Fruita Colorado

Ahhh... spring in the Rockies... one minute it's sunny and 60F and the next it's snowing so hard that you can't see. I'm getting a bit tired of the snow and there is a huge 'up slope' spring storm that it bearing down on Colorado. An upslope typically dumps snow on the front range but it doesn't impact the middle and western part of the state.

So on Friday with the weather guessers predicting anywhere from 10 - 36 inches of snow for the Front Range on Friday and Saturday I decided to bail out and head west to Fruita for a dry weekend of mountain biking. The best laid plans... by the time I could leave on Friday, the snow was so heavy that I70 was closed. So early Saturday AM with a driving rain snow mix I headed north on 25, west on I80, South on 13 to Rifle and west on 70 again... I had escaped the grips of the snow and showed up in Fruita in time to ride Marys Loop, Steves, Handcuffs, Lions Loop and Mack Ridge.

On Sunday AM, I head over to the Book Cliffs Area just north of Fruita. I'd never been here before but this is a treat! I was slow starting due to my back being tight and sore from shoveling some snow on Friday AM and from being in the truck so long etc. Anyhow, I mixed a 4 hour bottle of fuel and headed out... I warmed up on Prime Cut to Chutes and Ladders. Back up Prime Cut to Front Side. I am on a mission to do the Edge Loop and nothing is going to stop me.

The Edge Loop is about 30 miles long, it's remote and apparently not often ridden... perfect! I never saw a single sole during this whole ride :). No mountain bike ride would be complete without some great twisted story to tell...

So at about Mile 22 I've climbed and decended a good amount of pretty precipitous terrain (OK some of it is wicked steep) and I'm now at the infamous 30' 'waterfall'. Which is thankfully dry.

I've done a bit of climbing and this kind of thing doesn't bother me but it has my undivided attention. I've got to get me and the bike down this cliff face in one piece. There is no way around it and no turning back. This would be an easy task with 2 people but since no one likes to play my game... I'm left to my own devices.

There are a couple of fixed lines that have been placed down this narrow rock chute that are critical to doing this little decent safely. So I rig up my bike with my camelback straps so that I can wear it on my back.

No, it is no fun taking your own picture and it's not a very good one but you get the idea of the bike/camelback rig.

My biggest concern about the decent was getting the bike wedged in the top part of the chute and it causing me to fall or to damage the bike. Anyhow, I'm now down safely and I continue to head down the narrow canyon. After a bit I am back on single track climbing out of several ravines... this is really cool!

I arrive back at the truck and I've consumed all of my fuel and nearly drained my camelback dry. I've been out exactly 4 hours and I'm happy that the fuel and water are working out so well... I do a lot of tweaking on these critical aspects to make sure that I'm getting the calories and hydration that I need. I'm having to use a camelback this year due to the Carbon Yeti having only a single bottle cage... it takes some getting used to, hence the need to practice with it.

I quickly refuel for 2 more hours, more water and head back out to hit the classic storied trails of Kessel Run, Joes Ridge & Western Zippety. I finish up on Zippety Do Da. My friend Mike told me that this was going to be a real treat so I saved it till last. He was right! This is a gem! It's marked for experts only and has a reputation for breaking collar bones due to how steep it is and after riding it I can see why!

So the BDA (Battle Damage Assessment) at the end of the weekend, I'd driven a ton of hours, ridden 8 hrs of single track & checked out both mountain bikes. I've covered about 80 miles. The bikes are running fine and my body is responding to the training load. My back however is killing me, I'll get into see Dr Joel at Well Within Chiropractic in Castle Rock when I get home... he will get me straightened out again.

Life is on the bike this weekend is lonely but life is good!