The Colorado Trip Begins Day 1 - Road Trip

Day 1 Chino Valley, Arizona

Departure Time: 7am June 23, 2009

We wake up early with anticipation of the big trip. We have been excited to go now for a while and it was time to get on the road and make it happen. The Forrester packed to the hilt and a full tank of gas and we are off. Since there was no traffic this early in the morning heading north to HWY 89 to I-40 we made good time. We hit Flagstaff and got some showers which was a sign of things to come on this trip. We hit Holbrook, AZ a short time later, we stop to fuel up just in case, because we are heading onto the "Res" and don't if there will be any gas stations on our quest to Colorado. Then out of nowhere.....

a T-Rex rears it's ugly head and starts to come after me. I yell to Brooke to get back into the car and lock the doors. I hop into the drivers seat as it comes barrelling after us and we blaze the all-wheel drive and light em' up like The Dukes of Hazzard. Sheesh! That was a close one. Back on the road, nerves calmed, we hook up the IPOD and jam out to some of our favorites and hit Exit 191 North through the "Res". Nothing much to see here, but it is kinda pretty in that desolate kind of way. Going this way was different, the speed limit was 65 but we all know that I, Andy cannot do the speed limit. Cruising through at 80-85 mph was not a problem, passing the occasional tribal police vehicle going the other way. They did not seem to care because of the influx of Casino money they are awash in. We did see a lot of "call in a drunk driver" billboards. The fire water still has a strangle hold on the natives. Sad really. I've seen Dances with Wolves. Ta-tonka!

Before we know it, we are at the Arizona / Utah border. We stop in Montecello, UT for some gas and a bite to eat and a driver change. Still traveling North on 191, we are headed strait for MOAB. It was 99 degrees and it was HOT. Some consider this to be the "end all be all" of mountain bike trails. Others, not so much. We've never been there and will have to come back to pass judgement on this bounty of trails. As we pass through, we take a couple pics that we can't seem to locate. The section between Moab and I-70 seemed to be the longest. We were stuck behind a big rig with a wide load, places to pass were few and far between. Finally, I-70, and we are on the home stretch. We cross the Utah / Colorado border and headed for Grand Junction, Glenwood Spring and then Glenwood Canyon....boy was that beautiful. The road seems to dance its way through the canyons steep walls and sheer cliffs. We text Sticki to see if we are too meet at camp or in Breckenridge for a quick bite to eat. They were doing "chairs" and would meet us in Breck.

Up next is Vail, you can tell it's expensive to live there, our house could fit in their garages.........at the guests houses. We hit the junction at Frisco and head South to Breckenridge.

Frisco at dusk.

We are in just after 7 pm. 12 hours of driving and sight seeing brings us to our destination. We meet Steve and Micki aka "STICKI", along with Eric, Danielle and their 6 year old daughter Natalie for dinner. We eat at Downstairs at Erics', they serve pasta, pizza and salads. Everything you need for a ride the next day. The waitress was dull and boring and had no time for our sense of humor. Lame! Our bellies full and eyes primed for the pillow, we head to camp for the first time. It was dark and a very poor road at the end, and Brooke was driving, not a good combo, she sent us flying over every rock, into every mud hole, and over a cliff. No, not really, but the first 2 are correct. This isn't single track!! We get to the "Sticki Hilton" and it had all the amenities. Running water, a bed, a roof and a fridge we never got to use. Bummer......thanks though. Mousse was super excited to see us. She's a good dog. It made us miss our girls. Brooke and I unloaded what we needed and retired for the night. It'll be daylight soon and time to ride.

Glossary of terms:

Sticki = Steve and Micki combined

Mousse = their faithful dog

Flowy = a trail that flows really well

Fierce = totally cool, awesome, most fun

Considerable = Steve's meaning of "really really long or difficult

The Res = Indian Reservation

Singletrack = a single track of path only wide enough for 1 bike

Fire road = a road in the mountains to access the forest lands for fires and maintenance

Down hill = Downhill trail, little or no pedaling required, occasional brakes

Chairs = doing downhill ski lift style, ride the chairs up and then bomb down the hill

Bomb = Let er' rip

mojo = you balls or guts

Breck = abbreviated form of Breckenridge

Natural stuff = no chemicals or by-products included in said products

technical = needed mtn. bike skills to maneuver through obstacles, or terrain

rock gardens = gardens of rock in the path that you are about to travel

Indian Trivia = something to do between fellow texters in separate cars while driving on the res to keep us occupied

Andooke = Andy and Brooke combined

Sticki Hilton = Sticki's pop=up trailer

WTF - What the Fuck

machine - like the energizer bunny

carving - Hitting all the trail lines just right

cake - easy to do or easier to do

Go Pro Camera - Camera device mounted to the rig or persons

shuttle trip - leaving a car at the end and one at the beginning if not a loop or out and back