We rode the trails on the east side of the park in the morning, ate some lunch in the parking lot, and then rode the newer trails on the west side of the road. Once again, the weather was perfect.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Spring Break 2015 - Dead Horse Point State Park
Saturday. Last day of spring break. We woke up in our tents at the Highline State Park Oasis of Green Grass and Trees, packed up our tents, and drove to Dead Horse Point State Park, which is perched on the rim a couple thousand feet above Moab and the Colorado River. The park has several miles of mountain bike trails that follow the rim, and the views are simply incredible.
We rode the trails on the east side of the park in the morning, ate some lunch in the parking lot, and then rode the newer trails on the west side of the road. Once again, the weather was perfect.
And then we were done. We took Luca's bike back to Poison Spider, had some pizza for dinner, and drove back to Denver, getting home ridiculously late.
We rode the trails on the east side of the park in the morning, ate some lunch in the parking lot, and then rode the newer trails on the west side of the road. Once again, the weather was perfect.
Friday, April 3, 2015
Spring Break 2015 - Loma Trails and Broken Brakes
Friday. After breakfast, Heather and Chris and Cailan came and met us at the Highline State Park Oasis. Although the campground was nearly full, there were a couple of sites opening up, and after a little trouble with red tape of a sort, they were able to secure a place to camp.
We went as a group to the Loma trailhead on the west side of Fruita. For our morning ride, we all went up Mary's to Horsethief Overlook, scrambled down the rocks to the bench, and rode the loop around Horsethief Bench.
Occasionally, my 12-year-old Canon PowerShot's lens cover doesn't open all the way. But this was the scramble. Some people actually ride this.
Ascending a ledge, Quinn doesn't quite get up far enough on the first try. Squish.
Better, this time.
After the bench ride, we went back to the parking area and had some lunch, and then split into two groups for the afternoon ride. Cindy, Abbey, and Luca did the Rustler's loop again, while the rest of went on out Mary's to Pizza Point, where there is no pizza.
Cindy took a spill going up a ledge; bruised her leg pretty good and broke her front brake lever and cylinder. Fortunately, Chris had an available brake back in his garage that he let us borrow. After that we headed back to the campsite for some dinner and more s'mores.
We went as a group to the Loma trailhead on the west side of Fruita. For our morning ride, we all went up Mary's to Horsethief Overlook, scrambled down the rocks to the bench, and rode the loop around Horsethief Bench.
Occasionally, my 12-year-old Canon PowerShot's lens cover doesn't open all the way. But this was the scramble. Some people actually ride this.
Ascending a ledge, Quinn doesn't quite get up far enough on the first try. Squish.
Better, this time.
After the bench ride, we went back to the parking area and had some lunch, and then split into two groups for the afternoon ride. Cindy, Abbey, and Luca did the Rustler's loop again, while the rest of went on out Mary's to Pizza Point, where there is no pizza.
Cindy took a spill going up a ledge; bruised her leg pretty good and broke her front brake lever and cylinder. Fortunately, Chris had an available brake back in his garage that he let us borrow. After that we headed back to the campsite for some dinner and more s'mores.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Spring Break 2015 - 18 Road and the Trail Through Time
Thursday morning, 9 a.m, give or take an hour, we arrived at the desert trails of 18 Road; our second visit this trip. Being very close to the Highline State Park Oasis of Green Grass and Trees, we could spend the day riding here without having to drive many miles, and we knew Luca would enjoy Kessel Run and PBR.
We rode Kessel Run first, and then PBR, but none of us can remember now whether we did a third run that day or not. What we do remember is that the temperature was dropping and the wind was getting really strong, and we decided against trying to ride Joe's Ridge because we thought we'd blow off the ridge.
After the ride and some lunch back at the campsite we took a drive over to the Trail Through Time, which just north of I-70 in near the Utah border where we'd ridden the Western Rim Trail a few days before. Dinosaur bones can be found here.
If you were wondering if you could do a week long biking and camping trip with five people in a Nissan Armada, the answer is "Yes."
When we got back to the campsite, a little before dark, the wind was blowing so strong and cold, that we decided it would be a lot more fun to go into Fruita to get pizza at the Hot Tomato, rather than trying to cook at the campsite. The pizza was awesome.
