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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