Fruita Mountain Bike Trip

My friend Becca Hall organized this. What an awesome weekend!

I left right after work and followed some really great directions to a free BLM campground. I slept in the back of the CR-V Motel.

We all met-up at "the coffee shop" and planned our day.
Most of us went biking, but some went running. We all parked at the Loma exit and ran various sections of the Kokopelli Trail. This is the same convoluted web of trails used for the Spring Desert Ultra R.A.T.S. Festival, and the start of Desert R.A.T.S. and the R.A.T.S. Mountain Bike Tour. With Becca's husband, Andy, leading the pack with Frenchman Tom, we headed out at a faster pace than my lungs appreciated, but I was tired of getting fat. Besides, it was only five hours of working-out. So I tried not to slow the group down too much.
Actually I was well-paced with one rider, but he was on a very old hard-tail. So even though he was in better biking-shape, my awesome bike allowed me to have no trouble staying with him. So at least I had company in the sandbag position.
We rode the Horsethief Bench Loop, then parts of Mary's Loop, Steve's Loop, Lion's Loop and Troy Built Loop.
Nearly everyone broke something on their bike. I blew a tire, even though I had slime in it. Slime seems good in areas with lots of Goatheads, like my neighborhood, but out on the Kokopelli, slime isn't much good. I must've pinched the tube between my rim and a rock because it went flat instantly.
With my lack of biking skills, it's a miracle I didn't go over the handlebars at least once. I did crash once, on dirt, with a small degree of grace.
In fact, I noticed that the one skill that has improved remarkably since buying my bike is my ability to wipe-out and land on my feet, or a hand and foot. When I first got my bike, it was more normal for me to end up with the bike above me and my noggin on the ground.

The weather was gorgeous, the company unbeatable, and the terrain was... well, it ate bikes like they were little snacks! But it was beautiful!!

At night, we hung out around the campfire but went to bed around midnight.
I slept like a baby! It was bliss.

Sunday morning, I road some more, but this time I went solo and slower, so that my asthma wouldn't make me cough up both lungs like the day before.

Then a friend called, reminding me of a scheduled event in Denver. It was snowing in Denver! I thought she was pulling my leg! Fruita was sunny and warm. Then an hour later, she called again and said they were canceling because the corn-maze field would be muddy.
Plan B: stop off in Glenwood Springs and drink my favorite Vapor Cave IPA at the Brewpub!

Vail Pass was a slipper mess, then a semi truck was on its side between Copper and Frisco, and I was wondering if I'd get through Eisenhower Tunnel before they closed I-70. I managed to get home in one piece, and without any traffic jams.

Bed-time for this tired man. I deserve it!