Green Bird: GJ MTB Report!

With all the snow we have in Boulder now, I like to think back to a time when it was warm and sunny and dry and mountain bikes were all the rage. This August I had a chance to get three full days of mountain biking in. It started with a day in Fraiser with a group of about 6 guys from work.

Day 1: Fraiser Trails - We rode many trails in the Fraiser valley and it was very fun! I had mostly ridden these in races and it was neat to see them again.

Map and elev

We only got lost a couple times, one minor mechanical with Jason's bike, nothing too terrible. And afterwards we were rewarded with some tasty lunch and beers.

Taking a break to discuss how lost we were

Riding in a group like this is so great, everyone was riding well and challenging each other and giving grief when you made a mistake. Rides like this are why we mountain bike!

Fraiser Trails Strava

Distance: 27.4 mi

Elev: 2,563'

Time: 2h 28m

Day 2: Lunch Loop, Grand Junction - After staying in Fraiser, Bill and I drove to GJ where we rode the Tabaguache trails. I haven't ridden these trails since I lived in Junction years ago, and they were challenging! It was the shortest ride in distance, but the most technical by far.

Map and elev

We rode one trail called Gunny Loop that I had never been on. It was pretty great, but this whole area had me wishing I had more travel, and wondering how I did all this on a hard tail a decade ago.

Coming down

This was a hot ride! The temp was about 93. Afterwards we went to Edge Water Brewery for a well deserved beer.

Lunch Loop Strava
Distance: 13 mi

Elev: 1,721'

Time: 2h

Day 3: Kokopelli's Trail - The last day of the weekend 'o riding,

Map and elev

These trails have not changed as much since I last rode them - still fast, flowy, and beautiful. We got an early start to beat the heat on Horse Thief Loop, complete with the gnarliest downhill of the weekend.

The drop into Horsethief

Once down into the valley, we rode along the edge of a cliff that overlooked the Colorado River. We even saw a few raft groups camped out.

Overlooking the CO River

Riding that close to the edge was unnerving. It wasn't hard, but you couldn't help think about falling off and rolling over the edge. It was controlled riding all around.

This was the most serene riding. Fraiser was bar banging, hooping and hollering. Tabaguache was hot and technical. Mary's Loop was just the right mix of technical and fun. A+ #1.

Strava
Distance: 22.0 mi

Elev: 2,319

Time: 2h 27min

After the biking we went to the new Grand Junction BMX track to check out the Race mentioned in this post. It was really cool to see how my old home track has changed. The new track is top notch.