OK, 11-01-2011.

Slept thru a quiet night at the waste h20 treatment. Up and at it. Today is USOS for mail forwarding and license tabs and OTE for the XM tuner via UPS.

Tabs did not arrive after 5 days in delivery. Worked w/ clerks to forward the tabs to Cortez, CO. Tuner arrived. Headed S out of Fruita.

Plan today is to research trails @ Ridgway. If desirable drive down. If not, drive alt route to Cortez. Called Peak to Peak, guy said there is a small trail system. Good enough for me. Drove to Ridgway to bike shop that printed the map and gave low down on location and how to ride. Drove out to gravel pit area to park just off the trail. Camped outside an electrical installation above Ridgway. Forecast is for possible rain showers then snow showers for tonight into mid AM tomorrow. I’ll evaluate conditions tomorrow to decide to ride or continue driving to next stop of Delores. Charlie spoke highly of Delores, I must have missed it all when I was there last fall.

Started the month w/ a bottle of Laphroig cask condition single malt Scotch. First sip was ambrosia.

Spectacular view of Cimarron ridge and Courthouse Butte. Rain showers hitting the roof.

Sat I ride trails out at rd 18 from my camp spot. I grabbed campsite 1 as the lost open site last night. Place is packed w/ mtn bikers everywhere. I waited for the sun to melt the frost and warm up things. I rode the front side trails, first was Zippity do da w/ its ridge line, steep hike a bike pitch where shoe prints created climbing steps, down the screamer let ‘er rip downhill, and over hill and dale. I climbed back up prime cut. Next was Chutes and Ladders w/ several hike a bike sections. I walked an armored switchback where I failed to commit to the turn. Trail undulated along the base of the Book Cliffs above. Finally it dropped out into the flat meadow carpeted w/ season ended shin high golden grass. As I dawdled on my ride a rider caught up w/ me. He was pulling a BOB. He and several riders in tow where performing trail maintenance. I struck up a conversation w/ a young guy. He told me that he and his girlfriend who was also with, quit their good paying jobs in DC and hit the road. Early 20s and getting something for themselves in their 8 months on the road. Another climb up prime cut on up to Joe’s ridge the last climb was back on the road.

RD 18 trails are fun. This time I rode that sharp high wall right angle left corner and rolled into the steep descent that was look way out the ways and stay off the brakes until just before a hard right turn and another roll away. Place was packed w/ riders but I never felt crowded out.

I cleaned up and drove back out the gravel road that was already showing washboard signs. Smooth road was a short reality. Just so many rigs making the one way trek to ride.

Made The Hot Tomato for an early salad and slice of pizza b4 the 6PM party started. Local people in costumes and visitors in their street clothes. My costume was my usual dress. I was either the famous dirt bag mountain biker JP Nuts or the dirty old man character that Arte Johnson played on Laugh In. Didn’t win a price or recognition. Tomato patrons are for the most part athletic build compared to the crowd @ the sports bar I sat in 2 nights ago watching the World Series. I drove back to my camp spot which is just across the fence from a state park, both are located within stone  throw of Fruita’s  waste water treatment center. Not really down by the river but by the aerating waste water.

Woke up Sun morn in good shape. Today is a ride out @ Lunch Loop trails outside of Grand Junction, the place where the Gunnison River joins the Colorado. Again I dawdled awaiting sun’s warmth. The TH parking lot was about half filled when I arrived mid morning. I have a trail map that I studied for a short while then just rode off following whatever trail made sense and avoiding Holy Cross, the premiere downhill. I wandered out on Gunny Loop all by myself.

I rode back the Tabegauch old trail and encountered a guy and woman. The guy asks me just what my riding goals where. Huh? He told me he was Charlie and we met briefly @ Charlie Brown’s bike shop in Eagle, CO summer ’10. He was riding w/ SO Theresa. We engaged in conversation for many minutes in the warm temps and blue sky. The 2 were road tripping. Charlie told me they were camped @ the Little Park TH out near the Butter Knife trail I planned on riding the next day. I finished my ride and drove up to join them. We were standing around outside when a small car w/ a bike pulled in and parked. Over walked a young woman who walked up to me and introduced herself, Ardell, and we met last year @ the Tomato. OK. She is from Revelstoke, BC and road tripping for a month. She tent camped. Beautiful sunset from up on high. We could see the line down a lower portion of the Ribbon trail. Charlie & Theresa joined me in my heated van for more conversation, Charlie used to race for Turner when Dave was in Eagle. SO much fun talking w/ Charlie as we had been to some of the same places. He’s from MN where he won a XC ski race @ Maple Lag, the only ride I did in MN. I had a greater sense of community than most of the places I have visited.

