Greetings from the Western Slope!

Ivan, Jim and I landed in Grand Junction, CO on Friday night, picked up a few a staples (peanut butter, jelly, bread, and of course, some fine Fat Tire microbrew), then it was off to our hotel and a hike around the Fruita Fall Festival. We were up early Saturday morning, thanks to Comander Konermann's 6:00 am revelry (hey, aren't we on vacation?). Oh well, if I just stay on East Coast time, that's still sleeping in to 8:00. Or so I'll just keep telling myself.

We hit the coffee shop in Fruita and I picked up my bike at Over The Edge Sports. (Side note: I shipped my bike via Fed Ex - special thanks to Mark at Cycle Path...btw Mark, the new Endura bearings in the bottom bracket are awesome! Jim and Ivan flew their bikes with them). We met up with Dirt Diva for Life, Rebecca Adler and her friends, and it was off the the Kokopelli Trail System.

We did a warm up ride on Rustlers Loop, which offers tremendous views of the Colorado River. While it would be considered a

beginner loop, it offered those that hadn't ridden Fruita in the past, a chance to see what it was all about. It was a great warm up before going off on the more challenging trails.

Next up was the 1.5 mile climb up Mary's Loop to the portaged stairway of washing machine boulders that dropped us onto Horsethief Bench. It is truly amazing the kind of punishment that today's high tech mountain bike handle. Several times, with my skills somewhat maxed out, the bike (my Turner Flux) saved my hide. Jim, Ivan and I would scamper off for a little wide open adrenalin rush, then throttle back for Rebecca and Lese, who were never far behind. We completed Horesthief, then it was a return hike up those washing machine boulders and back to complete Mary's.

As we headed back to the parking area, Jim suffered a pinch flat of his rear tire. A pinch flat to a tubless tire can spell disaster, so we installed a tube. While reinstalling the wheel, the rotor caught a brake pad and one thing leading to another, we eventually had to remove the rear brake caliper and Jim limped in on just a front brake. The upshot was that with only one brake, Jim got to work on some new skills. Fortunately, once back in Fruita, he was able to get it quickly repaired and were ready for Sunday's ride at the Bookcliffs.

The desert heat was tough on all of us. The three of us went through 100 oz Camelback bladders and an endurance drink on the bikes. Saturday night was spent re-hydrating and an excellent meal in Grand Junction.