Greg and I got a shuttle up to 7100 ft, just past Glade Park where the gravel road starts. We unloaded our bikes to the sound of thunder, and then started riding.... into the clouds.
About 5 miles in we put on our rain coats, only to have the rain immediately stop. We had caught the tail end of the storm though, and the road was a mess. I let Greg lead, and he quickly showed me what lines not to take. His bike ground to a halt, tires no longer moving. I dodged left and kept moving, not having to get my shoes gunked up. A mile or so further up, the road dried out again.
Once on singletrack the conditions weren't too bad. A little slick, but not gumbo. We climbed to almost 10,000 ft and ate lunch gawking at the La Sal Mtns. I noticed this little guy and he posed for a shot in Greg's hand.
On the way back down we stopped for a few gnar gnar shots and then kept moving. Once back on the road Greg went one way and I headed back to GJ the other. I had plans to hit the Ribbon and The Gunny as well.
Heading down, the wind was blowing the wrong way. Normally by afternoon the wind is out of the west, but it was hard out of the east and making me work, despite going downhill. And speaking of that downhill, there sure was a lot of climbing for all that elevation loss? I stopped at Glad Park Store and had a chocolate milk, the energy drink of champions! I was suffering, on the pavement and into the wind on my 6" travel bike. Not really the hot set-up for road riding, but was I racing?
I finally got to The Ribbon trail. I noticed a little dampness to the soil in the parking lot but didn't think much of it. However, as I got futher down it became aparent that it had rained recently and it had rained hard. By the time I got to the wash the water was roaring. It was a grey nasty bentonite water. My bike sounded like every rotating piece was rubbing on sandpaper. I found that it was easier to keep moving if I actually rode IN the water. I kept my speed as to not get bogged down. But...one water hole was a little deeper than the rest, and a little more filled with mud. Bike stops, I keep going! Soooo, i'm laying in the nasty water, waiting for my bike to pummel me as it normally does when I fly over the bars, but it doesn't? I look up and the bike is stuck in the endo posistion front wheel deep in mud. After unsticking my bike I trudged on to the climb out. I had hope that the bentonite climb would be dry----HA HA HA. I have seen foot prints of the poor souls who have been stuck here after a rain. And I have laughed at their misfortune, I have made fun of them, and now I have been THAT GUY! The cake frosting top of the mud was slick as snot. Each shoe weighed at least 10lbs. I carried my bike so that it too would not weigh twice its normal weight. I made it out, scraped off my shoes, and rode down the Tabeguache and Lemon Squeezer to finish a fine day of mountainbiking. Turkey Flats is normally a two hour ride at the most. I stretched it a little eh?(Greg pics, as usual, are stunning. Check out his work at http://www.bikeabout.net/)
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