Day 7 and wrap-up

Awoke to the group getting organized for our final day, back in Fruita. An efficient pack and cleaning then we pulled away from our condo and headed to a recycling drop-off. Sly drive us to the trailhead just outside of Fruita. The weather was only a few degrees but it seemed much warmer as we headed up the initial climbs. Once decided on the proper route, More Fun, we churned up the winding technical singletrack, snaking up the mountain. It was narrow, switchback laced, steep at times, with lots of little rock sections to test your balance and lunging abilities. The views continued to be sickeningly beautiful, each more breathtaking than the last. Atop the trail we opted to climb Mack's Trail which threaded up the spline and ledge of the ridge. Unbelievable views of mountain, snaow capped peaks, the Colorado river, valleys and seemingly every vista from ecry western I've ever seen.

Today we ran multiple cameras.
Sly carried his camera and took lots of stills through the ride. Eric had or group-owned VioSport on this helmet plugged into my Samsung which he carried in a waist pack. Jeepus had a camera and took videos. I had a helmet cam faced forward and a mini cam mounted under the seat to capture riders behind. Think of the possibilities of these configurations. You could have similtaneous fore and aft views while the filming itself is being captured.

The logistics over sorting and editting the 15 or so gigs of weekly video will undoubtedly be a task. Furthermore, there are always complications. Erics great footage has a giant foggy smudge in the center. One day the camera shook like crazy, another was pointed to the sky and yet another all crooked.

Mack's - we turned and I flowed while Sly and Paul hammer the thrilling descent.

Then was Mary's loop (initially fireroad turned to cliff edge technical singletrack on and overhang) then Uncle Murray's suggestion - Horsethief Bench. Jeepus was in heaven, fast flowy singletrack with scattered rock sections and little ledges to jump.
We did the loop then did the final section back to the the van. I shadowed Jeepus on the climb and when I saw the opportunity to attack, he sensed me coming and pushed me aside as a went by. Reacting quickly I grabed a stone from the side of the trail and bludgened him on the temple until the others caught up and pulled me off of him. Ok, the last part isn't true.
Reloaded the van, stopped at Harvey's, squeezed in another argument, then I drove us back to Denver. We reached 3250m elevation en route, likely as high as I'd ever been. There was lots of snow and the temp dropped as low as -10.

Stayed in a nice hotel, packed up and parted ways this morning. Eric and I dropped off the van in a fashion that could make us contenders on the amazing race.

Right now I'm sitting in Mile High Grill at the airport in Denver. Flight got cancelled so just sipping some merlot and reflecting on our trip.

Think I'll now review some footage then post the wrap-up in a couple of days.

Should get home around midnight, via Chicago.

Thanks,

UM
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Day 6 - Flat Pass

Hi all.

Dark skies and similiar temperatures to Ottawa kept us in most of the day. Finally opted to shuttle a course in the blowing snow after some discussion. The course was primarily sandy and rocky jeep trail. Ok, it sucked. Poor marking had us back track and use our superb orienteering skills to get back on course. The least fun ride but still nice to get on the bike.

My Samsung camera/helmet cam was pushed beyond bike path duty so it sh+t the bed making us jury-rig other configurations over the last few days. Finally impulse picked up a self contained Oregon Scientific to hopefully capture some multi-angle footage.

As far as reading this week - let's say I have mastered musical theory.

So, off to Fruita for an final day then finalize the packing and head back to Denver.

A few bangs and bruises but nobody is hurt and we're still keen for another ride.

More soon.

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A quick video - test

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Day 5 – Moab – Porcupine Rim

 

The group slept in a little later this morning; in fact we were all preparing breakfast when Jeepus woke.

The ride, started with a shuttle up the road.

The van was an old modified VW .  It had a stick shift and the bikes were mounted on the roof.  The driver chatted and told us all about the trails as we zig zagged up the dirt road that hugged the edge of the mountain.  On our right were jagged cliffs.  I thought I was the only nervous one but the others confirmed that we had no confidence in the transmission nor the brakes of this old jalopy. It was like we were in a third world country and I half expected to meet a truck with 25 workers and a dozen goats coming toward us as we rounded the corner.  The driver was in complete control and talked in an animated fashion as we continued up to the trailhead.

