Photo by Marty Caivano

Burl Amsbury, Sal Silvester and Ray Brejcha ride the Deer Creek Trail in Crested Butte earlier this month. Big rides in the high country are a great way to spend a summer weekend.

I don't know about you, but I feel like the mountain-bike dog days have arrived. I've ridden the local trails enough to get a little bored, and the sweltering temps are draining some of the fun out of riding.

For me, that means it's time to hit the mountains.

Here are three big rides in the high country that will let you pedal hard but stay cool.

Reno/Flag/Bear/Deadman's Gulch: This loop of four trails in Crested Butte is a personal favorite. Three climbs and three descents, each with their own character, add up to about 22 miles of rad riding.

Drive up Cement Creek Road and park at the Deadman's Gulch trailhead. A dirt-road climb up Reno Divide will warm you up, preparing you for the whippy-fast descent along Flag Creek. Pump the big rollers (created by motorcycle travel) for even bigger grins.

Then cross the creek and begin climbing Bear Creek. This climb will challenge your skills in steep, powdery terrain, but the following descent is more than worth it. It rockets you through the trees on a bed of dark soil, with berms and techy bits to keep things exciting.

The final climb is the most scenic, set in a wide-open valley full of wildflowers. Once you've caught your breath, take on the 28 switchbacks down Deadman's Gulch to your car. Flop out with a snack and consider your world rocked.

Other suggestions: Bring bug spray. The mosquitoes are more aggressive than Pearl Street Mall panhandlers.

You can also ride the Deer Creek Trail, which affords incredible views of the valley above Mount Crested Butte and can be ridden as a loop or in out-and-back variations.

Commando Run/Two Elk: This sweet ride in Vail drops you into the back bowls of the ski resort on a luge track of dirt. While it can be ridden as a loop if you're prepared for some huge mileage, it's a bit more manageable (20 miles) with a shuttle setup. I know, some folks think shuttles are the work of the devil, but come on ... you're not going to do this more than once a year.

Park one car in Minturn and then take everything you need in another car to Vail Pass. Get on your bike and use Shrine Pass Road to access the Commando Run Trail. Be prepared for a lung-searing climb up to Top of the World peak at 11,611 feet. You didn't know the top of the world was right here in Vail, did you? Mount Everest, pssshhh.

Continue on Commando Run, climbing a little bit more to Bowman's Shortcut. Descending this will take you to Two Elk Pass, where you find an intersection. Choose the left-most option (heading west), on the Two Elk Trail. Don't take the Two Elk Connector unless you want to end up on Vail Mountain.

This is the money section, a rocketing descent into Mongolia Bowl on a skinny, dished-out singletrack that will make you laugh out loud. The views here are surreal, as you pedal through a bowl of land ringed by pine trees, with the sky forming another dome overhead. Heck, I'm grinning just writing this.

As the trail continues past the other back bowls, it becomes steeper and more technical, ending in a rocky descent along Two Elk Creek to Minturn. Time for lunch and cool drinks in Vail.

Other suggestions: There are numerous ways to ride this area, depending on how hard-core you are. In addition, my map shows more singletrack out of Minturn. The sky's the limit.

Peak 9/Wheeler/Peaks Trail: This 27-mile loop out of Breckenridge will put the Vail altitude to shame, topping out at 12,460 feet. Bring the rocket launchers for all the climbing.

Start at the base of the resort and climb the dirt road up Peak 9. It's boring, but it gets you where you're going. At the top, pass the restaurant and look for the switchbacks heading toward the saddle between Peaks 8 and 9. Yep, you get to climb those.

That's the Wheeler Trail: bare, windswept and rubbly, as are many trails where the trees can't breathe. You will top out at the saddle, with nothing but a wood summit sign to be seen. Houston, the Eagle has landed.

Then a fabulous downhill awaits, technical in places but eventually mellowing out, allowing you to fly all the way down to Ten Mile Creek. At the bottom, grab the paved bike path that will return you to Breckenridge. There you can pick up the Peaks Trail for a few last smiles before you collapse at the car. Nice work.

Each of these rides is fairly easy to navigate, with most trails well-marked. But you will definitely need maps, and guidance from local bike shops is always a good idea.

Most of all, don't forget your camera. It's a gorgeous world out there.