I grew up mountain biking with family and friends in the mountains of Colorado. Growing up in Boulder, I was lucky to have amazing teammates and coaches that made riding so much fun, both during summer days in the backcountry and freezing after-school practices in the dark. I raced for my high school’s mountain bike team in the Colorado League and also competed in enduro, cyclocross, road, gravel, and track. I loved the experience and structure of training and racing, but my favorite days on the bike have always been long adventures with good friends and good snacks. I go to Middlebury College in Vermont, where I’m studying environmental writing and Spanish. Midd has a small but mighty cycling team that I’m happy to be a part of, and I love exploring the Green Mountains on two wheels with my riding buddies. Whether I’m in Vermont or Colorado or anywhere else, my favorite days are usually in the mountains — riding, skiing, or hiking with friends, and scouting out the local bakeries for snacks, because a cookie will always be better than a gel.
Elliote Muir
Guide & Chef
Guide & Chef
Elliote Muir
What is the best thing about working at The Cycling House?
The best thing about working at The Cycling House is the people — the TCH team is full of incredible people, and getting to know the guests on each trip is so special. Also, the food! I think a key part of the TCH experience is sharing meals with the team and the guests, and we’re lucky to have such awesome chefs fueling us all week!
Do you have a favorite ride?
My favorite ride is one that I’ve been doing with my family since elementary school — a mountain bike route around Crested Butte, Colorado that we call “the town loop.” From the rock garden on Upper Upper to the shoulder-high skunk cabbage on Meander, the Snodgrass and Lupine descents and aspen forests on Gunsight Connector, this is a ride I’ll never outgrow. A big day out on some of the best trails in the world with a great crew and a milkshake waiting when you roll back into town — what could be better?
What is the most memorable day you've ever had on the bike?
In middle school, my teammates and I decided to ride our mountain bikes up one of Colorado’s 14ers. I had never hiked a 14er before, but figured biking one would be totally fine. We started before dawn and soon discovered that much of the mountain was too steep to ride, or else covered in boulders. We spent hours carrying our bikes up scree fields to the summit. I was in way over my head and completely exhausted. After a quick break at the top, we carried our bikes back down most of the mountain, and were finally able to ride a few switchbacks near the base. At the time, it was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, and I still hate hike-a-bikes all these years later. But it was also one of the most awesome and ambitious days I’d had outdoors, and since then I’ve been stoked about big days in the backcountry.