Colorado Rocks!

"There's a line down there - all you have to do is not hit the rock! You do it right and you don't have to go to the hospital." So said Brandon (names have been changed to protect the innocent) as he mounted his bike and confidently rode towards the edge... And into the rock... And over his handlebars. Thankfully he hurt nothing more than his pride and no hospital trip was necessary. Believe me, if he'd really screwed up it could've been really bad. The bike trails here in Fruita, CO have this thing called "exposure" that is lacking in most of the east coast riding I've done. Basically, many trails run along canyon rims and cliff edges and in some cases there's only a foot or so of leeway before you go down - way, way down. The scenery is breathtaking and the trails are fun if you can just get past the "consequences".

Incidentally, I cleaned the section without any drama. In all other respects though, Brandon pretty much kicked my ass. Between a winter of doing no cardio work and the 4000-5000 feet of elevation that I'm not used to, I'm finding the climbs to be a serious challenge here.

Mountain view from Crested Butte, CO

The altitude was brought home a few days ago as I drove into Gunnison, CO from Denver. My little car barely wheezed up Monarch Pass - 11,312 feet above sea level. I later learned that cars in Colorado have their engine computers programmed to deal with the thinner air at altitude - tuning that my car unfortunately didn't have. So, air conditioning off and in third gear my Vibe and I plodded along Highway 50, taking in the dramatic vistas along the way.

View overlooking Gunnison State Forest

The only reason I went to Gunnison is that I'd discovered a few days prior that my original stopping point - Crested Butte, one of the great mountain biking destinations of North America - was still covered in snow, and neither biking nor hiking was to be had there.

Blue Mesa Lake near Gunnison, CO

In Gunnison I stayed at the Wanderlust Hostel, a warm and friendly little place run by Amy, a fellow mountain biker. (If you're ever in the area and are looking for cost-effective accommodations, I highly recommend this place.) Pretty much as soon as I got to the hostel, Amy and I were poring over the trail map of the Hartman Rocks Recreation Area as she recommended a series of trails. Her recommendations were spot-on; if only I'd followed them. I ended up riding "Rattlesnake" in the direction opposite to which it's intended to be ridden, and all the while I was saying to myself, "this can't be right..." as I carried my bike up over ledges and rocks. At the end of the trail I turned around and rode down it, and confirmed my suspicions - it was much better going the other way.  When I got back to the hostel I told Amy this, and the next time she gave me a route recommendation, she not only highlighted it on the map, but wrote the trails down in the order in which they were intended to be ridden.  Amy's awesome.  Still didn't stop me from botching things and missing what was supposed to be the best trail in the area...

View from one of the lookouts at Colorado National Monument

From Gunnison I went to Fruita, CO - another one of those "must-ride" mountain biking destinations. Of course, on my first day there my weather luck broke.  Pretty much thunderstorms all day, so no mountain biking or hiking. What to do?  I went to the Colorado National Monument and took pictures - lots of them. The "interesting" weather added drama to the sky, the water saturated the red rocks of the canyons, and the overcast conditions muted the typically harsh Colorado noon light, really bringing out the colour. Pretty much a landscape photographer's paradise. Check out some of them on my Flickr page.

I finally did get to mountain bike in Fruita, and let me tell you - this is an experience not to be missed. In the cards for the next day or so: more mountain biking, hopefully a hike to get in to see some of the famous desert arches (second only to Arches National Park in Utah), and then on to Moab.