens that paint its eponymous color. The hillside is the starting point for a mountain biking epic that offers a chance to take in the fall colors while serving as a reminder to atrophied ski legs that white gold will soon follow.

Fortunately, the loop mixes singletrack with a mellower dirt road as it wends its way up the ski mountain and over the rarefied 11,000 foot elevation. The long shadows crowned in gold occupy the senses long enough to distract you from the burning in your legs and lungs, and the controlled chaos of the ensuing downhill is enough to make you forget it ever occurred at all.

Look between the trees, at the holes, you remind yourself as you dodge potential disaster, regain composure and unleash the machine once more for a taste of adrenaline. The combined exertion and excitement take their toll, but there is still much more to come. It is time to head west.

Our ultimate destination was Crested Butte, considered Colorado's mountain bike birthplace and an aspen-lover's fantasy world. But due to the distraction of the season, getting there is a challenge in itself.

Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon is often referred to as a marvel of engineering. That may be so, but for us liberal arts majors that wonder lies in the kaleidoscope of fall color formed from the combination of multi-hued rock, deep, green pines and scrub oak that turns a fervent scarlet red in the fall. A heated Ro-Sham-Bo battle over who was stuck behind the wheel and who rode shotgun was ultimately resolved with the promise to trade seats for the return trip. After all, someone has to keep their eyes on the road.

"The long shadows crowned in gold occupy the senses long enough to distract you from the burning in your legs and lungs..."