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Mountain Biking
Single
Track Heaven
Krista Crabtree -
MountainZone.com Correspondent
Fruita, Colorado boasts
some of the best singletrack in the U.S. The setting sun illuminates
the blades of grass in the meadow that spreads out before us. A smooth,
shoulder-width trail stretches to the horizon. Banded cliffs flank us on each
side. There's no one else around save forearm-sized lizards. Is this a savanna
in Africa? No, it's Fruita, Colorado, one of the country's newest mountain bike
destinations.
Mountain bikers have been driving past this
mostly agricultural town for years en route to Moab, Utah, the pre-ordained
Mecca
of biking. What they didn't know was that locals began developing trails in
Fruita in the early 1980s. Thanks to them and numerous volunteers, you can now
ride miles and miles on some of the buffest, baby-butt smooth, singletrack in
the U.S.
"An hour before sunset we head out for our first ride in
Fruita. We cruise down a drainage on Prime Cut to Joe's Ridge, at first a curvy
singletrack like a Disneyland ride without the lines..."
We pull off I-70 at the Fruita exit and
load up on food and water at City Market. Then it's a visit to Over the Edge
Sports to pick up the Fruita Fat Tire Guide, complete with maps and honest
trail descriptions. There are several camping options; we choose the Bookcliffs
area off of 18 Road for its proximity to the multiple loops and out and backs.
It's "leave no trace" camping in designated sites because of the fragile desert
ecosystem and means packing out all human waste.
The most noticeable aspects of the area,
besides the incredible open space and the fragrant Juniper trees, are the dust
and the heat so we create a tarp city between our vehicles as a respite from
the relentless, afternoon sun. In the vacation mode we set up lawn chairs and a
grill to entertain ourselves during the almost unrideable heat between 1pm and
4pm. People ride in Fruita year-round but many prefer the more mild
temperatures of spring and fall. Locals advise not to ride in the mud, as it's
the type of clay that will stop your bike and propel your body as well as
damage the trails. An hour before sunset we head out for our first ride in
Fruita. We cruise down a drainage on Prime Cut to Joe's Ridge, at first a curvy
singletrack like a Disneyland ride without the lines. The amusement park
grounds in this case is the Grand Valley fenced in by the Bookcliffs, a cliff
band of sandstone and adobe. We ride almost effortlessly through meadows, pump
our legs up whoop-de-dos and negotiate steep, technical sections.
There's something for every level here,
including the IMBA's first epic ride called The Edge, a 29-mile loop on
singletrack and fire roads complete with a rope portage down a 30-foot
waterfall. The next day we ride trails like Zippity-Doo-Dah, an advanced
eight-mile loop with a mellow start into a hard climb and a steep descent.
Later, an out and back on The Fronted provides us with a great views of the
valley. A fiery sunset over a beautiful meadow with a fast descent of the
ladders off Chutes and Ladders marks our finale at this mountain biking
dreamworld.
For a change of venue, we pack up camp and
head just west of Fruita to Loma. The extensive trail systems here mark the
genesis of Fruita riding and also the beginning of the popular
Kokopelli
Trail, a 144-mile trail with 4800 feet of climbing on singletrack and
two-track all the way to Moab.
On trails like Horsethief Bench, Lion's
Loop and Mary's Loop we find some radical descents and more singletrack with
plenty of exposure over the Colorado River, so much so that at points I feel my
energy bar resurfacing. Every corner delivers a view and there are plenty of
scenic stop points along the loops. For the desert, Fruita is unbelievably
green. For such an incredible mountain biking area, it's uncrowded. Watch out
for the lizards.
— Krista Crabtree, MountainZone.com
Correspondent |
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