Our Little Ride from Telluride to Moab
We're baaaack! I'm just going to try to keep it short so y'all don't snooze off on us. Hopefully SadieKate has some better photos than I do...mine didn't turn out all that great. And someone has a photo of usn's and RunningMommy...hopefully it will surface.
In short, SK, her DH, yellow, her DH, and friends Emerald and "Laverne" (turns out two of us had the same first name, so we became known as "Laverne" and "Shirley") rode their bikes from Telluride, CO to Moab, UT in 6 fun filled days last week!
Because Math Is Hard, I'm going to let SK post the mileages after she uploads all the data from her gizmos. The total mileage was about 200 miles, maybe more. Most of it was on dirt road, though we did have a little pavement (upon which I broke my land speed record for my mountain bike [46.1 mph!], which is not that far off of my road bike record; Laverne went over 50 mph).
Anyhoo, SK and her DH arrived in Mobe on Thursday eve and were able to ride Klondike Bluffs on Friday am (that's the ride where the dino tracks are). We arrived Friday early afternoon when it was already hot so we just went to the Slickrock Cafe and had...beer. We rode a great newish singletrack trail called Sovereign on Saturday. Here's SK.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...T2M/SK_Sov.jpg
We began our journey from Telluride to Moab on Sunday 6/17 (after a 3 hour shuttle from Western Spirit's Moab HQ). Here's a couple of shots from the first day's ride, which included a big climb over a pass that's about 10,600' (maybe higher...SK's gizmos will know).
The scenery...ho hum (the San Juan Mountains in CO):
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...s/T2M/Day1.jpg
SK and I somewhere in the middle of the climb (still smiling):
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...Sucks_Day1.jpg
SK whizzing by as she summits the pass:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...zesby_Day1.jpg
Day 2 we rode down off the pass, through big fields and meadows and lots of aspen. Here's Emerald giving us a parade wave in the aspen:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ewave_Day2.jpg
The next day was our longest day (I rode about 55 miles...I had a little extra from riding out to a scenic viewpoint). Lots of riding through aspens, and meadows, and more crummy scenery. Here are the La Sal Mountains in UT, which is the mountain range we'd ride over on our last day:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...aSallesFar.jpg
Day 4 was our "easy" day (17-ish miles) since day 5 included a big climb. We had a hot climb up to camp, and once there tried to stay cool in the shade. This was "flat tire" day. My DH and SK's DH both got the only flats of the trip.
Day 5 started with a big brake burning descent to the town of Gateway, CO, which is turning into a resort town thanks to an influx of money from the folks that own the Discovery Channel. Here's the only picture of me and my DH that I have (taken half way down the mountain)!
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...riSue_Day5.jpg
After a short latte break in Gateway, we tackled the BIG climb up John Brown Canyon. Thankfully we had some clouds and some folks even got a little virga to cool them down. Here are three of our new friends at the top of the climb: Tony a radiologist from Tennessee, Dan a retired MD from Michigan, and Mr. Gnome, our good luck mascot (in Dan's pack). We called Tony "Mr. EPO" this day as he smoked the climb. Mind you this man was on platform pedals and really hadn't done that much mtn biking.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...Gnome_Day5.jpg
Tony had his daughter Ann with him, 17 years old and a very, very strong climber. She was always one of the first people to top out on the climbs (she was also riding platforms)!
We were all pretty beat when we got to the campsite overlooking the Fisher Valley. It was gorgeous--lots of flowers and hummingbirds and pretty decent weather. Here are some shots from there:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...Vlly_camp5.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...louds_day6.jpg
Our last day included a stop at some dino tracks (here's Emerald showing you just how big they are):
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../dinosteps.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...track_Day6.jpg
And ...a fun and fast descent off of the Beaver Mesa (where I hit my record speed), a long climb up over the La Sal Mountains, and then a fast and fun ride down Sand Flat Road into Moab, where we put the hose over our heads and attempted to cool off. You can see the La Sals in the background (overhead) in this photo of several riders living on the edge:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...osure_Day6.jpg
It was a great trip: great company, beautiful scenery, and some fun riding. I ate so much more than I normally do (thanks to the great cooking of the guides) that I gained 5 pounds! :eek:
Where's the next one??? :)
