Thursday, May 13, 2010

Fruita and Grand Junction, CO

Every spring I get the itch to get outside, so what better way to scratch it than with a road trip to an new destination! My Grad school presentation meant we were getting a late start, and finally departed T-town after 7:30pm. North thru Flagstaff, the Rez at night and first light in Moab, we drove for 11 hours straight to reach Fruita, CO.
As luck would have it we found the first camp spot near the top of Road 18. Still groggy from 11+ hours of driving thru the night and it was time to shake out the cobwebs. Thursday morning ride: Joe's Ridge-Zippity Do Dah- Western Zippity- Kessel's.

 


Friday: A quick stop to Over the Edge for some cues and we were off. Parked at Tabeguache trail head and rode Tabeguache/ Holy Cross- Pre-Nup- Little Park Rd.- Unknown Connector to Gunny Trail- Up Gunny- Back on Little Park Rd. for 3-4 miles- The Ribbon Trail- Andy's Loop.
British, totally stoked!

 Ribbon Trail rock slab off in the distance. Climb, climb, climb!

Back to camp for a quick respite and then it was time for a evening ride. Joe's Run- Zippity Do Dah- Kessel's. Somewhere along the way I picked up a hole in my tire, thus resulting in a Stan's FAILURE. As it would turn out, this was the only mechanical of the weekend. Everyone kept it on two wheels and only one flat tire. Not bad considering the ground we covered in 3 days.
Saturday a local friend met up to show us around the Kokopelli Loops. From the Loma parking lot we embarked upon Mary's- Rustler's Loop- Horsethief Bench- Steve's Loop- Lion's Loop- Mack Ridge. Originally, we thought we could tackle Moore Fun Ridge on the way back, but that proved to be a little much to bite off, so the decision was made to hit the frontage back to the car and cold beer.

















On the way home we made a quick stop in Moab so the passengers could jump in the river. Seems the water temp was about 58 degrees, which only served to solidify my decision to watch and drink a road soda instead. Fruita treated us to some of the finest singletrack I have ever ridden and despite the 22 hours of driving round-trip to get there, it was soooo worth it. I'll definitely be headed back for the next road trip and to say hi to my new buddy, Tater!