tradygirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
What does a skier do when it's 60 degrees in the Wasatch in November with no snow in the forecast? Tune up the bikes and head south.
After spending the weekend in Moab a few weeks ago, my husband and I were itching to get down south for some more biking. Last Friday, we drove four hours to one of our favorite mountain biking destinations: Fruita, CO.
For those that aren't familiar with mountain biking in Moab and Western Colorado, this area is a mecca for biking. Fruita is a small farm town just outside of Grand Junction that is known for its immaculate singletrack. Our favorite area, 18 Road, is just north of town at the foot of the Book Cliffs. The trails were built in a series of 5-10 mile loops with a campground smack-dab in the middle of all of it. The trails are well-built and pristine, the loops are short and sweet and can be linked in any combination, and the scenery is unbelievable. The uniqueness of the area can't be beat.
We rolled into town a little later than we hoped and found a campsite at 18 Road around 6:00. The sun was just starting to set, so we grabbed our bikes, rode the 100 ft from our camp to the trail, and flew down Kessel Run, one of the best-known trails there. For those Star Wars nerds out there, it's named after the smuggling run that Han Solo talks about ("I can do the Kessel Run in less than 6 parsecs!") We got back to camp right as it was getting dark, ate a great dinner, and drank some beers while we waited for our friends to arrive.
The next morning, we discussed the plan for the day. We had heard about some newer trails in Grand Junction, right outside of Colorado National Monument, and we were curious to check them out. One in particular, the Ribbon, was on all of our lists. On the way to GJ, we puzzled through the trail descriptions and maps. The map showed what seemed to be an obvious shuttle option (parking a car at the top and bottom so you can ride the whole trail downhill), but there was no mention of it. The guidebook actually recommended riding up the trail and down the paved road. WTF? For those of us that appreciate the down a lot more than the up, that didn't make sense. So we decided to try our luck and shuttle it.
Admiring the awesomeness of the Ribbon
As we started down the trail and came over the first ridge, our jaws dropped when we saw what was below us. A huge slab of featureless sandstone with cliffs on both sides. We whooped and yee-hawed all the way down. The slab ended and dumped us onto a narrow ridge with huge exposure on both sides. After a little bit of puckering, it opened into another huge slab.
Sandstone slab on Ribbon. The Book Cliffs are in the background.
After a couple miles of this, the trail eventually led into a creek bed. The creekbed wound itself through the sandstone canyon, with a lot of really fun technical maneuvering. Eventually, after a huge hike-a-bike portage, it opened up into an awesome singletrack descent.
Tradygirl lovin the singletrack
Mr. Tradygirl descending
Our friend J finding a nice technical line
We ran into a guy coming UP the trail and he asked how we liked the climb. Uh, we didn't do the climb. So he goes on and on about how the only way to truly experience the Ribbon is to climb it, blah, blah, blah. Uh, OK. And this is coming from a dude in spandex and a 2" travel racing bike. I think we'll stick with burly bikes and shuttles.
All in all, it was an excellent day. That trail had just about everything - singletrack, technical drops, hard and easy climbs, a few portages, and some pucker-factor exposure.
But the fun wasn't over yet....
After spending the weekend in Moab a few weeks ago, my husband and I were itching to get down south for some more biking. Last Friday, we drove four hours to one of our favorite mountain biking destinations: Fruita, CO.
For those that aren't familiar with mountain biking in Moab and Western Colorado, this area is a mecca for biking. Fruita is a small farm town just outside of Grand Junction that is known for its immaculate singletrack. Our favorite area, 18 Road, is just north of town at the foot of the Book Cliffs. The trails were built in a series of 5-10 mile loops with a campground smack-dab in the middle of all of it. The trails are well-built and pristine, the loops are short and sweet and can be linked in any combination, and the scenery is unbelievable. The uniqueness of the area can't be beat.
We rolled into town a little later than we hoped and found a campsite at 18 Road around 6:00. The sun was just starting to set, so we grabbed our bikes, rode the 100 ft from our camp to the trail, and flew down Kessel Run, one of the best-known trails there. For those Star Wars nerds out there, it's named after the smuggling run that Han Solo talks about ("I can do the Kessel Run in less than 6 parsecs!") We got back to camp right as it was getting dark, ate a great dinner, and drank some beers while we waited for our friends to arrive.
The next morning, we discussed the plan for the day. We had heard about some newer trails in Grand Junction, right outside of Colorado National Monument, and we were curious to check them out. One in particular, the Ribbon, was on all of our lists. On the way to GJ, we puzzled through the trail descriptions and maps. The map showed what seemed to be an obvious shuttle option (parking a car at the top and bottom so you can ride the whole trail downhill), but there was no mention of it. The guidebook actually recommended riding up the trail and down the paved road. WTF? For those of us that appreciate the down a lot more than the up, that didn't make sense. So we decided to try our luck and shuttle it.
Admiring the awesomeness of the Ribbon
As we started down the trail and came over the first ridge, our jaws dropped when we saw what was below us. A huge slab of featureless sandstone with cliffs on both sides. We whooped and yee-hawed all the way down. The slab ended and dumped us onto a narrow ridge with huge exposure on both sides. After a little bit of puckering, it opened into another huge slab.
Sandstone slab on Ribbon. The Book Cliffs are in the background.
After a couple miles of this, the trail eventually led into a creek bed. The creekbed wound itself through the sandstone canyon, with a lot of really fun technical maneuvering. Eventually, after a huge hike-a-bike portage, it opened up into an awesome singletrack descent.
Tradygirl lovin the singletrack
Mr. Tradygirl descending
Our friend J finding a nice technical line
We ran into a guy coming UP the trail and he asked how we liked the climb. Uh, we didn't do the climb. So he goes on and on about how the only way to truly experience the Ribbon is to climb it, blah, blah, blah. Uh, OK. And this is coming from a dude in spandex and a 2" travel racing bike. I think we'll stick with burly bikes and shuttles.
All in all, it was an excellent day. That trail had just about everything - singletrack, technical drops, hard and easy climbs, a few portages, and some pucker-factor exposure.
But the fun wasn't over yet....
