Fruita Mountain Biking

May 23-28 (Fruita, CO) —

Anyone who previously mountain biked with me would tell you that I pretty much sucked at keeping the rubber side down.   I crashed at least once every time I rode and always, always ended up with multiple scrapes and bruises.

But anyone who previously mountain biked with me would also tell you that I’m fairly stubborn and I will get back on that bike even if it doesn’t want to be ridden.  But I really wanted to crash less and enjoy it more, so we headed to Fruita, CO where I attended a 3-day women’s mountain biking camp put on by BetterRide (www.betterride.net).

It was a blast.  It was hard.  And it was so worth it.  We were out there 8-10 hours a day, and I learned how to actually do things (pedal wheelies, coaster wheelies, rear wheel lifts) that need doing to clear obstacles on the trails I want to ride.   And the coach, Andy Shabo, was really terrific.  The other 5 women who attended were super fun and we had a great time doing drills, riding Rustler’s Loop in the Kokopelli area, and riding Prime Cut, Kessel’s Run, and PBR in the 18 Road area:

 

 

While I did the MTB camp, David rode some other trails near Fruita and also headed to Highline Lake State Park to paddleboard.   He was delayed by a herd of sheep on the road at one point, and by Pancha refusing to move off his inflatable board in the parking lot:

 

After the camp was over, we stayed an extra day so David and I could ride together.  We did Prime Cut to PBR, and it was so much fun that we did a second loop of Prime Cut to Kessel’s Run.  I am proud to say that I didn’t crash once and had the most fun I’ve had on a mountain bike in a long time (probably ever).

Next up:  Moab!