August 14th
Route: Wedding Bell Hut to Paradox Valley
Mileage: ~33 milesElevation Gain: 3,100 ft.
Engagement with mud: frequent
Mud scraping sticks used: yes
 |
| Ominous start |
The clouds that had been following us around for the last few days finally did some raining last night. 8 hours worth. Enough to wash out sections of the dirt roads we were on and shit like that. So today was going to be one where we couldn't just go charging out the door...... Measure twice, cut once. That kind of an approach. No one wanted a quick drop into the Dolores River. Or a vertical uranium mine shaft.Rather than leave early, we actually delayed our departure to allow some of the rain to drain, and to discuss our options. And load up on salted nut rolls. And bacon.By 8, the skies had started to show some patches of blue, and things looked OK. it was time to see how this was going to go.
 |
| All smiles....... |
 |
| Adios Wedding Bell hut |
It went pretty well. Some stretches were fine. Some were not. We all spent some time stopping to scrape mud out of the drivetrain, tires, brakes and whatnot. There were moments of darkness, but somehow the shared experience made it bearable. Didn't set any speed records, but had a lot of laughs.
 |
| INCOMING!! |
 |
| 2 down, 1 still moving |
 |
| Jason getting his money's worth.... Check out that front derailer! |
By around noon, the worst was behind us and we were up on a Mesa looking forward to dropping down into Paradox Valley.
 |
| Drying out after a steamy climb |
 |
| Brice and Joe and the route sheet before heading down the "catch um up trail" |
 |
| The rest of us booked down to HWY 90 |
While stopped at the (currently closed) Bedrock store, John used his world class people skills (he's a natural) to get access to a farmers water spigot so we could fill our water bottles and hose some of the mud off the bikes.
 |
| Closed? I wanted some f#%ing ice cream! |
Then it was some easy riding on a series of dirt roads to our hut for the night.
 |
| Bob is all smiles as we near the hut |
 |
| John enjoying the pavement - notice his "mud stick" on his rear rack |
 |
| Pedaling in Paradox Valley |
 |
| Near one of the beautiful ranches in the valley |
 |
| Paradox Valley |
 |
| Paradox Valley hut |
 |
| The colorful drying tree |
 |
| Beer and bike maintenance. Hut life |
For the first time in several nights, we went to bed under clear skies. Maybe the rain was done?
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment