15 July 2009 part II

Rode the Rage in the Sage course this morning and I didn’t bring the camera because I just wanted to take my time, have fun and get used to the elevation. I was very easy to spot. I was the guy wearing thermals while the rest of the locals were in short sleeve jerseys. What a great trail, huge climbs, great descents and some rocks added for fun. After I returned to the room I grabbed the camera a pedaled around making a little tourist video for later DVDs.

After the ride I got in the truck and drove to an area called Ohio Creek. This is an alternate valley that connects Gunnison and Crested Butte via the Keepler pass. Ohio Creek is filled with large ranches and estates with large mountain ranges on both sides and river in the middle. The valley is the home to thousands of heads of cattle and countless dear mixed in. The first 20 or so miles are paved but the road turns to dirt as it enters the Gunnison National Forest. The pass was still a little wet for the snow run off and the descent into Crested Butte is narrow and step. Once in CB I parked the truck and walked around the town for a couple of hours. The weather was perfect and everyone was sitting out front enjoying the views and light breeze. The town is perfect in every way to include afternoon softball games, outdoor theater and manicured parks for the locals and tourists alike. Almost feels like a movie set.

Kokopelli ride and trip to Gunnison

14 July 2009

I got up early to ride the Kokopelli Trail. The name comes from a man named Koko who played a flute and spread wild flower seeds around this region. The sack of seeds he carried is called a pelli – hence Kokopelli.

This is the type of trails I was looking for. Well designed, great views and rideable (probably not a word). I rode Mary’s, Rustlers and Horsethief loops and took the dirt road back to the truck. Overall 2 hours and 40 minutes on the bike.

The trip to Gunnison was an uneventful drive down Highway 50. How crazy is that Highway 50 goes through Gunnison.

I stopped at the Gunnison Brewery for $1 fish tacos and a beer; hard to beat it.

15 July 2009

I’m freezing – its 43 degrees and I sleep with the windows open, also my GPS revealed I’m at 7700 feet of elevation. I’m going to wait for it to warm a little before I go out to ride the Hartman Rock trail system. Hartman Rock is the same place we raced in 2007.

I placed the jars of peanut butter and blueberry jelly in my sneakers so they would break, well the blueberry jelly leaked in my shoes and I had to wash them this morning - FML

Thanks to all that made this ride happen

13 July 2009

Started the day by returning to Single Track bike shop in Fruita, the owner could not fix the wheel but he told me about a company called DT Swiss (a rim and spoke manufacturer) in Grand Junction. 20 minutes later I talked to Steve at DT Swiss, he calls a local shop, tells them the type of spoke and rim I needed and says they can build a quality wheel today.

This is where the adventure starts; Grand Junction’s has the strangest street layout know to man. The streets are referenced to the distance to the Utah boarder. These are the instructions from DT Swiss to the bike shop. Take the 6&50 to 17 ½ road, turn right on 3/10 road and left on the 18. The store will be on the left. OK. An hour later and 3 stops for directions, I found the bike shop.

Alex the wheel builder met me at the door and asked if I stopped for lunch, I laughed and said “no just wanted to get a look at the city” – he knew. He had the parts ready and built the wheel in an hour. Wheel building is art and science. The tension on every spoke needs to be equal or the wheel will wobble – that’s bad. The new wheel is bigger and heavier but will get me through the trip.

By 3pm I was back to the scene of the crime. I started out riding easy trails, relearning the bike with the new wheel and working the knots out of my legs. After an hour the temp is up and the trails are still a mess. The rain has truly ruined this great area and it may take a couple of years of get it back to its famous status. Overall if I knew Fruita was so rutted I would have stayed in Moab an extra day. I’m going to ride the Kokopelli Trail in the morning and then head up the Gunnison. I don’t think the cabin has Wi Fi so I’ll have to find a coffee shop to post updates.

The streak is still alive – I will ride everyday of the trip.

Check out a the picture of the Zippy trail

12 July 2009 – Fruita

Well let’s start this with a statistic (Moab 2 – Fruita 1). Go to the trail head and climbed up the Prime Cut trail. Not bad but I did notice that the rain had washed away part of the trial; the center part of the trail. Per the book, I turned right at the top of the hill and started down Chutes and Ladders. For about 50 feet when my front wheel got stuck in a rut and promptly catapulted me off the bike. That’s the best part – I bent my front wheel (picture a taco shell) and can’t ride until it’s fixed. I also got to hike a bike about 4 miles back to the truck. So today I’m relegated to laundry, ice and the pizza delivery guy - FML

Moab Day 2 with road trip to Fruita

It is truly the slow season in Utah. I couldn’t stitch together 4 people to ride any of the high mountain trails so I opted for an old school trail. The Sovereign Trail is one of the oldest trail systems in the Moab area and resides about 10 miles north of town. Follow the link for a great description – All add, the farther you go the harder it get.