So we arrive and apparently the 40 minute discussion of the trails during the ride wasn't enough.  We got out and froze in the wind as she re-iterated was trails (legal and otherwise) we should ride.  Finally we headed out.  Jeepus and I chatted slightly ahead while the others we talking behind.  We arrived at a parking lot were people were doing trail maintenance to make the trails legal.  After a few minutes, no sign of the other guys.  How'd we get split up 5 minutes in ???  Anyway, after backtracking, we began the trail and quickly meet up with the others.  At this point in our vacation, my aforementioned situation of personalities and quirks, was reaching a head.  Tensions of perceived inconsiderations were reaching a boiling point.  While I believe that we all wanted to be adults about it, comments were made and frustrations were building.  I suggested we focus on doing what we were there for and enjoy the ride.  The ride was good!! First; swooping singletrack where you could just roll the bike back and forth.  I exercised a little caution as it repeatedly came close to the cliffs before jotting back in. Not sure if I've mentioned this, but the views were amazing.  After the singletrack were gravel trail with long sections of scattered rocks ranging from softball to earth ball (that giant ball you probably played with in gym class as a kid) size.  The Intense was feeling sweet!!!  I finally took the opportunity to let 'er loose and danced my 5.5 over the rocks and drops and big ring hammered every chance I got.  Jeepus was feeling the downside of running an XC rig and the rocks were very jolting and relentless.  Later when we re-grouped Sly and I rode together; hopping and dropping.  Following his line got real sketchy as I found myself dealing with launches that were too close to do anything with, so off them I flew.  While I like to run free on these sections, my preference is always to have another rider close by.  It was cool to see Sly jumping and taking some impressive lines as we hammer through the rock garden.  Soon we stopped and got some great footage.  Today Jeepus had a helmet cam and Eric had a bar mounted video cam.  Sly had his camera and I was without.

Last night the guys were telling me about the near death experience of riding the ridge with a few hundred foot drop just to the right.  I'll admit it, I was nervous.  But when we got to it, it really wasn't back.  Snaking singletrack lined the ridge but in most cases a freak accident would still allow you time to roll and grab onto something before falling to your death.

 

I slammed into some rock at one point but no big deal or injuries.  We did the final road section to the car and past animosities seemed to have dissolved in our great day of riding.  So now we're back at the condo, showered and flowered and planning dinner and tomorrow's ride.

I hadn't really intended on blogging this trip, but it's a good way to remember it, so hope you're enjoying the read and let me know if there are elements that you would like to hear about. 

Up yours!

UM

 

 

 

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Day 4 – Moab – Masaback then Sovereign Trail

OK folks, sorry for the delays.  Here we go.  Start from the bottom.

 

So after my latest night to date and a crappy sleep (in the master suite which I dished out $ to have the privilege of using – worth every penny) we awoke and each prepared breakfasts and discussed the day.  (Bert and Ernie are sharing a room with 2 twins and Jeepus is on the couch)

Sly and I left our bikes at Poison Spider bike shop to have bearing and axle work done.  Fortunately the shop had them ready for us to ride today.  We picked them up by noon and returned to load our gear then hit the trails. I wasn't feeling too enthusiastic about riding, and actually considered spending the day reading my "Dummies Guide to Musical Theory" book. 

We arrived at the trailhead and began to head up the road.  Hmmnn,  feeling good.  It started with some staircase ledges and drops and then the climb began.  We all did our own pace and we climbed away.  Today I was feeling better and just flowed along at my own pace at the front of the group, originally with Eric.  On a few occasions I'd stop and check and wait for a few minutes, but the pace wasn't particularly fast and I was sick of the whole stop and go type of riding.  At one point, immediately after completing a few challenging ledge climbs, there was Jeepus.  We poked along and stopped at an intersection.  Eventually I opted to keep moving along and headed to the top alone.  Total climb time was around 48 minutes with 5-8 minutes of waiting and then another 30 minutes until we were all together.  I took the time to explore the views of the canyon and mountains, always a little wary of the edge. 

