Last night I parked the van facing east for the sunrise. Only a juniper bush blocked the full on rays. I watched the sun lighten the sky while laying in bed under the coves. The heater ran on low all night.
Today is into Grand Junction for Butter Knife ride @ Lunch Loop trails. Stopped by Ruby Canyon Cycles to say Hi to Doug, the owner. We met and rode together last summer. As i am walking across the street i see Kimila and Drew. Doug is giving them a shuttle to top of Ribbon trail and I get invited. Signed Drew’s copy of MBA. We get dropped off @ upper TH @ 6800′, end is lower TH 2000′ below. This is desert riding and there is nothing easy about our ride. Upper part is on sloping downhill sandstone bedrock. We caught the uphill trail marker and started down. I was carving turns on carving stone. The mid rock trail signs were nonexistent, we were wandering around on this huge sandstone slab until we found a sign @ exit off first slab. We dropped down 3 slabs b4 dropping down into canyon wash. Our exit out of the canyon was a climb a bike ( note: not hike a bike) out a side canyon.
A short ride down the pavement brought us to Free Lunch climb up to prayer Rock. Free Lunch is a double black diamond downhill. At the top a sign states that if you can not ride the entry test don’t ride the trail. The test was a launch off a 3′ drop. No way. Drew went that way and Kimila and I chose Eagle Wing which turned out to be hike a bike down. Kimila did a header out of sight of me just uphill of me. Blood was oozing from an abrasion on her right forearm. I first aided her from my first aid kit. Drew finished b4 us and walked up hill to meet us. We rode pet i cus back. Tech riding as the desert can provide. More technical in quantity than Fruita.
Drove back to Fruita to the Tomater for a beer. Drew & Kimila joined. Tomorrow they head back to Atlanta. And I drove back to spot above Rabbit Valley.
Tomorrow it is back to GJ to really ride Butter Knife. My seat dropper arrives Friday. I will probably leave Sat for Moab. My license tabs will be mailed to my Seattle address @ Earth Class Mail. They will send me and email w/ the scan of the envelop. I will request that envelope be mailed to general delivery @ Moab. Tabs expire on the 9th. The renewal fee was debited from my checking account on Monday. The tabs are mailed from Seattle to a Seattle address and I haven’t received notification of arrival.
Warm night. heater on low will almost be too hot until the night cools off.