This was our last day of riding and for those who aren’t mountain bikers and wonder when this drivel will end; this will be my last post on the Utah/Colorado Trip.
We had only the morning to ride and had arranged a late check out to allow ourselves a couple hours on the trails and still have time to get back to the hotel for a shower before hitting the road home.
This was our third attempt at riding the Lunch Loop Trails. Finally success! The last time we’d pulled into the parking lot we encountered riders with mud-encrusted bikes. They’d been unable to dodge the rain that started mid-way through their ride and had to get back to the trail head in pouring rain and on wet trails. They’d advised us that the trails were still really slippery and muddy and that we could do our bikes some real damage (not to mention the trails) if we ventured out. That was the day we gave up and headed to Moab.
This time we were in luck. It was overcast and breezy but with the promise of a sunbeam or two. Again, we consulted the trail map to see where we were going to ride. The book we had promised more trails than we had time for. And once more, one of the locals came over with advice. Mountain bikers are just so friendly and accommodating! Everyone we met was all too pleased to chat with us and share stories of the trails they’d ridden. The guy told us that almost everyone rides the Pet-e-Kes trail up to the ridge. It is a newer trail. Before it was built riders had to be content with riding the uneventful dirt road up to the top. The trail builders have done an amazing job in making the trail challenging enough for the ride up. Most of the ascent is a twisty switchback ride that goes around the outside of some steep hills. The trail is certainly wide enough to ride, but the corners were sharp and I had to dab multiple times and sometimes stop altogether.
I know if it was a flat trail I would have had no issue manipulating the corners but something about a seeing a drop off out of the corner of my eye psyches me out. I need to get over that. Once up at the top we had a bunch of choices. The trails are well marked – much like the 18 Road Trail system in Fruita, and it would be nearly impossible to get lost. Still, we had taken a picture of the trail map just in case we needed to consult it at a later time.
From Pet-e-Kes we took the High Noon trail up to a short piece called the Lemon Squeezer. There was a black diamond on the sign which indicated it wasn’t for novices. The boys wanted to give it a go, so I let them lead, and followed behind. From what I could determine one would require a Danny Macaskill bike and Danny Macaskill skills to ride this section flawlessly. Needless to say, I have neither so I walked most of this trail.
Once through the Lemon Squeezer, which Bob valiantly attempted to ride (and from our point of view, quite successfully all things considered) we joined up with Raven Ridge. This is a scenic trail that runs all along the ridge overlooking the parking lot and Grand Junction in the distance. There are some technical parts in the first half, but the rest is just a beautiful ride along the rim. From there you hook up to Curt’s Lane which was a slightly tense descent at the end of the ridge with hairpin switchbacks all the way down. The wind was howling the day we were there, thankfully blowing us into the hill and not off the side. I rode most of the switchbacks down except for one hairy one where I had to stop and physically pick up my bike and place it in the opposite direction. I am constantly amazed that people are able to ride this. Maybe with practice some day I could but right now I feel like more of a hobbyist than anything.
The last run down to the parking lot was bittersweet knowing we had to leave that afternoon.
As we loaded the bikes onto the car we found a lone Corona in the cooler. Sharing it the gnarly boys and I promised to come back soon and ride again.
We had only the morning to ride and had arranged a late check out to allow ourselves a couple hours on the trails and still have time to get back to the hotel for a shower before hitting the road home.
This was our third attempt at riding the Lunch Loop Trails. Finally success! The last time we’d pulled into the parking lot we encountered riders with mud-encrusted bikes. They’d been unable to dodge the rain that started mid-way through their ride and had to get back to the trail head in pouring rain and on wet trails. They’d advised us that the trails were still really slippery and muddy and that we could do our bikes some real damage (not to mention the trails) if we ventured out. That was the day we gave up and headed to Moab.
This time we were in luck. It was overcast and breezy but with the promise of a sunbeam or two. Again, we consulted the trail map to see where we were going to ride. The book we had promised more trails than we had time for. And once more, one of the locals came over with advice. Mountain bikers are just so friendly and accommodating! Everyone we met was all too pleased to chat with us and share stories of the trails they’d ridden. The guy told us that almost everyone rides the Pet-e-Kes trail up to the ridge. It is a newer trail. Before it was built riders had to be content with riding the uneventful dirt road up to the top. The trail builders have done an amazing job in making the trail challenging enough for the ride up. Most of the ascent is a twisty switchback ride that goes around the outside of some steep hills. The trail is certainly wide enough to ride, but the corners were sharp and I had to dab multiple times and sometimes stop altogether.
I know if it was a flat trail I would have had no issue manipulating the corners but something about a seeing a drop off out of the corner of my eye psyches me out. I need to get over that. Once up at the top we had a bunch of choices. The trails are well marked – much like the 18 Road Trail system in Fruita, and it would be nearly impossible to get lost. Still, we had taken a picture of the trail map just in case we needed to consult it at a later time.
From Pet-e-Kes we took the High Noon trail up to a short piece called the Lemon Squeezer. There was a black diamond on the sign which indicated it wasn’t for novices. The boys wanted to give it a go, so I let them lead, and followed behind. From what I could determine one would require a Danny Macaskill bike and Danny Macaskill skills to ride this section flawlessly. Needless to say, I have neither so I walked most of this trail.
Once through the Lemon Squeezer, which Bob valiantly attempted to ride (and from our point of view, quite successfully all things considered) we joined up with Raven Ridge. This is a scenic trail that runs all along the ridge overlooking the parking lot and Grand Junction in the distance. There are some technical parts in the first half, but the rest is just a beautiful ride along the rim. From there you hook up to Curt’s Lane which was a slightly tense descent at the end of the ridge with hairpin switchbacks all the way down. The wind was howling the day we were there, thankfully blowing us into the hill and not off the side. I rode most of the switchbacks down except for one hairy one where I had to stop and physically pick up my bike and place it in the opposite direction. I am constantly amazed that people are able to ride this. Maybe with practice some day I could but right now I feel like more of a hobbyist than anything.
The last run down to the parking lot was bittersweet knowing we had to leave that afternoon.
As we loaded the bikes onto the car we found a lone Corona in the cooler. Sharing it the gnarly boys and I promised to come back soon and ride again.
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