Today is wednesday, hump day for sure.  We got president's day off and I am taking a half day vacation this friday and I'm getting anxious.  We're off to Jackson Hole to ski the big mountain!   I hope we get a powder day!   Stay tuned as I'll be writing it up on my return.

Went to Arapahoe Basin on Saturday... the day was nice and sunny, with no wind.  Wind can definitely ruin A-basin.  Went to Keystone on sunday....shesh, are my legs shot, BUT...gotta get ready for JH!  Even been riding my bike into work every day.

Well, it's been a while since I 've written anything, but I 've been busy with lots of fun stuff since Durange. I've not been on a sunday breakfast club ride since winter began..... gotta admit, the call to ski down a mountain is stronger than the call to ride.  I've skied every weekend except one and it was in mid-january.  So far this season, I skiied Wolf Creek once, Vail twice, Beaver Creek once, Breckenridge three times, and Keystone twice.  Not been to A basin yet.  I've skiied Steamboat for two days (yup, it was a blast but our group was robbed while we were using the outdoor hot tubs).  Some hoodlums entered the locker room and took everybody's stuff.  My friend Dalton had $40 in his shoes and he lost the money and the shoes. Trey was hit the hardest... they got his wallet and byt the time he was able to cancel his accounts, it was already too late.... someone had spent $575.00 at a ski/snowboard shop.  I lost a nice new Columbia fleece jacket and my cell phone... got off cheap compared to others.  We at least got the hotel to comp a night for free and give us a free breakfast.  So lesson learned was "Don't let your guard down too much...even in Colorado cause there are still theives waiting for us to give them a chance to rob us".  Besides that minor distraction, Steamboat still remains one of my favorite places to ski.  Got to get ready..  We have a trip planned for later this month to Jackson Hole.... We pray for snow, snow and more snow.  I'll have to report on that trip.... it's going to be epic.

Durango Trail ride report

Thursday, Oct 16.
The original idea for this trip was to visit/ride in Moab, Durango and Crested Butte.  When I mentioned this plan to a friend, he thought it a silly idea (not in those exact words - but the message was clear.... Stay in one place and ride some good trails). The trees were just past peak colors. Once we got there, we saw the wisdom in this advice and stayed in Durango.... sorry, crusty butt will have to wait 'till next year. 

So my friend Jerome and I (Jerome is who took me up Long's Peak) leave
work at 2:30 and were making good time.  We are nearing Wolf Creek Pass
when we come across a wreck in the road.  I turn on the CB radio and find out from the truckers that there is a RV in the ditch. I ask how long they have been there and they tell me that they've been waiting for about 30 minutes and it should only be 20 more minutes.  After 45 minutes, nothing has changed except now the police are telling us it will be 2 hours or more.  I remember the truckers talking about some vehicles which got through by cutting through a nearby motel/gas station parking lot.  I went to the police woman there and asked if I could pass through, figuring it was better to ask for permission than to just barge through. She thanks me for asking but denies passage.  So we just watched the rescue workers.  Finally, the policewoman decides that she is going to have to let traffic cut through the parking lot.  Well, the owner of the motel and gas station has a little car (which didn't run) and it is blocking the parking lot.  The police woman comes up to Jerome and I and says that she'll let us through if we help her.... which we do.   But to get the car out of the way, we had to rock this thing up and down on the front end and "hop" the front end over.  This was exhausting, but J and I manage to get it. So we earn the right to be the first one's through.  Turns out that they only let about 5 cars through before they stopped, so luck was on our side and we get to Durango. 

Friday, Oct 17.
What a beautiful day!   The weather is gorgeous and there is not one cloud in the sky.  We are about one week past the peak color change so we are loving the scenery.  We decide to ride the Colorado trail, starting from Junction Creek.  Jerome has brought his dog Molly and the three of us start off climbing.  The first hour was not good.... my mountain bike skills were really dusty and I kept messing up so we stop and rest for a bit in a beautiful Aspen grove, still in color.  Molly is impatient and wants to continue with the trail. We eat a little and start again.  Now I find my "groove" and start riding really well.  We continued climbing to the highest point which is about 17 miles up the trail. This takes up about 4.5 hours but is stunning in it's beauty and scenery. So we get to the high point and decide to make this our turn around point.  Wow, 4.5 hours of climbing means one great downhill.....and it was!  I really got to use my fully suspended bike and appreciate it's ride quality.  As we are decending like bats out of hell, we come upon one of the funniest parts of our adventure.  We come across this couple lying right off the side of the trail and he's busy muff diving his gal.    Jerome startles them and says "What's up!?" to the dude, who is coming out from under the gals skirt with a big smile on his face. As I roll by, I politely say "Excuse us".  Further down the trail, J and I just about fall over laughing.   So we continued the descent and we're back down in about an hour.  Wow.... 4.5 hours to go up, one hour to come down.  I would strongly recommend this trail. It started out fairly mellow, but then took some really steep turns but then it leveled out and was smooth single track... it was an awesome time. Afterwards, we head into town and shower at the local laudromat - it was $3.50 for a 6 minute shower.... the water was hot and the pressure was high so it was well worth the $ to clean up.  We then went to Steamworks (Durango's equivalent to Coopersmith's) for dinner and a few good beers. 

