Link for a slideshow of some pics - click
here.
Saturday (9/4)
Left Durango Mountain Resort and found this trip starts with a bang. We climbed our butts off only to turn back after Ron sheered his rear derailer two miles into the trip. Fortunately the bike shop at the Durango Mountain Resort had a spare hanger. I also took the time to have the mechanic adjust my rear derailer as it was skipping like crazy.
We then proceeded to begin the climb again. Our initial climb was then referred to as "the warmup" and the second time did not prove any easier. But the ride went well until the last few miles. The last few miles proved to be a punishing climb to the hut. We finally made it and I was happy to see it.
Our bunkmates arrived around 6PM after spending 9 hours on the singletrack route which was ~19 miles in length. What have I gotten myself into?! We enjoyed a good dinner but John snores like a freight train. Between not having a good pillow setup and the snoring, compounded by three calls to nature (I drank A LOT after the ride) - I enjoyed a terrible first night of sleep.
Sunday
We enjoyed a screaming fast downhill to start the day. Some big climbs too but nothing loose like yesterday thank god. Ate some wild raspberries along the way which were awesome. Wild edibles, sweet!
We also encountered lots of vehicle traffic and I noticed people seemed to speed up when they saw us. The speed led to a nice dusting of dirt that enveloped us and our bikes. Labor day weekend was a big cause of all this traffic.
Feeling better about the trip after today. My bike still has some shifting issues which kind of sucks but it is fast on the downhills. Access to this hut via singletrack which was the first we have ridden so far. Our bunkmates showed us how to do laundry - it will be nice to be a bit less stinky tomorrow. There are killer views on a bluff past the hut. Sadly TK lost his shades early in today's ride.
Monday
Good hot breakfast this morning. John-boy stoked a nice fire to warmup the hut this morning. It is cold before the sun comes up. Headed out for a gentle but big climb to start the day's festivities. This turned into a fast, technical decent. My favorite riding thus far but I had to be careful to not get carried away. Equipment failure would be a big problem at this point.
We made a wrong turn shortly after completing the downhill section. This resulted in an extra four miles of riding but it was enjoyable as it was an easy climb and a fun decent. We went by a water reservoir and were treated to yet another long, gravely climb. At the top we met up with our bunkmates and descended down a long, fast downhill to the hut.
Today we saw the landscape change from alpine to high desert. Bunkmates also showed us where to get cell service on a bluff by the hut, about a 10 minute walk.
Tuesday
The desert sure gets cold at night. But the stars look amazing, Frank said he saw a shooting star. We headed out early looking to score breakfast at a diner en route to the next hut. We took the standard route and enjoyed a ride on a trail that resembled an old dried up riverbed. This was some cool riding!
Breakfast was awesome, the burrito at the 11 mile mark was a definite high point or the ride today. We continued on the standard route west through the middle of nowhere. We enjoyed great weather an no wind which amazed me. We intended to detour and take the Mexican Mine detour at road "16Z" but did not find it. The mining roads are not easy to navigate and are not always marked. So we ended up taking the standard route all the way to the hut.
This was cool until I sustained a flat tire on my rear. In checking the tire I noticed the sidewall was slightly torn. I slapped some duct tape on the inside of the tire, slammed home a new tube and filled 'er up hoping it would hold. It did - thank god.
TK dealt with an anchor for a front brake all day long. We fixed it up better at the hut but what a pain! It had us longing for the old linear pull style brakes, Avid hydraulics were invented by the devil. That was our conclusion as we turned in for the night.
Wedding Bells Hut is very cool, our bunkmates will be staying here an extra night. This was an easier day in the saddle.
Wednesday
We left our bunkmates after Frank made us a pancake breakfast. I'm gonna miss those guys - great company.
We climbed out from the hut to start the days outing. From there we climbed some more and were rewarded with a rocky, fast decent. This was a very cool 10 mile section of trail. From here the clouds looked bad and we had a big mile plus climb at the 11 mile mark. We quickly repacked our gear (ie cameras) and hit it. This climb was a big effort and some rain fell as it thundered.
At the top we made our way into a flat valley section where all the rainwater collected. Shortly after, we sustained the worst mud-clay mixture I have ever dealt with. After trudging through this crap for a few miles we washed the bikes in a filthy stream. The bikes had tripled in weight.
Shortly after this we came upon the most vicious hike-a-bike I have ever experienced. It was called the "Catch 'em Up Trail" and it descended >1000 feet. I was happy to get through this section with bike and body intact.
Less than a half mile after this hike we hit the county store in Bedrock. I was able to score some fresh produce (most other riders are probably more excited by the ice cream) and I was thrilled. We also hit ourselves and the bikes with a hose on the side of the store. From here we had an uneventful trip to the hut. I called up a local who advertised rides, beer runs, and rides named Heather. I called her and talked her into bringing us breakfast burritos in the morning for $50. We have a big day of climbing tomorrow and need to get an early start. Lots of coyotes down here in Paradox Valley to keep us company last night.
Thursday
The Heather delivery service showed up in a big Ram pickup barreling down the road. Out stepped the breakfast burritos, some fresh produce and the first reasonably attractive female we have seen this whole trip. We were all SHOCKED! Well worth the $50, the food was good and the delivery service better ;)
We left the hut at 8AM and prepared ourselves for the "Tour de LeSal". I have never experienced such a climbing experience in my life. We climbed ~1600 feet in ~4 miles. TK and I were reduced to pushing the bikes up the last 1/4 mile. We were cooked and the day had just started. The views were magnificent at the top.
From here we made our was over to Buckeye Reservoir. Too cold for a swim so we pushed on to the Colorado/Utah border. TK was nearly taken out by a deer on a decent at >30mph. I was right behind him, the deer stated across but stopped. In the meantime TK hit his brakes which startled the deer enough to continue his crossing of our path. That could have been real bad.
Once we crossed into Utah, we found ourselves on a HUGE cattle ranch that would not end. We took a lunch break by a stream. I took this opportunity and enjoyed a bird-bath as the funk was strong. The water was freezing but felt good on my torched legs.
Shortly after resuming our ride after lunch, we diverted off the main road and went past a green gate. The riding surface was now rudded and uneven. TK said this does not look good, it should really put the polish on the shoes. It sure did.
Uphills were steep and the surface loose. Plus cows were everywhere. At one point I chased ~8 heads of cattle on my bike for a 1/4 mile like a cowboy minus the horse and hat. As an added bonus the hut was relocated recently. We did find it without getting lost but it did increase the difficulty.
We arrived at the hut - that was an epic day of riding. We cooked up a big meal, and I just kept eating after that. I was starved. Elk and coyotes kept us company this night.
Friday 9/10
Last ride, my how the time fly's. We got up and had some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast. They were not as good as John-boys but they were good. We headed out and my legs felt like lead. I had to hike up a hill early as my legs just would not work. After a few miles life came back to them. We pushed on and before long we were on screaming fast descents heading for Moab. Cows were still all over the side of the roads we were on but they didn't seem to mind us. It was a cold decent, I had to stop at one point to put on warmer gloves and a windbreaker.
Eventually we made our way to the Kokopelli Trail. Fun Moab singletrack took us to Sand Flats Road and past famous Moab trails such as Porcupine Rim Trail and the Slickrock Bike Trail. We finally reached Moab, scored a much needed shower and some excellent grub. Great trip - thanks to TK, Ron, John, Frank and Rick. Keep the rubber side down...
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