Pedaling from Durango to Moab - Day 3

August 12th

Route: Black Mesa Hut to Dry Creek Basin Hut
Mileage: ~35 miles
Elevation gained: 2,100 ft.
Cow vs. cyclist near misses: a few
Crashes: zero (i'd pat myself on the back, but my shoulder hurts....)
SPAM consumed: yes
Lost riders: 2

Today we left the San Juan Mountains

Another 8:00 start, and another fun day of riding. Today we were leaving the San Juan Mountains and descending into Dry Creek Basin. A majority of the route was on fire roads and we had a lot more down than up - no one complained about that.

a view out towards the west

lots of this

and then we were out of the mountains

Once out of the mountains we were in a broad high valley with a few, scattered small towns and cattle grazing. Cloud cover kept the temps reasonable, otherwise it would have been hot.

chatting up some locals at Miramonte Reservoir

Once again, all of us were at the Dry Valley Hut by early afternoon - except for the 2 guys who rode right by our carefully constructed cairn indicating where to turn......... they eventually figured it out and we all spent the afternoon hanging out, doing bike maintenance and drinking (now not so cold) beer. Still hit the spot.

enjoying the view

Bob's frisbee picked up a pokie

hectic pace of hut life

The highlight of the evening was John's SPAM and mac-n-cheese dinner. A hit with everyone.

As was the case with all of the previous days, we got quite a bit of rain from an afternoon thunderstorm, and we could see the rain soaking our route for tomorrow. Little did we know it, but we were about to be introduced to the soul crushing fun of riding in the mud.

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Pedaling from Durango to Moab - Day 2

August 11th

Route: Bolam Pass Hut to Black Mesa Hut
Mileage: ~29 miles
Elevation gain: 3,800 Ft.
Crashes: 1
Deer sightings: many
Salted nut rolls consumed: 1 box (mostly by Brice)
Lost riders: 1

Bob and John on descent towards HWY 145

After Joe whipped us up a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs, we were on the trail for Black Mesa by 8:00. The group would split, with 3 taking the East Fork of the Dolores River Trail (single track) and 3 taking the "standard route". Both options were great! The single track group had (1) crash (for unknown reasons....) but no injuries or bike problems. After yesterday's long and somewhat stressful day, we all enjoyed the heck out of the riding.

John's smile says it all

We were all at the hut by 1 or 2 (well, someone kept pedaling past the hut, but was quickly retrieved) and enjoyed a more relaxed afternoon and evening just hanging out. The combination of elevation and afternoon thunderstorms chilled things down a bit, so stoking up the wood burning stove felt just right.

Black Mesa Hut

Luckily, there was another box of these

John tending the fire

Jason enjoying a beer, while Joe puts the finishing touches on another killer dinner

We were settling into the routine of hut life quite nicely.

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Pedaling from Durango to Moab - Day 1

August 10th

Route: Little Molas lake to Bolam Pass Hut (via the Colorado Trail)
Mileage: ~20 miles
Elevation gain: ~3,800 Ft.
Mechanical: (1) flat
Medical: (1) dislocated shoulder
Lost riders: 2

All shiny at the start of the ride

"Fellas, we've had some luck today, and not all of it has been good......". That's how Brice summed up day 1. At the time is was after 7 p.m., we were all tired from a long day, and 2 of our team were still out (presumably on/near the trail). But I am getting ahead of myself......
The start of the ride was at Little Molas Lake trailhead (10,900 ft.) which got us onto the Colorado Trail. Single tack through spectacular alpine terrain - YEE DAWGIES UNCLE JED!

Bob-O!

For the first 4 miles it was PERFECT. Then John got a flat (no biggie), and shortly thereafter I stepped off my bike at a place where there was NO TRAIL and tumbled down the slope a ways - DOH! At some point my shoulder got itself dislocated (tumbling can do that.....). Since it had happened before, I knew how to reduce it (put it back in) myself, and as soon as I knew what had happened, I did just that. Nothing else (including the bike) seemed too worse for the adventure, so I decided to keep going. Hopefully the rest of the day would go better!

It's only funny until someone gets hurt....

We made some good progress until a thunderstorm chased us all into the bushes for cover - time for another stop.

Jason wondering what he has got himself into

Off and on rain would be constant companion for the rest of the day, but the lightning stayed a safe distance away. And the scenery was pretty swell.

