Village Green Mountain Bike Trail

We recently learned that a new mountain bike trail has landed nearby. The Village Greens Park is just across the street from what will be Abbey's high school. That's not more that a half mile from my office and about 5 miles from our house. We'd seen evidence of a trail a couple of weeks ago when we were on the highway headed towards the airport, and later learned that it was indeed a new trail. It's part of a larger set of 'improvements' to the park that include a pond, some improved wildlife habitat, and a disc-golf course.

It's certainly not a trail in the mountains, and in a sense it might seem silly to be excited about a 2.5 miles trail through a small patch of desert grassland in the middle of dense suburbia, but it's much closer than any of the real Front Range trails, so it will be easy for us to make a quick trip there and get in a few miles. Plus, the trail has lots of interesting and challenging features, like big boulders, steep climbs and descents, and whole bunch of log skinnies.

The kids and I took Amos over to the trail and walked to see if it was finished and to get a closer look at the layout and all the features. We're pretty excited. There were no signs indicating the trail was closed, and all the signage appeared to be in place. Most of the features were done, but it looked like there was some final construction still going on in. Tire tracks indicated a few riders had given it a try.

Here are some pics. This first is a rocky downhill. I hope the cyclists will use the rocky slabs and not just create a big rut in the dirt beside them.

Quinn doing a butt-scoot on the downhill slabs.

This is the rocky climb up to the top:

 This feature looks fun:

Basketball and Band

This winter Quinn played basketball. He had a good time and his team did pretty well, although they didn't make the play-offs. Isn't he a handsome young man? His right arm is not missing, it's just behind his back.

Abbey made first chair trumpet in the Cherry Creek District Middle School Honor Band. The Diddiwah joined us for the concert on the 2nd of February. It was quite impressive, especially given that they had only two evening rehearsals and one all day rehearsal the day of the concert. Abbey said her lips were so tired from rehearsing all day that she could hardly play during the concert. I hope she was exaggerating! Can you find her?

Green Mountain

Green Mountain is a treeless mound on west side of Denver that has several miles of well-worn trails sliced into its grassy face. Despite its being somewhat closer to home than other Front Range trails, we hadn't ridden there yet, so on the 26th of January when most other local trails were snowy and muddy we gave it a go. The trail climbed steeply for the first couple of miles, something our winter-weak legs didn't appreciate. Once on top, the views of Denver to the east were expansive, but were still just views of huge, smoggy metropolis. The mountains to the west looked nice. There was some fast, loose, and rocky downhill that was fun, but other users ascending forced us to keep our speed reasonable. We try very hard to be respectful of other users, which means riding at a reasonable pace rather than an insane one.

Here's a link to the route, mapped on my Garmin GPS.

So, Green Mountain: we logged a few miles and had some fun. The trails were primarily populated by fast cross-country racer-types out logging miles on their plastic Specialized 29er hardtails loudly discussing which category they'd race in this year. There were some ordinary folks, too. I even saw a guy pushing a Huffy across a small gully and up a short hill. The wide-openness of the mound was interesting, but overall I didn't find it as enjoyable as some of the other places we often ride. I didn't remember my camera, but Abbey had her phone.

Another Nickel

I'll cover a couple of weeks with this post. We've been at least as busy as usual and our cycling adventures have taken a lower priority than work, school, holidays, and music practice.

After a bitterly cold week in Kansas over the Christmas holiday, and then a few miserable days with a terrible cold, Cindy and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary with an afternoon ride with the kids on the Highline Canal Trail. It was finally warm enough that we could get out for a ride without coming home with frost bite -- or bike frost. Q and I rode the big black tandem and the girls rode their one-person mountain bikes. There was still plenty of snow and ice on the trail, so we had to bundle up to be comfortable.        

This ride was also significant because it was to be the last outing for Abbey's lime green Chameleon. We set her up with the Chameleon in the fall of 2010 when she was several inches shorter than she is now. It's been a great bike for her, but as much as she liked it, she was getting too big for it.

I'd been thinking that the most cost-effective option was for me to find a new (or even used) frame from the same manufacturer (Santa Cruz) so that all of the existing parts could simply be swapped from her current frame to the new and larger frame, but I was wrestling with the cost. I also really wanted to put her on a dual suspension bike; the Chameleon was a hard tail. And then, this fall, Santa Cruz discontinued the Nickel (which is the bike I ride) and the frames were selling selling for half price. There's just no way I was going to get a better deal than that, so I ordered it. It took a couple of weeks for me to find time to get everything swapped over, and there were a couple of minor complications (like the hydraulic brake line being to short and the headset not being entirely compatible), but we addressed them and now it's done. And the Cannondale MT800 tandem and the Santa Cruz Chameleon frame are now for sale:

Anyway, here they are, the girl and her bike on a warm afternoon in January:

We took it out for a short test over the weekend. January 20, 2013. Mom was on a plane on the way home from a week in Michigan, so the kids and I went without her to ride a few laps around the Mesa Rim Loop in the Hidden Mesa Open Space near Castle Rock. The sun was out, but the air was cold and the wind brisk. We didn't dress warmly enough, but we survived and I think we had fun. The trail was mostly flat and easy, but had a few fun spots on the rocks.

