The Three Amigos

I am, for some inexplicable reason, drawn to the desert. My first trip to the southwest landed me in Sedona, AZ. It was here, among the red rocks that the thrill of the desert, the wide open spaces and the big sky won me over. We spent several days, mountain biking, hiking, exploring cliff dweller ruins and the most exciting part, a visit to the Grand Canyon.

My second trip was to the Western Slope of Colorado. While I maintain Moab, UT is the destination, and Fruita, CO is the ride, both regions offer a wealth of mountain biking and amazement of the unbelievable scenery of Hwy 128 and Arches National Park. I took Travis, and we were joined by my brother-in-law (Uncle) Scott, and Frankie and Trey. We spent three days riding Fruita and two days in Moab. I was hooked.

In September of 2006, I joined a group of 8 others to ride the Kokopelli Trail, 150 miles across the desert from Fruita to Moab. We spent literally months researching maps and making arrangements to get our group safely across the desert. It was quite a haul and we did it (I can mark that off my “To Do” list), but I still longed for the sweet singletrack that we left behind in Fruita and the all too short finish on singletrack in Moab. Sandy fire road climbs are not my forte. We did however experience the beauty of the White Rim Canyon, a visit to Arches and hiking/climbing/repelling into Onion Canyon to visit the Anasazi ruins of the Pueblo Cliff Dwellers.

I was approached earlier this year by Ivan who was looking to assemble a southwest trip. We’re going to be joined on our trip by Jim, the current president of the Trailblazers. The plans call for us to venture to Fruita, Telluride and Durango, CO before swinging to Moab for our final rides. We have our flight reservations and will depart on September 26 to return on October 5. My plan is to chronicle the trip of the Three Amigos through my blog and the Trailblazer forum.