Nearing Rolling Pass (12,600 ft.)

Abundant flowing water on the route

Streams were crossed

John putting game face on for the final climb

After Rolling Pass, we thought we would just downhill our way to the hut (a better review of the map revealed that we still had some climbing to do....). We all pushed hard, but this 20 miles was talking a long time! After a last minute navigation challenge, four of us were at the Bolam Pass hut around 5:00.

view right before the hut

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Bolam Pass Hut

Food-o-plenty

By 7:00 the other guys were still out, and we were starting to get a bit concerned and started talking about what we would do if they didn't show up before morning. When they finally arrived around 8:00 p.m., they fessed up that they had taken a wrong turn and had to back track a bit to remedy the error.

So as Day 1 ended, we were all safe and sound in the hut and a little wiser about what it would take to get through the rest of the trip without anymore mishaps. Doesn't mean we would act on what we had learned - but at least we knew better now!

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Pedaling from Durango to Moab (getting to the start - finally!)

The last leg of the "getting to the trailhead" journey was a short shuttle ride up to the Little Molas Lake trailhead. The Durango Mountain Resort had a handy shuttle service (of course) and our friendly driver had us up to our starting point by 9:00. Whew. enough pavement - let's do some riding!

Our friendly shuttle driver

Joe, Jason, Brice, John, Ron and Bob before the fun began

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Pedaling from Durango to Moab (getting to the start: day 2)

After a restful night's sleep, we are up early and looking for breakfast (our neighbors have roosters....). After being denied at the Wake and Bake cafe - they don't open until 8 (maybe too much "Baking" last night), we discover the Peace Tree Cafe - what a great place! friendly service and excellent food.
Next up, we meet Paul from Red Rock Express for our shuttle to the Durango Mountain Resort (not affiliated with the Lazy Lizard operation....). Stop me if this is getting old, but what a great guy! Reliable, friendly and a (serious) mountain biker himself.

That's right bitches ..... a Cadillac Escalade

Paul

The ride takes about 3 hours and we get a good view of the southern aspect of the La Sal mountains - the second range we will be riding over. Our accommodations at the Durango Mountain Resort (formerly known as Purgatory) are much nicer than last nights. Much nicer.

Sweet!

The only downside with DMR is the lack of food options - we weren't really looking for a white linen dining experience, so we opted to load up on dinner stuff (and breakfast for tomorrow) at the deli/convenience store/only place available.......

Jason's salad had a rough ride back to the condo.....

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Pedaling from Durango to Moab (getting to the start: day 1)

Before we could start all of the fun, we needed to get our bikes and ourselves to Durango. We would be leaving our cars in Moab so all of the logistics would be on the front end, and all we would need to do once we landed in Moab was eat, sleep and drive home (after a shower and what not).
Here's a quick run down of how we did that:
Jason graciously volunteers his family sub-mini van (Mazda 5) with the caveat "I think it will work". That's the spirit man! We find out at 5:30 a.m.., when Jason and Bob meet John and I at my Palmdale compound. Not only does the van fit all four of us, our gear and our bikes, but it does it with plenty of room and comfort. Things are starting well.
The less said about the 11 or so hour drive to Moab the better. Once you clear Vegas the scenery improves continuously until you reach Moab. But 11 hours in the car is a long time.

Jason trying to keep it together; Bob with laser beam focus on road

Jason, Bob and John at a gas and food stop in Beaver

........right

Now the scenery is getting better

And better

a quick stop for some Scooby snacks just outside of Moab

Moab! (the place where motorhomes come to die.....)

I have lined us up some swanky digs for the night - Lazy Lizard Hostel......(well, the price was right anyway). Here's what we see as we roll up to "check in":

ask us about hourly rates.....

The scene inside the hostel proper was quite "international" with many different languages being spoken (all angrily) and some very relaxed staff. very relaxed. I am sure it was just a crazy Saturday, but we were glad that we had our own "house" (actually a double-wide) up the highway a bit. So up the road we went.

OK, the place WAS funky... but it was clean, well maintained, and the air conditioner worked.

Just like home - a home from 1978

John liberally interpreting the "NO BIKES IN HOUSE" sign

We had time to head into town for dinner and beers at the Moab Brewery. Surprisingly good food and great beer (pro tip: all draft beer in Utah is 3.2% alcohol. BUT you can order adult strength beer in cans and pour it into a glass - Utah.....).

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