We rode Kessel Run first, and then PBR, but none of us can remember now whether we did a third run that day or not. What we do remember is that the temperature was dropping and the wind was getting really strong, and we decided against trying to ride Joe's Ridge because we thought we'd blow off the ridge.
After the ride and some lunch back at the campsite we took a drive over to the Trail Through Time, which just north of I-70 in near the Utah border where we'd ridden the Western Rim Trail a few days before. Dinosaur bones can be found here.
If you were wondering if you could do a week long biking and camping trip with five people in a Nissan Armada, the answer is "Yes."
When we got back to the campsite, a little before dark, the wind was blowing so strong and cold, that we decided it would be a lot more fun to go into Fruita to get pizza at the Hot Tomato, rather than trying to cook at the campsite. The pizza was awesome.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Spring Break 2015 - Moab Brand Trails
April 1. Fools' Day. The day on which we picked up Abbey's friend -- we'll call him "Luca." He was at the Dinosaur Museum in Fruita. Funny coincidence; so were we. The original plan, laid out on a scrap of paper on our well-worn oak table week previous, was that we would pick up this Luca on Wednesday morning, add him to our tribe, rent him a bike in Moab, find a campsite near Moab, camp a few nights and ride many trails with him. All of that worked out except for the part about the campsite.
Heather warned us weeks before our trip that our spring break dates coincided with the annual Jeep Safari in Moab, and that campsites could be scarce. So we knew we would need a plan B. Plan B, conceived at the last minute, Wednesday morning before getting Luca from the Dinosaur Museum, was the Highline State Park. Near Fruita, within site of the book cliffs, was an oasis of green grass and trees, and showers, in a landscape of desert agriculture. Although Heather and Chris later ran into some technical issues with the staff regarding whether or not they could occupy a site without actually being at the site, it was a fine place to camp. We checked it out, decided it would work, picked up Luca in Fruita, went back and reserved a site, had a picnic lunch at the site, and then drove on to Moab where we picked up Luca's rental bike and headed straight for the Moab Brand trails. A Kona Process 134 was the bike.
We followed the usual route: Out Lazy EZ...
On to Rockin' A (Luca on the Kona)...
One of my favorite rocks on the whole planet...
Just watch the sand at the bottom...
Why do they call it Circle O? But this time we did not venture out on Circle O; some of us were tired, others needed a bathroom break, it was getting rather windy, and we didn't want to kill Luca on the first day.
So we cut back on Bar M; Luca and the girls went back to the car while Quinn and I made a quick loop around the North 40.
And then we went back to Colorado, back to the Highline State Park Oasis of Green Grass and Trees, where we made burritos, hung around the campfire, and ate dark chocolate s'mores. An excellent end to an excellent day.
Heather warned us weeks before our trip that our spring break dates coincided with the annual Jeep Safari in Moab, and that campsites could be scarce. So we knew we would need a plan B. Plan B, conceived at the last minute, Wednesday morning before getting Luca from the Dinosaur Museum, was the Highline State Park. Near Fruita, within site of the book cliffs, was an oasis of green grass and trees, and showers, in a landscape of desert agriculture. Although Heather and Chris later ran into some technical issues with the staff regarding whether or not they could occupy a site without actually being at the site, it was a fine place to camp. We checked it out, decided it would work, picked up Luca in Fruita, went back and reserved a site, had a picnic lunch at the site, and then drove on to Moab where we picked up Luca's rental bike and headed straight for the Moab Brand trails. A Kona Process 134 was the bike.
We followed the usual route: Out Lazy EZ...
On to Rockin' A (Luca on the Kona)...
One of my favorite rocks on the whole planet...
Just watch the sand at the bottom...
Why do they call it Circle O? But this time we did not venture out on Circle O; some of us were tired, others needed a bathroom break, it was getting rather windy, and we didn't want to kill Luca on the first day.
So we cut back on Bar M; Luca and the girls went back to the car while Quinn and I made a quick loop around the North 40.
And then we went back to Colorado, back to the Highline State Park Oasis of Green Grass and Trees, where we made burritos, hung around the campfire, and ate dark chocolate s'mores. An excellent end to an excellent day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)