gooseberry mesa - may 2011

2011-06-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

its been 3 years since we last rode in southern utah. the prick planted a seed amongst the group a few months ago and we've been chomping at the bit ever since. the last three days of work were the most difficult to endure. visions like these provided for easy distractions.

spiker and i caravan-ed with ryan and trashy on wednesday evening, rolling into the dirt nap spot near jacob's lake around 2:30am. yuri and devin were the camp hosts.

time to make the doughnuts, ryan.

the grimace mobile fully-loaded.

note the 1.5" of tire clearance...

we tried for breakfast here. settled on coffee to go instead.

ended up eating in colorado city's very own merry wives cafe. seriously. warren? you there?

rolled onto the mesa by mid-morning and did a little bit of camp site recon before we set up for the weekend at 'campsite c'. roping off the area was a good idea in hindsight. quiet camp time was not part of the weekend's agenda. trip bitch agrees.

tucson's finest enjoying a bit of carb-loading before thursday's ride.

i remember discussions of mud puddles, salsa bowls, recovery rooms, rolled up socks and heart-shaped cleaning pads.

recovery room #1 and #2 (aka, trip bitch's safe houses)

pre-ride bocce ball warm up.

eventually, only one will remain.

to soothe the soul.

view from camp, looking south towards little creek mesa.

ride ideas were mentioned. maps were passed around. safety was reviewed repeatedly. rides were then chosen. thursday afternoon = slickrock 101> bowls and ledges>north rim to the point>south rim back to camp. (12 miles, two beer minimum)

bike valet.

so purdy.

t-rashy on the new rip 9 with zion national park in the background.

i'm mr. heat miser.

college roomies...

watching...waiting...

the diddler makes it look simple.

trashy follows.

"there ain't no flooding issues here, boyyysssss."

at the point. what to do? what to do? think, think, think...

contemplate life?

take pics of bikes?

text monarch butterflies? upload a judicious video?

dreams of your ole pal, tater? the taste of sack?

thinking of marriage?

ahhhhhhhh.......drink delicious beer. that's what we should do.

post-ride beers, new york strip steaks, mashed potatoes and whiskey rounded out the evening.

texty tiana.

oh, there's the coffee press...

after breakfast, devin and i continued our world dominance on the bocce ball court.

not today, goat!

the bathroom window.

oh. hi, ryan. hi merlin.

youtube yuri.

friday's ride = little creek mesa west loop>north point. (15 miles, 2 beer minimum.) we figured this day to be ideal for hammering out the big loop out at little creek mesa. a little rally car racing to the trailhead to keep the nerves sharp...

darsh!

the grand canyon state.

meeting of the minds?

ryan likes this.

near north point.

the good doctor.

hi, lindsey.

josh conjures up the balancing lessons he learned at "special friend's camp" to cross the gap.

pedal dammit!

you match so well.

at the north point of little creek.

lunchtime shade was at a premium.

i think we go this way...

look at the skull at the end of my finger.

bull snake.

t-rashy rolling the little creek waterfall.

yuri advocates for population growth.

we rallied back to camp. josh almost lost his bike doing 80mph on dirt thanks to yakima racks. i almost destroyed my bike due to stupidity (ran my handlebar into a tree at the edge of the road at 50 mph on the dirt road on the way back up onto the goose).

thanks to big agnes for a wonderful home base.

one last game of bocce before dark?

dinner, whiskey, beer and then some piles!

you wan split dis card, chulo?

lemme have some a dat dere whiskey...jim, is that you?

despite the faded rockstar look, trashy managed to clean up on friday night's piles game.

where we goin', ryan?

after a slow start to the morning, we decided on a new ride. saturday's day ride = the guacamole trail. (8 miles, 1 beer.)

driving down of the east side of gooseberry mesa.

cousins.

will ya look? a smile...

play time.

exposure and salt-stained stink.

jeffro gets excited by tadpoles.

submit to niner for use in their catalog?

go lil devin, go!

spiker!

lindsey ripping on singletrack through the burned out portions of the mesa.