Connecticut in the Dark

I spent this week working in my company's office in Glastonbury, CT. On the evening of my last day I had the opportunity to ride some trails in a local park -- in the dark. The husband of one of my coworkers, we'll call him Evan (since that's his name), is an avid mountain biker and former cross country mtb racer; I've heard many tales of his cycling adventures, mostly related to broken bones and broken bike frames. When I started planning my trip, he suggested we get together for a ride. Although I was skeptical that it would actually work out, and a little concerned about what I might be getting into, I packed my bike shoes and some cool weather clothes, a set of pedals, and my helmet. I'm glad I did.

We rode at Day Pond State Park.

The park was an interesting mix: forest, ferns, logs, and leaves that reminded me of the trails we used to ride in Michigan, but with slanted slabs and slippery rocks and deathly dark and dangerous drops more like one might find in Grand Junction's Lunch Loops or some of the more technical trails in the Buffalo Creek Recreation Area much closer to what is now home. I would like to see this park sometime when the sun is up! At night, in the beam of a bright headlamp, the granite on the trail sparkled like stars in the sky.

I was afraid I was in trouble when my riding companions unloaded their burly all-mountain bikes with big travel and big brakes and then donned their hard plastic body armor. I felt naked and unprotected! Nonetheless, I pedaled off with them into the dark on a borrowed bike that didn't fit, on a trail strewn with in frost-covered leaves.

The trail was challenging. I did not feel that my riding was up to my normal level, largely because I was not on my familiar steed; I was riding a borrowed Gary Fisher Cake that used to be Evan's. It was nicely upgraded with a five-inch Fox Float fork and very effective hydraulic disc brakes, but it was really too small for me. I could not find a comfortable balance point; the fork, shock, and tires all had more air pressure than they should have for my skinny butt. I was perpetually struggling with traction and balance, and found the bike's handling very twitchy with overly sensitive steering. I was scared of the log skinnies, and stayed away from many of the big jumps. The rock gardens gave me fits! Oh, for my Nickel!! But it was still great fun, and so much better than just sitting back in my hotel room at night working!

At one of the first of the more challenging obstacles on the trail, Evan easily rode down a steep granite 'roller' -- a name he used for very steep drops that had just enough angle that they could be ridden rather than jumped. I was not comfortable trying to roll down it on the undersized bike so I wheelied and attempted to gently jump off the three-foot high rock; it worked, sort of, except that when I finally reached the ground, I landed on my back tire, and was then unable to bring the front end down, I rode it out for a few feet, but eventually rolled over backward and landed hard on my back. That left a mark. Consequently, I came away from the ride with a few minor bruises, but Evan later had a big rock-slide crash that definitely won the best-crash-of-ride award. At first I thought he might have been seriously injured, but eventually his wind returned and he stopped making horrific sounds.

This was my first time riding trails at night. I used Evan's new NiteRider MiNewt 750 mounted to my helmet. The light was great; I rarely had any issues with visibility, as the light created a perfect patch of daylight on the trail in front of me. However, my lack of familiarity with the trails and the poorly fitting bike slowed me down significantly. I will have to go back!  Only next time perhaps I'll bring my Nickel...

Moab and the Rest of November

We've reached the end of the Thanksgiving weekend and I'd like to wrap it up with a short blog. I'm not quite sure how to cover everything that ought to be here: As indicated from the title of this post, in the chronology of the blog, I should be covering our first day in Moab with the Diddiwah, which was back on November 2nd. Since then, all sorts of blog-able stuff has happened, but I don't want to miss the chance to post some Moab pics. Yet, I also think it's unreasonable for me to attempt to post everything individually. So I'll just start working backwards and see where I end up.

This morning, we made a quick trip out to Alderfer Three Sisters Park to get in a ride before Cindy went to work at 3 p.m. We parked in our usual spot and started out on the usual route (click here for a previous post), we opted to include the Summit Trail in our usual loop, which added another 250 feet of climbing at the beginning of the ride; which means we climbed right at 1000 feet in 3 miles. Everyone, even Quinn, did an incredible job of climbing and navigating the tough spots. In the past, Quinn has struggled with the 750 climb, but he was much stronger today. Maybe it was because I offered him $5 if he could make it to the summit, the full 1000 feet without complaining.

Yesterday, we went to Roxborough State Park with the Diddiwah and Chris's uncle, Roger. It was a walking trip, not a peddling one, but it was very nice, despite the clouds and cool temperature, and lack of bicycles. Heather and Chris had planned to bring bikes when they came over to Denver for the weekend, but Heather's injuries, broken finger and internal bruising (you'll have to ask her), are keeping her off her bicycle for a few days. This time at Roxborough, we took the South Rim Trail, which presented us excellent views of the valley to the north.

Abbey, a wary eye and a sock monkey hat.

