Mary's Loop
Of course, the day we left Moab was the best day of the entire week! Brilliant blue skies, warm sunshine - perfect weather for riding. But we were finished in Moab and it was time to head home. Not finished riding though - the goal for this ride was to check out the Kokopellie trail area and Mary's loop outside Fruita. I'd ridden there twice - but hadn't gone far, so was looking forward to riding some more new trails. We parked in the middle parking lot and quickly got ready to ride. No heavy coat, no warm gloves, no booties!
I love riding with Nick - I really do. But sometimes, I don't want to do the hardest trail in the entire area right off the bat! A little warm up would be nice... We immediately headed up Moore Fun trail (which was labeled on the map as the most technical and challenging trail). And while it was a really fun trail, I was also walking and pushing my bike quite a bit. There were some things that I just couldn't get or was too much of a wimp to try. Helped when I saw Nick walking on some things... But the sections that we rode were really cool. I'm happy that we did take that trail and also happy that it wasn't the last trail on the ride! I would have been walking a lot more had that been the case. At one point though, we were high above the rest of the trails and Nick pointed out two riders. My response? Yeah, they're riding their bikes!
After Moore Fun, it was time for something easy - Rustler's loop. This was the "beginner trail" designed to give people a small intro into riding in the area. There are also cool little signs that give tips on riding and trail etiquette. It was a nice change of pace from the hard, technical riding we'd started out on. Then off on the Kokopellie trail to find something else cool to ride. Nick wanted to ride Horsethief Bench - a trail he'd ridden years ago. We could have used climbing gear to get down to the trail - the drop in had really seen some wear over the years. Horsethief was really fun - rolling and fast, with some great views of the Colorado River. There was one other spot that we had to carry the bikes, but otherwise a really good ride. I can see why people would just go to ride that loop! But we had more riding to do, so it was back on the Kokopellie.
Flat double track soon gave way to tight single track. And another few thousand feet drop off to the left of the trail... I really don't like riding in places where daydreaming can cause some serious issues. I like to look around, study the views. But on the Kokopellie, it was keep your eyes on the trail at all times. There were some pretty easy things that I missed because I was thinking more about the consequences then riding my bike. I was also starting to get tired. We reached another trail junction - one way the easy way back to the car, the other longer and with more single track. While I wanted to keep riding and see some more of the trails, it was time to head back to the car. Slogging through painfully slow miles isn't the best way to spend a vacation! And besides, that way, there's more for us to ride the next time!
I love riding with Nick - I really do. But sometimes, I don't want to do the hardest trail in the entire area right off the bat! A little warm up would be nice... We immediately headed up Moore Fun trail (which was labeled on the map as the most technical and challenging trail). And while it was a really fun trail, I was also walking and pushing my bike quite a bit. There were some things that I just couldn't get or was too much of a wimp to try. Helped when I saw Nick walking on some things... But the sections that we rode were really cool. I'm happy that we did take that trail and also happy that it wasn't the last trail on the ride! I would have been walking a lot more had that been the case. At one point though, we were high above the rest of the trails and Nick pointed out two riders. My response? Yeah, they're riding their bikes!
After Moore Fun, it was time for something easy - Rustler's loop. This was the "beginner trail" designed to give people a small intro into riding in the area. There are also cool little signs that give tips on riding and trail etiquette. It was a nice change of pace from the hard, technical riding we'd started out on. Then off on the Kokopellie trail to find something else cool to ride. Nick wanted to ride Horsethief Bench - a trail he'd ridden years ago. We could have used climbing gear to get down to the trail - the drop in had really seen some wear over the years. Horsethief was really fun - rolling and fast, with some great views of the Colorado River. There was one other spot that we had to carry the bikes, but otherwise a really good ride. I can see why people would just go to ride that loop! But we had more riding to do, so it was back on the Kokopellie.
Flat double track soon gave way to tight single track. And another few thousand feet drop off to the left of the trail... I really don't like riding in places where daydreaming can cause some serious issues. I like to look around, study the views. But on the Kokopellie, it was keep your eyes on the trail at all times. There were some pretty easy things that I missed because I was thinking more about the consequences then riding my bike. I was also starting to get tired. We reached another trail junction - one way the easy way back to the car, the other longer and with more single track. While I wanted to keep riding and see some more of the trails, it was time to head back to the car. Slogging through painfully slow miles isn't the best way to spend a vacation! And besides, that way, there's more for us to ride the next time!
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