Monday, October 06, 2008

Yet another road trip

This time we headed westward to drier warmer climates (it started snowing this morning by the way) and ended up in Fruita for a few days. We left G.L. on Tuesday after getting a bunch of work-related errands out of the way so we could hit the road stress-free. Basically any time we travel anywhere near Edwards, we have to stop and see our buddy Frank who owns Moontime Cyclery there. You should also know that it's unheard of to show up at Moontime without a sixer of some tasty barley pop from the Cork & Bottle next door. This time our brew of choice was a delicious Red Truck IPA from the Palisade Brewery. After a few hours of shop b.s. we said goodbye to Frank and hello to the road!



The sunset was so beautiful that even Echo appreciated it!




We used a free La Quinta coupon we had (and upgraded to a jacuzzi suite) and hit the hay after a delicious meal at our favorite Fruita dining establishment, Fiesta Guadalajara. And a fiesta it was indeed! Man we love that place. Good service, awesome food, and the best margs this side of the border.




The next day we woke up and drove around Fruita for a while figuring out where we wanted to camp and where to ride the next day. Highline Park was the camp spot for the next two nights and the Kokopelli Trail side was the ride locale.
We gradually set up camp and enjoyed a few adult beverages which may have helped us come up with electrical tape as a broken tent pole solution!



We knew the last time we camped in Salida that a new tent pole was in our future but didn't know just how urgent that was. As you can see, we did a poor job at taping it up but it made it through 2 more nights!



After we got all set up at the camp site we meandered back into town for some grub at the Hot Tomato Cafe. Pretty tasty pizza joint across the street from OTE bike shop. I'd eat there again. New Belgium on tap with happy hour specials and live music. Not bad, not bad at all.



Pretty sunset we enjoyed during a walk by the lake.

The next day we decided to ride the Kokopelli side off the Loma exit and really had a great time. Usually we ride Mary's Loop to Horsethief, throw in Steve's for good measure and then ride Rustler's to wear out the dogs. This time instead of the first climb up Mary's we took the next climb (which was a bit steeper but definitely managable) which apparently was the Wrangler loop and connected it to Mary's, then Steve's, then part of a new trail but ended up turning around and riding Mary's back out. Then we picked up the dogs and did a quick lap around Rustler's.











Pictures never do the scenery justice!!! It was a perfect day to enjoy a little time in the saddle. The sun was shining and the views were spectacular.

After the ride we re-organized the vehicle and took a little break in the shade before heading in to town for food and then back to camp.




Beauty!!! Another amazing sunset on the lake. We took a fun lap around the lake at dusk before hitting the sack. All in all, a great day of riding.

The next and final day, we decided to try a ride at the top of the Colorado Monument. As we were cleaning up camp, I was loading up the bikes and noticed that a thorn was the culprit of a flat rear tire on Tim's Orbea. No big deal, flat tire, right?! So, I loaded the bike (after debating whether or not to change the flat before loading it on the rack) and we headed into town for a cup of coffee before heading to the trail. Grabbed the joe to go and started the beautiful drive up the Monument.






This is what we saw when we went to unload the bikes...




Tim's rear wheel was trashed! It looked like a potato chip! We don't exactly know what happened but assume that we must have hit a bump that was severe enough to crack the rim (which may have already been weak?) at the seam. We still don't fully understand how that happened. Oh well. Needless to say, our ride was shot so we decided to take a little hike instead. Not what we had in mind for the day, but nice nonetheless.

We enjoyed our trip so much that Tim & Rob are headed that direction again this week. Also, the 24 hours of Moab is this weekend so get out there and have a good time!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a wonderful trip

Anonymous said...

Very nice trip.I love outdoors.Great pictures too.
Keep up the good work!!!

Keith Blackstone

evie said...

That lake sunset pic is amazing... may have to steal it and hang it on the wall. Pics of fruita are fantastic too, I'm soo jealous. I'd love to go back out there with you guys sometime. Maybe next spring after some training it won't be so obvious I live 6 thousand ft lower than you :)

evie said...

And so sorry about your bike, Tim. karma... that's all I've got.