The descent!  Jeepus had the helmet cam (an improvised version as the Samsung sh*t the bed this morning).  Sly took off and I stayed close so Jeepus could capture us both. We wove through, over, and off of big rocks scattered about on our high speed descent.  The new bearings made the Intense feel tight and responsive but the bikes took a major beating and we scampered over the challenging terrain at high speeds.  The three of us remained together for the descent, stopping and waiting a couple of times to be sure Eric hadn't fallen to his death.  As you select your high speed options (and they quickly narrow) you might find yourself faced with a drop-off or very rough descent but you have to take it to keep going.  If you don't have the speed to launch it, there sometimes is a pucker factor as you hope your geometry and fork will absorb the impact.  After an exhilarating descent we were back at the van and off to our next site.  After being tailed by the cameraman, through some potentially amazing footage, we realized the camera hadn't recorded.

Sovereign Trail  - it took a while to find it (and I almost opted to read my book instead) but we were there.  It was cool and only about 2 hours of daylight remained.  We headed out and found the trail.  Despite many recommendations, we couldn't  figure out why it was so highly rated.  We took the green trail, but sections of rock were joined by sand, which was frequently unrideable.  I finally just poked along hanging out with granny.  The views, again, incredible.  Felt good on the way back and just flowed along helping to ensure the group stayed together.  Blue trail was much better and the last 30 minutes was a lot of fun.  Today I got used to my 5.5 and its handling characteristics.  I felt fine and could ride at whatever pace I chose without the nagging fatigue that I'd felt in previous days.  We got back to the van and headed back to the condo.

After a great stretch in the hot tub, the guys did a group stir fry while I cooked a giant T-bone on the bbq.  A few cocktails and then finally sitting down to catch up on the blog.

We have a good group.  Paul and I are both balanced at the climbs and descents while Eric and Sly have their specialties.  On the trail it all works, changing riding orders and just having fun.  We all have our personality quarks, but are usually mature enough to recognize and work around them.

So, to date: great riding, lots of fun, some fitness and happy to be away; and back on my bike!  I miss my wife and dogs too.

 

More soon.

 

Uncle Mike

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Day 3 – Moab Slickrock

 

Today we woke to the expected forecast of cold and rainy weather, with meteorological mayhem affecting much of the surrounding areas.  Up to 12 inches of snow in the mountains, heavy rain and flooding expected elsewhere.  Thus we opted to load our gear into the Grand Caravan (great suggestion guys!) and we headed for Moab.  Amazing views as we drove toward town; I wanted to get pictures but heard of Purkis' photo spree from a few years earlier.  Guess I'll recycle some of those in the video.  We found our condo and were able to put our gear in the garage pre-checkin, while we rode.  We headed to Slick Rock and began our ride.  The weather was probably 60 degrees or so, so we wore more gear.  So, it is all rock, with a few cactus' (cacti ??) and sand sections in between.  You go down a steep rock, then climb up a steeper rock.  You hear about what great traction there is; true.  Problem is, it don't mean a thing unless you can deliver the power to get up the hills.  So it becomes very muscle intensive, and fatiguing.  A painted marking shows you where the trail goes and dots take you to look-outs.  The views are indescribable (so I'll try to post some pics) but they are truly amazing.  I got spooked at one point when I again realized how high (and close to the edge) we were.  Another freak incident in the strong wind could send you hurling to your death.  We crossed "bowls" in the rock and crazy rock features.  I recently read of 2 people who were trapped in one of these bowls and died of exposure.  We returned to the van, went and got groceries, then headed back to the condo. 

The condo is great!!  New, clean, well appointed and comfortable.  Sly cooked up a roast beef and we ate like kings, had a few drinks and called it a day.

I've become known as a arse-advisor in that he guys are all now taking care of their posteriors with chamois cream, post ride baby wipes, then zinc oxide.  I also advised Eric on wearing 2 layers of shorts and all are appreciative of  the suggestions.

 

 

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Day 2 Fruita/Grand Junction - Widow Maker, Holy Cross, The Ribbon, etc.

 

Fruita is an interesting little town with a few hotels, Mexican restaurants, gas stations, a couple of bike shops and that's more or less it.  Oh yeah, a dino museum that seemed interesting, but I didn't get the chance to check out.  RV sales dealerships (and some trailers just out in the middle of nowhere) dotted the side of the highway.  While there are beautiful houses built into ledges, there are more typically houses with old equipment and junk filling their yards.  Most people that we've met seemed very nice and staff in restaurants were particularly friendly.