Monday AM it was the 4 of us in the parking lot. Ardell and I planned on riding Butter Knife. C & T who rode it yesterday decided to join us. Holy abused suspension as we ripped the trail. All were excellent riders. We just flew. I rode stuff I walked previously. I rode last behind Theresa and followed some of her lines after I saw her roll over a drop. I bottomed my fork for the 2nd time in its life on a transition at the bottom of a roll over. I have assimilated some lessons from the Better Ride clinic.

No riding pics. Pretty technical trail kept hands on the bars, feet pushing the pedals, and eyes down trail. I will say that I am having more fun riding as a result of the Better Ride, and I did ride faster and more skillful than if I had ridden by myself. Because the 3 in front rode whatever I followed. Look far ahead, center my weight, let go of the brakes and roll down. My pedal wheelie lifting my front wheel is coming along. Big improvement is my pedaling up the step up that completes the step up. Confidence in my strengthening legs.

We climbed up the jeep road back to the highway. Earlier talk was of riding the 2 miles up the highway to the start of the Ribbon trail. So close w/ a bit of a road climb to drop down on open slabs of sandstone dropping down into a wash then a grunt out. I hit 26 mph. Ardell smelled her heated brake pads. Mixed in where tech trails joining the slabs until we reached the wash. Bit of Sedona type riding mixed in.  A great reward for our uphill grunts.

Grunt climb out of wash ended our ride almost @ our rigs.

Ardell bid adieu and headed south. I lingered visiting w/ C & T till finally heading downhill and back to Fruita. I bought a shower @ the local RV park, grocery shopped, then drove back to my down by the river camp spot.

Tomorrow my XM receiver is to be delivered to OTE. My tabs should be in the mail as well as a mail shipment. Plan is to head south tomorrow towards Durango. The weather turns nasty for 2 days w/ forecasted snow that will make the mtn roads exciting. I will avoid the passes from Ouray to Durango via lower elevation roads w/ guard rails.

I waited 2 days b4 riding to let the trails dry out. Today I drove out to Kokopellis TH west of Fruita. Parked next to a car of Canadians who said they read about me. My purpose today was to ride step ups and rollovers using the skills taught @ Better Ride. I had mostly positive results. trick is to look far ahead for a point of reference and let the reflexes handle what’s under the wheels. Crazy, I look down to see what the front wheel rolled over.The trail system here goes places w/ tech features mixed in. Right above the Colorado River swollen and darkened by rains & snow melt from 2 days ago. I am riding slower and burning fewer calories.

Met Anne & Jen @ Hot Tomato where I ate dinner Wed night. Eric and Monica introduced themselves to me. Eric said he reads my blog daily. Hi Eric. They are from Colorado Springs.

Connected w/ Over the Edge bike shop.

My Patagonia micro puff mango color jacket arrived at the USPS that substituted for  my Pisgah jersey while cleaners removed the yogurt spills. Did wash in local laundromat that uses a mag card that I had saved from earlier visit. Cooler and higher humidity takes longer to dry my riding clothes that are hung on a clothes line inside my van.

Something is happening inside my body that I can’t put my cure on. I scored a DR appointment last night. He wore his shirt out, moused hair, cowboy boots, and chewing a wad of gum. I viewed him skeptically as a professional. After his diagnosis I viewed him less than thorough. He didn’t  succeed.

After the DR visit I treated myself to dinner @ Red Lobster for a taste of lobster. Expensive dinner. Lobster has a pleasant taste but I prefer Dungeness crab.

Tomorrow is a Halloween party @ Hot Tomato which is why I am here now.

Tonight I drove out to RD 18 for Book Cliff rides tomorrow. A woman talked w/ me today @ the TH who said that the gravel road had just been graded. I jumped on driving out as the road had always been horribly washboarded.  Established campsites were almost all full. I found one way at the end of the loop. Place is packed w/ riders. Tomorrow will be a wonderful day for a ride shared w/ the most number of riders I have ever experienced here.

I camped 2 nights one block away w/in sight of State Patrol barracks on a dead end side street. No visits. Below freezing each AM.

I called WA dept of licensing following up on my mail order tags. Spoke w/ same woman who told me how to order my tabs online. She said she mailed the tabs yesterday which means I passed the last hurdle of life on the road out of state living.

Rangers lost World Series.