Back in GJ! Nice to be here – there’s some really good riding.Glad we saw the Colorado National Monument when we were here a month ago, because we could not see it now! You know why, and by now I think you know how I feel about it, so I’ll spare you.
Got Junior’s oil changed yesterday so he’s ready for the trip home, which will be here sooner rather than later … bummer.
BUT – today we rode! Went back to Fruita, to re-ride parts of 18 Road. Well, that was the plan. We DID go out there, and we DID ride, but none of the old stuff. everything we did today was new to us, and it was almost all great. We parked at the Southern Trailhead, then decided to take the road North to the Northern Trailhead where the trails we want to ride today start. We could have taken Prime Cut instead, and it IS a very nice trail, but we wanted to break our legs in slowly. Good idea, because my right knee was barkin’ at me most of the way. Luckily, it got its act together by the time I got to the trailhead, so the ride was off to a good start. I was tempted to take Kessel Run back down, as last time it was the most fun we’d had out here, but we really needed to try something new, so instead, we took Frontside, which goes West and runs into Western Zip. The only concern for me was that Frontside is a black diamond trail. Ah, what the hell! Started out climbing, climbing, climbing … I was starting to wonder about the choice we made, but soon it leveled out, then went down and snaky. Love those snaky trails, it’s like a slalom! Then, of course, more climbs. And then we found out why it was a black diamond – down, down, DOWN it went, super steep, for about a quarter of a mile. Parts of it were barely hanging on the edge of the mountain, which had me puckering quite a bit, but I made it! Serious downhills, VERY fast, if you weren’t careful to brake early, but nothing really dangerous. Fun trail. Here are some shots from the top:

And this one:

Gives you a bigger view. Here’s a pano:

We rode towards the right, then straight down, then about a fourth of the way up those mountains you see straight ahead, and left, all the way off the left side of the photo, behind those hills on the left. Let me get some screen captures of the downhill parts from my video.

It sure looked a lot steeper than that while I was riding it!

This part REALLY made me scrunch!

And here you can see where and how the trail continues off to the left. Fun stuff!
Ok, here is the beginning of the REALLY steep part:

You can see the trail waaaay down there on the left. That’s maybe half a mile from where I am! Think about how steep it has to be … there were two really sharp switchbacks, here is the first:

Yes, that’s the trail above the shadow of my head, as it doubles back on itself, and that tree just left and above my head, is about six feet tall! I’m probably twenty feet above the base of that tree. As I try to make that sharp left, this happens:

Yes, that’s my left hand just coming off the handlebar …

This shot is 0.4 seconds later – just 12 video frames! My left arm is straight out, trying to regain my balance, or catch myself, or …

0.4 seconds later – bike is on the ground. Shadow is of my GPS/Holster/Camera – that’s the big shadow in the center of my handlebars.

This is 0.4 seconds later, my shadow appears top of frame.

Last frame, 0.4 seconds later, that bush, top of frame, just to the right of the big rock, is in shadow. That’s the last of my shadow in frame until it’s all over.
Ass over elbows? Thankfully, no. I had lowered my seat, which saved my ass. I stopped mid-switchback, and lost my balance. Put down my left foot, hopped on it a few times, tried valiantly to regain my balance, started to fall left (where you saw my hand come off the left handlebar), when my arm was straight out, I decided to just let go of the bike, which is why the bike hit the ground so fast, and thankfully, I was able to step off left and forward, and within two steps had stopped myself and returned to the bike. Lucky? You bet your ass! Hopped back on and continued the ride, but checked my shorts anyway, just to be safe – still clean! Not sure how that happened!
We got to the end of this, much more gnarly terrain, but not so steep, almost all rideable, and it crosses Western Zip, which we took. If you take Frontside all the way out, it ends up at a road as the only way back to the trailhead (unless you backtrack), and you know how we feel about riding roads …
Anyway, Western Zip was a mile of nothing but slight downhill, weaving gently left and right, otherwise a straight line. 10 mph plus, just taking it easy, no need to pedal. Sweet! At its Southern end, it ends at a jeep road, and Zip Off takes off to the East, toward the trailhead. This is just mostly level ground, weaving through the scrub brush, lots of pedaling, but kind of fun. After two miles, it ends at Zippyty Do Da, which comes down from the North (it starts at Frontside, at about Frontside’s middle). To continue, we get on Zippity, which is a twisty half mile of fun back to the trailhead. One FUN afternoon! We were going to ride Prime Cut North and take Kessel Run back after a bit of a rest, but we got into a conversation with a couple of older California guys we met up on Frontside, so after that we were too hungry to keep riding. A pizza was calling my name!
I think we’ll come back here tomorrow.