juicyfruita's posterous

Tuff Report

So after being back in North Carolina and getting caught up on work, I
though I would write a little something about our trip to Fruita.  We flew
out of the small Asheville airport at 6:00am and with a few connections
along the way, landed in Grand Junction by noon.  Not a bad way to get to
Colorado!  We sent our bikes via UPS the previous week and Derrick had
them all set up and ready to roll.  

After a nice little lunch, Derrick had us out on the trail by 3:00 for a quick introduction loop.  
I remember talking to him and his wife Chrissy about it still being hot out there.  I
thought to myself, we live in the south so it cannot possibly be that bad!
I was wrong, the afternoon heat in Fruita is no joke, even in early
October.  

The next day's ride was a blast as we hit one section in the
morning, came on a trail crew that we thanked for such a fun ride, and
then drove to a different yet equally fun area to finish the day.  I like
the small town vibe of Fruita and enjoyed post ride beers at Hot Tomato.

The third day was an epic 4-5 hour ride on the Zion curtain and Western
rim area.  Thinking back on it now, this may have been my favorite ride
day.  The sheer exposure, cliff and rim riding, and canyon views were
amazing.  Coming from the east coast where you are covered in the woods,
the exposure of riding in western colorado is a little jarring.  It takes
a few rides to get used to especially since I thought I was going to crash
several times by trying to take in the vistas along the trail.    Derrick
and Juicy Fruita know these trails like the back of his hand.  His guiding
on these were mandatory as I still get lost on the high school trails back
in Chapel Hill that I've ridden for 14 years.  

Following a delicious and generous homecooked meal by the patron saint of
Juicy Fruita, Chrissy, we woke up to the Captain's orders of an early morning
drive up to Crested Butte.  Taking the Kebler pass to get there, we passed
stunning views, blasts of yellow aspen groves, and overall amazing scenery.  
I think I could spend a week just on that pass!  

We arrived at CB, had a great little breakfast burrito and coffee at a neat
little spot and went to the local bike shop for a quick repair.  Just walking
in the town, I noticed the altitude, not a good sign for our first ride.  

We went out and rode sick singletrack that I have no recollection of since the
combination of 32/20 singlespeed and 9000+ elevation made my head feel like a ticking
time bomb.  I do remember how awesome the trails were and how effortlessly
Derrick banged out each little climbing section.  Acclimation is the key
word here.  

We stayed at a beautiful cabin right by the trails in south
CB, Pioneer guest cabins, who definitely deserve a call if you are in the
area.  

The final day's ride also sticks out to me as being one of those
top 10 rides ever.  Dr Park area, somewhere south near Gunnison, was
stunning in its variety of singletrack scenery.  

Another scenic drive back to Fruita and we were on a plane back to NC
the following morning.  It was such a cool experience to be gone for only 5 days
yet pack in so much diverse riding.  A big thank you goes out to Juicy Fruita
and the whole Nehrenberg family for their help and hospitality.  

The overwhelming number of options for riding makes this area THE
destination for mountain biking in Colorado.


Mike Tiano
Haw River Wine Man

Asheville, NC

Vernal, Utah: Eerily Like Fruita, CO

Vernal, is tucked in the northeast corner of Utah, about 3 hours from Fruita, CO.  It is eerily like Fruita, CO because it sits at the northern edge of the Colorado Plateau, namesake of our local Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association (COPMOBA).  

It is also eerily like Fruita, because the mountain bike scene as been created from dirt by a guy also named Troy, Troy Lupcho.  Like Troy Rarick (of Over the Edge fame) Troy Lupcho has seemingly singlehandedly created a mountain bike destination out of nothing.

Our meeting with Troy L. must have been preordained, because it was completely unplanned, but couldn't have been more perfect.  I was out riding McCoy Flats with Landon and Jered, a couple of Over the Edge Guys, when a smart-ass dude rode by deriding each of the three of us with female names as he hit the gas.  Jered was like "F" that, and we took off after him.  Jered stayed up the dude's butt, letting his Chris King freewheel humiliate him with our coasting.  Finally, the dude gave up.  I said, "Nice soft pedalling with you ladies" and proceeded to give it the juice.  While TT'ing it away some other guy got on my wheel and stayed on it.  After a while, I began wondering who in the world it could be.  Clearly the guy knew the trail because he was freewheeling a lot more than I was.  It was like he knew the trail by heart. In fact the guy turned out to be Troy Lupcho, the local bike shop owner, trail builder, president of the northeastern utah mountain bike (NUMB) association and we all had a good laugh over how we meet because some smart-ass called us girl names.  The smart ass happened to be Jason West, the Lead Recreation Planner from the Vernal BLM Field Office.  Off course Jason turned out to be one of the nicest guys you could ever want to meet.  

