Kannah Creek. It's a big nasty downhill ride, with lots of rocks and well... lots of rocks. I had plans for an easy road ride, but Gary stopped by the shop and tempted me to ride my mtnbike, which never takes much. However, I didn't want to give up the "workout" I would get on my road bike so I decided to ride out to the lower trail-head, catch a ride up the Mesa, bomb the trail and then ride back into town. Yea, that sounds great!
I just couldn't get up early enough to ride ALL the way from the house, so Mary dropped me off near WhiteWater and I started my cold slog into the wind. The Cottonwoods are in full Autumn color. Gorgeous!
We were all prepared for some serious cold weather. What we got was long sleeve jersey weather, perfect for rippin downhill at speed. There were even some bugs out to remind us we were still on the Mesa.
The log skinny section was attempted and ridden by most in attendance, nice work! Above, Marissa cleans it like a champ.
Paul, pictured above, was on his game the whole day. We traded leads pushing it hard and challenging eachother to keep going faster and faster. I look forward to riding like this more! Nice Run Paul!
To all who aren't pictured, I am sorry. I was just having too much fun to stop and take pictures. For 11 people to have only had 2 flats and bent only one derrailure hanger on a trail that rips bikes to shreds I say, Bravo! Nice work!
Mark in the rocks.
Brian Doss rides the log.
Brian Doss rides the log.Thanks to Jen for helping me push back home on the hwy. I ended up 40 miles on my bike and I was hurting. Thanks for the pulls.
If any one else has pictures send them my way and I'll post more. Leila???
I had to start our two days of riding with a trip down the Ribbon Trail. The moonscape like rock is unique to Grand Junction and for people who have never been here before it is an amazing experience. Dave Gove and Jaques Hadler are professional guides and do this for a living. Its a treat to get to show them trails they haven't done. Mr. Gove and Mr. Hadler pose 3000 ft above GJ.
Gove hucks his Foes.
Below, Gove cleans the "Toilet Bowl." Actually he dabbed a foot above this point, right in the center of the toilet. Gross!
This was my first ride on my Rock Shox Lyrik fork since it lost all rebound damping on Gooseberry Mesa. I had installed a warranty rebound damper a few days prior. The rebound worked great, unfortunately the compression side blew up near the bottom of the Ribbon leaving me with about an inch of travel for the rest of the day. NOT HAPPY WITH SRAM'S QUALITY CONTROL! Mr. Hadler nearly twisted his derailure off and Mr. Gove was whining about his bald rear tire so we called it a day early and went back home to wrench and then go out to dinner. (thanks for dinner guys)
Day two's weather looked rainy, but the temp was perfect. Having two bikes allowed me to continue riding. Mr. Tim Walsh came over from Moab and met us in Rabbit Valley.
The Eastern Rim was great, lots of ledgy stuff and technical moves.
The lighting was really cool as rain would fall from the sky but not hit the ground. After the Eastern Rim we ate some lunch and headed down Trail 2 to the Western Rim, a completely different type of ride, smooth fast and flowy with great views of the golden cottonwoods in the river valley.
On the edge is the best way to describe the Western Rim trail. Pictured above, our bikes on the very edge.
For those of you who have not ridden the Colorado Nat. Monument, well, your missing out big time. The "Tour of the Moon" as it was called back in the 80's when people raced here, is a climb of about 2000 ft in the first 4 miles. Once on top it is a paved ride litteraly only a foot from 1000 ft cliffs.
Oh how the seasons are a changin'
The trail conditions were perfect today, the weekend rain leaving the sand packed and the dirt tacky. The Eastern Rim trail is becoming more and more fun as the dirtbikes spin the soil away from the drops making them bigger. I found the bottom end of my Fox Vanilla quite a few times.
And whats a blog update without me staring out across a "desert wasteland."
Gustifson found his perfect spot along the trail. It was beginning to warm up and this "Gus Pond" was just what an old boy needed. We hung out here a while and let the world float by.
After lunch I dropped Gus off in Fruita to rest. Noah and I grabbed a bite to eat and headed out for a Horse Thief ripp. On the way back we explored some slick rock riding and a chute that Max road the other day bridging to the Rustlers Loop. I want to go back with my Remedy and my full face helmet and ride this line. It looks really cool! Happy Trails!!!
We started the ride on jeep roads well below the mountains on the eastern slope, between the La Sals and the Uncompahgre Plateau.
The yellow aspen's covered the mountains like a golden fuzz. The sun would come out from behind clouds and illuminate or spotlight ceartain areas. Amazing!
The riding is really good up there, very lightly traveled moto singletrack just tight enough to make ya work for it. I found out my desert width handlebars need a little trimming.
Lunch was at a great spot overlooking the southern group of the La Sals just below the shoulder of Mt. Peale.
As soon as we set up camp I headed out for quick sun-set ride. Not a bad view from the bars of a sweet Trek Remedy.
I didn't go to far out due to the fading light, so I played in what is called "Gods Skate Park" Gooseberry is pretty much one big skatepark linked together with singletrack.
We found a sweet oasis out there in the desert. Had the truck ran out of gas this place would have saved our lives, but thanks to Mary and her "smart thinking" there would be no such death march/drinking out of a cattle tank story to tell.
