A couple weekends ago, I loaded into a lovely AWD sport wagon with some new friends from Elevation Outdoors and we headed to the winter haven for mountain bikers in Colorado – FRUITA.
The sad truth was that despite living in Colorado for 8 years, I had never snuck off for a weekend to Fruita. I rode a Mountain States Cup XC race years ago at Rabbit Valley, but that was the extent of Fruita riding! I was excited to go back and check things out.
We were on a mission that was more than just riding – create a TV episode for EO TV. The plus side was sweet digs via Fruita Crashpad (really beautiful, spacious vacation rental house), great food, and quality time. The downside to any type of videoshooting is that you don’t get to shred as many trails as you’d like!
Here were the players for the weekend:
Tim – badass bike handler with balls of steel and biologist extraodinaire
Cameron, aka Off Yonder. Click for Cameron’s EO BLOG. He was our cameraman and on the most vintage bike of the group. He has also enlisted himself as my big brother, so you boys better watch out!
Nick – the ringer – the 17 year old in the bunch, and more mature than all of us!
Chris – climber and writer, braving the trails and crushing it! Click for Chris’ EO BLOG
Cameron cracked the whip and we were all out of bed at 6 AM Saturday morning… and some of us had a camera in our face!
We headed to Aspen Street Coffee to fuel our morning. Chris also made us coffee at the house before we left and it was so good. (thank you Chris!) Aspen Street Coffee’s owners Michelle and Tom were super cool. They bake all their own pastries in house and have a good menu selection.
They also have cool local art for sale on the walls.
We rode Horsethief and got to test our tech skills. I didn’t make the drop in, but Tim and Nick were having at it! It was my first time on a 29er (hardtail) on rocky desert terrain. I was really happy with the big wheels!
Tim is badass Photo: Off Yonder. It was cool to see all kinds of people out trying to nail this section!
I was more keen on the drop ins with less severe consequences!
After Horsethief shenanigans, we headed to Grand Junction and rode some of the Lunch Loops trails. Holy Cross was a HOOT!
Our tortured hungry souls went to Hot Tomato that night for dinner. It was fun because I got to see some of my racer buddies there refueling after the race that was out in Fruita the same weekend!
Hot Tomato for dinner with super yummy cookies, super yummy pizza, and of course, super yummy beer!
Sunday morning, Cameron and I got started and tagteamed making breakfast for the group we were riding with that morning – the Singletrack Sisters. They are a large group of local shredders and they do lots of rides together. I enjoyed getting to know some of them and getting out on the bike on the 18 Road trails. Super fast and fun!
After a killer weekend, we headed home just ahead of the next crazy spring snowstorm. I enjoyed the blue sky as we cruised through Summit County. Can’t wait for summer!
I am excited for the video editing to be done on the episode. You’ll get to see the trail, a lot of great personal stories from local business owners, and the Singletrack Sisters!
2 days later, I got on a plane to California.
