Tabegauche - 18 Road Trails - Fruita, Colorado

Starting out

I love new trails, new adventures and new places. Because of that for some time I have been wanting to ride Tabegauche and 18 Road in Colorado, close to Fruita and Grand Junction. We were planning another trip to Moab to test out the new Pipe dream - Hidden valley - moab rim trail, but the weather looked decent so we opted for Fruita instead.



G heading up andy's loop.

Heading up Andy's loop


I used my phone (Very cool having a smart phone, I used it for pictures, video, trail directions and maps, gps and music) to find directions and the trail maps on juicyfruita.com. So off we went. Rolling into and past fruita there was frost on the ground and a heavy mist in the air. We began questioning our decision, but decided that we were here and there was no turning back. 

 More of andy's


We started off climbing up the tabegauche trail, but it was a double track and we didn't drive four and a half hours to ride up a road, so we left the road on pet-e-keys went up to eagles wing then down to Andy's loop. Andy's was gorgeous, it involved a lot of steep climbing, and some walking, but it was worth it. (at the tops we saw another trail that went around the mountain we climbed and ended up in the same spot - next time we will try that). After climbing over and back down into a wash, we carried our bikes a little up a very unrideable section. Still worth it...We were finally at the top. There we picked up Lunch line to eagles wing, and climbed to the highest point. The view was amazing.

These are all views from Eagles wing.

From there we descended eagles wing to Holy Cross. All these trails are technical, but Holy Cross was our favorite, ramps, small drops, chutes, tight turns...it was awesome, the kind of riding I would drive 4.5 hours to repeat. 

From holy Cross we descended via Ali Ali, then Curtis lane. We ended up riding about 15 miles and climbed about 2000 feet. What a great ride. This is one we will do every year.

But we weren't done yet...

We had heard a lot about 18 road...ridge line riding...fast descents...so I found the trail map again on  Juicyfruita.com...it turned out to be more like a glorified lambert park in Alpine. It is fun, just not what we expected.

We rode up Prime cut and came down kessel run the first time...a short 7 mile loop. Kessel run is very similar to rodeo in lambert, descends a gully and curves up each side, but much longer...it was fun, but after tabegauche kind of a let down.

The next loop we ascended prime cut again, this time a little bored, then headed over to Zippity Doo Da, just as we were getting to the good stuff, ridge line steep descents, I snapped my rear shock linkage in half...that is the second time,  it wasn't fully broken however, so with some zip ties, wire and duct tape I was able to lightly ride my bike to the road and return to the parking via th dirt road.

G went on and rode the entire loop.

G riding down a fairly common section on Zippity. Very Cool.

We were going to do a little more riding, but my broken bike negated that possibility.

Back in the car.

Change in Green river at our favorite gas station with clean bathrooms.

Buy mountain dew to stay awake.

Cross the street for dinner at Arbys.

Return to Orem.

It was an amazing trip and we will definitely ride those trails again.

Now on to the next adventures...Moab in April, San Rafael in May, Boulder Mountains in June, Rainbow Rim, Virgin Rim...

It's going to be a good year...

The first real Utah Valley ride...

For those who are familiar with the movie "Seven Brides and Seven Brothers", there is a time when the men and women of the village have been waiting all year for the pass to open. It's a memorable scene when the man rides into the village shouting, "The pass is open, The pass is open". That scene illustrates how we feel when the trails, however few they may be, are open.

Guthrie heading up from the Racecourse trails to the water tank road

The trails begin at the Timpanogos Park near the mouth of Provo canyon. After climbing a short dirt road, the single track begins. The trails wander and switch back for a short distance until they become steep before reaching the road. However, most of the trails are rideable.

Guthrie goes up first because it give me a chance to rest and take pictures, mainly rest though.

After reaching the road we took a right and went up "Betty" to the "Altar".

The trails were all in amazing shape, dry enough to ride without leaving ruts or tracks, but still damp enough that normally loose sections were tacky.

The views from the top of the cliffs are actually quite cool.

After reaching the "altar" we descended "Frank" to the water tank road. We followed the road around to where the singletrack continues descending on a trail known as "Dragon's Back". After hitting the Provo parkway trail, we headed up and connected with the Bst heading away from Bridal veil falls. We rode this trail for about 1 mile until we hit snow and mud, then turned around.

Normally the parkway trail is just a smooth coast back to the park, however today the wind was blowing fiercely up the canyon so the coast was now a pedal. It was all peaceful until Guthrie saw two other bikers ahead of us. Whenever this happens, Guthrie puts his head down a little, shifts down and tries to catch and then pass then, sure enough; his head went down, shifted down and accelarated. After passing them, you can't be passed again, so we held the pace until the bottom.

It was amazing to get out on the trails for the first time. Other trails are also ready, (Lambert park, Corner canyon) but the Foothill trails (follow the link to find a map) seem to be steeper and we have ridden them less. Over all we did 14 miles.

A great day.

St. George Biking

You know those days when everything is right? The Temperature, breeze, attitude, trail conditions...everything. Saturday was one of those days.

My brother and I decided it was time for our first biking trip. Our fitness level was fairly low, so I spent about two weeks spinning everyday after work, and he worked out twice, I still couldn't keep up.

There were some new trails we wanted to try called Zen, Barrel Roll, sidewinder, and Guacamole. It had rained the week before, but with seven days of sun and a light breeze the trail conditions were in biking lingo, "Hero Dirt"...amazing...perfect.

We hit the first trail called Zen.

It is a amazing new singletrack that climbs about 1100 feet and includes technical climbing, descending and great views. I consider it a must ride.

