After our rides on Tuesday, we left Vail and headed to Durango. The drive varies between dull and fairly flat terrain to some of the most amazing views and roads I've ever seen! Aside from the bit of motion sickness I encountered on the last half of the drive, we really enjoyed the trip and found a few other places we'd like to check out on a bike next time we are in Colorado. We had one night to spend in Durango before Cam's dad showed up with our accommodations for the rest of the week, a sweet motorhome. As soon as I could get out of the car, I hit the hay. Cam found some BBQ, and that was all she wrote for the first night in Durango.
During the drive over, I realized I was half-way through with my Colorado trip, and I hadn't even set the tires of the 'Goose on any dirt! That needed to be fixed ASAP. Bright and early (sort of...) on Wednesday morning, we left the Jeep at the hotel and rode a couple miles to the Telegraph trails. Cam gave me a few warnings about rattlesnakes, trails to be careful on, and encouragement to drink often, then he headed out to abuse his body and amuse his mind for a few hours.
Thankfully there are some pretty nice trail maps at every intersection, so I couldn't get too lost. I tried out a couple trails and came across some other riders who were impressed that I had tackled one of the trails. They told me they usually rested up a day or two before trying that one! I was pretty glad to hear that because I had used up most of my allotted energy for the day on that one trail! That and I was feeling the hurt of the altitude. I stopped to rest at one point and seriously thought I was gonna toss my cookies. I tanked a bunch of water and a few calories and headed for flatter terrain.
Instead of sticking to the trail map, I just went exploring. I rode up Horse Gulch Road until I found some random unmarked trails and just followed them til they either ran out or turned into something too gnarly for my meager abilities. It turned out to be a pretty fun adventure, and I rode quite a bit of stuff I was sure I'd never attempt!
It was a pretty warm day and the stuff I was riding was in no way sheltered from the sun, so after about 2.5 hours of fun on the dirt, I headed back to the hotel. There I sat under an overhang and "borrowed" the wireless connection while waiting for Cam to return. He rolled up a little later and it wasn't until he got off the bike that I could tell something was wrong. He looked a little dazed, then turned around to show me his back. The raw meat that was where his shoulders used to be looked pretty bad. The bike wasn't much better with a cracked stem and partially taco'd front wheel. We got him cleaned off and then went in search of his father and some dinner - and we found it in the form of a cold beer and awesome meal at the local micro brewery.
Durango Day Two, Cam went out for a long road ride. His mountain bike was not yet rideable and the road would be a little more forgiving to the aches from the crash. So, Larry and I went in search of some singletrack. We found some good trail that eventually meets up with the Colorado Trail. We rode for about an hour before Larry started to feel like I did the day before. I, on the other hand, was feeling great! I sent Larry back to a junction in the road, and I went on up to find the Colorado. It took some climbing to get there, but I can't tell you how fun the trip down was! Again, throughout the day I found myself riding stuff that was so intimidating before. For some reason, being in Colorado gave me the extra little boost of confidence I needed to just charge through rocks and down trail that might have been a hike-a-bike for me in Iowa.
I met back up with Larry at the bottom - he looked much better - and we headed back to the RV. We hit a great little Italian place for dinner (and some great wine). We also procured a new stem for Cam's bike, so we could go ride some dirt together on Friday, my last full day in Durango.
Larry opted for a road ride on Friday, so Cam replaced his stem and wheel, then we drove into town to start the ride. We rode out to the same trailhead that Larry and I had driven to the day before. We followed the same sweet singletrack as the day before and chased each other down the Colorado Trail. Instead of turning off to go back to the trailhead, we continued on the Colorado to Gudy's Rest for a little snack and some photos. The rest of the Colorado was really fun and a little challenging. The views were amazing, so it took a little bit of concentration to remember to keep my eyes on the trail and not on the vistas!
I was both perfectly tired and perfectly satisfied when we rolled up to the Jeep three hours after we'd left it. It was the perfect ending to my trip.
Early the next morning, I boarded a plane home. It was pretty hard to leave, but I'm already looking forward to next year!
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