On cool thing that happen was I stopped in one of the very few shaded spots ago side a canyon wall and there was a hawk net about 20 feet above me. I could hear the baby screech and see his molting head every now and then. I didn’t stay to long as mama could come home angry. Overall best ride so far.

Check out the link to Cryptobiotic Soil - Crazy stuff and it all over the place.

I traveled back to Moab and grabbed some water and a Turkey sandwich and decided to take the long scenic route to Fruita. Highway 128 follows the Colorado River up the canyons to the Utah/Colorado state line.

The road in better than advertised, It’s a small, 2 lanes with plenty of sharp curves. The river is lined with fire red canyon walls and trees along the banks. In some spots the walls recede and there are a few vineries and guest ranches.

The rod ends with a choice turn left and go to I-70 or right at go to a town called Cisco Utah. The sign on the side of the road claimed the roads aren’t state maintained and there are no services available. After 15 miles or so I enter Cisco – I small Mormon town where the ladies wear long ping and blue dress and the men are in suits. Kind of strange but if it makes them happy then whatever. I drive thought town – there right no gas station visible and head to I-70.

Fruita is a small town on the Colorado River once known for oil production. Well that’s gone and so are all the jobs. Now they’re trying to compete with Moab as an ecotourism location. The town is small and has no signal lights; every major intersection is a traffic circle – kind of cool.

I stop at Over the Edge cycle – follow link – get a book written by the owner and some advice for the trails. It turns out there are 4 major mountain bike regions in Fruita. The lady at the counter warns me about the trails because Fruita has received more rain this year than anyone can remember. The rain produces ruts in the trail so be careful.

Notes from Day #2

Phoenix – is still hot as the devil's bath tub and the traffic on the 17 is ridiculous.

I entered the Navajo Nation about a hour before sun set and was once again struck by the beauty of the land and the squallier of the inhabitants. Stopped and saw the memorial to the 4 Metal of Honor winners for WWII – the Code Talkers. Just incredible.

The Navajo Nation is Huge. It took hours to drive across and ends in Monument Valley. It’s a shame that I didn’t get to see Monument Valley during the day. The Marine commercials and other advertising don’t come close to portraying the landscape. If fact if it was a panting, you would think it was fake. I did get to see a large number of bats coming out from under a bridge as the sun set – Bats on the Indian Reservation – How magical and spooky is that?

Overall = 591 miles – 9.5 hours – 1.5 stops

Utah is 1 hour off Tucson time. I missed that in the planning. The roads are great and people drive like Lucifer is chasing them. I had an 18 wheeler flash his lights and pass me on at 2 lane road – I was driving 68 MPH. Some of the small towns in Utah are like stepping back into a time warp to the 50s – no bars or liquor store but family diners and ice cream parlors - yes I stopped in Flagstaff and got real beer.

Moab is very cool little hippie town with large rock walls on either side, lush green vegetation in the valley. The Colorado River runs through the north side of town and everyone is peddling a bike. The Mormons apparently have turned a blind eye to the bike/eco community because there are little coffee shops and few breweries in town. Overall great place and I understand why Jeff moved - oh wait I haven'y talked about Jeff - more later.

Slick Rock

Slick Rock is a very large area of solid rock just to the east of Moab. It’s a short 3 mile drive from the hotel and a $5 fee to enjoy/endure the most amazing riding I’ve ever seen. The name Slick Rock in deceiving; it comes from old wagoners struggling to get there gear through the rocks because the wheels slipped on the rocks. The stone is actually very sticky, in fact you can climb and descend trials that have angles above 60 degrees. I stood at the top to several of these sections and was convenience there was no way I could ride it. We’ll an hour on the bike and one crash later, I began to grasp just now gravity defying this rock is. The rest of the day was spent crawling over and around rock formations that in Tucson would be unthinkable. Oh and watching my cut front tire abscess to the size of a quarter. Very Cool.

Bike store – so I go to the bike store across the street to replace the tire that Slick Rock took from me earlier in the day. I walk in the door and the guy behind the counter yells “Hey 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo – Dude, did you ride that.” Turns out that Jeff at Moab Cycle lived in Tucson until 2001. Worked in most of the shops in town and raced around the Western US. Well he sold all his earthly possessions and moved to Moab and now works in a shop and helps with private tours in the local area. In fact he gave me a couple of tips for trials to ride tomorrow. He said "these are the trails the local ride in July." We’ll see if I can find directions on the net. Oh yeah tire cost $73 – FML.

I work on the videos/pictures tonight.

Day #1 – 09 July, 2009

We’ll it’s about time to head out from work and start my bike odyssey to Utah. For my money Utah is one of the buried treasures of our country filled with ancient geological features, great weather and the need for membership to have a beer at a brewery.

I’m trying to finish off the long list of things that must be done before the trip: GI Bill stuff, Kelly’s class stuff, work stuff, house stuff and how to post on this crazy blog stuff.

Should be on the road early this afternoon and may get in a short check the bike out ride in Flagstaff.