North Table Mountain in the Wind

With the recent pattern of frequent snow falls and freezing and thawing -- at lower elevations anyway -- it's probably been a better winter for skiing than for mountain biking. But last weekend was preceded by enough of a warm spell to dry a few of the rockier foothills trails. We hadn't previously been on Golden's North Table Mountain, but with the thermometer expected to read into the 50's, we decided to give it try. We drove to and parked at the very civilized trail head just north of Golden, where a rather smooth but loose gravel road climbs steeply to the mountain's flat top: 450 feet up in not much over half a mile. 

Click here to check out the Garmin log.

Driving towards Golden with the bikes on the truck, we had noted that the wind was really picking up. At the trail head, the wind was strong enough that we donned our extra layers, rain and wind jackets that we keep in our Camelbaks just for such unexpecteds. As we pedaled up the very steep grade toward the top, the wind was mostly behind us, giving us a helpful boost up what would have been short but tough climb. At least, I found it to be a helpful boost; the rest of the crew found it so strong it was hard to stay on their bikes, and ended up pushing them to the top where we huddled in a depression behind a small bluff to get a break from the wind before continuing our ride on the top.  

This picture was taken from the top of North Table Mountain looking back down the gravel road toward the parking area.

So we pedaled around the trails and gravel roads on top of the mountain, but didn't cover near as much ground as we'd hoped, given the brutal wind. From the top, Denver's downtown was visible in the distance.

 

When riding across the wind, it was hard to stay upright and hard to stay on the trail.

I thought this might make a nice picture, but I didn't realize the phone tower was hiding behind the tree.

Along the edges, the mountain's volcanic history is evident. I am looking forward to spending a little more time on the mountain, so we can explore those rocky edges.

Given that none of us were finding it very enjoyable, and in fact at times some of us were downright miserable, we decided to cut the ride short, get off the mountain, and head home for some lunch. So we'll have to go back again someday when the weather is a little more favorable.

Another Talent Show

Abbey did it again, silly girl. The talent show was part of a week long fund-raiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation at her high school. She performed Honey Come Home by The Head and The Heart, which ranks high on the scaq list of favorite bands. We went to see them at the Ogden here in Denver just a few weeks ago.

I did a little better with the video this time than the last, but I was just using our ancient camera, so the video quality isn't the best.

Miscellaneous

How about some miscellaneous pictures? 

We rode up the Waterton Canyon Road in November 2013. We hoped we'd see some of those bighorn sheep up on the steep slopes surrounding the canyon, but we didn't. 

The weekend before the really big floods that nearly washed away the town of Lyons, we were there. We pedaled up Apple Valley Road beside North Saint Vrain Creek from the town of Lyons to Hall Ranch Open Space to access the Antelope Trail (below), and it was totally washed away less than a week later. Abbey wasn't feeling well that day.

Remember July 2012 when Quinn's Santa Cruz was almost too big for him? This is October 2013. I hope he doesn't grow too much this summer!

Centennial Cone Park in early October 2013. A beautiful, mountainous, 13-mile loop; definitely one of our Front Range favorites. Not sure why I look fat. I'm not really, very much, fat. But I am rather old and gray.

And then it turned cold and snowy. Ski helmets and goggles are great for a ride on the local park trails.

The green Chameleon used to be Abbey's bike, but she outgrew it. Now's it's Quinn's school, neighborhood, and park bike. And snow bike.

From August through October, our lives pretty much revolved around the Cherry Creek Marching Band. Here's our awesome Abbey and her mellophone. Abbey loved it and is already excited to do it again this fall.

Brainless hound, Amos, doesn't often get to go with us to the mountains because he can't be unleashed on most mountain bike trails, and it's rather difficult to ride while leashed to a wild beast, so once in a while we leave the bikes home and bring the mutt. This was Deer Creek Canyon. Notice Abbey's swollen cheek from a little bit of oral surgery. 

Skiing

We've been skiing. We live in Colorado now, after all. As a 5th grader in a Colorado public school, Quinn gets a ski pass for three free lift tickets at each of 20 ski resorts. So we thought we should give it a try. Not that we can go to each of 20 resorts three times, but we can at least take advantage of his pass and ski a few times. To get started, a couple of weeks ago we took a round of full-day lessons at Loveland Ski Resort. That went really well, so today we went back on our own to see what we could remember. We're still slow, but I think we're doing pretty well.

Loveland is nice because for beginners there's a whole section of the resort -- the ski school in the valley -- that's set aside for beginners -- that's where we skied the first time. Today we went on up to the easiest runs in the main part of the ski area -- called "the basin." Since the Broncos were playing afternoon, we practically had the resort to ourselves. And since they won, we can count on another uncrowded day of skiing on Superbowl Sunday.

