gooseberry mesa, utah

 (re-edited)

on the annual pilgrimage out to NorCal for thanksgiving with the family, Jen and i had the opportunity to take in one of the all-time great mountain biking trails... Gooseberry Mesa ; deep inside the land of Zion

here's a few of the better images from the day:

big rocks and lots of slickrock

the air was fresh and full of the scents of juniper, pinon and sage.

rainfall the day before made for some surreal riding conditions. the trail follows the mesa's rim out to the very tip of the eroded sandstone saddle (center of this image)

there are plenty of technical moves and cliff-side exposure opportunities to be had on the South Rim trail and the extension out to the viewpoint.

SSCXWC 2011 - Men's World Champs

Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships were held today in my bay's very own Golden Gate Park. From what I could walk, the course looked to be one of the longest and most challenging circuits I've ever seen - but don't worry, that didn't stop the craziness of cyclocross from ensuing.

Took BART and the metro over to GGP with the girly-friend today with the idea of watching both the women's and the men's world championship races. We got there probably 5minutes before the women's race ended. From what I saw, any single one of them could've kicked my arse up and down the park. Julie Krasniak of Team Rapha-Focus took the gold.

Soon, the guys laid down their bikes... The field was probably 50-70 gents and their start incorporated a large run up.

This isn't the head of the group, it's just my favorite picture of the group - panda man had a great race as far as I could tell, completing 4laps.

We found him:

This is a Missing Link cyclocross rider. Unsure of his name, but a few people from Team Oakland race for them. This particular rider came in second place.

The first place rider, who thoroughly destroyed the field, was Chris Jones of Team Rapha-Focus. Didn't get any pictures of the guy for a few reasons. First, he was pretty frickin' fast, and second - the only other time I saw him, I had a cow bell in one hand and his $5 hand up in the other. All I heard as he rode away was "Oooooh! A fiver!"

Good day all in all, even with BART's delays on the way home. Now for some bio homework!

two images for today

here's a couple from recent rides in western Colorado and eastern Utah. lots of nice autumn weather and low traffic counts make for great riding conditions. we thank you for your support.

autumn vineyards- Palisade, Colorado

Arches National Park- Moab, Utah

Trail and ride report: Moab in November

In M-town for work this week...so, getting after it in the witching hour between the setting of the sun and the rising of the moon.

It has been a year since we last made a trip to Moab and we are uber impressed by all the bicycle specific trail building madness that has been going down just a stone's throw to our west.

Moab's surreal scenery can now be had without tolerating miles of moto groomed widetrack thanks to some serious kickass efforts in trail design and construction. The folks who care about these things clearly saw what was going right in the Fruita and Grand Junction Mountain bike scene and stepped it up.

The result is SWEEEEET new networks of trail that can be accessed from town- that's right folks, Abandon Your Car at the hotel and RIDE out to the Bar M and Klondike Bluffs trail heads

to bask in miles of beautifully laid out, courteously marked and bicycle specific (read non-motorized) singletrack with whoopdies and views that keep you riding long after you should be home.
We were especially enamored of the brand spanking new Deadman's Ridge and Longbranch sections at Bar M and the nutty slickrock endurance fest, EKG to Mega Steps out at Klondike Bluffs.

 

Y(our) turn Grand Valley! (be sure to see Bikemaster's post from last week for a preview of some of  the goodstuff in store for us)

trail work day: Palisade

this saturday the 12th of november will be the last work session for the season on the much-anticipated Petroglyph trail (which will be completed in the spring of 2012).
meet at Rapid Creek Cycles at 8:00 a.m. for coffee-up, digging and scraping starts at 9. we'll see you there!

do you love riding challenging, cliff-side singletrack like this? it doesn't grow there all on its own. come out and do your part to make it happen.

the trails currently being developed in the Palisade area will be some of the crown jewels of the Grand Valley. their beauty lies not only in the abundance of natural vistas, but in their proximity to town as well- we do not have to drive to access the remote, challenging... and skinny, singletrack.

yes, i know- truly spoiled, indeed.

an evening view of the Little Bookcliffs wild horse range. it is hard to believe that there is an interstate highway between where this image was taken and the mesas in the background. mark the day on your calendar now: saturday the 12th of november. you want to ride on more trails like this, right? if you show up, i will tell you where they are. promise.