I'm Going (Going) Back (Back) to Colorado (Colorado)

At least for a few days, because the trail conditions are terrible in Pocatello, and I miss my Rowdies!

It was my first time out on a two-wheeled conveyance other than the intrepid cruiser Stella Seahawk since riding Hall Ranch in December.  I had visited Erin in Salt Lake City for a day of skiing, and since I was already almost halfway to Grand Junction anyway, I decided to join up with a few other friends going there for the weekend.

The sun was getting fairly low as I rolled toward Fruita, so I turned off at Loma for a quick pedal on the Kokopelli trail system before dark.  There weren't many people around and I had no idea which trails went where, so I just started climbing up the first one I got to (later I described it to Trevor, and he said it was Moore Fun).  It was a little on the technical side, with handlebar-height rock outcroppings that tried to knock me over and a few tricky uphill sections, and I rode like total crap because I had apparently forgotten how to ride bikes in the past month, and I didn't check my suspension before starting (rookie move).  But at least I was back on an awesome bike with bright yellow wheels, on dry happy trails in a beautiful place; it could be much worse!  Of course, since I wasn't Strava-ing, the ride never actually happened...

I would be staying at Sienna and Trevor's house in Grand Junction for the weekend, but since Sienna wouldn't be home from work until 8pm, I stopped by the locally famous Hot Tomato Cafe in Fruita for a pint of New Belgium White IPA, and then again at Qdoba for some nachos. (Pro tip: to really get your money's worth for the nachos, have them put on ALL OF THE SALSAS. Trust me.)  One last stop for a six pack of Baba Black Lager to share, and I arrived at the Martins' and was immediately accosted by Remmy the Enduro Dog and Cayman the Caymanator.

Kelly and Sienna arrived shortly after that and we made plans for riding the rest of the weekend.  Both of them had only recently been cleared to start riding bikes again after their knee surgeries to repair torn ACLs, so Kelly wanted to keep it relatively moderate.  Sienna had to work again on Saturday, so she went to bed fairly early, and Kelly and I stayed up until sunrise, drinking whiskey and breaking things.  No we didn't, we're over 30 and too old for that crap.  Remmy sat on Kelly for a while and then we retired.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

The next day, we had a leisurely morning and made our way over to Kokopelli around 11:00 when it was acceptably warm.  I hadn't been there in at least two years, but I remembered a few features like the sketchy drop-in to Horsethief Bench and a section of Mary's Loop that goes right along a rocky ledge over a 15-foot drop-off.  It's not actually all that bad, but someone felt it was scary enough to create a barrier with some large boulders.  I can't decide if that qualifies as sanitizing the trail, because it didn't change the trail itself, it just made the move less mentally intimidating.  A huge part of mountain biking is getting out of your own head and looking at where you want to go, not at the drop-offs (whether real or metaphorical).  I suppose if it gave new riders the courage to try the section instead of walking it, it's probably a good change.

It felt really good to be back on my bike, and Kelly was very pleased with how good her knee felt while riding.  She tore her ACL last summer, during the last stage of the Durango Big Mountain Enduro race (and still came in 5th!).  In fact, several friends sustained injuries during the last riding season, and we missed them sorely during their recuperation.  Fortunately they are all back to shredding in one way or another!

Crushing it!

Afterwards we decamped to the Hot Tomato for beers and an ENORMOUS pizza, of which we could only eat two pieces and then wrapped up the rest for leftovers.  

Om nom nom.

Then it was back to Sienna's for naptime until dinner.  Liz returned from her training ride and Sienna arrived home from work, and we went to Bin707, arguably the best restaurant in Grand Junction, with trendy cocktails of locally sourced spirits and hipster-friendly small plates. It was quite good, and I recommend checking it out if you are in the vicinity.

Next morning, Kelly made us all an excellent veggie frittata, of which Remmy stole the remains from the kitchen counter when no one was looking. He didn't seem the least bit ashamed of it, either. But that is probably because he is a cartoon, not a real dog.

We piled in the cars and headed east toward Palisade, a small town known in the rest of Colorado for its excellent peaches.  To me and most folks from the Front Range, it also signaled increasing proximity to Moab and regaining 4G and wireless signal as we left the river canyon.  However, there are a few hidden gems of trails at the mouth of the canyon, and Trevor and Sienna first led Liz, Kelly and me on the Palisade Rim trail on the south side of I-70.  It's mostly moderate, switchbacky singletrack up to a couple of lollipops, and had some nice interesting technical features on the climb.  Being on the north side of the cliffs and out of the sun, it must be an excellent ride in the summer, but in this case it meant that there were several patches of ice on the trail, deceptively hidden under a thin cover of dirt. It was somewhat disconcerting to try and put down some power to get over a ledgy rock and end up sliding sideways instead, but we eventually made it to the top of the first climb without incident.
Near the top, there was a small drop with a very smooth transition, and Trevor set up to take photos if we wanted to try it.  Liz hit it like the pro she is, and I rolled up to the edge to see which line I should take.  It was about the easiest drop you could ask for, but as I backtracked along the trail to give myself some room to get up speed, I still felt nervous, because I have the most uncanny ability to make a complete hash out of almost anything.  But I started pedaling, and committed, and went for it, and it worked out just fine:

Oops, sorry, that's actually Rachel Atherton being the total badass she is.  Here's me:

The socks are key.

Thanks Trevor for playing photog!

Of course, even that little bit got my adrenaline up, but it felt good to get the season off to a successful start.

A little ways up the trail, there were some rock paintings of unknown age and provenance.  Here's Liz taking an action packed shot of them!

Enduro rock photography!

Here we see the aftermath of Trevor suggesting that Sienna's helmet might clash with her Shredly shorts:

"How dare you!" *slap*

This was quite upsetting for Cody, who needed a quick snuggle before we could start the descent:

Luckily, the ice we encountered on the climb was much less of an issue on the downhill (just don't brake on it).

Back in the parking lot, we met up with Shannon and Adam, who had come out for the next ride we had planned that day.  Sadly Kelly decided that she didn't want to risk aggravating her knee with more riding, and she set off for home.
The rest of us made our way toward the relatively well-hidden start of the Stagecoach trail on the north side of I-70 which DEFINITELY DID NOT involve hopping a fence onto private property and crossing the railroad under the highway.  There was a good amount of steep hike-a-bike up from the road, but holy cow was it worth it!  Excellent winding singletrack with incredible views and minimal snow.  We kept up such a good pace that I only had time to take this photo of Liz and Shannon:

Once we got back to where we started, Sienna talked us all into riding another 4 miles up to the American flag that adorns the cliff overlooking Palisade. I was painfully slow on the climb due to my chronic wimpiness, and this last hike-a-bike up icy snow-covered rocks just about killed me:

Then upon reaching the flagpole, Liz and Sienna decreed that we should make Trevor and Adam's day by taking a "free the boobies" picture:

'Murica!

Lucky for us, it was sunny and unseasonably warm at that point in the day.
The flagpole sort of lies off the beaten path, so we picked our way back down to where the main trail should be, which involved lots of fun bunny-hopping off of ledgy rocks and swerving around patches of cactus.
The day ended with a round of beers at the Palisade Brewing Company, and then a round of spirits at the Peach Tree Distillery (it was right next door to the brewery, how could we not?).  Afterwards I packed up the Tahoe and made my way back to the sloppy mudfest that is Pocatello with great regret that it is not closer to Grand Junction.  Hopefully I will have a reason to go back soon! President's day weekend, anyone?

Thanks for reading, and remember: safety third!