I've dropped in a map of the portion of Loveland Ski Area on the south side of I-70. The first time we went to the valley on the left, this time to the basin on the right. Today we kept it simple and just worked from Lift 2. We rode it up and got off at the mid-point four times in the morning, each time going down Turtle Creek to Tango Road -- a super-easy run that still gave us a challenge this morning. After a little lunch break, feeling a little more confident, we took Lift 2 all the way to the top and followed Fire Bowl around to Turtle Creek and then Tango Road again. We did that a few times and by about 3 p.m. we were pretty tired, so we headed home. It was really fun.

Up on top, with Fire Bowl in the near background, and the more distant ridge on the north side of I-70 in the far background.

Cindy took this picture of Abbey and me in the chair lift ahead of her and Quinn.

Another picture from top of Lift 2, looking east across the valley towards I-70.

Loveland is just a little over an hour from our house -- plenty of time for a short nap on the way home.

Klondike Bluffs and Moab Brand Trails

30 October 2013. The last day of our second annual fall break mountain biking in Moab trip. It had to be the last day was because we had to be home for Halloween. There were some who began to reconsider that need, however, given the adventure that was still to be had in Moab.

We headed north of Moab to the Klondike Bluffs area. Started out on a newly developed trail called Jurassic, which is an easy and flat trail that runs along the base of some remarkably unvegetated cliffs that were deposited in the Jurassic Era. The tread was smooth, loose, and bounded in many places by chunks of rocks. Not super interesting if you're seeking challenging technical riding, but sort of fascinating from a colorful barren dirt perspective. It was also a great alternative to the soft, sandy Copper Ridge Road that crawls up the center of the valley,  It was easy to imagine that we were riding on the surface of an alien world; or maybe the early days of our world (say, Jurasic Era), with dinosaurs possibly lurking around the next bend; or maybe even a post-apocalyptic earth, with brain-hungry zombies walking mindlessly down from the ridgeline. Other worldly, anyway.

Click here to see the Garmin log.

I found the easy trail enjoyable. I rode fast, which lent challenge to the curves because the surface was loose and provided little confidence in the way of traction. Quinn, on the other hand, found the lack of boulders, ledges, and drops, and the continual very gentle climb rather unexciting. He was nearly bored to tears.

But once we reached the top, he enjoyed this little bit of precariously perched downhill.

Our intent was to follow Jurassic up to Baby Steps, which would take us down into and then across the valley and up the other side to either Dino Flow or EKG, which in turn would deliver us back down the valley to the starting point. When we reached the junction with Dino Flow, at about mile 5, there was a nice smooth rocky area that compelled us to take a lengthy snack break. Since Quinn and I were in the mood for something challenging and dangerous, we cranked up the steep climb to EKG while the girls started down Dino Flow in search of the fast and flowing.

EKG heads sharply up and down from ridge to valley as it zig-zags back toward the Klondike Bluffs parking area to the south. The tread is smooth but broken rock, and is punctuated by crumbled rock, fissures, and boulders. A very fun trail, indeed, but it was slow-going on the uphills and we began to worry it was going to take us too long to get back and still allow time enough for an afternoon ride at the Moab Brand trails. So we short cut down Little Salty, a crazy fun 6% grade dropping to Dino Flow; the sort of trail that gives you the opportunity to make full use of all the suspension travel you brought with you.

The boy tackling some jumbles on his new Fulcrum wheelset.

Rest for the wicked.

When Quinn and I arrived at the truck, worrying that the girls were going to be bored, sitting at the truck waiting for us, we were surprised to find them absent! I knew immediately that there were only two explanations: a crash and injury or bicycle damage somewhere along the trail near the top of Dino Flow, or a wrong turn and lost riders. I felt a twinge of nervousness about the risks of our sport. Fortunately, it was neither Jurassic times nor post-apocalyptic, so I simply picked up my phone and helped them identify where they'd made the wrong turn and how they could go to get back most efficiently. Quinn and I packed up the bikes and had some post-ride beverages while we waited. At least they got to see the dinosaur footprints on the original Klondike Trail.

After a bit of debate about options, the girls dropped Quinn and me off at the Bar M trailhead, where we made just one more loop. They headed into Moab to look for lunch and a sweatshirt. Hoping for the full circuit of Rockin' A and Circle O was probably too much given that we'd just finished 10 miles at the Klondike area, and Quinn is only 10, but I was willing to give a try. Poor kid.