After Zen we rode some semi-new trails outside of Santa Clara called Barrel Roll and Sidewinder.

These are also fun trails but not at the level of zen, a little less technical, but some great flowing sections, perhaps more intermediate.

After finishing Barrell Roll we, along with every baseball team in Utah, stopped by subway for lunch.

Black Forest ham with lettuce, onions, cucumbers, pickles and Yellow Peppers. Perfect.

After Lunch we headed out to a rarely ridden trail just outside of Arches called Guacamole. It was by far the best of the day and a perfect ending. The trail is a combination of dirt singletrack and slick rock, very similar to little creek or Gooseberry mesa. The road up was beyond the capacity of the Saturn so we pedaled up the trail, the ride was more than worth it.

Over all a great day riding. 27 Miles, 65 degrees, sunny with a light breeze.

For the ride home we took the scenic route through Zion National Park. Very pretty and very empty this time a year.

Dinner was at Arbys in Panguitch, which is where that first photo originated. Guthrie sporting his Bieber-hair-helmet.

In two weeks is Fruita.

The season has begun.

In an effort to add more adventure to our snowshoeing trips, we now backcountry snowboard. The idea originally started when we went up past Scofield reservoir near Electric Lake to get Christmas trees. I noticed there were many slopes that would be prime snowboarding or skiing spots, so the tradition began. On different weekends we drive up, scout out a new spot, snow shoe up and the board down. As I had never snow boarded before some of the descents are a little rough, but still so enjoyable.

This time we brought tiny. He loved it until his snowboard broke.

Looking down on Options. We named it "Options" because once you get to the top there are so many different lines to ride, thus Options. The top is very steep, but it mellows out toward the bottom. By-the-way, the guy on the left is not me, just some bum we found up there. The one on the right is "Tiny".

Guthrie heading down.

I may look like I am trying to spray Guthrie with snow, on the contrary, I was trying not to kill him.

Again Guthrie, notice the perfect form.

This is me, half out-of-control but somehow still able to get down the mountain with few falls.

Since we began doing this instead of biking, winter has become very enjoyable again. This day we did the loop 5 times. Snowboard down, snowshoe up, rest for a minute (or two) snowboard down. Repeat 5 times.

Love it!!

 

Do Snowshoes really work?

Due to the fact that my family snow shoes quite often, (and perhaps because of my larger-than-average-perhaps-I-should-be-on-the Biggest Loser-size), people commonly ask if snowshoes really work.

Yes they do...here is some proof.

Keep in mind the video is low quality, but you get the point (it was taken by an older version of the waterproof, droproof, olympus camera)

First the Location. Julie Andrews Meadow, about 2.5 miles up from the Bear canyon trail head, much less traveled than the pine hollow freeway trail, steeper(2,000 feet in 2.5 miles), but much less raveled.

Second, the snow depth; Guthrie dug down until he hit dirt at around six feet. The next two are the test. One without one snowshoe, the other with both.

Without one Snow shoe.

With two Snowshoes.

Conclusion, yeah they work.

Fun? You bet.

Hard work? Breaking trail is one of the hardest workouts I have ever done.

Don't believe me? Come try it, you will probably love it as much as we do, just please don't tell everyone about this trail (Big smiley face emoticon).

Julie Andrew's meadow and beyond.

Two Days last week I Snowshoed to Julie Andrew's Meadow in AF canyon. The first was exploratory as I had never been there in the winter, but we still made it. It was a Beautiful day.

Heading up the Bear Canyon Trail.

My 68 year old Dad, with timpanogos in the background.

Heading into the valley.

Later in the week on Saturday. Myself, Tiny, Dallas, Tanner, Guthrie, Gavin and my Dad all went.

We made it to the Valley, then Dad and Gavin turned back and the rest of us decided to do a little more exploration.

Heading up a 45 degree slope.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/video/video.php?v=10150335371820293&comments

The link above is a video of us Climbing.

Me and Tiny at the top. That is Utah Valley in the Background.

Heading along the ridgetop.

We did a lot of jumping on the way down. This is Tanner.

Guthrie

Guthrie

Me and Tiny.

What a great couple of days snowshoeing.

Goodwater Rim, San Rafael Swell

In my quest to see much if not all of the state of Utah before I die, it was time to try a new biking location; the San Rafael Swell. Having lived in Utah for most of my life, I was surprised I had never been to a place that is so amazing. The drive out seems lifeless enough. . .Huntington and Castle Dale are anything but "outdoor" cities like unto Moab or Park City, but the pictures we had seen were too intriguing. Before Castle Dale we hung a left and began a 50 mph dirt road through a large prairie "for the lack of a better word".

At a "V" in the road there was a lonely outhouse and map, both of which looked new but contained bullet holes.

There we parked and began riding a dirt road to the "rim" of the swell and a place called the "wedge" or "Good water rim". After a short 15 minute ride, we found the rim, and it did not disappoint. Pictures can never do it justice. It was an overcast day, but the scenery was still amazing. The trail follows the rim for the next 16 miles...all single track...no other people...not too technical...and beautiful.

It only took us three hours to ride and we had cell phone and even Internet coverage the entire time. (at our lunch break I was actually Gmail chatting with a friend in the northern most part of Brazil).

At the bottom of the Gorge is a small river called the Little San Rafael. It is a very popular Kayaking river as it is very scenic and only a class 2 float (that is less than the Provo river). Next May we are floating it.

Another Amazing place, yet much less crowded, to keep the outdoor adventure bug alive.

For a lousy video of our adventure click this link;