Anyhoo, Troy L. took us under his wing and proceeded to show us great trails and great time in Vernal, Utah for a couple days.  It was fantastic to have such a stoked bike shop owner ripping us a new one on the trails.  

It was also great to trip-out for the first time with Landon and Jered.  

Yes, you should go to Vernal, Utah.  We'll be going back.

Pics are of Landon, Jered, Troy L., and Troy L. at McCoy Flats. 

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Casey's Kudos

Wanted to throw out a shout to Derrick, the entire Nehrenberg family, and of course Juicy Fruita, for making my trip (and Mike's) to Colorado one to remember. From the minute we were met at the airport, it was clear Derrick knew the area well. Every mountain range we could see from the car was identified on the way to lunch, and areas that contained good trails were pointed out. It was really cool to have an idea of what we were looking at upon arriving in a place as expansive as Colorado, where you can see for miles. Derrick took into account weather, travel time, trail conditions, and trail enjoyment to put together consecutive days of sick singletrack. I enjoyed every day of riding and appreciated the differences in area, altitude, trail design, terrain, and difficulty.

On top of Derrick's knowledge of trails, he was also well versed in good eats...both pre and post ride. It was really nice to know that we could fuel properly for 3-5 hours of riding and then finish up the rides with a cold beer and good food to follow. On previous mtb trips, I found myself wandering around, looking for a decent restaurant. Derrick takes out all of the guesswork. I highly recommend going to Colorado to ride, and lining up the trip through Juicy Fruita. You will ride sweet trails and you won't get lost. And post ride, cold beers and good food will follow. Big thanks for a much needed vacation!

Casey Kaufman- Carrboro, NC

East Coast Doofuses Ride

Mike (italian) and Casey (American mutt) came out to ride for five days.  Tried to build them up for an epic final ride, but after interjecting that they wanted to have "fun," we settled for Dr. Park in Crested Butte, CO instead.  

They flew in ~ 1:00pm on day one, picked up their bikes and hit a lap of Lion's and Mack Ridge at ~ 3:00 pm.  It was hot as hell, but it only took ~1 hour to ride, and it's a great entree to Fruita, CO in particular, and Colorado in general.  Casey is pictured riding down Mack Ridge (but you probably can't see him).  

The next morning, day 2, we hit Butterknife.  The BLM and Forest Service moto trail rock-work out there is amazing.  Mike is in the Butterknife rock pic. After Butterknife, we drank some cokes then rode Holy Cross.  Took Pet-e-kes out and Kurt's lane back in.  No pic.

On the 3rd day, we rode a 32-mile loop of The Zion Curtain and Western Rim starting at the Land Before Time parking lot and riding it all counterclockwise, coming back in via the #2 trail.  Took pics of Mike and Casey out and in the Western Rim.

On the 4th day we started at Judy's Family Restaurant at 6:00 am and drove from Fruita to Crested Butte via Kebler, where we stopped for a yellow aspen pic.

We continued on to Cement Creek, parked the car at the Pioneer Guest Cabins, where we later stayed.  Then we rode Waterfall Creek and Farris Creek.  There are a few pics of that.

On the 5th day, the weather was looking sketchers in Crested Butte, so we drove a little further south to ride Dr. Park.  Mike and Casey are pictured at the top of that ride.  After that, NY PIZZA in Gunnison, and back in Fruita for dinner.  

Highlights of the trip: Mike cleaned all of the Zion Curtain downhill and all of Dr. Park on a singlespeed hardtail as if he were just riding along in Pisgert.    Also just simply riding along with Casey who is back on the attack a year after getting his hip surgery was pretty durn cool.    

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Sad latex

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Switched to Caffe Latex in June.  Caught a pinhole in Rabbit Valley (which is off the hook this fall), filled with air, but didn't seal.  Pulled the tire off and discovered why.  The latex had dried into a strip.  Put a 60-40 mix of stans and slime in, and sealed the hole immediately.  While it works, it will roll into a stans and slime booger in a matter of weeks.  Anyone have a sealer that lasts suggestion.  FYI the caffelatex had saved me a couple previous time so maybe it had already given me all its love.  But also note that latex leaked out of the pinhole until the air was gone.

Shack II cheeseburger

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This is the best burger I have found so far in the Grand Valley. 

The Shack II was opened a year ago by Jeanine (hope I got that right).  She informed me that the original Shack was around in the 40s.  The Shack specializes in handcut fries and hand pattied burgers.

She'll take your order at your table, keep your pepsi full, and ask you how you liked it.  I liked mine very much.  I especially liked the local crowd.