It was high time Jarred and I actually went somewhere for spring break. Who else gets a whole week off a mere two months after having two weeks off? Jarred has been pushing to head down to Moab, Utah and Fruita, Colorado for a week of mountain biking for awhile. I'd been obsessed with horses and houses but in the back of my mind the trip sounded great. Since we actually got moved into our new place before spring break, we were able to make the trip. So last Friday, we packed up the big Ford, our bikes and the tent and headed down to Fruita. Fruita is this po-dunk town that looks like it offers little until one drives out past the town. In the dry, sage filled hills behind Fruita and on the plateau's above the Colorado River, exists some of the "sickest" mountain biking in Colorado. The best way to describe the trails is swooping. The guys who built these trails had fun in mind. The entire time we were in Fruita we rode trails that flowed, had great drops (some very scary for weenies like me) and awesome views. We couldn't get enough of this place riding the trails were like doing crack (actually better because the only downside was crashing which is a small price to pay for such a great high). I think our all time favorite trail was Horsethief. To get to the trail we had to hike-a-bike down this series of rock drops that few people ride. I wasn't sure about the ride at that point, as my intent was to keep all my limbs in tact and skin on my body during this trip. The rest of the ride was a hoot: fast, technical and fun. Our friend Ryan Bradley and his girlfriend Emily met us in Fruita. Ryan, also a teacher, works in Colorado and was all too happy to show us around. After three days in Fruita, we drove down to Moab, Utah. Upon arrival, Moab appeared less desirable because the wind was blowing about 45 mph and the town was filled with Jeepers (little did we know it was Easter Jeep weekend, one of the biggest jeep weekends of the year). Men with bellies, big tires and gas guzzling off-road vehicles suddenly surrounded us. Considering my bike has about 100 mm of travel, I felt a little out of place.
Moab proved to be equally as fun. The entire week made me feel like I’d been on one great roller coaster ride after another. Every ride had exciting terrain and Moab had the added beauty of red rock. The other novelty was riding over the slick rock. I’m not sure why it’s called slick rock because it’s the stickiest rock I’ve ever ridden on. Riding on this rock was such a treat after riding over (and cursing) wet roots all winter. The weather in Moab proved to be sketchy. We endured wind, snow, rain and finally sun. We were warned about the rain but figured we were in the desert; we ride in the rain all the time. Moab gets as much rain in a year as Washington gets in a month. By far our favorite ride in Moab was Porcupine Rim. After sleeping in a tent all week the ride was brutal on the body as it consisted of 10 plus miles of downhill, not fast swoopy downhill like Fruita, but jolt the bolts off your bike downhill. Fun but a full body workout. Porcupine was the last ride we did before heading out and although we were ready for another week, it was nice to give our bodies a rest by spending the next 15 hours in the car! The minute we left Salt Lake City, the snow hit and didn’t stop until we came down through Pendleton. Needless to say, we had nowhere to set up our tent and spent a short night attempting to sleep in the Ford. Trips like this one make me appreciate my bed.
The photos above are from Fruita. More Moab photos to come.