Today we rejoined the crew from Leadville at the local bike shop and headed for the trails.  A detour finding the trailhead, but we arrived amidst lots of other riders prepping or re-packing their gear.  Outside of mtn bikers, there are lots of ATV, jeep, DH, and others in related sports.  Lots of big-tired trucks too.  The trailheads are basic parking areas, but with reasonable outhouse buildings.  The demographic that you run into is well – basically just like us.

The first part of the ride was a long technical climb.  People start off full of piss and vinegar but it eventually settles into a pace.  For the climb - basically you needle your front wheel around rocks of all shapes and sizes and keep churning up and around; lunging and spinning to keep moving forward.  The views are incredible with remnants of Lord knows what geological history, but it's always incredible and aplenty.  There are snow covered peaks in the distance, yet you're riding on mountains of rock and sand in a desert environment.  I refer to it as Wiley Coyote/Road Runner territory.  While riding, the pace was reasonable but fatiguing - though we were very appreciative of the trail knowledge that our riding companions had, there was one poor trooper in their group who wasn't at the same level.  So we stopped every few minutes to re-gather and wait for him.  Eventually he would come along on his borrowed bike, get the shortest break, and then bravely repeat the cycle.  Not quite sure what's been going on but I just haven't had any giddy-up.    I recognize that I'm not in the greatest shape and especially far from a cyclist physique this time of year, but fortunately there is still the underlying ability to just keep biking.  I picked a conservative spot in the group and just rode.  Admittedly, the continual stopping just killed me.  Every time I would finally get into a grove, we'd stop and wait.  Then you'd start up again and feel the load in your legs.  Anyway, gravel, rocks, moderate ups and steep downs.  Lots of fun.  We made it back to the parking and said farewell to our friends, loaded up the van and headed to do a downhill shuttle on The Ribbon.  It involved driving the bikes up to the top of a slickrock section, via a winding 8 mile of paved road.  We figured that we'd try our luck at sending a (non lyra clad) hitchhiker to get the van then rejoin us at the bottom.  But – the forecasted storm was moving in and it was getting late.  Sure enough we met a "dude", named Kyle in the parking lot.  We tore down a sloped field of slickrock looking for the trail markings.  You really have to be careful as when you are tearing down the hills, you may suddenly be made aware that you're on the edge of a rock overhang, possibly hundreds of feet up.  This realization suddenly made me a bit paranoid of a chain slip, pedal disengagement, branch hitting the bar, or whatever other freak incident which would send you barreling over the cliff.  Unsettling.  Anyway, probably an hour of zig-zagging down rocky descents and continual body English, we arrived at the lower parking – it was a hoot.  Kyle had graciously offered to take his awaiting girlfriend's car to return us to our van.  She stayed and chatted with us while we waiting.  Then it was diner in Grand Junction and we headed back to the motel.

Today I got some great helmet-cam video.  We only had a few hours of moving time but we were out there all day.  It is as tiring as actually moving all day (not as fun though).

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More content coming...

Days 2-4 are written but internet is down. Will post in the AM.

UM
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Fruita, Day 1

KFC sucks!

Staying at a basic motel in the small town of Fruita. Saturday we rode Shoots and Ladders, Zippity Do Da and related. It's narrow single track on rocky eroding ledges and mountains. Visualize the last place you'd want to hide in an old western movie - riders dotting the ridgeline. You feel atop the world as you keep your wheels centered in the fast ribbon of singletrack that seams along the spine of dirt and rock pertruding high up out of the canyon floor. Adreneline rushes as you crest a ridge, re-sight the trail and surge down steeply in and shoot back up. When you're not focused on the trail you see the plains with massive ridges pertruding. In the distance a panarama of mountains and rock landscape accross the apparent wasteland of sand, rock, tumbleweeds. Oh, and cattle. Lots of verticle with fast downhills and caught some great video. Met up with a group from Leadville who showed us the best routes. Meeting them again today to shuttle and ride in Grand Junction.

More later,

UM
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