the burns were extensive but, made for a expansive views of the eroded sandstone.

jeffro knows the way.

safety meeting?

bunch of hooligans.

conga line.

devin.

yuri.

trashy, jeff.

ryan.

spiker.

lindsey.

post-ride barley pops.

recycling in the prick's subaru.

coming down from guacamole.

too funny. especially, the smile on the farmer's face while he's firing buckshot at the would-be watermelon thief.

shade tree at over the edge bike shop in hurricane, utah.

ryan got a striped bolt replaced. josh got new brake pads and his reflectors buffed. yuri got a handy in the backroom...with tongs from the kitchen.

caption this!

sinister effer.

keep your kids away from this crowd.

nice hat, joshy.

will you replace my reflector bearings?

ripping on ronnie!

lupita's carne asada and carnitas mini taco plate!

josh, shave that car!

the day was great, except returning to a wind-damaged camp.

nappy time...

a few additional safety meetings and then a night ride. saturday evening's ride = cattle trail>god's skatepark>south rim>hidden canyon>white trail. (12 miles, 2 beer minimum.)

you go here, and then here. got on yer bike and ride!

"i go fast with deez reflectors!"

done with the ride, time for a lil taster.

who just threw a rock at me?

not tonight, trashy. the piles game came down devo and me. i came out on top. piles!!!!

sunday wakey wakey.

devin is alive after two nights of his disappearing act.

silly effers.

make that breakfast, trip bitch!

not the rodent-contaminated avocados.

sego lily.

hi harry!

shower spot. can't beat the location.

cold? in june?

waiting for guffman?

sunday's ride = hurricane rim>gould's rim>J.E.M. trail>hurricane rim. (21 miles of slick singletrack, 1 beer.)

ronnie learns about maps.

time to ride!

views of hurricane, utah.

todd? is that you?

who's helmet was better? ronnie's or trashy's last-minute 'hang loose' purchase?

punks.

spiker searches for warren jeffs.

oh, really?

fix dat bike!

lindsey prays to the trail gods.

good boy, ronnie!

good times, great company. 68 miles. 5 rides in 5 days.9 riders. thanks to ryan for his camp skills and matching style. thanks to the prick for inspiring us and driving twice as far as the AZ group. special thanks to claire for enduring 6 days alone with a 3year old toddler and a 7 month old little boy so i could go play on some rocks.

black canyon trail 02.05.11

2011-02-07T20:56:00.000-08:00

who:

devin, ben, mike, gordon and gary

what:

black canyon trail from cordes station to rock springs. 95% singletrack. 12 miles of new trail.

mileage:

28.3 mi.total (according to a crustacean that knows about these things)

water crossings:

bikes:

3 titanium 26" hardtails (1 singlespeed)

2 steel 29" rigid hardtails (1 one x nine)

old hikers falling off the trail:

repeatable quote of the day:

"its not my fault" - ben hammer, after rolling up on an old guy and startling him enough to make him fall off trail and into a tree

sponsors:

dale's pale ale and miller high life

upper reach from cordes station (exit 259 - bloody basin, I-17)

lower reach to rock springs (exit 242 - rock springs, I-17)

morning, boysssssss....

ben looks a bit unsure of our starting point.

early morning traffic.

discussing the finer points of self-closing trail gates.

hey diddle-diddle...

remote desert singletrack.

gordon "pull tab" grant.

devin models his new gear on the BCT.

who dat?

big guy, little bike.

8:30am beer stop. thanks, dale.

rolling an armored wash crossing. (thanks, gordon)

devin likes this.

don't be sad, mike.

ben gives the salute! thanks, friend...

mike crossing new river at 'noodling beach'. check out last year's noodling effort.

paint it black.

'twas a great day on the trail. no mechanicals, no flats, no crashes. cool temps, lots of sunshine. excellent group. props to mike for going to work after the ride. strong work on emptying the cooler. fun times.

last year's pics.

the adventures of gary the water boy

gooseberry mesa - may 2011

black canyon trail 02.05.11