We hammered along through Lazy EZ, with Quinn leading at a fast pace, and then we climbed more slowly through Bar M's two-tracks. I detected a winnowing of strength. Rockin' A is challenging, requiring powerful moves and confidence to climb and descend boulders and short steep slickrock mounds. We were alone in the vast expanse of Rockin' A, when the rain began to fall. Slickrock, normally anything but slick, became slicker due to the sand the stuck to our tires. The temperature went from comfortable to cold, a little hail or sleet began to fall dusting the rocks with little balls of ice, and some too-close-for-comfort lightning smashed on the rocks to our south. The cold and rain and lack of traction on steep rock and scary electricity pretty much sapped whatever resolve Quinn had left, so when Rockin' A took us to the junction with Circle O, we cut out on the jeep road that connects to Bar M and then took another connector back to the parking lot. No point in pushing a good day into bad. There in the parking lot we lay on the gravel in the partial sun, seeking geothermal energy, while we awaited salvage by the girls in our Nissan adventure truck.

Click here to see this Garmin log.

Getaway and Bull Run

Getaway and Bull Run are part of the complex of trails known as the Mag 7. There are more than seven of them now, and since they are new they weren't on our map. We hadn't originally planned to ride this area ahead of time since some of the trails are expert level trails with big exposure, and I didn't want to get us into something like that. But after talking to Chris and looking at some recent maps on the Utah Mountain Biking website, we decided that Getaway and Bull Run would make a nice loop. It was really, really nice. Beautiful, challenging, and fun.

Click here to see the Garmin log.

We parked at the Gemini Bridges parking and rode down the road to the beginning of Getaway. Then we followed Getaway uphill and through some slickrock outcrops and wide open areas of scrub desert. It was expansive and awesome. Maybe the best part was that I started feeling like I had to put out some effort to keep up with Quinn! Yep, he was hammering up the trail and I actually had to think about keeping up with him! Finally!

Near the top, Getaway led us across some really nice big expanses of rock. Recent rain had filled hundreds of little depressiona with water.

This is my favorite kind of trail. Cindy liked it, too!

Bull Run took us along this canyon back to where we'd started. Bull Run presented a greater technical challenge, with many mostly small drops and climbs up ledges and slabs. Occasionally it was uncomfortably close to the cliff edge, based on my sensitivity to that sort of thing, but it was never dangerously close. As long as you didn't make a wrong turn, anyway. It was so fast and fun that I apparently didn't stop often enough to take pictures.

That night we had a nice clear evening with a campfire, hot dogs, and s'mores. We were glad we stayed. Later that night, however, when we were snug in our tents, the rain fell hard and thunder and lightning kept some of us awake. But not me.

Sand Flats Camping and Slickrock Trail

On the second day of our fall break trip, 28 October 2013, we got a not-too-early start and drove west to Moab. We had decided to try camping for a few days at the Sand Flats Campground in the Sand Flats Recreation area, a BLM property that is just up the hill from Moab. The famous Slickrock Trail starts from the Sand Flats Recreation Area, and we thought that the wide-open nature of the campground might be nicer than a canyon for late-season camping when the days were short and the nights cold.

So there's a reason it's called "Sand Flats." There's a lot of sand. Who'd have guessed? The road to our campsite even had sign recommending four wheel drive due to the soft deep sand. Our truck floated through just fine, and the campsite was actually pretty nice. But it was sandy.

Sand alone would have been OK, but it was also insanely windy. Like 40 mph windy. We pulled the truck into the site and ate lunch at the picnic table. We literally had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Or were they sand and peanut butter jellywiches? It was a mess, so we decided to do a short section of the slickrock trail, hoping the wind would calm down before set up the tents. We knew that if we could even get the tents setup in such a windstorm, they'd be completely filled with the blowing sand.

We'd left the bikes on top of the truck hoping they'd be above the worst of the sandblasting, and just drove back across the sandy path to the main road; the trailhead parking was just across the road from our campsite. I managed to get the bikes down in the windstorm and we set off on a ride.

Click here to see the Garmin log.

Nothing like steep cliffs and strong winds! A cattle grate?

Just like driving on a highway. Follow the painted white line. It might seem silly, but there's no dirt to sink a post to hold a sign, and if you don't follow the trail, you can find yourself falling off a cliff or completely lost and surrounded by cliffs and canyons. That's Quinn out there.

Abbey intense.

Don't turn right.

The picture above looks cliffy on the approach, but it actually wasn't. And we made it back, despite the wind blowing all but the largest of us (me) off our bikes at times.

The wind did not calm down and in fact it blew strongly all night. For a while, we sat in truck wondering if we should just pack up and find a motel. But we decided to stick it out. The wind blew sand in through the mesh windows of the tents; and the girls' tent especially since it doesn't have covers over the mesh windows and doors. They awoke the next day with at least a quarter inch of sand covering them and everything in their tent!