It is rare to have good biking on New Year's Eve. Moab occasionally has lower level trails rideable, St. George may have a few of our non-favorites and other than that, locally, there just isn't much available.
We have been wanting to explore the Kokopelli trail system near Grand Junction Colorado for some time. So with the weather holding, Guthrie wanting to test his new Christmas bike and the trails in decent condition we decided to head down Saturday morning at 4 A.M.
The trail system around Loma (near Grand Junction/Fruita) is quite expansive. We wanted to ride as much as possible so we hit Mary's Loop, Horsethief, Steve's Loop, Lion's Loop, Mack's Ridge and returned on Moore fun.
The views are gorgeous with the river, the red rocks and the light dusting of snow.
Testing out the suspension and seatpost that drops at the touch of a button.
Mack's Ridge, the trail follows the Rim. The climb up was a steep fire road, but the sweet singletrack on top and the descent to the bottom was worth it.
The look out off Moore Fun or Mack's Ridge, I forget. The day began windy but by afternoon we only had a long sleeve shirt and leg warmers. Actually a great day for riding.
This is a section of trail on Moore Fun, or as another rider put it; "ain't moore fun". It stood out in my mind because I was on a hard tail (no rear suspension) and it was a little rough, but still worth it. The ride/hike in the snow up moore fun was a little tedious as the trail is steep, rocky and had about 4 inches of snow on it. But the riding at the top and descent was worth it.
Grand Junction is worth trying out. With Tabegauche and these trails it could easily provide an enjoyable and long day of riding. Plus, any time you can ride 25 miles on New Years Eve in 30-40 degree weather it is worth it.