Saturday, Oct 18.
Another beautiful day!  Can we top that ride we did yesterday?  We stop in one of the local bike shops to talk to the guys in the shop.  We are considering the Hermosa trail, but want to hear the scoop.  The guy in the shop tells us that Hermosa is one of the most popular trails in Durango and his personal favorite.  This trail in 22 miles long and most people ride it one way only.  We decided to ride it as an out and back. So we leave Durango for the town of Hermosa. 

Today, Molly is really sore and tired.  Jerome and I figure that she shouldn't/can't come and so she stays in the truck.  Off we go...  This trail was amazing.... with a wide variety of terrain and obstacles. Some sections of the trail are very exposed and narrow.  At some portions of the trail, I had to stop pedalling and unclip my bindings so that I could half walk and half pedal my bike.... why did I do this?  A man has to know his limits and my nerves couldn't take it...... it was downright scary in some areas.  Portions of this trail are so narrow and exposed, it left no room for error.... Jerome was able to ride through this, he said he just focused on the trail.  I tried this but couldn't get over the exposure....hey, I'm afraid of heights.... just being able to get through these sections was good enough for me. (This trail made me think of the cliche "motorcycling is the lazy man's Zen".  What this means to me is that when a man is riding his motorcycle, his focus must be right there at that exact moment at 100% or error will be catastrophic.  This was true for this trail.  You had to be focused 100% or pay the consequences. I guess that when you come to the edge of living, it makes you appreciate life all that much more (at least that's how I felt, but I'm ramblimg.... back to the report). After a bit, the trail comes down to a more reasonable elevation above the creek and opens up to some really nice double track.  There were some really rocky and technical areas that were thrilling.  I was amazed at some of the stuff we were able to ride over.   The trail ends in Purgatory.... the trail is described as a climb from Hermosa to Purgatory, which it was, but it also had undulations which made it that much more difficult.  7 and a half hours later, we emerge from the trail.  Jerome is on the verge of bonking and I am cramping badly.  So the cramps go away and I start back to the truck.  From the trailhead to my truck was a nice downhill ride on a gravel road.  I'm getting near my truck so I begin to turn.  Being so tired, I guess my road skills took over (more like I was being sloppy and non-focused) and I turned like I was on pavement......
Wham!  I go down hard onto the gravel as my wheels loose traction.  Ouch!  Trail rash!.... I get up stunned and then I realize I can't move my right arm.  Darn it... I think I broke my right clavicle AGAIN!    As the pain begins to subside, I realize that I've only dislocated my shoulder and pop it back into place.. OUCH!   I pick up my bike and walk back to my truck.  Jerome is there lying on the ground, completely oblivious to what just happened.  A few moments later, I start to clean my trail rash and we bust open some food and eat dinner right there. After we recover for a little, we decide to go back into town for showers and beer.  As we are driving back to Durango, we pass the Trimble Hot springs.  Jerome starts looking back and suggested that we go and soak in some hot therapeutic water.  I agree and we go back. After soaking in the hottest spring, I felt great and felt little pain in my shoulder.  We went back to Steamworks for some beer and hot wings.
 
Sunday, we were too sore and tired.  We packed up camp and went to town and spent a couple hours walking around and did a little shopping.  We left Durango around 12:30 pm and were back in Fort Collins by 7 pm. 

This was the very best mountain bike trip yet. It made the Appalachain mountains feel like nothing. I really had a good time, regardless of the dislocated shoulder.  Wouldn't change a thing!  I highly recommend these two trails to all mountain bikers and roadies alike.  It was food for the soul.  I feel so rejuvenated right now.  I came back ready and eager to go back to work.