More Fun, Starting on Moore Fun!

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Sunday. Another perfect day for riding. Nick had the maps and we were heading back to the Mary's loop area. Same parking lot, but heading the other direction. East across Moore Fun, then down into the main parking area before starting back west on Mary's. Steve's loop also called, then who know. It wold depend on how long we wanted to ride! I made sure I hand plenty of water, some really food (more on that later) and clothes in case the weather turned. We were ready to ride and have some fun on Easter Sunday.

The parking lot was almost empty when we arrived. Perfect! I was looking forward to Moore Fun this time around - a chance to test my skills and see how much I would be able to ride. Last time we rode this trail, I did a lot of walking, a lot of whining and generally wasn't happy with Nick for making me ride something so hard. Not this time around. While I still did a bunch of walking, I was quite pleased with the amount I was able to ride. After I got my head on and remembered to focus on the basics, I did pretty good. And the descent down to the main parking area was way more fun this time around. I was grinning, enjoying myself, talking a lot and generally happy to be on my bike. One of those times where the improvement in skills and fitness was obvious - and a big incentive to keep working on skills! There are things I missed that I know I should be able to ride!

Approaching one of the rocks on Moore Fun... All focused on where  I want to go!

Just keep pedaling! Even power, butt on the saddle.... Whew! Made it!

Nick on the same rock, he made it look easy.

After Moore Fun, we headed west on Mary's Loop. Time for some Horsethief action. We got to the drop in and there was a large group walking down. I joined them in picking my way down and around the sandy rocks and steep drops. But one of them was scouting the entrance, looking for the line to try and ride it. Nick also got off his bike to scout the rocks.With plenty of suspension on his Stumpy, he wanted to give it a try. Yikes! A crowd gathered at the base of the drop, everyone waiting to see success or carnage. The other rider went first. He took a left line and made it about halfway down, then stalled trying to repostion his bike to hit the next drop. Oh well. I think the crowd was disappointed there was no carnage  Nick took his shot, taking a right line. Same result as the other rider - hiking down with his bike. I was hoping he would have made it, but happy he was in one piece  Both Nick and the other rider agreed that it wasn't a good day to attempt the entrance - the rocks were covered in fine sand and there wasn't good traction anywhere. Nick did ride the wash near the halfway point on the trail - and the little boy watching was super excited he got to see someone riding that! Me? I walked again. The whole issue with cliffs was coming back...

Nick and the other rider who attempted the entrance to Horsethief  Bench

Our next adventure was on Steve's loop. We took the eastern most drop into Steve's, with another big rock feature. Getting a little tired at this point, I opted to walk down. Another day, I might try to ride that... Steve's was pretty chill, a fun little trail meandering very close to the cliffs. I wasn't having as much issues there because there were no rocks in the trail. I didn't have to worry about bobbling on something and going over the edge. The views from Steve's were good. We were a little closer to the river, below the Kokopelli Trail. Occasionally, I could see riders above us, hugging the edge of the ground. We also climbed above the eastern chunk of the Steve's affording us the ability to look down at the riders making their way around the loop.
The view from Steve's loop - there's a rider down there, right at the point of the trail

Nick taking in the view.

We still had some time left to ride. I'm sure I surprised Nick by asking to try riding Mack Ridge again. I wanted another shot at some of those obstacles. It meant another round on Lion's loop, right along the cliffs, but I was ready for it. I actually rode more of Lion's then the first time - a little more knowledge of the trail and feeling more comfortable near the drops helped. Once we got onto Mack Ridge, it was game time. Focused on the trail, moving the bike around, timing my pedal strokes and keeping my weight on my saddle. It all helped and I was able to ride a lot more then the first attempt. Even on the descent, I was riding more and having more fun doing it. A great way to end a long ride, on some fun single track, with some serious rocks!
It's a long ways down! Working on my tan lines and having fun riding,

Comments

  1. HappyTrailsApril 3, 2013 at 9:29 PM

    Hi Tracy - We recently discovered your blog via the Ridgeline Rampage page. It has been fun following your adventures in Fruita this week as we have run and ridden many of the trails in that area over the years and plan to head out there for a few days ourselves in a few weeks. Saw your post regarding the gluten sensitive stuff. We, too, are mostly gluten free. Last time we were in Fruita, we found Pablos Pizza which served up a good gluten-free pizza. If you are still in Fruita and haven't found Pablos, you might give them a try! Enjoy your trip.....
    Kathleen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TracyApril 4, 2013 at 9:06 AM

      Thanks Kathleen - we have not had a chance to try Pablo's yet. Last weekend was a little hard with it being Easter. Nick is pretty sensitive so we are really careful about what we eat. Have fun out there!

      Delete

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