Observations from Fall Moab 2010 (Fiscal), Fruita Edition

The last four days have been busy—in a good way. I didn’t go to work, church, or anywhere else where I had any sort of obligation. I just hiked, rode my bike, ate lots of good food, and generally goofed off. Today I feel great and have already accomplished more as I sit here eating my lunch at work than I would have by the end of the day or even the middle of the next day last week. I guess I needed the break.

Rather than give a blow-by-blow account of the weekend, I thought I’d share some brief observations. It’s what you may have had in real time if I were Lance Armstrong and my blog were twitter and you had the patience to check for updates every 6.9 seconds. But I didn’t feel like interrupting my leisure time to update my status, so you get it this way, as I think about it, in not necessarily chronological order.

• A multi-hour hike is not likely to get better if you have the thought “I think these shoes are worn out—hope I don’t get blisters” in the first 200 meters.
• I can cover the distance from my house to the top of Jacob’s Ladder MTB trail way faster on a bike than on foot.
• There are some very cool vistas on the Lone Peak massif just a stone’s throw from where we ride bikes. I bet most riders don’t know they’re there.
• There’s nothing like the sight of a Rhino with a rifle case mounted to it parked at the top of the trail to make you second guess your choice to wear tan pants.
• Moleskin is of no benefit if it’s in your other backpack.
• If you’re not trying to summit anyway, cutting a hike short is way better than tearing up your feet the day before a mountain bike trip.
• Chocolate is a remarkably effective way to attract women to your house.
• Lightweight XC bikes do not help you go faster on technical trails in places like Fruita, CO. Ryan and Rocky on their squishy bikes were the rock stars in Fruita. Of course it helps to have mad skills.
• Lots more women ride trails in Colorado than in Utah. I’m guessing that this is because the women in Colorado are less likely to be home with the kids while their husbands are riding said trails. Thanks, ladies.
• If your friends all rode their bikes off a cliff (or a sizeable rock ledge, as the case may be, even one you would never, ever consider riding off of if you were by yourself) you probably would too.
• In a strange bit of irony, both the likelihood of the preceding and the fear of crashing in the process are much, much higher if someone is filming the whole thing.
• The stakes are higher still if that someone has one of the more popular cycling blogs on the planet.
• In another bit of irony, we take all sorts of care to arrange our bikes on the racks so that they aren’t damaged in transport. Once at the destination, we effectively throw them down a stone staircase. Repeatedly.
• If anyone can objectively determine which of a bratwurst around a campfire or a bacon cheeseburger at Ray’s Tavern tastes better, please let me know. I’ll take either over fine dining nine times out of ten.
• The best reason to carry a camelback is that you can have a cold diet coke halfway through the ride.
• Ryan may be more of a diet coke addict than me—he’s willing to drink it warm.
• 22 PSI is a bit too low for tire pressure in Fruita; I discovered that it is, in fact, possible to pinch flat a tubeless tire.
• If a movie theater in Grand Junction ever goes out of business, it’s not because of revenue problems. I think 11 of 14 shows were sold out at 8:00 p.m. on Friday.
• The guys from across the way who came over and said hello at our campfire probably weren’t as interested in making friends as they were in finding women and/or weed. No wonder they didn’t stick around long.
• If ever someone were named appropriately for the types of trails he likes to ride, it’s Rocky.
• Speaking of Rocky, having a tour guide throughout the weekend was nothing short of fantastic. Thank you!
• If Rick was on the hook for new shoes after 24 hours of Moab, I can’t even imagine what this trip is going to cost Eber after the poop and puke incident Sunday afternoon.
• Kessel run was worth lapping, even if I did get a flat the second time through.
• Though I doubted it at the outset, it is possible to go three days of riding every day and no showers without getting leprosy of the crotch.
• The Smith Brothers, Joseph and Hyrum, made Fruita a day trip. If that were my only option, I would have done the same. I don’t think they regretted it, and it was great to have them there.
• The Banksmobile was the perfect vehicle for the trip—captains chairs meant we were never close enough to have to smell each others’ funk. Thanks, Evil, for driving.
• As great as the weekend was, coming home to have JunkieGirl looking out the window for me and then run into the driveway to give me a hug was a nice way to finish.