We hit up the bottom of the bottom of the Tabaguache trails at the base of the monument and after a few spills (and the marks to prove it) we got rolling for close to an hour.
We finished off the ride by riding through downtown and stopping at Main Street Bagels for food and coffee and made it home before 10. Time for some school work...
After setting up camp along the colorado river we went into the park to see double arch.
We headed back into the busy town of Moab for dinner and then went back to the campsite.
Sunday AM we got up at 4:30 and made breakfast and packed up and headed back into the park. We went for a 'strenuous' hike out to Double O arch with lots of climbing, great views, and possible long falls. We made it back to the car and were back home by 11 so that Kelly could get her school work on. A great weekend in less than 24 hours!
Colorado River from Mary's Loop
The climb up Mack's Ridge, little wheels=no bueno
Horsetheif Bench from way up
It rained Tuesday night so I went for a road ride Wednesday. Meh. Turns out there is alot of climbing. Thursday I went out to do Andy's Loop right outside of town. Never again! That is a death march, theres a half mile section that labeled 'portage' on maps ( I didnt know that 'till later). I rode the loop backwards, again, so I walked up a hill, tried to ride down the portage section, quit, walked back up the place I had ridden down, then finally got to ride again. Walking is good for you right?
Will,0-Hill,A billion
Friday I went back out to McInnis and rode Horsetheif Bench, excellent. I also rode the 'easy' kids trail out there, that is some sweet singletrack! I would def recommend. The moral of this story is that I really need a 29er before I get dead.
AND!!!!!! I met some dudes from the MSC cycling team, that one the collegiate road championship last year, they're ringers from Germany. I talked to one for a hour or so and he was telling me how awesome it was track racing was in Berlin in the winter and how the tracks around here aren't as good and blah blah blah. Then we swapped digits and he said he'd call me to do a road ride... yeah, probably gonna be sick that day.
It has been a crazy week! The movers arrived last Wednesday morning and luckily we had a house to more everything into! Will has been busy riding his bike since his helmet and shoes arrived and I’ve spent my time pulling my classroom together and going to new hire orientation! Weather everyday has been a perfect 90 degrees with super ridiculously low humidity. In other words, awesome.
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School begins Monday for the both of us... back to the real world.
So I loaded up the CRV and hit the road for Fruita. 25 minutes later I was on Western Zippity headed toward the bookcliffs. Peeps had stayed off the trail after it rained the other day so it was super smooth and hardpacked. Which was great since yesterday was the first time id been on a bike with a real saddle in a while, sooo... yeah. Ouch.
Local Wildlife
The it was back to the parking lot and back home. Kelly's parents are getting into town today which should be fun. They will be the first people we know to use the GJ airport, I wonder how that is? We may be doing a winery tour tomorrow, which would be awesome. We shall see.
GJ, way down there.
All the climbing is worth it though because the trails are almost all downhill, and insane. Maybe I should have started with something easier than one of the hardest trails there is, since I haven't been on a bike in a month.
This is one of the easier sections of the "Holy Cross" trail. I don't think I was mentally prepared for 3-4' rock drops that just led right to another rock drop. Or drops where you were doing 180 degree turns right at the bottom of the drop. If you think hydraulic disc brakes for bikes are overkill, you're wrong.
This is the Spooky on "Lemon Squeezer". Somehow your supposed to ride through there?Eventually the trails mellowed out and became super fast and fun singletrack. They even have a beginner's trail with instruction how to ride sections on signs throughout the trail.
Trails everywhere!
A great way to spend a few hours in the morning. And tomorrow, I think I'm going to do it all again, life sure is tough.
That is an 18.9% average grade, 'nuff said. Mount Garfield is the most distinct 'peak' of the bookcliff range of mesas north of town.
That's Mt. Garfield waaay up there, above the beautiful CRV. Another beautiful day to be outside, it was in the 80's during the hike. I need more sunscreen though.
This is the first plateau you come to after scrambling up the steep debris fields and boulders at the base of the mesa. There are wild horses roaming around up here somewhere. No, I do not know how they got there, where they go, what they eat, or anything else. I just know they're there (watch out for poop).
Looking east from above the first plateau. If you look to the left, you can see the parking lot and if you zoom in you can even sorta see the car. You can also see the vineyards of Clifton and Palisade in the picture and one of the irrigation canals that runs near I-70.
Downtown GJ from the top. The land to the right is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It looks like sand but is really a very hard packed adobe soil.
Looking west toward Fruita. See, we really do live in the desert. Its just a really nice area of the desert.
This morning we got up at 6am for hike in Rough Canyon. It was a cool 50 something degrees at the top of the Mesa where our hike started, about 15 minutes out of town.
We hiked down a dry creek bed and back up for about an hour and got to watch the sun come up through the canyon.
For lunch we hit up the Wrigley Field sports bar then went to my new place and hung out and put together a futon.