And the day before that was a trip to the zoo. And before that was Thanksgiving. It had been several years since we'd had a Thanksgiving dinner with any family other than the immediate. In Michigan, we usually had dinner with some of our neighbors and about thirty of their closest friends. This year we cooked dinner at our house and were joined by the Diddiwah and Bob and BJ. It was nice; we spent quite a long time sitting in our living room, playing music, and talking while we waited for the turkey to hit 165. I didn't get any pics of any of it.

And between Moab, on the 4th of November, and Thanksgiving Day? Well, Quinn's been playing basketball, Abbey made first chair in the Cherry Creek District Middle School Honor Band. I went to Long Beach, CA, for a week. Cindy's been holding it all together as usual. We've had some runs and some rides, but nothing I'd consider a reportable adventure. So with that, I think I'm ready to get back to posting Moab pics.

The morning of Friday, the 2nd of November, we awoke in Grand Junction and, after coffee and breakfast,  packed up to drive to Moab and find a campsite. And then we did. And then we went riding at the Bar M trails. The Bar M trails are short distance north of Moab, and comprise a network of trails that are mostly on pale slickrock called Entrada sandstone. We rode Lazy EZ, Bar M, Circle O, and Rocking A. It was too much fun!!

Our caravan heads off into the Utah desert with the Utah dog in the lead.

Below, Abbey follows the trail down a steep slab while Cindy waits here turn. On the slickrock, all of the trails are marked with paint, so that trail users will neither become lost forever in the desert nor find themselves riding off an unexpected cliff.

Chris and Cailan prepare for the descent:

Heather rides her new machine through one of many sharp dips between slabs, with Abbey and Cindy following:

We all enjoyed riding the slickrock at the Bar M trail area. It was moderately challenging in terms of technical riding, so it was quite fun.  It was flat, in terms of elevation, so it was not necessarily aerobically challenging. Of course, after something like 9 miles of continuous riding through terrain like that in the picture above, it was exhausting!

On our second day in the Moab area, we drove up out of the Colorado River valley to Dead Horse Point State Park. The park provides incredible views of the Colorado River, and has a recently built mountain bike trail system, the Intrepid Trail system, which makes really nice way to travel around the mesa and access the incredible scenery.

We thought we could get a nice family picture at the first overlook. It didn't work. And yes, that rock behind us is the edge of a thousand-foot cliff. Even Chris and Quinn stayed comfortably back from the edge.

The Intrepid Trail itself was located far from the cliffs, but there were bike racks and short foot paths at each of the overlooks.

Lunch after riding the Intrepid Trail.

The overlook at the picnic area. I was not especially comfortable at this one.

Not only was the scenery nice, but riding the Intrepid Trail was really fun. It's considered a kid-friendly trail that is accessible to all levels of riders, but it had enough interesting features, including rock ledges, short rocky climbs, and lots of curves, that it would be fun for just about anyone. Definitely worth another trip around the loop!

At the campsite on the morning of our last day:

After packing up our campsite, we drove north past the Bar M trails to the Klondike Bluffs area for another ride on pale slickrock. We followed the original Klondike Bluffs 4x4 trail up to the border of Arches National Park where there was a foot-only path into the park. It was worth the walk into the park.

On the Klondike Bluffs Trail we followed the footprints of dinosaurs; Cailan added water so we could see the toe prints.

Much of the trail was a flat, steep slab of sandstone...

...but not all of it.

A pin popped out of Abbey's chain and it took us a while straighten the links that bent when it happend, and then to push the pin back into place. I was glad I brought my chain tool, as it would have been a long walk out with out it!

Walking into Arches National Park:

A rest and a snack on top of a rounded column:

After our snack in the sunshine, we walked back to the bikes, and then rode back to the trail head down the rock slabs much faster than we'd come up. And that was the end of our trip. That night we were back at home, and back to work and school the next morning.  

Trip to Grand Junction

The day after Halloween, we drove across the mountains to Grand Junction to meet up with the Diddawah  for a camping trip in Moab. We'd planned to leave early enough to do some riding when we got to GJ, and we did, but it was close. We didn't leave as early as we'd hoped because it's so difficult and always takes so long to pack all of our stuff into and onto our truck. Also, the closing on our Michigan home was occurring coincidentally, so during our drive to GJ we had to stop in at a FedEx store to print, sign, and fax a few more documents, which ate up a good couple of hours. It all worked out though: the closing went through on the Michigan house and we made it to Grand Junction in time to get in some riding.

We started at the Loma parking lot at the Kokopelli trails near Fruita and rode Rustler's Loop and part of Mary's.

Rustler's is an easy 3.5-mile loop trail that runs along the perimeter of a bench overlooking the Colorado River. The trail stays comfortably back from the edge in most places, but the views are incredible. We were a little concerned that our Mousie might not understand the concept of a cliff and would just run right off. For better or for worse, it appears that he has an instinctive understanding of this particular peril. He ran up to the edge several times, but always stopped just short of falling.

It was getting late in the day, so we didn't have as much time as might have been nice, but with the sun near the horizon, the scenery was wonderful.

After the ride, we went to the Diddiwah's house for some delicious home made pizzas. The next morning, we followed the Colorado River further downstream to Moab.