We went to Fruita/Grand Junction for four days and basked in the desert sun. It was wonderful. I got a tan. The kids got dirty. And I spent all of Wednesday day dreaming about riding instead of focusing on my job.
Though if you want to be completely honest, there were some moments in which I completely questioned our sanity. Camping and riding with two kids is not what I would characterize as a "relaxing" vacation. I brought my Kindle and read exactly zero pages. I managed to read one whole magazine page. Between riding, kid wrangling, making dinner, cleaning up from dinner, getting kids to bed...I need a vacation from my vacation.
Just kidding.
Maybe.
It was and is all so so worth it. But...*YAWN*.
There was a moment on Saturday night when Tygh was fast asleep on the floor of our itty bitty trailer and Hazel "accidentally" stepped on him, thereby waking him up for the next two hours and causing me to spend that entire time making circuits of the campground with him in the Ergo just hoping he would fall back asleep...at that point, I was seriously dreaming of a luxury hotel with a spa. Alone. Very, very alone.
But then there were other moments when Hazel sat around the campfire with us, negotiating over the number of s'mores she was allowed to eat or when Tygh ate breakfast with us on a glorious desert morning, laughing at nothing in particular except for the fact that his family was all together, enjoying a desert spring.
And there was the riding. Oh, the riding. Fruita is known as a hotbed of mountain bike riding and for good reason. I would also contend that the road riding is pretty spectacular. Brian and I both rode the Monument (though on separate days because you know...kids) and it is a top ten road ride in my book. I have ridden many, many beautiful places and the Monument is definitely up there. The only downside is that I wanted to take pictures on the entire ride but I was either going up and reluctant to stop and cramp or down and I didn't want to give up my speed. Luckily, Brian is more proficient with a camera while riding than I am and he took some better pictures on his ride.
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On Sunday, I did something I've wanted to do for a couple of months: I took a singletrack skills camp. It didn't change my life or anything, but it gave me a lot more confidence. I definitely learned what I am capable of on a mountain bike AND I learned how to be more capable when I come upon features that really frighten me. I rode a trail I would probably never have done by myself (since I seem to do most of my riding alone). I did some things I never would have done by myself. I won a pair of Keen mountain biking shoes.
It was a good time and money well spent.
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The next day, Brian rode the same trail and took some pictures for me since I was too busy "camping" to get any of my own.
The hike-a-bike down to the trail. No, I did not ride this. I value my limbs and my life. Also, uh...NO. Though I did see one guy attempt it. He did not make it.
Desert sunsets are pretty rad.
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You know what else is rad? Spending time with my two favorite under-age characters, even if it is just a short "hike" along the Colorado River.
On Monday, I met up with a Twitter friend for a short, easy ride through the farm country around Grand Junction. I was more tired from the previous two days than I thought. Those twenty miles seemed much more difficult than necessary. Fortunately, I had Kristin to keep up with and keep me entertained.
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So, how do you keep a 4-year-old entertained while Mom and Dad take turns riding? You take her to the dinosaur museum to see blood and gore, of course.
On the last day, I decided to ride Tabeguache Trails. You know, as a last hurrah. Ha. Ha. Ha. I chose the Holy Cross trail. Apparently, Holy Cross meant I would be making the sign of the cross more than I actually rode. Because that shit was hard. Much too hard for me, especially alone, tired after three days of riding and with zero experience on that trail. The good news is that my bike makes a fine hiking companion. The bad news is, well, I wussed out a ton. I know there were some moves on that trail that I was perfectly capable of riding but I was just too tired, too alone and too wrapped up in my own head. So I hiked.
I don't feel too bad about it. The trail lead to Holy Buckets which was much more doable.
The main trail out resembles Mars. I think. Having never been to Mars, that is nothing more than an educated guess.
Thus concluded four days of riding, camping and hanging with the family. By the time we made it home at 6pm, everyone was exhausted. Everyone except the kids, who had slept the entire two hours home. No rest for the weary around here.
I have spent the past 24 hours thinking about bikes and plotting our mountain bike trip to Salida this coming weekend. Only three more days.