Yesterday I drove down to Moab from Fruita. Very windy driving W on I-70 then going down the CO River on rt 128. Dancing van. Campgrounds along the river were vacant. First stop in town was PO where mail had not arrived. Was told mail will be sorted by 10: and open until 2. Then grocery shop @ City Market. Next was Chile Pepper bike shop. Said Hi. I parked the van near grocery stop then embarked on a main street tour. I made Subway for lunch. I looked out the window into a raging rain storm. I lingered long enough for the storm to blow thru then continued my walk to N end of town. Beth is not working @ Poison Spider. Drank a beer @ Moab Brewery where if the customer sits in the bar he/she does not need to buy food. Haven’t learned if the beer is normal high alcohol or is diluted to 3.2. Kristi of Coyote Shuttles pulled into bike shop parking lot. I asked about a Porcupine shuttle on Sun. She said call Sat night. I parked next to a Sportsmobile converted Sprinter @ the brewery. I walked inside and sat at the bar near a single guy. I didn’t recognize him. He left his seat for a short time. When he returned he called me by name. He has the other Sprinter. We met this last winter in Sedona. I remembered talking w/ him once he started talking.
My plan was to camp out @ Sand Flats then ride Slick Rock trail on Sat. I scored the camp site I favor. Very windy, glad to be inside. Velocity rocked the van. Next site over was a trailer w/ a tent pitched on top of it. The wind was just snapping their tent around. I did not know if anyone tried to sleep in it. At least w/ mountaineering tents there are tie outs that would have lessened the snapping. I doubt the campers knew of sleeping w/ ear plugs in to deaden the noise. Rain fell. Snug as a bug in a rug.
Woke this AM it clear skies but a stiff breeze. I decided it was too windy to ride the exposed Slick Rock trail and headed into Chile Pepper to learn of rides in protected locations. A rider from Big Al’s in Crested Butte said he remembered my visit back in 2010. Picked up my mail.
40 degrees and strong winds. I decided to ride Pipe Dream which is right near the shop. Knickers & knee socks, long underwear top and jersey. This trail is built on the hill side just under the vertical sandstone cliffs. It undulates up and down in and out of shallow washes bench cut into the steep hillside. You need a tolerance to exposure. The tread is very heavily armored to prevent erosion. Pavers sort of. Keep pedaling and looking where I was going to go. Heads up riding. A father, mother, and 2 young boys approached from the S. I was huffing and puffing, they were smiling. Great to see a family riding together. I rode to the S end and turned around. The trail going back N climbs less. The family approached again, this time I was smiling and they were working.
Next was a shower. This Fitness program is thru Blue Cross Blue Shield, Silver Slippers. The Aquatic center is a participating member: Free shower.
Weather is getting rawer. I was sitting in my van when a guy came up and asked to shake my hand as he had read about me. He gave me ride info around DC. I mentioned Harrisonburg, VA. He knows knows the Shenandoah Bike company crowd. He told me about the HugeAss race team @ the 24 hours on Canaan, the first 24 hour race. He knew them better than I but we shared knowing about them. Wild crowd.
Back to Brewery for a beer and maybe some college football. Outside the temp was dropping as was graupel snow buffeted by wind. I left the pub and drove back to Sand Flats as night fell along w/ snow. Night fell and the snow stopped. Same camp spot.
No Porcupine shuttle tomorrow.
I checked the forecast for Cortez and Durango where it appears that winter has settled in. Snow and below freezing temps @ night w/ perhaps freeze melt dirt during the day. Here in Moab it is cold w/ no snow on the ground. Might end up hanging here until just b4 T-Day @ Hurricane. The heater is on high.